Pine Ridge Resort News & Views

A lot of you who read my blog have been to the resort and had a chance over the years to meet my father.  He loved to fish and he loved to talk about fishing and even last year when it was hard for him to walk and he couldn’t remember how to make the trolling motor work, he still wanted to be out on the lake.  When he was in his apartment in Hackensack, he talked about fishing with his neighbors and couldn’t wait until I had time to get him out on the lake again.
His last years were difficult with his disabilities and the onset of dementia.  On this past Christmas Day, he suffered a stroke that was followed by others and Dad passed away in February. We put his favorite crappie rod and $5.00 for some minnows in the coffin with him so he’d be all ready to go when he got to his last fishing hole.  This picture was taken during better times but it’s the way we all remember him.

Save a few for the rest of us, Dad.

So now it’s time to move on.  Not to forget, but to move on.  In the next few weeks, the sun will finally warm us up, the snow will melt and it will be time to get the resort ready for spring.  It’s been a long winter and I am ready for spring.

We tapped our first maple trees last week but not much sap is flowing yet.  Didn’t tap at all last year and I really miss the incredible flavor of real maple syrup.  Hopefully, next week we’ll start getting some warmer days with some sunshine.  That really brings up the sap.

There are a couple of projects planned for this spring but we are not going to be as ambitious as we were last year.  Quite a few of our guests have all ready signed up for our Work Week to help get things ready.  We need to build a new stair way down to the lake and rebuild the area in back of the fish house so we can set up the horseshoe pit again.

Probably start cleaning cabins around the middle of April.  Have to get the ground thawed out first so we can turn the water on.  One good thing about this long winter past is that we had quite a bit of snow early and it kept the frost from going too deep in the ground.  Septic systems did not freeze up this year.

Shortly after the ice goes off the lake, my dock guys will come up and we’ll get the docks back in.  That’s when I start to get excited.  Boats in the water and the crappies start biting.  Early May usually up to Memorial Day we have great crappie fishing.

Now that the season is ready to get going again, I’ll be posting more often.  I’ll let you know how that first batch of maple syrup tastes and those first of the season crappies.   Just a reminder, walleye opener is May 10th this year.  There are still cabins available for opener but the weekends after opener are almost filled up.

Take care and we’ll see you at the lake.