5 Northern Pikes

Lloyd Lake has always produced great northern pike. So have our other lakes. In fact, you can catch pike in any of the 4 lakes we have on offer. There are lots of them in the 5 to 25 lb range, and they're aggressive once you have 'em hooked. This past season, none of the boats fishing for pike ever came home without having caught at least one decent pike.

Here are 5 great sharks we saw in our 2012 season. Tight lines!

The first beauty of the season. Caught by our very first guest at the end of May.

One of the beautiful pike this group caught on an afternoon in early June on Lloyd Lake.

Trevor's first hour of his first evening. Caught on the fly. 20 lbs or so.

One of the season's beauties, caught on Preston Lake.

Although he's usually fishing for walleye, Derrick occasionally hooks up with a nice pike too.

Before and After

We’ve talked a lot about the renovations we did to the lodge this year. In total, we renovated 6 cabins and the dining room and rec hall. New roofs, new paint, new floors, new showers, new beds, lights, blah blah blah on and on. Check out this selection of before and after photos instead. They say it better than we ever could.


Created with flickr slideshow.

Granny's Fall Walleye

Nice stringer, Gran!

Three weeks ago, we sat on our cabin porch and commented that the air had changed somehow. It was subtle. A little fresher in the mornings. Ever so slightly cooler in the evenings. Daytime weather was scorching-->—still hot enough for regular swims off the doc-->—but, undeniably, fall was in the air. Summer was tired.

We briefly thought about the amazing first season we've had and how sad it was that it's ending. Too soon, too soon, like all the best things in life! Then we went walleye fishing and forgot all about our first world problems.

Fall walleye are huge. The bite is hot. Catching them makes people happy.

Check out our granny's smile.That could be you. We still have room at the lodge.

Spot of Confidence

August 10, 1928 was my grandfather's birthday. Not only was Larry Ewanishan my fishing partner for 25 years, but my mentor, cohort in crime, and all around best friend in the world. It has been nearly a year since he passed now. Not a day goes by that I don't think of him and the memories we shared together, especially those formed on the waters here at Lloyd Lake Lodge. As a tribute to my best pal I decided to hop in the boat and slam a bunch of walleye in his honor. Here's what happened...

9:30 am - I turn off my laptop and turn on my Hummingbird Fish Finder
9:31 am - I fire up Belinda (my boat) and give Milli (my golden retriever) the okay to hop in as we are off to beat on some walleye for a couple of hours
9:40 am - I arrive at one of my favorite spots and launch a 3/8 oz yellow jig tipped with a 3" Jerk Shad Shaky Shad Powerbait and await the bite
9:45 am - First bite...don't hook up
9:50 am - Second bite...must not be holding my mouth right...missed that one too
9:55 am - No fish. I'm baffled. What happened to all the walleye?

Okay, here's the truth of it. For the next 20 minutes or so I change rods, lures, colors of Powerbait, everything I can think of that might turn my luck. I employ every technique, from trolling to casting to jigging. Heck I even stomp on the floor of my boat to try and wake up the sleeping 'eyes to no avail. I know they're there but I just can't elicit another strike. This is where the lesson from my fishing partner comes in: he would tell me not to beat my head against a wall when I could be putting it to good use. It's like the old cliche says: The light goes on and I know what I have to do. Move.

10:20 am - I arrive at a new spot not 3 minutes from "old faithful," size up some structure, find a drop-off from 5' to 12', send my jig to the depths and...bam. Walleye! It's one 'eye after another for an hour straight.

Here's the what I learned. When I woke up this morning I was confident. When you put your mind to a task, and you truly believe in what you are doing, you will succeed, if you allow yourself to. As I hit the water, everything lined up: the sun was dancing on the perfect amount of walleye ripple, I had my favourite gear in tow, and to top it all off, today I had a cause. I could have stayed at my old faithful spot all day. The probability is high that I would have hooked into a fish or two, but a little persistence, spontaneity, and downright desire-to-succeed had me searching out those elusive walleye. It seems to me that too often in life we grow complacent. We stick to what we know because it's safe and familiar, but today was a day for winners. Life should be about seeking out new experiences, taking risks, and learning and sharing with others.

