Winter has arrived a bit early this year.  There is always things that have to be done before freeze up and it is nice to have some nice weather to get things wrapped up.  This year we only had a small window of opportunity to get our fall jobs done before the weather cooled off and the ground froze.  Of course hunting season is also very important! 

Our deer herd is in pretty good shape in our area this year.  It has fully recovered from a harsh winter a number of years ago and there seems to be quite a few nice bucks.  I always try to get away from everyone else when I hunt and put up a new enclosed stand way off the beaten track with a heater 🙂  The deer rutted early it seems this year and most of the action was around Halloween.  Which is my favorite time to hunt as it is usually warmer.  This mature buck showed up on the 3rd time I sat in this stand.  It was almost -20C but the heat was going and I was drinking a coffee……. He came in too close for me to even move, just take a picture, then he made a scrape and walked 90 yards away and gave me the shot.  

Fall time is also butchering time.  My brother raises me a pig each summer so we try to pick a nice day to get this job done.  It was chilly this year but it was calm at least.  Our freezers are full and ready for the winter, Moose, Deer and Pork and Fresh Fish from the lake.  It feels good to not have to rely on the grocery store to feed ourselves.

Dustee also loves fall.  Lots of fresh wild meat and bones to eat for 2 months!  She too gets fixed up for fall.  Her favorite day is when I put fresh straw in her insulated dog house.  She is happy, jumping around in the fresh straw and making herself a bed.  Sometimes she spends the night inside but usually only when the temperature drops below minus 20 C.  Otherwise she always wants out before bed.

Pictures

We will updating our website soon as well as sending out our Thanksgiving Newsletter.  If you have not shared any of your photos with us and would like to, we would appreciate it a lot.  Our guests catch lots of big fish and we like to keep our website updated with recent pictures.  The best advertising is word of mouth and references but our website is always quite active and we like to showcase the trophy fishing we have on our lakes.  If you caught a big fish this summer at one of our camps or saw some beautiful scenery and would like to share them, please email them to us at amikoutposts@gmail.com  

Dates for 2020

We are booking dates and filling in the puzzle that will be our 2020 season.  Certain times of the season and certain lakes are almost booked solid but holes remain scattered here and there.  Please email us by clicking here if you would like to inquire about booking a trip for next season.  

I hope everyone has a good deer season and that you get to spend some time out in the bush.

The snow is flying, the airplanes are on dry ground, the water has been drained and the camps have been put to bed!  Another season is in the books.  It was a great year once again.  

Moose Hunting

2019 was pretty normal moose hunting.  Each group except one had some sort of excitement during the hunt each week.  The weather as always plays such a huge role in how each hunt will go.  During the first week we battled the wind and during the second week we battled snow, rain and wind.  We had a number of great hunting days also each week and that is when the moose moved.

We ended up with 2 moose for the season and one that got away.  

The moose that got away happened during the first week of the hunt.  I was guiding some guys that had hunted with us many times and have had great success almost every time they hunted with me.  After seeing some cows during the week and lots of wind, on day 5 Mike and I were just setting up in a spot on a perfect morning.  As we were walking up the hill I thought I heard a grunt.  After calling back and waiting awhile we didn’t hear anything.  I left Mike and went to call from the top of the hill.  When I got to the top I met up with a Monster Bull about 25 -30 yards away headed our way.  I scurried back over the hill and fetched Mike.  The moose had moved away slightly and I called him back.  He came right to us within 50 yards but the brush was thick and we couldn’t see him very well.  As he came into the open Mike had a shot.  I heard it hit and it turned and disappeared.  After it was behind some bushes for a few minutes, it started to move and it went through the bush and up over the ridge.  

Mike figures he shot him fairly square in the chest.  That isn’t a good shot on a large animal.  We waited for an hour to give him time to lay down and expire.  After finding the blood trail we began to follow.   It was hit but the blood was clear and only looked like a flesh wound and not through any vitals.  The bull never laid down until it was half a mile from the lake.  He was in the thickest stuff imaginable when I heard him get up.  And like a sheet of plywood being dragged through the willows, he got up and walked away, deeper into the burn.  I tracked him for another half mile over the next ridge but he never stopped.  Never ever struggled or fell once since being hit.   He was gone.  I hunted that area a number of times since then and never saw any birds or activity. This has only ever happened to me one other time but I hope that bull is healing up.

