We all have a “go-to” lure. This story is no different… Dave and Kitty Chism have been coming to Aikens for three years running. Last year Dave boated the fish he had been searching for many years. His trophy pike, caught on the jig in the Honey Hole was an experience he’d never forget. That being said, arriving at Aikens this spring in the company of his wife, Kitty, and their long time friends Walt & Chip Bumb, Dave had one thing in mind: casting the bays for big pike till his arms fell off. Kitty, however, was more interested in relaxing with a good book at the lodge after shorelunch. Except for day three of their trip; she wanted to try this casting business.

Rewind three years. Dave and Kitty are trolling the Back Bay with their guide. Her lure, a blue Original Floater Rapala #7, out fished Dave’s Wally Diver 12 to 1. Hence the name “Lil’ Lucky Blue”.

They stealthily glide into Secret Bay. They kill the engine and drop in the trolling motor. Dave immediately starts probing the weed beds with his Weedless Johnson Silver Minnow. He lands a half dozen pike while Kitty, who’s never casted before, receives a crash course of casting 101 from her guide. At first Lil’ Blue isn’t getting quite the distance she’d like, so she doubles her effort and the little lure that could takes flight. Twenty five casts later, and in the back end of the bay, it looked like Lil’ Blue was headed for the tackle box, then…

Kitty’s first fish of the afternoon hit with a vengeance. The drag screamed like old brake pads. Kitty braced herself as she wrangled over twenty pounds of ornery Pike. Six runs and few minutes later, Ol’ Snaggletooth glided into the net.

Straining as she held the monster for the picture Kitty was all smiles, Lil’ Blue however humbly asked for no applause, because he always gets the job done.

Yesterday (May 24th), Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge began its 20th season in the capable hands of the Turenne family. Gerry & Lorraine and now Pit & Julie have ensured top quality fishing and a world class experience to outdoor people since 1989! Their hard-work and devotion make our lodge one of the finest of the business. Of course they could not have done it alone… yesterday we bade farewell to our beloved Molly’s and Dolly’s, who proved yet again that anything is within the realm of possibility with another astounding week of work in preparation for our first guests of the season.  As the volunteers were leaving, the incoming planes ushered in the majority of our full season staff (save a few finishing up their school year). They brought the nicest weather we’ve seen this year with them (70 degrees and sunny). It was all smiles on the dock as people were excited to get another season under way! The staff had the better part of a day to unpack and prepare until the 4:30 PM plane brought in our first guests of the season!

Here’s a recap of the staff’s first day… After getting settled in, the initial staff meeting took place. This was a very positive meeting that set the tone for a fantastic season! Soon after lunch, every able body took part in a peninsula-wide scouring and clean up. They picked up anything and everything that was lying around, once again proving to what extent Aikens is a great stewards of this untouched wilderness. In the evening, after the first of many delicious dinners in Chef Jimmy & Élise’s kitchen, many of the guides and staff spent their first evening back with some relaxing Lund time.  After a great sunset, Big Molly’s bar welcomed a host of staff and guests who rejoiced at being back to their favorite watering hole.

This morning the Aikens machine went into full swing! Six groups of fishermen set out in hopes of coming home with the biggest fish story. As of 5:00PM the winner was Rick Ward from Burlington, Ont. On his first day at Aikens (morning, actually), Rick caught a fish that many anglers dream of catching. Fishing with his brother Gary and Mitch (one of our returning experienced guides) at the Honey Hole, he jigged up a large 41″ Pike! Congratulations Rick… Hopefully this sets the tone for a strong guiding season! We also had 2nd trophy reeled up today… this one by Sean Tucker of California who brought in a 22-1/2″ Whitefish at the Fastwaters. Although the weather didn’t cooperate today (high winds, rain, and near-freezing temps), at least the fish did!

Fishing wise, as mentioned, the big pike are still very active. Water temperature in the Back Bay is floating around 55 degrees, whereas the main lake is still in the mid to high forties. Walleyes are still spawning, and are a bit sluggish, but it won’t be long before they start getting hungry! Lake Trout are still being caught along the rocky shorelines and in a few bays (Cookie Jar is holding quite a few). With more and more boats taking to the lake, we should be seeing alot more action in the weeks to come.

It was mid-week for our volunteers and so it was time to drop the tools and get out on the lake fishing. So far, the Molly’s and Dolly’s have done yoeman’s work to get the camp ship-shape for our first guests this weekend. Every accommodation has been scrubbed top to bottom and the service centers (Main Lodge, Bait & Tackle, office & store) are ready for action.  We have also cleaned up on a lot of small plumbing and electrical jobs.  The other project we are working on is the shorelunch roof covering the corporate site (it’s in the bay next to GGO).  It will be similar to what we did at GGO last spring and will be a welcome addition during rainy days or to provide shade on sunny days.

The fishing was a lot of fun because we got to explore parts of the lake that had just opened up.  In fact, we found a great bite in Stange Bay where the walleyes were done spawning and the water was 50 degrees.  Nice mid-size lakers were caught in many places including the Cookie Jar.  The regular spots like the Honeyhole and the Falls also produced some nice fish.  We all met up at GGO at 5:30 to start cooking our first shoresupper of the year.  Everybody was excited about the sights and smells of the potatoes & onions, the fire, and mostly about the lemon-pepper/cajun/beer-battered walleye and pike!

After supper, some people trolled the Back Bay on their way in.  Only a few minutes from the dock, Leo was fishing with Pat and Phil.  All of sudden a freight train struck Leo’s line!  It ended up taking those typical perpendicular runs, and Pat knew that it would be a huge pike.  Pat’s instincts were right, as he gently glided the 42″ beauty into the net!  Congratulations Leo, you’ve not only opened up our electrical, water, and plumbing this spring… now you’ve opened the trophy listings!

