We are back at the Lodge after a quiet Christmas with Jamie in the Soo. Although we had a ‘sort of’ green Christmas in 2015, this was the first TRULY green Christmas of our lives!!We really enjoyed the mild weather, a rare treat in December but our lives here in the north are dependent on the change in seasons and the arrival of a good coat of snow. Duke was not happy. He really loves the snow plus it has the extra benefit of covering up the ‘burrs’ in the forest, an enemy of long haired dogs everywhere! He just had his first grooming which went fairly well but it did take two groomers to hold him. He is learning everyday as he heads into his second year. We will take him to a well known dog trainer in the Soo to help us with some difficult behaviours- wish us luck!!

This time of year always makes us look forward to seeing our repeat guests and also introducing our new guests to our quiet, scenic area. 2024 will be our 37th season- how did that happen?? 2023 was a very different year especially concerning the weather. Last winter was bookended by 2 huge snowstorms, taking care of all snowfall for the season.

Most of the snow was gone by the beginning of the last week of April and ice out for Jobam was May 3. Some good rains brought out the bugs making this the worst bug year we have ever had!! Then the heat began- so many 35c (95f) days is not normal! Thankfully no forest fires burned too closely to the Lodge but we had quite a few days of seeing and smelling smoke. In those unpredictable days of early spring, we saw some nice fish- yay to Heather S., Wayne and Linda P.!!

Summer is always short and sweet! Hiking, swimming, kayaking and canoeing- love it. We enjoyed many beach days. Thanks to the many family groups who enjoyed their vacations Outpost style- Elliots, Milczareks, Caryers, Nickolis, Wests, Demers and our ‘riders’ Vlad and friends. We marked some very special occasions with the Gribbens and their ‘lakeside therapy’ dinner, the’ gangsters’ in the Corbett/Osborne wedding party and Elizabeth said ‘yes!’ to her beau in the shade of the big white pine in front of cottage #4!!

The fall colours were just fantastic as was the weather. Our Demers sisters swam on many of their days with us in September. Brigitte’s amazing dream catcher will grace the dining room for years to come! Our season ended on October 8 giving us time to put everything to bed by first snow on October 28.

We enjoyed a short visit with Sean and Isabella as well as a sunny walking tour of Elora, a scenic town near Guelph. Cuba called us once again- had a wonderful, sunny time. Easy travelling- it was the first time we didn’t come home to a snowstorm!

Our thoughts and prayers go out to our guests and their families who lost loved ones this year.

We will remember them all.

WALLEYE

Changes to zone 10 fishing regulations for 2024

Season- Jan 1 – third Sat in March Third Sat in May – Dec 31

Limits- Sport Fishing License- 4 fish NONE greater than 46 cms (18 inches)

-Conservation License- 2 fish NONE greater than 46 cms (18 inches)

PIKE

Season – open all year

Limits- Sport fishing License- 6 fish- not more than one greater than 61 cms (24 inches) AND

NONE greater than 86 cms (34 inches)

Conservation License- 2 fish- NONE greater than 61 cms (24 inches)

The rationale in these changes is to increase the number of mature spawning fish to support quality fishing opportunities for the future. We hope that all fishers will appreciate and adhere to these changes.

A big thank you to our family of Outpost folks for your business and your friendship. We will continue to work hard to make your vacation here memorable and relaxing. See you in the spring!!

Wishing everyone a safe, happy and healthy 2024!

Jim, Ann, Jamie, Sean, Isabella and Duke!!

Here it is, another year on our doorstep already. Wow, time really does fly. Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were waiting for the power pole guys to attach our 6 new poles to restore our power? It seems like yesterday that we were getting ready to serve our first dinners in the dining room in two seasons!! So nice to have folks in again, sharing the stories of their days!

It has been a very mild winter so far so we look out on about 3’ of snow. Most of it we received over the Christmas holidays. We are tucked in to cottage #6 with our newest family member, Duke, the jack russel/havanese mix. Jamie found him at the humane society in the Soo and in three days, he was ours. He is a sweet little guy, always up for a snuggle but also loves the snow. We lost Bo Sept 17, 2022 and will miss him forever but I think he would approve of Duke taking over the reins of protecting the Outpost.

Jamie will be back with us this summer. It will be good to have his support as we relearn how to train a puppy. He is a university grad now having finished his degree in Geography/English at Algoma University in the Soo. Sean is the office manager of a plumbing company in Guelph- he and Isabella are doing well.

2022 was a good year for the Outpost thanks to the happy return of many repeat guests. Covid made folks from Ontario realize what incredible resources we have in our own backyards so we have made so many wonderful new repeat guests. Spring fishing/ guiding was quite successful for Jim. He enjoyed many memorable evenings with some great peeps.

