Canada's Gods Lake Lodge

Thanks to everyone

2010-09-19T13:51:00.002-05:00

A big thank you to all the guests of Canada's Gods Lake Lodge that came up in 2010. We look forward to seeing all our friends in 2011. Check out our web site soon for updates.

Lee and Lynn Nolden

another year done

2010-09-07T07:13:00.000-05:00

Our last guests left on Sept. 2nd this year. We had a big storm that mixed the water in Gods Lake and brought the Lake Trout up to get ready for their annual fall spawn. Too bad we didn't have any one to catch them!

Shirley finished putting away the kitchen and getting all the linens and rooms cleaned and ready for winter. Neal arrived for his winter stay and we finished putting the lodge into hibernation.

As soon as the guests leave and the generator is off the wildlife shows up. Taz tried to make friends with a bear and a skunk. He found out the "locals" are not the friendliest of creatures. Thank God "stinky's"aim was off and Taz didn't get the full shot.

Blaine Anderson's trip - Anderson Guide Services, CT

2010-08-22T23:58:00.005-05:00

Blaine has been coming up to the lodge for a few years now. On top of being a fantastic fisherman, he takes the BEST photos. They didn't have the best weather at the start of their week, but they did well when they DID get out fishing. Blaine also caught at least one 47" pike that was over 30 pounds. AND he got the picture! Fantastic! Those are some young bald eagles in the tree - a traditional shore lunch of fresh fish, beans and pan fried potatoes - one of our famous sunsets - and Blaine's friend Jimmy with a very heavy pike!

Fishing for Catfish on the Red River

2010-08-14T11:10:00.002-05:00

Blaine and Jimmy went fishing for catfish on the Red River on their way up to the lodge. We have a few clients that like to tack on an extra day to catch some master angler channel cats. As you can see - they did well!

The first week of August done...

2010-08-09T22:43:00.005-05:00

We are very lucky to have some great fishermen that have become friends over the years. One of our regular clients passed away this month - it would have been his 20th year of fishing with Lee. He usually brings members of his family with him - wonderful, warm people that it is a pleasure to know. He will be missed.

This month some of our old friends are bringing new friends, and we are lucky to have a few groups that are coming to our lodge for their first time. Hopefully they will all come away with some excellent fish stories.

I understand that fishing was slow the last 2 days, but I see there were still about 10 master angler cards handed in. Northern pike, walleye, brook trout and sauger. We have had several saugers registered this year - something we haven't seen in the last 4 years.

A few of these guests will be back in January when Lee is ice fishing on Lake Winnipeg - we look forward to seeing them again. They can fish for walleye once more - big "greenbacks" this time!

August Pike fishing success

2010-08-06T23:30:00.003-05:00

I love the pictures as they come in - the big, beautiful, healthy fish that are found in Gods Lake. I don't even know the measurements on these ones - most of them are master anglers (over 41") and they have all been caught in the last 2 days. I also love that they are all released, and that for the most part our fishermen are really careful with these older fish and do as little harm as possible.

a short update!

2010-08-03T18:38:00.000-05:00

Fishing is still going well - 150 fish today with one 42" trophy northern pike.

Time to update the blog!

2010-07-27T21:22:00.002-05:00

I haven't been able to get into the blog from the computer at the lodge - it doesn't like anything to do with google anything. Not a clue what that's about. But now that I'm HOME from the lodge - I will start updating with a vengence and post what we have been doing over the last month! We still have some openings in August if anyone is interested!

great laker fishing and walleye trophies

2010-07-27T16:26:00.001-05:00

Fishing is really good now. I caught 20 lakers last night and 30 the night before. Biggest was 35". Guys also caught a 31" and a 30" walleye last night too.

August fishing with Blaine www.fishingct.com

2010-07-24T16:18:00.004-05:00

Blaine wrote a reference for us for one of out new guests this year. It is a great reference - Blaine is a professional guide and not only catches some incredible trophies every year, but he takes some of the best fish pictures that you could possibly hope for. You should check out his site for some great pictures. Here is his email:

