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Monday, August 7th, 2023 Wow! It seems we just opened and it is already back to school season. There is still time to get those last minute fishing trips in before school starts. If school isn’t on your calendar you have a little more time into September before we close October 1st. Speaking of trips, We have some openings for Labor day weekend - call to make your reservations soon! There is no need to wait for the traditionally great fall fishing. The fish have their calendar mixed up and forgot to quit biting in July and August. See our Fish Tales for details. We have seen large northern, decent walleyes and crappie limits recently. For those who are wondering - Yes,the resort is still for sale. We have some interested prospective buyers doing their due diligence. We believe if it was meant to be, it will be. Saturday, June 10th, 2023 Hello June! What? June already? Like they say time flies when you are having fun! May just flew by. The water has definitely warmed up and the fish are hungry. Recent fishermen have seen big walleyes, crappies, pumpkin seeds and even large mouth bass (which of course were released after the photo ops). Check out the Fish Tales page for recent catches and notice those fancy blue hats on some of them. If fishing isn’t your priority, it is prime Minnesota state flower - the Lady Slipper season. There are many colors on display between the resort and the highway - You can find them along the roadway. Remember look but do not touch or pick. They are protected by state and federal law. We have some openings for the July 4th weekend if you are still deciding your holiday plans - give us a call. We look forward to seeing you at Sunset! Thursday, May 25th, 2023 Welcome to Memorial weekend at Sunset! As we enjoy this glorious weekend, we take a moment on Monday to remember all the service members who have given their time & lives for our freedom. Without them, we would not have the privlige to enjoy the great outdoors and catch fantastic fish in our leisure time. Speaking of catching fish, we are reviving the Fish Tales page for 2023! The Walleye opener was a little slower than we have seen in the past. This was to be expected with the VERY late ice out and the very cold water temperatures. The last two weeks the weather has been warm and the water tempeature has been warming nicely. Spring fishing directly correlates to water temperature, so it follows that as the water temps come up, so do the fish appetites. More recent fishermen have had good luck. Check out the 2023 Fish Tales page for pictures. Give us a call to plan your Summer trip to Sunset. Saturday, April 8th, 2023 Hello Sunset Fans - It appears that 2022 was so busy, that it just flew by before we knew it. As they say “Time flies when you are having fun!” I’ll give a quick recap, but this won’t be new info for the “regulars”. 2022 - George managed to recover and make it home - just in time for walleye season opener. (He has his priorities straight!) Thanks again to the help of many hands and great friends - 2022 was another successful year at Sunset. Lots of laughs, good times and fish. Unfortunately, taking pictures and posting them to the website was not a priority. Look back on past years and use your imagination - :) The biggest news coming out of 2022 is that it was George & Sally’s 51st year at Sunset!! They have made the very difficult decision to list the resort for sale. They are not going anywhere, as their house is next door, they are not in a hurry to sell and they love every single day at Sunset with their guests, many of whom they consider to be family friends. So the point here is the resort is for sale - but George and Sally will be there operating as usual until it sells. They look forward to seeing everyone this season! We are beginning to think about walleye opener 2023. There is still approximately 5 feet of snow on the ground throughout the resort. We have only a narrow path plowed to the lodge. We are optimistic the the warm temps will reduce that this next week. Tuesday, February 15th, 2022 It’s been a long bumpy road, but we finally got to today which was surgery #2 for George! It was much more difficult than anticipated, but the surgeon says it was a success and he is on the road to recovery. He is looking forward to having this phase behind him and working towards a return to Sunset! Monday, November 15th, 2021 In this season of Thanksgiving, we reflect on our summer season. We are truly thankful for all our guests and everyone who helped out (& and continue to help us) this year in big ways, small ways and ways too numerous to mention! We are grateful and blessed to have such wonderful friends, neighbors, family and guests. Saying a humble thank you doesn’t seem like enough. George continues to recover, Sally continues to hold down the fort. George has made big strides and is doing his part. We are currently waiting for the Covid-19 situation to improve before he has his next (& hopefully last) surgery. Until then, we keep our eye on the end goal & making daily improvements. Thanks again to everyone for for all your thoughts, prayers, phone calls and well wishes along this journey. We also have everyone of you in our