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!

March comes in like a lamb.....

At least here in northern Indiana it did, so if the saying holds true can we expect it to leave like a lion? Not sure to be honest exactly what that would mean, but at this point I certainly hope it doesn't mean more snow and cold weather. Yes, you guessed it, we have had our fill of winter this year and are really starting to pull for Spring to show up.

Of course this also gets me thinking about camp (like there is ever a day that I don't!), and what getting in this year might look like. As winter holds on-- I think more and more that we might be very fortunate that this is a late opener (May 21) this year. As of this moment the extended seven day forecast for the Perrault Falls area is calling for a high daytime temp during the next week to only reach 19 degrees and overnight lows this coming weekend still around -15 degrees F. BRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, and certainly not the conditions we need to get some ice melting. Now, before everyone calls and cancels their opening week reservations, please note there is still PLENTY of time for things to warm up and the ice to go out (keeping in mind average ice out on Wabaskang is generally around the first week of May anyway) Certainly, WAY to early to push any panic buttons yet, AND on a bright note, the longer the ice hangs in there the better the lake trout fishing is going to be in addition to our typically excellent walleye, pike and perch fishing this time of year.

We would love to be able to supplement our springtime blogs with some stories of our guests. If you have a great story about a past trip to camp, or would just like to share your excitement about an upcoming trip to camp if you are a first timer, please email it to us and we will include your stories in our spring blogs.

In the meantime, think Spring, warmer weather and another season of excellent fishing on Wabaskang!

Road Trippin!

Hi All,

Just a quick blog this time from the road. I am currently in Stillwater, MN staying with a good friend dating back to my public accounting days and trying to get a few administrative details handled while waiting for the start of the Minneapolis All-Canada show this Friday (2/18).

This trip has already covered stops in Sioux Falls,SD; Omaha, NE; St. Cloud, MN; and this weekend Minneapolis. As the show circuit goes, it has been typical in that some of the shows have been very good, some average and some downright poor. One thing that stays constant is that for many show guests who do take the time to visit our booth, they learn quickly that we offer a pretty hard to beat package of remoteness, excellent fishing and affordability. Hopefully, this at least gets us on their "short list"!

With just the one show remaining on this trip, I am really starting to look forward to wrapping up this trip and getting back home. The bummer of this trip is that our daughter Megan is competing in the state finals of ISSMA (Indiana State School Music Association) this weekend and I am going to have to miss it. :-( (Good Luck Megan-you can do it!)

Once back home, there are just a couple of small local shows to attend. One is the Michiana Walleye Association's Sportsmen's Show.

http://www.michianawalleye.org/sportsmansoutdoorshow.com/home.htm

We look forward to maintaining our relationship with this local fishing club and continuing to provide them a free trip to our camp which they in turn raffle off to provide funds for an annual scholarship to a local high school student interested in studying fisheries management or related subject. Great program for which we are glad we can be a part.

Not much left for openings this year, but still some September dates which is a great time to be in camp and experience some terrific fall fishing. Give us a call if you are interested.

Until next time, tight lines!

Winter Wonderland in Northern Indiana

Winter Wonderland

Timing really is everything. As I pulled out of our driveway in the wee hours of January 7th to head to St. Louis for the first show of the year, who would have guessed just a short 24 hours later our area of northern Indiana would be buried in 25" of new snow. Milissa (due to a military commitment) was not able to attend St. Louis with me. Talk about being a hero (or goat as the case may be), I go off to talk fishing and hunting for the weekend, she stays home and clears 25" of snow from the driveway. Now I know what many of you are already thinking, and I couldn't agree with you more. It IS a tough job marketing a camp with all the competition out there, but gosh darn it someone has to do it! As our girls would quickly follow up with in their vernacular JK, JK, JK!!!!! ( for those of you who are teenage text unsavvy that stands for "Just Kidding") Fortunately, we do have a snowblower and Milissa wasn't left home to shovel all that snow by hand, and bless her heart she did a great job and I even managed to gather some new business for camp too, although with the shows it's never easy (read on).

