Check for delays

Last week we had an unprecedented amount of rain in the area.  Thunder Bay was hit extremely hard with widespread flooding and road washouts.  Some highways near Thunder Bay are currently closed due to washouts and hotels are booked to capacity.  For our guests planning to arrive in Ignace over the next week or so I suggest you check highway conditions before you depart so you can plan your routing to be efficient.  Here is a web site of highway conditions and closures in the Thunder Bay area.  Highway 11/17.

This photo is a washout on Highway 11/17 near Thunder Bay.  There is routing around the washouts on highway 102 but traffic is heavy on this secondary road.

Also a reminder for our American guests, there is a website where you can check for border wait times.  This is handy when planning your routing.  Sometimes the Fort Frances/International Falls crossing can be backed up.  Often the Pigeon River crossing near Thunder Bay is smooth sailing.   From Duluth, it is virtually the same distance to our place in Ignace.

Spring start up

Every year, spring start up brings a few surprises.  At Seseganaga Lake we figure a bird of some considerable mass or speed, tried to get into on of the cabins.

Just one more job to add to the list. 

The window was double pane, so the window was removed, the broken part taken out, reversed and reset.  Now it is a single pane.  

3 Amigos

Some old time guests remember Rich, who started on our dock and progressed to Beaver and Otter pilot with us in the 90’s.  Rich moved on from Ignace and is now the owner and operator of Slate Falls Airways in Sioux Lookout.  The picture above is of Randy, Rich and Brad in 1995 and again last week when Rich stopped by for a visit. 

Rich is also the photographer who published the
Bush Flying Captured book we have for sale in our office.  If you are interested in Bush flying or Bush planes, check out Rich’s webpage. 

Opening week

The first week of our 2012 season is behind us.  It was a tough week of weather with rain, wind, cold and hot.  Virtually one of the worst opening weeks of weather we’ve seen – the only saving virtue was no snow.  Fishing was hit and miss.  Walleye were plentiful on our north lakes but depth of the fish varied from 4 feet to 40 feet with no consistency. Irene Lake was tough walleye fishing however it is not known as a walleye lake.  Trout and bass on Irene Lake were good with northern being rather elusive on on all the lakes.  Northern were caught but they were hit and miss with not much for size.  

The fishermen out last week had to adapt and change their presentations and techniques with the weather.  Those that managed the changes and adaptations well left smiling from ear to ear with 2013 bookings set before they left. 

The weather outlook is more rain early this week and then more stabilization of May/June temperatures as the week ends.

As the weather stabilizes, we expect fishing to become more consistent too.

Two days to opener!

As opening weekend creeps closer, we have things ready and  have our minds set around another season.  Besides being a premier fishing and hunting destination, we also specialize in aerial sightseeing in vintage Canadian Aircraft.  Within a few minutes’ flight we have the historic White Otter Castle.  Also the wilderness many don’t have access to is just a take off away.  This morning we had a group from Korea take our sightseeing trip around Ignace.  What we take for granted (wilderness, forest, remoteness) is not available in may places of our world.

These fellows are doing a documentary film about a local Korean war veteran and his life in the Ignace area before and after that conflict.  Even without translation, it was easy to comprehend how the guys were impressed with Ontario’s nature and beauty.

…a little of this and a little of that…

The gas does not get itself to the camps.  Neither do cabins repair themselves.  The work behind the scenes is substantial.  Marc is in his second season flying our Beaver and has some of the other finer points of the job down too.  Tomorrow our first guests arrive and we will be ready! 

It won’t bite!

Cleaning cabins in the spring is one of those jobs that we don’t raise our hands to and say “pick me!”  We find that over the winter things seem to change in the cabins.  Sometimes critters move in and have to be evicted.  This spring has not been as bad as last year… so far.  http://greatfishing.blogspot.ca/2011/05/gremlins-have-been-busy.html   Only two more cabins to go and we can turn on the open for business switch.

Karen still approaches her work with caution.  Hazmat suits are not in her “to go” bag anymore - not bad for a big city girl.  She has insisted however that her “to go bag” will carry a lunch from now on since no job is ever as quick as planned in the spring.

A little touch up

Getting camps ready for spring opener has many odd jobs.  Why not get someone odd to do them?  As the old adage goes, “Don’t ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself.”

One week today is walleye opener and our season will be officially “on”.  We are getting ready at the camps and everything is on schedule.

If you have not booked your 2012 Ignace Outposts adventure yet, get in touch with us and we will  help in making your vacation dream come true.