Ice Out?! April 28, 2024 You heard it right……the ice is gone in Vermilion Bay! After a night of rain we awoke yesterday morning with just a few shards of ice moving along the shore. How did this happen you may be asking…….let’s go back several days and take a look… This was a few days ago when the south wind started to move the ice towards the lodge. Then we had rain move in…….. ….but still lots of ice. Maybe a few more days? Nope…….here’s yesterday morning…..it’s looking like April 27 will be the day? …a view from the Government dock……..remnants of ice flows. Unfortunately for those gues ..read more

Well, we’ve had a bit of a set back with some snow and cold weather. These photos were from yesterday morning. Of course this snow is only temporary with some warmer temps in the forecast. Here’s a shot from this morning….. Interesting to see the creek frozen over but at least some of the snow has disappeared! Any last minute ice out guesses out there? Factor in a daytime high of 60 degrees for Monday and some wind… Well, not much else to offer you in terms of new developments but how about some pics from previous years to put you in the mood…….. The post Ice Out Update #4 appeared first on ..read more

Here’s a short post to get you up to speed on ice conditions here at Vermilion Bay Lodge on beautiful, if somewhat dried up, Eagle Lake! We’ve had some warm days and the ice is melting away from shore. Birds are back and varied….Canada geese, the blue heron, eagles and gulls. The “old” poplar tree (a.k.a. trembling aspen) in the center of my ice out photos for the past many years never ceases to amaze me. A few more limbs dead each year but still carrying on…….kind of like myself and many of my guests! While many of those “the glass is half full” types might fret over low water I am taking on ..read more

Ice fishing report The picture above is from yesterday. After a week of ice fishing the ice conditions are changing by the hour…….time to put away the gear! Susanne and I probably did more ice fishing this past week than we’ve done in the past 2 years. Of course spending 2 1/2 months in Mexico somewhat limits the ice time available. In terms of weather, ice conditions and travel on the lake it was perfect. We fished on Eagle and Clearwater and pretty much covered all the bases in terms of fish species……walleye, pike, bass, lake trout, whitefish and burbot. Here’s a photo summary of what went o ..read more

The gulls are back, so is the snow… Today is April 3rd and the forcast is for above freezing daytime temps with below freezing at night. Typical spring weather. Time to get some of my chores done on the portage lakes while ice conditions are still good (over 2 feet of ice on the bay)……. Asshole’s garage is a happening place these days! The ramp on Clearwater Lake was in need of some work…. With low water levels it’s tricky getting the boats back up onto the ramp. Perhaps extending them out a bit further will help…..also more flat surfaces to stand on can’t hurt the situation! Are those new 4 ..read more

Warmest winter on record? Man, what a warm winter! So says the dude fishing the Sea of Cortez… Once again Susanne & I spent a couple months down in the Baja. I started receiving ice out guesses and inquiries several weeks ago, to which I replied that I will only accept them when the contest starts. Last year I started it on March 23rd, which coincidently is today’s date. While it was a warm, strange winter at VBL it was also warmer in the Baja. Ocean temperatures were 2 or 3 degrees warmer than the normal for that time of year. The yellowtail were sparce (they like it cold) but the dorado ..read more

Yesterday we lost most of our snow with a Christmas Eve rainy day…..very Scrooge-like! In the evening though temperatures dropped and we had a nice dusting of the white stuff. Enough to cover the grass and make the ice less of a “hip breaking” experience. The picture was taken today, December 25, 2023. Here’s a shot a little closer to VBL….. I know a few people who will be thinking about how much ice there is…..well, from a few holes drilled out by Gull Rock several days ago there was about 12 inches. Many trout lakes in our area are still ice free. It’s an unusual winter indeed! Anyways, th ..read more

This is one of the problems with waiting too long to take care of business back on the portage lakes….. Start of the portage trail….Clearwater Lake…….who forgot to pull the plug on this boat???At the portage to McGregor…..my helper, Susanne, looking less than enthusiastic!McGregor Lake looking quite festive….….so is the boat! What’s an extra couple hundred pounds of snow and ice. Lift harder Susanne…..The boats on Clearwater put to bed. Note to self: add more boards to walk on next spring. Good job Joe & Andy on getting the winch working……I hate to admit it but it was helpful getting thes ..read more

August / September Report Can someone please explain to me how the summer went by so fast? My blog reports sputtered to a halt in August and the lethargy carried over into September / October. It wasn’t totally a gumption issue…my old computer packed it in and the resulting “new and improved” version has me on a learning curve, much to my chagrin. I think I have a handle on it now so let’s begin….in no particular order: With all the major food groups (fruit, vegetables, fish, beer) this is good, and good for you! The annual “Perch Rodeo” competition came down to the wire once again. By “wire ..read more

“Walleye Madness Week Results” Another month has come and gone…and a good month it was. The fishing, weather, the people…..all were great! The finale of July was our “Walleye Madness” week which was a good wrap up to the month. Three days of friendly competition with a wrap up pot luck dinner and awards night… Some of the entries didn’t make it to the top 3 but everyone seemed happy with a VBL 30th anniversary mug. Wade Setter eased himself into 3rd place with a 24 1/2″ released walleye… In second place Ken Meyer with a 26″ release… The top prize and Charles Weiss wood carved trophy went ..read more