Pine Ridge Resort News & Views

When you’re Up North, you just got to try some new things. Most people fishing our lakes see crayfish (some call them crawdads) along the shore of the lake and, occasionally, a fisherman will snag one while dragging the bottom for walleye. There are two kinds of crayfish that I’m aware of in our Woman Lake chain of lakes. The native crayfish is the smaller green crayfish. It’s a favorite food of bass, walleye, and perch.

But some time ago, a new species was introduced into area lakes, the rusty crayfish. Much larger and much more aggressive, it has taken over from the smaller greens and is now considered an unwanted, invasive addition. The rusty’s have been blamed for the decline of many of Woman Lakes weed beds and they are being studied as a factor in loss of walleye in Leech Lake.

So the guests of Pine Ridge Resort, in order to do their part in trimming the numbers of these unwanted critters, join together to boil them up and eat as many as we can. Three or four times a year, we have a crayfish boil here at the resort, depending upon the group. Some people just can’t quite get into eating them but others can’t get enough.

We get our crayfish from Dan Krone, noted Woman Lake fishing guide and taxidermist. Dan is licensed to put out traps on both Woman and Leech Lakes and always keeps a good supply ready for eatin. A couple of years ago, Ron Schara of “Minnesota Bound” did a special on Dan and the rusty crayfish and it was on a segment of Schara’s show. Dan usually brings in about 25 pounds of crayfish for a boil and I think the kids have as much fun playing with their dinner as they do eating it.

Jenna Langer, Kelly Meulener, Amelia Muir and Abby Wolf are pictured above trying to pick out their choice of dinner. From the look on Jenna’s face, she’s not quite sure about her grip on her choice. You do have to be careful when you play with your food. These rusty’s have some big pincers and if they get you with the pointed tip, they can draw
blood.

So once you’ve picked out your selection, the next step is cooking. Just like a lobster, they go live into boiling water. Chef Dan is seen below carefully adding his ingredients to the pot.

Looks a little nervous, himself, doesn’t he? Besides the boiling water, Dan throws in a few sliced lemons, some seasoning and a bit of salt. When the fish are almost done, we add the sweet corn to the same pot for about 5 minutes and then its time to eat.

Cracking crayfish to get out the meat is messy and fun at the same time. At least some people enjoy it. Others are a bit too squeamish and let Dan do the cracking. It takes quite a few crayfish to make a decent meal so everyone brings down some potluck to make up a great dinner. Here are the girls again, working away at a plateful of crayfish.

There aren’t usually many left over but, if there are, someone takes them for snacks. Dan keeps a sack full of claws in his freezer for munching in the winter while watching a movie. They are also great in a salad. One advantages of the rusty crayfish is that it has large claws which hold a very sweet piece of meat.

And then, there are the hard core crayfish eaters who suck the juices out the heads. We don’t see many hard core eaters here but we do have a lot who really enjoy the boils.

By the way, if you would like to try some, Dan can ship them to you or you can come up and get them here. They are shipped live packed in ice. You can get a hold of Dan through me here at the resort. Amelia’s dad is taking about 50 pounds home with him when they leave tomorrow for a big boil they have planned back in Illinois Saturday night.

So next time you head up north and you’re walking along the lake shore, keep in mind that a great treat is waiting for you right there in those rocks. Enjoy.

Except for a couple of really hot, sticky days, our weather up north has been almost perfect this summer. Most days see high temps in the low 80’s with overnight lows in the 60’s. Perfect sleeping weather and great for getting out and enjoying the lake during the day. Predictions for next week sound hot and sticky but that weather doesn’t always get “up north”

Fishing has been fair to good the last couple of weeks. Guests have been catching some very nice messes of 10″ crappies, the bass have been biting fairly well and everybody that goes out seems to get a northern on their line at some point during the day. Walleyes are in their mid summer slump and are few and far between.

Unless you are Lou Halek, of course. Lou is here in her second of three visits to the resort this summer. On her first visit, during the 4th of July week, she spent some time on the lake figuring out where the fish were. This week, with husband Tony and her family here, she directed Tony out to where the fish were biting a couple of weeks ago. Where she soon connected with a 26.5″ walleye lurking within site of the resort. According to Tony, that was the biggest walleye Lou has yet to catch so there was some discussion as to whether or not to keep the fish.