As noon approached I decided to give the fish a well-deserved break: they were great sports. When I neared the dock, I guess my ear to ear smile gave away the secret of my adventures on Lloyd Lake. Within minutes I was sharing the newfound hotspot, named "1928," with my brother. Whether fishing and seeking out new waters, or sitting in front of your computer reading this blog post, challenge yourself today and create a little glory of your own.

August 10, 2012: Slam walleye in honour of my grandpa. Mission accomplished.

Winner Winner Walleye Dinner

Keith Aulie and Dan Miguel show off a couple of Lloyd Lake lakers.

NHL star Owen Nolan smiles over yet another pike caught off the dock.

This weekend, Lloyd Lake Lodge hosted contest prize winner, Jeff Cigan and his buddy Andrew McBride at the lodge. As part of their prize, they fished with NHL stars Owen Nolan and Keith Aulie; Patrick Walsh from Outdoor Canada; and Dan Miguel from National Prostaff. Patrick and Dan did a great job documenting the group's fishing exploits. Check out their blog posts for more photos and stories.

Patrick's Posts

Fun and Games at Saskatchewan’s Lloyd Lake Lodge: reporting in 

Fun and Games at Saskatchewan’s Lloyd Lake Lodge: Saturday update

Fun and Games at Saskatchewan's Lloyd Lake Lodge: last day

Fishing with the NPS Posse

Dan's Posts

Lloyd Lake Lodge—Full Trip Review
 
Lloyd Lake Lodge Dream Trip—Day 1 Update

Lloyd lake Lodge Dream Trip—Day 2 Update

Dream Trip to Lloyd Lake Lodge—Final Day Update

Thanks for the fishing and the stories, gentlemen. Tight lines!

Fishing with Derrick

If you’ve had the pleasure of fishing with Derrick, you’ll know that he likes to catch the big ones. Or at least lots and lots of smaller ones. It gives him great pleasure to watch people pulling in fish after fish or landing a lunker.

It’s even happened that he gives his rod away when he thinks he’s got a good one on the hook. He says he’s caught his share of big ones. He loves watching people’s faces as they play the fish, and especially when they get their first glimpse. It’s a fact that Derrick's usually more excited than the person wheeling in the fish!

That was exactly the case on Monday this week when he took me fishing. I’m his new sister-in-law, and Desi wanted to fish old school with his dad, so Derrick and I went out together with all the technology we could lay our hands on. Fish finder? Check! Downriggers? Check! Very nice rods and wicked reels? Check!

Laker #1: 12 lbs. No big deal. Hah!

Big Fish Lake is where we like to send people who love landing lake trout. We know that the biggest fish ever pulled out of that lake weighed around 30 lbs, so we have high hopes. Derrick doesn't even have the second downrigger set up when we have our first hit, but we miss that one. No worries.

When the downrigger on the left side starts jerking wildly, we know we have a good one on. Derrick jumps, gets the line off the 'riggger and hands me the rod. I can’t believe my luck, but I should have expected it, knowing that he’s such a great guy. Single ladies, take note! Derrick gets the other line out of the water and coaches a very inexperienced angler who’s only fished for lake trout once before. We get the fish in the boat, and Derrick is more excited than anyone over the nice 12 pounder. A few photos and it’s back in the water, hopefully growing bigger for the next lucky angler.

A half hour passes while we chat and watch the lines, then boom! A big fish takes the bait and has Derrick pretty much jumping up and down while he hands me the rod again and yells, "There’s one on the other side too!" We miss that one since it takes too long to deal with fish number 1, but no matter.

Laker #2: 16 lbs.

Reviving laker #2. Yes, he's still swimming!

