Advertise on podcast: Diaries of a Lodge Owner

The hardest part of life in the North isn’t the weather, the long days, or even the problems that show up at the dock when you’re already running flat out. It’s realizing you can’t hold on to every season forever. This goodbye is personal, bittersweet, and honest: a final reflection on what a fishing lodge on the French River in Ontario can create when you do it with your whole heart.  We talk about the mantra that guided us through chaos and calm alike: they come as guests and they leave as family. That single idea shaped how we treated people, how we handled mistakes, and how we built trust with returning anglers and travellers. You’ll hear a classic lodge story that captures it perfectly, when a checkout-day fishing run turns into a rescue mission, a dead engine, and one unforgettable soundtrack: Tina singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” in a Russian accent while Ross rows, furious, across open water.  From there, we zoom out to the bigger truth behind lodge life and outdoor hospitality: the real legacy is relationships. We share gratitude for the guests who became lifelong friends, the staff who carried the place on their shoulders, and the mentors who quietly made a difference, including Angelo Viola and the people who helped bring the podcast to life through Outdoor Journal Radio and Fish'n Canada. If you care about the Canadian wilderness, fishing lodge culture, and the kind of storytelling that’s built on real places and real people, this one will land.  If these stories meant something to you, please subscribe, share the episode with a friend who loves the outdoors, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

A lure that pops, walks the dog, and then dives a few feet under the surface sounds like marketing, until you hear how it was actually built. My guest Steve Waters takes us from a kid carving a jitterbug-style bait out of a broomstick handle at an Ontario campground to launching a real Canadian fishing lure brand with thousands of finished baits sitting on a pallet in his garage. If you care about bass fishing, topwater retrieves, or lure design that solves real problems on the water, this one gets wonderfully specific.  We also go beyond gear. Steve’s story is tied to the lodge life that so many of us chase: the first trip booked after watching Fish'n Canada, the way a good host connects guests, and how music in the main room turns strangers into friends. We talk about songwriting as a craft, starting with emotion, finding the right chords, and letting the lyric lead when it wants to. Then Steve does something special: he plays a live snippet of an original fishing song, giving the episode the same “jam night” feel we both miss.  On the technical side, we break down the Chimera lure from prototype to production: hand-carved wood baits, the promise and frustration of 3D printing, why waterlogging happens, and how moulded manufacturing fixes consistency and sealing. Steve even shares how he used AI to help shortlist suppliers, then handled months of design decisions over WhatsApp-only communication, right down to paint patterns and packaging.  If you enjoy practical fishing talk, Canadian outdoor stories, and the behind-the-scenes reality of building something from scratch, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a fishing buddy, and leave a review so more anglers can find the show.

A great business can fail for a painfully simple reason: the owner forgets what they are actually selling. Sitting on the island on the Upper French River, we talk with Michael Scates about the moment that made that lesson impossible to ignore and why “features” like cabins, boats, square footage, or even fishing are never the full product. What people buy is confidence, an experience, and the feeling that the person across the table is real. We rewind to the early Chaudiere Lodge days, when the property looked strong on paper but the numbers and the vibe told a different story. One short exchange with a guest revealed the true gap: service, warmth, and authenticity. From there, we connect lodge ownership to Mike’s path into commercial real estate, where cold calls, rejection, and high-stakes decisions teach the same rule. Whether it is a week in Northern Ontario or a major lease, trust is the currency, and integrity is the only way to earn it. We also get into the hard parts that do not show up in textbooks: asking for feedback when you know it might hurt, building a team culture that survives conflict, paying good people fairly, and focusing on what you can control so the guest experience stays strong. We share the sacrifices behind “hard work”, the late nights, the pressure, the family stress, and the discipline to keep showing up ready. If you are building a fishing lodge business, a hospitality brand, or any service-based company, this conversation will sharpen how you lead, sell, and listen. Subscribe, share this with someone chasing a big goal, and leave a review telling us what lesson you are taking into your own work.

One violent headshake, one flash of a giant’s eyeballs, and then the hook comes flying back at us. That’s the kind of moment that turns a regular day on the water into a permanent memory, and it’s where this chapter of Diaries of a Lodge Owner starts: with the fish that would have changed everything on tournament day.  We walk through a Gloucester Pool bass tournament run that had first place within reach, right down to the current in the channel and the exact piece of cover that begged for one last cast. From there, we get practical about the details that matter in bass fishing: how a Senko falls, what your line tells you, and why circle hooks can betray you when the hook size is wrong. If you’ve ever lost a big largemouth at the boat and replayed every decision, you’ll feel this one.  Then we head to Lake Nipigon for a speckled trout story that ends in the worst way: a loaded rod that suddenly goes dead. It’s a deep dive into trolling spoons, barrel swivels, line twist, and the painful truth that a 3 cent snap swivel can undo thousands of dollars of gear and the opportunity of a lifetime. The lesson that follows is simple, brutal, and useful everywhere: your system is only as strong as the weakest link.  We also shift into the memories you measure in meaning, not inches, including a New Brunswick striped bass trip with family, reflections on loss, and why big water like Lake Nipissing demands respect. If these stories spark one of your own, share it with us. Subscribe, leave a review, and send this episode to a friend who still talks about “the one that got away.”

