We have been experiencing some of the nicest weather we have seen in a while here at Aikens.  Weather has been 75-80 for the past month, and the winds have been really light.  The rain we have had is certainly intense, but it is limited to small pockets that move in and out in less than 30 minutes (mostly in the middle of the night)… then it’s back to clear skies!  It is a stark contrast to last summer’s drizzly grip.  This summer has been wonderful so far!

Despite starting off the year with really low water, it has since crept up for all of May and June.  It finally seems to have peaked here in late July.  That is a good thing because the water was licking the bottom of the dock planks just last week!  The good news is that it has crested and is now back down about 4″ under the dock.  We are hoping that it drops quickly so we can complete our dock project at GGO this September.  The water temps have been very high and are mainly in the low 70’s.  The thermocline is very deep (over 30′?) as we measured 57 degrees at a 25 foot depth the other day!

The high water of late has opened up more areas for our great walleye population to spread out.  We are still catching walleyes in traditional spots, such as the Mouth of the River, Saddle, MOFN Reef.  These pods of ‘eyes are hanging out in varying depths, with each spot having it’s own unique “magic depth”.  Fish at the Mouth are in 24-26 feet… on MOFN they are in 28-31 feet, and at Red Rock they are in only 16 feet of water!  Other non-traditional spots are also holding walleyes right now.  As you read about last week, there are some huge walleyes sitting the shallow bay around GGO.  This has made for some interesting fishing during shorelunches as there was another 28″ caught from the dock yesterday while the morning’s catch was frying in the pans!   Another fun bite has been to cast and troll rocky shorelines (4-12 feet) with shallow crankbaits.  This has proved successful on the lake-side of Bear Island, at Toad’s Hole, and around the Three Sisters.

Yesterday we landed 5 Master Angler fish - and all were in different depths!  42″ pike at the Honeyhole.  Trophy walleyes at the Mouth, Red Rock, Wet Rock, and the one at GGO.  They ranged from 6 feet to 30 feet!  Our inaugural Century Club campaign has been a very big success as well.  The idea of the Century Club has been quickly adopted and adored by our guests!  People love gunning for that 100″ of walleyes every day… and if they get stuck at 98 or 99″, it just makes them hungrier for it the following day!  The Century Club has been moving at about the same pace as the Master Angler list with one or two anglers a day earning that distinction.   It is certainly a program that has legs and will continue to grow and blossom in future years.  With less than 7 weeks left in our season, time is running out for you to make it onto the website with either your Master Angler or Century Club designation!

We have started noticing a new pattern at Aikens.  Since early July, some big walleyes have been hanging out in very shallow water.  They are doing this in the middle of the day - even when it is calm with a bright sun!  Maybe this is due to our really high water (Note: the water level seems to have peaked - it has sat about 1″ under our dock for the past week and hopefully will begin it’s yearly descent soon.)  Maybe it is due to a change in baitfish and forage.  Or maybe it’s just something we never noticed before!

That said, it is a very cool sight to see big fish swimming around in their natural environment as if they were in an aquarium.  One such place to do this is at the GGO Shorelunch site.  It only seems to be larger fish (22″ and bigger) that hang around.  They cruise around the shallows looking for minnows and other forage.  One day last week was particularly interesting because it was more than just one or two fish - but a school of half a dozen walleyes all between 3-9 lbs.  As the guides were up on the rock filleting the shorelunch fish, the guests were crowded around the water’s edge watching their own personal nature show!

One of the guests decided to cast a line into this frenzy, and lo and behold the first ever trophy walleye was caught from the rocks at GGO!!!  We have posted the video to our Youtube page.  Click on the link to see the video (careful for young ears as the language is strong while everyone cheers on Tony!)  For those of you that saw the trophy listing and were wondering where the “Butcher Shop” was on Aikens, it is the cutting area of the GGO shorelunch site!  We don’t know if this is a one-time occurrence this year or how long this might continue, but for right now it is quite a sight to behold.  Enjoy the video!

Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF9iruqmSW8

Don Lamont, who we wrote about recently, also has a weekly column in the Winnipeg Free Press.  This week, he expounds on the virtues of our unique Century Club program!  Read all about it here:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/other/century-club-the-holy-grail-of-aikens-lake-99162519.html

Don Lamont has been in the Outdoor industry in Manitoba for over 30 years.  Former host of”The Complete Angler” television series for 15 years, Don has worked as a professional angler in both public and private industry to promote the great outdoors in Manitoba!  He is an incredible steward of our natural resources and has become a Manitoban fishing icon.