This one’s definitely bigger and takes some time to get on the boat. Derrick is efficient with a net and with coaching me: "Reel in to the leader and bring the fish gently to the net. There you go. You’re doing a great job, Elize. That’s a big fish!" We get this one in the boat for a few photos, and then it takes quite a while to revive. It has me worried. Guess it’s tired after that fight. In the end, Derrick’s dad, who’s come over to see what we've caught, revives it and it swims off straight back down to 60 feet. Phew! It would really suck to be responsible for the death of such a beautiful fish.

We rig up again, miss another hit or 2, and then fish number 3 hits like a tonne of bricks. Must be the flashy rig Derrick chose (a red spoon and a flasher). It’s on the same side again. Derrick grabs the rod and for the third time hands it to me. I’m definitely a lucky girl! This one must be big. It takes so much line right away. I can’t keep my tip up. Derrick is zinging with excitement and getting the other line up and coaching me and says at least 20 times, "That’s a huge fish, Elize. That’s such a huge $#!%*@# fish!" My rod tip is in the water. Fish 3 keeps running away!

Look at Derrick's face. Holy S%*t! BIG fish!

Got him! High five!

What a beauty.

Don't drop it!

Laker #3: 28 lbs. It doesn't get much better than this.

Finally, we get our first glimpse before it runs off some more. It’s a monster! Derrick is jumping up and down as much as you can on a boat without capsizing it. We miss netting it on our first try, but it’s ours on round 2. "Wow! What a fish! What a beautiful fish!" That’s all Derrick can say as he hauls it into the boat. It struggles a bit so Derrick ends up hugging the fish so it doesn’t fall and get hurt in the process. We really want to put this baby back in the water so someone else can experience what we just experienced. A few photos and it’s time for fish 3 to swim again. After all that fighting, it spends 10 seconds in Derrick’s hands before taking off back to the deeps of Big Fish Lake. Wow.

All right, big boy. Time to go back.

We didn’t have a scale or a measuring tape on us—just fishing for fun—but Derrick estimates the fish between 25 and 28 lbs. That’s awesome for lake trout. And the biggest fish I’ve ever caught. And the biggest fish anyone's caught at Lloyd so far this year. Thanks, bro!

A Fishing Weekend at Lloyd Lake Lodge

Hello relaxation! Colin catches a few off the dock while Milli the lodge dog hangs out.

What can we expect from a trip to your lodge?

That’s the question we get from almost everyone considering a trip to Lloyd Lake. Well, we just had an incredible weekend with 12 guests. Late Thursday afternoon, we hear the buzz of 2 Cessna Grand Caravans. The first plane is on floats. As it pulls up to the dock, Derrick greets everyone and shows each group to their cabin. Desi flies in on the second plane. He’s just finished honeymooning in Hawaii. Their dad, Don, who’s been working with them on the lodge the whole time, meets them at the airstrip. Our guests don’t know it yet, but they’ve just stepped into paradise for 3 days. That’s what lovely couple John and Sheryl from Fort MacMurray tells us on Sunday.

Once everyone gets settled in their cabin, Desi hooks them up with Saskatchewan fishing licenses and any tackle and bait they require from Tight Lines Tackle (Lloyd Lake’s new tackle and snack shop). Some guests wander down to the dock and check out the conference cabin. Derrick’s in the kitchen getting the first of 3 fabulous dinners ready to go.

Derrick dishes out seconds of the cabbage soup while plating the smoked lake trout salad.

Thursday night’s food is ridiculously delicious: homemade potato chips, smoked lake trout salad, cabbage soup, roasted chicken, and coconut chocolate cream cheese cups. While the food is tasty, all 12 guests are anxious to get on the water. By 7:30, everyone’s in their boat, ready to get a first taste of fishing at the lodge. Smiling faces come back around sunset. No big ones, but enough action to take the edge off. Our guests sit back on their private decks with a drink or 2, taking in the scenery and feeling the beginnings of the relaxation they came for soaking into their bones.

