Lady Slipper Orchids

My favourite spot to explore on Douglas Lake is up on the hill behind our cliff jumping spot. It is mossy and picturesque, and easy to navigate through since there isn't any underbrush or shrubs, just trees. This is also the ideal spot to witness a ladyslipper orchid! I forgot about this possibility until we arrived, and I spotted one! I got excited and took photos of it. Then, I walked another five feet, and, there was another one! Then I looked up, and there were five together in a bunch. These flowers are very beautiful and exotic, as well, they only grow in certain terrain and soil. They are delicate, and they are often spotted solo, blooming out of a clear, mossy area on top of rock. So, remember, if you are roaming around this area in mid-June and early July, keep your eyes peeled for these special flowers. Watch where you step, and of course, make sure you don't pick any! Try the Blueberry Portage to Peterson Lake, as well as other mossy rocky areas! You'll also see blueberries in these areas if you go in the fall! (Harriet)

A trip to Onnie from Viking Island

Mike, Scott, Sue and Joe head out for Onnie early. On a nice day, with good company, a trip up the creek is an adventure and the fishing makes it well worth it. Mike caught a couple of good size walleyes. Can some of you guys figure out where they are fishing?

Joe caught another good sized northern.

Here's a video of what the creek is like on the way home.

Justin Knoelk brings his Dad fishing

I like a kid who loves to fish. Justin gets along with everyone in camp and tells a good fish story at supper time. Yesterday a northern tried to steal the walleye he was reeling in. The northern let go of Justin's walleye and went for the stringer tied to the side of the boat.

Awesome Moose Sighting

Joe and Sue spotted this beautiful moose swimming near Indian Island on Douglas Lake two days ago. The fuzzy antlers are an amazing sight to see!

Trout fishing on Douglas Lake

Our friends from Chicago, Mike & Scott, both brought nice lake trout into the boat yesterday on Douglas Lake. Beautiful!

Another giant northern!

Mike caught this monster 40" northern pike on Sunday evening on Douglas Lake, Viking Island. Good thing he threw it back before the northern ate him and Scott!
Joe Pleskac took the video below of Mike catching the northern, but
BEWARE..........language warning

Foley Lake

John & Justin braved the portage to Foley Lake yesterday for some perch fishing. They had an adventurous time getting there on the rugged portage, but John did fine after having back surgery not long ago and a bad knee! While they were there, they caught between 75-100 fish! Perch are great eating, too! They are having a shorelunch today.

Joe's 37" Northern!!!

Joe & Sue caught this giant monster of a Northern at his secret fishing spot on Hatchet Lake. Their son, Jeff, as a teenager came fishing with Joe and Sue to Viking Island. A following summer, Jeff asked us if he could come to work at Viking Island for the summer, without pay, but in exchange for some time fishing. He came for the summer and helped us out big time! Now, he is married with kids, and was too busy to make it this summer. So, Jeff, we miss you!!! And we hope this photo might make you hop in your car and drive here for Tuesday night dinner...but, we do know you'd be here if you could!

Jeff Thurman's South McInnes Fishing Extravaganza

Sometimes you catch a lot of fish and sometimes you catch a LOT. Jeff Thurman and his group caught more than that. Here's the official scoreboard:






wow...







Monsters caught on this trip include a 34" Northern caught by Gene Thiele (left) and a 23.5" Walleye by Doug Bieberich. (right)









Great fishing. Better than great. They used chartreuse jigs with worms and leeches as well as some trolling with rapalas at a depth of 10 feet.

Posted by Corey Stokes

Viking Island in June

Terry, Mike and Edwin Desmond are up for several adventures at Viking Island. They fish on Doulgas and enjoy meals cooked for them and the company at camp.

Fresh walleye taste the very best at a shorelunch!!

Then Hugh flies them into Embryo for a couple nights on their own. They cook up some fish and maybe a steak. This overnight trip and several other portage adventures set Viking Island Lodge apart from other fishing camps.

This year they found the fishing just great despite colder than normal weather. The lake trout were closer to the surface and easy to find.

Critchell Lake with Steve Dome

Hi Enid,
We ( Steve Dome, Joe Mogor, Dave Ludwig, Gary Still, and myself) just got back from a great week at Critchell. We had an excellent week of fishing on Critchell and the portage lakes. On Critchell we caught quite a few Northern that ranged in size from 34” to 35 ½”. We also had phenomenal results at Tractor-Train – I caught a 41 ½” Northern, Joe Mogor brought in 39” and 35” Northerns and Steve Dome landed a 35 ½” Northern. We also caught a LOT of walleye at Tractor Train.
The weather was very good too – maybe even a little too warm for our liking. All in all, we had an excellent week!

Thanks,
Mike Hartigan

Viking Island Shirts

Enid and Jen sporting our new Viking Island shirts! You never thought of us as fashion designers before, have you?!

Night Hawk Mountaineer

Trevor Good sent us photos of his dad Richard's "Night Hawk Edition" Mountaineer. Richard Good is definitely our biggest fan of Night Hawk Lake. And if he wasn't before, he definitely is now. He comes fishing with us every summer. Thanks for honouring your favourite lake, Richard!

