Still May in Ontario

Although a lot of the midwest (including back home in Indiana) is experiencing weather much more like July with temperatures in the 90's, I can assure you this week it still feels like May here. Lot's of rain, stronger winds, and today a few snow flakes mixed in for good measure have so far been the story of the week. Bet the guys from last week are glad they were here for the opener!  While pretty uncomfortable conditions for our guests while fishing, the walleye, pike and smallmouth really haven't seemed to notice. Despite limited time on the water, guests are continuing to do extremely well with fish. Fortunately for us a 5 or 10 minute boat ride has them on excellent spots and they can fish a couple hours, limit out and be back to the warmth of their cabins.

One of our favorite pictures from opening week. Dylan Quiggle, Tony Wieczorek and Mason McGowan are all smiles with a limit of walleyes they helped their Dads catch. This is what it's all about!

The weather has also slowed our ability to get many outdoor projects done so far this week. We did manage to get the rest of the treated lumber into camp yesterday to finish the new deck being built onto the lodge. Now if the weather will cooperate maybe we can actually use it. I will try to get a few more pictures from last week on the website soon and if you were in camp last week and have some email them to me and I will get them posted.

Until next time,

No really, it is Opening Day...

Very mild temperatures (low 70's), mixed with high humidity sure didn't make it feel like opening day yesterday however. The walleye sure didn't mind as cloudy skies, intermittent rain showers and enough wind for a good "walleye chop" on the water made for ideal conditions for opening day and the fish responded accordingly. Excellent fishing was par for most of the day with a lot of walleye caught and many guests releasing fish from 18-24 inches. Numerous pike in the 30"+ range were also caught throughout the day and several guys reported having HUGE pike follow their hooked walleyes right to the boat. By late afternoon, a front was upon us which brought some more rain and unfortunately stronger winds and a dramatic cool down. Most everyone reported that the walleye bite remained "on" but not nearly to the extent of the incredible action previous to the fronts arrival. All in all a great way to open the season and the action so far today has been just as good. Looking forward to seeing you all in camp soon and having you get in on the action! Be sure to watch the website for new pictures in the photo gallery.





There I was.....

back in the wild again, and I felt right at home where I belong. I had that feeling coming over me again, just like it happened so many times before....The spirit of the woods is like an old good friend, makes me feel warm and good inside....

For those not adept at playing name that tune... it's "Fred Bear" from Ted Nugent and a pretty appropriate theme for me after I've made my way back to camp. At the same time, it remains difficult to leave Milissa and the girls behind to finish school, military assignments et al..... but it's a dance we have grown accustomed to.

I made it into camp Monday afternoon, not quite beating a rain shower, but it could have been much worse had it been raining hard. The lake level looks to be about the same as it was in October when we shut down the camp and came home. However, I understand in the past couple of weeks it has come up about 7 inches to get to this level!

Camp looks good overall, especially now that she got a new haircut yesterday, as the mild weather really had the lawn at an accelerated state of growth. Water pump quit working yesterday after two days of working perfectly, but that's just the way things roll here in the wild. Think it's an electrical issue, but should have it resolved today so no need to bring extra pails to fetch water from the lake!

Ray and Marilyn will arrive in Dryden on Friday (May 11), so by Saturday morning it will be full steam ahead with camp opening and trust me there is still plenty to do. Looking forward to seeing everyone again soon!