Latest Ice-out in Memory
My memory might not be the greatest anymore. Things like the job I was supposed to be doing or the chore that Julie asked of me somehow slip my mind. But when it comes to fishing, I amaze myself with the most trivial details from my ever-expanding past. I remember how each Spring my father, my brothers and I would drive from our home in North Bay to fish trout on the small bush lakes near Temiskaming. Our annual ice-out fishing trip involved camping on the shore of a lake, fishing from a canoe and many cold nights in the tent. And I remember how we planned these for the first weekend after ice-out, always at the end of April or the beginning of May. I never recall postponing the trip because of ice on the lake or snow in the bush.
But this year, Julie and I couldn’t get into the lodge until a few days before the opening of walleye season on Saturday. Record snow fall this winter and a very cold April meant the ice hung around while the lake level rose. When the ice finally did melt, it was almost two weeks later than normal. Thankfully, Two Moon Lodge is on the North part of Lake Kipawa where the walleye are largely in protected sanctuaries for the first few weeks of the fishing season. We recommend our guests schedule their Spring fishing trips for the end of May, once the fish begin to move towards the shallow bays. Because of this, we did not have to cancel any bookings or rush to get open.
Two Moon Lodge weathered the long winter fine and we did not sustain the kind of damage that other outfitters and cottagers have in Muskoka, Lake Nipissing or the on the Ottawa River. We are working away at getting the camp up and running and look forward to our first guests next week. By the first week of June, we are fully booked and, with the exception of a few cabins available now and then, we remain full for most of the season. (If are thinking of coming, you should gives a call ASAP!)
But the high water and late opening should mean a solid walleye spawning run and favourable water temperatures throughout the June feeding season. I expect we will be fishing walleye in the shallows into July, and while the action might be later this year, it will be solid. Maybe it will be a walleye season to remember.
