It has been a work-in-progress since the beginning of May, and we are finally there! The official move-in date was on June 25th, but we have been tweaking and moving in for the better part of 5 days. There sure were a lot of things in the old office! However, we are now fully functional inside of the new office, and other than blinds I think we are all setup upstairs as well!

Annika absolutely loves her “nouvelle maison” and her new bed. It’s a bunk bed, so she’s already been building forts and is having all kinds of fun upstairs in her large play area. Martin now has his own room, and although he won’t remember living in the Orion “living room” very much, he is much more comfortable in his new environment. Kody is also alot happier… he has a doggy door and can get inside our screened-in porch anytime to get away from the bugs!

In the largest understatement of the year, Julie and I are super happy to be in our new place. The old one was so cramped and it got dirty instantly! In the new office, we each have a ton of room for all of our computer stuff, our printers, and all the paper and supplies that didn’t fit in the old office! Julie also has a replica of the trophy pike she landed last year on the wall above her desk.  It’s the same one that graces the cover of the 2007 Master Angler’s Guide and several Travel MB ads. Another great feature of the new office is that we also have our own dedicated satellite line so that our phone calls will be much more reliable and clear than before (when everyone shares the broadband, bad connections are a part of life!). The new store is also a wonderful place. Although we haven’t finalized the displays, the new setup allows for people to see the wide array of souvenirs available. In the past, all they could see was the small display in Big Molly’s Bar… now we have an actual storefront!

Last but not least, the upstairs is a dream come true. We have a large spacious master bedroom. Even though we have the same bed as before, Grant built us a beautiful “Sunset” headboard and footboard and now our bed seems so much bigger! The high ceiling allows for a great closet that stores all of Julie’s clothes… not an easy feat! We also have an ensuite and the kids have their own washroom and tub on the other side. The main room is huge and the kids can spread out as much as they like! There are only a few minor things to finish up… the exterior is about 60% done and we want to build a fenced-in area for the kids with a play structure, sandbox, etc; but for all intents and purposes we are very happy and cozy in our new summer home!  When you come up to Aikens, make sure to ask for the tour of the new place!

As part of our continued commitment to our community and to various charities, we donated a trip to the Children’s Wish Foundation so that they could raise funds for the various wishes they make come true! It was our first involvement with this particular charity. Back in February, we attended a fantastic evening and auction at a downtown Winnipeg hotel where the high bidder for our auction, Mr. Nick Leitch of East St-Paul, won a trip for two to fish with burgeoning NHL superstar Jonathan Toews and his father Bryan.

The 19-year old Jonathan Toews, the 3rd overall draft pick in last year’s NHL entry draft, is getting ready for his first pro training camp with the Chicago Blackhawks next fall. However, he already has a long list of hockey credentials… especially in international play! Jonathan has won the World Junior Hockey Championship as a member of Team Canada in back to back years. He was also the star of the under 17 team a few years back. Most recently, after finishing up a distinguished college career with the UND Fighting Sious, he won gold again for Team Canada at this springs IIHF World Hockey Championship. It was his first experience playing with bonafide NHL stars, and he certainly wasn’t out of place! Having grown up in Winnipeg, he is already a local legend who is just about to embark into a long and productive NHL career.

Having never met before, it didn’t take long to realize that Nick and his son Cole seemed like a perfect fit for a trip with Bryan and Jonathan. Cole had just finished up a junior hockey career, and so the families had a lot in common. There were laughs right from the start. On day 2, the good times kept on rolling… especially after a friendly bet the fathers had made with the sons; biggest walleye of the day would have one side sitting at the bar and the other side serving them their drinks all night! The fathers figured they had the competition won when Nick pulled in a 28″ walleye early that day, but as we learned at the World Jr. Championship, Jonathan Toews is a clutch performer (he scored three shootout goals on three attempts to help eliminate the USA in the semi-finals). Jonathan pulled in a 29″ beauty just before meeting up for shorelunch. That night in the bar, the boys were waited on hand and foot! That was the kind of fun they had during the whole trip. All in all, it was a great trip for the hosts, for the winners, but especially for the Children’s Wish Foundation of Manitoba. We hope that the large amount of money raised will help them make a child’s wish come true… who knows - it could be that one day someone will ask to fish at Aikens Lake with Jonathan himself!