thoughts and prayers as we head into the holiday season! Monday, October 4th, 2021 Wowser! Just like that, another year is in the books. We closed for the season September 1st. This past weekend, the Pitzner-Wellner crew & friends came and pulled out the dock, shut-off the water and winterized everthing. We are surely thankful for all their help again. Monday, August 2nd, 2021 First, we have to apologize for not many updates on the blog. Sally has been busy holding down the fort. George’s time at the resort was short lived before complications developed and he made a return trip to St. Paul. After another long hospital stay he is now recovering and doing very well. However, he will require closer medical attention and more frequent medical visits. We have made the difficult decision to close Sunset a month early this season to attend to those needs. We will closing for the season as of September 1st. We want to thanks all of our guests this summer for coming and being so understanding. There is still time to get in on the great fishing these last few weeks in August. Give Sally a call on her cell 218-820- 9153 Wednesday, June 30th, 2021 Holy Moly! June has flown by already! We have had a busy month at Sunset. We have enjoyed seeing so many of our returning friends and guests as well as meeting the new ones and welcoming them to the resort. The fish have continues to be hungry. There have been some nice crappies, a few northerns (not many people looking for them) and some blue hat walleyes. Last but definely not least the small mouth bass has started to show up and give people some excitement. They are fun to catch and take pictures to show off - then return to the lake to continue to grow the population. We are looking forward to the holiday weekend coming up. We have some openings in the month of July. Call for your reservation now. Monday, June 7th, 2021 After 26 days, 2 hospitals, a 230 mile ambulance ride, over 30 different MD & PA’s, a 5 hour surgery, literally hundreds of nurses, CNA’s, therapists, dieticians, radiology techs, pharmacists, phebotimists and other support staff to brighten the days. One day he kept a tally - 42 different people came into his room. Thanks to the miracles of modern medicine & Great facilities & staff- George has finally made it back to Sunset! What started as feeling “tired” from all the pre- opening work turned out to be a dangerous arrythmia, likely caused by electrolyte disturbances due to a blockage related to his Crohn’s disease. Thank-you doesn’t seem like enough to express our appreciation to everyone who has helped in large and small ways to get things done at the resort. We also would like to thank all our wonderful guests for being so understanding while things have been rather hectic and different than usual. Last but definitely not least, we are grateful for everyone who has called to check-on and/or has been praying for George and sending well wishes! We know those thoughts have been answered. Sunday, June 6th, 2021 May was a whirlwind at Sunset! The cabins have been mostly full and the fish have been hungry! We have been seeing lots of nice walleyes and walleye limits. We have also seen nice sized sunfish. the last week or so the crappies are starting to come out of hiding so the catches have a lot of variety. You can see many of these on the FishTales page. We would like to express our appreciation to everyone who has offered to helped in large and small ways though these busy first few weeks. A special thank you to Holly, Ginger and the gang for helping with cabins on Memorial Day and to Donnie for continuing to be there whenever we need him. We have a couple openings for July 4th weekend - Call for your reservations now. Tuesday, May 18th, 2021 We have just opened for our 50th!! season at Sunset. We saw some very nice walleye limits come in for everyone looking for them. Check out the FishTales page for pictures. The water has warmed up quickly and is between 57-64 degrees already. We would like to extend a special thank you to Randy & Donnie for all your extra help getting things ready for opening. We really appreciate the helping hand getting odd jobs done around Sunset. Tuesday, May 11, 2021 My, Oh My! Time flies when you are having fun - or something like that. Only 3 days until Walleye opener! We are scurrying around putting finishing touches on things. Cabins are getting mopped and boats are getting prepped this week. We will be ready by Friday. Watch Fish Tales for opening weekend updates. We can’t wait to see everyone again. We have some openings for 2nd fishing weekend - Call for your reservation today! Monday April 26th, 2021 Wow! What a weekend! The Pitzner-Wellner Crew has outdone themselves again! We would like to say THANK YOU to daughter Heidi, grandsons Alex and Billy and to Heidi’s fiance Rick for EVERYTHING they did this past weekend to help us get ready for opening. We have a few pictures to share on the Fish Tales page but not nearly of everything they accomplished. We put in the dock - while there were snow flurries! BRRRR! That’s dedication! Rick & Billy helped George replace the ceiling in cabin #12 and did some plumbing and a pump replacement. George thinks it was easier for them because they are tall and