Well the trade-show season is in full swing and we’ve met countless fishermen/women in many places who all share our passion for one of life’s precious past-times. Here in Winnipeg the first hints of Ol’ man winter giving up are starting to be felt, and I can only assume numerous anglers like myself are feeling the all too familiar itch start up again. I’ve been tying flies like they’re going out of style, and my reels have already received the yearly tear-down and tune up. But enough about my addiction… Here is the schedule for next leg in Aikens’ sportshow circuit:

Phoenix International Sportsmen’s Expo – Glendale, AZ

Pat & Turbo

Show Dates: March 7-9, 2007 (Friday to Sunday)

Show Hours:
Friday: 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Location: Cardinals Stadium (www.azcardinalsstadium.com)

Toronto Sportsman’s Expo – Toronto, ON

Pat & Gerry

Show Dates: March 12-16, 2007 (Wednesday to Sunday)

Show Hours:
Weekdays: 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Location: National Trade Centre, Exhibition Place (Booth #908)

Every year in mid-February Winnipeggers celebrate their heritage by holding a large festival honoring their link to the fur-trade era. This “Festival” has been a cornerstone in the francophone culture for over 35 years now. It encompasses music, sculptures, “joie de vivre” and of course, the “Concours du Meilleur” (loosely translated to the strongest man competition).

Aikens has been sending a two man team for the last few years. To figure out which men will don the Aikens name in said competition requires us to do a preliminary session at the lake. (See newsletter item August ‘07). This year’s winner Turbo couldn’t make it from Phoenix to the games, so the task fell upon two of our new recruits. 2nd place finisher Ashton Beaupré (one of our carpenters whom you will likely cross on the lake as he will be bumped into the guide ranks for ‘08) and 3rd place finisher Bruno Maynard (one of our stand-out, bearded rookie guides from ‘07) each gave huge efforts in the competition. The events were leg wrestling, “la lutte indienne” (an exercise in balance and strength), the tug-of-war and finally the log-saw. The boys gave it their all, and despite their most valiant efforts, they both narrowly missed making the finals. Still, we (a huge Aikens cheering section) were quite proud to cheer them on, all the while quenching our “thirst for life”. We might have to resurrect our past Aikens champion who won it all many moons ago. That’s right Pit I’m looking at you… Joyeux Festival!

(Photos courtesy of Janelle Potvin Photography.)

Last week was a very good week for two of Manitoba’s great Children’s Charities. Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge was proud to play a large part in the fundraising efforts for both the Manitoba Moose Yearling Foundation and for the Children’s Wish Foundation.

On Valentine’s Day, the Manitoba Moose Yearling Foundation held their annual Gala Dinner at ice-level of the spectacular MTS Center in downtown Winnipeg. This 15,000 seat arena is host to the Manitoba Moose (AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks) and provided an interesting backdrop for the evening. Manitoba Moose players were on hand to shake hands and meet the crowd of 600+ attendees. Well known rocker and blues musician Colin James stole the show with a wonderful concert to end a spectacular evening. Aikens has a rich history of supporting local charities and this year is no different. We will be hosting a trip this summer to fish with Moose GM Craig Heisinger as well as Moose coach and former NHL great Scott Arniel. The trip was sold at auction for a record price, eclipsing last year’s mark by nearly $800!  Check out the Moose website at http://www.moosehockey.com/community/thankyou/

Friday night was the Children’s Wish Foundation’s Casino Royale event. We were lucky enough to be a part of this great event for the first time last year. The trip that we auctioned off was hosted by Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks. The trip was a tremendous success last year and so Jonathan didn’t hesitate to host the trip again this year. Once again, the auction was fast and furious and in the end, it also sold at a record price - beating last year by $1,300!!! Congratulations to Claudio Reda of Winnipeg on his winning bid. You can check out the website at http://www.childrenswish.ca/fileupload/storage/MB-2007-12-13-CasinoMoulinRouge2008-e.pdf

We are proud to support wonderful charities such as these and are happy that we can help raise money and awareness for children in need. As always, these trips are special and always are a lot of fun. We look forward to the opportunity to host everyone involved this summer and we will make sure that when they leave they’ll want to bid higher and break more records next year!!!

