Eagle Eye View

Hello all,



It is definitely starting to feel like the end of the season up here. We woke up to a cooler, rainy morning today - that hasn't happened a whole lot recently. Travis is out fishing today trying once again to beat my season best for Northern (42"). We've both gotten to fish a little more the last few weeks which is always fun. Last week we had some of Travis' relatives up fishing from Iowa, one of which had a birthday coming up. As a surprise birthday present his family arranged for a sightseeing float-plane ride out of Red Lake! How cool is that? So last week on Tuesday evening I got to skip out on dinner and take them into town for the birthday flight. And guess what? I ended up getting to go on the flight myself! It was really neat to see the lake from an aerial point of view. They asked what we wanted to see, so we flew over the lodge and Travis was waving from the Parker dock.



Travis' cousin and his mom were scheduled to go up and then the pilot told us that three people could go but he'd have to take one of the plane doors off. Guess who got to sit in the windy seat? I quickly volunteered and it was great. I could see a lot more without the door on the plane, but my arm and face kind of felt like when I went skydiving. The wind was whipping all the skin around.



Anyway, it was a 30 minute flight with Chimo Air. They do a lot of flights for outpost camps. I asked our pilot if they like to do sightseeing flights and he said "You Betcha!" It was $75 dollars Canadian, per person, and they take credit cards. Their office is just past Red Lake Marine on the same side of the road. You turn towards the lake right before you get to the stoplight. We just wanted to pass on the info so you all could keep that in mind as a neat add-on to your trip up to Eagle Falls Lodge. They will of course put the door back on the plane for any future passengers.

Pack Crayfish Lures

If you're planning on chasing Northern Pike during your trip it might be a good idea to pack a crayfish lure or two. We've lost count of the number of crayfish we've found while cleaning Northerns this summer, but they seem to be a popular forage. The photo above shows two that were found a couple weeks ago. I had one buried deep in my tackle box, but I dusted it off and have had success with it.

Sadly there are only a couple weeks remaining in our 2011 season. We hope you make plans to fish with us next year. We know we're already looking forward to it!

Big Fish Week

Most of the group last week targeted Northern Pike and they came away with some beauties.

Troy's 44" Northern on Red Lake



Denise's 38" Northern on Red Lake



Ralph's 40" Northern on Parker Lake



Bob's 42.5" Northern on Red Lake



Cody's 42" Northern on Red Lake



Mike's 41.75" Northern on Parker Lake



Ralph's 38" Muskie on Red Lake



There was a good split on fish caught either by trolling or casting. The group also caught several muskies which is neat to see since we don't typically see many caught through the year.

It's supposed to be 92 here tomorrow which may be summer's last gasp since it is starting to feel like fall in the evenings. Until next time, tight lines!

Eagle Falls First

Welcome to a first at Eagle Falls Lodge - the first blog ever posted from the lodge! We are used to only posting once a week when we are in town, but we finally have internet working at the lodge.

Many of you know it has been a battle to install working internet service at camp. Satellite internet service was poor to non-existent the past two years so we tried a new system that works off the 3G phone network this year. The test unit worked great, but when we made the purchase our unit could not pickup a signal. We ordered a booster antenna and 8 weeks later when it arrived we thought we were set. After setting up several fancy roof mounts in various locations and failing to receive a worthy signal we were frustrated and back at the drawing board again.

Carrie and I resorted to walking around camp with the router plugged into a Power Pack in a last ditch attempt to locate a signal. Failing yet again we were walking back across the yard with the antenna pointed toward the ground when Carrie realized we were finally getting a signal! She had left the computer open and the internet was working! Upon further inspection, we determined there was only a two foot window of signal. So this is what the new antenna mount looks like.



Yes, that is a bungee cord. The whole process reminded me of foiling the antenna on the basement TV when I was a kid.

Everything worked perfectly for 24 hours, until disaster struck. Cosmo was chasing a squirrel at full speed and tore right through the newly installed cable. The cable tore out of the antenna and the router. Thank goodness for duct tape. We are back in business now. So you can now bring along your wireless devices if you wish. And if you don't want to, we totally understand. Sometimes having no cell phone or internet is better. The good news is we can get accurate weather forecasts and respond to emails faster.

Until next time, tight lines!

Red Lake Forest Fires

There are currently 93 forest fires burning in Northwest Ontario. See the thick smoke on the horizon above. We have been fortunate with wind direction lately to avoid heavy smoke like we had a week ago. Thick smoke and ash drastically reduced visibility for one day, but most of this week was much better. There was only one day since where you could actually smell smoke. Cooler weather and some light rain have improved the fire situation. The closest large fire is burning about 20 miles northwest of camp with plenty of water in between.

The fish don't seem to mind and the guys last week caught several nice ones. We are seeing fish caught in a variety of depths on Red Lake - from 12 feet all the way down to 30 feet deep. I am still catching plenty of fish on Parker in 7-13 feet of water, but some guests are also catching them in 15-20 feet too. There is no present danger to camp so if you haven't made your trip yet, not to worry. Those of you who enjoy fresh fish for lunch will be glad to know shore lunches are still allowed. You may deal with some smoke depending on wind direction, but hopefully the weather will continue to assist the fire fighting efforts.

Here is a link to the Ministry of Natural Resources site including many pictures of the fires
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/AFFM/2ColumnSubPage/STDPROD_088522.html

Until next week, tight lines!

Have you heard?

Hello everyone,

I am hear to tell you that we have two new rooms as of the 2011 season here at the Eagle Falls Lodge. Remember last year when we were attempting that crazy addition project that everyone (including myself) thought would NEVER get finished. Well, miracle of miracles they are done. We wrapped up some finishing touches early in the season and I think it is safe to say that we have had some very satisfied guests stay over there already. We can now offer two additional rooms to our beloved guests, and these rooms are fancy pants if you ask me. You know, in that "I'm staying at a fishing lodge in remote NW Ontario" kind of way. Anyway, without further adieu, here are some pictures I took last night (Thursday = steak night) of our handy work.



This is the expanded deck that wraps around to the deck overlooking Parker Lake. The sliding door enters into a little hallway that runs on the side of the rooms closest to the main lodge.




This is the new sink and mirror. We went with a hotel type set up where the sink is outside of the bathroom. Behind that closed door you have a very energy efficient toilet and a lovely shower.



I know you are asking yourself, "Is that a queen sized bed I see, with a bunk bed to the right?" You betcha! We are excited about these new rooms because it provides better accommodations for couples and families. Complete with bowling alley flooring. Told ya it was kinda fancy pants.

In other news:

We only have 5 weeks left of the season! It has gone by so incredibly fast and I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has already been up this year and helped make it super fun. Travis and I were just talking about how we pretty much have the best job ever - when there is a slow day around camp instead of sitting bored at the computer we just hop in a boat and go fishing!

Until next time,
Carrie