didn’t need ladders. LOL. Speaking of tall, Grandma Sally put Alex to work in the lodge, cleaning and organizing the top shelves she can not reach and cleaning ceiling fans. He also got tasked with cleaning winter tree debris off roof tops. Last, but not least, they moved several pieces of furniture in and out of cabins. We are well on our way to being ready for opening now. We look forward to seeing everyone this summer. Wednesday, April 7th, 2021 Ice is out! It went out Easter Sunday April 4th. This should bode well for walleye opener May 15th. Speaking of opening - preparations are well underway to get ready for spring opening. Cabins are getting their spring cleaning. The yard is getting cleaned up and raked. Boats & motors are getting prepped to be taken out of storage. At least to start this season - One thing hasn’t gone away - COVID-19. We will be following the same COVID-19 cleaning/ distancing / safe practices as we were last year. Cabins will have mattress pads and bottom fitted sheets only and we ask that you provide additional bedding as desired. We think each person can make their own best safety choices, however, at this point masks are required in the lodge per state law. We have learned over the last year to be adaptable - we will adjust as the mandates change. We have openings for May fishing weekends. Call for your Spring fishing trip to Sunset! Sunday, December 13th, 2020 We have almost reached the end of 2020! We hope this finds you and yours healthy and looking forward to a New Year! We would like to wish eveyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Joyous New Year from our house to yours! We have had a very mild winter so far. We do not have very much snow cover yet and just a thin 4-6” layer of ice on the lake. Not enough to make it safe for ice fishing yet. We look forward to seeing everyone next season! Sunday, October 4th, 2020 Just like the blink of an eye, another great season at Sunset is over. We just finished our 49th season and each goes faster than the last. Again, we would like to thank all our guests who continue to come and enjoy the northwoods with us. Today we would like to send out a special note of gratitude to RIck Wellner, Heidi Pitzner, the 3 grandsons - Jake, Bill & Alex along with the rest of the entire crew who came up and helped. This crew worked tirelessly to pull out the dock, stack the dock sections, line up dock pipes, rake leaves, do yard clean up and numerous other fall jobs to get ready for winter shut down. We are very grateful for the help - THANK-YOU ALL! Monday, September 28th, 2020 The weather is getting cooler. The leaves have turned and now are starting to drop. This is a sure sign that the end of our season is just around the corner. We are in the final week, with October 1st being our last day with guests. COVID-19 gave everyone some added challenges this year. We would like to thank all our guests who adapted to the circumstances and helped make this one of our most enjoyable and best years yet! We look forward to seeing you next year! Monday, September 7th, 2020 Fall is in the air! We have had a couple of cooler nights. The leaves are starting to turn. Mother Nature is giving us her warning that Winter is not too far off. Before the snow blows we still have just less than a month left of famously great fall fishing remaining at Sunset. The water is already starting to cool down, which will bring on the fall feeding phenomenon. Call now for your fall fishing trip before our October 1st closing date. We hope to see you one more time this fall at Sunset! Friday, August 21st, 2020 We have been busy here at Sunset catching up on some projects. Sally has been busy tending to her flowers, George to his gardens. We have been gathering the early produce to enjoy with meals and a little extra to can. We are glad baseball is back, makes it seem more like a “normal” summer to have a baseball game on in the lodge. Meanwhile the fish have not noticed any pandemic. They are still hungry when approached with proper bait. George has been getting out occasionally in the evenings to test the waters. There is still time to schedule that late fall fishing trip up north in September. Our leaves will start to turn soon. It is a beautiful time to visit. We have some openings for labor Day weekend as well. Call for reservations soon. Saturday, July 18th, 2020 Hello Summer! We have been enjoying a blast of warm Minnesota summer weather. Mother Nature apparently thought we had too much of a good thing and cooled us off with a couple small and mightly thunderstorms this week to remind us of her power. See Fish Tales for pictures of the hail and the results to our vegetable garden. We are thankful for rain and no major damage to trees and property. Meanwhile, the fish are still hungry. People who are fishing are still finding what they are looking for with a little effort. Now is a great time to book those August and September fishing trips. Call to see if your favorite cabin is available. We’d love to see you at Sunset. Monday, June 22nd, 2020 First, a moment to share some sad news. We received word that Jess O’Grady from Omaha, NE had passed away of natural causes. Jess was a long time guest and good friend. She had been coming to Sunset as long as we have owned the resort. We will miss her. Turning to good news, the weather is shaping up to be more like summer. With warmer weather brings limits of blue gills, crappies and some very nice perch. We are still seeing the big walleyes. They are fun to catch, great to show off, but do not taste as good as the smaller ones - So most people put the big one back after getting a good picture for the Fish Tales page. Saturday, June 13th, 2020 Time flies when you are having fun! We have already been open over a month! We would like to thank our guests who have rolled with the challenges of 2020 and in return reaped the rewards of some great fishing. Be sure to visit the Fish Tales pages to see their catches! The water is warming up and likewise the fish are moving into their summer patterns now. That hasn’t stopped us from seeing limits of all types coming in from those who try. We are VERY EXCITED TO WELCOME BACK CAMPERS as those restrictions have been lifted. Keep in mind, we still have strict social/physical distance rules in place in MN to abide by. We are looking forward to July 4th holiday weekend. We still have a few openings if you would like to join the fun at Sunset! Call for your reservation today. Monday, May 25th, 2020 Memorial Day First, and foremost, we stop to give thanks to all our service men and women, past and present who have given of themselves so that we can live in a free country. We truly are blessed to do what we love every day. We have had a marvelous Memorial Day weekend with many returning guests as well as few new ones. We had lots of limits of blue gills & crappies of very nice sizes. Check out the Fish Tales page for details and smiles. The only down side was we are still not allowed to have campers per the Govenors’s orders, but we are optimistic that after June 1st that will change. As COVID-19 spread slows and things open back up, we look forward to seeing you at Sunset. Call for your reservation now. Saturday, May 9th, 2020 We are open! The Minnesota stay-at-home order is in place. However, people are allowed to leave home for recreational purposes such as fishing. So for now, we are open for our cabin guests but no camping is allowed yet. We are also not allowed to have any campfires (to prevent “gatherings”.) Today was the walleye opener. It was cold with a few flurries in the air this morning. The first fishermen made quick work and were back to the dock with the first limit of the season in under two hours. The water temp is sitting at 52 degrees today. We look forward to a great season and seeing everyone soon! If you do not have your reservation yet, give us a call! Saturday, April 25th, 2020 Ice is out! The ice chose our side of the lake to land on this year. It created quite a mess with our shoreline. We are grateful for Heidi, Rick & Alex coming to help with the shoreline damage from the ice and put in the dock this weekend! Look in the Spring Fish Tales for more photos of ice out and dock progress. In other good news, it sounds like Govenor Walz and the MN Department of Health are letting resorts open as planned. We have to follow social distancing guidelines that will still be in place, and extra cleaning protocols. We look forward to seeing our guests and catching some Sunset fish! Monday, April 13th, 2020 We hope that everyone had a happy & holy Easter season! Here at Sunset - the snow is slowly melting. We even have a little open water at the edges of the lake. I am predicting an early ice out this year. We are cleaning cabins and preparing for opening. In light of the COVID-19 events, when we are allowed to open, we will be making some changes for your safety and ours. The biggest of these is with cabin bedding. We will only be providing a mattress pad and fitted sheet on each bed. You will need to bring additional bedding & pillows of your choice. Please call to reserve your favorite cabin or with any questions. We pray you are staying safe and healthy and hope to see everyone this summer! Tuesday, March 24th, 2020 We want to to express our gratitude, during this time of uncertainty to everyone who has reached out to us via telephone, email or letter to check on us and ask if the resort will be opening this year. We know, that no one knows, what will transpire with COVID-19. April 1st is our traditional start date for getting the resort prepped for the Walleye opener. We plan to do that. First and foremost - we want each of our guests to follow CDC guidance to stay healthy and safe. When you feel safe to travel, we welcome you to Sunset. In the meantime, we still have 3 feet of snow between the house and the lodge making it difficult to navigate the resort just yet. On a positive note: despite the fish refusing to follow the social distancing rules and still swimming in schools, there have been no positive tests for corona virus in fish. Wednesday, January 1st, 2020 As we pause and reflect on the year just ended, we are grateful for our family, guests and friendships, and continued good health. We want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Our wish is for peace in your heart, good health and to make time with family and doing the things that bring you happiness. Life is too short to do anything less.