Sheryl and John come in after some good fishing.

Friday morning starts with breakfast at 7. With bellies full of bacon and eggs, everyone heads out for their first full day of fishing. All the guests fish Lloyd Lake today, and 6 boats loaded with tackle, shore lunch boxes, pro guides and anticipation-filled guests depart shortly after 8.

Watching boats full of our guests leave the dock is one of the best feelings in the whole world. Quiet descends on the camp, and we usually sit on the dock for a half hour taking a breath, catching up to make sure all our guests are happy, and appreciating the satisfaction each of us feels to be a part of creating this awesome experience for our clients. Happy guests are our ultimate reward, so we work damn hard to meet everyone’s expectations. The golden rule here? If there’s anything we can do to make your trip better, all you have to do is ask. We’ll go the extra mile every time, just to see the smile on your face. That probably sounds like marketing speak you’ve heard before, but check out our guest comments. Those say a lot, and we’re proud of them.

While we’re taking a breather on shore, our guests get to their first spots for the day. Usually the first priority of the morning is catching shore lunch. On Lloyd Lake that means either catching walleye or northern pike. Friday’s fishing is definitely decent, and no one eats beans and potatoes at lunch. It’s a hot day, so after shore lunch some guests try out our pretty sand beaches. Believe it or not, we have beautiful beaches here. At some of them the water is shallow for a while. When the weather has been consistently hot for a few weeks the way it usually is in July and August, the water there is lukewarm. Makes it easy to get wet, but also has some guests asking their guide to drive the boat to the middle of the lake so they can take a dip in some colder water to really cool off!

Some groups go for a swim, but others get right back to fishing and fish until it’s time to return for dinner. Around 5 the boats start coming back in, and Dez makes sure he’s there to greet each boat. Derrick runs out a few times in between making dinner since he’s anxious to hear if anyone’s caught a big fish. Sure enough, Shannon’s caught a really nice pike: 20 lbs plus. And then Tony announces he also caught a beautiful 20 pound pike, but it got off the hook right next to the boat after everyone had a good look at it. The other boats had a steady day of fishing too, and no one is complaining when they hit the dining room for fish talk and appies at 6.

Cheeseburger soup in the making.

And what a dinner Friday night is. Read the menu and weep!

Dry ribs
Pickled walleye salad with lime
Cheeseburger soup with pickles
Pork chops with beet and garlic aioli (it’s pink!) and caramelized root vegetables
Coconut rice pudding with dried cranberries and cinnamon

The photos say it all. Our guests are very full and very happy when they leave. Some groups still haven’t had enough fishing, so they head out for some evening fishing—this time to Big Fish Lake for some lake trout action. Others stay behind to play cards and hang out with family and friends. It’s a great night. 

Nice 'eye, Gary!

We decide it’s’ time for a break too. Since we have outdoor writer Brad Fenson and his soon-to-be-wife Stef up here experiencing Lloyd Lake, Derrick heads out on the water with them. They slam walleyes in the 2.5 to 3.5 lbs range until it gets dark. Dez heads out with new wife Elize and finds 2 boats fishing Derka’s (named for Derrick since it’s his favourite walleye spot on Lloyd). We stop by just in time to see Gary hook up with a nice walleye. We fish with them for a bit, but then leave them to the ‘eyes.

More nice 'eyes! Good work, gentlemen.

Colin and his brother, Michael, come with us. Soon enough they hook into a double with walleyes on the line. After that, we try a couple of spots but mostly appreciate the gorgeous Lloyd Lake sunset. The water is glass, the company is good, and the sky is red, purple and pink as the sun sinks behind the trees. What a night for being on the water! We get home and with Stef and Brad cook up a contest and some gag prizes to be announced at Saturday night’s dinner.

Sunset fishing...just a man and his dog.

