Aikens Lake Century Club

This special and unique recognition, given only to anglers on Aikens Lake, was spawned just like many other great ideas… over a beer in Big Molly’s Bar!  During the 2009 “Call of the Tundra” tournament, Julie, Pit, Pat, and  head guide Tyler were discussing the virtues of Aikens Lake with television fishing celebrity Dave Mercer while sitting around a table in Big Molly’s Bar.  Dave was telling us that he not only considered Aikens to be one of the best trophy walleye fisheries he’d ever been to, but he had also never seen so many “slot” walleyes caught before!  (We call all walleyes between 21-27” slot fish because they are too big to eat for shorelunch but not quite trophy size yet.)

The Manitoba Master Angler Awards are a great way to recognize anglers that find the true trophy ‘eyes in the lake (28” walleye or bigger).  That said, it is quite a feat to catch a boatload of 25” walleyes in a day.  This does not happen on just any lake, and we felt that since Aikens is a place where it is very possible for this to happen often the feat needed a special recognition as well!  We started brainstorming ways to recognize these successful days of catching big beautiful walleye.  Thus the “Century Club” was born!  The premise is that any angler that can catch four walleyes that total 100”or better over the course of a single day earns their spot with other great anglers in the Aikens Lake Century Club! 

Rules:

-This is an individual achievement meaning that each angler counts only the fish he/she has reeled in.

-All fish must be measured by a guide over the course of a regular guide day (8AM to 5PM).   

-The biggest four walleyes for each angler will be totaled up.  If the total length is 100” or more, special recognition of the event will be marked on our website and in a log book.

-Walleyes only.  Pike and Lake Trout do not count towards Century Club membership.

In recognition for this feat, anglers will be added to our website listings for all Century Club awards.  Also, we will be designing a special patch with a unique and classy logo that will be given to each member of the Century Club.  Thanks Janelle for designing this great logo!!!

 The Century Club has already garnered a lot of interest in the boats this year.  Many anglers are gunning for that 100″ mark.  We’ve had so many get stuck at 98 or 99″ and fish really hard to upgrade that one fish that would put them over the top!  So far, we have about the same amount of Century Club members as Master Anglers this year.  We update this database daily (as we do for the Master Anglers)  We hope that on your next trip you will be able to become both a Master Angler and a Century Club member!

Search the database here: http://www.aikenslake.com/community/centuryClubSearch.htm

Sunday marked a very special day at Aikens.  Father’s Day, whether intentional or not, featured 5 different groups featuring a multitude of father/son combos.  In fact, 3 of those groups boasted three generations!  Grandfathers were smiling as they saw their sons, sons-in-law, and grandsons happily reeling in countless fish.  With fantastic weather and fishing, this was certainly a weekend for fathers and sons to enjoy Mother Nature in all her splendor!  The father/son and father/daughter bonding trip is a very special one - and it is especially so at our lake.  At Aikens, we take pride in providing outstanding service so that the only worry a father needs to think about is whether to keep one fish for lunch, or if he is hungry enough should he keep a 2nd!  We are a family run business and between the partners we have 5 children that are 6 or younger!  That means we are setup for kids, and even boast a trampoline, swing set, and playground to go along with the beautiful natural sand beach.  If you are contemplating a multi-generational trip, I am sure we can find some great references in your area to help you with your decision.

The fishing at Aikens has been superb this season.  Although the water has shot up nearly 4 feet since we first arrived, it has not negatively affected the fishing.  Note: The water is now at an above average level - we have about one foot of clearance left on the new docks but we should still be OK for the crest which will happen later in June.  The walleyes, because of the early spring and warm water, have already begun moving out onto the summer spots like the Saddle, Red Rock, South Gull, South Arm, and the Three Sister Islands.  Big pike are still terrorizing the walleyes at both the Falls and the Honeyhole.  Yesterday, one boat stayed at the Honeyhole all afternoon and caught over 100 walleyes in the hot sun- the biggest being a pair of 27″.  They also had 3 big pike hit walleyes as they were bringing them in, but failed to land any of them.  All in all, Aikens has been very kind to the fishermen, fisherwomen, and fisherkids this year!

