Kingfisher Lodge

18/05/2025

Morning folks,Well, here we are at the camp to start another season. After dealing with a husband and wife team all winter in the capacity of dock hand and cabin cleaner I was looking forward to a good year. Our arrival was uneventful and I had my son-in-law here for a few days to help us with the water and septic systems. We quickly learned that our new hired dock hand wasn't up to the task and was not capable of doing the job other than being an "ace" at cleaning fish. I won't dwell on the whole episode but needless to say he jumped ship the day before opener. That left us with Dee-Key and Dikshya , our international female students from Nepal studying at Confederation College in Thunder Bay. These girls jumped in and assumed the duties of dock hands as well as cabin cleaners. Our short-lived dock hand previously offered to teach the girls his fish cleaning talents but left before that could happen. Once we get the girls adept at cleaning fish they will be offering to clean fish(time permitting) for our guests. Please be patient with them as they'll be trying their best. We've had a busy opener with pretty much a full house. We're still getting boats and motors into the water and have had a few water leaks in the cabins but by and large its been a good opener. Today we woke up to a winter wonderland but that will be melted by noon (hopefully) . We have some pretty good fishermen in camp for this week . They've been bringing in gsome very nice 18 and 19" Walleye. The water level is a little higher than normal but I'm sure it will drop once the melt finishes. As you might have guessed I'm in the market for an experienced dock-hand as soon as possible. We will be providing lodging and competitive wages. Our season is shaping up to be pretty good but we still have several cabins still available later on in the year. If anyone is feeling the urge to have an exciting fishing holiday please don't hesitate to call and I can walk you through your options. I should also advise you that we are not at liberty to hire non-Canadians without a work or student permit at the camp as much as I'd like to hire some of our talented American fishermen for our dock position. I've also been advised its business as usual at the border crossings with no incidents to report. Stay safe and well and hope to see you soon. Gerry and Linda Moran/ Kingfisher Resort.

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04/05/2025

Hello to all our Kingfisher Friends and guests. Well, we're only 6 days before we head up to the camp. I've been texting back and forth with Harvey our new dock foreman. He seems very knowledgeable about camp work and fish cleaning for the guests. He also seems very personable and sounds like he's going to be a definite asset to the camp. As I mentioned in my last newsletter, I will be updating everyone on anything new at the border or general rules as they pertain to fishing. I'm happy to report that I haven't heard any bad news about border crossings. It seems like its business as usual. I still encourage our guests to do their grocery shopping once they cross the border due to the currency exchange rate. I have heard that anybody coming from the east of us and crossing over the border at Sioux St. Marie should first check on the status of the area bridges as I heard that some are either washed out or on the verge due to spring flooding. Some people coming from the east are crossing over at International Falls or Pigeon River crossing. I haven't had any reports of flooding in the Dryden, Kenora or Perrault Falls area. I also have not heard of any major changes to the Game and Fish regulations to date. If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to call me. We are still taking bookings but don't wait too long as we have weeks that are booked solid already. Take care and in touch, Gerry Moran/ Kingfisher Resort

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24/03/2025

Hello folks, Just me, staying in touch.
Well its almost the end of March and 4 days into spring. Despite it being spring we're getting another dropping of snow here in Thunder Bay ( our winter address). I have been in touch with our new hires almost daily. His name is Harvey and his wife is Darlene. Some of you might recognize Darlene as she used to be a cashier at Dutchies store. They are both experienced fish-cleaners and enjoy the job. They both have many years in the hospitality industry and are very interested in the success of our fisher-men/ women. They, as well as Diki and her school friend, will be joining us on our journey up to camp in May. To date I don't believe there are any major changes to the fishing regulations. I will be advising everybody by newsletter if there are any changes to the fishing regulations or border crossing rules as I become aware of them.
One thing that you might want to consider is that currently the Canadian dollar is lower in value so it will be to your advantage to consider buying your groceries for the week just after you cross the border. This will also save you money in the event the Canadian border people enforce any kind of tariff on food being brought across. If you have any specialty foods that you want to bring across, just be aware that you might have to pay a 25% tariff over and above the price of the item. Most items purchased in the U.S. are also available in Canada but under a different label. I also believe that if you pay for your groceries etc. with a VISA card you will get the best exchange rate. I'm sure many of our guests are concerned with the political shenanigans going on both sides of the border but so far it hasn't greatly affected our tourism industry. Our tourism agencies, both federal, provincial and private are trying to monitor the political goings-on and keep us updated. Our main concern is making sure that you have an enjoyable and productive fishing trip and not to concern yourself with politics ( I will also try my best to stay away from political discussions (LOL).
So far this winter the snow fall has been a little on the light side but I'm sure we will get our usual spring showers to help with the lake levels. The bookings have been quiet lately so if anybody has any questions or interest in a specific week or cabin, please don't hesitate to call or text me.
Stay well and we hope to see you all this season.


