Red Lake and Parker Lake update - week 2

The Northern Pike bite was great last week.  Lots of fish were caught including a pair of 38" fish on Parker.  Walleye fishing is still lagging behind the norm.  Several nice ones were caught though including Keith's 26" off Parker and Merlyn's 26.5" off Red Lake below.  

Fish were being caught anywhere from 7' to 13' feet deep.  We haven't had much time to fish, but the reports from guests indicate the walleye bite is still sporadic and it has been difficult to pin down a nice sized school of fish.  Guests also thought night crawlers were outfishing leeches last week.  We have another nice sized group in this week so we'll see if the walleye fishing picks up.   

The barge has been getting some good workouts.   

The weather has been great for being in the boat, but not necessarily ideal fishing weather.  Lots of warm temps, sunshine, and little wind.  The kids last week decided it was warm enough for a quick dip off the Parker dock.  Still a bit too cold for us, but Cosmo thinks the water feels pretty good.  

Coin Lake passage potentially open

Many of you are familiar with fishing Coin Lake.  It has become much tougher to get into in recent years due to an ever-growing beaver dam blocking the creek.  Long gone are the days when you could just motor up the creek.  The three to four foot tall dam required a short portage around it the last couple years.  Here is what it looked like last year.

Last week I checked out the creek and it looks like someone opened a portion of the dam.  You can see the remnants of the old height of the dam on the sides of the creek, but it looks open through the middle.  You may not be able to motor right up the creek, but it looks like with some boots on you could get out and muscle the boat through without having to take the boat off the water.  I didn't have time to attempt going up the creek, but snapped this photo of what it looks like now.

I also stumbled across this track near the creek on the old mining road.  It looks like a wolf print to me.  It was nearly the size of my hand and about twice the size of Cosmo's print.  We heard wolves howling a couple times last season.  Guests have occasionally photographed them out on the lake although it is rare.  Maybe we'll be lucky enough to see one this year (preferably from a boat).

You better come hungry here at the Eagle Falls Lodge

Ever wonder what making french toast for 22 people would look like?  Check out this stack of deliciousness from this morning's breakfast feast.   Yikes!

See the butter dishes behind the french toast ?  That is the Eagle Falls Lodge method of warming it up.  We use the steam and oven heat from all other breakfast preparation.  We have it down to a science here, people - ha!  I think everyone was happy to have a warm meal this morning, because it was CHILLY outside.  Never fear, the sun is out and it is now in the 60's.  Absolutely beautiful.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday afternoon.  I know we are....

Red Lake & Parker Lake Fishing Update - Lots of Nice Northern Pike

Good Morning!

I just finished helping our first week guests load everything up (in the rain and upper 40 degree temps!) for the ride home.  I'll be in town today making the usual stops to get our supplies for the group coming in tomorrow.  It looks like it will be pretty wet and fairly cool through the weekend but should be nice as we get into the work week.  By work week I mean fishing week, of course.

We will see what this brief cold snap does to the fishing, I guess that is why they call it fishing - right?

The first week ended much stronger than it started out.  The walleye are starting to turn on in their usual early summer spots in shallower water.  The water temperature keeps rising from the brisk 49-52 degrees I saw when I was out before guests arrived.  What we heard from our guests and the MNR officer that stopped into camp it didn't sound like anyone was having outstanding walleye action on Red Lake last week.  He was out checking fishing licenses, fish in camp, etc. and had already visited a few other lodges earlier in the day.

Plenty of walleye out there to keep you entertained and to enjoy a shore lunch if you choose!  What do you think - shore lunch or sack lunch?  The age old question of whether you take a mid-day break or are you one to fish hard ALL day?  I haven't made it out to a shore lunch yet this season, but they are definitely part of what makes a memorable Canadian fishing trip if you ask me.

We did have some guests catch some beautiful northern pike this week.  Josh caught this 44" northern pike on Red Lake on Wednesday afternoon.  He barely made it back for supper, he said the northern pike action was that good!  

Kim caught this 40" northern pike on Parker just yesterday.

Another nice sized northern caught and released this past week.

We are excited to see what happens in the coming weeks.  I think it should shape out to be a really nice month of fishing in June!


Oh, and then there's this.....

But, I'll let Travis tell you about his adventures another day!

Busy Beaver with Video!!!!

Travis and Travis and our friend Clyde were out catching a delicious walleye dinner just after season opener last week and they came across one of several beavers out on Parker Lake.  They managed to get extremely close to the beaver and captured some incredible pictures.  Apparently he wasn't too concerned with the audience he had while munching on a tasty birch log.  In the video you can hear the beaver eating, I kind of love it.  I can't decide if I think this beaver is cute or terrifying.  What do you think?  He/she is giant, for sure.

Did you know that beavers are Canada's national symbol and they can weigh up to 30 kilograms (or over 70 pounds)?  Beavers are North America's largest rodent.  Their teeth never stop growing, which is why they are always gnawing on logs.  They can be pretty dangerous in the water when threatened, which is why we keep Cosmo out of the water when we see one swimming by the docks.

Hope you get to see a beaver in action when you are at Eagle Falls Lodge this summer!

Eagle Falls Lodge week 1 is underway!

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!  I'm sure some of you are out fishing back home.