Yea! More of the "white stuff"

After leaving St. Louis, on Monday I headed to Indianapolis to work the Indy (actually in Carmel) All-Canada Show. Milissa would join me on Tuesday of the show. Of course, it started to snow making the 2 1/2 hour drive down to Indy a little more eventful but otherwise fine. Unfortunately after a good night of attendance Monday night, the shows (I think mostly due to weather considerations) attendance on Tuesday took a huge hit with probably only 40-50 people attending the show the ENTIRE six hours. As the show GROUND to a halt Tuesday night, I was quietly considering the events of the last week. I leave for St. Louis, Milissa gets buried with snow. She drives thru the snow on Tuesday to help out in Indy and there are very few show attendees----I can feel the noose tightening. Fortunately, we salvaged the day/night with a great experience at Mitchell's Fish Market in Carmel with some wonderfully fresh seafood and a couple of cold beverages. While there, we also received some excellent service from our waitress who is a Notre Dame Law student and who was working there on Christmas break. Thanks again for the great recommendations and excellent service!

Now it's home (and just so everyone knows: the snow gods are also willing to dump on me), to about six inches of fresh snow as I pull in the drive from Indy. MY turn to get behind the snowblower! Won't be long again now and the second half of the show circuit will be upon us and it will be time to hit the road for South Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota. Let's hope for better weather for travel and at home this time around! Cancellations have been few this year, but a few prime weeks do show a cabin open here or there. Maybe it's the week your looking for!

Until next time--stay warm and I don't think it's too early to (start) thinking spring and that first walleye tap on the end of the line.

Happy New Year!

Hey does anyone know if there is a college football bowl game on tonight? Yea, if it's anything like the last 2 1/2 weeks or this coming week, the answer is  probably "yes". Don't get me wrong, I love watching almost any team play college football, but I have to admit the bowl season is getting a little out of hand. If you are a fan, here is to hoping your team was 1) bowl eligible and 2) brought home a victory (or will be if they are still playing).

We are getting ready to "hit the road", as they say, and start the sport show circuit. None too soon as far as I am concerned, because if I don't get out and at least talk some camp and fishing, I am going to go nuts. This years schedule will take us to the following locales:

St. Louis, MO
Indianapolis, IN

Sioux Falls, SD

Omaha, NE

St. Cloud, MN

Minneapolis, MN

Edwardsburg, MI

You can see the complete show schedule, along with dates and addresses from our website. One thing that is a BIG change for us is that we will not be in Wisconsin this year. We have had a very strong presence in Wisconsin the last several years including two shows in Milwaukee, two in Madison and one in Green Bay last year. This year we decided (despite the many wonderful guests we have booked from Wisconsin in previous years) to "bite the bullet" and make an entrance in some markets we simply have not been able to get to previously. Those markets this year will be Indianapolis, Sioux Falls, Omaha and St. Cloud. As much as we hate to pass on our Wisconsin swing this year, we just simply can't afford to do all the shows we might like to do every year.

We will most certainly miss visiting with our great Wisconsin guests at the shows this year, but at the same time we are looking forward to meeting lots of show attendees in our new markets this year and hopefully even finding a few who will be willing to give us a try for their 2011 trip. We remain extremely confident that for those who do, they will be quite pleased with the camp and our fishing. As usual, there are not a lot of openings for next year already, but there are still a few really good weeks left here and there that I know will provide some excellent fishing to our guests, especially in September which is truly some awesome fishing! If you have never tried fishing Canada in September we encourage you to give it some consideration.

If you are near one of the areas we will be exhibiting, please stop by for a visit and a little fish chat!

Until next time, take care.

Pre-Christmas Activities

Christmas time is always such a busy time of the year with all the shopping, wrapping, holiday parties, kids' Christmas plays, concerts etc. Plenty to keep you busy for sure! Sara just had her 5th grade Christmas concert on Friday and wrapped up a volleyball tournament over the weekend. Allison earlier in the week had her third grade Christmas play "Alvin and the Chipmunks". Megan has been busy with the school choir including her Christmas concert and a trip to the local Barnes & Noble to participate in the choir group Archer Voices and some holiday caroling. Emily has been busy writing, editing, re-writing, re-editing, changing, throwing away and re-starting her Christmas list(S)!

We also have a trip planned to take the girls to Great Wolf Lodge which I think is causing about as much excitement for them as Christmas itself. As for Milissa and I, we knocked a little rust off this past weekend by participating in the WAOR Radio-Outdoor Expo. Although the rainy weather kept the attendance down some, it still felt good to get out and talk about camp, fishing and bear hunting. I miss camp so bad already- I really needed a fix! As part of the radio promotion we had decided to offer a free trip for two to camp next year which was won by Sandy Wilhoit of Edwardsburg, Mi. Congratulations Sandy!--and boy is she ever excited about coming back to Canada as she used to go there regularly with her father and family when she was younger.

Hopefully will be able to get out on safe ice pretty soon for some bluegill and crappie fishing too. Best wishes from our family to yours for a safe, and joyous Holiday Season.