Claim OwnershipDiaries of a Lodge Owner
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© 2026 Diaries of a Lodge Owner
Description
In 2009, sheet metal mechanic, Steve Niedzwiecki, turned his passions into reality using steadfast belief in himself and his vision by investing everything in a once-obscure run-down Canadian fishing lodge.
After ten years, the now-former lodge owner and co-host of The Fish'n Canada Show is here to share stories of inspiration, relationships and the many struggles that turned his monumental gamble into one of the most legendary lodges in the country.
From anglers to entrepreneurs, athletes to conservationists; you never know who is going to stop by the lodge.
133 Episodes
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Some memories hook you for life. We dive into how a childhood spent on a riverbank grew into a mission to help families create those same anchor moments—first casts, first fish, and traditions that bring everyone back to the water year after year. We share a weekend at the Spring Fishing and Boat Show that sparked it all, highlighted by a dynamic father–daughter seminar with Angler & Hunter TV’s Mike Miller and his 16-year-old daughter, August. Their message is simple and powerful: give ...
The moment your phone loses signal and the shoreline comes into focus, something shifts. We dig into why that feeling matters—and how an outdoor lodge can design for it—by drawing a hard line on connectivity in the cottages while keeping smart tech where it helps. The main lodge becomes a social hub for quick check‑ins, photo sharing, and serendipitous conversations. Cabins stay quiet on purpose, nudging families toward board games, dock time, and long talks that outlast any push alert. Behi...
The story starts before dawn and doesn’t end until the last plate is stacked. We open the door to real lodge life: the 5 a.m. kitchen huddles, the dockside calm for nervous boaters, the septic fixes nobody sees, and the dining room standards that set the tone for trust. It’s everything you don’t find on a brochure, told with the momentum of days that never quite go to plan—and the mindset that refuses to leave room for failure. We trace the early missteps of running with a skeleton crew and ...
What if the secret to a thriving lodge isn’t the bite count, but the rituals that make strangers feel like family? We share how a northern fishing lodge shifted from “catch-first” to “community-first” using simple, repeatable traditions that turned a good trip into a must-return experience. It starts with jam nights—live music that melts social barriers and gives everyone a reason to linger. Add in a Thursday shore lunch that’s pure theatre: guests donate their morning catch, watch skilled h...
What if your lodge’s past was the strongest marketing you have? We sit down with Willie “the Oilman” to unpack how a northern lodge thrives today by selling a lifestyle, telling its origin story with pride, and using trade shows as a stage—not a hard sell. We start where many operators wonder: do trade shows still pull their weight? Willie explains the shift from booth-first selling to a blended strategy where a clean, portable display supports the real engine—TV segments, YouTube reels, and...
The floor may be buzzing, but the best trade show wins often happen in quiet moments—over a handshake, a shared story, or a thoughtful follow-up that arrives right when someone is ready to book. We open up about the early missteps, the pressure to sell fast, and why we chose a different path built on trust, clear expectations, and experiences we could control. Rather than pushing deposits, we focused on unique selling points that never go out of style: great food with a sit-down lunch, comfo...
Ever seen a town pop up on a frozen bay? We sat down with Donnie Crowder of Hot Box Huts to explore how a three-hut hobby became “Hogtown,” a 52‑hut ice fishing village on Lake Simcoe built around safety, comfort, and catching more fish. An early cold snap laid down a rare shelf of white ice, and Donnie explains how that milky layer creates low light cover in three feet of water—turning the shallows into one giant dock where perch and pike cruise all day. We dig into the nuts and bolts of an...
Forget the neat arc of a nine-to-five. We sat down with Kyle Satchery, a small-town barber who spends spring and summer trapping live bait and guiding bear hunts when the weather turns, to unpack a life that moves with ice, bugs, and bookings. From black ice and first-snow days to crappie dinners snuck in before a niece’s skating show, Kyle’s world is built on grit, logistics, and quiet pride. The bait business gets real fast: acquiring a long-standing operation, coordinating with fewer trap...
A hot-tub sunrise under northern stars. A beached fuel barge after the dam closes. Guests stepping off rocks because the docks aren’t ready yet—but they can see the heart and the plan. We sit down with Willie “the Oil Man” to unpack the real work behind Two Rivers Lodge’s first season and why oil patch grit translates surprisingly well to backcountry hospitality. We start with the bones: levelling a tired lodge in careful stages so doors swing and windows seal, rebuilding docks and cribbing,...
