I know you are all anxious to hear what's happening. Today Old Man Winter was trying to show his face once more, giving us quarter size snowflakes for a few hours, mixed with some rain now and then. Dispite this, the thaw has had some progress over the last few days. Our bay is 1/2 open, but the lake is still iced in today. Still project an ice out on Perrault for Thursday or Friday. Had to go to Dryden today, and neighboring lakes just south of us are just starting to open, so we're not far behind. North of us will be just that much more behind. Lac Seul and north are very questionable for opener.
Anyway, it's looking good for opening day fishing for 2008 on Perrault Lake this Saturday. The northern fishing will be fantastic! Can't wait for some fresh walleye too. The guests that are coming the first couple of weeks of season are in for some great action. We'll see many of you this weekend. We have all been busy getting the camp ship shape for opening day, and things are looking great.
Happy travels!
p.s. remember if you haven't made your plans yet, and want to fit in a last minute trip for a few days or a week, give us a call. Have a couple of spots open in the near future. Toll Free: 1-800-282-9039
Sorry to say, we're still iced in here at Perrault Falls. Some lakes around the Kenora area are opened up, but everything from around Vermilion Bay north is still socked in. Cool temperatures have not helped our spring thaw. Things are slowly going though. Still snow in the bush areas, but the open spots are clear. The ice is pulling away from the shoreline around the Lodge. I'm going to stick my neck out and predict that the ice should be out by Wednesday or Thursday next week. Opening day for walleye season is May 17th. Some areas up north of Red Lake will probably not be open for that weekend, but our area should be all opened up by then.
Still some openings for the 1st couple of weeks of season. Should be some FANTASTIC walleye and northern action, so if you're in need of a good fish fix, give us a call toll free today! 1-800-282-9039. Don't forget our weekend special if you don't have a lot of time to spend this year.
Updates in a few days.
Gale
During the week of April 19th to 23rd we had pretty nice weather, a good rain, and some real progress towards spring. The ice was starting to pull away slightly from the shore, and there were just a few odd snowbanks, and snow accumulation left in the woods. Then came a freak storm on the 23rd that closed the schools just north of us, and on April 25th, and the biggest snow storm we have had for quite awhile really socked us in. We received a new dump of about 18"+ of snow. EVERY road in NW Ontario was closed from early Saturday morning until Sunday. There was not much anyone could do but keep the fire stocked and keep warm. As of Monday morning, Hwy 502 from Fort Frances to Dryden was still closed up. On the TransCanada Highway 17 on Sunday after the roads were opened, the semi trailers were lined up for miles. Quite the site. This TransCanada highway is the only main trunk highway from East to West, so when a storm like this hits and closes the roads, it has a huge affect on the country. Not like some areas where there are alternate routes to take.
So, back to winter we are, and again looking forward to seeing the grass show itself. Ice-out will definitely be delayed from what it was looking like earlier last week, as the temperatures are well below freezing at night, and only in the mid 40's in the day. Will keep you updated.
We still haven't had much in the way of warm weather, but it has been above freezing, and we have still dodged all the big snowstorms! The wind has been a big factor the last few days, and it has cut the snow down considerably. There is no snow left on the lake, and there is about 1.5-2 of ice right now. There's still a fair amount of snow around the bush and the yard, but a good steady rain today, and warming temps over the next few days should help knock that down some more.
Spring is definitely coming!! Walleye season closed on April 14th, and will re-open on May 17th. Northern is open throughout the year.
Will keep you posted on the ice/snow conditions over the next couple of weeks, as we know all of you spring ice-out fishermen are anxious!
Still some openings for the early weeks for your information, so you are not too late! Also have a special running for the 2 long weekends in May if you can just spare a weekend. Visit the website for details!
We are hearing a lot of bad snow stories from around the province and the mid-west U.S., but are happy to say that so far we have "missed the bullet" and the heavy snows that arrived the last couple of days in many places has missed Perrault Falls! Just south-east of us, they really got a dumping on Sunday, and many schools and roads were closed.