Bob, I have nothing but good things to say about Lee and Gods Lake Lodge. I am returning for my 4th straight year on the 14th-22nd this August. I am a full time guide here in Connecticut. The demands on a guide are great, so can really appreciate just what Lee does for his guests. He is VERY good at what he does. I spend the great majority of my time in salt water but the beginning and end of my season is all about pike on the CT River. As good as we do around here for pike, it’s nothing compared to Gods Lake. I go mainly for the pike as well, but also spend some time on the walleye, lakers, and brookies. The sheer numbers of fish there are amazing. Over the last couple of seasons, I am concentrating more on trophy sized fish than numbers. I fish hard and long and have gotten to know the place fairly well. It is not unreasonable to expect a dozen fish between 33 and 40 inches every day and 3 to 4 fish from 40 to 45 inches. Of course, there will be tons of smaller fish in the mix that you’ll need to weed through, but the big fish are there. It is nothing to see 100 pike in a day…. The lakers are fun as well. That is a completely different kind of fishing than I’m used to, but I’m getting better at it. We fish anywhere from 50 to 100 feet of water. I do a little jigging and trolling. I’ve seen fish well over 20 pounds so far. Jigging is fun, we use a variety of 3-4oz jigs, usually tipped with smelt. The last couple of seasons, I have done quite a bit of trolling and have seen some nice fish. I’m bringing some new stuff to try this year and have high hopes

One of the things I like about going the time of year that I do is that business is winding down at the lodge. We are usually the last group there. I really enjoy fishing in solitude. I have fished for days without seeing another boat or person. Lee is a fantastic guy to be around. He is extremely personable and is a lot of fun to hang with, I am really looking forward to seeing him again!

I hope this helps some. Feel free to reply if you have any further questions. If you decide to go with Lee, it looks like our trips will overlap so I’m sure we’ll see you at some point.

I have a bunch of photos and some video on my web site from previous trips to the lodge. Take a look if you have some time: http://www.fishingct.com/
Thanks
Blaine

Robert had a great year - a 44 inch pike?

2010-07-16T17:56:00.003-05:00

Robert had a great time at the lodge this year. He is a fantastic fisherman, and often helps us out by providing advice to the fly fishermen that are coming up. He made several trips to fly fish the God's River and caught an 8 lb brook trout. He caught lots of pike, with a couple over 25 lbs. His walleye record this year was 27 inches and he got a 32 inch lake trout. He invited some business associates and friends up to the lodge as well, and helped one of them with a 38 inch lake trout! He has 5 years of experience with coming to our lodge - and he says the "fishing has been amazing this year". It's nice to see return people that get "wowed" by the fishing every year.

Mid July - great pike week

2010-07-11T16:27:00.004-05:00

Everyone is looking for updates as their fishing dates get closer. Fishing is good. We got a 45' northern pike and Robert caught a 46" pike this week. Weeds are coming up well. With the early spring and shallow water, the weeds are a little ahead of where they normally would be.

Dodging rain showers, great scenery, huge lake

2010-07-10T13:56:00.003-05:00

It's been an interesting week of the fishermen dodging rain showers. Fortunately it's a big lake, and most of them have been able to stay out of the worst of the showers just by going around them. Lots of clouds always results in some really great scenic pictures.

Andrew's 38 inch lake trout

2010-07-08T19:26:00.003-05:00

Everybody loves a master angler! This lake trout beat the minimum measurement for a master angler lake trout by 3 inches. Andrew caught a 38 inch lake trout. What a beautiful fish!

Trying out some Australian trout lures

2010-07-07T20:37:00.003-05:00

Andrew is a return guest that hails from Australia. This year he was trying out some Australian Trout lures - Tasmanian Devil brand, made by Wigston's Lures. I think they had a lot of fun with them, and managed to catch a few walleye and pike while they were at it!

Great fishing (and shore lunches) with buddies...

2010-07-06T17:32:00.002-05:00

Jeff is having a good week - several master anglers, a 12 pound lake trout, a 17 lb pike, and some awesome shore lunch of blackened walleye with friends. He took some great pictures that he's sharing with us.

Fabulous trophy pike for Linda - a new personal best!

2010-07-05T18:24:00.002-05:00

Lee has known these two couples for a long time. They are great fishermen and a lot of fun to have at the lodge. Linda got her own personal best - a 45 inch pike, and you can tell they ate well at shore lunch every day. They enjoyed some great walleye fishing!

The Griffin Brothers had a great time!

2010-07-05T17:57:00.003-05:00

These brothers had a great 4 day visit on their fishing trip. They were the nicest guests to have here. They had a great time fishing and made sure to post the pictures on facebook so that their family could see how much they were enjoying themselves. I love the smiles! Gene's pike measured 41 inches - a master angler, and I think the bunch of walleye were heading for shore lunch. Fresh fish is the best!

3 generations enjoying the fishing

2010-07-03T20:18:00.002-05:00

I love seeing families fishing together. This is a group that has been coming to our lodge for many years. This year not only did grandpa get a fantastic 29 inch trophy walleye - but his grandsons got trophy fish as well. And all three generations were there to enjoy it!

Fishing has been great!