As the social media revolution continues to grow and expand, these wonderful technologies also offer us the opportunity to share even more of Aikens with you.  We have now created a Twitter account which will update all of our online activities in one simple place (handle is simply “aikenslake”).  If you decide to follow us on Twitter, you will be updated anytime we update our various pages on the internet.  Get your news, videos, and pictures of Aikens online and in real time!  Sign up here.  Here’s how it will work:

Twitter will post a link every time we update any of the following things:

News and updates: www.aikenslake.com/newsletter - Every time we update a newsletter item, it will appear as a link on our Twitter account.

Pictures: We will be adding pictures to our Facebook page throughout the season.  Something new for 2010, for groups that allow us to post these, we will add their trip pictures to our page so they can easily share them with their friends, and so that the Aikens Community can live vicariously through their experiences.  Everytime a new album is created or pictures downloaded, Twitter will post the link as well.  (See our official Facebook page here)

Videos: We already have a few dozen videos under our YouTube account.  Our channel is called “Aikenslakelodge”.  As we add more and more, the links will automatically post to Twitter.   (See our Youtube page here)

So we hope you enjoy our online community.  We continue to strive to deliver the most content to you so you can stay involved and up to date with Aikens Lake.  This is just the next step in doing that.  Please enjoy and feel free to add your own pictures/videos/comments!

Not convinced that the social media revolution is for real?!?!  For a really cool overview of just how big the social media revolution is today, check out this video!

More info coming soon!

Rods strung, leaders cinched, flies carefully hand-tied and picked. The vests were donned and two intrepid anglers set out to hook fish on the long rods. Fly Club was established in 2007 and has grown in membership and popularity. Lessons and seminars on casting to fly-tying have been offered here at Aikens. The recent upswing in interest towards the skills and challenges that a fly fisher must face has led to some impressive catches here on the lake. Not only have Pike fallen for the mesmerizing pulse of the the flies, but Walleye, Perch and Suckers have also been fooled into biting.

Thursday evening. Mitch, Pit and Pat call a Fly Club excursion. With bellies full and an anticipatory rush of excitement they hurry off to the guide dock and get ready. Before even setting foot in a boat, 6 fish (1 Pike, 5 perch) were caught while our anglers milled around on the dock. Mitch and Pat set out with plans to pick up Pit later. Kik and Janelle followed them out to watch, witness and serenade (Janelle has a professional eye for photography and Kik is a pro guitarist). They needn’t go far from the dock. The fertile waters of the Back Bay held all the fish they needed. Pat pointed out a small spring in the north end of the bay to Mitch and they set course. Mitch gracefully offered Patrick first rites to the spot and he gladly accepted. 5 or so casts and nothing… Pat put a bit more effort into his hauls and launched the fly deeper into the weeds. There, far in the shallows she lay, waiting. A few strips on the line and Patrick saw a flash and his fly disappeared. Tight line, rod bent, FISH ON! At first the girthy Pike played possum, then in an instant she turned broadside and showed her true might. Patrick scrambled to reel in his slack line and fought the beast on the reel. 5 runs later she turned her head and coasted toward the boat. Mitch’s impeccable guiding included expertly netting the rambunctious Northern. The fly came out easily, the trophy was measured (41” X 18.5”) and pictures were taken (thankfully Janelle was there with her lens). The successful release ensured that the leviathan is still out there for the taking. High fives galore and smiles permanently pasted, our anglers tried to catch their breath.

Some of you might recall Patrick offering a $200 bounty on the first trophy fish photographed with one of the flies given out at his and Janelle’s wedding.  After conferring with Fly Club Members, said bounty still stands seeing as how the issuer cannot rightly claim his own bounty!

Please join us in trying this exciting technique at Aikens. Our Bait & Tackle shop has fly-rods for rent and flies can be negotiated from our guides. Catching fish on the fly rod is a completely different experience, one that is very contagious. Come and give it a try!

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to host Steven Wintemute, Travel Manitoba’s fishing ambassador as well as editor of Hooked Magazine.  You can watch the video he made, as well as read his blog below and view pictures of his recent trip to Aikens.  Thanks for all the great imagery and video Steven!

