Still searching....

For spring that is. Talk about some crazy weather... on Sunday April 10th here in Granger we hit a high of 82 degrees. One week later, we had minor snow flurries. C'MON!! Unfortunately, this crazy temperature pattern held true in Ontario also, with the last week reverting to daytime highs in the 30's and 40's and overnight lows in the teens. Yeah, I know thats MAKING ice, not MELTING ice. Now the good news is that rain and warmer temps are in the forecast again for this week which will help to get things going again.

Most reports I have from the area are indicating anywhere from 16-24 inches of ice on area lakes and still tight to the shore on the bigger waters. Fortunately, most accounts are also reporting that very little of the remaining ice is "good" ice with lots of slushy layers between. So once things get moving it should (with just a little help from Mother Nature) go pretty fast.

UPDATE: Village Corner

Many of you have asked in emails, phone calls or by other means about the status of the Village Corner (gas station, restaurant and tackle store) located at the junction of Hwys 17 and 105 in Vermilion Bay. There has been no progress made to date in starting any rebuilding and so the likelihood of any reopening for the 2011 season appears slim. Bobby's Corner to the west about a mile is still open for gas, phones, tackle or other last minute supplies if necessary, as of course will be Dutchie's General Store right there in Perrault Falls. Some cell service is available in Vermilion Bay as well, depending upon who your carrier is. If you are calling by cell to arrange pickup at the landing, I would strongly suggest pulling off the highway right in Vermilion Bay to place that call as the reception can get pretty sketchy as soon as you have headed north on Hwy 105.

On a final note and as evidence that spring (despite many outward appearances) is HONESTLY getting here, I have one more local fishing story to share. A friend of mine back from the days of my involvment in the Michiana Steelheader's called me last week to see if I was available for some bluegill fishing. We had actually tried this once before about two weeks prior with little success and left the lake with a consensus opinion that "spring isn't here yet". Well on Thursday, April 14th we decided to try it again. This time with much better success as we caught about 75 bluegill on the day, culling through about 25 of the smaller ones, to keep a two man Michigan limit of 50 fish mostly in the 7-9 inch range. What a treat it was to have fresh bluegill for dinner on Friday night! After not getting in any ice fishing this year, those bluegill fillets sure didn't last long on our table with Milissa and the girls chowing down like it was their last meal (and I guess I probably ate a couple of pieces myself)! May just have to try that again one more time before heading north!

Just a few of our 50 fish limit...gosh were they good!

Until next time--keep thinking Spring and some excellent fishing on the cool, clear waters of Wabaskang Lake.

Spring update

Hey everyone,

Hope you are enjoying the very slow and deliberate arrival of Spring this year. After being teased weeks ago with some temperatures in the seventies, it has been a treat since to get a sunny day in the 50's. Despite the cooler temperatures, I actually had a chance to get our boat (TrebleTime) out on Lake Michigan twice recently for some early spring coho salmon fishing. After neglecting the boat for nearly the last five years ( being in camp all summer, the home fishing season is pretty short ya know), it sure felt great to get her back in the water. It required a lot of cleanup, mechanical issues to address, new trailer tires and a handful of other things, but on the morning of March 31, we set in at Michigan City, IN for her "maiden" voyage in quite some time.

As luck would have it, the fishing Gods blessed us with some incredible spring salmon fishing which produced a three man limit in just two hours of fishing. It felt really great to be back on the water again, and also to know that I hadn't forgot EVERYTHING about setting downriggers, planer boards etc. that come with fishing the big lake.

With having a such a good time on the shakedown trip, and a favorable weather forecast for the next day, I decided to try to find a boat partner for the next day and return to the scene. Whereas the day before the lake had a pretty good residual chop on it left over from the previous days winds, this trip greeted us with NO wind and a lake as smooth as glass. Not necessarily the best conditions (sometimes) for fishing, but certainly pleasurable to us and comfortable to fish in. Any concerns about the smooth lake hampering the fishing were quickly put to rest as the first salmon came to the net about 10 minutes into the trip. A short hour and 20 minutes later, we were pulling rods to head in with another limit (2 man this time). Not quite the adventure and beauty of fishing Canada, but after a LONG winter it just felt great to be on the water again.

Speaking of Canada....rumors from Ontario also say that spring is SLOWLY arriving. Forecasted temperatures for much of this week and into next are in the mid 40's with some possible rain (come on RAIN!) and snow (yuck!). Still a lot of ice on the lakes, but nothing some warmer temps, rain and winds can't fix in short order if mother nature continues to trend the right way.

Approximately one more short month at home before heading up to open camp and as usual there still feels like a ton of things to get done between now and then to make the transition up north. As always, we are excited about another season drawing closer, as we know all of you are too. We look forward to hosting our guests again this summer and providing you an excellent fishing and/or family vacation with us. Stay tuned for more information regarding the status of ice out on Wabby.

Until then take care and hope to see you all in camp soon!