2010-07-01T15:29:00.002-05:00

This is an email that Lee sent to his buddy Charlie from Minnesota. He was asking why he hadn't gotten any "fishing reports" this summer. I think we were pretty crazy busy at the time...

Hi Charlie, fishing here has been nothing short of fantastic. I haven't sent you a report because I didn't want to brag. Boats are catching up to 200 walleye a day from 20" - 31". I took 2 guys out after supper and they caught 30 lakers up to 18 lb's a few days ago. The next night we caught 20. We caught a 46" pike yesterday and the guys are catching well over 100 per day per boat of smaller ones.

Hastily,

Lee
----- Original Message -----

A 46 inch pike - a huge handful.

2010-06-30T19:41:00.001-05:00

This has been a good week for huge pike. The master angler minimum is 41 inches - this one beats that by 5 inches. This 46 inch pike is a handful. Some great weather for fishing.

Radio show featuring our lodge on CJOB.com

2010-06-30T16:47:00.003-05:00

Craig Stapon just finished 3 days of fishing at the lodge. He's going to feature us on his program tonight on CJOB 68 radio. You can listen on line at www.cjob.com if that works better for you. It's on at 8 pm tonight. If you miss it, they will have it in the audio archives if you join the Listeners' Club.

The radio show was fantastic! Craig and Jason mentioned all the staff they worked with by name and they really had some fabulous fishing. I always tell people that the fishing was even better than we thought it would be when we bought the lodge. Craig and Jason were pleasantly surprised I think! It's great to see good fishermen, that really enjoy the sport, discover the bounty of Gods Lake.

Jim's first visit and a trophy walleye to remember!

2010-06-29T13:09:00.000-05:00

This is one of the best pictures I've ever seen of one of our walleyes. This master angler measured 31 inches! Pretty nice trophy for Jim's first visit to the lodge.

What happens when the beer arrives before you do?

2010-06-11T23:44:00.002-05:00

I can think of a number of things that could happen. Most of them resulting in no beer for you! We've had some extra steps to do this year. We have to notify the airline when we are shipping beer - no biggie, but they don't seem to have any control over when they actually ship the stuff. A few days ago, they shipped a bunch of beer on an early flight, after I asked them to send it on the later flight. The airport we land at is next to a dry reserve - where no alcohol is allowed. When no one was there to claim the beer (although we would have had MANY volunteers) the band constable put it in the jail. Good thing we have a good working relationship with the band - didn't cost us too much to get the beer out and we were able to take it to the lodge with no further problems.

No wonder beer is so expensive in the north...the original price of the beer, driving the beer to the airport, bagging and labelling the beer so it's "in disguise", the flight to ship the beer (which is $1.41 pound), the truck ride from the airport to the boat, the 20 mile boat ride to the lodge, and last of all - it gets carried or taken in a trailer up to the lodge. What a trip for a little 'ol can of beer. I think we should charge more - it's a well travelled can of beer by the time it gets put in the cooler at the lodge. I don't even like the stuff.

Happy Brook Trout fishermen...

2010-06-10T23:38:00.005-05:00

I got some more pictures to work with. This group of fishing buddies went on a day trip down the God's River. They had a great time - caught a bunch of fish, and they all got at least one master angler brookie. Just the trip down the river is a thrill of a lifetime - taking rapids in a boat with a motor, going into a wilderness area that is pretty remote and miles from any settlement. Catching master angler brook trout in one of the top 5 brook trout streams in North America is just the icing on the cake. What a great experience!

Low water levels

2010-06-10T00:41:00.003-05:00

This year is certainly not following the normal pattern. The ice was gone at least a couple of weeks early. The water levels are lower than we've seen in the last 5 years. That means that a lot of the bays we normally fish early don't have deep enough water in them. Good thing it's a huge lake with lots of habitat. Just a matter of keeping up with where the fish are moving and hanging out NOW. And look out for the rocks! 3 more props to pick up from the repair guy...

The start of the great fish pictures...and all kinds of pictures

2010-06-05T01:04:00.004-05:00

I've always had fun with the pictures and we've made a conscious effort, since buying the lodge, to get some great pictures. We use them for the website and for brochures or other advertising. And I guess I'll have to add blogging to that list. Most of the lodge guests are willing to share their shots and there have been some phenomenol pictures captured.

One of my favorite ones that we just got is a picture of our winter guy Neal and his house. And I suppose I better share one of the fish pictures too - somehow most of our website visitors seem to love those! Thanks for sending them Tommy!

The first fishermen arrive...

2010-06-02T08:55:00.002-05:00

A great bunch of guys coming in this morning. One guy that has been fishing with us for a few years, and 3 of his friends that are "first timers". They are going to have some great fishing.

