From jigging to fly rods, Lake Lady has what you want in a custom fishing rod and will build that rod to meet your everyday angling needs.

North Knife Lake Fishing Lodge will be running a big fish contest for Northern Pike during the 2008 season. The winner of the contest (the lucky angler that catches the largest Northern Pike) will win a custom built 6'6" Medium Heavy casting rod from Lake Lady.

For those who can’t wait until the end of the contest or who may want a custom fishing rod of their own before the season starts please contact Kris at 1 (218) 562-4512, e-mail him at rodbuilder@lakeladyrods.com or check the detailed Lake Lady Rods Web site at www.LakeLadyRods.com

Trophy northern pike and lake trout fishing, walleye, arctic grayling, whitefish, luxury accomodations, gourmet meals and more  - all while comfortably nestled into some of the most pristine wilderness in the world. Watch the video above to get a feel for what we enjoy at North Knife Lake Lodge, and please call us Toll Free at 1 (888) 932-2377 or e-mail us at info@webberslodges.com if you would like more information. It truly is, the fly-in fishing trip of a lifetime.

As an added bonus, the pre-spawn period generally attracts fewer fishermen, which means more pike for those who don’t mind the sunny chill of spring. And since this is also the time of year when northern pike tend to congregate near the spawning grounds, you'll spend less time finding fish and more time catching them. While the real monster northerns tend to stick to themselves, if you can find one or two small to medium sized pike adjacent to a spawning site, you’ll usually find more.

The actual timing of the pre-spawn period depends on how far north you go. In Minnesota the pre-spawn period for northern pike will usually occur sometime in April, whereas in cold northern Canadian lakes the pre-spawn period can occur as late as July.  Because the water is still cold, the movements are slow but…

You can catch big northerns even before the ice is completely off the lake (if your local fishing season is open) by casting from shore and dropping your lure on the edge of the ice. Drag the lure to the edge of the ice and let it fall naturally. On a warm sunny day the flutter of a shiny spoon will be enough to entice a hungry northern if it’s in the vicinity. If that doesn’t work you can also try a quick jerk once the lure is a few inches down, followed by a light flutter and then a steady but slow retrieve. Males will generally be more aggressive than females during the early pre-spawn period but all big pike will take dead-baits, slow moving spinners and crank baits.

Pike will move into warmer shallow bays and flats with slightly murky water as the ice fades. Darker water attracts both bait fish and sunlight, a double whammy for big pike hunters. Shallow, slightly murky, creek-fed backwaters with reeds, weeds and a sand-muck bottom are best, because they warm quicker than clear hard-bottomed regions of the lake. Trophy northern pike can be taken in less than three-feet of water on a warm spring day, so if you see a big log lying in the shallows, always take a second look. It could be that lunker pike you’ve been looking for your whole life.

Five-inch minnow imitating plugs of silver, perch color or spots of red almost always work well for pre-spawn pike – just remember to keep the retrieve slow at this time of year. Light plugs, floaters and those that will hold just under the surface work best, and if you’re going to cast spinners and spoons you’ll need to keep them light due to the shallow water. Fluorescent colors will likely work best in murky water but a flash of silver will also draw the attention of a shallow-water pike with one quick jerk of a spoon or spinner as soon as it hits the water. If you find the pike are following your stick baits or plugs up to the boat or shore but are failing to strike, try a 3 to 5-inch Mepps spinner with a bucktail and you might just change their minds.

Sudden cold weather will push pre-spawn pike back into deeper water adjacent to the spawning areas, but they will move back into the shallows as the weather and water start to warm again. The pike will hold steady, often at mid depth in 10-15 feet of water during a cold front, and trial and error on your retrieve depth will help you find just the right level. Afternoon will usually be the best time for fishing in the pre-spawn period, after the sun has had time to sufficiently warm the water and the pike are on the move. The smaller fish will congregate in mid to shallow flats within a bay while the big monsters will hover off the points, but move into the shallows to feed in late afternoon and early evening.

In the pre-spawn and spawn periods, good spawning grounds combined with ample baitfish are the key to finding the big pike. Later, as the water begins to warm, pike will seek out cooler water and deeper weed beds, but these must still be adjacent to good baitfish hangouts.

Good Fishing!

Fishing Update:  North Knife Lake has hundreds, maybe thousands of exceptional spawning sites for northern pike, accompanied by very limited fishing exposure, which is why our trophy pike population is so healthy. Fly-in fishing trips to North Knife Lake Lodge for 2008 will soon be booked full, so if you’re thinking about taking a trophy northern pike fishing trip this year, now is the time to book. For more information call (403) 873-2944 or Toll-Free: 1-888-WEBBERS, e-mail us at info@webberslodges.com, or watch our fly-in fishing trip video.

