Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting an Aikens-themed evening in Lincoln, Nebraska. Patrick and Pit travelled with fresh Manitoba walleye in tow to satisfy their invitees craving for an authentic shorelunch experience.

With the gracious help of a few of our valued guests, the event was a resounding success! Having rented a room at “The Knolls” restaurant and golf course, a crowd of over two dozen past and future guests of Aikens united to hear and remind themselves of how special the “Aikens Experience” is.

After a short presentation that gave everyone in the room a concise overview of all the amenities, services, and fantastic trophy fishing available at Aikens Lake, everyone was treated to a delicious walleye meal. The restaurant prepared the fish in our authentic Cajun seasoning (which we provided for them) as well as our classic lemon pepper walleye. Beans, potatoes, corn, bread, and cookies filled out the menu. To wash it down, a few genuine Labatt’s Blue products came in very handy (Thank you very much Knox!)

We were blown away with the reception that our Nebraskan hosts extended towards us. We were picked up almost immediately the night we arrived to share some wings, beer, and laughs with Knox and Boo. The following afternoon, we were treated to a VIP tour of Memorial Stadium and the Nebraska University Athletics department. This was capped off when legendary Coach Osborne invited us into his office to chat about fishing for nearly 20 minutes. He has many great stories from his adventures into Canada and we hope to host him at the lodge someday! Thanks Jonathan for showing us your alma mater and letting us stand on the field you once patrolled for an NCAA Championship Dynasty!

The concept of hosting “shoresuppers” such as this one is an idea that was originally started by Gerry in the mid-90’s. Although we have hosted similar events in the past few years close to home in Winnipeg and Brandon, MB, this past week’s experience has certainly rekindled this powerful form of marketing abroad. We hope to expand these efforts into other cities and venues for the 2012 season. We are already thinking about adding shoresupper dates to complement a few of our sport show destinations next winter. If you think that your hometown is a likely candidate, please do discuss this with us at the lodge this summer.

We would like to thank all the attendees and especially our organizers and hosts who helped us with all the logistics and also were able to fill the room with such great people. Even after such a uniquely delicious meal, our hunger to return to Aikens is stronger than ever!

Nebraska Shorelunch