Saturday morning is as pretty as Friday. We can tell our anglers are really unwinding. A few come in on time for breakfast, but most straggle in around 7:30 and even 8. It’s pancakes and ham this morning. Two of our groups are heading to Big Fish to try their luck for lake trout, so they hop in the truck to drive there. Everyone leaves the dining room satisfied as usual, and the last boat is off the dock at Lloyd by 9. Instead of doing our usual chilling out routine on the dock, we head out with our guests.

Two brothers fishing the grayling hole, just like old times!

Today at Lloyd we’re fishing the grayling hole, a short way up the Clearwater River. It’s situated beautifully right before a dangerous set of rapids and right after a set of gentle rapids (not so gentle in spring—ask Derrick about that sometime when you come to the lodge…*wink*). We park the boat and step onto some big rocks. A grayling jumps right in front of Dez, but we catch walleye. The exciting part of the grayling hole is that you never know what you’re gonna get—grayling, walleye, pike—they’re all there. Later that afternoon, Stef and Brad are fly fishing the same spot and land 4 Arctic grayling. Stef’s first grayling, a 20 incher, is so stunning she cries. No, we’re not kidding—she’s been trying to catch one for a long time—we’re pretty sure this fish made her trip…sorry, Brad!

Stef and her grayling. (Photo: Brad Fenson)

Colin, his brother, their dad and grandfather arrive at the hole after a few hours of hot walleye fishing on the lake. By this time we’re trolling just above the second set of rapids next to the grayling hole and catching walleye after walleye, again. We hand our spot to the guys and park our boat at the trail leading to the river below the rapids. It’s too dangerous to go through the rapids with the boats, but a 5-minute walk gets you to the other side. We cast into the rapids and land walleye after walleye right on the edge where the rapids meet calmer water. Dez pulls out 10 fish and runs to tell the groups fishing the grayling hole about this hotspot. They show up right at the end of the hot streak, but Brad manages to pull out 6 nice walleye in about 5 minutes all the same. The scenery is beautiful—it’s another hot day. The sky is cloudless and the sun sparkles on the rapids—it’s impossible not to relax into the late morning. We find wild currents and gooseberries growing right behind us and pick the ripe ones off the bushes. Duty calls though, so we head back to the lodge when shore lunch time rolls around.

Derrick pulls out yet another walleye from the spot below the rapids.

Brad returns one of the 6 walleye he caught in minutes to its home.

Heading up the river to a shore lunch spot.

Coca Cola wings going on the plate, and walleye wraps in the foreground.

At 5 Dez is meeting boats and the truck from Big Fish and Derrick’s sweating it out in the kitchen, almost ready for the last dinner. In between slinging coca cola wings and walleye wraps, Derrick hears the news: John caught an 18 lb laker. Awesome fish! Everyone admires the photos before appetizers. Colin is thrilled too: he's caught his first ever walleye on the fly.

As we’re putting appetizers on the tables, we hand out gag prizes—a holey net for the Tony who lost the biggest fish (sorry about the 20 lb northern…hope we see you back soon!), bandaids for John who stuck a hook into his thumb on the first day, tissues for Stef so she can wipe her eyes the next time she catches a beautiful fish, a large barf bag for Michael since he wasn’t feeling so well on the plane ride over and might need one on the way back tomorrow. Stickers, lures and even a rock find new owners.

Michael and his extra large barf bag get a hand.

Judging from the laughter and the orders for seconds and thirds of the walleye wraps, everyone is having a great time. Monster rib-eye steaks cooked to our guests’ liking and fresh blueberry-apricot fruit tarts complete a flawless evening. Gary and Shannon go to Derka’s and slay walleye. Jason and Aubrey catch pike after pike—they lose count. Sheryl and John explore some islands we’ve never fished and catch lots of fish. Michael and Colin fly fish pike off the dock. Colin leaves to play cards with his family, and Michael catches a nice walleye before also heading in for a game of crib with his grandfather.

Sunday Breakfast: French toast and sausage.