Don first visited us in 2006 during our PWT Celebrity Shootout tournament.  At the time, he was with Travel Manitoba as their outdoor products manager.  It was his first experience at Aikens, and one he would cherish for a long time until his eventual return this season!

Don is currently the Provincial Youth Angling Coordinator for Fish Futures.  He is also the co-chair for Fish Winnipeg.  This past week, Don graciously hosted a trip to Aikens that had been auctioned off this winter by the Grace Hospital Foundation in Winnipeg.  The group included the two auction winners who were hosted by Don and his guest for a three day experience on Aikens Lake.  They had themselves a grand time at Aikens - filled with fish during the day, followed by laughs and stories into the night!  As Don said it: “I’ve been to just about every lodge all over Canada in my 30 years in the business, and Aikens is easily in the top 3.”

Visit Don’s blog and recap of the trip here: http://donlamont.blogspot.com/2010/07/aikens-lake-lodge.html

First off, we have to apologize for the length between posts!  Truth be told, we were all on vacation!  As is our custom, we fly out the staff for just over a week in early July.  Traditionally the first week of July has not been sought after by our clientele, and so we use it as an opportunity to let everyone sleep in a little bit and reconnect with loved ones.  It gives everyone a chance to recharge their batteries.  We work hard and we play hard up here, and so that break is needed (although often our staff would prefer to work right through it!)  Whether we like it or not, working 7 days a week does take a toll on us all!  This scheduled break is the perfect way for us to give everyone that boost so that our second half goes as well as the first half did!

At the lodge, Julie and Pit hosted Julie’s family for the first part of the break.  Although fishing was very good, it was tough to get all the kids (5 in all) organized to go out fishing so we only got out on the lake a handful of times.  Julie’s brother-in-law Dan caught a Master Angler (or Monster Angler as the kids call them) at Middle Gull.  His 5-year old son Joel was not interested in jigging, so his rod was placed in the rod holder.  When the trophy fish hit and Joel’s rod was doubling over,  he wanted nothing to do with it!  Dan tried to convince him to reel it in because we could tell it was a big one, but Joel was already decided.  Dan had to reel it in himself and to his delight the fish ended up being a really healthy 28″ by 13″ walleye.  The fish was Dan’s slump-buster, and he finally got the mug he so coveted (and one that his wife and mother-in-law both already owned!).  For the second part of the break, our newlyweds Pat and Janelle hosted their parents and siblings.  It was during this very same break last year that Pat popped the question to Janelle in front of their close family.  They spent some good days in the Back Bay kneeboarding and tubing, but again the fishing was scarce because of the high winds.

Meanwhile, our staff was back home and busy traveling all over Manitoba and Canada during our break!  It was a great opportunity to reconnect with family, friends, and of course girlfriends and boyfriends!  Many went to the Winnipeg Folk Festival - a huge outdoor music extravaganza that lasts 4 days.  Some went to Countryfest in Dauphin.  Some traveled back home from the Western border of Manitoba all the way to the Eastern border of Ontario!  The guides had the opportunity to restock those tackle boxes with all of the lures that the fish loved in the first half.  And of course, they all took the opportunity to sleep in a little bit and catch up on those Z’s!

So all in all, it was a good way for everyone to spend the last ten days.  Everyone is really psyched up about our busy 2nd half to the season.  The fish are now squarely on the classic summer spots, and we are ready to get back in the Saddle again (like the pun?!?)  Look for our regular updates to get back on track as well.  Thanks for following along with us online!

Happy Canada Day and Independence Day!

July 1st and 4th are great days on the Aikens calendar! Today we celebrated Canada’s big day and Sunday we recognize our neighbors down south. A relaxed mood enveloped the camp today as a partly cloudy Thursday had staffers enjoying a very fun day. Julie’s family flew in and Annika, Martin and Natasha were very happy to see their cousins. A game of ring toss, some fishing of the dock and a big party on the trampoline! The kids are in heaven!

To all our guests (Canadian and American), have a great holiday on behalf of all of us at Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge.