As of April 10th, only 36 days from opening day, Little Vermilion Lake and all other surrounding lakes are completely iced over, with ice being about 36 to 40 inches thick, and we are still enjoying cross country skiing on the lake. Snow is very present wherever you look and has been slow to melt because of below or near freezing temperatures. This week we expect daytime highs to get into the 50 F or 13/14 C range with sun, so we should make more progress in this area. Our most recent snow storm was on April 1st, and that's not an April fools joke. After a long hard winter we are looking very forward to spring and the open water season, which kicks off on May 16th through and including September 12th. We ended the 2008 season with good water levels and with the current snow conditions along with anticipated normal spring rain our water levels are expected to be normal to above normal throughout the 2009 fishing season. This is good news for access to our creek accessible lakes. I have just created a "NEW" Fireside Lodge website which is full of new information, 2008 fishing reports and fishing photos, and new graphics of our lake system. Please go to the website link below and enjoy. If you have any questions or want to check current availability for the 2009 fishing season please email fireside@xplornet.com or call at 800-545-0815. Looking forward to seeing you at Fireside Lodge this summer. Thanks Alan Brandys / Fireside Lodge