One of our unguided groups of hunters were successful in taking a bull as well.  I was a day late in picking them up as the weather was not very good.  As I was loading the moose I asked if I could get a picture for the website.  Where are the horns?  It was a spike bull and the guys had just cut off the spikes and were going to make a knife handle out of it.  He could put it in his pocket 🙂 We had a few other groups of hunters who had moose calling and wouldn’t quite come in, lots of encounters with cows. One cow was even dancing in the water!  It was a good hunt but the rut was late again this year as it was last year.

Aaron and I saw the forecast coming the day we brought out the last moose hunters and there was a couple of nice days followed by a Colorado low, heavy wet snow and lots of rain for 4 days.  We went back up north and worked as hard as we could to get most of the work done and camps closed before the storm.  We had hoped that we would be able to hunt for ourselves and leisurely close the camps.  Our last night up north with the Otter, we got to Loree after closing camps all day at 5 pm.  an hour and a half before dark, our only opportunity to get out hunting.  “Let’s just hunt right by the camp”

After a half hour of calling…….

He came right to the call but quietly.  He was still fat and not very beat up.  Aaron had not shot a moose before, so I gave him the first shot.  The moose came out across the narrows and turned perfectly.  Aaron hit solid on the first shot, the moose headed for the lake.  I shot and hit him and he kept going for the water, so I gave him one more and down he went….  in the water of course.

It is always so exciting to get a moose but to see someone’s first moose is awesome.  Aaron was so happy, I was happy and Dustee was happy.

Aaron’s bullet went right through the moose but my 338 Win mag was on the far side against the hide.  They both did their job.  

We were able to get all the camps closed but one and put the Otter away one day before the storm.

For some reason, the Ravens were always close to me this year.  One morning a raven sat next to me for 5 minutes, just shining his beak and staring at me from 3-4 feet  away.  Many others sat in trees next to me this year and made weird noises.  I don’t know if they were being friendly or what but it was always entertaining.  If you spend enough time in the bush you will see some interesting things.

We saw a lot of this……

But also some of this 🙂

Dustee as always loved her time in the bush and was very happy to see the snow.  We had 6 inches 2 separate times.

We are always trapping mice while we are up there but this year was a first.  2 Mice, 1 Trap!!  It looked like they were 2 friends that said to each other “let’s do this together”  Both of their mouths were on the bait at the same time.  The ravens came each day and picked up the mice.  Maybe that is why they were so close to me all fall.

After the storm went by, we were able to get back up north and finish a few jobs that were left to do.  Winter was knocking on the door so we knew it was time to be done.

Since the storm we have had some phone issues and are having land line trouble.  If you are trying to reach us please email us at amikoutposts@gmail.com or click here to send us an info request form.  We are continuing to book dates for next year so please let us know if you are interested in specific dates or lakes in your email.

We are down to the last few groups of fall fishermen headed to the bush.  It is always bitter sweet to see the end of another season.  Lots of work to do and camps to close up before moose hunting.  We will see how Mother Nature treats us this fall.  We have gone from hot and dry to cool and damp.  We have had a fair bit of rain which has brought up the lake levels which is nice to see.  Fishing has been good, just deep, walleyes are down in 18-30 feet of water but the big pike have started to move into the bays and are feeding heavier as fall approaches.  The sizes have gotten bigger in the last week or two with many 26-28 inch walleyes being caught and released as well a more 40 plus inch pike.  Our guests continue to have a great time, no matter the weather or depth of the fish.  Just being in the bush away from the rest of the world should be your main reason for getting away, the great fishing is a bonus.  The silence and solitude are good for your soul and waking up with no alarm clock in such a place resets your mind.  I always look forward to fall.  It is my time of year……

Here are a few pictures from our last trip up north after getting some work done and closing the first couple of camps.

