Still waiting....

Well I was hopeful that my next blog entry would be done from camp and with a "first-hand" update on ice conditions on the North end of Wabby. Those hopes were dashed in a five minute phone conversation with Wayne Clark from Clark's Northern Lights resort. Wayne got a plane in the water and was kind enough to do a fly over camp for me to assess the situation. Unfortunately, his report was not  good. Miller's Bay (around  the corner from camp) is still locked tight  with ice making it impossible still to sit a plane down there.

With weather conditions forecast this week (some rain and chance of thundershowers) the next feasible possibility to fly in would probably be Wednesday. Now from my perspective, while very "tight" in terms of turning camp around and being ready to open, it can be done. We faced a similar situation in 2008 and I was amazed how much you can get done in a 24 hour work day! IF we can get there Weds or Thurs, camp will be ready to open Saturday.

The weather forecast is for high temps in the 50's and 60's for most  of the week with chances of rain most every day beginning this afternoon and continuing thru Weds. Let's hope that holds up (the rain),  although it would be nice to  see a forecast with 70's and even 80's (remember last year). Just like during the season: there just isn't a darn thing anyone can do about the weather. Stay tuned for more updates, and remember when the ice finally decides to go, it can happen practically overnight.

Tick, tock, tick, tock......

as time SLOWLY passes waiting for ice out. I'm  joining you this morning from the Trillium hotel and restaurant in Ear Falls where we have stayed the last couple of nights trying to patiently await ice out. Patience is a virtue, right? It also happens to not be one of my stronger ones, especially when I want and NEED to get to camp so desperately.

We got into the area late Wednesday afternoon and saw pretty much what we expected. LOTS of ice, getting  darker,  but  still lot's of  it. I knew when we were still 100 miles south of International  Falls and the Minnesota lakes were still completely iced over that we were in trouble! I was certainly expecting to see ice, just not 100 miles south of the border still.

Not all has been lost while stranded here roadside as we have managed to get some things accomplished. We got our major supply run for the first part of our season to Kenora out of the way. We got the passenger boat picked up  from  the marina,  washed her up a little and got it in the water ready to go (see: "waiting for ice  out" above). The red trash truck needed a little maintenance that  we got taken care of also with a front tire that dry rotted out over the winter and a battery that  will  no longer hold a charge. Rest assured the red "Bentley" will be ready to haul trash again this year!

In addition, the roadside dock required a little spring maintenance as the hardware that holds the two dock sections together was holding  on by a thread with most of the lag bolts pulling out over the winter.  A couple  new lags and some bolts, nuts and washers and it  is also ready to go.

Unfortunately, it looks like it will still be a last minute decision on opening week. I think, with the warmup forecast for next week we will  make it, but won't know for sure until I can get into camp and assess the ice condition on the big lake which will be the last to go. Speaking  of  getting into camp, I am hopeful that early this week the ice is gone from Miller's Bay and we can sit down in a float plane to hike into camp. We can be ready to rock in just a couple of days provided we can get there!

I have posted a few pics of ice conditions from around  the lake/area on our Facebook page so I won't repost them here. Look for some more on Facebook over the next couple of days.

Well as the snow starts to fall here in Ear Falls, I will sign  off and attend to my breakfast. Until next time, send warm thoughts AND weather!

Ice is out!

Here in Indiana that is.... (gotcha) and actually has been for some time now! With open water calling, I did have the opportunity to squeeze in a couple of bluegill fishing trips. First one with limited success (half a dozen) and the next one much better with a total of 28 nice 'gills most around 8-9". Amazing how quickly fishing fortunes can change, sounds familiar even when you are up in camp. It's generally not a matter of IF you are gonna catch fish, it's more about am I in the right spot at the right time.

I'm not the only one getting in a little spring fishing.....


Ben and CJ Holbrook from a recent bass tournament.

CJ Holbrook with a big bass from the tournament. He and brother Ben finished 3rd. Can't wait to school you again this summer walleye fishing CJ! (got a feeling I'm gonna regret that)

Perry Tonn with a hawg walleye caught from a "secret" spot in Wisconsin.

Ok, so what about ice conditions for Wabaskang? Well we are hearing that there is still ice along the shores of the channel where the roadside landing is, so that certainly is not very encouraging. On the other hand, we have heard reports from Red Lake that there is "only" about 16" of GOOD ice there, which as contrary as it sounds, is actually good news as I would have expected there to be more to be honest.

We expect to be in Perrault Falls by mid-week next week and should be able to give you some first hand reports at that time. We certainly don't expect to be boating into camp next week, but we can get a few things accomplished roadside and try to get a report on ice conditions in Miller's Bay with hopes of chartering a flight CLOSE to camp.

Stay tuned and THINK SPRING!

One day at a time....

