On May 3rd, we landed at Aikens to start a new season! We are very excited about this year for a number of reasons, including the amount of people that we will have the opportunity to host, and this was a great day to get it all started. The first thing we noticed as we circled above the lodge for our approach was how low the water is. There are many rocks that were deep under water last year that are prominently sticking out of it this year (including the 3 mothers, Split Rock, Beacon Reef). Last year the water peaked at about 11" above our new dock. This spring it is a full 5' lower than our dock! This bodes really well for the fishing in 2010. There are less spawning areas so that means there will be fewer minnows in the lake. This means the bigger fish will be searching a bit harder for food, and what better thing to eat than a jig tipped with a shiner? The low water also means that the fish will be less scattered than they were last year. We were catching big walleyes off our dock throughout the entire season in 2009. There was 10' of water there and it wasn't very warm because our temps were below average. This year, there is only about 4' of water at the end of the dock, so as the water warms up this spring the fish will be forced to venture into the main body of water to find the colder temps they prefer. When the walleyes hit their classic mid-summer spots on the reefs in the main lake, the fishing is just unbelievable!

The camp is in great shape. Other than a few broken branches here and there, nothing was damaged over the winter. Animals did seem to enjoy walking through camp. We spent our first day doing exactly what we always do...Charlie got the kitchen opened up and ready, Pit got the computers and communications up, Leo got the power and hot water going, and Pat got boats in the water for an evening of fishing. This year we did have more help as Marcel, Maurice, Grant, and Gerry also came in. The first fish of the year was a small pike caught by Gerry off the main dock. Pat caught his first only a few feet away as we started trolling the Back Bay... it was also a small pike. We trolled the Back Bay and Split Rock, and did some casting at the Falls. We did manage to pickup a great stringer of walleyes at the Honeyhole. Those fresh walleyes tasted so good later on that evening! We can't wait to share all this beautiful wilderness with you this summer! Stay tuned for more frequent updates now that we are at Aikens for the season.

Opening Day 2010!