It is with a heavy heart that we must announce the passing of Thomas Greteman of St-Louis, at age 78.

Tom first visited Aikens Lake in 1953. He knew first-hand how difficult a chore it was to build Aikens. He often told stories of Eric and Elsie Carlson, the first owners of the lodge. After a long hiatus, Tom returned to Aikens with his sons Kirby and Dan in September 1991. They celebrated the return by reeling in 3 trophy pike during that trip… and the tradition of Greteman family trips had begun! Tom kept coming year after year with his sons, and at other times with his loving wife Celine. In August 2000, the first “Greteman Family Adventure” arrived at Aikens Lake. The whole family, which included Tom and Celine, their five children (Mary, Jane, Amy, Dan, and Kirby), spouses, and 6 grandchildren, was present that year. The motto was “Fish, Feast, Fiesta, Fabricate!”.

Tom was never a very hardcore angler, although he thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors, serenity, and peace that Aikens offered him. You could often see him cruising around the lake in his boat, no particular place to go. However, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to show off a bit in front of his family! The trip was highlighted by Tom’s first Master Angler walleye! A 2nd “Greteman Family Adventure” happened in 2003. Tom’s last trip to Aikens happened in Sept 2005 when he was there with Kirby and Dan.

Tom was wonderful man. He was able to make friends easily and his personality really shone through while he was at Aikens. A witty joke teller, Tom’s trademark during all his trips was to entertain the crowd in the bar by recounting his story of “Petie the Snake”. Despite the tongue-twister anecdote, Tom never once stumbled on the words. We are all blessed to have known Tom through a very special place: Aikens Lake. Although his fishing skills were no match for his wisdom, tenacity, and loyalty we are certain that he will easily meet the requirements for his Grand Master Angler’s Award in “the great happy fishing waters in the sky”.

Well, things have calmed down now that the season is over, but we are still working diligently! We recently had our winter meetings in Phoenix. During these meetings, we were able to take some time and seize the opportunity to cook an authentic “Canadian Shorelunch” for the hosts and crew of “Good Morning Arizona” on Channel 3. With a reach of 600,000 viewers, Pit, Julie, Pat, and Turbo were in tough to ad-lib a 4 minute segment for the show. However, hosts Tara Hitchcock and Dan Davis “guided” us expertly through the skit. Lemonpepper walleye was the order of the day, and everybody on set was very thrilled to be able to taste an authentic canadian shorelunch! A challenge was issued to Tara to come up and try her skill at fishing this summer… we’ll see if she’s able to come up and show us what she’s made of!

Back in June, Kris King (former NHL hockey player and host of Full Contact Fishing) visited Aikens Lake in order to produce a top quality fishing show. He brought along his fishing buddy, Mike Gartner (NHL hall of fame player). Together, they caught so many fish that they just had to make two episodes! Seen above is the two of them with their “money fish”… a gigantic northern pike! For those that missed it, the first episode aired in Canada last Saturday (Global TV, 10:30 AM central time). This week, their second show will air. For our American friends who don’t get Global TV, we hope to have the episodes on our website before long.

Well, another fantastic season at Aikens Lake is now in the books. Once again, the fishing was outstanding. Our final trophy count stands at 134… better than one trophy fish for every two guests! We had our highest water levels since we bought the lodge in 1989! As many of you saw this summer, it took alot of “bush engineering” to keep up with the high water levels. Docks had to be built on top of our existing docks… which at one point were up to 24″ under water! However, everyone who came to Aikens once again had their expectations exceeded in terms of service, fishing, and smiles! 2005 was also great in another sense. Our new partnership with Chris Jensen and the Aviary Group was a great success. We were able to renovate the main lodge, as well as begin construction on “Le Canot”, the new male staff residence! These are the first steps in our rebuilding which will take Aikens to the next level. Next year, ambitious construction will allow us to replace the final two Wilderness Trail cabins, complete the renovation of the lodge and clubroom, as well as build a spacious new office and store. Stay tuned this winter as we will be updating the newsletter whenever something interesting comes up. Have a great winter and we look forward to seeing you all again next season!

