Charleston Lake Newsletter 2008-2009
Volume 1, Issue #11, Lakeline Lodge
May 15, 2008, Kristin and Jessica went for the first swim of the season. The 1st week of Pike in May, the temperatures were like the tropics, and bonfires and a new fishing season began at Charleston. We experienced several 3rd generations of families at Lakeline Lodge this summer. It was wonderful to see all ages of life sharing memories and new experiences here with us at Charleston.
I received an interesting letter dated Jan, 5/08 from Mr. Ralph Bayler of Shippensburg, PA. Mr. Bayler has been a visitor of Charleston Lake since 1946. He told me that he only missed a couple of years due to sickness and being recalled for the Korean War. The post office and grocery store were frequented in those earlier years. Ralph told me of various events and how he cherished his visits to lake Charleston. Ralph also has shared this 1958 photo of himself out at Flat Island with a beautiful lake trout and his 5 hp outboard. He has purchased his fishing licenses at Lakeline Lodge since the 1960’s. I truly enjoyed reading about Ralph’s experiences on Charleston Lake.
Renovations
New shingles for cottages 7 & 8. Cottage #2 will be receiving 2 new mattresses. We hope to begin screening in a few front porches this winter. This depends on the weather and Shawn’s work-load.
Passport Info. Update
In the U.S-a passport card has been developed for further information please contact 1-877-487-2778. I believe the cost is $50. In Canada they gave me this # for U.S citizens 416-595-1700, passportcanada.gc.ca 1-800-622-6232 for Canadian residents. June 1, 2009, Canadians will require a passport to travel to the United States.
Sand Bay Park- New Development Plans
At the October 6th, 2008 Athens Council meeting, representatives from the United Counties outlined their future plans for the County Park, Sand Bay, Charleston Lake. The plans are as follows: New information kiosks at trail heads-large format map/imagery-new parking lot-develop a better path down to the lake-observation deck on trail to the SE of beach-develop additional trails-keep the park low-key. These are exciting changes that I look forward to enjoying next summer at Charleston.
Fishing Lake Trout
This season’s fishing weather made things very interesting. Outside of season and structure, weather is probably the most important influence on fish behaviour. It can shut your fishing fight down, or heat it up to the boiling point. This season we had a wide variety. Many of you told us about your various experiences this summer with the lake trout. An article in The Outdoors Guide- June’s issue that was entitled Out & About For Trout written by Gord Ellis explains that flat-line fishing for trout. This summer a lot of you experienced a different experience while lake trout fishing. This article will help to describe the new experience. “The lake trout is a fish of contradictions, It is a creature that thrives in lakes, yet loves currents and can make a home in rivers. They are also voracious predators, but will sip mayflies off the surface. Perhaps the biggest misunderstanding about lake trout is that they can only be caught in deep water. Truth is when the water temperatures are cold and bait fish scarce, lake trout are often found working there shallows. It’s when these aggressive fish are in the thin water that the savvy angler foes flat lining.
Flat lining is not a new or secret technique. Quite the contrary. It is, in fact just a fancy way of describing old fashioned trolling without aid of downrigger, depth diver of wire. The technique has been used for decades on lake trout and other salmonids, but its simplicity causes it to be over-looked by some anglers. That’s a shame, as flat-lining requires no special tackle and requires little more then patience. This technique works best when lake trout are near shore or within 10 feet of water surface. It’s a trolling technique. You can paddle and flat-line, but since your hand is usually off the rod, you’ll miss some strikes. Having a steady source of power-whether it’s a gas outboard or electric trolling motor-is recommended when flat lining. This is a hands on fishing technique. One of the reasons flat lining is so much fun, is it allows you to appreciate the no nonsense strike of a lake trout. When you flat-line, the lure is tied directly via a plain snap tied to 8 to 15lb test line. No additional weights are usually used. However, if you’re using very light flutter spoons or floating crank baits, a small one eight to one half oz. keep-type sinker may be placed 6 feet up the line from the spoon. The lure is then let out behind your moving boat 50 to 200 feet and trolled. That’s all there is to it. This trick works well on area’s like big waters where waves and win can be a factor. Changing a lure, speed or locations are all important if you want to hook up regularly.
Flat-line trolling for lake trout is a simple, but exceptionally effective way to catch lake trout. So buff up your spoons, throw out a line and put that boat in gear.
Patient stalkers of wetlands, lakeshores and the edges of rivers are the members of the Ardeidae or heron family. The long legs, necks and beaks of these birds make them well suited to pursuing and capturing their prey. Their hunting habits are a lesson in patience; motionless, their sharp, tapered beak aimed at the water, neck slightly retracted, herons wait sometimes dozens of minutes for a fish, frog, snake, or a small fish prey. In the blink of an eye, the bird strikes, then swallows its prey whole. The blue heron has been known to misjudge its prey and swallow a stick instead, a mistake that ultimately causes the bird’s death.
Herons are migratory birds. There are 66 species of herons globally, 11 of which have resided in Ontario. Adult characteristics of nesting: colonial forest nester, in groups up to several dozen pairs; huge plat form nests high in trees. At Charleston, the blue heron has a large nesting area in the Gananoque river entrance just down past the damn at the outlet. Although prehistoric in appearance, the blue heron is a beautiful sight at Charleston. Often the heron travels alone.
Cougar Sightings at Charleston-La Rose Bay
Ontario’s lost cat keeps showing up, but only long enough to tantalize. A native cougar hasn’t been confirmed here for over a century, yet there’s an average of about 100 sights per year, at least half are fairly credible. Cougar-human encounters are rare though, and there has never been a verified attack in Ontario. This summer we had 3 sightings of a cougar in La Rose Bay. Which is located on the undeveloped side of Donaldson Bay. Two sights were in the spring, and one was on the Friday of our Thanksgiving weekend in October. John Ross saw an adult cougar leap by at a distance of approximately 60’. He was a little shaken when he was telling us the news on the following day. MNR are aware of the sightings and they feel that perhaps the felines are just passing through.