When I showed Lou the “Catch and Release” hat she could have if she put the fish back in the lake, she promptly directed Tony to release the fish. Now Lou proudly wears her hat and a beautiful, healthy walleye lives to spawn another spring. Lou’s picture of the walleye is on our Fish Pics page of the website. Just to prove that the walleye wasn’t a fluke, she went out the next day and landed this 35″ northern. And, of course, it went right back into the lake also. Can’t wait to see what happens when she is back for her third trip to the resort this summer. See you in a few days.

Hey, I got to tell you about this incredible video that a friend sent me the other day. Here is the address. www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIJtKxdRQzY

If that address doesn’t work, go to www.youtube.com and search for Dan Dunn. The first couple of videos that come up on the search are just great. I love to see a really creative person perform.

Donna and I went to see the latest Harry Potter movie last night and I really liked it. Fun movies. The last book comes out tomorrow and one of our guests arriving Saturday emailed me to see if they could have the book delivered here to the resort. I agreed under the condition that I got to read it first. She said I would have to fight her daughters for the book so I guess I’ll have to buy my own copy.

More later.

It’s been awhile since I posted anything new to the blog. The weather’s been great and we’ve been out doing things, I guess. Today is rainy and very windy. Not often we see white caps on Girl Lake but there a lots of them today. So I’ll catch up on my postings. Got lots of new pictures to add.

Let’s start with Elias Schomer and the 4th of July. Howie and Kelly Schomer have been coming to Pine Ridge Resort for nine years now we’ve watched Elias and his siblings grow a lot. But one thing never changes for a kid of any age, and that it eating S’mores.

The 4th is alway a fun week at the resort. Longville puts on a great day long feast of food and fun in town, ending with a fantastic fireworks display that just happens to be right across the lake from our resort. So before the fireworks begin, we roast a few (two bags full) marshmallows and make S’mores for everyone. I put some other pictures taken on the 4th on the Home page of our web site, including a beautiful picture of some of the fireworks taken by Jeremy Hier, another long time guest.

The second week in July is another week we always look forward to. This week is the traditional week the Armstrong family returns each year. This, if all our computations are correct, is the thirteenth year they have gathered from various parts of the country.

A long while back, Wayne and Mona Armstrong taught the kids how to fiddle and strum and the boys have been doing it ever since. So when they all gather at the resort, the cars are half filled with fiddles, guitars, bases, banjos and a few other assorted instruments. Pictured below are Tim on the base, Rich on the guitar, Jim on the fiddle and Brad on the banjo (I think he made it himself).

Eldest brother, Joe, sitting in the back, keeps time and provides vocals. They can play all night long and the whole resort loves to sit and listen. Many of their kids also play or are learning to play so it seems the tradition will go on for a long time yet. The important thing is to start them out young so they get the feel for the music. Here is Wayne and Mona’s youngest grandchild, Liam, picking away with help from aunt Kathy.

This pics a little fuzzy. Either I was tapping my foot too fast or Liam was strumming too fast. Below are Wayne and Mona. Mona loves the music so much it’s hard to keep her out of it. She had Liam’s rattle going to add a little percussion section to the music.

Two of the brothers were missing from this years gathering. Brian and family are in Colorado. The family couldn’t make it this year but their daughter flew up with grandma and grandpa along with uncle Brad and cousin, Sam. Brother Kevin and his wife, Darlene, are in Minneapolis anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first grandchild, Wayne and Mona’s second great grandchild. Most of the betting around here is that Kevin will be here at the resort within 24 hours of the babies delivery. Kevin’s daughter, Kelly and husband Tom, have got to plan these things better so they don’t interfere with important things like fishing and vacation.

I suppose I should add a little about the fishing. Not great but guests have been catching some fish. Last week the pan fish were biting well but were of the smaller variety. Northern were doing well for those that went out in search of them as were the bass. Randy Knight, a long time visitor to the lake, probably caught and released over 100 largemouth in the week he was here, besides seeing some great smallies on a bar on Woman Lake.

Guests have still be catching some nice crappies. I took my father out last night and we caught about a dozen nice 11″ to 12″ crappies right across the lake from the resort. The wind has everybody sitting tight today but it’s suppose to be down tomorrow and they’ll all be out chasing them in the morning. Then, it’s back for an afternoon of swimming and fiddling. Life at a resort is so hard.

I’ll try to keep up with my posts on a more timely basis from now on.  Take care everyone. See you at the lake.