| Fly out fishing
outpost cabins north of Red Lake Ontario
Canada. News about the 2020 season If you are new to this site please remember all Walleye over 18 inches and Northern over 27 inches are released. |
|||
|
Trips | Newsletter |
|
|||
| January 11/20
Disappointing day today. Now that the Patriots
are out we are pulling for the northern teams. Vikings
and Packers. With the Vikings loss today it
will be up to the Packers now. On a happier note the new highway 105 map is available and we managed to land the front cover with a picture of Max and a 27 inch Walleye. |
 |
||
| January 23/20 We
are in the middle of a regular winter here in Red
Lake. The weather is cold. If it warms up
we get snow. The winter roads are using half
loads on the fuel trucks and north of the Berens river
the ice is still less than 24 inches. On a positive note the old snow blower is still going strong. We figure it is at least 55 years old. Even though our favorite teams are out of contention, we predict the Super Bowl game will be epic. |
 |
||
| February 10/20
Nothing much to report. We are in the middle of
winter here at Red Lake. We still have great
fishing weeks available. Please don't wait too
long. We have already had to disappoint fishermen with
weeks that are full. Frank W sent this symbol of
a fond memory from the past. This was actually
17 years ago. |
 |
||
| February 19/20 People often ask
"what is there to do in Red Lake during the
winter". This past weekend was the Red
Lake Winter Carnival. Check it out at https://www.facebook.com/RedLakeWinterCarnival/photos/a.766428250128326/2368969039874231/?type=3&theater |
 |
||
| February 21/20 Welcome to
flashback Friday. The photo at right was the
largest Northern caught at Goose Lake in 2019.
It was caught in the early season. (late May
early June) |
 |
||
| February 26/20 For those of you
who don't know. Ryan accepted a seasonal job to
fly a De Havilland Twin Otter (DHC-6) in the Maldives
for the winter. The Maldives are in the Indian
ocean south of India. Ryan already had extensive
experience flying on floats and on the Turbo
Otter (DHC-3T) as well as on multi engine
aircraft. The Maldives are really on the other
side of the world--11 hour time difference.
Google bare foot pilots Maldives for more info |
 |
||
| February 28/20 Ryan flies for a
company called Trans Maldivian Airlines. They
have the largest fleet of float planes in the
world. The fleet consists of 57 Twin Otters on
floats. The Twin Otter can carry up to 19
passengers. Ryan is the captain in the left
seat. He has a copilot in the right seat and a
deck hand in the back to help with docking and
passenger care. |
 |
||
| March 4/20 Our first fishermen
arrive in only 73 days. The airplane is sitting
on the ice all ready to go. ODQ one of Superior
Airways turbo Otters was damaged in a storm at the Red
Lake base late in the season and repairs are on
Schedule for completion by open water. |
|
||
| March 6/20 You know that
voice in your head telling you to go fishing. Listen
to it because ten years from now you will wish you
had. |
 |
||
| March 8/20 Today is
international Women's Day. Don't forget they make
great fishing buddies. |
|
||
| March 13/20 COVID-19 Some people are calling to ask about fishing this spring. The truth is we simply do not know what the future will bring. We will keep you updated as the situation progresses. No one will lose any money. The best case is business as usual. The worst case is a season without a fishing trip. In the meantime hold the thought of the photo at right. Please look after yourself and stay healthy. |
 |
||
| March 31/20 Latest update.
