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.

For the past couple of weeks, Colin has been on somewhat of a hot streak! Finding consistent big pike in mid to late-August is not tradionally an easy thing to do. However, Colin has done it over and over again! Trolling Thundersticks along the shorelines around the Bay of Snakes, Moosehead, and Rob’s Rubble, Colin has boated many trophy pike for his clients. Tonight, it was his turn! After supper, Colin and Turbo set out to try the pattern that had worked so well for Colin’s guests. At 7:30 tonight, the big one struck! It was Colin’s first trophy pike, and it was a hog. Congratulations Colin and here’s to many more trophies for you!