Gerry and Linda Moran/ Kingfisher Resort

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23/03/2025

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16/02/2025

Hello to all my fishermen friends and family. Well, we are truly in the depths of a cold February winter. Linda and I as well as our son got back from a cruise in the Caribbean a few weeks ago. We all came down with a three week cold which doesn't want to let go. If anyone is considering a cruise take a look at the Virgin cruise line out of Miami. They went above and beyond. Some good news for the camp this year. We tried unsuccessfully last year to replace Lester and Dianne but I'm afraid we disappointed a lot of people. This year however we were successful in securing the services of a married couple from Newfoundland ( yes, Lester and Dianne home province). They will be flying into Thunder Bay about a week before opener to get everything set up. I am led to believe that both new hires are able to professionally clean fish as well as they have the ability to perform a multitude of other tasks that come with the operation of a camp ( big sigh of relief). We are still the owners of the camp but have retained the new services of a well-known realtor out of Dryden so we're keeping our fingers crossed. I also feel I should address the elephant in the room about the current political shenanigans going on both sides of the border. I have always taken great pride in having so many friends south of the border. I know most of our friends and fishermen (both American and Canadian) don't subscribe to any vindictive actions against each other. A brother and sister may sometimes have a difference of opinion but at the end of the day they are still brothers and sisters from different mothers. Continuing on with staffing for this upcoming season we have again retained the capable service of our multi-talented young lady from Nepal as well as the new addition of her friend to round out our cleaning staff. We are hoping to get some infrastructure projects done this coming year as well as the usual required maintenance and upkeeping. I have not heard of any major changes to the fishing rules to date but I will certainly get on-line to update everybody on anything new. As usual the start of the season is filling up for May and June ( with a few minor exceptions) There are still cabins available for July, August and September so don't be shy about giving us a quick call. I hope to see many of our loyal repeat guests this year make it up to camp. If anybody has any concerns or worries about anything north of the border please don't hesitate to call and we'll try to help out as best we can. Stay healthy and warm the rest of the winter. Your friends and hosts, Gerry and Linda.

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19/12/2024

Hello again, as I promised, I will update everyone on the status of our national postal strike action. As of yesterday the Canadian postal union were mandated back to work by the federal government. As of yesterday we started getting our backlogged mail delivered again. If anyone is holding off sending their deposit checks in the mail, you can do so again. It may take a week or two to arrive but rest assured, when I receive the check I will mail out a receipt to you which will be your confirmation. I should also mention that May and June are getting pretty booked up but we still have a few cabins still available for those people dedicated to the opening months of fishing season. I get some enquiries from people asking about the weather and lake conditions for the opening months. I usually tell those people that statistically the early months are a little cooler but the ice will have been gone off the lakes for several weeks prior to your arrival. One positive factor is the general absence of hungry mosquitos and most of the flies. The water level is usually higher in the spring as well the lake weeds are lower. You may experience a few spring showers but if you come prepared with rain gear, that shouldn't present a major problem. If anyone has any questions, concerns or requests please don't hesitate to call or text me and I will make every effort to respond to them. My update pamphlets and rate sheets will be on display at the All-Canada sports and fishing shows this winter. I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Christmas and New years. Stay warm, Gerry and Linda Moran/ Kingfisher Resort.

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13/12/2024

Hello again to all our Loyal Kingfisher Resort friends and guests. Some of you may think I'm getting carried away with this newsletter thing but I've got a good reason. On my last letter I neglected to tell you one important thing. As of approx. one month ago our Canadian postal service has opted to go on strike which resulted in a complete shut-down of all postal service in Canada. We are optimistic that the postal service and the government will come to a resolution very soon . Now the reason for the update is to inform anybody that mailed out their deposit check and are wondering if we received it yet, the answer is "no". When the dispute is settled and I start receiving my mail again I will notify everybody on the camp face-book site as well as a mailed receipt. Please hold-off mailing anything until I give you the go-ahead. Linda and I are both just about ready for Christmas and are anxiously looking forward to the arrival of our son from Winnipeg before Christmas. For those of you who had a trying 2024 we hope that the up-coming year will see an improvement for you. We are looking forward to the return of our helper "Diki" this year as well as a friend of hers. We are currently beating the bushes for an experienced dock foreman so if you know of anyone please feel free to drop our name. That's about it from Thunder Bay. In closing, stay warm and please enjoy your Christmas and New Year. See you in 2025 !!

