Drive on access to chip

[pjadeitz]

Hey Ty, or anyone, can I drive my Jeep onto the Chip from the Haycreek landing out to the good crappie spots, or from somewhere else on the flowage? Thanks...

[Ty Sennett]

You definitely do not want to drive out from Hay Creek or any creek for that matter. One thing I know from driving my snowmobile out from creek areas is that there could be 12 inches of ice one day and 4 or 5 inches a couple days later. They are unpredictable at best. With the death of Jim Hudson and Steve Sisko recently, that should be a wakeup call to think about not driving a car let alone a snowmobile on the ice. The Hay Creek Bridge had open water next to it last week so I wouldn't do it. Also, everyone should stay away from the Hay Creek Narrows area. That is a very deceptive spot. It looks fine but isn't at all safe to drive on. I make it a point to never drive my snowmobile through there. You're just asking for trouble going through there or the Wiener Island area. There are five creeks that merge and run through there. Another area that is just asking to gobble up a vehicle is just west of Ear Point/Shearpin Bar. If you drive a truck in that area stay right on the snowmobile trail because there are a couple bogs right at the surface just off the trail that can't support the weight of a vehicle. Honestly I would say don't ever drive a vehicle on the Chippewa Flowage. Unless you know the lake in and out it is extremely dangerous. That being said, I do drive my truck on the lake sometimes but only in areas that are extremely safe. Last week there was a couple four wheelers on the west side that wanted to go fish an area and had I not told them to use a different route I can guarantee they would have dumped their ATV's in the lake. Basically, try to get it in your mind that every narrow area is not safe. If you have snowmobiles or a four wheeler and stay on the snowmobile trails you are fine. I'd like to see people be more cautious on the Chip because it's not a basin style lake. There are a lot of moving water areas with upcurrents. There are also a lot of bog areas that are just not safe under the coldest periods of the year. The problem is you can't just look at a map and know what is going to be safe. That's flowage fishing for you.

Be careful,

[andracke]

Is it safe to run up Crane Creek?

[Ty Sennett]

It's safe by snowmobile. There's a little off trail that some of the local snowmobilers use that goes up Crane Creek. Do they make snowmobiles in your size Andracke? Sorry couldn't resist. A 6'8" guy on a snowmobile just seems funny to me for some reason. It would look like me on a Kitty Kat snowmobile.