May 3rd, 2006: I just returned from Bolton Lake after completing our fuel and freight haul. The ice should all be gone this week as most of the lake was open when we left and there was only ice remaining on the main body of the lake. We could access any part of the lake if we had wanted to except for the West river because the wind was blowing the ice in that direction. Joint Lake had one sheet of ice remaining on the lake and it was relatively small. From what I could see of Aswap Lake, it appeared to be completely free of ice, but even if there was a bit left, there won't be any in the next couple of days which will be the same on all our lakes.

The fuel and freight haul went extremely well. The warm dry weather helped the airstrip maintain it's form even with the heavy aircraft coming in to deliver the fuel. We also brought in a bunch of supplies including a new tow behind mower, a new pressure washer, 2 new washing machines, some new decorations for the lodge, and a handful of new motors. We also brought in our beer, pop, water and other supplies for the season. For Aswap Lake we brought a new refrigerator and battery and solar system along with a couple of new toys for both Aswap and Joint Lake. Those will remain a surprise until the groups arrive.

Jodi is still feeling great, but her back is starting to get a bit sore from carrying our baby around. She's due on June 3rd, but we're ready anytime the baby is ready to make his/her appearance! I think the baby will be a bit late since this is our first so my guess is June 10th. We hope that Jodi and the baby will be able to visit in August, but that will depend on how both of them are doing.

This is going to be a great season based on how well the fuel haul went and how beautiful the weather was while we were there for the week!

March 9th, 2006: Only one show remaining for this season, only one outpost spot to sell and only 2 and a half months before camp opening!! We're gearing up for one of our most hectic seasons with a new addition to our family, the new responsibility of running the lodge on our own, a new assistant manager, a new chef and a new way to fly in all our supplies. Fortunately, almost all the other staff including the girls who clean the cabins and serve the meals along with the majority of the guides will all be back next season. Having a seasonal business creates a bit more than normal turn over in staff, but we're proud to say that a lot of our staff have been returning for over 7 years, and very, very few only do one season with us! The new chef we've hired has some great new ideas for breakfast, suppers, appetizers and deserts and he has some great experience working with some of the best chefs in Winnipeg so we have very high hopes for this year.

The last outpost spot for the season is a new one at Joint Lake. August 2nd - 8th (Thursday - Wednesday) is now open for up to 8 guys. For a group of 4 or more the special rate for this 6 day spot is $999 per person, for 3 guys the rate is $1249 per person, for 2 guys the rate is $1499 per person.

February 1st, 2006: We're in the middle of sport show season and we have 4 left to do. This weekend we leave for Indianapolis, followed by St.Louis then DesMoines for a new show. Please click this link for dates, locations and a coupon to a sport show near you. Then we'll only have Minneapolis to do at the end of March.

We are not planning to build a winter road this season as the weather has been much too mild. In the past we've trucked a ton of motors, gas, propane, and other supplies to God's Lake over the winter road and flew everything from Elk Island over to Bolton. By using the all weather roads that go to Norway House we will be able to fly all our supplies into Bolton in the spring and it's only about 10 miles further by air from Norway House to Bolton compared to Elk Island to Bolton. I have ordered my motors, propane and many other supplies already, but this year it's nice to have some time to get everything.

The season is shaping up very nicely, there are only 2 weeks left to sell at the outposts and limited space at the main camp. We have created a number of 3 day spots on the schedule that are a bit harder to fill than the longer trips so we're offering a special rate for any 3 day spot of $1500 per person. May 28 - 31, July 22 - 25, July 16 - 19 and July 27 - 30 are all open for that special rate. Joint Lake is open July 2 - 9 and Aswap is open July 16 - 23. If your group is looking specifically for big Pike, then Aswap is the spot. If your group likes variety and larger Walleye, then Joint Lake has it all to offer with nice Pike, Lake Trout and some of the best Walleye fishing around.

We look forward to seeing you at a show in the near future or to hear from you on the phone...we're almost always available on our toll free number which rings to our cell phone when we're not in the office. Evenings and weekends we're available when you have time to plan your next trip.

December 19, 2005: Happy Holidays to all! We have a couple of very exciting announcements to make today, first Jodi is expecting our first born in early June!!! We're glad we waited as long as we did, but now we're very excited to start this new challenge and enjoy parenthood. Unfortunately, Jodi won't be able to be at the lodge this summer, but she'll still try to help me out if and when she gets some spare time away from the baby. On to the second announcement, I've hired an assistant manager to help me run the camp. Kelly Ross and I worked together on our Moose Hunt a couple of years ago where Kelly and his wife were the best part of that hunt. Kelly and I are working towards setting up a deal for him to run the Moose hunts again and maybe even some spring bear before the fishermen arrive. Kelly's extensive experience in the business and great attitude will be enjoyed by all this season. A big part of Kelly's responsibility will be ensuring that the outpost camps will be well maintained and kept clean. Also, having Kelly will allow me to sneak out to see my first child born, and hopefully get another couple of short visits later in the season.

Third, our purchase of Bolton Lake should be finalized some time early in the new year! It's looking like it will be a great but very different 2006 season! We were just about completely sold out of June dates, but we've had a couple of recent cancellations and groups that have changed dates to come later in the season. I hope to fill June 18 - 22 with a couple of 4 person groups or even a big 8 person group and June 22 - 29 with another group of 8. This later trip could be broken up into a 3 or 4 day trip. Come visit us at the shows or call before we get there as we're going to offer a few specials to fill these spots.

November 23, 2005: I've just finished adding new videos to the video page, click on the link to see them. It's been a very nice fall, but it's quickly turning into winter here. We'll be on vacation all of next week, but my brother Greg will be answering our phone.

October 20th, 2005: Jodi and I are in the process of setting up an agreement to buy out my parents' interest in Bolton Lake Lodge and Outposts! We don't expect there to be much of a difference since we've been running it mostly on our own for the past 5 years, but it's still a big step for us. We're looking forward to a very busy season again next year and as always, we hope that the weather and equipment all cooperate for us next season.

We should have the newsletters in our hands later today, then we'll stuff them in envelopes and drive down to North Dakota to mail them. I expect most guests will receive their newsletters by the middle of next week if we don't run into any problems. If you don't think you're on our mailing list or if your address has changed and you'd like to receive one, please email me at info@boltonlake.com to receive your copy.

Our bookings are coming along very nicely but there's still a bunch of space at the end of May which I'm surprised to see still open. The lake was completely ice free by May 9th last season, and although this is earlier than normal, the end of May is when we open and 9 times out of 10 there's no problem with ice by May 24th. The best part of coming up early are the big Pike in the shallow bays!

September 26th, 2005: That's the longest I've gone without doing an update. I have been at Elk Island Lodge for the past few weeks helping out with the September fishing and I did not have the right programs for updating the websites from there. We're all finally back in Winnipeg after a great year of fishing. The weather could have cooperated a bit more when we were trying to move guests, but at least during the week the weather was pretty good for fishing. We had a great season of Pike fishing with a 47 incher caught at Bolton and another at Aswap. The Walleye didn't stop biting all season and the biggest of the season was 30 inches again. We caught 2 Lake Trout that were 40 inches this year at Bolton one in June and one in August. We're already looking forward to next season and the bookings are shaping up nicely. For the next few weeks I'll be writing the newsletter, updating more things on the website, finalizing the details for the sport shows and working towards setting up for next season.

Give us a call to book your spot for 2006!