We are proud to announce that we will be doing 9 Sportshows this winter in various cities. Our tour stops will include Chicago, Kansas City, St-Louis, Omaha, Milwaukee, Madison, Denver, Minneapolis, and Sioux Falls. You can check out the dates at: http://www.aikenslake.com/media/shows.htm

Well, it’s official! The season is over and we are proud to announce that the new high water mark for fishing at Aikens Lake is 254 trophy fish in one summer! Here is the breakdown… Walleyes(226), Northern Pike (5), Lake Trout (7), Whitefish (16), Burbot (0), and Perch (0). It is pretty obvious to see that the walleye fishing at Aikens Lake is second to none! Congratulations to all of our valued guests… without you we would never reach these wonderful totals! Thankyou!

Well, another season has come and gone at Aikens Lake. The fishing was incredible all season, we had another incredibly friendly staff, and we had some of the nicest guests in recent memory. New records for number of Master Anglers caught, most Master Angler Walleyes, and best Master Angler per guest ratio were set. Although the bar is high, we know we can beat it next season! Have a great winter from all of us at Aikens Lake!

Nobody could have predicted the amount of big fish that have been caught in the past week! The fishing has been utterly amazing. Big fish are being pulled in the boats left and right! The old record of 211 trophy fish in a season was surpassed at the end of August and now there is no end in sight for the soaring trophy count! The fall turnover has come and gone and the walleyes are on a feeding frenzy. They are all gorging themselves in hopes of fattening up enough so that they may spend a very lethargic winter! The girths are expanding daily and the pictures are going to be dynamite! Stay tuned as the final count will not be known until October 4th. Our bold prediction of 250 last week is now yesterday’s news. Can we hit 275???

Here is a wonderful letter that we got from Mrs. Linda Williams. She had organized a trip for her husband, and she could not be happier with the result! “Lorraine, Just wanted to drop you a note to let you know that our trip could not have been better!! Thank you for your help and organization. The Staff was wonderful, the fishing was great, food was outstanding (we have, in our group, made a couple of the recipes that were given to us). All of the Williams’ just could not be happier with our Aikens Lake experience and we want you to know that. If we can be of any service to you, please let us know. We would be happy to be a reference, if you are ever asked for one. Again, it was perfect - Lyle will always remember his 60th Birthday present. Regards, Linda Williams” ps - Look for a description of Mrs. Williams’s trophy walleye in our “Master Angler” page!

The fishing continues to be red hot as we are now at 226 “Master Angler” fish. The majority of these have been walleyes (which need to be 28″ or better to qualify!). The walleyes are feeding voraciously on the deep lake drop-offs right now. At last report, most were being caught between 25-35 feet. You can expect the walleyes to go deeper as the end of our season gets closer. Depths of 40-45 feet for good schools of walleye is not out of the question. As for the pike, they are moving back into the shallows as the cold nights have cooled down the water temperatures significantly. The lakers are still in the deep water but have not been active lately.

Here is a report from ex-guide Rob Jounot, who was up at the lodge this past weekend to lend a helping hand (ed. note… dinkers = small walleye, horses and pigs = huge walleye) “Didn’t get to fish as much as I woulda liked, but overall was very good. Friday we fished all day. Lots of dinkers at Bear, South Shore, South Gull, and South arm. 2 Trophies at south arm within 15 miunutes around 5:15 PM. Mine was 28.5 and older looking. Was still healthy though, unlike some other south arm fish, and had a very nice girth. Meg’s was very young and a little over 28. Fought like a trout and headed straight for 45 feet of water. I though she had a trout. Her luck is unbelievable…48″ pike last year, record breaker trophy this year…gotta love it! Got up early on Saturday and caught dozens of dinks at bear, marked huge. Fishing in 32-40 feet all the time. Headed to Middle gull and marked nothing but horses and pigs. It was like a freakin farmyard there. Caught nothing but slots between 26-27″. One was 28. That lasted only about 30mins (caught maybe 6 in total) but was great, and then dinkerville moved in. Saddle held nothing, much like the previous day (Chris’ corner either). On Sunday I hit the saddle (after another dinkfest at bear) and marked plenty of small fish. Must’ve caught about 50 walleye (no joke) in an hour. Only one slot though. Was still fun…90% of the time your jig wouldn’t make the bottom, and the walleye were crazy aggressive. Looked for trout in the afternoon but didn’t mark one. I shut off the engine at Chris’ corner and just drifted aimlessly with our jigs about 20 feet off bottom. Caught 2 slots. Still marked nothing. Went to south gull and caught 1 there (25″) doing the same way. Interesting technique. At night, Brownie, Dev and I headed to the saddle. Caught about 4 slots, quite a few dinks, and AB got one huge pike that fought like mad. It was just barely 41″ but must’ve had 3 walleye in its belly. Brownie could barely hold it up…will have some very nice pictures…right at sunset too. So that was the extent of the fishing. Sorry but no pix yet…gotta get a digicam! Weather was nice, water is extremely low and still warm, pike are slowly moving into the back bays, walleye were caught in 21 feet on Monday afternoon so the water must slowly be turning, and the nights are cool. Saw the best northern lights ever on Sunday night too…it was almost freaky. Oh yeah, and the lodge is out of JackDaniels.”

We now have a new goal for every fishing season. Our previous record of 211 “Master Angler” fish (set in 2001) has already been surpassed, with several weeks of bookings left! Former guide Rob Jounot flew in this morning to help out for the weekend. Having his first day to do some scouting (as no guests were in camp today), he took out Megan, the camp chef. At 5:00, Rob hooked into a monster 28.5″ walleye in the South Arm. That fish tied the record of 211. However, not even 10 minutes after that beautiful fish kicked back down, Megan felt a tap. She set the hook into a very healthy 28″ walleye. It ran straight to 45 feet of water and fought like a nice laker. We will have some pictures to show once they are developped. We will keep you up to date with our trophy count.

The 2003 fishing season has been wonderful at Aikens Lake! Last year, we finished with 189 trophy fish landed at Aikens. However, this year we just passed 190!!! Our best year ever was in 2001 when we caught 211. That record is well within reach as there are several weeks left in our season. Unfortunatly, we will not be able to update the “Master Angler” page on the website until early October.

We have had several people delayed because they did not have proof of citizenship with them when they were boarding flights into Winnipeg. A driver’s license is not acceptable (it only proves you can drive in the USA). Therefore, you need either a passport (preferable) or a birth certificate. Here is the official word from the US Department of State… “Visas and Travel Documents General Visas are not required for U.S. citizens entering Canada from the U.S. You will, however, need: (1) proof of your U.S. citizenship such as your U.S. passport (For information on obtaining a U.S. passport, check with one of the regional passport agencies located throughout the U.S.) or certified copy of your birth certificate issued by the city, county or state in the U.S. where you were born. If you are a naturalized U.S. citizen and do not have a passport, you should travel with your naturalization certificate. A driver’s license or Social Security card is NOT valid proof of citizenship. (2) photo identification, such as a current, valid driver’s license. All U.S. citizens entering Canada from a third country must have a valid passport. Alien permanent residents of the U.S. must present their Alien Registration Card, commonly called a “Green Card.” If you are a dual U.S./Canadian citizen you should always present yourself as a Canadian citizen when entering Canada. However, U.S. citizens should use their U.S. passports when entering or leaving the United States.”