Updated August 1, 2024

• Guests, Jackie and Peggy, created some awesome tie-dyed shirts.  They have done this for years.  They even made one for me in Packer colors!  Can you find mine in one of the 2 photos below? (July 27, 2024)
  
  
• Spooner and Shell Lake had grand fireworks to celebrate July 4.  We enjoyed the show at Shell Lake in perfect weather conditions. (July 4, 2024)
  
• The "G" family enjoyed paddling on and swimming in Benoit Lake!
  
• Our prairie restorations are looking showy!  Orange milkweed (in the photo below), wild bergamot, gray-headed coneflower, common milkweed, and other native wildflowers are blooming and attracting butterflies and bees. (June 1, 2024)
  
• Fishing on Benoit and other nearby lakes was good in June and July.  There has been lots of action from bass and panfish.  However, I've not heard reports of any large northern pike or muskies of any size. (July 30, 2024)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• We had a pair of Baltimore orioles nest in the spruce in front of unit 1.  The pair successfully fledged their babies.  This is their sac-like nest as viewed from below.  The nest was only about 6 feet above the ground!
  
• Al, Sharon, Karen, and Vic R. enjoyed some fine fishing in late-May.  They know how to catch crappies!  (May 26, 2024)
  
• Ted "The Terminator" S. tied the resort record with this 15-inch black crappie that he caught and released!  Good job Ted!  "Admiral" Terry W. caught this respectable 11-inch crappie.  Link to short video of us fishing on this day: https://youtu.be/5BIj6MDRxV8 .  Good job fellas!  (May 20, 2024)
  
• We had fabulous northern lights on the evenings of May 10 and 11.  This photo was from my phone and taken on my dock. (May 10, 2024)
  
• Our March weather was more like winter, while our February weather was spring-like!  Benoit Lake lost all of its ice on March 2.  This set a record for our observations.  Until this year, the earliest ice-out date we recorded was March 20, 2012. We finally have some snow on the landscape, but this will soon be melted.  We observed our first robin on March 5; this was very nearly our earliest observation. (April 2, 2024)

  
   

  

• I have been monitoring our woods with motion-activated cameras.  Two pleasant and welcomed surprises were the observations of a bobcat and fisher. (April 2, 2024)
  
  
• I had success while ice fishing on Benoit Lake just before ice-out.  On one morning I caught my personal best crappie, a 14.5-inch fish!  I released this beauty.  I did catch and clean some other crappies. (April 2, 2024)
  
  
• I completed renovations to the shower stall in unit 1.  I replaced some backer boards that had water damage and installed a  new fiberglass panel. (April 2, 2024)
  
• I fished at a nearby lake with my son and 2 friends.  We kept some good bluegills for eating.  We also kept several pike that we donated to an eagle rehabilitation center in Spooner. (February 2024)
  
• There is sufficient ice for foot travel on area lakes.  I've walked onto Benoit and other lakes recently.  There was 6-8 inches of good ice.  There is no snow on the lakes or in the woods.  (Feb 3, 2024)
• My fishing success has been variable the last couple of weeks.  I've had some solid days of fishing, and then some slow days. (Feb 3, 2024)
  
  
  

• We've finally had a week of cold weather and ice fishing will begin in earnest on most lakes soon.  However, we only have about 4 inches of snow on the landscape and snowmobile trails are currently closed. (Jan 18, 2024)
• I observed NO zebra mussels on a sampling device that I had suspended under a dock during the summer of 2023.  Thank you to all who are careful to clean their boats before launching them into Benoit Lake. (Jan 18, 2024)
• Zebra mussels were discovered in Big McKenzie Lake in October, 2016 and then in Middle McKenzie in 2017.  Both of these lakes are only a few miles from Benoit Lake but are not directly connected to Benoit Lake.  Zebra mussels are an invasive species that can harm lake ecosystems.  We are concerned that these invaders are so close to our lake.  We encourage all boaters and anglers to be cautious when trailering boats between waters.  These boaters should always completely drain live wells, bait buckets, and lower units when departing a lake to help prevent the spread of zebra mussels and other aquatic invasive species.  It is typically impossible to rid a lake of an invasive species once it becomes established.  The DNR will continue to monitor Big McKenzie and Middle McKenzie lakes for zebra mussels in 2018.
  I have hung a sampling device from our main dock in the summers of 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.  The device is a series of flat plates layered horizontally.  Larval zebra mussels are free floating and will attach to a hard surface.  When I pull the dock ashore in fall, I inspect the device for evidence of zebra mussels.  I'm told that they would feel gritty on the undersurface of the plates.  Fortunately, I've observed no evidence of zebra mussels in Benoit Lake so far.
  If you take your boat to other lakes, especially Middle McKenzie and Big McKenzie, please be especially careful before launching your boat into Benoit Lake.  Thank you in advance for being extra careful!
• State law prohibits smoking in motel and tourism rooms statewide.  The law went into effect on July 5, 2010.  Smoking is still permitted outside.  We ask that our guests please respect this new law and also properly dispose of their butts.
  
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