We received an e-mail from both the daughter of the designer, Kim, and the designer himself, Gene Luoma of Duluth, Minnesota, who recently sent this photo of his family enjoying the gazebo.

"I built the Gazeboat last summer," said Gene, "I didn't think it would cause this much attention. It's just lots of fun to go out fishing now. I can fit a dozen people on it with no problem. This is a picture of the Gazeboat with my daughter Kim, my grandaughter Karsen  and my wife, Kathie on the deck. It's lots of fun and I can't wait till things thaw out so we can start to enjoy it."

Please visit us at any of the shows below and find out why we are Manitoba’s most exclusive fly-in fishing destination.

We look forward to seeing you!

Webber's Lodges 2008 Sport Show Schedule

See Ryan, Nelson, Toni, Doug or Helen at any of the following hunting and fishing sports shows:

• Pheasant Run All Canada Show - Chicago, IL,  January 10-13, 2008
• SCI Show - Reno, NV, January 23-26, 2008
• FNAWS - Salt Lake City, UT, February 6-9, 2008
• International Sportsman Exposition - Phoenix, AZ, March 7-9, 2008
• Toronto Sportsman Show - Toronto, ON, March 12-16, 2008
• Minneapolis NorthWest Show, Minneapolis, MN, Apr 2-6, 2008
• SCI Lake Superior - Hinckley, MN, April 11-12, 2008

This comes into play often, especially when targeting trophy northern pike at remote and exclusive destinations like North Knife Lake Lodge. Like anything else in life, pike fishing follows the 80/20 rule. The top 20 percent of your lures will catch 80 percent of the trophy pike you're looking for.

The majority of our customers enjoy above average success rates with North Knife Lake's  extremely healthy population of monster northerns, but they soon realize that it takes only a few choice lures to entice and connect with one of these heart-stopping predators.

Our "Top 5 Pike Lures" will increase your successful encounters and positively lighten your tackle box. So here it is in no particular order.

Top 5 Northern Pike Fishing Lures 

• 1. Mepps Musky Killer (silver/white, gold/black, gold/grey) 
• 2. Mepps Aglia Dressed (silver/white, gold/black, gold/grey)
• 3. Mepps Syclops (hot orange, gold, silver)
• 4. J-mac Weedless Jig with 5 to 6-inch Plastic Sassy Shad Tail (white, black, blue)
• 5. Johnson Silver Minnow tipped with 4-inch Double Tail (gold, silver/white and black tails)

Honorable Mention!!

6-inch Slug-Go (black, grey, bubble gum)

We received an e-mail from someone with the quotes below in it. We haven't been able to find the original source but would sure like to know where it came from.

If you know who owns this gazebo and the quotes that go with it, please let us know so that we can attribute the quotes appropriately.

Floating Gazebo E-Mail Quotes

"I was going to build the Gazebo on the edge of my dock down by the lake but I thought ….I might just as well build the deck with floats on it and I can then take it out fishing too. It has a 15,000 pound capacity. The deck is 18 feet x 18 feet with 12 plastic foam filled dock floats that are 4 feet x 4 feet by 18 inches high."

"The Gazebo is a 10 foot hexagon with a table and chairs inside. Under the table is my trolling motor so I can take it out to my favorite fishing hole. The trolling motor is remote controlled wireless so I can be fishing outside and operate the motor. On the top of the table I have a LOWRANCE Fish-Finder with depth sounding sonars and temperature gauge.

"I have two electric winches with 40 pound anchors.  I have also built in a water pump so I can clean the fish right on the spot. Now I can relax and fish while my wife can sit and relax."

What's your favorite northern pike lure? What did you catch your largest trophy northern on? The Mepps Musky Killer is a sure bet when fishing for trophy northern pike - the true Master Anglers - those big, honking monsters with long sharp teeth and cold steely eyes - the ones that scare you.

Whatever your favorite pike lure is, you'll want to make sure you have it in good supply in your tackle box in preparation for that glorious first spring cast…  just in case…Wham! You hook a Master Angler northern as soon as your lure hits the water and horror of horrors -  the monster Esox catches you by surprise and steals away with your favorite lure…never to be seen again.

Hey, it happens to the best of us.

We'll have a variety of favorite pike fishing lures of all colors and sizes in our tackle box this spring, and doubles of most, starting with one of the best northern pike lures of all time - the Mepps Musky Killer #5 with bucktail, which has probably hauled in more trophy pike than any other artificial pike lure.

Ideal for use in shallow water and over weed beds, the spinner blade on the Mepps Musky Killer activates even on the slowest retrieve but has excellent action at all speeds. One favorite cast-retrieval method that can result in some fast pike action on warm sunny days is to cast the Musky Killer towards that perfect spot along the shore, jerk it once as soon as it hits the water to make the blade flash, let it sink a few inches before reeling and bam! That big pike strikes on the first crank!

