2009 Walleye Fishing Was Superb

I've been fishing Eagle Lake walleyes for the past 25 years and the catching is much better now than it used to be. Although I can't document it, I believe that I have caught more and bigger walleyes in the past five years than in the previous 20 combined--way more. There are several reasons for this. I have learned to fish where the fish are located (in the greater Vermilion Bay area). I'm using effective fish-catching systems (usually crawlers on spinner harnesses with bottom-bouncers). And I'm fishing deeper water. These factors are mostly about knowledge and skill, which in my case have gotten a lot better. But, the most significant variables that have boosted my success are time on the water and the improvement of Eagle as a walleye fishery.

I have been fortunate to have some very good fishing partners that have helped me pursue Eagle's walleyes. Pictured here is my friend, Andy Lewis. He is a very good multi-species angler and the best walleye guy I know. He fishes hard and effectively, and we have learned a lot from each other. This year we caught hordes of walleyes within sight of VBL, as has been the case for several years now. We are getting fish of all sizes, too--from piddlers up to 26 inches this summer. We think this is a good "quality indicator" of the walleye fishery on Eagle. Hopefully, 2010 will be the year we crack the code for catching some of Eagle's monster walleyes--fish in the 28-32 inch class. Fish of this size have eluded us thus far.

Incidentally, Gord and I wrote a short primer that offers a few methods for catching walleyes on Eagle Lake. You might find something of value in it if you're new to the sport or want to consider doing something different. The document can be found on the VBL web site.

I'm going to finish-up this post with a few words about walleye conservation. In 2008 the Minnesota DNR published, Hooking Mortality of Walleye Caught from the Deep Waters of Rainy Lake. I obtained the report and spoke to its author. In essence, data were collected to evaluate the relationship between the rate of mortality and depth of capture, fish length, water temperature, and experimental handling time. The study was based on walleye caught by anglers and then held in deep holding cages, allowing the fish to reestablish themselves at the depth of capture. After five days the cages were lifted and survival was recorded. A total of 284walleye were captured and used in the analysis; 88 died as a result of hooking mortality (31%).

Capture depth had the largest effect on mortality, though handling time also had a significant effect. Increases in either variable were associated with higher mortality rates. The DNR model predicts that when angling in deep water the mortality rate varies from 8% in 30 feet of water to 35% in 50 feet of water.

The study was conducted over a two-year period, July-September. This is when I do most of my walleye fishing on Eagle and the vast majority of my fish are caught in deep water. I have observed a very small level of mortality with most fish appearing to be okay upon release. I watch them swim right back to the bottom on my sonar unit. But a few fish are nearly dead upon netting due to the change in atmospheric pressure. These fish are like balloons being inflated--air bubbles are leaking and their eyes bulge outward. They are dead in less than a minute and revival is impossible. I caught well over 100 walleyes last summer and had three fish die in this manner. Two were under 18 inches and became eaters, but one was in the slot and had to be released dead.

The discussion I had with the study's author helped me think through my strategy for fishing walleyes in deep water. Here's how I will go about it.

• target fish located in the "less deep" water (30 feet is better than 45 feet) fish progressively deeper only if necessary
• set the hook quickly to minimize removal time from deeply hooked fish
• get the fish back in the water fast (taking time for photos is likely to be harmful)
• anticipate some mortality and use these fish for eating in camp or for taking home

Fishing causes fish mortality, whether intentional or not. I hope you will consider what you can do to keep it to a minimum, no matter what species you fish.

Christmas morning and the snow is falling.......

The stockings were hung on the mantle with care...............................

in hope that St. Nick would soon be there!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year......

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year!

................Holly, Mike, Susanne & Gord.............

Christmas Gift Suggestions for Gord....

I think it's time for a new post. This is your opportunity to suggest Christmas presents for Gord. Perhaps a hook sharpener to avoid the loss of a once in a lifetime musky? Perhaps padlocks for the minnow buckets to ward off those pesky muscrats? Use your imagination. I'm going to suggest the following three:

A radio controlled Beaver. This could be used to buzz the competitor's boats that get a bit too close.

I suggested the following to Gord and he thought it would be better if Chuck could paint it to look like a musky. It's a large radio controlled shark. Imagine the fun that Gord could have with this after a few barley pops.

Here's my pet peeve. Gord needs some rod holder in his boats. I've searched the web and this is the best rod holder I could find.

