Greetings, and welcome to the Halley’s Camps, Lodges and Outposts April Newsletter. Once again the countdown is on to the opening weekend for fantastic walleye fishing at Halley’s! We hope everyone is as excited as we are about the end of winter and are dreaming about big spring walleye! Of course we have all managed to take a day off and make time to get out at least once or twice this past winter to do some ice fishing and snowmobiling - It can’t be all work and no play! All the same, though, because we enjoy what we do! Pictured left: Chris drills a hole in a likely spot for some fast action. Pictured right: Look! I caught a walleye! And: Are you surprised?

The lodge at Caribou Falls Landing is coming along nicely. At the writing of this post, the flooring is going in, the painting has been completed where needed, and the project is getting closer and closer to completion with each passing day. Check out the photo on the left… Doesn’t it look fantastic? As well, George has been up to Kettle Falls Lodge to check on things there, and is taking care of repairs to the boat dock. And, last but not least, the guys have been taking side trips to the outposts to make sure that all is well on those fronts. Pictured right: Those are some pretty fancy hats you all have on!

Just to let you all know, we do still have some great spring, summer and fall fishing dates open for those late bookings. We all know that each group has their favourite weeks to come on up for their fishing vacation, but for those of you who are autumn people, September is the perfect time to spend a relaxing, end of summer vacation at Halley’s Camps, Lodges, or Outposts. The weather is great, the scenery is fantastic, and the fishing is out of this world! Pictured left: Wait! I know I can catch one more! Pictured right: Now THAT is a fish!

Give us a call at 1-800-465-3325 and let’s go fishing!

Welcome to the Halley’s Camps, Lodges and Outposts March Newsletter. We hope that everyone has had a safe and happy winter! In these parts, March is the month of the big melt (we hope!). The temperatures are warming, and already we can notice a change in the quality of our snow! One of the things we always used to take note of was the weather on the first day of March - following the old adage “In like a lamb, out like a lion”, or vice versa. This year, March 1st dawned clear and cold, but by the end of the day was overcast with a few snow flurries, so it was decidedly lion-like. That means that we can expect some lovely spring weather for the first of April!

Caribou Falls Landing Construction Photos: A few shots of the construction of the new 3,200 square foot lodge have finally arrived on my desk, taken the end of February… These photos do not really give the project the justice it deserves, but I thought that I would share them with you anyway! Things are moving along swiftly now. The flooring has been ordered, the finishing is happening, and soon it will be time for the big job of installing the fixtures and furniture. The best part will come when we can finally decorate and restock!

Again this photo was taken from the dining area in the new lodge.The first set of stairs leads to the kitchen. The second set of stairs leads to the new store area. Up the third set of stairs in the distance is the office area, and a view of what will be the bait and tackle shop. The windows on the far end wall in the bait and tackle shop are oriented towards the back bay and yard. To give an idea of the size of this room, you can just see a bit of Rob standing in the photo at the right.

Greetings one and all and welcome to the Halley’s Camps, Lodges and Outposts February Newsletter. All is well in our neck of the woods! We have all been enjoying the winter and plugging away with our various chores and projects, including the new lodge at Caribou! As well, we have winter guests at One Man Lake, enjoying a great weekend getaway at the Lodge. It is the perfect place to spend time relaxing, fishing or snowmobiling!

The photo on the left was taken by Wanda on a recent trip to One Man Lake Lodge. While out for a walk, she found this old poplar tree with these shelf like fungal growths. On the growths is accumulated snowfall that had piled up against the tree. An interesting photo!

On the right are photos that were taken by the guys on a past snowmobile trip up to Wingiskus to check on the cabin. Hope they let the younger fellows shovel all that snow off of the deck!

Hello all and welcome to the Halley’s Camps, Lodges and Outposts January newsletter. Best wishes from our family to yours for a safe, happy and healthy 2008. Weather wise, we have been enjoying a mild winter here in northwestern Ontario thus far. We have lots of snow on the ground and for the most part have had blue skies and sunshine! We are all well and keeping quite busy. The construction on the new lodge at Caribou is progressing nicely. It is business as usual at the main office. There is rarely a dull day around here!

A few of my favourite summertime fishing photos are attached…. There is nothing better than taking the family on a fantastic fishing vacation! The rewards are definite… seeing the smiles and excitement when the kids hook into and land the big one, the quality time spent on the lake and at the cabin, the memories will last a lifetime! Thanks everyone for sending in your fishing photos!

