State of Pasha Lake Cabins – Pandemic Update

I have talked to so many of you over the course of the summer, thank you for all your thoughts, prayers / concerns about Pasha Lake and the Thompson family.  It hasn’t been easy, but I am glad to report we’re surviving.  By the grace of God, through His trials and tribulations, we are looking forward to 2021, when we hope life at Pasha will return to normal.

Agree or disagree with our current reality, it is just that – our reality.  It’s challenging, far removed from our preferred way of life and has drastically changed how we go about our days – for all of us, not just the Thompson family.  It’s a bummer, but we believe soon Pasha Lake Cabins will achieve a new mile stone, being better than ever.  We continue to have big plans to bring you a better experience at PLC – more on that in a sec.

It’s been difficult to stay in touch, to stay tuned-in and otherwise be engaged since the border closed in March.  Michelle took a ¾ time secretarial position at our local church and I started doing contract work here in N. Wisconsin.  Between our stateside work and the relief programs available on both sides of the border, we have been able tread enough water to survive into 2021.

 

For those of you who’ve asked – Ian and Judy are doing great.  They have been running the show this summer look forward to serving all of you next year.  Ian of course is chopping at the bit to rattle a cage or two and out fish everyone, while at the same time, letting them know it.  That is, of course, if he doesn’t cast his fishing rod into Nipigon on accident – just sayin!

Now that summer has come to an end, we’re getting many inquires, from both last year’s guests unable to come to Pasha and from new people.  Deposits are probably the #1 concern, so I want to touch on it briefly.

Nobody will ever lose a deposit with Pasha Lake Cabins due to Covid.  Instead, we will credit all individual and group deposits to a future booking.  At the same time, we unfortunately cannot refund deposits.  The Fishing and Hunting Lodge industry requires deposits to sustain everyday business operations: payroll, utilities, property taxes, insurance, marketing and the list goes on.  It’s not a matter of personal choice to hold deposits, it’s a matter of necessity so we can remain in business and be a destination for you for the indefinite future.  Our hope is for everyone to understand the distinction – deposits sustain a lodges’ business, without them, there will be no lodges.

Thankfully, aside from only one group, everyone has completely understood our deposit policy and, in fact, embraced it.  Many have sent more than the required– but this is not something we are actively seeking.  In fact, we’ve decided to hold off on taking more deposits (from US guests for obvious reasons) until the border opens.  We anticipate the border will open in the New Year, but at this point it’s anybody’s guess when it will happen.

If you’ve read this far, it may have crossed your mind how to support Pasha Lake Cabins – I might make a suggestion.  We are sitting on a complete inventory of 2020 Pasha Lake Lifestyle Clothing.  We have everything from hoodies, to hats, shirts – tees and long sleeve, flannel pants even Nipigon fishing maps and topo maps.  Since Christmas is just around the corner – consider purchasing your PLC Lifestyle gear through the Pasha Lake Cabins website.  Click on the shopping button from the home page and shop away!  In most cases, we can ship the same day you purchase.  https://www.pashalake.com/shop 

 

 

Of course, a little pandemic isn’t going to prevent the Thompson family from keeping with our fishing roots.  Staying under the radar, i’ve fished summer, just not the usual Nipigon/Pasha Lake stomping grounds; mostly Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. And while fishing was good, there existed a big void.  I couldn’t help but notice the constantly overcrowded boat landings, the bumper to bumper boats on the water, and the fishing? Putting it nicely, marginal at best.  In fact, on several occasions after going long stretches without any action, I’d catch myself day dreaming about rod bending Onaman walleyes, or Nipigon pike so big the boat suffers an unnerving list.

I’m certainly thankful for the opportunities to get out this summer, at same time, suffice it to say, the waters of the upper Midwest don’t hold a candle to the Lake Nipigon / Pasha Lake Region of Ontario.  The truth on how special a place our region is can’t be understated.  That’s never been more true – especially for this angler.  And judging by the texts (Mr. Engum, Mr. Lalonde, Mr. Madsen too name a few) im not the only one suffering from Pasha withdrawals.

 

So where does that leave us?

Long term, we are revisiting our big scale projects which have largely been planned out.  They include more cabin renovations, new motors, a new landing on Onaman Lake and even a new deluxe cabin on Paint Lake. Knowing we didn’t get a chance to complete any of them this past summer makes me super antsy to get started!  It sucks winter is beating down our door and cost of building materials are so high – it just forces me to day dream a bit longer.

Short term, I for one am looking forward to winter and hitting the hard water.  Yep, you read that right – I am looking forward to ice fishing.   When it becomes possible, I’ll be laser focused on Onaman and Nipigon.   But until that happens, we’ll all be at the mercy of Ian and his tall fish tails.  Knowing Ian, he’ll be laughing as he sends me fish picture after fish picture from his phone.  (Unless, of course, we discover it’s actually his better half – Jill – that is the master angler.  A truth we discovered by accident this summer!  Way to go Jill!  Please inform Ian of your top notch fishing skills as often as you can).  In the mean time, I’ll be hanging out in N. Wisconsin waiting for the border to open.  I’ll probably have to search for a buck and bide my time in Texas implementing my own personal feral hog eradication program.

Before I wrap things up I want to make one special note of thanks and gratitude.  The Pasha Lake Region of NW Ontario is situated in a unique area.  We are accessible to a large population center in Toronto and the surrounding regions.  Once COVID travel restrictions were lifted in Ontario, the amount of support, repeat and new guests we received from our neighboring Ontarians was inspiring.  It seemed the phone rang daily with people wanting to escape the city,  looking for solitude and seclusion at Pasha Lake.  As a business and personally, Michelle and I thank all of you who stayed with us this summer.  You helped bring certainty in some very uncertain times – you were instrumental in Pasha Lake staying open , now and for the foreseeable future.

So there you have it – The State of Pasha Lake Cabins.  I’d love to report we’ve never been better, but we have.  I’d love to be summarizing another amazing year of fishing and hunting reported weekly from our guests, but soon enough we’ll be doing just that.  Soon enough!

Until next time!  Stay safe, embrace the idea of personal responsibility and dream of fishing at Pasha Lake Cabins!

Chad & Michelle