Let me wish all of the VBL guests a Happy Hollidays!

Chuck's 2010 Muskie Calendar!!

Be ready for 2010 with a Charles Weiss Muskie calendar. With 12 original action packed muskie paintings you will have plenty of giant fish to fuel your imagination while you while away the winter months. These high quality calendars feature plenty of room to highlight the 6th Annual "Muskie Madness Week" here at VBL.........September 11 to 18, 2010. Makes a great Christmas present.......order one by clicking on the "Chuck" link in the margin of the Electric Beaver!

My Pheasant Hunt........

I've just returned from a 3 day pheasant hunting trip to Colome, South Dakota. Here's a new friend I met down there........I call her number 318.

My brother-in-law John hanging out on the main drag in Colome. The Frontier Bar makes good burgers and has an abundance of cold beer.

Here is the typical scenery in that neck of the woods (not much woods).......rolling hills, crop land and many black cattle. What you can't see are the thousands of pheasants warily watching us from the weeds.

Perhaps a catchy phrase like this might work for the lodge? Or not......

John and I with some South Dakota pheasants. You have to be darn smart to outwit these very wild birds. All in all a fun trip. It was nice to be the tourist for a change!

Minnow Sales Climb in 2009.......

I've often made the claim to guests who, in the morning, are surprised to find their minnow buckets empty of minnows, that the mink or otter has stolen their bait. Nobody has actually called me a liar, or sounded the B.S. Alert, but judging by the sceptical looks that I often receive there are some doubts out there.

Well, this summer we had a family of otters (3) that hung around the creek and often made early morning forays to the easy pickings to be found hanging off the docks. They were so brazen that I was able to snap these pictures while standing on the dock. So you can now be assured that there is a reason for the locking mechanism on those minnow buckets, and that the lodge owner is not conspiring to boost minnow sales.

November 5th Splake Expedition......

A cold November morning and I'm off to check out a small lake west of Vermilion Bay that is stocked with Splake. John and Tom who are up deer hunting (and already have their deer) come along.

No ice on the lake but plenty of snow on the ground from the night before......

Tom with probably a 24 inch splake......which is pretty big from my limited experience. By the way, a splake is a cross between a brook trout and a lake trout.

Tom and John with the final results.......two very nice splake.....

By the way, they tasted great!

Last Chance to Freeze Your Arse Off.......

This was the last chance for a shot at the big one I saw back in September. I've never fished in November before so I was mildly surprised that Susanne (pictured above) instigated this spur of the moment trip. Well, the good thing is that I can say I gave it another "shot", but it would have been a real surprise to reconnect with that fish of a life time. Perhaps next year. I've had some reliable reports of really big fish being seen this year......a 60 incher as of last week in Portage Bay. That's the stuff that muskie fishermen live for! 2010 is the year, I hope!

While Gord is sleeping the boys will play

While things have gone quite to the North, the fish are still biting in the bannana belt. The Professor, Wild Bill, and Andy ventured out on to the big pond at Milwaukee and found a few cooperative Rainbows. After fishing these trout with light tackle it has me thinking about fishing those Lakers at VBL in the spring!

Andy

Last trip up the creek for '09.......

It was the last chance to put the boat away on McGregor before conditions were too bad. Since I had the wrong key the last time I tried (seems that has happened before!) I needed to make a second trip. Susanne volunteered to come along.

I thought the snow melt on the lily pads was interesting.

The creek was fairly high at the beginning but went downhill quickly. One new beaver dam we had to pull over and the last 50 yards we had to pole through due to the low water.......but we made it!

Snow on the ground on the portage trail.......with leaves still on the bush and trees. What an unusual Fall.

Finally, the right key to unlock the motor! A couple rods to test the waters. I was anticipating a walleye dinner that night. Unfortunately I must not know the Fall pattern on these waters. Go to "Plan B".

O.K.........well at least the whitefish are in the same location as per usual on Clearwater. Unfortunately the lake trout wanted to bite as well, and since that season is closed we left them to their spawning or post-spawning rituals. We returned home slightly frozen to the core, but several warming cocktails and a dinner of fried whitefish put us to right.

All is well on the portage lakes......the boats are put to rest for the winter, the fish await the challenge of the anglers in 2010. The ritual continues...............

