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PODCAST

Diaries of a Lodge Owner

Outdoor Journal Radio Podcast Network

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

sports wilderness

All Episodes

84:10

Episode 141: Lake Simcoe Ice Fishing Recap With...

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/04/22

The best ice seasons are not always the ones with the most chaos, they are the ones that run smooth from first hut to last pullout. We’re back with Donny Crowder of Hotbox Huts to debrief a Lake Simcoe winter that started early, stayed stable late, and gave his crew something rare: time. Time to stage “Hogtown” properly, time to avoid panic days, and time to connect with clients one-on-one so families leave with more than just fish photos. We get into what showed up under the holes this year...

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102:56

Episode 140: We Can Train The Nervous System To...

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/04/15

Your body already knows how to come back to centre. The problem is we rarely give it the right signal, long enough, often enough, to override modern stress. We talk with Spencer DeLeal, president of Art of Living Canada, about how rhythmic breathing and mindfulness can help reset the nervous system when life starts to feel like constant fight or flight. We dig into Sudarshan Kriya, a structured breathing technique built around rhythm, and why the breath is the most overlooked “inner technolo...

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61:53

Epiosde 139: Late Ice, Shifting Plates, And The Hard...

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/04/08

Spring up north doesn’t arrive politely. It shows up when the ice starts talking, when a route that was open yesterday is suddenly blocked by a drifting plate, and when a lodge owner has to decide whether “maybe we can make it” is actually worth the risk. It’s just you and me for a straight, practical run through the shoulder season on the French River in Ontario. I share a real late ice-out story from my Chaudiere days, including honeycomb ice, solid chunks hidden in the mess, and the cold-...

en-ca

92:10

Episode 138: How Joe Robinet Built A Bushcraft...

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/04/01

One mistake can end a survival challenge. One accident can erase weeks of memory. One loss can change the shape of a whole family. We’re joined by Joe Robinet, a Canadian bushcraft and camping creator who helped define outdoor YouTube long before it was a career path, and he brings a rare mix of hard-earned skills and hard-earned perspective. We talk through Joe’s early life in Windsor, Ontario, chasing wilderness without a mentor, and the way online forums and a trusted teacher helped him b...

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71:02

Episode 137: How A Remote Fishing Lodge Gets Spring...

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/03/18

The season doesn’t start when the first guests arrive. It starts when you look at snowpack, water height, and a dock system that can swing by feet, then decide how you’re going to make it safe, simple, and fast for everyone walking down to the boats. Willie the Oil Man joins us with a full spring readiness download from Two Rivers Lodge, including what he’s changing on the docks, how he thinks about access for older guests, and why the smallest fixes often prevent the biggest headaches. We a...

en-ca

91:13

Episode 136: How Tracking Jig Colours Led Me To...

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/03/11

What if your walleye box held the key to your next muskie? We sit down with veteran multi‑species guide Patrick Tryon to unpack a hard‑won breakthrough: when walleyes get picky, the jig colour they favour often maps directly to the belly colour that triggers muskies. It’s not a theory born from luck—it’s the product of years of obsessive journaling on Lake Nipissing and the Upper French River, controlled trolling tests, and a willingness to question assumptions about colour, light, and predat...

en-ca

76:04

Episode 135: From Guest To Family

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/03/04

A chance phone call, a cedar boat, and a river that never leaves your blood. That’s how our friendship with Omer began—he arrived from Israel with no rods, no experience, and a map in the glove box, then asked to stay and help. What followed were seasons stitched together by wood smoke and fish fries, a duck hunt mishap that blew a hole in a boat, and a brutal late‑season muskie run where ice formed around our lines in the dark and we had to ride the bow to break free by morning. Omer opens ...

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56:02

Episode 134: Inside The Off-Season: Money Stress,...

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/02/25

We walk through the mental weight of winter for lodge owners: the quiet that stings, the bookings book that judges, and the systems that turn that silence into strategy. We share hard-won lessons on deposits, pricing, grants, staff processes, and the habit of steady focus. • winter as a pressure chamber and planning window • buying the lodge and rebuilding lost goodwill • honest marketing versus high-pressure promises • the empty bookings book and deposit discipline • cash flow gaps, last-mi...

en-ca

67:01

Episode 133: Mentors, Muskies, And Mindset

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/02/18

What if the fastest way to get better at anything isn’t a “secret spot,” but a better way of thinking? We welcome muskie guide and entrepreneur Pat Tryon for a wide-open conversation about the habits that turn long slogs into sudden breakthroughs: studying structure, compressing the search with smart tech, learning shoulder-to-shoulder with experts, and keeping your ego out of the way when the pattern isn’t clear yet. Pat takes us back to the Upper French River and a nerdy off-season project...

en-ca

53:45

Episode 132: Reel Moments Together

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/02/11

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 ...

en-ca

54:11

Episode 131: Unplugged On Purpose

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/02/04

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...

en-ca

75:57

Epiosde 130: Lodge Life, Unfiltered

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/01/28

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 ...

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78:48

Episode 129: What Happens When Experience Outweighs...

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/01/21

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...

en-ca

64:06

Episode 128: Your Lodge’s Past Is The Blueprint For...

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/01/14

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...

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79:16

Episode 127: Are Big Trade Shows Still Worth It For...

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2026/01/07

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...

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77:35

Episode 126: Ice Village On Lake Simcoe

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2025/12/31

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...

en-ca

68:01

Episode 125: Bears, Bait, And Betting On Yourself

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2025/12/24

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...

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64:19

Episode 124: How An Oil Patch Mindset Rebuilt A...

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2025/12/17

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,...

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71:05

Episode 123: How A Reality Fishing Show Shaped Two...

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2025/12/10

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...

en-ca

73:55

Episode 122: Walleye, Wolves, And A Year in the North

Diaries of a Lodge Owner ·

2025/12/03

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 ...

en-ca

143 results

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