Newsletter
A few years back we hosted a group of four lovely ladies at Aikens. They each wrote great stories about the lodge for several publications. Here is one that has resurfaced in the Globe and Mail just this week! Shel Zolkewich describes her experiences at a few Manitoba lodges, but most noticeably about Aikens Lake!
For those of you who keep your Aikens Calendar pinned on the wall, you may have noticed that April 24th was announced as both Julie’s birthday (Happy Birthday Julie!) and Pat & Janelle’s wedding day! We have been busy in the office for obvious reasons getting all our ducks in a row before we head up next week. That said, the wedding preparations took priority and we are certainly glad that they did. You couldn’t have asked for a more glorious day for the newlyweds!
Saturday started off with the wedding ceremony in the historical “Cathédrale de St-Boniface”. This is where Manitoba’s founder, Mr. Louis Riel, is buried. Although it burned in the late 60’s, it was rebuilt to glorious new standards and this is where Pat and Janelle exchanged their wedding vows. Many friendly Aikens faces, both current and former employees lined both sides of the aisle to watch everything unfold. Janelle’s radiance as she appeared at the back of the church accompanied by her parents was a sight to behold. She floated down the aisle and tears of joy were streaming everywhere in the church as she approached her groom. Pat was then nervous slipping on Janelle’s new ring, but with a few extra twists he was able to seal the deal in front of a joyous crowd. The marriage was official!
The wedding party for both sides had a lot of Aikens flavor. Janelle’s Maid-of-Honor was Aisha, who is going to be working as the sous-chef in her 4th summer at Aikens. The bridesmaids were Elise and Michelle, both of whom have been at Aikens for the past 3 years. On the groom’s side, Pascal “Diesel” Dragon and Pat’s brother Richard were the groomsmen. Pit was the best man. As you can see, the Aikens family is a tightly woven piece of fabric!
After a few hours of pictures and limo partying in the afternoon, the wedding party made their way to the beautiful Millennium Center in downtown Winnipeg for the reception. This turn of the century bank was converted into a multi-purpose reception hall over the past few years. Adorned with marble columns, stone walls, glass ceilings five stories high, original boardrooms and vaults, and the original marble bank counter, this edifice is something special. Pat and Janelle greeted the over 200 guests by the main doors as people made their way in. People were seated at 28 different tables, each with a nickname of a spot on Aikens Lake! For instance, Gerry and Lorraine sat at a table called “Lone Coyote Reef” - the spot just in front of their residence! Kik was of course seated at the Kik’s Corner table - and so on. The head table was set up behind the original marble counter that separated the tellers from the public, and was the perfect vantage point to see everybody enjoying their five-star meal!
Although the acoustics did bounce around plenty in this old room, everybody was hushed as the speeches started. Janelle’s parent’s Pauline and Royal shared the microphone back and forth, incorporating a lot of humor into their heartfelt speech and welcoming Pat into the family. Pat’s parent’s then went up and kept the crowd roaring. Maurice was a gem up there, urging the newlyweds to make a lot of babies! Norma had prepared some very impressive paragraphs filled with fish-inspired puns. Next up was the Maid-of-Honor Aisha. She had the room in both tears and laughter, and you could tell that her life-long friendship with Janelle was getting stronger every day! Pit was next up with his much-anticipated best-man toast/roast. Many people were wondering which way this would go, toast or roast, and in the end it was a mix of both. There were certainly moments where roasting Pat created some good laughs (especially some of his early episodes when he was just starting out at Aikens!), but also some kudos on the things he has done to entrench himself in the Aikens management team. Pit also managed to incorporate some moose calling routines into the speech, you don’t hear those during just any old wedding!
The last ones to take the stage were the newlyweds themselves. Pat and Janelle were very comfortable behind the microphone. They were able to get all their thanks out, proclaim once again their love and devotion to each other, and they were even able to deliver a few jabs back out to the crowd. As an aside, during this past sportshow season Pat hand-tied flies for every person at the wedding. These were left at each dinner seating as a gift from the couple. Pat announced a $200 bounty for the first person to land a master angler fish on one of his flies and send him the photographic evidence! Gerry noted that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach - but in Pat’s case it was probably through his fly! Another worthy pun.
It was a beautiful evening for the newlyweds that lasted well into the next morning. Andrina hosted the after-party right across the street in her new loft, and Sunday was a day of rest and recovery for most. The honeymoon is taking place in the Napa Valley, and only one day after they return we are heading up to open up the Aikens Lake 2010 season!