Sunday morning at 6 am, Derrick spots Tony on the dock and takes him a coffee. Inspired by his sons’ success the previous night, Tony’s decided to catch a few fish before breakfast. Brad shows up soon after with his and Stef’s to go mugs for their first coffees. Almost everyone is on time for breakfast today—last day of fishing! The groups switch lakes, so yesterday’s laker crew is on Lloyd one last time, and the Lloyd crew fishes Big Fish Lake for their shot at a nice laker. Brad is successful—he jigs up a 12 lb lunker, but Colin tops that with an 18 pounder. On Lloyd, the walleye slaying continues. Shannon tells us he’s never caught so many fish in his life. Sheryl and John explore some remote territory. They try their luck on Preston Lake, and enjoy the experience so much that they book for next year before they leave. We’re honoured! Can’t wait to see you next year!

 

Brad's lake trout. Nice fish! (Photo: Stef van Huystee)

The boats come home at 3 so people can pack up their bags and maybe take a quick shower before the planes show up at 5. Sometime between 3 and 4, Desi starts a new Lloyd Lake Lodge tradition: everyone who wants to, and especially those who caught big fish, writes on the wall in the conference cabin. We scrabble up some Jiffy markers for the occasion.

John ads his 18 lb lake trout to the conference cabin wall.

Thanks for helping us start a new Lloyd Lake tradition, everyone! We had a fantastic time with you, and hope to see all of you back here soon.

See you soon!

Desi and Elize Get Married!

We finally did it! Woohoo!!

July 5 was a great day. Naturally I went fishing with the boys the day of the wedding and caught a 17lb Chinook...no big deal. My brother and best man Derrick made sure I was at the altar with time to spare.

When I first glimpsed my bride I have to admit I got a little teary-eyed. From writing our own vows to the evening's last dance with my wife, the day was filled with joy and overflowing with brilliance! We couldn't have greater families and friends. To our new and old friends: thank you for sharing in our lives!

All our love and tight lines,

Dez & Elize

New Dock

If you’re an angler planning to come up here, we know you want to see two things: boats, and the dock. We present you with Lloyd Lake Lodge’s new dock and boats.

Pretty sweet, eh?

Our First Fishing Report!

It's time for the first Lloyd Lake Lodge fishing report. Woohoo!

On Thursday, our fishermen launched a total assault on Lloyd Lake's walleye with one first-time angler purportedly catching 42 walleye before lunch, and then moving on to some great northern pike action. There were several walleye caught in the 3 to 4 pound range with the biggest weighing in at 4.4 pounds. Keep in mind that nearly every boat was fishing walleye, but even so, the biggest northern weighed in at 12.7 pounds.

Even the owners get to catch a walleye every now and then. Derrick guided, and I landed this one as soon as my hook went in the water. Thanks bro, and thank you fish!

Yesterday morning the water looked like glass with hardly a cloud in the sky; a perfect day for slamming fish. More walleye mayhem ensued. The largest was 5.6 pounds. As for northern pike, the anglers report unreal top water action. They landed two 20+ pound beauties and lots in between.

One of yesterday's two huge northerns. Congrats Rod and Tony. Great fish!

Today may be a day for lake trout. They’ll probably be heading to Big Fish Lake. In a couple of evenings of fishing for about an hour each time last weekend, we pulled in three 8+ pound lakers, and quite a few in the 3 to 4 pound range. We’ll see what stories our anglers bring home tonight. 

As for Arctic grayling, our first clients two weeks ago landed a few nice ones. In fact, one of the guys completed the Lloyd Lake grand slam (walleye, pike, lake trout, grayling). We haven't gone grayling fishing since, but we'll keep you posted when we do.

Tight lines, everyone!

Diamond in the Rough

Note: The plan was to post this on Mother’s Day, which is when we wrote it, but some unforseen internet issues and just general busy-ness got in the way. Hope you enjoy it anyway, even if it’s a little late!