Portuguese roast chicken was a new and great hit on our menu. Thanks Di and Rui. Jim also brought back rustic chicken cordon bleu and some people came back twice just for it! Thanks Jeff. We also had quite a few larger celebrations in the dining room- family reunions (big thanks to the Elliotts, the Caryers, the Franklins, the Kellums and the Manninas), the Mundells 50th anniversary and birthday parties including a BIG one for Jacqueline and Lisa!! A very special thanks to Doug and Dianne Bell. Let us know how we can help to make your celebrations more fun!

A new group of artists in late September were just in time for perfect fall colours which arrived much later than usual. The weather cooperated for their outdoor painting sessions and the Lodge was a great studio for their indoor work.

Five families, and all their big boy toys, came together and took over the Outpost for Thanksgiving- fun, fun! Ann and Jamie took a road trip to southern Ontario to see Iron Maiden and Brian Adams!

With all of the drama and challenges of the last three seasons, we want to concentrate on the future and all of the good times it will hold. Thanks so very much for visiting the Outpost and hope to see you this season!

Love to all, Jim, Ann, Jamie, Sean, Isabella and DUKE

As this year comes to a close, we thought that this would be a good time to say hello to you, our treasured guests and friends. We would also like to thank you all so very much for your continued support. 2021 will most certainly go down as the most challenging year in all of our 35 years here at the Outpost!!

Covid still darkened our door, pushing spring off, again, for a few weeks making our official opening June 14. Most of the 10 parties pushed off managed to rebook for later. Thankfully, we found ourselves quite busy, painting, raking and renovating, even able to serve a few dinners, delivery to the cottages only. The thought of plexiglass panels, rigorous and constant sanitizing and being able to use only 2 or 3 tables in the dining room, made the decision not to open for dine in service, easy. It was indeed strange and difficult to not see everyone in the dining room, sharing stories of fun and adventures while enjoying a great Outpost dinner!! Lots of stories were still shared during evening gatherings on the front deck of the Lodge while enjoying a campfire and the night sky. We are so hoping to open the dining room for 2022 but we will just have to wait and see what the winter and spring may bring. Over the last two years, Jim has come up with some interesting twists to the menu so we look forward to sharing them with you. We will definitely be making meals now that we have our power back on.

Yes, power back on. A tornado hit the Outpost on August 11, 2021. It started out to be a perfect, sunny, hot day. Our cottages were full with lots of families enjoying the days, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, peddleboating and fishing- a happy, busy time. Late afternoon brought some huge clouds, darkening sky and big winds. The rain began in earnest around 420pm and by 440, the power was out and many of our largest trees were broken, pulled out by their roots, leaning or laid down completely by this immense wall of water and wind. These magnificent, stately trees took almost the entire brunt of the storm. It was confirmed later to be an F1 tornado which had touched down on the west side of highway 129 and travelled 9 kilometers, hitting the Outpost directly. We are so thankful that no one was hurt, no vehicles were damaged and that there was no catastrophic damage to any buildings. Taking stock of the damage was so overwhelming- the entire power system was destroyed and we had no concept of how long it was going to take to repair. An electric company from the Soo arrived a day later with a generator for each cottage and the Lodge- a giant thanks to Ben, Dan, Tyler and everyone at DT Electric!! It was quite a feat to get them all hooked up!! They continued to supply our power until November 10- yes, three months of only generator supplied power.

Since we had no power or hot water, we had to cancel all meals for the rest of the season. Understandably, we had guests cancel their vacations as well. We were just heart broken and devastated. In the days after the storm, we struggled to contact our guests to inform them of the conditions at the Outpost. Being very busy working and getting ready for her vacation, an email message sent to Christine, due to come in to cottage #3, was not received! In checking in on her, we realized that she was planning to come, within the hour, not knowing about the storm! Because the power was just hooked up, enabling the water system to function, we could technically have guests. Jim decided that Christine and Cynthia would be the perfect people to have stay at that time, testing out systems for us!! The two sisters enjoyed clearing paths, making our grounds accessible again. This was such an important first step in the uphill battle, taking the pressure off us. Their self-motivation and positive spirit meant the world to us. Thanks so much Cynthia and Christine!

Here comes the restoration team! There was a constant stream of arborists, electricians, power pole drillers, carpenters, back hoe operators, hydro guys, insurance adjusters and inspectors. After the initial emergency hook-up, we knew we were in for a long haul considering the extent of the damage. They promised to have poles replaced and power on before winter, at least to our cottage and the Lodge and it was so!!