I had a ticket to the Packer game in Winnipeg but I had a bunch of flying to do that day.  Then was delayed by fog in the morning.  It wasn’t looking good to make it to the game.  Once we finally got going, there was just enough time.  We got the flying done and made the flight to Winnipeg.  Aaron and I were walking up to the stadium just as they were playing O’Canada.  Met up with my buddies who are also in the tourist business and had a great time. 🙂

The time of year where I disappear into the bush is upon us.  Working in the bush is nice.   You only have the task at hand to contend with and then move on to the next one.  We have accomplished a bunch of jobs already and have a couple of weeks to get some others done before we start our Moose hunt.

Lulu has become a good flying dog once she got used to it.  She jumps right in the Otter now and doesn’t mind it at all.  She is more needy than Dustee as you can see by this picture. Inside Aaron’s personal space….

You have never seen a dog as happy as Dustee when fall comes around.  It is nice and cool, she has mice to hunt and is always watching out for us.  She feels like she is our guardian I think. 

We work hard all day so that we can go fishing in the evening.  Always taking plenty of food but end up eating fish more times than not.  It is so good when it is fresh.

Dates for next year are booking up fast.  We seem to see a high demand for trips in 2020.  Please do not delay in getting your trip booked for next year.  You can inquire about dates for 2020 by clicking here.

Where does the time go?  Another season is almost done as we head into September.  The weather has continued to be great, sunshine and dry although we have had a lot of wind.  It always seems like fall gives summer a big push and we get a bunch of wind most years.  It makes fishing tougher and it also causes the lake temperatures turn over leading into fall.  This puts the bigger fish down into 20-35 feet of water.  Trying to catch fish in deep water is tough enough, never mind in a 20 knot wind. 🙂  The more experienced fall fishermen have been doing great but it is tough in the wind for everyone.  We are supposed to get some rain over the next couple of days and that should hopefully let the weather settle down a bit and freshen up the lakes.

All of our guests have been heading home with smiles on their faces already looking forward to next year, in the bush with no cell service or internet, a beautiful view and a lake full of fish.

Here are some pictures from the Otter.

My grandson, Jack had to have his first plane ride.  I wasn’t about to let it be with anyone but me.  He sat with me for most of the flight and took to it naturally.  He monitored the gauges and had his hand out the window just like I do. 🙂  I am sure in the years to come he will be my right hand on most flights.

The view for the morning coffee is pretty special.  I had a lot of these mornings but fall is coming.  The weather is going to change…..

We have started to do some jobs at some of the camps and get to spend the odd night in the Bush.  Colten caught this nice walleye on Cherrington.

The fire situation is pretty good, a couple of newer fires had started to act up and the Cobham fire continues to live on.  It has been going for 2 months or more.  It is not very active but breathes once in awhile and throws up some smoke.  Far from the camp now.  Our guests are amazed at the size of the area that was burned during the fires earlier this summer.

We will be getting work done at the camps soon and closing things up for the season in a few weeks.  Our 25th season with Amik Outposts has been a great one so far.  We see certain people at certain times of year and it signifies what point in the season you are.  Our fall people are showing up.  The leaves are changing and the geese and sandhill cranes have started to move.  Fall is upon us.  It will be hunting season soon!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

We have had plenty of first time flyin fishermen recently.  They are always so pumped to get on the airplane and head into their own lake with no internet signal or cellular service.  Just peace and quiet.  Here is a great letter from one of our first time guests who got hooked on Amik.  Being in the bush is good for your soul.

“Hi Rena,

I wanted to send you a quick note thanking you for providing such a wonderful place for a fishing get away.  Our group enjoyed every minute of our trip. For me personally, being able to spend a few days alone in a boat with my 25 year son with no distractions was truly priceless.  I know the other guys would agree that those type of situations were the true highlight of the trip.

The fishing was superb. The cabin was great, and the hospitality was fantastic.  The maps John marked for us were a great way to get started.  We got better each day at finding and catching fish. This was the first trip of this kind for any members of our group, and it certainly more than met expectations. We ate fish every day and enjoyed it immensely, but did manage to get some top quality Iowa beef up there too!

I also wanted to thank you for your help in organizing and coordinating our trip.  Everything from adding additional guys along the way, to getting supplies and bait. It really did go very well.  

The guys are already talking about next year.  Maybe a little earlier in the season.  We will be in touch soon!

Take care and thanks again!

