Here is a video from a friend.

Sometimes people do not want company and chase them away. This guy was just being neighborly.

New Video of the Otter taking off from Blackbirch Lake

One of the dockhands took this video of me taking off one evening from Blackbirch.

Crank up the volume and listen to the Power!!!

A Late Start but almost have Half the Camps ready to go!!!

We are going at opening camps hard!! We have an excellent crew of young pilots working for us this season and the camp opening has been going well. We have been getting lots accomplished and the camps are in excellent shape.

We have some fisherman in the "Bush" but no fishing reports yet. I will put them up when they start to come out. Temps have been decent and the sun has been shining. I hope everyone is catching the Monsters.


Morleys was the first one to be prepared. Just barely had a path through the ice and by the afternoon the wind had changed and blew all the ice into us. Wish I could have gotten a video of the sound the candlesticked ice makes when the wind is blowing.

Cobham Daniel was next. Open close to camp, but the bigger part to the south was pretty iced up.
Here is Bruce giving direction to our dockhands to ensure things are done right.

We try to keep a good and happy working atmostsphere. The days were long to get the first few done. Up at 5 am and eating supper at 10 pm. I am so happy to be back in the bush. I seem to be getting more energy the harder we go.
Loree Lake had a Caretaker this winter. A cow moose! She has been there for years and years but this year she must have had 2 calves. I know this because of the nipped of young trees and the size and shape of the droppings right on the boardwalk.LOL Almost all of the trees are nipped off and many of the bigger trees are pulled dowm and broken around 6 or 7 feet high. She must be a big moose. I have never seen her, but moose love a south facing browsing area in the winter to get away from the Bitter North Wind.

Another Season Begins

Well we are here in Red Lake for the summer now and the Ice is on the lakes still. It looks like there will be a late ice out, but alot can change if Mother Nature decides to help out a little.

BEER

Now that I have your attention, I have a few different options for you for your fishing trip. There are some more reasonably priced Beers available as well. These beers priced around $30, where Blue and the big brands cost $45. I will give you my humble opinion. I know beer:) Rena will find out to make sure that they are all available in cans.

James Ready, 5.5% alcohol Good Beer nice flavor, lager
James Ready Honey, Good beer too, a little lighter than the above.
Lucky Lager, 4.5% alcohol Ok Beer, ok flavor, not as good as James Ready but has some flavor.
Lakeport has a few different flavors but I have never been fond of this brand but some people like it. I am not sure if this one is available in cans or not but the others are for sure.

Also there is construction on the causeway past Fort Frances so there will be lengthy delays due to that. We are suggesting you go West on highway 11 to highway 71. Go north on 71 through Sioux Narrows and then travel East on Highway 17 until you reach Vermillion Bay. Then north on 105 to Red Lake.


Here we go again, Are you Ready?

The Cut for Cancer Research.

As a last team function we went to watch the last Regular Season game of the Vancouver Canucks farm team, The Manitoba Moose. Before the game though there was a fundraiser for Cancer research. Shaving your head. I have a lot of respect for these kids for doing this with me. Overall ther was $14 000 raised in 3 hours. Then our Moose beat up on the Toronto Marlies 6 - 0. Nice to watch, lots of scoring, a couple fights and a lot of hard bodychecks. Great game!

Most of us got to go at the same time and the hair fell to the floor.

Now we can all go 5 miles per hour faster!LOL These boys got to go on the radio with the local morning Dj's and chat for a bit.

Moose Players Mike Keane(has a couple of Stanley cup rings) and Jason Jaffray( an up and comer for the Canucks) spent some time with the kids and I. They really enjoyed that. Getting to tell professionals their hockey stories was cool.

Suggested Tackle Boxes for your Canadian Flyin Fishing Trip

A lot of Fishermen think that when it comes to fishing, you need a ton of tackle... this is not the case when you fish with Amik Outposts!! All you need is a soft sided tackle box with 3-4 individual compartments. There are pockets on three sides that can hold various other things like your stringer, pliers, jaw spreaders, and extra Powerbait etc.



Here is an example of what not to bring... This is a totally un-necessary amount of tackle to bring. Unless you have all the tackle for three or four people in this tackle box.



This is the size of tackle box you need to go to Canada. Everything for a weeks fishing will fit into this approximately 16 inch long bag. I do not endorse Berkley over Plano, either one is as good as the other. Check em out.

Hockey is Over and Winter is Still Hanging Around

We entered a 24 team tournament in Portage la Prairie this past weekend and came out quite well. Not much snow where we were but and hour north in Eriksdale there was a Heavy snow storm. At least a foot of snow fell overnight and it was Wet and Heavy. Spring was here......


My Daughter Maija sits by her friend Jerrica every game and practice. Here they are for what was to be the final game of our season.


We were in the semi-final of the Portage Lions 19th Annual Atom Tournament, one which has many extended roster teams which take players from a wide region to make an allstar team. We went with our kids from our 2 small towns... All weekend the hockey was fast and furious, our kids played as well as I have ever seen them play. Competing and Beating teams from larger towns which have a number of teams in each age group. It feels so rewarding to see these young hockey players mature and play so well as a team. This team is made of 1/2 nine year olds and 1/2 ten year olds. All the other teams are made up off 10 year olds so the competion and size difference is a factor. Our kids were totally up for it. The last game was a Wild one. Goal for goal we were tied but we were on them like stink. Austin N., a nine year old on our team picked up the puck along the boards by the top of the circles and had a clear path to the net, WITH 10 SECONDS LEFT in Regulation!!! He shoots.... and it hit the post! He almost had the rebound to boot but the goalie covered it and here comes overtime...AGAIN. 5 Minute 4 on 4 overtime. We carried most of the play but could not bury another goal. This was such a large tournament that the next step after OT is a SHOOT-OUT. We scored 2 and they scored 4. Hockey is officially over for the season. Excellent Hockey and feels so good to be a part of such a growing experience for these kids. Next year they go into body contact!!! I can't wait:)



There was plenty of pool and hot tub time for the Kids as well. Hockey Tournaments are still some of my fondest Memories.


We also had our "2nd annual Wind up on the Lake". I made a rink out on Lake Manitoba and had the Girls and Boys teams out for a party. There was a ton of kids and a lot of hockey. The kids really like a party like that, definately something different.


This is one of our players little brother watching and wanting to be out there with the big kids... Soon enough.LOL He will be a good player. Comes from a good hockey family.