Everyone arrived safely to camp yesterday afternoon and as a bonus the weather was nice with no rain.  Woohoo!  I don't have much of a fishing report yet, as today will be the first full day out on the water for our guests.  I'm sure they would all agree that being in the boat last night, even for a bit, was worth the long drive.  We have a mix of repeat guests and new guests this week.  We are excited to get the new guys on some fish and feed them well back at the main lodge during their stay.

Our good friend, Travis Owen, FINALLY finished his PhD and has been keeping us company while enjoying some much deserved relaxation.  This picture is of Travis Owen, my Travis, and myself at the back of Parker Lake.  This is the area where we initially made it into camp.  Because Parker Lake is a much more narrow, shallow, and smaller body of water the ice typically breaks up and melts at least a few days before Red Lake.  A little unusual for us to rely on this point of entry when making it out to the lodge in the spring, but we were happy to see the A-frame main lodge and get all opening duties underway.

Here are a few more views from the point during the first few days after we made it out to our lodge.  Cosmo jumped right in and dodged ice chunks during his first swim, crazy pup!

Another incredible view of ice on Red Lake.  Everyone should happily know it is gone for good, and will be 75 degrees and sunny today.

I'm off to bake pies and finish dishes.  Jealous?

We will be back later this week with a more in-depth fishing report.  Until then.....

Red Lake 2013 Ice out pictures

Hello everyone!

* A real quick phone/internet update: everything appears to be fixed and working properly.  We apologize to everyone who had a delayed email response or was unable to get a hold of us by phone while we were setting things up/dealing with issues.  Lets hope all operates as it should for the rest of the season!*

Now, on to the good stuff.

I hinted in the last blog update that we were able to watch the ice out from the point overlooking Red Lake during our first few days out at camp.  Here are some still shots with the date and time taken.  It is incredible how fast it melted once it started breaking up.  We did have a few days with high wind and full sun which definitely helped as well.

View from the point

on Thursday, May 16th around 2pm

View from the point

on Friday, May 17th around 2pm

View from the point

on Saturday, May 18th around 10am

View from the point

on Sunday, May 19th around 10am

View from Red Lake dock 

on Sunday, May 19th around noon

Sunday, May 19th around 5pm

How cool is that!  It was very windy on Sunday, May 19th and as you can tell in a few short hours all the ice was completely gone.   We launched the barge this Tuesday and have been VERY busy getting all the supplies out to camp and will be happily welcoming our first group tomorrow!  

Have a great weekend!

The ice is out!

Greetings from up north!

Travis and I made it up to Red Lake last week and monitored the ice situation for a few days before boating into the lodge from the back end of Parker Lake.  Everything at camp is up and running!  It was incredible to watch the ice melt off of Red Lake from the point overlooking the lake over the weekend.  I am happy to report that Red Lake is open and the ice is gone.  We are busy launching the barge today and getting fuel and the rest of our supplies out to camp.  We have had some unexpected challenges with our phone and internet and are restricted at the moment to email communication.  Hopefully that will all be taken care of soon!  Once we get that all hooked up we have some pretty incredible footage to share capturing the ice on Red Lake and the progression of it melting from the past few days.

Look for a longer post soon!

Playing it safe

Hey everyone!

Travis and I are taking a mandatory vacation in Windsor, Ontario this week.  What the heck is a mandatory vacation, you ask?  This one came about after we were informed that the Transport Canada rules had been changed, requiring us to have a commercial boating certification to operate the Eagle Falls Lodge barge.  Sounds like a good time, right?  I think Travis and I will start going by "captain" this summer.  We will have our small vessel operator proficiency (SVOP) certificate and our Marine Emergency Duties (MED) course completed.  Rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?

It has actually been very informative (lets hope we each pass the exam!) and a nice refresher as to how to be more aware and operate a boat safely, improve navigational accuracy, identify various vessels by lights and sound, and collision prevention guidelines.

We just sent in our membership renewal to the Red Lake Safe Water Association this week, as well.  This group of volunteers maintain the buoys on Red Lake, and help to monitor the status of lights, etc., on the water to ensure the safety of all vessels.  This non-profit group provides several navigational aids on the Red Lake - Gullrock Lake system and receives most of its funding through membership.

Here at Eagle Falls, we mark rocks, etc. on Parker Lake each spring ourselves.  In addition, we place more markers within the immediate vicinity to our camp on Red Lake to further mark rocks, logs, shoals, etc.  This is important to protect the individual and the vessel.

So when you are out in the boat this summer having fun, keep in mind all the factors necessary to play it safe!

FYI - 11 days until walleye season opener, and it looks like there will still be ice on Red Lake!  Good thing our first group doesn't arrive until the following week.  Yikes!

Sneak a peek at our new EFL merchandise

Hello everyone!

We are super excited about our new t-shirt and hoodie design for the 2013 season.  Travis encouraged me to let it be a surprise, but I can't!  We are impressed (again!) with the talent and service at Bigfish Screenprinting - a huge shout out to everyone there for exceeding our expectations!  You can visit their website here.  Thank you, thank you!  I hope you like them as much as I do:)

Well, what do you think?  If you weren't counting down the days until you get up to Canada to see us (ahem, I mean fish) then I know the prospect of taking home one of these sweet shirts will make you start for sure!

19 days until walleye season opens!