A muskie over 50 inches on a rod that holds about 30 feet of line sounds like the start of a disaster, but for me it becomes one of those rare nights that never stops replaying. I’m sitting alone with a handful of fishing memories that refuse to fade, the ones tied to a person, a place, and a feeling that hits you years later when you least expect it. We start on the French River with my son Rayburn, and the moment that helped turn him into a full-blown muskie fanatic. The gear is improvised, the light is low, and I realize far too late I’ve got no net and basically no tools. What follows is equal parts muskie fishing, father-son coaching, and pure problem-solving under pressure. If you’ve ever had to keep it together while a big fish does everything it can to expose your mistakes, you’ll feel this one in your gut. Then we head north to Lake Nipigon, where group records and bragging rights become a language of their own. A friend’s video and a truly giant lake trout reset the scoreboard, and the story rolls into boat-buying heartbreak, big-water waves, and an unforgettable strike that happens right as we’re trying to pull lines and find shelter. We wrap with a Glenn Barry memory that begins with a backlash and ends with a brutal dockside fight and my first 50-inch muskie, landed the hard way. If these stories nudge your own “fish I still think about” awake, subscribe, share the episode with a fishing buddy, and leave a review so more Canadians can find the show.

The hardest part of emergency calls isn’t always the chaos you can see. Sometimes it’s standing beside a wife, a son, or a loved one who’s begging you to fix the unfixable. Fire Chief Mike Sutton joins us for a raw, honest talk about nearly 30 years in the fire service, the weight that builds call after call, and the moment he realizes PTSD, anxiety, and depression have finally caught up. We start on the lighter side with muskie fishing, missed strikes, and the mental discipline it takes to stay sharp. Then Mike takes us back through his path from Guyana to Sault Ste. Marie, football and university, and the career pivot that led him into firefighting. From fire hall humour to the brotherhood support that keeps crews moving, we look at what the job gives you and what it quietly takes. Mike opens up about grief after losing a fellow firefighter, the guilt of being off work, and the slow, brave work of recovery including exposure therapy and rebuilding trust in himself. We also dig into why fishing and the outdoors feel like real therapy: the calm of water, the focus of casting, the connection of being in a boat with someone who gets it. Along the way we talk about peer-support efforts like Green Ops, and the big idea Mike can’t shake, creating more pathways for first responders to heal through time on the water. If you know someone who needs this conversation, share it with them. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what role the outdoors plays in your mental health.

The dog days of summer aren’t just hot weather, they’re the point in the season when a fishing lodge gets squeezed from every direction. When the heat hangs on, the days feel endless, and the finish line is still weeks away, you can feel staff focus slipping and small tensions turning into real problems. We walk through what that looks like from the owner’s chair, and what we learned about motivating a crew, giving proper time off, and managing staff relationships when everyone is living in tight quarters on an island. Things get even messier when a key hire doesn’t work out. We tell the full “Crazy Dave” kitchen saga, from food complaints to personal drama, and why sometimes the only way to protect the team is to make a tough staffing change fast. From there, we shift into the other big dog-days threat: extreme summer storms on the French River and the ugly reality of multi-day power outages. If you’ve never run a remote lodge without hydro, the surprise is simple and brutal: water becomes the emergency, and everything else cascades from there. We also share practical lodge operations ideas that actually helped, like building an ice stockpile to protect freezer inventory, staying safer on docks during midnight storms, and setting clear heat-wave plans for guests and guided fishing days, especially hydration. If you care about leadership, hospitality, and real-world preparedness in remote Ontario, this one’s a straight, story-driven playbook. Subscribe, share this with a lodge owner or outdoors worker, and leave a review with your own dog-days lesson.