I’m writing this post as we’re flying from Fort MacMurray on our way home. We had to refuel on the way home from Lloyd Lake.

This weekend was a surprise visit to my dad and brother.  We brought in another Caravan-load of supplies for the lodge. Most importantly, my granny, my mom, Elize and I got to see Derrick on his birthday.

Derrick blows out the candles on his birthday cake. Granny baked it and made sure it got on the plane. It got a few bumps on the way, but it still tasted delicious!

Every aspect of this weekend was awesome. It’s amazing what 6 people can accomplish in 2 days. One cool stat: before, the lights in the lodge used 10,000 watts. When we’re all done in the cabins, we’ll be pulling only 1,300 watts. A great start on our journey to become an eco lodge within a few years.

In the mornings, after having a coffee on the dock, we’d head to the dining room and get to work. For 3 days before we arrived, Derrick scraped wallpaper off the walls—a massive and time-consuming job. On Saturday I rolled the walls, Elize did the cutting and trim-painting, and Derrick found us everything from flooring and paint brushes to light bulbs in the various places they’re stored. It’s a task in itself to sort and find stuff. We’ve brought so many new supplies to the lodge that we essentially have our own Rona.

Mom and granny cleaned out and scrubbed down a storage room and organized the linens. They always take on the tasks no one wants to do and finish them with smiles of pride and accomplishment on their faces. Thanks ladies, and happy Mother’s Day!

Sunday broke beautifully. As the morning sun poured through the dining room windows, we put in the new floor while dad finished reframing the main door. By noon, the new floor was done and we were putting the finishing touches on the paint. Mom and granny had done some more cleaning magic in the owner’s cabin and came up with lists of what we need for the next trip in. What a difference 2 days can make.

Installing the dining room floor.

Although there’s lots of work to be done, Derrick made a rule that we have to go fishing every day. We can’t fish yet, but we did go for a cruise on the lake to the waterfall on Saturday. It’s a peaceful spot with the water running over the rocks and loons calling in the background. We took our new dog, Milli, with us. She’s a golden retriever, and she adores water. She views Lloyd Lake as her private swimming pool.

Meet Milli. She may look like a clean, princessy kind of puppy, but she has special skills for finding the dirtiest, smelliest things to roll in. Fortunately, she loves to swim.

The waterfall.

This afternoon we took her on the boat again for a cruise to see how much of the ice has come off the lake. It’s almost gone. I decided to pick up a piece of the rotten ice. Wow is it cold on the hands! I chucked it back quickly, not thinking anything of it. Next thing we know, Milli calmly makes her way to the back of the boat and dives into the water head first to retrieve. Stunned silence from the 3 of us. Then, pandemonium!

Between laughing hysterically, Elize managed to snap a few photos of me and Derrick giving Milli a hand onto the boat. Notice the ice chunk in her mouth. She was not letting go of her prize, especially after having to jump into a lake with the water sitting at 3.2 C to get it. She’s staying at the lodge for the summer. What dog could wish for anything more? New people every week and a lake just begging her to jump in. She’s going to have a blast!

We’re almost home now. Northern Canada from the sky is a pretty place. Throughout this flight the sun has shimmered on the lakes and rivers. A beautiful flight to end a beautiful weekend.

A Tale of Two Planes

From left to right: Derrick, Dez, Dad (Don), Craig

The past Sunday was a big day for us. No one needed an alarm—we got up more excited than kids on Christmas morning…. After all, we were going to be in our own version of Top Gun. Except that the planes were Cessna Grand Caravans, our uniforms were the new Lloyd Lake Lodge swag, and no one was quite as good looking as Tom Cruise in his younger days. Still, we quoted pretty much every line in the movie:
            
“Too close for missiles; switching to guns.”
“You can be my wingman anytime.”
“If you screw this up, Maverick, you’ll be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog sh*t out of Hong Kong.”