Pat and Janelle are the 3rd couple to have met at Aikens and to subsequently be married (the others being Marty & Lise in 2001 and Aaron and Devon in 2009). It was heartwarming to see how Aikens is such a big part of so many people’s lives. We are proud that not only did Pat and Janelle meet at the lodge, but also how they are planning on being a big part of it for a very long time! Make sure you congratulate them when you see them on the docks this summer!
Early spring and warm weather will all add up to an expedient ice-out date for Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge. In past years, some minor delays were experienced by our opening crew due to inclement weather and thicker ice conditions. Lack of any considerable rain and smaller than usual snowfall in Manitoba are prompting some folks to call for a hot and low water year. The ice is almost out already, and we are on track to arrive in camp in early May. Traditionally lower water years have spawned some amazing catches on Aikens over the course of those seasons. Warmer water temperatures push the thermocline deeper, thus consistently growing the numbers of fish in each pod as they escape the warmer water in the shallows as the summer wears on. All this, plus the added comfort of fishing on a nice sunny day spell out the recipe for a banner year on the lake.
We have many exciting upgrades for our new and returning guests. New equipment is being flown in this spring which will make your guided day on the lake that much sweeter! New Yamaha 50hp outboards will be fitted to our 16-foot Lund Alaskan Guide boats. These powerful motors feature idle-assist trolling technology. Your guide will be able to effectively dial into the perfect speed for trolling or to hold a spot. Also, new electronics will be mounted at the helm. Hummingbird 788CI gps/sonar combos will be your eyes on the prize, relaying critical bottom and charting information. Lastly, our fleet will be in constant contact with one another through VHF marine band radios. These units bring you peace of mind out in our pristine wilderness lake. There will also be units installed in GGO and the main office in camp, so that everyone can stay in contact at any time.
The tone is now set and the next two weeks to come will be full of last-minute details and tasks to be readied before our first transmission from the lodge. Looking forward to setting hook soon!
Last summer we had the pleasure of hosting Ron Pradinuk and his son-in-law Rob for a weekend at Aikens. Ron is the owner of Journeys Travel Supercenter here in Winnipeg. He hosts a weekly radio show. You will remember we’ve appeared on his show, and hence it’s been mentioned in this space a few times already. Ron travels the world and also writes a near-weekly column in the travel section of the Winnipeg Free Press. We would like to thank Travel Manitoba for partnering with us to host Ron last June.
Ron fished with our guide Griffin and they had a fantastic trip - both fishing wise and joke-wise! They boated a ton of fish in all three species during the June trip, and had some fantastic shorelunches during the 4 night stay. Although the Master Angler walleye that Ron was targeting eluded his advances, there were no shortage of stories to pass around and overall they were thrilled with the amount and above-average size of their daily catches.
Ron wrote a great article for the Winnipeg Free Press based on last year’s trip. He has an amazing way of explaining some of the emotions and important aspects from a trip that we would previously have considered intangible. Being a fellow Manitoban, he is also able to position his experience at Aikens as something that isn’t only for those from outside our provincial borders, but something that anyone will be able to appreciate and enjoy without hesitation! Please click on the link below to see the 2-page article that headlined this week’s WFP Travel Column.
Folks in Winnipeg and in the local Free Press readership will be offered a piece concerning Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge. Mr. Ron Pradinuk, columnist for many publications, visited us last season and his experiences/testimonials will be the feature of this article. Check your paper for this story! Also, we will be linking a copy of the print to our newsletter in the next days to come.
With the spring thaw well under way, our tradeshow travels have drawn to an end. With many anglers’ thoughts shifting from hard water to spring patterns, Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge will be offering a glimpse into their upcoming season to folks in Winnipeg and Brandon.
Our annual Winnipeg Corporate Shore lunch will be held on April 15t from 11:45am to 1:00 pm at the Oui! Bistro in Downtown Winnipeg. If your company would like to join us for a ”taste” of what Aikens can offer, please drop us a line to let us know. Fresh walleye and shore-side fare will be served after a short presentation showcasing the unique ”Aikens Experience”.
The event will also be held at the Trails West Inn in Brandon Manitoba. This Shore-supper will be hosted on April 8th from 5:30 - 7:30 pm. Food and drink will be provided for those who attend and we’ll share some exciting information with our Wes-Man patrons concerning our one-of-a-kind lodge. Please call 204-237-5253(LAKE) or email fishing@aikenslake.com to reserve your plate(s) at either events.
With under a month to go before our arrival at the lodge, please stay tuned to the newsletter as many updates about the upcoming season are sure to pop up!