The fastest way into a fishing guide career is not a perfect resume, it is getting yourself into the right lodge and proving you belong there. Around the table at Two Rivers Lodge, we sit down with three working guides, Rick Payne, John “Cowboy” Jomban, and Caleb Johnson, to talk about how guiding really starts: nerves, rough water, limited gear, and the moment you realize you are responsible for someone else’s best day of the year.  You will hear what their first guiding experiences were actually like, from learning boat control the hard way to figuring out how to lead guests when you are still new yourself. We also get into the pressure side of the job: guests who expect constant action, days when weather and fish refuse to cooperate, and how a good guide keeps the mood strong without pretending. The big takeaway is that teaching is not a backup plan, it is a core skill. Explaining fish behaviour, reading clouds and pressure, and using your own logs and patterns can turn a slow bite into a day people talk about for years.  We also dig into modern electronics like mapping, sonar, and LiveScope as tools for both fishing and trust. When guests can see fish follow and not commit, the day becomes a team problem to solve, not a blame game. If you are thinking about becoming a fishing guide in Canada, working at a Canadian fishing lodge, or just want a behind-the-scenes look at what makes a great guest experience, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who dreams about guiding, and leave a review so more anglers can find the show.

A fishing guide’s job is not just finding fish. It’s reading people, managing pressure, and turning a tough bite into a day your guests will still talk about on the drive home. Around the table at Two Rivers Lodge, we trade honest stories about guiding in Northern Ontario, learning unfamiliar water near Kenora, and the moment you realize you’re not “just a fishing buddy” anymore, you’re responsible for the experience. We get into what happens when yesterday’s shoreline pattern dies, how short strikes and changing conditions test your confidence, and why electronics like Humminbird side imaging and forward-facing sonar can feel amazing one day and confusing the next. We also talk about the stuff that truly builds a lodge’s reputation: guide teamwork, sharing information, and keeping guests engaged even when the lake makes you work for every walleye and northern pike. Then the stories take off. Wolf pups at a shoreline den, a rescued golden eagle named Hope, and bush-job close calls involving float planes and a helicopter power loss that still makes your palms sweat. We wrap with hard-earned outdoor lessons, from hunting adrenaline to the simplest fishing truth of all: your chain is only as strong as your weakest link, and a cheap snap can cost you the fish of a lifetime. If you enjoy fishing lodge life, multi-species angling, and real guide talk about walleye, pike, muskie, and trout, you’ll feel right at home here. Subscribe so you don’t miss the next one, share this with a buddy who lives for the north, and leave a review to help more anglers find the show.

You can own a lodge, hire great guides, and still feel your confidence wobble the moment you step onto a dock where nobody cares about your past. At Two Rivers Lodge, I’m back in the boat as a working guide, staring at new water, new electronics, and guests I’ve never met, asking myself the only question that matters: do I still have it?  I talk through the real difference between “helping out” and being responsible for the entire guest experience, from navigation and safety to putting walleye in the slot for shore lunch. You’ll hear what it’s like to learn a lake fast with GPS mapping, Humminbird Helix, and Garmin LiveScope, plus the honest frustration when the screen does not look the way you’re used to. Then we get into the fishing: northern pike patterns shifting with weather, cabbage at the mouths of bays, current areas that hold fish deeper, and the simple trigger that keeps producing strikes so far: hits on the pause.  But guiding is not only about fish. I share the awkward feeling of being “not the owner” in the main lodge, and the way service and conversation build trust the same way a good day on the water does, one small moment at a time. If you love Canadian fishing lodge stories, northern Ontario multi-species action, and the mindset side of guiding, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a fishing buddy, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

Lodge season does not “start” so much as it hits you all at once. Early June brings that first real wave of guests, the scramble to reopen cabins and docks, and the reality that Mother Nature controls the schedule, especially when you are running an island lodge on the French River. We talk through what those first days actually feel like, from the excitement of opening to the gritty details that never make it into the brochure.  A big theme is staffing a remote fishing lodge when turnover is normal and training time is limited. We get honest about why overhiring can be the only sane plan, how culture shock shows up fast when young staff live in a dorm-style setup, and why lodge owners spend so much time managing personalities. We also share what helps people last, including scheduling true escape time off-island so staff can reset and come back stronger.  We dig into guest experience and expectation management in hospitality. Instead of pretending everything is perfect in week one, we explain the “training period” approach: subsidising early trips in exchange for patience and feedback. That shift turns guests into partners, helps returning anglers reinforce dock routines, and builds a community that improves service, reviews, and morale. Along the way, we get into the unglamorous systems that matter, like orientation, fire drills, and the very real grinder pump rules.  Then we tell a spring work story that sums up lodge life: rebuilding a stone walkway with 987 bags of concrete, moved by hand on an island, right up until guests arrived. If you are thinking about lodge jobs in Canada, we also share exactly how to stand out by calling, researching, and making a real impression. Subscribe, share this with someone who loves the outdoors, and leave a review so more people can find these Stories Of The North.