Well, what a day it has been! Today, the Aikens opening crew received a massive influx of able-bodied help. By twelve o’clock, a dozen extra Aikens veterans were hard at work. Plumbing, electrical, housekeeping, kitchen, maintenance, boats, office and hunting departments all had many hands on deck. Much was achieved and the lodge is ever closer to being ready to host its much revered clientèle.

This week lives in lore and legend at Aikens and is a very important tradition. For two decades Aikens has relied on the generosity of a select few to help usher in the new season. For these volunteers no task is too tall, no job too tough. This week-long blitz offers the lodge the peace-of-mind necessary to greet its first guests on May 24^th.

But, all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. The current Aikens residents worked through hard weather and high winds, only to celebrate their first evening with a five-star meal from Chef Jimmy and Élise. They then proceeded to enjoy the bounties of the Back Bay or the night-life in the newly-populated Big Molly’s Bar.

As far as the fishing is concerned, the ice broke off the main lake Friday afternoon. The big west wind crushed the ice into the beach and in a matter of one afternoon practically all the ice that had covered 3/4 of the lake was gone! The Back Bay is 49 degrees whereas the main lake is 41.Walleyes are spawning and are quite sluggish, but, the dock bite has been warming up. Tonight, Points (in his third year at Aikens now) angled the largest fish of the season as of yet - a large 32.5” Lake Trout! Congratulations Pascal, but hopefully that fish won’t hold up for a long time.

Stay tune for new Aikens updates!

Since our last update, we have been hard at work getting the camp open and doing small projects. The new dock has been adjusted and skirted in the front. Our diesel generator has already received its annual maintenance. We have replaced a few of the hot water storage tanks in our awesome hot water re-circ line. The boats are getting their spring maintenance and are methodically being taken from storage and being put in the lake.

As far as the fishing is concerned, we had our first shore-supper on day 2. A few lake trout and some pike were on the menu… what a feast!  That day, it seemed that the walleye were still sleeping after a long hibernation. However, yesterday while Charlie was working on the dock, he had a line in the water and brought in the first walleye of the season, a big 24″! It looked spawned out and tired, so it could mean that the walleyes have already started spawning. There is still a lot of ice on the lake today (we can only get as far as Chris’s Corner), so it is still a bit early for the walleyes to start spawning but maybe a few of them couldn’t wait!

Julie and the kids arrived yesterday, along with Chef Jimmy.  Charlie had been doing a wonderful job in the kitchen in Jimmy’s stead, but both were happy to hand over the reins.  The kids were so excited to get to “Aikens Lake”, they ran straight to the trampoline we had setup last year.  Charlie and Gabe are on their way back to the city today, meaning we are going to be 7 adults and the 2 children in camp until the weekend.   On Saturday, we welcome all our friends and volunteers  (a crew of over 35 people!) for our annual “Molly’s and Dolly’s Week”.  This is the week where we do a huge spring cleaning and get the camp ready for our first guests on the 24th.

It was with great relief that we got news on Friday that the Back Bay at Aikens was open and that we could indeed fly in on Saturday morning.  When we flew over the lake, we were welcomed by an icy tundra!  Virtually the whole lake has ice on it right now, with the only open areas being the Back Bay and most of the Gammon River.  The ice is just starting to retreat from the beach, but it’s going to take several very warm days to rid us of this ice!

There is always a moment of trepidation as you step on the dock for the first time in the season.  You wonder how the camp wintered… were there any big trees that fell over in a storm, did a bear manage to break in to the kitchen, did we forget to drain the water out of something important, how did the docks hold up over the winter, etc.  We could tell right away that the new dock withstood Old Man Winter’s test.  As we spread out through camp to do the inspection, it was clear that the camp was in awesome shape!  The only glitch was that a prairie chicken flew through a window in our old laundry room… it found the only window in camp that hadn’t been boarded up for the winter!

Opening day is normally a very busy day, and this year was no exception.  However, everything went very smoothly as we were able to get the power going, the water system, the hot water re-circ line (very important for those hot showers after a cold day outside), and the kitchen.   Pat even threw in one boat so that we could go scout the ice on the lake.  We were only able to get as far as Beacon Rock in the front.  It appears that the ice is still several inches thick; and possibly up to a foot in some areas!  We tried a quick troll for some lakers, but to no avail.  The first fish of the season was eventually caught by Pit… although it was a little hammer-handle pike as we re-entered the Back Bay.  The first day ended with a memorable sunset over a frozen lake; what a gorgeous sight.

Special Note:  Now that we have landed at Aikens, you can expect the updates to be posted with a lot more regularity.  We are aiming to update this newsletter blog every two days for the rest of the summer.  Thanks for tuning in and here’s to a great 2008!!!

All packed up with nowhere to go… We regret to inform you humble readers that today’s (May 7th) planned arrival at Aikens has been delayed. It seems our projected opening will have to wait till Mother Nature’s icy clutches loosens its grip on the Back Bay. We were informed by our friends at Bluewater Aviation that Bissett (the closest float plane base to Aikens) is still iced in. Traditionally, the Back Bay at Aikens opens up three days after Bissett. So, for the time being we are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for warm weather! We anticipate arriving some time this weekend… Stay tuned for more updates.

The ice is slowly melting away from the shores and that familiar itch is reuniting fishermen worldwide. The Aikens opening crew is eagerly chomping at the bit, anticipating setting up our gem of a lodge. Warm clothes and tight lines are the “ordre du jour”. Stay posted for the first newsletter article from Aikens later this week!