Today at Rainbow Point Lodge in Perrault Falls it is a sunny day, with temp warming up to about 42 degrees or so. It is still dipping well into the freezing mark during the night, but the sun is trying it's best to cut our snow levels down. Much the same forecast for the rest of the week.
Hope the rest of you are able to dig yourselves out alright today!
I know many of you starting to get pretty anxious for spring and fishing season, but unfortunately it's still a little bit away right now. This picture was taken yesterday (April 1st) at Cottage #1. 
There is about 2.5 feet of ice on the lake, and there's still a good 2'+ of snow on the ground. It's not all that unusual for this time of year for this area, but after such a hard, cold winter, we are definitely anxious for it to be over too!
The ice is not the best this year; with all the early snow, there is a lot of slush on the lake, and the ice layers have slushy sections. When the temperatures really start to warm up, it "should" go out fairly quickly. Right now, it's getting to just a few degrees above freezing during the day, but dipping well below overnight. We'll wait and see what the weather does, and we'll keep you posted!
There are still a few vacancies for early fishing weeks at ice-out. We also have a long weekend special going for the Canadian Victoria Day Weekend, and the US Memorial Day Weekend. Check out the website for details! If you can't sneek away for a whole week, a long weekend might just tie you over and help get the fishing itch scratched!
In between the bitter cold and wind we've had so far in 2008, we finally had a perfect sunny day for a nice long walk. I ended up eventually over near the Falls, which looked and sounded fantastic in the sunshine. The animals were out enjoying the day too, but I wasn't able to get the camera out to catch them. There's a pair of otters living right in front of the Lodge at the top of the Falls, there was a muskrat at the falls, and I was excited, but leary too, seeing a wolf trotting off down the ditch past the lodge.
Thought I'd share this video clip of Perrault Falls in the winter with you. It was beautiful in person, & I hope you enjoy it in video too!
We had a great trip down to the sport shows in January, visiting Milwaukee, Madison & Green Bay, in a 10 day sport show circuit. The shows were very well attended, and we got to visit with many of our past and present guests. Thanks to everybody for coming out to see us.
One of our visitors was Larry Wetenkamp, and his son Dave. He was kind enough to let me try out my new video option on our camera, and tells everybody about his trips to Rainbow Point Lodge. Thanks Larry! Look forward to seeing you and your group this August in Cabin 11 as usual.
It's not too late to book your late summer fishing trip. Don't forget our fall special rates start August 2nd. Great deals to end of the season!. Visit the website for details.
Bob & I are back home after our 10 day sport show circuit. We travelled to shows in Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay. Aside from an 8" dump of snow in Madison, we managed to miss most of the bad weather, and managed to miss the worst of our Canadian cold while we were gone. We are still in a deep freeze like most of you in the midwest are right now, with temps in the range of -30 and down to -45 with wind chill. Brrr...
The shows were very well attended, and it was great to visit with many of our guests at the various shows. We also met many new people who will be making their 1st Canadian fishing or hunting trip to Rainbow Point Lodge this season. Bob & I are excited to show them a wonderful time at the Lodge this coming summer & fall!
For those of you who haven't made their fishing trip plans yet, we have a couple of odd cottage openings the 1st couple of weeks of season shortly after ice-out (Mid May into Memorial Day weekend). The fishing will be fantastic that time of year, so if you have a chance to get away for a few days, give us a shout and we'll see what we can do for you to get the spring fishing itch scratched! 
Shown here is Kurt Carlson with one of the many northern pike caught during opening week. Fast action and plenty of numbers this time of year!
Call us today Toll Free while vacancies last! 1-800-282-9039.
Talk to you soon!
THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE WILL START TO ACCEPT APPLICATIONS FOR THE NEW PASSPORT CARD, BEGINNING FEB. 1st.
While passports are still the best form of identification when traveling in the world, we have received word today on details of the new U.S. Passport Card implementation. For those of you who have not gotten or applied for your passports, this may be a good option. This card will suffice if you are travelling back from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda, by LAND CROSSINGS ONLY. If you travel by air, a passport is still a requirement.
