Linda and I have arrived at the lodge and it looks great. We are very excited to be here and are having alot of fun with the start of sprucing things up. Our staff shows up this coming Friday so that is when the real work begins. As most of you know, it has been a warm winter up here in NW Ontario and it is still rather warm. We are not sure if it was a record date or not but ice-out we believe was around April 5. This is the earliest we have ever heard of ice-out. It will be interesting as to where the fish will be this spring. Walleyes should mostly be out of their spawning grounds and starting to think about where they want to be on the lake based on water temps. Pike should still be around the usual places such as Jackfish and Ord Bay but they even might be spread out more than normal.
Speaking of fishing, we want to remind people about the ability to buy your fishing license and Outdoor Card on-line. This is a great option to get your fishing license ahead of time instead of waiting at the lodge. The reason I say "Waiting at the lodge" is because we will have a new electronic license system here at the lodge and we are already hearing about some small bugs in the system. We hear this is translating into longer time periods for each license. We know with any new system there are kinks to be ironed out but the on-line purchase of a fishing license and outdoor card is simple and fast. Linda & I purchased ours yesterday and it was a matter of 5 minutes each. Here is the link for the website that you would go to: http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/OC/2ColumnSubPage/STDPROD_091032.html
If there is a problem with this link let me know by posting a comment on this blog or send me an email at: manotaklodge@gmail.com. One suggestion we have is that when you are instructed to print your receipt, that you also save that final E-License and Outdoor Card form somewhere on your computer in case you need to access it later. We are not sure how to get a duplicate other than making a copy from the original one that you printed. We also made multiple copies and stashed them in various places such as tackle boxes, luggage, vehicle, etc. so just in case it gets wet, we have another copy handy. If the on-line purchase does not work for you or you still want to buy your license at the lodge, that is no problem either. We will have them available here.
We have very exciting news and that is our pet duck Lunch is back and in rare form. She was swimming out in front of the dock and I talked to her for all of 3 words and she came running in for bread. She ate out of my hand right away. The next day Linda and I were working all the way up behind our garage and she walked up from the dock and stood there looking at us like where the heck have you been, I am hungry. This is 5 years straight she has been coming to our lodge. It made us think that she has a pretty good gig going here with free food and no deposit ever paid. I have to admit that any worries that I had in life just left me when she showed up. We will be turning on our live Webcams very soon. We thought all of you would get some enjoyment out of seeing the ice on the lake melt and leave but that obviously is not going to happen. We will try and look like we are very busy when we are in front of the camera. If we are carrying fishing poles and tackle boxes and leaving the dock in a boat, don't worry we are still working. We are doing research for our guests prior to your visit. This is a tough assignment but we are up to the challenge. Well, that is all for now. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment in this blog or email. We really hope comments come in so we can keep a Manotak dialogue going.