Gary”

The days are getting shorter and it has finally cooled off a little bit.  I think I saw some Birch trees with leaves on it that were already starting to fade, but that could be just from it being so dry most of the summer.  We haven’t had much rain in the north where the water levels are low.  Further south we had a few more rains which translates into normal water levels for this time of year.

Fishing has been consistent, our guests have been happy.  Lots of fish and plenty of big ones to go around.  Walleyes have been caught up to 29 inches recently with most groups catching multiples in the 24-26 inch range.  Big pike were slower during the hot weather we had with most fishermen catching a number of pike in the 38-40 inch range.  Since it cooled off recently, the bigger ones are coming back to life with more of our guests reporting some 42-43 inch pike.  The largest caught so far has come from Cobham Morley.  48 inches!!!

Here are some more pictures from our guests who have been up recently.

The McGill party looks forward to their trip to Loree Lake every second year.  They always enjoy the peace and quiet and the time away from Cell service and the Internet.  A trip to the bush is the best reset a person could ask for…..

The Master Angler!!!!

The Clark party always fish the same lake, at the same time, every year.  The stakes are high and bragging rights for an entire year are at stake.  This year it was decided on the last night.  When James caught the last fish he needed to take home the Heavyweight belt in 2019.  Here are some of the pictures that they shared with us of their excursion to the Cobham.

Daryl B. took this great rainbow picture on Vee Lake after a good rain.  Golden walleyes at both ends of that rainbow I bet.

We have been seeing lots of happy people!  Fishing has been very good, the weather has been pretty consistent, and everything around the camps has been running smooth.  We have gotten a few rains to maintain water levels as well.  Life is pretty good 🙂 

Here are some pictures from our guests who have been up recently.

The Achterkirch party went on their first flyin to Blackbirch Lake.  They are HOOKED.  Lots of beauty walleye and some awesome sunsets.  

Walt and his Family have fished a few of our lakes in the past few years and this year they stayed at Cobham Morley.  They had an awesome trip.  Great family time and some superb fishing.  A good combination 🙂

Rena and John,

I realize that the Blog has been lacking lately.  We have been busy and when we were not busy we were trying to get the flying done.  It has been very difficult to get our people moved each day.  There were some monster forest fires, NW, North and NE of Red Lake which created a wall of smoke which we had to deal with each day.  Sometimes going over top of the smoke, going through the smoke or going around the smoke.  We had lots of delays and a few fishermen on each end that had to wait an extra day to get moved.  

Being an optimist I knew we would get rain eventually and that things could change in a matter of a few hours……..if we could just get some rain.

Finally we had some big rains and some crazy weather that put out the fires closest to Red Lake, making all of the pilots lives easier around here!

Most of the fires are out now.  We only had one fire that was a concern, right near our Cobham Daniel cabin.  It was a bit of a thorn in our side as it burned on and off for more than a month.  Of course it got quite close to the cabin right before it rained.  Aaron and I spent many nights and days at Daniel, doing the trips in reverse and staying with guests in order to keep an eye on the fire.  The MNR was quite busy with fires near communities and we were not much of a priority.  They did check on us every couple of days and supplied us with a pump and sprinkler system but we took it upon ourselves to make sure the fire did not come and take out one of our most popular cabins.   We had our own pumps and hose to continually keep wetting down the forest around and behind the cabin and ran water almost all day every day that the fire was active.  We also cleaned up all the downed trees and any other fuel that was around the cabin and hauled it farther away just in case.  It has been hot and dry so being wet all day working under the sprinklers was a relief.

The rain finally came and put 98% of the fire out.  We are supposed to get some more rain soon which should finish it off.  We also need some rain to maintain our water levels in the North.  The water has been dropping but just like the fires, it can all change in a short period of time.  🙂

Our guests had occasional smoke but generally the guests didn’t have too many smoky days while they were fishing. The wind kept it one side of them or the other.   We need to move everyone safely and do our best to do it in a timely manner.  I have been telling myself that we will sacrifice some flying time for some rain and not complain. 