We are now looking forward to a very busy spring, putting the finishing touches on the cottages and especially the grounds before our first guests arrive on May 28. Jim’s thinking we should have brush moving parties complete with a campfire and hot dogs for any volunteer workers!! Our summer is filling in steadily but it’s complicated trying to get everyone into their favourite cottage in their favourite week! Give us a call to make sure that we can accommodate you.

MAY BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS AND HAPPY MEMORIES SURROUND YOU WITH JOY THIS CHRISTMAS!


Merry Christmas & Happy New Year From the Kehoe Family
Love to you all, Jim, Ann, Jamie, Sean and Isabella Bo too!!
Hello! We are sincerely hoping that this note finds one and all safe and healthy. What a ride this past year has been! Our marketing season during the winter, in Toronto and London was timed well-finishing just before covid struck. By the beginning of March, our season, 2020 pre-covid, had filled in very nicely and we were so excited to see a few names of guests who haven’t been with us for many years. Our July and August spots were all filled in with the other times looking great, in fact, maybe one of our best seasons. Then of course, we all know what happened. We are so thankful that we were able to open and have a season; many other tourism/ service based businesses didn’t open at all. After a very quiet but productive early spring and with little advance notice, our first guests arrived on June 11 from all over Ontario. Many shorter stays filled in the weeks. We delivered meals to the cottages but kept the Lodge dining room closed for the entire season. What a whirlwind of cleaning and paper work. A big part of our service here at the Outpost is our personal touch we try so very hard to give every guest so having to distance and not be able to sit and visit in the dining room was terribly hard. Our guests who were visiting for the first time missed out on that closeness we pride ourselves on. A huge thank you to all who were able to visit this season, we really appreciate your support!! Another huge thank you to our American guests who are graciously waiting until next year when things are back closer to normal. A vaccine is coming!! In January 2020, The New Fly Fisher TV show featuring the Outpost Lodge, was aired in its entirety. We were extremely pleased with how they captured early spring at the Outpost. Check it out on our website. The highlight of the spring, besides of course being able to open, was a visit from Karl Kalonka of Extreme Angler. He spent a full week here exploring the area and our lakes. The weather was wonderful and he caught a lot of fish, concentrating mainly on smallmouth. It was awesome to see drone footage of some of our favourite spots. He will be back spring 2021!! Jim considers him to be our new Outpost fishing expert; feel free to ask any fishing questions, especially on the latest tactics, lures and equipment at fishxtreme.com Make sure to mention the Outpost Lodge in your questions! We had a nice summer! Everyone felt safe, really enjoying the quiet solitude, away from busy lives, something made even more special and important in these crazy times. It was wonderful to meet so many new people and share our beautiful area. Good news- Aubrey Falls is open! The fishing was good too- we found the time to go out ourselves! We caught lots of bass and walleye but not many pike. A few more pike caught and released might help. The fall colours this year were just spectacular!! Our artists group had to miss this year, what a shame. Outpost guests took many photos and really enjoyed our crisp fall days for hiking too. Christmas this year will be different for sure. Imagine having the Lodge decorated, with a giant Christmas tree with all the trimmings; turkey in the oven and lots of family getting warm in front of the fireplaces- an Outpost Christmas card. Not a fantasy- the Wageman family, previous owners of the Outpost, visited this summer and shared some stories of their time here especially their Christmas celebrations. We are going to ‘Stay The Blazes home!’, some good advice from the Canadian east coast, who have done a great job at battling covid. Season 2021 comes with great uncertainty. Canadian sport shows are cancelled so our regular face to face marketing will not happen. Our internet presence and our past guests will fill this season. We hope that by spring, most everyone will be vaccinated allowing for safe vacations and the border to open. All deposits for 2020 will be held until they can be redeemed. In April, when we find out if the border will open, we will do our best to make sure you get the weeks you want. To our guests who joined us in 2020- if you would like to hold your cottage for 2021, please contact us so that we can save your space with a deposit. The Outpost will always be the best place to be during challenging times. Keep your lines tight and keep your stick on the ice!!! May your days be merry, your heart be light, your holiday happy, your season bright!! Merry Christmas to all!! The Outpost Lodge - Newsletter
God Bless, Jim, Ann, Jamie, Sean, Isabella and Bo.
Well, here it is, Christmas once again in Outpostland. Winter snows arrived in early November along with very cold temperatures. As of today, there is over two feet of snow on the ground. Our first and only green Christmas was back in 2015! We are blessed with the full change of seasons. We are just back from our ‘summer’ vacation, as Jim calls it, to Veradero, Cuba. We had such a wonderful time doing nothing but floating in the ocean and eating food served by someone else!! We spent a day wandering around the old part of Havana. The days were sunny and quite calm, with temperatures between 28 and 34C (85 and 95F). It is such a treat for us! We also had a nice visit with Sean and Isabella and uncle Bill.