Night Hawk Lake is named after Frank Paishk, our first employee and life long friend. He worked for Hugh's Dad, Arthur, when the camp was started. The Paishk family lived in the area of Viking Island for centuries and Frank did know the area. Paishk is a native name, which imitates the sound of the hawk.

Adventures with Mike, Jack, Maurice, and Rick!

These guys do it all when they come to Viking Island. They fish a lot on Douglas Lake, but they also venture out to the portage lakes: Hatchet, Peterson, Page, Foley, Caribou, Embryo, Anchor, Frank's and Stan's Lakes!

Here's Jack with a Lake trout he caught on Page Lake.

You guys are troopers!
Bill, We missed you this year.

Hope you are fishing with us in 2010!

Domain Lake

Two weeks ago it was very rainy around here, but our guests always manage to keep their spirits up in bad weather. Rusty Haines writes, "After 5 straight days of cold rain (and excellent fishing I might add) this was our Lake Domain morning welcome on day 6. This photo is now my new screen saver and a reminder of my 5 memorable trips to Domain and the "tease" for my next trip there in 2011. Thanks so much for all you do."
Thank you, Rusty! It was great to see you guys!

Tactical Bacon

The biggest thing to hit Red Lake lately is Tactical Bacon. Our good friend Bill Scott brought us two cases of canned Tac Bac, and it's all anyone can talk about. It's 54 pieces of delicious, fully cooked bacon, in a can, ready-to-eat. His friend Lawrence has a company that makes this stuff, as well as guns. Bill wishes Lawrence was able to come fishing on this trip. Next time! (Just bring some bacon, please...)

Rustic Cabin Living

Mike Marten and his group Maurice, Jack, and Rick stayed in their favourite cabin, the Three Room Cabin last week! A bit smaller than the modern cabins, but this used to be the normal accommodations! Arthur Carlson Sr. built all our log cabins in the late 40s and 50s. We are glad they've lasted for so long! They have character!!!

Terry Desmond at Embryo

Terry Desmond and his brothers, Larry and Mike, and cousin Edwin have been coming to the island since 1985. That spring, I handed my new baby daughter, Harriet, to him out of the plane. Since then he has watched my family grow up. Each year as tradition goes, he brings a box of chocolates for Florence (now 94 and still greeting the guests).
One of his favorite places around here is Embryo Lake. During his week of fishing, he spends some time at Viking Island and then 2 or 3 days with his brothers at Embryo Lake. The fishing here is fantastic, with large walleye and northern. You can also find some nice small walleye for supper.

The brothers cook some fish at the end of a day of fishing, then sit back with a beer and catch up with family, maybe solve the world's problems.

We missed you this year, Larry.

I hope you are fine, walking better and selling houses again.

Life should never be Routine

For the past 2 weeks, I have been at Viking Island, short of staff, with all kinds of things happening. One week of rain, one week of sun, 2 weeks of great people. Now I am on the island by myself. Time to reflect.

This past week, a guest, Don, a prosecuter from Michigan, has come in each evening after fishing and sang a song for Jen and I. Each song was about a relationship with words describing the important events in life. He sang with no music as back up, sometimes forgetting the words but it was a good end to the day. He said he lives a hectic life and needs some fishing time to unwind.

As I think about the last 2 weeks, I see many important parts.

Florence, at age 94, watched her great granddaughter learn to crawl next to the crazy table held up with moose legs and built by her husband, Arthur.

My new son in law, Wade, chopped wood, filleted fish, got to know this place. Gwyneth showed Wade and Rhian the lake.

My brothers and family including extended members helped open camp. What would I do without all these people??

I just have the best family, real and extended. Extended family reaches far and wide and all have helped me along my way. All the guests who come to Viking Island create the atmosphere of this place.

These people and all our connections are really the important parts of life.

Father/Son trip at Crossland Lake

The Hall group, made up of three guys in their 50s with their three fathers in their 80s, came to Crossland Lake last week. They caught a lot of fish, including many large northern. We enjoyed having them - they were always smiling, and they had a great time!
They were the first group this year to stay under the new roof at Crossland. Two of the men are carpenters and they built us a new fillet table out of lumber scraps from the roof building! It's way more sturdy than the old one. Thanks guys!

The Cook Goes Fishing!

Jim, Andy, and Jimmy did a little unpaid guiding service last week. They took our cook Jen out on the lake fishing. Looks like they were successful! Thanks, guys! We really enjoyed their company on the island...they spent time with us fishing, chatting, cooking, and even drinking Mojitos!!

Saturday morning fog

It was a foggy day on Saturday morning, both at Viking Island and in Red Lake. Planes were grounded for much of the morning, and we were three hours behind schedule. When there is low visability, it isn't safe to fly. Our guests were patient as they waited to be flown in or out of camp. Thanks, Mike, for the photograph!

Orono Northern

The Adcocks caught a couple big Northern during their trip at Orono. Nice job!

Cutest Animal Sighting Ever

The Adcocks spotted this tiny moose calf on the shore of Orono Lake in early June. The mother walked off, but the baby stuck around to pose for the camera.

Fog this morning in Howey Bay

The airplanes are slow to leave the bay this morning because of heavy fog. It's still beautiful out though - the sun is shining. All the pilots are talking to each other over the radio, trying to get updates from different directions...waiting to get flying! Some planes have been able to leave, depending on the direction they are going. They look pretty majestic taxiing in the fog!