Dogskin Blog
Some writings by Shad, Jamie and our staff
There’s exciting news out of Canada today - the COVID vaccine mandate will be removed on Oct 1, 2022! This means that next summer we’ll be back to normal border operations and all guests are welcome back in Canada. We expect to be very busy next year, so don’t hesitate in giving us a call to get on the books. There are still lots of great dates throughout the summer at the lodge and outposts.
Another Manitoba Monster Northern Pike at Dogskin Lake Lodge
It is amazing how fast our 2022 season has gone. We have just a couple weeks of fishing and moose hunting left before we close up another year. Thanks to all of the returning guests that make this business so enjoyable. For the guests that took their first trip with us this year - you’re awesome! We were fortunate to make lots of new friends and look forward to seeing you again in the future.
This summer was made special by the hard work of our staff. Paige and Calem did an awesome job of getting guests on large quantities of fish as well as plenty of “Manitoba Monsters”. Paige also helped out around the camp wearing many hats depending on what needed. She’s still the best shorelunch cook you’ll ever find. Speaking of food, Wayne did an awesome job of cooking great breakfast and dinner, while making familiar meals more interesting than you’d find elsewhere. With the increased food costs, he broke down all of his meats and made everything from scratch. He made some crazy desserts this year and some will be making the future rotations. We started the year off with Katrina and Katie, with both of them putting in long hours to get everything ready for the guests. Katie had some family issues and Katrina was able to pick up the slack and do an amazing job for us. She was great with the guests, kept the lodge and cabins looking great and became a great shorelunch chef herself!
We had lots of others come up to help us throughout the year. Thank you to Steve and Chris in particular for being great to work with.
We finally have some (small) good news regarding crossing the border. We still have a long ways to go, but it at least shows that Canada is starting towards relaxing restrictions at the border. The main change is the type of test allowed. I know some people have found it difficult to get PCR tests, so this opens up new options.
Fully-vaccinated travellers will now have the option to have either a negative PCR test taken within 72 hr prior to their arrival in Canada or a rapid antigen test taken within 24 hr prior to their arrival at a land-border or before boarding their flight to Canada. Taking a rapid antigen test at home is not sufficient – it must be authorized by the country in which it was purchased and must be administered by a laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth service.
Alternatively, travelers can enter the country if they can show proof of a previous COVID-19 infection with a positive molecular test taken at least 10 days but no more than 180 days before arrival.
All travellers must enter all of their information, proof of vaccination, as well as a quarantine plan, into the ArriveCAN app within 72hrs prior to their arrival in Canada.
The other thing to note is that a ban on bait coming across the border will be in effect for this year. This includes minnows (frozen and salted), leeches and worms
We’ll keep you updated as we get closer to the season. Look for information packets to go out in March or early April with all of the details for your upcoming trip.
We’re looking forward to seeing you one the dock this year!
Shad
As we turn the calendar, we’re excited to be in the middle of booking our upcoming 2022 season. We are hoping and expecting that we’ll get back to near normality this year as far as operating the business is concerned. Its obvious that there are a lot of people eager to get back up to Dogskin and spend some time in a boat! If you’re thinking about a trip, its probably best to get in contact with us sooner than later as more people are booking earlier than in years past. There are some full dates already, but we always work hard to find a great set of dates that will work with your schedule as well as fulfill all of your fishing goals.
Greetings Dogskin friends!
As you’ve certainly heard, vaccinated US residents can now cross the border. This is exciting news, though too late for our main summer season.
We’re busy booking trips for 2022, so give us a call at 888-DOGSKIN and we’ll find a set of dates for your group to get back up to Canada fishing
Thanks for all of your patience during this time and we look forward to hosting you in 2022!
Regards,
Shad & Jamie
We would like to first, and foremost, thank all of our guests who have called, emailed, or met up with us over these past months and offered support and words of encouragement. It is because of our awesome guests who have become valued friends over the years that we do what we do. Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere and will be waiting on the dock for your arrival once the Canadian border opens! With that being said, I know many are waiting for an update on the border and our 2021 season. We all are waiting on positive news. Unfortunately, we are not privy to any additional information which cannot be Googled or found on the internet.
There are discussions from U.S. representatives on figuring out how we can relax restrictions between the two countries. However, restrictions are actually tightening up in Ontario. Manitoba is holding its own, but it does seem as Ontario goes so does the rest of Canada. The country, as a whole, is behind the U.S. on vaccinations and the one talking point Prime Minister Trudeau has stressed is that he’d like to see a much higher vaccination rate prior to any restrictions being loosened.
