Spring has sprung but Mother Nature is hanging onto winter. There have been numerous dustings of snow in the past week, and the temperature barely reaches the freezing mark in the afternoon. This combination has led to the unusual condition of re-opening a number of non-water based snowmobile trails. The map has been updated to show what is back open. Head out and enjoy a late season ride.
Attended the Limerick Township council meeting Tuesday afternoon. The Township has released a new statement about the navigability of the creek to Dixon Lake. It really says nothing new. Not sure why they re-stated the same position established last fall.
https://lwra.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Dixon-creek-statement-March-2026.pdf
Also at Council: The fire department struggles constantly with the Ontario Fire Marshall over training standards. (not just Limerick, but many rural fire departments have the same issues) The municipality will most likely be staying with Frank Mills as the CBO for the near future and not joining the efforts to create a regional building official department. Staff has not had any success getting a Nordspace representative to present to council, but they are working on it. Mayor Carson personally matched donations to the fire department at the recent pancake breakfast bringing the total raised to just under $800.
A flurry of activity on Wednesday regarding access to Dixon Lake. Land Escapes e-mailed a number of cottagers laying claim to the creek. I talked to the municipality early Thursday and they have promised to assist with keeping the waterway open.
2nd case management conference on the Limerick Township/Hastings County vs. Trident Members Inc. (Limerick Estates) OLT hearing on Wednesday. Progress is being made toward a negotiated settlement. The judge issued a 2-month continuance to see if all outstanding issues (conditions) can be negotiated. Next hearing late May that will either be for a settlement or to set rules for an actual hearing to commence.
The slide decks from the March 7th FOCA AGM are now available to FOCA members at:
https://foca.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Event-Summary-FINAL-FOCA-Spring-Seminar-AGM-2026.pdf
The Spring Cottage Life Show is this weekend, March 26–29 at the International Centre, Mississauga.
The ice-out contest is back. If you click on the webcam page and then click on VIEW 1, There is an 8 foot pole with a Canadian flag on top of it sitting just about where my dock sits in the summer. Sorry, this is just for the fun of it. No monetary prize, just bragging rights. My guess is this pole will take about 3 days longer to topple than the one at the marina used to, meaning the statistical average would be around April 17. My guess is April 8 at 16:00 hours. E-mail (george@limericklake.com) me with your guess. Contest closes for guesses on March 29th.
Next Limerick council meeting is April 20 at 12:30PM at the community center.
Transport Canada is digging into our pocketbooks as of January 6, 2026. Most of us will now have to renew the registration of our boats every 5 years. Pretty much applies to every boat that has an engine of 10hp or more regardless of age. More information here:
https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/vessel-licensing-registration/licensing-pleasure-craft/apply-manage-pleasure-craft-licence-pcl/apply-manage-pleasure-craft-licence-pcl
There is a $250 fine if you get pulled over for a safety inspection this season and your registration is not up to date.
On a related subject, I received notification from both OFAH and FOCA that 3rd party boat registration services have popped up. Some have misleading names that lead you to believe you are dealing with Transport Canada but are not. I do not mean to imply that these 3rd party services do not provide the service promised, but instead of your registration costing $24, they charge between $50 and $150 for their assistance.
The Rogers / FOCA special pricing plan for internet service remains $60 per month. (unless you have a Rogers phone in which case it remains $50 per month) Even at the $60 price it is the best internet service for many of us on the lake. It appears they throttle the 5G connection to 40MBps down, and 10MBps up. That is plenty of bandwidth for any single-family use. I have used the service for two full seasons and grade it an A-. If the service keeps working through power outages in the future I will up their grade to A+.
We are now on winter burn rules. Fires are permitted 24/7 through March 31. Daytime burning restrictions return April 1.
The dump is on winter hours through April 30. It is open Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and holiday Mondays from 11AM to 4:30PM.
Dirt roads in the municipality are now on half-load restrictions tentatively through May 15. That date may change depending on the spring thaw. Do not order any heavy deliveries until that date or later.
The 2026 fishing regulations are on-line.
https://lwra.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2026-fishing-regulations-summary-en-2025-12-08.pdf
The fishing seasons and regulations for this area (zone 15) remain the same as 2025. They are on pages 104-114 of the regulations book. Bass starts June 27 and ends November 30. Trout started January 1 and ends September 30 with the slot size of 16 to 21 inches to be returned to the lake. It is a one-line lake for ice fishing. Fish huts have to be off the lake March 31 in zone 15.