This past season was a great one- nice weather, fish and people, new and repeat. We have many weeks filling in for next season. Give us a call to make your plans for 2020! We missed a lot of our Outpost regulars last season!!

This was one of our latest springs with ice-out on May 9. A cold and windy June was the setting for the filming of The New Fly Fisher show featuring the Outpost. Conditions could not have been worse to guide a fly fishing show! Ryan and Jenna were the best and most professional people to put up with such difficult conditions. Underwater GoPro camera shots worked great and the drone took amazing aerial pictures but the storms would not let up. Every day we went out against wind and driving rain. Jennas fly fishing technical skills are top notch. I have never seen such amazing roll casts in tight cramped conditions. Even the Jacuzzi was no match for Jenna and gave up a few nice smallmouth. We continued throughout the week searching from creek to river to lake just to find a few good fish to capture on film. By Friday, we had amazing footage but not enough fish pics. The storms continued but a small break on Friday afternoon gave us time for one last attempt on a small lake. After the first fish was landed, I felt like a college basketball player throwing 3’s at the end of the last quarter. We caught bass and pike and then THE bass!! It was worthy. I had done my job. Check out the sneak peak in the fishing section on our website. Oh ya, Phil and Bo are featured prominently.

It was a year for lots of behind the scenes projects. Thanks to Jamie for his major assistance in all of them. We are planning on a few new photo books so would love to see your best photo(s) of your vacation here with us. Please e-mail us at outpostlodge@hotmail.com

As the year comes to an end, we look back at a successful season full of wonderful guests having enjoyed all of the activities of our friendly, beautiful area. We are looking forward to 2020 and really hope that you will join us once again!!

We wish you all a very Merry!!

Much love to you all, Jim, Ann, Jamie, Sean and Bo
Hello All! Spring is finally here with official ice out on Lake Jobamageeshig today, May 5, 2019!

It was such a beautiful, long, cold, legendary winter with lots of snow so the sun today combined with the last ice is very welcome. The water level is super high- the big leaning pine beside the boat launch has its feet in the water. There is still some snow here and there and the frost is still in the ground. Some spring showers will be appreciated for the fish and the flowers!

It is our 33rd season as Keepers of the Lodge and we are ready for it! We heard the loons May 2 for the first time and many other birds have taken up their song, banishing the cold quiet of winter. The day lilies punched through the snow and are now about 4” tall. Mrs. Phoebe is yelling her name but there are few insects for her to eat so far. A pair of Sandhill Cranes have taken up residence just down the road. Thank goodness there isn’t much traffic on 129- they really don’t know the rules of the road. Brush along the highway has been well cut back, which helps a lot but we are often hearing vehicles braking for them.

We are so excited to host our 2nd fishing TV show in June. This one will focus on fly fishing and the Mississagi River. Fish TV focused on walleye and pike so maybe the next time, we will get to highlight our smallmouth! They plan to get a lot of underwater as well as drone footage of our beautiful valley. It should air next year.

It is not too late to book your summer Outpost vacation. We still have openings here and there. Major health issues have forced a couple of our long time, large groups to change their schedules and stay closer to home. This has left openings in some popular weeks! Knowing what these families are going through makes us very thankful to have our world class Thessalon hospital only a half hour away.

While waiting for the snow to melt, Jim and I did a renovation on the Lodge kitchen –a beautiful new floor, shiny new paint and a big new oven! Removing the old one was quite a challenge. As we open up each cottage, they get our personal attention from paint, to new screen doors, to new mattresses, furniture and flooring. There is always something to do, to freshen up our cottages, making them feel like your home away from home.

Jamie will be working for us again this summer as dining room and Lodge manager. His degree is almost complete- quite a feat doing only part time classes. He has been invited to do some work for the Federal forest pest research labs this fall. They are lucky to have such a knowledgeable person on board. Sean is doing well in Guelph with his office position at a large GM dealership, gaining more responsibilities everyday. We have met his girlfriend, Isabella, who is just wonderful.

Bo is so very happy that winter is over. He really had cabin fever, chasing his tail to signal that he was not getting the exercise he needs. He was 14 in January and is in excellent health. In fact, he had his first swim today!!

Well, back to work! We wish you all a safe, happy and fun summer.