This morning, our final guests in 2005 arrived at Aikens. Brent Sigurdson, who had stayed at the Great Gray Owl many years ago, is here with some friends and business associates. They certainly started off their trip with a bang! Two trophy walleyes were landed by the group of 6 today… and they have two more days of fishing left!

As many of you have surely noticed by reading our newsletter, the Greteman family and the Poja family have been coming to Aikens lake for a long time. Tom Greteman’s first trip to Aikens was in 1953, and Mike Poja’s first trip was in 1991. In fact, this marks the 5th occasion that they have been here simultaneously! There’s an interesting story that surrounds their first encounter. It was September 1991, Tom was here with his two boys Kirby and Dan. The three of them were fishing for pike in the back bay. Dan had already caught and released a 44″ pike. Kirby then hooked into another monster 44″ pike on the following day. On the last day, Dan caught a 41.25″ pike. However, this pike was having trouble regaining strength after a long fight. The three of them raced back to the dock to look for some assistance in getting this monster back into the lake. At that same moment, Mike Poja was stepping off the plane for his first visit to Aikens Lake! He was coming to scout the lake to see if he would like to bring his family and friends here. The first thing Mike saw was a quite a scene on the dock. The Gretemans, along with Gerry and some staff, were taking great care in reviving this monster pike back to health. Keep in mind that this was in en era where many of the big fish, at Aikens and elsewhere, were seldom returned to fight again another day. From that moment, Mike was hooked on Aikens! These two have become friends and what a great story to tell. We hope to see them both back here so we can do it again next year!

The Great, Gorgeous Greteman girls have been monitering the trip of Kirby, Dan, and patriarch Tom by checking the website religiously. They have already emailed to congratulate Dan on his trophy two days ago, and will soon email again with something to say to Kirby about his two trophies today. Anyway, Kody would like all the GGG’s (and especially Marissa, Hannah and Lea) to know that he misses them dearly but he sends his wishes. He is looking forward to seeing you all again next year!

For the past 15 years, the Pojas have been a regular visitor to Aikens Lake. Mike, the grandfather (86), has brought along a multitude of friends over the years… but the mainstays have always been his boys Marc and Scott, along with grandson Justin (Marc’s son). The four of them have accounted for 24 trophies over the years! Unfortunately, Marc passed away a few years ago but his memory lives on through his family. They continue to look forward to their trips and really enjoy their time at Aikens Lake together. Tonight, we presented Mike with his special St-Croix “Aikens Lake Walleye Specialist Rod” (pictured above). Mike has landed 11 trophy walleyes at Aikens Lake over the years. In his day, Marc had been quite a good fisherman as well, having boated 5 trophy walleye. In memory to Marc and his fishing prowess, we presented a special “walleye specialist” rod to his son Justin. Justin can now use this rod to achieve his walleye specialist in the future. Congratulations to all and keep the trophies coming!

Elsie, who helped build Le Portage in the early 50’s and lived there for many years, will finally have the cabin all to herself once again starting next season (see the story about our resident ghost in July 16th news). Today marked the beginning of the contruction of the new guide quarters. Scheduled to be ready for the end of May next season, this ambitious 2,400 sq foot, two-storey cabin will be a beautiful testament to our staff and their talents. Most of the wood we will be using was harvested from Horseshoe Island, where a twister knocked over almost every tree 4 years ago. The cabin will be a combination of timberframe and post-and-beam design. Eight bedrooms, two bathrooms, two shower rooms, a huge screened-in porch and two large living rooms be the highlights of the design. The cabin is tucked away on the eastern side of the peninsula where no cabin has been before, on the shoreline just past the filleting shack. The guides have already named it “Le Canot”… which is a very nice transition from their current cabin… Le Portage. Everyone is very excited to see every stage of construction and to see the finished product next spring!

Thanks for the beer Don.