We wanted to touch base with everyone and first off, we are hoping you all are healthy and doing great! We are still looking at this season with a positive outlook and want to let you all know that we are going from camp to camp in preparation of opening. The question of when we are going to be open is in the air yet as we wait to get the green light from the federal and provincial governments. Right now, our borders are closed until June 21^st but our prime minister announced there is a possibility that will be extended.

We hear that marinas can be open for launching boats, provincial parks are only open for day passes (no overnights) and private campgrounds with seasonal campers (owning their own trailers at trailer parks) can be open so there will be a gradual re-opening in Ontario. The safety for everyone comes first and foremost and we really are looking forward to seeing those who would/able to come this season.

Until then, we keep chugging along…

Caribou Falls still has the lock on the gate of our entrance from winter time…our landing that Louie and Yvonne came to love and call home in the 1960’s. They told the stories where there would be a lineup of cars/trucks/campers with boats waiting to pull in the yard decades ago on opening weekend…even now its an eerie site as many people would be driving in, finding their cabin, and launching their boats…in time, we will be there again. We have only put a couple of the boats in the water for transportation back and forth from the lodges and our outpost. The water has been turned on in the lodge and next week we will start getting the water going to the cabins and getting the lodge’s spring clean under wrap.

At Kettle Falls, the new boat house is almost complete-wiring and electrical, shelves, ramps, floors, decks and stairs are finished. We attached the dock that we take away every fall to an island to protect it from when the ice goes out. The grass is starting to turn green and we really wish we had fishermen coming in this weekend. Kind of crazy to think all our staff was supposed to be here a week ago this past Monday getting camp opened and ready for guests.

One Man Lake Lodge has been under the watchful eye of literally one man, Kirk-he has been living out at One Man since before the quarantine happened. He makes sure that the water didn’t freeze throughout the spring, that the solar is running properly for power, and that the heater/boiler system is in check. Our camp cat-Marigold keeps Kirk company. The docks have been re-installed from their winter placement and some of our flowers are already starting to sprout! The outpost camps have also been getting work done. Rex Lake has all the new shingles on the roof complete. Right Lake we finished building the new dock and are gearing up to install the new stair case up to the cabin. Jamie flew to each outpost putting up docks and getting the camps inventoried and ready to go.

A month beginning with uncertainty about the summer fishing season. We really wish everyone well and that everyone stays healthy. We have our fingers crossed that we can get our guests to come and visit us to be able to have a fishing break after all this pandemic is over! We are looking forward to walleye, bass, northern pike, lake trout, bears, moose, musky, deer, loons, planes, docks, boat and motors, paddles, life jackets, kayaking, canoeing, shore lunch fires, fried fish, camp fires, relaxing, dreaming, nature and anything else that gets us in the mood to ENJOY summer!!!

Our brand-new boats and motors for Caribou Falls Landing arrived. We went ahead with the purchase even with covid-19 as if the border was able to open this year, our guests would be able to have excellent new Alaskan 18’ boats to fish out of-if not, we are that much more prepared for 2021.

March was all about working and fishing at Halley’s—hard work on the saw mill followed by some beauty catches pulled up from under the ice!

As all of you know, this is the month that the pandemic hit strongly all across the world. We are feeling for everyone who cannot enjoy the outdoors throughout all of this. We are so very thankful that we live where we live—we live amongst some of the greatest nature in the Canadian Shield. All of us here went to the grocery stores as limited as possible every 1-3 weeks and not going in public places. We still worked through the month of March with Chris, Amber, Rob and Bev at our office. We were lucky that our backyards have lakes that we were able to go and fish, ice roads to get us to other fishing holes, and miles of snowmobile trails that we could use for access to ice fish. We caught our own minnows, fished with our families, and the outdoors became our social life with the birds, squirrels and all the other woodland animals.