Hello to all our fishermen friends! We are in the final stages of our countdown to the season opening and we ALL can hardly wait to ditch our winter gig and get up to the lake! The kids are sick of school, Matt is finished work for the winter, the dogs are bored of leashes and the dog park and I am sooooo ready to leave the covid vaccine clinics and city life behind for another 5 months!
I have been busy between shifts with purchasing and packing, making lists and checking things off. I have been parking outside for about a month now as my garage is slowly filling with supplies that I am organizing, re-organizing and packing into barrels for transport.
Next weekend Matt and I will be doing our first supply run up to the lake. It will be a light load in my truck with our quads on a trailer. We have talked with a couple of locals up in the North and they say the snow is disappearing fast...hope we can drive in without getting stuck or having to unload quads to get in the rest of the way. Last year, Matt went in on April 28 and got so stuck...he ended up shovelling for 4 hours and then turning around and driving home with his FULL load. This year we will be smarter and take a light load with the quads.
We have been watching the weather up at the lake and I have been checking the satellite imagery and there has been significant changes in the amount of snow cover with the above normal temperatures and sunshine.
I have received most of the tackle I ordered online and it looks like the tackle wall will be fully stocked for the 2021 season! I am looking forward to trying some new items as well as busting open some new packages of my favourite hooks that have lost their shine! Speaking of shine....we brought home all of our tackle to sort through and toss anything that was broken or useless. Matt spent a day out in the garage listening to music, sharpening knives and cleaning our tackle with BarKeepers Friend...have you heard of it? Bought it at Canadian Tire for cheap and man does it work good! I don't have a before picture and I can't find my after pic of the tackle, but it was gross. I get so pissy at Matt because he has a cavalier attitude toward his tackle...leave it in the back of the boat all season, never return to the tackle box, tackle box is broken anyways and is full of water, rusted hooks...yeah, he's that guy 😜 I was super happy he spent the day cleaning things up. I even bought him a NEW tackle box like his buddy Kelly from Oklahoma has. Its a Plano, double sided, and sturdy. I just went out into the garage to take a pic of it and I see that Matt has already loaded it with his cleaned tackle! I'm sorry, but I don't have high hopes for Matt keeping this box neat and tidy, in one piece, or ever returning a piece of tackle to it once it has been removed 😂. I did buy him another little tackle box and it is a bucket topper. Each flip up side has a removable tray and about 2" of storage beneath each tray...its a neat concept and would be useful when heading out for short periods. This is his speed and will probably get lots of use in his boat. I can totally see him utilizing this and if the tackle doesn't get put in the topper I think he will at least toss it in the bucket to keep it out of the elements...we'll see. If he uses either box how they are meant to be used, I will publicly apologize to him on every social platform I manage for DLL! I will update you all with pics from the back of his boat throughout the season...if he reads this blog post I can see him trying his best throughout the season to make me apologize publicly...whatever works right😉
This week will be busy and will feel like 100 years! We are so stinkin' excited to head up and check out camp but we have a loooong list of shit to get done this week...and this is my last week of work to boot. Monday, Matt is heading to pick up our meat from PRIME Meats in St. Gregor, Saskatchewan. Prime Meats is a locally owned kick ass meat shop that has butchered and cut us a whole beef and a hog every year. The previous DLL owners used them and we continued on because the meat is just soooo good! Plus, we like to support small business. Tuesday, Matt is heading to Nipawin to pick up our new boats and drop them off at a friends farm that is on our route to the lake...we will pick them up again on one of our supply runs. Wednesday I think he is packing up a trailer for us...Thursday I pick up our paper products like toilet paper, paper towel, paper plates, cleaners and detergents etc. I will also do a wholesale food pickup at TGP for large quantity/portioned food staples. Friday I work again but it is the day we pack up our shit and Saturday morning Matt and I, with Timber and BARK, will leave at 0400h... NORTH BOUND! I will take lots of pics and make sure to have lots to report back for those of you who are having a hard time breathing not being able to head North with us...Kelly from OK.