Ann and Jim
Another year has sped by and here we are in full hibernation mode, nestled warmly in cottage #6!! We spent Christmas with Jamie in our little ‘Pine’ house in the Soo. It was a lovely white Christmas highlighted by a wonderful turkey dinner shared with sister Ginnie, brother Brian and niece Andrea. We have rediscovered Rummoli or Michigan Rummy so enjoyed a few evenings of games. Sean spent the holidays in Guelph. We miss him at Christmas but we did have a couple of visits with him both before and after our ‘southern’ vacation. We also had some time with him at Thanksgiving when he came home for a week! The weather didn’t cooperate at all- our attempts at campfires failed between the rain and the frigid temperatures. We had a great time catching up and eating way too much!!

The first weeks of September were so very nice. We were lucky to be able to spend a couple of days out on Tunnel Lake with Phil and Angie enjoying the perfect weather, great fishing and wonderful company. Bo did very well in the boat thanks in part to his friends Tippi and Penny. The rain began and on more than one occasion Jim commented that it was going to rain until it snowed!! Jobam was very low by the end of the summer so this rain was appreciated and did bring her levels up substantially.

Summer 2018 was perhaps the sunniest and warmest ever. We tried to take advantage of our wonderful beach every chance we got so we really enjoyed those fleeting summer days. Bass fishing was awesome but the walleye fishing was slow.

Spring 2018 was warm as well with many memorable catches even with the challenging weather. The “Sweet” Ed’s joined us for their first vacation of the year in May. They had a great time but wow, was it buggy!!! We appreciate our guests who come in the spring and are well prepared for what nature throws at them. If you are considering a spring fishing vacation, contact us and we will help you be prepared. Many thanks to our spring regulars like the Cossons, Sartins, Al, Tom, Russ and Olena who really know how to brave the spring elements.

Our local travel association, Algoma Kinniwabi is sponsoring a contest this season called Algomas Best Catch. You will have a chance to win a monthly swag pack drawn at random plus a chance at the grand prize of a GoPro Hero 7 and a Yeti Panga 28 Backpack Check it out on their website. It would be awesome to have an Outpost guest win!!!

Looks like some typical freezing January weather is on the way so the next days will be spent tucking in our little cabin. Then fleeing back to the Soo – haha!!!

We wish you all a safe and happy new year filled with love, family and friends. Thank you to all who call the Outpost home each year. We love you! See you soon.

Jim, Ann, Jamie, Sean and Bo
The Christmas season passed like a blur and here we are into 2018! We send our very best wishes to all for a safe and happy new year.

What a crazy year it was for us. Many life altering things occurred including the inheritance of a house in Sault Ste. Mare. We just spent our first holiday season as city folkquite an adjustment for us but mostly for Bo. Between the incredibly frigid temps and limited outdoor space, he is not happy. He does enjoy watching the goings on, out the window, at a very busy intersection. There are many other dogs in the area too- am sure we will meet them all. Mr. Bo turned 13 years old on January 5, 2018.

The weather all year was strange and different- the new norm?? Many guests felt that even though the weather may have been not so great, the time fishing was really great! The fall months were very summer like and then winter and cold seemed to drop on us like a stone. We had to deal with snow on the ground by the first of November. We did run away to Cuba again. Warm, sunny and very relaxing- really works for us.

Our spring and summer seasons were very busy so I will blame my lack of facebook posts on that. My new year resolution is to make good on my promise to shore more photos and keep in touch with you, our treasured friends. Jamie has promised to help. If you have any photos’ you could share with us, please send them! They are much appreciated.

We are blessed to have so many Outpost folk join us each year for their annual fishing/family getaways. A huge thank you to the Tyler/Morrisons; the Cossons; Marty and Alex;Scott and Jodi; Ed and Paula,Tom and Kim and Dan; the Dicioccos; Goob; Sandy and Gary; Kurt and Denise; the Naphans; Pete, Meryl and Brackey; Phil and Angie; David, Christine and Snowy; Wayne, Linda and Stu;Jim, Linda and Kathy- just to name a few!! We love you all very much. Also best wishes for a long and happy life together to our newest fishing couple, Mike and Kayla, who celebrated their honeymoon with us this past June!!

Our show schedule is much lighter this year as we will only attend one, in Lon don at the Western Fairgrounds, February 23 – 25, 2018. The year is filling in well. A lot of guests pencilled their week in before they left! Give us a call or send an email when your holiday schedule is set. Each year holds another adventure waiting to be experienced!

Thank you so much to you all for your continued support and patronage. We are looking forward to seeing you all again and a great 2018!

Much love to you all, Jim, Ann, Jamie, Sean and Bo