On the business end of it, it still staggers me how much it costs to fly groceries in to a lodge. We could buy locally, but that would be even worse. A gallon of milk is close to $12. The US economy is not recovering nearly fast enough!

The walleyes are biting!

2010-06-01T12:55:00.001-05:00

The first guests are coming tomorrow. It's been a great week getting everything ready to go. A few more broken things than normal, but overall - nothing that couldn't be fixed or finessed. The water levels are down 2 or 3 feet, but that hasn't stopped the walleyes from biting! You can usually see only the tip of the breakwater, or maybe a few boulders on top. There's a whole beach there. Everyone will have to be careful with fires this year...

The summer fishing has begun!

2010-05-31T11:48:00.001-05:00

Wow - not good blogging on this site! We'll have to try to remedy that. The walleye are biting and the lake trout are between 20 and 40 feet now. The water levels are ridiculously low...

2010-01-25T12:23:00.000-06:00

2010-01-25T12:22:00.001-06:00

Lake Winnjipeg ice fishing

2010-01-25T12:18:00.002-06:00

Lake winnipeg has been red hot lately for walleyes. Great numbers of fish with some up to 29" being caught. Here are a few photos from this last weekend.

Mid-Summer Pike Patterns

2010-01-08T08:18:00.001-06:00

Your favorite niece’s wedding put the kibosh on your annual June fishing trip, so you now find yourself on your favorite Canadian lake in mid-July. You’ve checked all your usual spots, and find them lacking in fish. The weed beds they talked about aren’t up yet. What to do?

In Canadian Shield lakes, shallow-water, reed-loving pikes are actually in the rocks. You need to change your fishing strategy; first to find them, then to catch them. Areas you want to target are wind-blown, rocky shorelines and points in the main lake. The fish are actually very aggressive and you want to use lures that can cover a great deal of water quickly. Tackle such as in-line spinners, traditional spoons, and crank baits will put you onto the fish. Another key component to this strategy is to cover lots of water. The fish can be either on the first drop off right off shore, or on feeding flats. Look for rocks instead of flat granite slabs. Don’t ignore sand bars. What you want is shallow feeding areas adjacent to deep water. The Pike will spend most of their time in deeper water, but will come up to feed.

The best set up for this “cast and blast” is your standard bass fishing tackle. Spinning or bait casting rods rigged with 12-17 lb test line work the best. You will want something that makes it easy to cast lures from ½ to 1 oz. Utilizing this type of strategy, it is difficult to target strictly trophy fish. You have to go through lots of little ones to get to the big ones. Catches between 100-200 pike per boat are not uncommon.

So for those of you that are accustomed to the “tried and true” June pike fishing, you’ll have to adjust your fishing strategy to enjoy the Pike in July. Once you fish in July you may just keep coming up then. You will notice the weather is warmer and more stable, the Pike fight harder, and you will have less anglers on the lake. You may be able to get a lower rate from your lodge owner as well. If you’re fishing with less experienced anglers, July is a good time to introduce them to fishing in the Canadian north.

2010-01-07T15:44:00.001-06:00

This is TAZ the baby lab. He is playing keep supper away from Lee. it is not a good game for me!

Heard from Neal (the winter guy)

2010-01-07T15:39:00.002-06:00

Neal called today. Things are fine at the lodge. Around 24" of ice out in front where he gets his water. Very little snow on the lake, and some spots with no snow in the yard. Not much for animals around. He thought it was because they could still travel in the bush because of the lack of snow.

He needs a few things and we discussed winter road planning. I will send him some groceries next week. Otherwise he is doing fine.

Gods Lake Ice Report

2010-01-06T12:25:00.002-06:00

Talked to the guys in Gods River this morning. There is 20-24 inches of ice on the lake. There is very little snow. The lack of snow could cause some problems with the winter road. They need snow to fill in the holes and make bridges across the creeks.

Mooching for Canadian Lakers

2009-12-26T23:20:00.004-06:00

Gods Lake in northern Manitoba is renowned as a world class Lake Trout fishery. The average Laker caught is 6 to 10 pounds, with larger fish up to 40 pounds in the mix every year. The largest “trophy” Lakers weigh in at over 50 pounds! At our lodge, we’ve fine-tuned an angling technique for Lakers using a bottom bouncer in tandem with a herring teaser and a dead smelt or herring.

We add one ounce egg sinkers and “squeeze” them on to a bottom bouncer to get our lure to the depth we want. Every one ounce egg sinker equals about 10 feet in depth. The lure is trolled along break lines and feeding flats. We often vary the weight and therefore the depth trolled, until we find the Lake Trout and the right depth for the day. Speed can play a factor as well. You want the lure moving fast enough to have a gentle spin as it travels through the water. In this type of fishing, the Trout hit hard and you need to be ready to set the hook and hold on, or risk breaking a rod.