Vern "Andy" Anderson passes away, 10-11-09

I am sad to report that my father-in-law Vern "Andy" Anderson passed away today. I'm glad he was able to make two trips up to VBL in the last few years of his 75 years. He spoke warmly about the memories of fishing with Gord, having lunch with the Mitchells in their cottage, and most of all...fishing with his grandson's Shawn, Kyle, and Patrick. Of course, in order to enjoy that, he had to put up with his 2 son-in-laws.

Vern was an amazing father, son, husband, and grandfather. He loved the outdoors and taught me a lot about hunting in fishing in the 33 years that I knew him.

If you have been thinking about taking someone dear to you to VBL lodge the last few years....do it soon. Life is too short.

Andy

Welcome to October 10th.........

Maggie checks out the first snow of the season. Probably won't stay, but the forcast for this weekend (Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada) is for more snow and cold temperatures. Perfect turkey weather!

The muskie rod encased in snow........waiting for the rematch with the "lunker".

The boat is ready to go.....but the skipper is doing some insulating in the addition today....bummer.

I did go out onto Vermilion Bay about a week ago. Fished two spots and had a medium sized follow plus caught this little guy. The colour on this fish was a vibrant emerald green and silver.....the photo doesn't really capture it, but some of it shows up. Click on the picture to enlarge it and you'll get to see what I'm talking about!

Good Year for Lakers at VBL

I've been chasing after lake trout on Eagle and Clearwater for many years. This summer proved to be very good for me. I landed six that went 30 inches or better. Lake trout in this class are terrific fighters and, for me, are more fun to catch than any other species. The big ones usually come while trolling deep down in the Trout Holes of the West Arm of Eagle. That method produced a 36 inch fish in August. I wish I had a picture of that beauty to show you, but I was fishing alone and couldn't manage a decent shot after unhooking it. Watching it rise to the surface after a 15 minute battle is something I'll remember for a long time. It was released unharmed and I watched it's image on my sonar unit as it swam back to 75 foot depths. It was one of four really nice fish I caught that day.

The Trout Holes have never produced a lot of lakers for me on any given day. I have to work pretty hard for these fish, which usually means hours of trolling, searching for fish and trying to trigger strikes. And I'm not always successful either. I spent close to nine hours trolling on a beautiful September day that produced one half-hearted strike. No hook-ups and no fish makes for a very long day. Sometimes that's how it goes when trying to connect with a brute.

But then there is Clearwater Lake. There are lots of lakers in Clearwater, along with whitefish and quality pike. I like vertical jigging in deep water for these trout using the "Lewis Rig". My friend, Andy, came up with this system which consists of a .75 ounce silver spoon and a white hair jig tied on 24 inches up from the spoon. We use 10 pound test FireLine with a flurocarbon leader to catch a nice combination of lakers and whitefish. The fishing can be exceptional when you catch a strong bite.

Most lakers will run about 21 to 24 inches. These fish are a ball on light tackle, but this summer I got surprised twice by big trout in Clearwater. I had a 33 incher take the jig, and on a different outting, a slightly shorter, but much fatter fish, slammed the spoon. That's the one pictured in this post. This fish could not be sucessfully released. Gord weighed it at 15.5 pounds and said it contained a good size whitefish in it's belly. A filet from that laker will be going onto the grill someday soon.

Most anglers who fish out of VBL ignor the lake trout fishery in favor of walleye and pike. Perhaps this post will stimulate your curiosity. If so, I suggest you reference the lake trout primer that Gord and I wrote. I think you'll find it helpful. It's located on the VBL web site.

Fall Walleye Index Netting.......

.......or F.W.I.N for you fisheries biologists out there. This is a method of sampling to determine health of a fishery. Back 7 or 8 years ago the MNR did one on Eagle and this week they are doing a second one. Three crews are doing netting samples from all areas of Eagle Lake......one crew happens to be going out of VBL. Today, because of motor trouble on their boat, I had to help out with using my boat to pick up the three nets set in Vermilion Bay.

As you can see it is not always walleye that find these nets! This muskie (maybe 38 inches) was just tangled around some of it's teeth and was released. They are trying to avoid setting nets where muskie might be found, but on Eagle Lake that is pretty tough to guarantee.

One of the tubs with the fish still in the net. Primarily walleye (of all sizes), a few pike, maybe 8 whitefish and a bunch of perch in total for the three nets I saw. Interesting to note that the best walleye catch came out of about 12 feet of water........the deeper nets seemed to have many smaller walleye in them. I will keep you posted on anything interesting that comes of this.......