“Monster Minute” video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp344pRUsF0

Steven’s blog about Aikens Lake:

http://www.unexpectedmanitoba.com/2010/06/04/out-of-this-world-walleyes/

At Aikens Lake, we have fallen in love with the Blackhawks.  Their young star and captain Jonathan Toews has been coming up to Aikens with his father since he was at the University of North Dakota, the year before his rookie season.  Jonathan grew up in Winnipeg and even went to school with several of our staff members before moving away to start his hockey career.  Because of that connection, we have closely followed the successes of the Hawks over the past three seasons.   They also have several other Winnipegers on the team.  Not since the Jets left Winnipeg in 1996 have we had the opportunity to cheer for a “hometown” team in the Stanley Cup.

Not only does Aikens love the Hawks, but we have two groups from Chicago here at Aikens right now!  They felt right at home when they came to watch the game in the main lodge and saw several Blackhawks jerseys scattered throughout the crowd.  Since we don’t have satellite television (a conscious decision), our only option was to stream the game online and use a projector to show the game on a sheet pinned up to a wall in the main lodge.  Most of the staff, along with our Chicago groups all sat on the edge of our seats as the Hawks snapped the longest Stanley Cup drought in the NHL.  A roar erupted when we finally figured out that Patrick Kane had snuck one in behind the Flyer netminder in overtime (it was a quirky goal.)  The Stanley Cup victory erased what was the longest current cup drought in the NHL.  The last time Chicago won the cup was 49 years ago, 1961.  The dubious honor for longest streak now belongs to a team that many of our staff and guests also root for - the Toronto Maple Leafs, who last hoisted the cup in 1967.

The victory party in Big Molly’s was pretty special as well. Chants of the Fratellis “Chelsea Dagger” song were spontaneously sung late into the night (that’s the song that the Hawks play after every goal at the United Center.)  I am sure that it paled in comparison to what Chicago must have been like last night!  Congratulations to the Hawks and particularly to hometown hero Jonathan Toews. You’ve made Aikens Lake and all of Manitoba very proud!

———————————–

Update from last posting re: Scott Arniel

Congratulations Scott on being appointed as the new head coach of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets this Tuesday!  We’ll miss your yearly trip up here with Zinger and the Manitoba Moose organization, but I’m sure you’ll find your way back to Aikens nonetheless!

We would like to thank the GM of the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, Craig Heisinger (aka Zinger) and the head coach Scott Arniel for agreeing to host a charity trip to Aikens Lake once again.  Aikens has donated to trip for auction at the annual Moose Yearling Foundation dinner since their inception, and it’s a tradition that goes all the way back to the days of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets Goals for Kids.  Zinger and Scott have always graciously accepted to host the winners on the fishing trip, and it has become a highlight of the off-season for both men.

The trip this year sold for a record amount - nearly doubling the price from 2009!   The top bidder at the auction was Barry Bembridge.  Barry had been to Aikens on this trip in the past, and he didn’t want to let this chance go by.  After all, he had a healthy rivalry with Coach Arniel in just about every category (fishing, pool, shuffleboard.)   The competition was pretty tame on the first few days, but sitting   around Big Molly’s Bar on the 2nd night changed that.

The teams were made up: Barry and his friend Darrell would fish with Kik and Zinger and Arniel would fish with Eric.  Barry’s team was given a handicap for the next day’s fishing given the fact that Zinger is quite an accomplished angler, and Arniel was very confident that they were clearly the better anglers out of the two teams.  Terms of the competition were amended until midnight, at which point the meetings broke off and the competitors went to get a good night’s sleep.  Each 23″ walleye or bigger would count for points - there was a sliding scale.  The competition would only last until noon.

Well, as it turns out, no handicap was needed!  Barry and Darrell easily beat out the more experienced team.  Zinger and Arniel reeled in more 22″ walleyes that morning than they’d ever seen in their lives, but for some reason couldn’t break that invisible barrier often enough.  As Coach Arniel said in the post-game conference at shorelunch: “I think I was the one who insisted that the walleyes be 23″ instead of 21″… I hate losing, but I hate losing to Barry even more!”