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28/11/2024

Hello, to all our American friends and guests. Well, now that all the election hoopla is over with, its time to celebrate Thanksgiving as one big happy family. We were able to close camp down for the season in September. We had a successful but trying season this year. We didn't have the invaluable services of Lester and Dianne but we did manage to retain the services of Dikki (our lady student from Nepal), who stayed with us for the whole season along with Tom and Roger jumping in to offer valuable advise and assistance along the way. We also had more than a few out-board lower units damaged this summer but that comes with the territory. We had several interested parties looking at buying the camp but for various reasons we weren't able to close the deal. We will however keep on trying and will also stay on to run the camp pending a sale. The fishing for 2024 was certainly different than previous years. I learned from other camp owners that the Walleye bite on their lakes was changed as it was on Lake Wabaskang. The other species seemed to be unaffected as we had guests report to us that they seemed to catch their share of Northerns, Perch and Bass as well as the occasional Crappie. Linda and I are hunkered down for the winter and getting all our neglected doctor, dentist and mechanic appointments taken care of. We will be re-hiring Dikki back again but will be in the market for an experienced dock-foreman. I will be putting feelers out for that position in the future. The bookings are starting to roll in and as I've mentioned before, don't wait too long to call to reserve your date and cabin before they get spoken for by another party. Once again, Linda and I would like to wish everybody an enjoyable Thanksgiving and upcoming Christmas. Stay safe, Gerry and Linda Moran

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13/09/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/SsvTJkgb2vCBxdoH/?mibextid=YA1HMP

21/08/2024

10 year old boy from Thunder Bay. Early this August he was fishing off our dock with a Walleye rod when he latched onto a 47 1/2" Musky.

18/08/2024

Hello Kingfisher Fisherpersons, Well, here we are into mid August. This has certainly not been an uneventful year. We have had many challenges to get through this year. We started the year without our (recently retired) long-time employees, Lester and Dianne. We were able to hire a couple from eastern Ontario who after about 1 1/2 months with us decided that the camp life wasn't for them. That left us with one cabin-cleaner to pick up the slack. This young lady (Diki) is a student from Thunder Bay Confederation college via the country of Nepal. She picked up the challenge and has managed to work the dock as well as cabin-cleaning and a myriad of other jobs. She has a great work ethic and gladly accepts the challenge of anything asked of her. We also were able to secure the volunteer services of a longtime friend of the camp, Tom. He is also an asset to the camp by working alongside Diki and keeps our guests updated on fishing information. Because of these two workers as well as help from one of our neighbors (Roger), we have been able to get through this season. We had some challenges but with everyone pitching in we were able to get through and even created a few memories for some fishermen. Early in the season we had one fisherman come in with two landing nets brimming with black Crappie most of which measured 16" plus. We also were able to provide a lifetime memory for one lucky 10 year old boy from Thunder Bay. Early this August he was fishing off our dock with a Walleye rod when he latched onto a 47 1/2" Musky. His dad and half the camp were on or near the dock cheering him on and taking pictures. He was able to land the prize fish with the able assistance of his dad on the net. The first thing out of his mouth was ,"this is the best week-end of my whole life". He was also able to successfully release his catch back into the lake. I have every reason to believe that this Musky is still lurking around my dock as they are very territorial and hang around where they were born. For anyone booked to come up I suggest you bring along your heavy-duty rod and try your luck off our dock. We are getting some enquiries from our past and present guests as to whether we have had any offers on the camp. We have had several enquiries and viewings but have not had anything that we all agree on just yet. We will however continue to run the camp until we get the right person to buy it. Our 2025 season is already shaping up for May and June so if anybody is thinking of treating them-self to a fishing holiday, give me a call and we'll get you into the book. If anybody has any questions please don't hesitate to call us anytime during the winter. I will probably try to post another newsletter on line this fall. Stay well and happy fishing !! Gerry Moran/Kingfisher Resort.

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