And on it went. All the way up to Fort McMurray. All through loading 2 Cessna Grand Caravans as full as they could go—4,500 pounds plus 4 guys and 2 pilots. And all the way to the lodge. As we were approaching Lloyd Lake, this came over the radio:

Derrick’s plane: “Tower, this is Ghost Rider requesting a flyby.”
My plane: “Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.”

And then, “Vroom!” Derrick buzzed the lodge.

Suffice it to say, we had as much fun as possible. Even though there was lots of packing and unpacking to accomplish our objective for the day, it never felt like work. Cruising over all four lakes was a fantastic time!

Lloyd Lake is opening up nicely, with ice piled up in a few places. Some of the ice took out our dock, which is really good since we’re replacing it anyway. Thanks Mother Nature!

As soon as we landed, I jogged into the lodge to maximize the time I could spend there. Walking into the lodge was serene. I had sand in my moccasins. It was beautiful outside, and when I came to the lodge it was all quiet and peaceful. You could hear your own thoughts echo. It felt like home—it’s a great sense of pride and belonging—and everything was right in the world at that moment.

Seeing 2 planes parked on the runway is definitely cool. Lloyd hasn't seen that in a long time. May there be many more occasions!

We unloaded our gear using the tractor, which is my dad’s baby at this point. I’m pleased to report that he’s getting better and better at handling it. When I get back there, I expect a runway smoother than butter! Right, dad?

For the way back, I arranged for my friend Craig to sit shotgun. He’s never flown a plane before, so I talked our pilot into letting him fly. Craig, well, let’s just say he was a pretty happy guy. He flew for at least half an hour. When the wheels touched the ground in Fort Mac, he looked back at me and said, “Glad I didn’t kill you, buddy,” with a smile on his face from ear to ear. Kudos to Captain Jason MacNeil. Flying with him is plain fun.

While I was sad to get on the plane home, leaving my dad and brother there to get the work started, soon I will be there too. We’ll be working from sunrise to sunset to get everything ready for our first guests. They arrive in 16 days.

Wow. Just wow.

Busy, Busy, Busy… Awesome

We’ve been super busy since February. Derrick’s been up to the lodge 4 times, and I’ve managed to make it there twice. The last 2 times we hauled in everything from new roofs and a tractor to redo the airstrip to a quartz countertop, 9 boats, and a 1,000 gallons of fuel for the boats and generators.

Hauling in the boats.

Choosing and buying floors for the cabins, tile, faucets, and showers for the bathrooms, countertops and cabinets for the kitchen, and all the other miscellaneous stuff you need to run a lodge takes a long time. The coolest and most useful thing we’ve hauled in so far is the Argo. We’ve also become mechanics in the process. When something breaks in the middle of nowhere, you figure out how to fix it yourself pretty quick.

Just a little floodwater. 

In the middle of all this craziness—and trust me, the logistics of getting three 48 foot trailers and twenty 18 foot trailers filled to capacity to the middle of nowhere, unloading them, and driving the content across 20 miles of floodwater-covered ice road is crazy, not to mention the Visa bills—we keep saying to each other how amazing it is that we get to live this dream. And even better, how amazing it is that we get to do it together.

Riding off into the sunset...to clear more snow.

We won’t talk about the relief of not falling through the ice (we only broke through a few times), or the jittery adrenaline rush when you hit a patch of floodwater on the ice road. Each time we managed to get the trucks across the ice into the lodge, there was such a sense of accomplishment. Owning a lodge is all brand new to us, but I hope we keep the sense of wonderment at our new reality as the years go by.

Getting all three trucks to the lodge was a proud moment.

The busy-ness continues as we get ready to start the real work in the beginning of May, and to welcome our very first clients on May 24th. We’ll be at the Fort McMurray trade show next weekend too. If you’re there, stop in and say hi. We’d love to tell you more about our adventures so far. 

We can’t wait for what I’m sure will be the best fishing season of our lives so far.

Last day; last load. Dirty, but so happy!