Follow this link for complete details.
US Department of State Passport Card Information
A reminder that passports will not be required until 2009 for travel back from Canada if using land crossings.
Hope this info helps! We'll keep you posted if we hear anything more.
For all you savy internet users, and Facebook fans.......
Our daughter Karla was kind enough to help us get a facebook group set up over the holidays, and we'd like to invite you to find us there, and join the Friends of Rainbow Point Lodge group on Facebook. Share your photos and fish tales on our site. It'll be great for our guests this summer to be able to post their pictures and stories about their Canadian fishing trips. See you there! Don't forget to check out the website from time to time too -- we've made some changes over the last little while, and have some great links to help you plan your fishing or hunting trip.
Hi everyone.
Just a heads up that we are going to be attending a few of the All Canada Sport Shows starting next weekend. If you're around any of these cities, we'd sure love to see you!
Milwaukee - Jan 18, 19, 20
Madison - Jan 21, 22, 23
Green Bay - Jan 24, 25, 26, 27
We'll have a busy trip, so help us break it up a bit and come down for a visit! Hope we don't run into any terrible weather like happened this past week!
And Remember everybody -- You DON'T NEED A PASSPORT to come into Canada by land crossings this year! Take advantage of this extension, and get your trips arranged while we still have vacancies. Also, remember that you can look after getting US Passport applications started while you are at the All Canada Show, so you're ready for next year! Visit our Links page on the website for great information sites on this & other important topics.
p.s. -- can't wait for fishing season!!!
Gale
Anyone that flies into Canada has already had to get used to having a passport handy to travel between Canada & the U.S.
Great News though for those of you traveling through land border crossings!
YOU DO NOT NEED A PASSORT TO TRAVEL INTO CANADA by auto.
There is a tentative date of June, 2009 when the US Department of Homeland Security will require passports at land crossings. We will keep you posted as we hear more. We urge all of our U.S. customers to take advantage of the extended time to go ahead and get their passports so when the regulations come into effect, your travel won't be disrupted.
Visit our links page on our website for access to the US Dept of State Passport site, and many other helpful sites to keep you informed.
The year 2007 didn't have a very good ending for us at the Lodge. During the early morning hours of December 31st we were awoken by loud popping and banging sounds, and looked out to see fire and sparks coming from the back of the Lodge workshop. By the time Bob ran down to check it out, the other half of the building was ablaze. Without a winter fire department in this neck of the woods, we could only call some neighbors, armed with shovels and snow. There was not much we could do but watch, as the fire quickly engulfed the building.
This building was a vital part of our lodge. It was Bob's workshop and tool shed, loaded with more spare parts than a small hardware store, and a lifetime of tools, not to mention the million other things he had collected over the years. It was also Gale's storage room, with a treasure trove of spare household items to keep the cottages well stocked, as well as many personal momentoes. It was also Gale's laundry room, and linen storage building. Needless to say, this was a tremendous loss for us.
We are thankful that this wasn't our home and that no one was hurt, and also thankful that this did not happen during the summer. Not only would it have made camp operating extremely difficult, it would have posed a serious threat of fire spreading to other buildings or the surrounding forest. We have a new understanding what people must go through when they lose their homes.
Click on the photo album link below to view larger images of some photos taken of the fire that night, and the remains later:
2007 marked the 60th anniversary of the official opening of the Red Lake Road. Many of our regular guests are familiar with the commemorative rock/plaque located just across from our Lodge entrance at the Perrault Falls park signifying this opening.
I recently came across this photo in the local newspaper, and thought I'd share it with all of you. (Photo originally provided by the Dupont Family) Besides the fantastic cars, it was exciting to see the bridge in the background, which would be the Perrault Falls bridge right before our entrance. You'll notice nothing but forest to the right of the bridge. This area is now the store and entrance way to Rainbow Point Lodge.
We'll give you some more great history in the weeks to come!