A tornado on Lake Nipissing. Fifty anglers. Cameras sprinting through bush while boats pound eight‑footers—and a single log that quietly holds the winning bag. We pull back the curtain on The Last Call, the 2004 reality fishing series that pushed us to the edge and then reshaped our lives. From chaotic GPS races to head‑to‑head heats, you’ll hear how split‑second choices, sketchy weather, and unclear rules forged the kind of lessons you can’t learn from a highlight reel. What surprised us mo...
Some seasons don’t just hand you fish; they hand you perspective. We kicked off with cold rivers, hot saunas, and the truth every lodge owner knows—how you close determines how you open—then rolled into a year that tested instincts, technology, and our sense of community on the water. At Buck Lake, we arrived dreaming of 12-pound walleye and walked into a masterclass in humility. LiveScope showed “nothing,” confidence dipped, and we over-scanned instead of fishing. Then Pete stepped in with ...
The fish of 10,000 casts can feel like a slot machine with a mind of its own—and that’s exactly why we can’t stop chasing it. We dig into why muskie obsession grips so hard, how one strike wipes out weeks of slow days, and why the best stories aren’t always the biggest fish. Pat Tryon joins us to separate myth from data, sharing two decades of logs that show how lunar majors and minors consistently open bite windows—and how local weather still calls the shots. We get tactical without getting...
We sit down with French River muskie guide Pat Tryon to explore what actually makes a trip unforgettable: humility, timing, and a sharp eye for what guests truly want. From long days chasing a single follow to easy afternoons spotting eagles and picking blueberries, we unpack how reading people—more than reading side imaging—defines success on the water. Pat takes us back to the moment that reshaped his career: watching a guest catch a bigger muskie than he’d ever landed and choosing joy ove...
A northern lodge season can turn on a single moment: a kid’s jig drops to a LiveScope mark and a 41.5-inch pike surges from the deep. We ride that energy across a year of big fish, bigger decisions, and the quiet math of winter planning that keeps a remote camp alive. Willie the Oil Man joins us for a no-filter catch-up on Two Rivers Lodge—what worked, what broke, and what we learned while chasing muskies in 55-degree water, stacking 100-walleye days a mile from the dock, and filming fly angl...
What keeps you casting when the lake goes dead quiet and your fingers are numb? We sit down with Ugly Pike co-host and Passador BJJ owner, Frank Ungaro, to map the shared DNA between landing trophy muskies, leading a thriving academy, and growing a podcast people trust. The common thread is obsession paired with integrity—showing up, learning fast, and respecting the community that makes the chase worth it. Frank takes us into a Lac Seul trip derailed by a brutal cold front, where structure,...
We share the unspoken truth about rental boat damage, how to read buoys with confidence, and the specific checks that keep people safe and motors alive. Scotty brings years of lodge management and mechanical know-how to help guests, cottagers, and new boaters avoid costly mistakes and winterize right. • following directions over copying locals’ shortcuts • red right return explained for headwaters and return trips • GPS as a tool with error margins and limits • rental boat briefings, safety ...
A glass wall, a dozen yellow-eyed timber wolves, and a wind that wouldn’t let up—our northern run from Wawa to Timmins had all the ingredients for a trip that teaches more than it takes. We hit record in the truck ride home to unpack what really worked: turning ugly chop into a pattern, trusting shade over sunshine, and letting a leaky tin boat and a pair of deep-diving cranks do the heavy lifting when cameras—and anglers—couldn’t stand. We walk through the surprising spots and exact setups ...
What if the fastest way to build a profitable company is to stop building for profit? That’s the paradox at the heart of our conversation with Ron Ladner, the force behind Shaggy’s—the waterfront restaurant brand born in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and powered by a mission to make every guest leave happier than they arrived. We trace the journey from storm surge and rescue boats to a million guests a year, and the surprising operating system that made it possible: solve your team’s real pro...
What if “luck” isn’t your enemy in fishing, but the spark that starts every great pattern? We dive into the messy, humbling, and unforgettable moments that turn random bites into reliable tactics you can repeat—from a dead-herring stalemate to a flutter spoon inhaled on the drop, and the day a kid’s toy-sized inline spinner produced a 36" pike that fed an entire camp. We unpack the real formula behind those storybook catches: preparedness meeting opportunity. That means tightening the weak l...
Angelo Viola and Dean Taylor join us at Lodge 88 on Esnagi Lake for an exciting fishing adventure, sharing strategies and stories while filming for the 40th season of Fish'n Canada. • Live bait versus hard baits debate for northern lake walleye fishing • Understanding migration patterns of baitfish to locate predator fish • Following food sources like herring, suckers, and ciscos that attract game fish • East Coast tuna fishing experiences and the highly regulated nature of the fishery • Tra...
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