Patience is a virtue

Still all quiet on the northern front. Ice is still holding steady in the Sandy Lake/Big Hook area. Yesterday Dad and I, admittedly getting a little restless, decided to take a drive to Red Lake and drop off a load of supplies at Wasaya Air. Along the way we were surprised to see many lakes still with ice on the surface. Howie Bay in Red Lake was still completely white with ice. However, after talking to several pilots and looking at weather forecasts, we left with the impression that we should be getting into camp soon. Tomorrow will bring warm temperatures to the area, with lots of sun and hopefully a little wind to start cracking up the ice.

Also, tomorrow I'll be heading to Winnipeg to pick up our pilot Andre and our 185 Cessna. We will fly the plane back to Eagle Lake here and wait for the green light. Once we get the call that an airplane can get into Central Lake, Andre and I will jet out of here ASAP.
Here's to warmer weather and a non icey future. Take care all.

Heat Wave Today

Yesterday I woke up a little chilly. I didn't think much of it, just another cool spring morning crossed my mind. Still bleary eyed I walked down to the most important kitchen appliance, the coffee maker of course, and began my daily routine. Raising my eyes to the kitchen window only to see two inches of snow on the ground caused my jaw to drop. Fortunately, several hours later the snow disappeared and the yard was once again the typical spring field of mud.

Waking up this morning I experienced an entirely different sensation. I sprang out of bed, my feet touched the floor and amazingly I didn't recoil with ice cube toes. I rambled downstairs once again to the coffee maker, looked outside at the thermometer to see the morning temp was pleasant 45 degrees already at 7 am.
The temperatures today will perhaps flirt with the 60 degree range, which is excellent news for all of us who are waiting to get on the water. I decided to take a couple of pics of Eagle Lake to show you all the progress of the melting ice. As you can see, the ice is pulling away from the shoreline and has thinned drastically. The temperatures in Sandy today are slightly cooler than here in Vermilion Bay. Many people are starting to take bets on when the ice will "officially" remove itself from the water. With weather like this today and rain in the forecast for tomorrow, look for the ice to take some major damage in the next couple of days. So once again, fingers crossed and hopefully we will be on the water soon.

Tick Tock

The parents and I are now stationed at Eagle Lake, Ontario waiting on the ice to disappear from the waters. Weather has been moderately warm(high 40's/low 50's), with some rain showers doing some major damage to the ice. The ice here on Eagle pulled away from the shores yesterday and is thinning.
Everyone is anxious to arrive at Big Hook and get the season underway. I have several projects that I would like to complete before the walleye opener kicks off. We all are patiently waiting for the phone to ring and hear from Sandy Lake that the ice is breaking up. Hopefully the waters will soon look like the photo.


On a side note, we received news that out pilot Andre will be returning for his second season at Big Hook.

Spring Fever

The old adage is "April showers bring May flowers." Well, what happens when April brings snow? Weather reports show that the greater Big Hook area has received several snow flurries over the past couple of days. Not to worry though as a warming trend is on the way to do battle with the snow and ice on the lakes.
All of us at Big Hook are keeping a close eye on the current conditions in the north and have our fingers crossed for an early ice out and a smooth opening.
To keep track of the current conditions in the Opasquia Provincial Park click on the following link:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/parksfx/caon1583

Here's to a warm spring and we look forward to seeing everyone soon.