By Craig Dumesnil
THE LODGE
6/11/25 – 6/17/25: This was my first visit to Ash Rapids Lodge ( ARL ) my first fishing trip to Canada, for that matter; so, I have nothing to compare it with. I was part of a group of eight men, mostly friends from Louisville I have known since childhood . They have been going to ARL for over twenty years. This was the first time my invite didn’t conflict with a warm water trip already set up.
ARL is located two hours by car due east of Winnipeg, Manitoba, just over the line into Ontario in the northern most part of what is known as the Lake of the Woods area stretching south to International Falls. This is a vast watershed with the surrounding land being either federal lands or, in some areas, part of the Ojibwa Reserve. Sparsely populated with summer fishing cottages in some areas we fished. Mostly just Canadian wilderness areas of conifer forest. The lake holds a tremendous amount of water flowing to hydroelectric dams downstream. Many areas of the lake are over 100 feet deep.