I guess that's how everyone with opening week bookings is taking it right now. For that matter so are we. Fortunately temperatures are trending upwards for the Perrault Falls area, but there is still a lot of work for mother nature to do as local reports still indicate over a foot of snow on the ground and LOTS of ice still on the lake. Still too early to hazard a guess as to the exact ice out date, but my gut tells me we are going to be pushing close to opening day (May 18).

We still have plenty to do here in our preparations for the move North, but I think I'm going to take advantage of some nicer weather here locally in the morning for some bluegill fishing. One good bluegill fry should get us through until we can get some walleye in camp! Sure wish I had time to find a few morels to fry up with some fish!

Stay tuned and we will try to get some more reports for everyone next week.

Rethinking last Blog title.....

Spring is almost here? Well the weather the last couple of weeks certainly has me rethinking that one! I guess you have to take the good with the bad. Although the crummy spring weather has significantly cut into some time on the water fishing salmon on Lake Michigan and chasing bluegills and crappies on local inland lakes, the good news is that this extra time at home has given me a jump start on some of the "move North" preparations.

Unfortunately, it appears that Spring is even slower arriving around Perrault Falls as local sources tell us that there is still A LOT of snow on the ground and ice on the lakes which already has me wondering/worrying about being able to get into camp this year hopefully around May 8. If my memory serves me correctly (feel free to insert joke here), it was our 2008 season that resulted in our flying out to camp and walking in the back way as a result of the late ice out. Here are a few pictures of that experience.

Looks like the "old" camp prior to new siding on all the cabins. Still way too much ice in 2008 to make it to camp by boat so...

We just hired a couple of planes to fly us out, land in Miller's Bay and hike the bush into camp the back way.
 

Regardless, we do what we have to and will certainly be in camp and ready to go come opening morning May 18th!

Despite the weather conditions, we have managed two trips onto Lake Michigan for a little spring salmon action. While much slower fishing than we are accustomed to during the Spring, primarily do to the water being "dirty" from all the wind we have had, it was still great to get some family members out on the water....

 



Nephew Chris with a nice 25" Brown Trout on his first Lake Michigan trip



Allison was pretty happy with her first Lake Michigan fishing trip with Dad

Don't hesitate to share some of your spring fishing photos with us! Feel free to post them on our Facebook page or group or email them to us and we will be happy to post them for you!






 

Almost Spring and Shows are Over!

Which is a great feeling on both accounts to be honest. Really looking forward to the arrival of Spring and some warmer temps and it's good to have the show season for another year behind us. We generated a little extra business from each show we attended this year so we are looking forward to hosting some more new faces in camp and hope they will soon discover why so many of our guests become regulars with us.

Hard to believe that the season opens in just two months from today! That certainly pulls a trigger in our minds in terms of starting to think about camp more and the logistics involved in moving back to paradise for the summer. Of course for me, it also gets me thinking about getting out and doing a little open water fishing here for some panfish and also chasing some salmon and trout on Lake Michigan. Hopefully my 18' Tracker Targa will find its way home from winter storage soon!

To all of our guests who came out for a visit along the show circuit we wish to say "thank you" for stopping by the booth for a visit. We realize that it can be difficult to chat sometimes when the shows are real busy, but we always enjoy what time we do get to catch up with you and continue to be extremely appreciative for all the great things you share with other show guests about the camp. Thanks again!!

If you haven't already discovered our new page on Facebook, please check us out and give us a "Like" at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Peffleys-Canadian-Wilderness-Camp/518316711547563

Hope everyone has a great Spring. Until next time.....

March approaches....

I know. Hard to believe it's almost March already. Overall another very mild winter here in N. Indiana, and certainly spring is around the corner soon. Temps in Perrault Falls, on the other hand remain, shall we say: just a bit "cooler". Plenty of ice this year and more snow cover than in recent winters we are told.

Only one more road trip for the season, a trip to Cedar Falls, IA. Nice folks in Iowa, have many, many loyal campers from Iowa and we look forward to talking a little fishing/hunting with them when we make a visit.

In case you haven't seen our new YouTube videos, check them out on our YouTube channel called "Peffscamp". Excuse us for not having a lot of content out there right now, but we are only getting started and we hope to supplement our normal in-season photo gallery/blog/Facebook entries with an occasional video or two throughout the season. Hope it pumps you up and gets you ready to go fishing, as I have to admit just watching it fires me up and I'm in camp every day!! Check out the channel, subscribe to it, and you can fish vicariously through others when you are not in camp!!

Bookings look good, but as all camp owners would say "there's always room for a couple more"! Including what we would call some GREAT weeks of fishing, so if you are still looking for an excellent trip at a very affordable rate give us a look!

Until next time, take care and count down the days to the May 18th opener!