Hut Locations, Fishing Charter Huts

Hi, I was wondering if anyone knows how all the companies choose their locations for the seasons. Do they all have their own areas they go to or is is just first one out on the lake gets the best spot?

The reason I was wondering is that I have been using a newer company the past few years and the fishing has been terrible. (I know you don't alway catch fish.. but 3 years running is a little unlucky)

Do the older more established hut companies get first pick and therefore get the better locations?

Just curious...

Thanks guys.

3 strikes and your out, go to another Hut Op. Best spot, remember fish swim, they don't stay in one spot.

Nobody owns the lake. They (operators) set up where they know the fish are and they are usually the first huts out there. The operators may have some gentlemen's agreement between them about their areas but in reality nothing stops them from crowding each other out if they wanted to. That does not mean the hut operators are on the absolute best spots as they have to balance travel time against customer success. An operator who can't deliver the goods won't last long.

agree with all that has been said so far


There is a question though.....Is it just you not catching or is it everyone.....not trying to be nasty, but it's a fair question meant to help you in the long run

We just came back from fishing with an operator who has a good reputation, However we were very disappointed with what happened When we got there the huts were quite close to shore and the depth of water was not good for fishing. we were with 4 guys and caught 3 perch and 1 small walleye in 2 days. After showing our frustration they did move the huts to some deeper water which I appreciate which did not produce much better results because finding out that they could not get to their normal fishing grounds because the winds had so called put the break up ice in their normal set up area. In the 47 years that I have been fishing this lake it is the worst we have ever done. I can except the fact that the fish have lock jaw in their normal fishing grounds which does happen, But to be told by the 3rd day that this was the issue is not right. If it was only after asking if this was not where they normally fish I was told this. If I knew this was the situation I would have postponed my trip or cancelled it altogether even losing my deposit. I get the impression that this was somewhat of a money grab for them and less of no concern of us catching a few fish that we at least could have had a good fish fry. It is not only a case of the fish not biting , but look at the results of other operators having the results completely different in the same period of Jan 17 18 and 19. I hope the operator reads this post and if this happens again at least be UP FRONT with your customers. All I can positively say that the accomodations were good and his help was good but the undisclosed information was unacceptable.

I must had this here not to be disrespectful to dickie's post...I agree with Longshank is it "everyone" or could it be the "angler"...I can't see myself as the operator moving because 1 party is disappointed...coins these days like everyone els are far from what they were

Dickie what part of the Lake was this on, as i have experienced something similar in the early season due to a large pressure crack and the operator could not get their huts out to more productive water.

I understand that we are at the mercy of Safe ice and I don't blame the operator, obviously they would prefer your trip is successful. I have learned that booking a little later in the season at least allows for safe ice so that you can get to the more productive grounds.
I also Applaud the operators that move their huts as the fish behaviour changes through the season as i know how much work it is, I know of a couple operators that don't do this, but maybe they are on productive grounds all season.

I don't want to give exact location other than we were on the south bay area. Also I would like to say that no one was catching any more than us. But like I said before I would have appreciated the information of their huts not being on their normal fishing grounds. Even if the fishing is tough your chances are better to having success there than just a hut plopped on ice that has not been proven over time. I'm not a rookie at this. Like I said before I would have liked to know ahead of time of this information that I could make my decisions accordingly.

Our first 2 years were with the same outfitter. My buddy's boss did a trip with the same outfit and caught 70.. that spawned our first trip. We caught one and some dink perch. Second year we caught 2, almost no perch and a couple hammer handles. We switched after that and never looked back.

If it's an outfit we haven't used yet, or one that spreads the huts out, we usually ask where they're going to have us, or at least how deep. This has influenced where we've fished in the past (not who with.. just where). Sometimes there are options. A little conversation goes a long way.

I never had to have that conversation with Hyatt. If he had a hut somewhere, it was for a reason. Just book and go fishing.

Aside from our first year our bungalows aren't great. I got 50 perch that year, another guy 2 and 1 and 0 lol...Since that year we ALWAYS get 1 walleye as soon as the first guy gets to bottom then thats about it. We've gotten the odd whitey, and obviously mudpuppies. It's to the point we don't fuss much with the bungalow. Like any hunting/fishing trip its a warm place to stay out on the water. We fish, fish hard and find the fish, that's our job. We just got back and 60+ eyes over 3 days and many finally in the slot which was nice.