This is sort of a quirky news item, but it is of special note to the families that will be coming up to Aikens this summer! We have purchased a trampoline for Annika and eventually Martin, and set it up a few weeks back. This week, there is a three-generational family here with 5 children under 12 years old. They have been having a blast on the new trampoline. In fact, they are having so much fun that they stayed back in camp all day today to play on the trampoline!
As the new office continues to get closer and closer to completion, we will start adding more outdoor activities for children. We are planning on building a play structure, a sandbox, and have more toys for the kids to enjoy the outdoors! We are truly a family-owned and family-operated lodge!

For years and years, we had a cow Moose that would use the peninsula as a safe haven in the spring. We would often see her and her calf eating in Frosty’s Cove (the last bay on the right before leaving the back bay). It was always a safe place for her to protect her calf as she was covered by water on three sides and our camp on the other. Unfortunately we had not seen her in about 6 years, and no other mama moose had found that little Eden… until this year!

We’ve often seen a young cow (3-4 years old) and her calf in Frosty’s Cove. Today, I guess she got scared (or brave), and wandered into camp! Janelle was going for a jog down our jogging path but before she even got there, she saw this moose standing in our volleyball court! Not soon after, our dog Kody picked up the scent and drove her all the way through camp, around buildings, and eventually down the beach! We did not see the calf, but Denis figures that the mother was luring Kody away from her young one, and that they have probably re-united now and are back in Frosty’s Cove. It’s probably safe to assume that this will be the last time she ventures this way!

This has been a great season for big fish. We are way ahead of last year’s trophy pace… but not only that - we have already boated the largest trout since 1999 (42″) and the largest walleye in the last few years (31″). In-Fisherman staffers Jim Besenfelder and Mike Bentler are here to host two of their good clients, Doug Long from Denver and Jesse Simpkins from Illinois. Doug is an avid fly-fisherman and has been catching tons of great fish on his fly! In fact, yesterday he landed 6 pike over 36″ on his fly… the largest of which was 40″. Fly fishing has never really caught on at Aikens because there is such a short time frame in which it will be successful, but when the time is right (late-May to mid/late June) it can be a deadly presentation. To our recollection, no one has ever caught a trophy pike on a fly here, so Doug’s 40″ is likely the fly-fishing record for the lake!

Not to be outdone, Jesse Simpkins had other ideas. He wasn’t using a fly rod, but instead a jig with Gulp minnow on it. He was fishing with Pat at the entrance of the Back Bay. It was still early in the morning, and Jesse was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes when this monster hit! He told Pat “This is a big fish”… Pat said “Yeah, I can see that!”. They had been slowly moving around with the Minn Kota electric motor, and now Pat had to chase down this monster but only had a top speed of 1.5 miles an hour! They finally did catch up to it, and it rose to the surface like a submarine. Pat said that seeing that gigantic head come up was a thrill of a lifetime. He quickly scooped it into the net, but about 1/3 of the fish was flopping out because it was so bloody long! Pat prayed that it didn’t have any kicks left in it, and luckily it complied. The jig came flying out of its mouth as Pat put the net on the floor of the boat. Jesse and Pat both breathed a huge sigh of relief, then marvelled at the beast that was now in their boat. As you can see in the pictures, that head is enormous. The fish measured 49″ x 19.5″ girth. We had a 48″ x 18″ on a digital scale once, and it weighed 33 lbs… so Jesse’s fish could have broken 35lbs. What an incredible fish and a great story. This 49″ is going to be a top 10 (maybe top 5) fish in our province this year… not bad for a little old walleye lake! Congrats Jesse, now you have time to rest your arms after struggling to hold that whale for pictures! (ps - to see larger versions of the pictures just right click them and select “view image”)