Lodge Renovation Update.......

The windows are in and roof is on the addition.

A view from the North side. Note the small upper deck where I can shout out orders to Mike!

We even have floors! One more coat of varnish to do......at a later date.

Even the lodge is starting to have a different look. Roof is being prepared for the red metal.

Carved into the beam above the entrance......a friendly reminder of where you are...........

I lost the "big one" today..........

September 24, 2009 and Henry & I decide we should take Henry's boat and fish the far East end of Eagle Lake for muskie. A sunny, calm day with water temps around 68 degrees it would not seem to be a great muskie day. It turns out it really wasn't, except for one fish. Above, Henry with a decent northern, one of a very few caught today. On the first spot we fished, Henry had an nice 48" muskie follow.

Later in the afternoon I did manage to land this small muskie. If I don't seem too impressed it was probably due to the fish I lost earlier in the morning.

This is the lure that caught the small muskie and also hooked the "MONSTER" that I lost earlier in the day. If my recollection is correct, the bait is a Shumway "Boo-Tail".......probably mid 1980's vintage, judging by the amount of rust and lack of tail. Let me tell you about the fish of a lifetime I lost today. Firstly, as anyone who has fished with me can support, I don't exaggerate the fish I catch and release. Secondly, after fishing Eagle for over 30 years I have probably caught two fish that, if stretched, could be said to be 50 inchers. Nice fish.......I've seen bigger. Until today the biggest fish I ever saw was in Meridian Bay, maybe 25 years ago, fishing with Bill Balcom (NewMexicam) who I still fish with today. The fish was a lazy follower, size was undetermined....it was a huge fish. The fish I had on today was every bit the size of that fish. My lure was probably ten feet from the boat when out of the brownish East end water this huge head appears, followed by the rest of the fish that seemed to go on forever. In slow motion the fish .......which at that moment I was thinking several things about........the head was absolutely huge.....its eyes seemed to be so far apart......and the crease between its eyes extended down its body to its tail.....solid muscle. It's mouth opened behind my lure..........I recall thinking that the lower jaw bones were crazily big........and then closed on my bait. Are you supposed to set the hook now? I hate these moments.........well I kind of set the hook, and the fish is on! It did a brief head thrash on the surface and I yelled to Henry to get the motor up. I was actually thinking of the trolling motor ( I was in the bow) but Henry thought I meant the big motor. No matter the fish went down, bypassed the trolling motor and headed to the rear of the boat, where it surfaced like a submarine. It seemed like 6 feet of fish back there thrashing around.........in slow motion it did the head thrash with mouth open routine.........I'm thinking this hook isn't going to hold..........and I'm right. The fish is off.......all thoughts of where the net is and getting the camera ready are out the window.

All that is left to do is heal the wound with some of Henry's Polish beer.....a cold Lezyajsk or two. My lasting thoughts are these. Pay better attention to the condition of the hooks you are throwing............and............a fifty inch fish is big, but a fifty-five plus fish is a whole different species. As I type this with the repro fify incher above me, there is no comparison. Was it a forty pound fish......for sure.........how much bigger, I guess I will never know. Well, there is always later this fall. If big fish go in cycles, then my cycle is 25 years.........I'll be almost 80 when my next chance comes again...............

Four Top Secrets REVEALED!

Yes, there are bigger fish in Clearwater Lake. This one, caught by an angler who wishes to remain anonymous, could not be released. 32 1/2 inches and 15 pounds. On closer examination it was revealed the fish was a male and the large gut was actually a half digested whitefish. Probably the reason it could not decompress and succumbed to the bends.

The location of the "Professor" and his red glove is uncovered. Obviously, like the "Dark Prince", the Professor spends his daylight hours under cover of darkness.....in this case inside his livewell. Perhaps that is the reason for the pasty, undead look he often exhibits.

A rare photo of the "Newmexicam" without his white spandex shorts and hairless legs. Taken shortly before a Nick Nolte look alike contest.

At the recent Muskie Madness Week pot luck dinner and awards night, Big Dick Keller shows the real secret for obtaining true "big" status. Apparently it has nothing to do with his gig with the band "Big Dick and the Penetrators" or his often heard phrase " The bigger the nose, the bigger the hose!" What about the rumour that Willy Nelson died...........................