Ryan's job flying in the Maldives came to an end and
he is back in Ontario. Louise and Bill completed
their visits with family and are back in Red
Lake. We are all doing a 14 day isolation
because we recently traveled on the airlines. |
 On a somber note. We just received word that Tom Webster passed away mid February. Tom with his wife Linda and friends Bob and Linda have been a regular feature at Goose Lake for the past 20 years. We could always count on Tom for a picture of a big Walleye. |
||
| April 15/20 Once again it is
time to post the annual April 15 picture of our
bay. As you can see it is still winter here. |
 |
||
| April 16/20 View of Howey Bay
from the IGA store. The ice is still over 24
inches thick. |
 |
||
| April 17/20 |
Spring is rapidly approaching and we
have to address the Covid 19 situation. We are concerned about mitigating the risk to our guests who will need to travel great distances, travel tightly packed in small airplanes and use cabins recently vacated by another group. This is of course, assuming, travel is even permitted. Let's plan for the worst and hope for the best. Worst case: No travel this summer and no fishing season for us at all. We would like to offer everyone the option to move their 2020 reservation and deposit to 2021. (same week and rates as 2020) Our hope: We plan for scenario one and then if things improve to the point where we can offer fishing trips, you have the option of using the 2020 reservation or you can come at a later date in 2020. We will have everything ready and be prepared to go at a moments notice. If none of this will work for you, we will cancel your reservation and refund your deposit. |
||
| April 23/20 The weather has
finally turned and the white covering of new snow on
the ice has melted so the the sun can finally get at
the ice. The latest measurement on Howey Bay
still shows 25 inches of ice. Bob B called a couple of days ago. He is in the enviable position of living in the country where he has enough land to go turkey hunting on his own property. At right is a photo of last years turkey. |
 |
||
| April 27/20 Our weather has been
warm for a few days now. The ice is
turning black and it should be gone in a couple of
weeks. We received an email from Tim G. in
Texas. They can still go fishing in Texas.
Tim sent the picture at right. |
|
||
| May 2/20 72 degrees F yesterday
and rain last night. The ice could be gone in
less than a week if this keeps up. |
 |
||
| May 4/20 Weather cooled off and
the ice is still hanging in. The photo at right was taken last fall. This is what we saw each morning as we prepared to head out to hunt Moose. |
 |
||
| May 6/20 The weather is a bit
cool but the sun is shining. On a drive to Red
Lake today we noticed the ice was out on the small
lake across from Tim Horton's. We also saw that
the lake by the hospital (Florin Lake) was ice
free. Over the years we have noticed that on
average the ice in Red Lake goes out 5 days after
Florin Lake. By evening our little bay was ice
free as well. The photo at right is Howey bay from the hill behind the Superior Airways base. |
 |
||
| May 13/20 Most of the ice in Red
Lake melted yesterday. There are still a few ice
bergs floating around but the lake is mostly free of
ice. We drove north of Red Lake to Stormer Lake
to check on the Walleye spawning. Most of the
Walleye were done but the Suckers were still spawning. |
 |
||
| May 14/20 The ice is gone and
the airplane is back at our dock. |
 |
||
| June 9/20 We have pretty
much come to the conclusion that we will have no
season this year. Again we are offering to
change your reservation and deposit to 2021 or
to cancel your reservation and refund your
deposit. In the meantime the local geese already
have young ones. |
 |
||
| June 11/20 The word from Sherm
in Davenport is the Walleye are biting on the
Mississippi River. |
 |
||
| June 12/20 Arrived at camp. |
 |
||
| June 13/20 We are at camp.
There are no surprises. We brought the dock over
from the river today. |
 |
||
| June 15/20 We received this
email from Raymond O today. Frank and I were wondering how you all are doing ? Raymond |
HI Raymond, Frank and others who have
emailed their concerns. All is
well here. Louise and I are at camp
keeping busy with small projects. Ryan will be
up later to handle the big projects. The weather
is great. It is very quiet here, the only sounds
are the wind in the trees, the waves on the shore and
the birds proclaiming their territory. What we
are missing are the eager voices of excited fishermen
and laughter. Please,everyone stay healthy and
come fishing with us in 2021. |
||
| June 21/20 Happy father's day
dads. This is normally one of the most
popular weeks here at Goose Lake. A few days ago
it was 96 degrees then it was 55 then 2 days of
rain. At least the flowers seem to like it. We
have more Lady Slippers then ever. |
 |
||
| June 30/20 Not much happening
here. The temperature has been hitting 90 each
day and it is too hot to work. On another subject if you are in the market for a duffle bag. Cabella's has a sale on duffle bags. |
 When loading an aircraft there is lots of room near the tail but you cannot load heavy stuff in the tail only light bulky stuff. Cabella's sale on duffle bags includes the 36x16x16 bag for $59.99. Don't get this one. Instead get three of the 24x11x11 bags SKU 2502237 for $16.77 each. Pack heavy stuff in one bag, light stuff in the second bag and medium stuff in the third. It is important that you do not make the bags equal weight. We want as much difference in weight as possible. Spend the $10 savings on yourself. |