Sorry about the lack of updates lately… Julie and I brought the kids back to Winnipeg for the weekend because Julie was a bridesmaid for her good friend Tara’s wedding!  Gerry and Lorraine were at the lodge to manage the staff and to take care of our clients during that time.  Here are a few notes on what was happening while we were away:

-The Tom Lynch party from KC had a great first experience at Aikens Lake, landing a trophy walleye and a trophy pike.

-The staff had their annual “barge party” where they anchored the barge at the Honeyhole and caught many slot walleyes.  The Free Press had given us fishing vests so we decided that these would be donated to the big fish winners of the barge party.  Points ended up winning it on the men’s side, and Aisha won it on the women’s side - in last second fashion - with a 26.5″ walleye just before sundown!

-Michael Ruch of Grand Rapids brought his twin boys Spencer and Parker here for their high school graduation.  They are the last of 5 boys that Michael has rewarded with a trip to Aikens.  Spencer caught a 43.5″ pike in Moosehead bay!

-The Manitoba Moose Yearling Foundation charity trip was a success.  Craig Heisinger (GM of the MB Moose) and asst. coach Brad Berry hosted Derek and Maria Johannson.  They caught boatloads of fish and had a great time.

-Bill Walker brought his son Ben.  Ben caught a trophy walleye and showed his dad how to catch the really big ones!

-The construction continues and Ursa Major is now getting close to being ready to move in.  Julie and Pit are very excited about the move-in.  The flooring guys arrive today, and all the doors and windows are now in place.  Should be another 7-10 days before it’s completely ready!

We have always strived to manage as “green” a camp as possible. GGO is a totally ecological building with solar power, composting toilets, and energy efficient appliances and lighting. Over the years, we’ve also done alot at the main camp. We’ve gone to 4-stroke engines for all our boats, we use composting system for our food scraps, we’ve begun using water pumps for our heating and cooling, and we are switching much of the camp over to fluorescent lighting. Another big step in our “green” process is to introduce a re-circulating hot water line throughout camp. This expensive coil is the one you saw the helicopter bring in (May 22 news item). It is designed for exactly this purpose… the main 6″ pipe is full of insulation and two 1″ lines (the to and from water lines) are found in the middle of it. We just finished trenching it all and it is scheduled to be hooked up next week. Essentially, we are eliminating all of the individual hot water tanks between the lodge and the other end of camp (our new laundry facility). This will save us power for 5 hot water tanks and propane for another 2. The line will continually circulate over 200 gallons of water and the water will be reheated faster than you can shower! It took alot of bodies to pull this gargantuan pipe through the trenches, but the dirty deed is done and Aikens is all the better for it!

Steve and Brad White are already Aikens Lake veterans, having each caught a trophy in their “rookie season” last summer. However, even in their wildest dreams they didn’t imagine to have a day like this on Aikens! Fishing with Pat, they sat on Chris’s Corner all day (literally all day!) and caught huge walleye and trout non-stop. By jigging and trolling the 45 foot range, they pounded big fish all day. Steve estimates that out of the 50 or so fish they caught, at least 40 of them were slot sized or larger! Here’s a recap of their fantastic day:

Walleyes: 31”, 28.25”, 28”, 2 @ 27.5”, 6 @ 27”, who knows how many @ 25-26”.

Trout: 33”, 31”, 2@ 30”, who knows from 26-30”!!!

The big 31” walleye was caught shortly after shorelunch by Brad. Steve, his father, was not to be outdone so he landed the other two trophy walleye later that afternoon. What a great day of fishing for some very deserving people! Congratulations on all the big fish and the even bigger smiles.