Aikens is going to the Canadian National Sportsmen’s Show in Calgary! So if you are in the area, go see Pit, Julie and Pat at the show which runs from February 14-17th.

Show Hours:

Thu, Feb 14: 1pm – 9pm
Fri, Feb 15: 1 pm – 9 pm
Sat, Feb 16: 10 am – 9 pm
Sun, Feb 17: 10 am – 5 pm

Due to our longstanding commitment to help those who need it most, Aikens partnered up with the Boomer EsiasonFoundation and auctioned a trip to Aikens during the CELEBRITY NIGHT AT THE TABLES (http://www.celebritynightatthetables.com) held last Friday in Scottsdale, Arizona. This event hosted some very big names: poker stars such as Clonie Gowan, Jamie Gould, Annie Duke, Jerry Yang, Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer…. Stars such as Wyclef Jean (who played a concert after the tournament), Paris Hilton, Ivanka Trump, Matt Leinart, Mario Lopez, Don Cheadle, Mekhi Phifer, Elisha Cuthbert, Boomer Esiason and Ben Roethlisberger in a poker event benefiting the Boomer Esiason Foundation and Junior Achievement of Arizona.

With all the buzz in Phoenix last weekend due to the Super Bowl, we can only hope that Aikens’ donation has helped the charities involved in this grand fund raiser! And to the highest bidder… See you on the lake!

Well humble readers it’s been a while since my last post so here’s what been going on in the Aikens world. Last Tuesday (22nd) , I arrived in Denver and was greeted by a new extended Aikens Family member: Mr. Steve Meyer.

Steve picked me up and we drove two hours West and almost straight upwards (to a prairie-walker like myself)! The view in the Rockies was stunning and with Steve as my guide filling me in on all sorts of local trivia I was feeling more and more at ease with the impressive altitude.

The premise of this trip was of course Aikens’ presence at the Denver Sportsman’s exposition. Leaving Winnipeg two days earlier permitted me to accompany Steve for a day-trip to ice-fish a mountain-top lake called Lake Granby. Upon arrival to Steve’s gorgeous mountain home, we settled in and then drove out to the local brewery to sample some of their fine products.

Well, a full sample tray later I was feeling the effects of elevation+ barley pops, so some BBQ was in order to set me straight. A full belly and thoughts of big lakers filling my head, I slept soundly wondering how the next day’s fishing would pan out.

7:00am, wake up, shower, eat, gear up and hit the road. 8:00am, met our guide (Dale), set out on a caravan of snowmobiles on one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever seen (save Aikens of course). We punched a dozen holes at the first spot and started jigging.

Being from Canada and guiding a 100 days a year, my confidence was pretty high. I was sure I’d show these guys how it was done…. Fish on! Not me though. Again, Fish on! Still goose-egg, what the %$#@$@! Repeat for two and half hours. Karma I guess. Now, being a guide I understand that the X-factor of fishing often determines who out fishes who. And doing all the right things can sometimes mean nothing at all. His guide senses tingling, Dale came over to me and offered the we go to a different spot and try for some rainbows. Sure, I needed something to break my funk.

Move, drill, set-up. Come on baby, don’t let me down… I could have swore I saw my rod tip twitch… Nah, must be the wind… Wait a minute… Oh yeah! Here we go!… BAM! Monster hook-set. That poor rainbow has got some sore lips now! AH! Sweet redemption. The smell of the skunk washed off of me with great relief. The rest of the day was a cake-walk now. Man am I ever good at this fishing stuff (wink).

Thank you Steve for a great time and I can’t wait to see who out fishes who next time. At Aikens or in the Rockies! -Patrick