||
| July 1/20 Happy Canada Day |
Check out this link for how we see
ourselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37nGeXn2K9c |
||
| July 3/20 Very hot today, 95
degrees. We looked forward all day to the cold
front that would bring us rain and cooler
temperatures. When the front arrived at
about 2:30 we ended up with thunder storms and
hail. Fortunately most of the hail was pea size
with a few marble size so no damage to the aircraft or
the roofs. The real treat was a temperature drop
from 95 to 67. A few hours later it was back to
80 degrees. |
 |
||
| July 4/20 Happy birthday
America. While looking through stock July
4 photos I thought maybe in this year of no fishing at
Goose Lake, people may prefer to think about the
nation's birthday while looking at a photo of Woman
Falls and wishing they were fishing. Note the new Eagle nest with eagle on the branch. |
|
||
| July 10/20 We are planning to do
the Loon Haunt modification to the boats at Nechigona
so we crossed the portage to take some measurements of
the boats to estimate required materials. While
there we took the photo at right. |
 |
||
| July 18/20 It seems every couple
of days there is another tree down. At least we
now have a serious helipad. The spruce trees are
the worst. They have the most branches and they
make the poorest firewood. |
 |
||
| July 23/20 Message from
Ron. Louise,
We didn’t catch fish like we do at Goose,
but we had fun. Here’s a good picture of a big
Crappie Jerry caught. And of course, he was
wearing a Loon Haunt Hat!!
|
 |
||
| July 29/20 Louise and I have
been busy. Louise is refinishing doors and
tables. I have built new floor boards for the
airplane. |
 |
||
| August 3/20 Today we took a trip
down south bay to check on the rice. It looks
like a chance for a good crop. We will see what
the weather does for the next 3-4 weeks. We
might get to pick before the end of August. |
 |
||
| August 6/20 We received this
email from Kale F. Hi Bill and Louise, We are really looking forward to coming up next year with the Frank/Schrage group. Chad mentioned you're looking for fishing pictures while Loon Haunt isn't being fished.. I was in the boundary waters last week and caught this little baby pike in between canoeing for a few days. Figured I'd share as I'm wearing the right hat! Hope you are doing well and see you in 2021! |
 |
||
| August 9/20 Refinishing the
tables according to Louise. "The tables are 40
years old so I am not going for perfect but the cards
will slide." |
 |
||
August 11/20 Message from Ron S.Hi Louise, We don’t let a pandemic get in the way of fishing. Here’s grandson Owen with a nice Bass from the pond out back. |
 |
||
| August 13/20 Bill and Louise,
Went to Buras, LA for some great Redfish
action. Still not as good as Loon Haunt, but it
was some good fishing.
See you in June 2021!
|
 |
||
| August 15/20 This message from
Stuart B. The Blue Catfish are biting in Illinois. They fight better than Walleye but nothing like the taste of shore lunch at Nechigona. Can't wait til next year. Stuart |
 |
||
| August 20/20 Message for Dave
and Steve. Your friends are back and they miss
you. |
 |
||
| August 30/20 Sorry for the
delay. We had a line up of fishing pictures
coming in and then it dried up. The rice crop is
looking good and the machine is almost ready to
go. We should be picking in the next 4 or 5
days. The little Volkswagen engine started on the
second flip. |
 |
||
September 1/20 Message from RonCaught this evening in the pond out back. Not Goose, but it’ll have to do until next year. |
 |
||
| September 4/20 Ryan is back and
we are changing some posts that rotted after 40 years. |
 |
||
| September 6/20 We used the
portable winch to portage the boats from Nechigona to
Goose. They will get the Loon Haunt
modification. |
 |
||
| September 8/20 Rice harvesting is in
full swing. Only a little short of 2000 pounds
for the first picking. The second and third
pickings should be much more. |
 |
||
| September 10/20 Message and photo from
Ron S. Brad caught this on a worm and crappie jig, and four pound test line! |
 |
||
| September 12/20 The first boat
was done a couple of days ago. No more climbing
over the seats at Nechigona. We finished the
last boat yesterday. |
 |
||
| September 18/20 Yes, we are all
still here. The forecast for this weekend calls
for very nice weather. The wild rice is very
slow to ripen. Perhaps the nice weather will
hurry things along. Photo at right is Ryan
and Eliza with Walleye for supper. The Walleye
are at 20 feet. The two motors are for moving
wild rice 1000 pounds at a time. |
 |
||
| September 20/20 Ryan, Eliza and Louise went fishing at the Honey Hole and caught this nice 24 inch Walleye. | 
|
||
| September 22/20 Stu sent another
picture with a nice Muskie caught at Green Bay. |
 |
||
| September 24/20 We portaged the
boats back to Nech. Click on the photo to see a
video. |
 |
||
| September 26/20 Ryan and Eliza
were joined by Pat and Trish for a short moose hunt
trip. Ryan and Pat got this young bull at
first light this morning. Ryan did the calling
and Pat did the shooting then we all braved the black
flies to haul the moose out to the boats. |
 |
||
| September 30/20 We closed down
camp and flew to town on Monday (September 28).