He wasn’t flashy. He didn’t say a whole lot. But he always had my back and that kind of fatherhood changes everything. After losing my dad just days ago, I sit down for a raw, personal reflection on grief, gratitude, and the lessons that still guide me as a lodge owner, a parent, and an outdoorsman. I talk about what it meant to take the leap into lodge ownership when the timing felt impossible, the money was tight, and the pressure was real. The story goes straight to the unglamorous truth of small business life: broken plumbing, long days, and that sinking feeling that you might not get it all done. Then comes the line my dad gave me that became a survival tool for entrepreneurship and for life: you get it done because you have to. No shortcuts, no excuses, just steady work until the job is finished. The memories that hold it all together come from the Canadian outdoors. Catfish at a local bridge, the smell of cedar and fresh water, and the quiet way a father can pass down a love for fishing, hunting, and stewardship without making a speech. If you have ever learned who you are from a parent or a father figure, this one will hit close to home. If it resonates, follow the show, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find these Stories of the North.

A thousand-foot gill net can hold a whole day’s worth of truth about a fishery and Paige Drew has lived that reality on Lake Superior. We sit down with Paige and Caleb Johnson, two newly minted guides at Two Rivers Lodge, and talk honestly about what it means to earn your place in a lodge family when the season is just starting and the water is still near freezing. The conversation starts where most guests never get to look: broken water lines, massive food orders, generator upgrades, new docks, and the kind of teamwork it takes to make a remote Northern Ontario fishing lodge feel effortless. Paige walks us through her route from growing up around Ontario fish hatcheries and studying Fish and Wildlife at Fleming College to working Great Lakes field projects. We get into invasive species control, targeted netting, and the detailed sampling that happens after the nets come up: sorting by mesh size, measuring fork length, taking scales, collecting fin clips for genetics, and even pulling otoliths for aging. If you’ve ever wondered what fisheries science looks like on the water, this is the clearest picture you’ll get without stepping onto the tugboat. Caleb brings the next-generation angle, coming from Alberta with a YouTube goal and the drive to build something real as “The Alberta Angler.” We talk about chasing better fishing opportunities, filming in a working lodge environment, and why fish handling ethics matter if you want a sustainable trophy fishery for pike, walleye, bass, and muskie. Subscribe, share this one with a buddy who loves the North, and leave a review with your biggest question about guiding life.

Spring at a Northern Ontario fishing lodge can feel like two different worlds at once. We’re watching flood water threaten roads and docks around the French River and Lake Nipissing, while up near Kenora the ice is still hanging on and every plan depends on wind, rain, and when the system finally opens up. That push and pull sets the tone for a candid lodge-owner conversation about preparation, risk, and the messy reality behind a smooth guest experience.  Willie “The Oilman” joins me fresh off an 11-day Louisiana fishing adventure, and the stories are as useful as they are wild. We get into bull redfish in brackish bayou water, why the slip bobber and live shrimp bite is so violent, and how the Everglades-style maze of reeds changes everything from casting to boat control. Then we zoom out to what really matters to operators: how a place like Captain Allen’s Native Adventures runs hospitality, pricing, cabins, meals, and service in a way that makes people want to return.  From there, we talk fishing lodge marketing and power networking the kind that actually moves the needle. Cross-promotions, partnerships, and helping “competitors” when they’re short on staff or supplies can protect the whole region and keep standards high. We finish on team building, cross-training, and the leadership challenge of matching the right staff personalities to the right guests, plus a few hard-earned kitchen and dining room lessons.  If you like fishing stories with real business insight, hit subscribe, share this with a lodge buddy, and leave a review so more anglers can find the show.

The best ice seasons are not always the ones with the most chaos, they are the ones that run smooth from first hut to last pullout. We’re back with Donny Crowder of Hotbox Huts to debrief a Lake Simcoe winter that started early, stayed stable late, and gave his crew something rare: time. Time to stage “Hogtown” properly, time to avoid panic days, and time to connect with clients one-on-one so families leave with more than just fish photos. We get into what showed up under the holes this year, from big early-season perch to walleye talk and the odd sightings that make you question what you thought you knew about Simcoe. Donny also breaks down why underwater fishing cameras can be a game-changer for stationary ice fishing, especially for kids and new anglers who learn faster when they can actually see the bite and fish behaviour in real time. Then the conversation goes deep on ice safety. Donny explains how heavy snow, melt cycles, shoreline runoff, and springs can turn a “good” year into a constant monitoring job. He shares how measuring core ice temperature helps predict breakup, and why candled ice can look walkable while being structurally ready to separate when sun and water do their work. Off the ice, Donny walks us through his hundred-acre conservation-minded property, a thriving duck pond, semi-guided waterfowl hunts, and the realities of regenerative farming and making maple, birch, and silver maple syrup the old-school way. If you care about guided ice fishing in Ontario, hardwater safety, conservation, and building a life around the land, this one delivers. Subscribe, share the episode with a fishing buddy, and leave a review so more people can find the show.