Charlie and Turbo are both avid canoeists. Charlie brought his handmade canoe (called the Freddy Fudpucker) to Aikens last year and spent a lot of time in it during the evening. Last summer, Charlie and Turbo decided to take a day-trip to Bonaventure. That day, they caught a bunch of small walleye and even found a wolf den during their shore-supper!

They had been talking about doing it again all winter. This year, they didn’t waste any time and decided to go in today! After Turbo said goodbye to the Scholtens group, whom he’d guided for the past few days, they packed up the canoe and took off. They spent another great day in Bonaventure catching walleye and slot pike. However, their goal of catching a trophy from the canoe seemed to be a faint hope as they were approaching the main beach. Turbo was paddling hard to make it home, but Charlie was slowing down the canoe and drawing them closer to “Inspiration Point” (the point right off the steps of the main lodge). All of a sudden, Charlie’s rod bent in two. Turbo thought they were snagged, but then he saw a head shake and the drag started screaming! The fish was pulling the canoe into deep water! Turbo was paddling like a mad man to keep up with the trout, but there was little they could do! Finally, the trout slowed down and hunkered on the bottom for several minutes. They were unable to budge it, so Turbo tried to paddle into shore to get it to start moving… start moving it did! Another crazy run and more drag. The battle raged on for over 15 minutes before the tables finally turned. They got it into the net and then paddled into shore quickly for a measurement and some pictures. The trout ended up being 41”, the second monster laker that Turbo has netted in the past four days! They released it right off the beach and thanked it for the fantastic battle! Charlie has now caught a trophy fish out of his handmade canoe… and has a spot on Aikens named after it… Fudpucker’s Folly!

Last fall, the Winnipeg Free Press sent one of its very important consultants to Aikens as a reward for his hard work. It was the first time that they had sent somebody to our lodge, and everybody on that trip had a fantastic time and it led to one of the Free Press reporters coming up during our PWT Shootout. Gary Lawless wrote a very flattering article about our lodge, our staff, and our five-star experience!

This year, the Free Press brought a large group. Its publisher, Mr. Andy Ritchie, was thrilled with his trip as he brought many of his top executives, along with many of their large customers to the lodge. The customers were spoiled by the Free Press, as they were given brand new St-Croix fishing rods and rod cases, and a few cases of expensive wines were also brought in. The first day had a bit of a late start, as fog delayed the flights in until the late morning. However, as soon as the fog lifted it was an absolutely gorgeous day! The fishing was fantastic, and although no trophies were caught there were many slot walleye and pike landed. Day 1 action ended late in the night with Pépe, one of the invitees from the Free Prees, entertaining everyone with his guitar in Big Molly’s Bar. Another group member Brian even sang a few requests, and he was even able to get Pit & Julie to dance in center stage with his rendition of the Turtles’ “So Happy Together” (trust me… that’s not an easy thing to do!)

The sun decided not to peek out in Day 2, and it was drizzling all day. That, however, didn’t prevent another great night in Big Molly’s Bar! As you read in the previous news article, everybody got together after supper and watched game 3 of the Stanley Cup final via an online stream. Afterwards, Pépe was once again entertaining the crowd, but this time he had some help from his new friends Turbo, Julien, Paul. Heck, even some of the Free Press guys (like Agostino) would join in for a couple of songs! Jimmy and Elise brought out a monster buffet for the bar crowd. It was another great night and the “Aikens Experience” was really sinking in for the group.

The final day was another beautiful one. Shaun Dufresne caught a 28.5” walleye in the Back Bay while fishing with Pat. They had pinpointed a school of very large fish using a patented bottom-bouncing troll with crawlers. The trip ended with a late shorelunch, group picture, and a late afternoon flight back to Winnipeg. We truly enjoyed showing the people at the Winnipeg Free Press what the “Aikens Experience” is all about, and we know that we will get the opportunity to do this again in the future!  Thanks to everyone who was a part of a great weekend at Aikens Lake.