First Fish!

The Adventure Continues.

Our daughter is still visiting from Vancouver with our two grandsons. Zachary (3 1/2) has been wanting to go fishing with Papa. And why not, we live on a lake and are tourist outfitters by profession.

Last evening Mike, Zach and I went out in front of the house for a few minutes.

Zachary had his own special Minnow courtesy of Verns Minnows, his own rod and more excitement than I could have imagined.

After bringing up some "salad" Zach's little rod began to pull back. Not knowing what was happening , he handed the rod off to Uncle Mike who gave it back to him and coached him through landing and holding his first walleye.

Considering this is a kid who lives on the west coast and has seen whales up close, he was quite thrilled with his "big" fish.

His comment after releasing the fish:

"He's going to get bigger, eh papa?"

"I want to tell mommy I caught salad and a fish bigger than yours."

"I Loooove fishing!"




Waiting for the hit



Fish on!



Look papa!




It's not so bad to hold.


Congratulations Zachary.

The big day has arrived

Today Marcel and Wendi left Ignace for a new life in Manitoba. Marcel will be missed around here. He promises to stay in touch and stop by now and then.

We wish him all the best, and success in this venture.

Sunrise at Metionga Lake

Sunrise on Metionga Lake. Not only some of the best fishing in Canada but absolutely gorgeous.

If you are looking for a fly in fishing vacation which you'll remember fondly for many years, contact us at Ignace Outposts. Check us out, we would love to help you plan your trip to one of our many remote lakes.

A pro at Work

There are not many Otter pilots in the country with the experience of our chief pilot Randy Winters. He has over 30 years flying float planes. Almost 20 of those years with us.

Here is a sped up video ( it actually took 4 minutes) of Randy sailing the Otter to the dock last weekend. When the winds are high it is often not possible to turn the aircraft on the water because it wants to act as a wind vane and point into the wind. Randy is one of the best. Here he brings in into the dock backwards and sideways. This skill is only developed with experience. Books just can't teach it. Those of our guests that have flown with Randy can attest to the fact that he can handle the Otter.

Head to head on Metionga

I guess the jury is still out. They both claim 26 inchers on Metionga Lake last week.

They didn't ask me for a ruling but I will give one anyway.

The only way to settle this is to return again next year and try again. Tom brings his crew twice a year anyway but since they are all now retired, an extra "grudge "match may be required.

Nothing like a little head to head competition.



Bruce B with a 26 incher



Tom S with a 26 incher.

Nice walleye to say the least. Thanks for putting them back guys. Returning these breeders to the lake is one of the main reasons we see groups catching 1000 plus walleye in a week.

Low and Over

These birds have to be one of the most majestic in the sky. Considering they were once endangered, we do see plenty of eagles these days. One of our Metionga Lake guests from last week emailed these photos of an eagle cleaning up some fish offal.

In nature everything is part of a cycle. Any fish remains are quickly returned to the food chain.

This is why we ask our guests to depose of their fish remains on a rock rather than in the water.




This eagle does a "low and over" while picking up his supper for the night. With those talons he barely slows down and grabs a good handful for his next meal.



There is so much more to a fly in trip than filling a stinger with walleye.

Don't forget your camera, and don't forget to send me a photo or two.

A New Chapter

Over the years our guests have become familiar with a smiling face in the aircraft, in the hangar or just around the yard. Marcel, our chief maintenance engineer for the aircraft, camp fixer-upper and pilot has been with our company since he was in high school. After many years with us Marcel is turning the page to a new chapter and moving his family to Manitoba next week. On Monday evening we had a little staff gathering to say our good byes. It was hard to be happy for Marcel and his family at the same time being sad he is leaving.




There certainly isn't much Marcel couldn't fix. We even made his name a verb by coining the phrase, "He Marced it".

On behalf of the entire Ignace Outposts and Airways organization we would like to thank Marcel for his many contributions to our business as a pilot and maintenance manager over nearly 20 years. Since his days on the dock and continuing through his time spent in our aircraft and hangar, Marcel was a committed member of our team and community.

This is an opportunity that Marcel could not pass up and we are in full support of his decision to advance his career. We wish him, his wife Wendi and their family the best of luck in the future."

All the BEST Marcel on your new venture!

A visit from the Fed's

Transport Canada is the regulating body which oversees the aviation side of our business. They sometimes drive in to see us, sometimes fly and some times copter in. It is not often we have choppers land on our break wall so when it happens it becomes a news worthy event.




The Transport Canada Helicopter from Thunder Bay approaching to land.





The chopper down on our break wall.

This visit was just a little "hi how are you, we're still around" visit from the systems safety officer. He pops in once in a while to remind us that safety is a priority with them and we assure him it is with us too.