I was curious about cougars, since we’ve become neighbours of a sort and I found the following: They are a lone ranger, incredibly wary, solitary, and always on the move. They can grow up to 2.7 metres in body length, plus a tail up to 80 cm long. They like to stalk at night, patrolling individual territories covering hundreds of square kilometres. A cougar is Ontario’s only long-tailed native cat, with a build to bring down deer and elk. They average one a week or equivalent in beavers, bunnies, porcupines, mice, birds, and the odd fox, racoon or coyote. After a meal, they cover their leftovers with leaves, grass, and sticks, staying close by for several days until the feast is finished. Cougars in Ontario may be newcomers from elsewhere, members of hidden remnant native populations of individuals released from a pool of cougars (perhaps as many as 500 in the province) kept in private zoo’s or as pets. Who would have thought they would to visit at Charleston!
Canadian Geese
Nice to watch fly over- not so nice as stop by visitors. This summer, groups of geese were a nuisance for local waterfront owners. I took a photo of one group sighted out in front of our dock in August. The following day after the photo, when I arrived to work at 7:00 am they had staked their claim on the front lawn at Lakeline. I didn’t want to cause too much of a commotion, however chasing, yelling, and clapping my hands together did nothing to send the flock on its way. I had to bring out my gun. The super-soaker 50’ power spray water blaster. Yes, it got the job done! Apparently Canadian geese do not liked to get sprayed down. We won this battle, and they never returned.
Yamaha 2009 Updates
The all new Four Stroke 9.9 Yamaha portables are clean, quiet, fuel-efficient, reliable and most of all, lightweight. Yamaha portable outboards are the perfect match for your boat. From 2.5 to 25hp. For quality on the water, choose Yamaha portables. With every turn of the key or pull of the cord trust Yamaha. Finding the perfect spot or cruising to shore with your day’s catch, you can rest easy when you have a Yamaha behind you. Quiet 4-stroke technology, fuel-efficient operation, ultra low emissions and unmatched reliability- for over 40 years, we’ve built them all into every Yamaha outboard. We sell only Yamaha outboards here at Lakeline Lodge & Marina, but we service all makes and models of outboards.
Lakeline Lodge Cottage Rental Availability for 2009
May 16-23, May23-30, May 30-June 6
June 6-13, June 13-20
July 18-25, 25- Aug. 1
August 1-8, 15-22(2), 22-29, 29-Sept. 5th
Sept. 5-12, 19-26, 26-Oct. 3
Oct. 3-10, 10-17
*Some weeks may have more then one cottage available to rent. Open until October 17th, 2009
Forfar Cheese Factory to end Production
This was the headline of the Recorder & Times Brockville newspaper on Wednesday, Sept. 17/08. The following information was taken from this article. I know that a lot of our guests have enjoyed Forfar curd and cheese for many years, while visiting Charleston Lake, so I thought you might be interested in this information. Long ago, cheese factories were a common sight in this region rich in dairy farms. As of the end of September, high fuel prices and government regulations wukk gave killed off the last remaining cheese maker in Leeds & Grenville. Forfar has been making popular cheddar cheeses for 145 years. They announced that it will stop making its own cheese, adding it will end it’s deliveries to retailers. For those of you who enjoyed the drive to Forfar Dairy, the company is not closing, but will instead concentrate on its retail operation. Instead of making its own cheese, St. Alberts, an Eastern Ontario cheese plant, will continue making its cheese according to Forfar’s specifications. They use whole milk and not the skimming cream, as has been the traditional way for over 145 years. Leeds and County once boasted hundreds of cheese factories in this area.
Algae
The green algae you are seeing at Charleston Lake is filamentous green algae spirogyra. Wow! What a handle. This has been identified by the Ministry of Environment and has a number of factors that favour it’s growth: erosion and run off from clearing of shorelines, use of fertilizers (picture all the lawns in Charleston harbor going down to the waters edge), leachate, and agricultural run-off. The MOE predicts the condition will continue until the above problems are addressed. Protecting out shoreline through adequate utilization has become a big topic among lake associations in Ontario and Quebec. West Quebec wants us to ban mowing near lakes. Many property owners take pride in weed free, well fertilized lawns that are mowed regularly. This is a topic that I will follow up on in our next newsletter. It is sure to be a major discussion topic among cottagers at Charleston Lake.
Cottage Life Magazine had an interesting thought…….
Cottage Country New Years-Falls on the first warm, rain-free day of the summer. Cheers!
In Closing
Today is November 24th. A few contractors are finishing up last minute jobs out on the islands. Shawn and Scott are shrink-wrapping the last 5 boats before the predicted snow storm hits us tonight. Wiltse Lake is frozen over and the village of Charleston is pretty quiet.
2008 was an adventurous year for us at Charleston Lake. We had travelers here from all over the world. Australia, France, Sweden, New Zealand, and Ireland. We now have 3 different customers who fly in yearly from Florida to enjoy Charleston Lake’s fishing and scenery with family and friends. Pennsylvania still has the largest amount of travelers coming to Lakeline Lodge.
At this time, we would like to thank you for your support during this past year. It is you who have made our progress possible and we would like to thank you for the opportunity to serve you. May the Love, Faith, and Peace of Christmas fill your hearts during this Holiday Season. Thanks again for your patronage.
Seasons Greetings from Lakeline Lodge & Marina, Charleston Lake, Ontario