We had one funny instance where my clients had been successfully hitting the Lakers pretty hard using this technique; they had hooked 6 in the 8-15 pound range during one 15 minute span. While continuing to troll a break line, one of the guys decided to relax and close his eyes for a second. The next thing he knew, the Laker had hit his lure hard, his rod was in two pieces, and line was flying off his reel! Luckily his brother quickly assessed the situation and like any quick-witted angler would do, picked up the broken rod end and tried to set the hook by holding it high. Unfortunately, everyone was laughing so hard the big Laker spit out the hook and left my client with yet another story about the big one that got away!

The reward of hooking and battling a big Laker this way has proven to be tons of fun for many of our clients, and I encourage you to give it a try and tell us how it works for you.

Ice heaves

2009-12-23T18:11:00.002-06:00

2009-12-23T18:10:00.001-06:00

Ice fishing Lake Winnipeg

2009-12-23T18:05:00.002-06:00

Here are a few recent pictures from fishing on Lake Winnipeg

2009-12-22T15:27:00.000-06:00

Lake Winnipeg Fishing

2009-12-22T15:24:00.002-06:00

Thought I had things figured out on Monday afternoon. 2 of us caught 3 MA's and some eaters. Went out at first light and thought I would crush them. Only caught 2 saugers.

Fly Spinning Northern Pike

2009-12-20T08:15:00.001-06:00

Fishing for walleye, lake trout or northern pike in early June has provided some challenges at our remote fly-in fishing lodge on Gods Lake in northern Manitoba, Canada. At ice-out, in early June, the pike congregate in shallow bays where the water first begins to warm up. You can see the Trophy Pike, but they won’t hit anything you throw at them.

The most effective way to catch these neutral to negative fish is usually by fly fishing. If you’re not a fly fisherman, then what do you do? You can still cash in by using spinning tackle with a fly such as a Dahlberg Diver or a Bunny Leach. To get a little weight for throwing, I add a clear bubble float with water in it to get the fly where you need it. You can sight cast into the shallows to pick out which northern pike will be your next target. The spinning tackle allows for an accurate cast and a slow retrieve. With the bubble float in place, your fly can be stopped and twitched to entice a strike. When nothing else works, and fly fishing isn’t an option, you can lure these lethargic predators into action and enjoy the results!

Great ice...but that's all for now...

2009-12-19T19:44:00.002-06:00

The week before Christmas...
Been doing some fishing lately. There's 16" of ice on Lake Winnipeg, and a little less on the Red River. Neither one has produced any decent fishing. Catching a few walleyes and saugers, a couple pike - but overall pretty slow for everyone. Glad there's finally some people out there - I was pretty much by myself a few days ago when it was -40* with a wind chill.

Heard from Neal at the lodge. All is good - they only had about 6" of ice on Gods Lake. Saw a few caribou tracks, but not much happening at the moment. Still too early to go right across the ice because there's still a few weak spots. He's getting ready to take some more amazing photos this winter. He bought himself a really nice digital camera last year and taught himself how to use it over the winter. He got some pretty amazing wildlife shots. You can check them out at www.godslakelodge.com/photos We'll probably use some of them. I'll be out fishing again tomorrow - hope the local fishing picks up soon!

Manitoba Lodge and Outfitters meeting

2009-12-09T10:51:00.002-06:00

Just returned from the annual AGM for lodge owners. Not a whole lot happening in the industry. Overall it looks like business was down about 10% Most guys are shortening their season by a week or two to cut expenses.

Lee
www.godslakelodge.com

ice finally

2009-12-04T10:15:00.002-06:00

It has finally cooled off at home and we are getting ice on lake Winnipeg and the Red river. I should be fishing by next week.

bookings

2009-12-01T09:31:00.002-06:00

Bookings are ahead of last year. A lot of people who haven't been able to come the last year or two are deciding they can't stay away any longer. It will be great to see some old friends again!

2009-11-30T15:34:00.003-06:00

Our email newsletter went out last week. If you didn't receive one send a email and I will get one to you. I will try to post a copy on here if I can figure it out!

The weather is still quite warm for this time of year. I should be ice fishing by now. We still have to watch the 2 labs to make sure they stay off the ice.

I will be using this blog to keep you abreast with what is happening with us and the lodge.

Check us out from time to time.

Lee Nolden
Canada's Gods Lake Lodge
http://www.godslakelodge.com/