Some Humour… Question: What did the fish say when he hit the wall? Answer: Dam!!

Winter is upon us once again! After a fairly decent autumn that held off the snow until just about the last week of November, we are finally in the thick of it. It has been snowing, snowing, and snowing! No real winter storms have hit us yet, although that is just a matter of time! We have had our first winter flight! The guys took off on skis from the airstrip at Minaki Aircraft Repair and did a quick reconnaissance up to One Man to circle over and have a look at the river conditions before landing back at the airstrip.

This photo was taken on November 27th from the deck at River Air in Minaki on the first “real” day of winter. The day dawned clear and cold, with temperatures ranging around -25 degrees Celcius (-13 F) in the morning and warming up to a balmy -20 degrees Celcius (-4 F) in the afternoon. Chilly! On the other hand, days like this are quite pleasing to the eye, and this is the perfect weather for making ice. For the most part, the weather has not been quite as cold all that regularly.

Caribou Falls Landing Lodge Construction Update: The shell has been completed and is closed in to keep out the winter weather. We are set to begin the wiring job in the new building. The insulation and vapour barrier have been delivered and are standing by in wait of completion of the electrical work. She is coming along nicely!

This year’s deer hunt was very successful for our hunters. There were some big bucks taken from our stands on the English River! Our guides are seeing a definite population boom in the whitetails in our region. This, along with the vast area we hunt and little hunting pressure, is making for excellent success rates among our guests!

The moose hunt at The Outpost Company is a time of year we all look forward to with great anticipation. When we are out in the field with our hunters, the experience of calling in a bull for a hunter is an experience like no other. When you get a bull grunting at you and breaking brush as you call him in, it definitely makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck! Pictured here is just one of the several successful bull hunts at the camps and outposts that took place this fall.

The high bear population in our bear management areas made it a very exciting hunt for all bear hunters. With the population boom and our vast hunting area, we had experienced very active baits this fall. Even with our abundant blueberry crop the bears were looking for the last bit of sustenance before hibernation, this made for lots of excitement while on stand.

Comments: We had a super time at Caribou Falls Landing! The fishing was awesome and we both had the opportunity to pass on multiple bear while on stand. On the third evenings hunt, Shelly arrowed this 260 lb boar at 13 yards. We were so impressed with the quality of the bait sites and the number of bear! Thanks again for a memorable hunt!

Welcome to the Halley’s Camps, Lodges and Outposts November Newsletter. It hardly seems like fishing season is over, but here we are heading into November already! Pictured here to the left are some nice trophy length smallmouth bass from guests staying at a couple of our fly in outposts this fall. At Caribou Falls Landing the construction project on the Lodge is coming along nicely. The foundation and floor is done, the walls and partitions are up, and the trusses are are in place. A huge load of shingles has been shipped up to Caribou, and at the writing of this newsletter, are being put on the roof. Our aim is to have the entire lodge enclosed before the snow flies so that interior work on the 3,200 square foot building can continue throughout the winter months. We will keep you posted!

Another great catch and release photo from our September guests at Dowswell Lake Outpost… or did someone forget the camera at the cabin? Printed on the cardboard fish are a 33 1/2 inch northern pike from Bilko Lake, a 24 inch lake trout from Dowswell, a 40 inch pike from Sylvia and hundreds of walleye from Bilko and Sylvia.The caption on the third cardboard fish reads “Fish-Line Breakers - They were all this big!”

This post is dedicated to all those people who either volunteer or are elected to be the fishing trip leader / organizer for your party. On many occasions we at Halley’s Camps have discussed across the reservation desk our admiration for the person who must make all of the arrangements and ask all of the necessary questions on behalf of the group. This can be quite a daunting task with such a variety of accommodations, travel logistics, and fishing opportunities available - especially for the first timer. A big round of applause goes out to you!

Now for the fishing photos…. pictured here are some great photos sent in by our guests on a mid September stay at Moosehorn Lake Outpost. Great photos! And finally… pictured below is a photo of George taken this past summer with a pretty nice muskie!

The Caribou Falls Landing Construction Update: Well folks, there is no turning back now! Construction is in full swing on the new lodge at Caribou Falls Landing. The old store has been cleared out and demolished… gone forever. The site has been prepped, the footings have been set, and the foundation is being built as this newsletter is being written. Tune in next month for more updates!