Covid-19: So sick of it just like everyone else. As many of you are aware, I am a nurse and I have been working immunization clinics. I have received both of my doses of a vaccine and I encourage you all to do the same when your turn comes around. But...it is an individual decision and I can respect any decision/opinion regarding the vaccines. In camp we will be observing all guidelines surrounding Covid-19. Masking in indoor spaces, hand sanitizing until your hands fall off and social distancing even while being outdoors. We will have boxes of masks onsite as well as gallons and gallons of hand sanitizer for all to use. Again this year, there will be prepared bottles of bleach solution for every cabin to use but each cabin will be cleaned meticulously by myself and all common touch surfaces will be disinfected. Guests are required to bring a bedroll and each bed will have a triple sheet layer to protect mattresses and guests. If a bedroll is forgotten, a clean pillow and blanket will be provided. Food service in the main lodge will observe longer meal times in an effort to maintain social distancing and cleaning protocols, there will be an outdoor eating option as well as a takeout option or food delivery to your cabin...super fun!
In the coming weeks, we will follow a re-open Saskatchewan plan to the letter unless it states we cannot open...I will not observe that order and we will be open regardless of what the government states. It will be required of all guests to complete a Self-Assessment on the Saskatchewan website one day prior to arrival. We will be checking temperatures and health status of all guests on arrival. Please stay home if you are not feeling well. If you arrive and any member is not feeling well, we will isolate your group in your cabin for the night and have you depart home the following day....don't make me do that. Do not allow any group member to travel in to us if they are unwell. For the Saskatchewan Self Assessment follow the link here:
The Border: I am sad to report that I don't think we will be seeing any American friends this season...I am holding out hope the border will open at some point and I am praying it opens for September so Kelly from Oklahoma, a dear friend of ours, can come up for a visit. There is a border announcement on the 21st of each month which gives direction for the next month...we will update everyone on the monthly decision. Our Prime Minister is reported to have said he hopes "he" can travel internationally to the G7 in June...fingers crossed he meant to say everyone can travel but I doubt it. American friends, get your vaccination x2 and that's a start!
Bears: There was an interesting article post by the Saskatoon Star Phoenix that I shared on the Facebook newsfeed...I will include the link here:https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/zero-tourists-to-leave-2000-bears-alive-in-sask-this-year
It is basically saying that due to no American hunting last year or this year there will be an abundance of bears. Bears breed every 2 years typically so a disruption to hunting for one or two years isn't a big deal ...so they say. We will be prepared and will have bear sprays & air horns on site for anyone to use.
This is one of my favourite sounds that I didn't even know existed before we had the lake. Watching the ice go out is an interesting process that takes a couple of days. It really gets pushed around by the wind....it will come in to shore and buckle and break, then the wind will take it back out. It floats until it gets broken up and melts...it makes great ice in a rye & ginger, is very interesting to look at and it makes the most wonderful *tinkle sounds as the wind pushes it around. It is spectacular to watch and we enjoy it every year.
oh boy we sure miss this! This is September 10, 2020 and a true story as to what it's like fishing in September...I love it! You never really know if it is a pike or a trout on the other end until it breaches...in the fall they both fight like hell!
Reservation update: I am fully booked for June and July...August is nearly full, I am booking for August 12 onward, and September has a few spots left. 8 out of the 9 slots for Wathaman are booked and I won't be booking out the last one....it is usually filled by a repeat guest and the slot is prime fishing time! We will be so busy at the main camp that I don't think we would have time to put a brand new group out there...I suppose that is a good problem to have!
As of today, it is 7 days until we see camp again in 2021, 21 days until we all move North for the season and 31 days until the season opens for 2021!
We are excited to get up there and start opening things up and be in nature again. We look forward to meeting everyone and catching up with friends new and old. Drive or Fly Adventure North to Davin Lake Lodge for 2021 🎣
Cheers,
Matt, Danica, Milo, Freja and of Course Timber and BARK