Fishing has been awesome along with this great weather, so everyone has been happy and understanding of the issues with flying and the fires.  The mayflies hatched during the first week of July and the walleyes have been shallow 4-6 feet but have started to move to their summer spots.  10-12 feet recently.  Pike slowed down a bit during the hot weather and were just feasting on walleye.  T-bone attacks were pretty common for a while with a few fishermen able to land 2 fish at once!  

We have gotten lots of pictures from our guests who have been up recently and I hope to get some of them up on my blog soon.  We are hoping that we can get into a normal routine again after the fire part of the season.

Here are some pictures that I have taken during the last few weeks.

The fire is a living breathing organism.  It fires up some days and calms down others.  You can feel the air when it is a fire day.  The fire started NW of the camp by the rapids and went right by the camp and finished about 2-3 miles east of the camp where it continues to smolder in some big timber today.

The fires around Red Lake turned into monsters and took a few cabins from some lodges and outposts and plenty of close calls.  It was pretty intense at times for many of the other outfitters.

By each afternoon even on a calm day this is what the fire would look like.  

This was right behind the camp at Daniel as the fire was moving away.  

Then each evening it would calm down and let us have a couple of beverages and calm down.  It was a good lesson in patience and diligence that is for sure.   Being ready and preparing for something that you don’t know if it is going to show up.  Never turning your back on it, always ready to get back up there depending on the weather forecast.  Up there everyday and willing to stay right there if the fire came back to life, which it did every few days.

Then when the weather broke and it finally rained my buddy Eddie and I both got stuck up north one evening.  We were not able to get through the smoke and thunderstorms.  We ended up we3st of our normal track trying to get home.  With our experience, we know good places to get stuck.  We both had a load of guests but we found a full service lodge where they had a bed, food and beer.  All outfitters are competitors but we are all friends and look after each other.  They looked after us and treated us like gold.  We were very thankful and appreciative to Dogskin and their staff.  

Of course the rain missed the far north and the Cobham fire survived for another week.  This was on my way north on the day we finally got the heavy rain we needed to put some hurt on the fire.  Racing a line of storms, the sky looks pretty cool.

Once I got to the Cobham and looked back, we were not going home for awhile.  Sit tight and wait until it gets better before heading home…..

Daniels cabin is right in the middle of this picture, we are happy to say, still standing.  

We have been going hard, flying everyday and moving happy people to and from the bush.  There has been many stories of awesome fishing, t-bone attacks, countless walleye.  Large pike were feeding heavy more than a week ago but have slowed down a bit in the heat.  The biggest pike have been caught walleye fishing, which is what they are eating 🙂 The fish have been in every depth from 2 feet to 17 feet in the last couple of weeks.  The walleyes are in about 12 feet now and will come up shallow for awhile in July soon, right near the fast growing weeds.

It has been hot and dry and water levels are going down.  Some rain would be nice.  There are a couple of fires burning and depending on the wind we may experience some smoke in the air.  There is no fire ban on yet but we are telling our guests no fires unless it rains.  It looks like we should get some soon.

Here are some pictures our guests have shared with us recently.

Trey M. and his crew from Texas were up with us in the very early 90’s when my Mom and Dad were first getting the main lodge on Deer Lake running and Findlay was a day fishing lake from the main lodge.   He has been planning on getting back up here for awhile now, trying to explain to his friends how great it is to be in the bush, but pictures don’t do it justice.  Once you experience the silence and superb fishing, you will be hooked.  These Texans are already looking forward to the next one 🙂

Jarret was one year old when Trey first came up with Amik OUtposts.  His first walleye of his life…… 23.5 inches!  Not a bad start eh?

These guys have been on here many times.  The Lindberg party has fished every one of our lakes and are now going through them again!  Cobham Morley seems to be their home for the next couple of years at least.  They caught lots of fish and some pretty nice ones as well.  

On the last night, they had some issues.  After using the same motor all week, the prop, nut and washer fell off.  We are not sure if another guest had taken it off and lost the cotter pin or if it just broke.  They had the wind against them so they were going to wait until the wind went down to paddle home.  

There was 3 of them in the 16 foot boat so they made some extra paddles to get them home, but luckily they communicated with their buddies where they were going and what time they were to return.  After being overdue, their buddies went and found them and towed them in.  They took the paddles home along with a good story.