Mepps Musky Killers come in wide variety of styles and colors with and without bucktails. We like the big bucktails best for monster Master Angler northern pike. Musky Killers aren't always easy to find in the spring, as the stores either don't have them in stock or the pike fisherman have already grabbed them all. In that case you can always check out pike fishing lures on eBay, where you can find some great deals!

What's your favorite pike fishing lure? Leave a comment, tell us a story, and let us know. We would love to hear from you!

If you're an avid ice fisherman there will come a time when you want to build your own ice fishing house, hut or ice shack. The ice fishing house plans below are for a sturdy, collapsible easy-to-transport ice fishing hut. Adding ski supports (2" x 4" or 2" x 6" runners) allows it to be pulled behind a snowbile or ATV. Thanks to Steve at ManitobaAnglers.com for the plans. He says the ice fishing shack materials below will cost you between $100-$200. 

If you don't feel like building your own ice fishing house, you can always buy one of the prebuilt ice fishing shelters at Amazon.com in their ice fishing section. Otherwise, continue on and enjoy!

ICE FISHING HOUSE PLANS

BASIC MATERIALS FOR ICE FISHING HUT

3 sheets of 4' x 8' x 5/8" plywood
1 heavy piece of canvas or poly tarp 8' x 15'
1 - 2" x2" x 7' ridge pole
3 - 2" x 4" x 7" floor supports/skis (optional for towing)
2 handles per door
2 barrel bolts per door
4 - 2" hinges for floor openings
assorted screws, heavy duty staples

 OPTIONAL MATERIALS

1 - 4" eye bolts and rope for towing
3 - 6" x 5/8" plywood ridge poles
desired paint, stain, or varnish

TOOLS REQUIRED

staple gun
jig saw
skill saw
screw gun
sharp knife
pencil and string
measuring tape

ICE FISHING HUT CONSTRUCTION - DIRECTIONS

First, place a 40" x 84" piece of 5/8 plywood on the floor. On one end of the plywood, screw down a 2" x 4" x 40". The back panel of the hut is fastened to this 2" x 4", to enable the front panel to lay flat with the back panel on top of it (see diagrams A and B).  

If you are adding skis, put them on now with 2" or 3" wood screws. Space the skis 20" apart and taper the front ends for easy towing (see diagrams C and D). 

Next, take the remaining two sheets of plywood and mark 6'. Measure down from this mark 20" in the centre of each sheet and tie a 20" piece of string to a nail. Drive a nail into the mark on each panel; fasten the pencil and string to this nail, and, holding the pencil, scribe an arc on the top of each panel (see diagram F). 

 Use a jig saw to cut out the arcs. Slide the off-cut plywood down 3" or 4" under the cut panel and mark the radius. This curved piece of off-cut can be used later to attach the tarp.

Next, measure a 2' x 4' doorway on the front and back panels, if two doors are required. Leave a 5" sill on the bottom to keep out blowing snow and retain plywood strength (see diagram G below).

Cut out the door(s) with a jig saw and re-attach with two hinges. A handle and latch completes the job. A small porthole can be cut at one or both ends for ventilation. If a heater is to be used, ventilation is a must to avoid build-up of dangerous carbon monoxide. Also, a small viewing hole at either end at eye level can be cut out and covered with a piece of plastic or lexan.

ICE FISHING HUT ASSEMBLY

Using three hinges for each panel, fasten them inside to the hut. To maintain an even height, keep the front and back panels flush with the bottom of the floor. They fold with the hut (see diagram E).

The framework can now be erected and the ridge pole put in place on top (see diagram I below). For added strength and comfort, two more ridge poles can be added at the side, giving the angler a place to lean back and have a shelf in front of him/her.

With the frame erected, apply the canvas or tarp (see diagram I below). You might need a helping hand. If you wish, you can staple every 3" to 4" on the side panels and floor. A 3" or 4" plywood security strip on the front and back panels adds durability and strength. Now, cut openings in the plywood floor to the size of the auger hole you intend to use. I prefer to make a 10" x 14" hinged rectangular opening and use a small barrel bolt to hold it closed. This prevents snow from entering while transporting the hut behind a snowmobile. The basic hut is now finished. A coat of paint, stain, or varnish on wooden parts helps preserve them.

ICE FISHING HUT TRANSPORTATION

To transport the hut, just remove the ridge pole(s), fold the front panel, and then the back panel over the front panel (see diagram D below). A small propane heater keeps the inside of the hut amazingly warm especially if snow is banked up around the outside. Seating can be folding chairs or stools.

Materials cost $100 to $200, depending on the quality of the covering and plywood you use. The hut is designed for years, so the initial cost of quality products is well justified.