Ryan left the next day for the annual fall fishing
trip with his friend Steve. They drove to
Marathon (on the shore of Lake Superior). The
fishing report for the first day was 16 Salmon, 7
Splake, 7 Lakers and 1 Speckled Trout. Check out this link for more pictures. https://www.facebook.com/LoonHauntLodge/ |
 |
||
| October 2/20 More results from
Ryan and Steve. We had another good day. 12 more Salmon, about 20 Splake and a bunch of Lake Trout. |
 |
||
| October 8/20 Ryan and Bill flew
to Goose Lake to pick up some tools and do a last of
season camp check. |
 |
||
| October 9/20 Ryan and Bill made
a trip to our landing at Stormer Lake to retrieve a
500 gallon fuel tank. |
 |
||
| October 10/20 Now that the
Spruce and Jackpine trees no longer block the sunlight
from getting to the ground at Unnamed Lake the
underbrush has really taken off. On a positive
note it looks like we will have plenty of firewood for
the next 20 years. |
 |
||
| October 11/20 The grass at
Monroe lake was knee high and the bush by the stairs
that we normally cut to ground level each spring
really took off this year. |
 |
||
| October 24/20 Our season has
come to an end. The small lakes and bays are
starting to freeze over. Our airplane is out of
the water waiting for winter maintenance. Thank you for sticking with us through these unprecedented and trying times. |
 |
||
| October 30/20 We are getting
some well below freezing temperatures most
nights. Our small bay has tried to freeze over a
couple of times but Wednesday night was very cold and
the bay will probably remain frozen for the rest of
the winter. |
 |
||
| November
1/20 Our 2020
annual newsletter (Tremolo 20) is available
online. Click the link to the right. |
As there was no fishing this season we
dipped into our archives. There are pictures of
building cabin 2, the Monroe Lake cabin and the
Unnamed Lake cabin. There is a photo of our
children and dog when we first visited our current
site on Goose Lake in 1977. Tremolo 20 also
features photos of guests from mostly 2000 and 2003. Click here |
||
| November 3/20 Boy did I get it
wrong. The weather has warmed considerably
. Our bay opened up and people are going fishing
again. The afternoon temperatures are in the mid
forties and the overnight temperatures are still above
freezing. |
 |
||
| November 25/20 The temperatures
have cooled a bit and our bay is frozen over.
Some parts of Red Lake are also frozen but some areas
are still open water. Although times are
very confused we wish you a happy Thanksgiving and
encourage you to stay safe. Let's all look
forward to a thanksgiving fish fry at Goose Lake in
2021. |
 |
||
| December 2/20 Nothing to report
from Red Lake so we are going with a program of "blast
from the past". Watch for your photos from
the past. |
 |
||
| December 13/20 Photo at right is
from 2007. A 44 inch Northern at Poirier Lake. |
 |
||
| December 24/20 Boy did Christmas
ever sneak up on us this year. It just
does not seem like Christmas when we are not visiting
with our grand kids. Merry Christmas to
all of you. Photo at right fun guests from 2011. |
 |
||
| December 31/20 The new year is
just around the corner and we are looking forward to
forgetting about 2020. We all hope for a fishing
season in 2021. Photo at right is first group at Goose Lake in 2018. |
 |
||
|
Sunset Photos |
Norseman Photos | The Pilots from Superior
Airways
|
Handy Length to
Weight Converter |
|||
|
|
|||