Officially, the border is closed until May 21. In our estimation, Canada’s border reopening hinges on their vaccination path these next 6-8 weeks. If Canada can negotiate with another country such as the U.S. to share vaccines and increase their vaccination rate, late July and August trips have a chance to become reality. If Canada continues their current vaccination trend and remains behind the curve, the border could remain closed through fall. Canada simply lacks the production facilities and infrastructure other nations have when it comes to vaccine production and distribution.
Given the information we have, coupled with our involvement in various outfitter and tourism associations, we have decided that there is essentially no chance that we will be able to host May and June trips. We also realize how valuable your resources are and how important and limited your vacations are. While we’d love you tell you to hold on and be patient, we want you to know that you should not plan your 2021 summer around the Canadian border reopening. When it does reopen, we will be staffed and ready to go, whether that day is yet this summer or next year. In the meantime, we will be moving May and June guests to the same dates in 2022 and rolling over all deposits and payments. Groups who would like to move their trips to late July or August of this year will be accommodated first prior to any new bookings being accepted. You will still be able to keep your original dates for 2022. Get in touch with us if you would like to get on the books for July or August.
I want to stress we are not pulling the plug on 2021. We simply think it is best to give you our estimation of what is going to take place in these next few months so you can plan accordingly. When we come across applicable information we will be in touch. We are grateful for everyone being patient and understanding during these times. We appreciate your business, but more importantly your friendship and look forward to seeing you on the dock as soon as possible.
Warm Regards,
Shad & Jamie
Hello Dogskin fans!
Everyone was disappointed that the border remained closed for the entire 2020 season. Thanks to all of our customers that booked/rebooked/re-rebooked and a few who re-re-rebooked trips this summer! It was difficult to plan when the border restriction kept being pushed out one month at a time.
We hope that all of you are doing well and were able to get out and do some local fishing this summer. We’re excited to get back to business in May and are busy taking bookings for the upcoming season. It appears everyone wants to go to Canada next year, so if you’re planning a trip, please contact us as soon as you have some dates in mind as some dates are about full.
We will once again be planning to have our first guests in around the 3rd week of May. Fishing at this time of year is fast and furious for both walleye and pike, with lots of top water action and sights that you’ll never see South of the border! Of course, the weather can be variable at that time of year, but those willing to take the risk will see some crazy shallow water action!
Give us a call if you have any questions!
Shad & Jamie
Guests often ask us what depth finder they should bring up on their trip to the lodge or outposts. For a long time we recommend Humminbird portables, but recently we've been using and recommending the Garmin portables. For about the same price, you get a color screen plus GPS. While these units don't come with maps, our lakes aren't mapped anyway. The Garmin has been easy to use and good on battery life. The one we'd recommend is the Garmin Striker 4 portable, which can be found for around $200 at your favorite fishing store or a little cheaper on Amazon. The menus are easy to navigate and it does everything you'll need on your Canadian adventure.
Now if you want to spend more money, the Humminbird Helix 5 or 7 with the side imaging is the way to go. I wouldn't suggest that unless you're going to be using it back home on your local lakes. Of course, you'd have to set it up for portable use (battery, mount, transducer suction cup or clamp setup). Side imaging is cool to look at, but you really don't need it on our lakes.
For mounts, a suction cup mount is the simplest, cheapest and lightest. If you want something more robust, the Sully universal mount is nice.
Fisherman have always speculated on whether its better to try to dig out a deeply hooked lure or simply cut the line and let it go. Mike ran across an article that discusses this issue on the CBC.CA website.
Fortunately, the researchers at Carleton University's Cooke Lab found that fish were able to shake the lures in a relatively short amount of time, even when hooked deep in the mouth:
“By and large, most of the lures were shed in a relatively short period of time. Barbless hooks - as one would expect - came out usually within 24 hours. And deeply hooked [lures] also came out relatively quickly, although they were retained for a number of days.”
Based on years of observing fish and fisherman at Dogskin (and learning about fish biology), the factors that anglers can affect in the survival of hook caught fish are:
- How long the fish has been out of water
- How hard fish are played
- How much of the protective coating has been rubbed off (for pike in particular)
- How deep the fish was caught and how quickly it was brought to the surface
Knowing that a fish can shed a lure fairly quickly means that the best way to keep a deeply hooked fish alive is to cut the line at the lure and get it back in the water quickly. If its a trophy, hold it appropriately for your picture (we'll talk about this in the future post), take a measurement while touching the skin as little as possible and get it back in the water.
