Opening week pictures from the past Part1

Gord gives Mike lessons on cleaning fish.

Guide Gord on lunch break

Mike back in 2003 on Clearwater trip

Gord guiding guests.

What things can look like in May

We have many memories over the years at VBL I hope you enjoy the pictures.

The Ice Melt Continues.....

It's not looking good for an April 30th ice out. I perused the predictions that everyone sent in.....thank you by the way for the very thorough use of every possible date imaginable. Will I have enough hoodies if May 8th wins? A very popular date. Well, in the spirit of joining in on the fun here is my guess. Let me first say that I am picking this date because nobody else did. Also, if I win I will decline the prize. I will, however, lord over all the rest of the "losers"....in a gracious sort of way, of course.! I almost forgot....my guess is May 12th.

Ice Out Update......

I will updating the ice conditions on a regular basis until the day arrives when Vermilion Bay is ice free. Who will be the winner? Stay tuned........it's still anyones guess.

Walleye/Sauger difference

Here are pictures of both a walleye and a sauger

How to identify the difference between a walleye and sauger.

Is there a difference? And the answer is yes.

Many fisherman don't notice the difference at first glance but if you take a closer look you will notice the difference.

The walleye has sharp teeth, forked tail with a round and long body. The dorsal fin has two parts, which consists of the front portion having about twelve to sixteen spines and the back portion having a few short ones. They also have large glassy eyes. Their bellies are generally lighter colored than the body, which can be yellowish, brownish, or olive as well as bluish gray depending on the body of water you are fishing.

The Sauger is identical to the walleye except around the eye is a milky glow. The Sauger has a brassy coloring with dark saddle marking on the back. The belly of the sauger is white. You will tell the different between the walleye and the sauger by looking at the belly and back.The sauger is smaller and more slender than the walleye, seldom exceeding 3 pounds. Its dorsal fin, unlike the walleye's, is marked by rows of dark spots and lacks the dark blotch at the rear base. The sauger also lacks the white lower tail tip.

Lake Trout Survey.......

I received this info today from the MNR and thought it would be of interest. They are doing a tracking study on lake trout in Eagle Lake over the next three years. This May they will be implanting 14 lake trout with telementry tags. These send out location signals which can be used to track the movements of these fish. While you can't see these devices, the fish will also be tagged with an external disk tag to the front of the dorsal spine. There will be 7 submersed receivers positioned in various locations on the lake which keep a log of each fish if they pass by within one kilometer. These will be below the surface of the lake...two meters (six feet), in most cases close to the shore. The MNR is strongly suggesting that these fish be released, if possible. Record the location of capture, the color of tag and number. If for any reason the fish is kept the radio transmitter should be returned to the MNR so it can be re-used.

My question is who will be the first one to catch one of these fish.....and better yet, who will be the first one to snag one of the submersed radio receivers? A VBL coffee mug to the lucky angler........!

How to fillet a Northern Pike

Was kind of thinking the GUT Master himself was going to do a little how to on this but maybe we can get him to chime in on this and give us a few of his own ideas on how to clean a northern Canadian style. Anyone who has had the chance to watch him will admit he is a master when it comes to cleaning fish
STEP 1: Make first cut by grasping fish between the gills and poking knife into softer throat region ahead of the two front fins
STEP 2: Slide knife forward towards tail of fish between the two middle fins and stop by the bottom fin just in front of tail
STEP 3: Lay fish on side and make a vertical cut using a sawing motion down to the backbone taking care to NOT slice through the backbone.
STEP 4: Turn your knife flat and parallel to the backbone. Saw along the backbone (You'll hear rib-bones and "Y" bones being cut through) to the tail, removing the complete slab of fish meat (?) which is one fillet. Do this to each side of fish.
STEP 4a: Cutting gets easier near the tail no rib bones
STEP 5: Remove the belly fin by slicing with the tip of your knife.
STEP 5a: Removing fin is easy if you hold it up and slice it off.
STEP 6: Locate the row of rib bones on the fillet by feeling them with your finger. Then, place your knife edge right behind them and slice underneath. Remember to turn your knife blade up against the underside of the ribs immediately as you are making long, steady slices down the row of rib bones. The idea here is to remove the ribs without wasting meat.
STEP 6a: After slicing about half to three quarters of the way under the ribs, hold the fillet down with your knife point, grasp the ribs and tear them out. This move greatly speeds up the process and helps if you have a lot of fish to fillet. STEP 7: Grasp the tail of the fillet with pliers and cut into flesh with blade while turning blade almost flat and sawing. Simultaneously pull with the pliers and push with the knife with a sawing motion. It helps to waggle your plier hand from side to side as your knife hand saws down the skin of the fillet.
STEP 7a: Continue down the fillet. The feeling in the knife is one of slight tearing as it cuts. Too sharp of your blade angle and you slice through the hide. Too flat of a blade angle and you will leave meat on the hide. Your knife must be quite sharp and you'll need to develope a feel.
STEP 7b: If you will be transporting your fillets, turn your blade down and slice sideways leaving a patch of skin on the fillet for identification purposes.
STEP 8: Completed Northern Pike fillets will look like this if done properly. If they look like they were driven over by a streetsweeper, you'll need a bit more practise.
Here is a little diagram from Jim Booi to give you a better idea.

The Great Ice-Out Contest

I've posted some details in the margin on how to enter the ice out contest. If you're lucky enough to guess the exact date you will win a "really nice" VBL camo hoodie that are new this year. Just to prepare yourself for a knowledgeable guess here are some details to consider. The ice here looks like this picture. Still a one inch skiff of white stuff over about 3 feet of ice....solid to shore. The creek is solid except for up by the culvert. Warm weather in the forecast. The contest is open to anyone, so give it a shot. Your answers will remain secret till the contest is over. I will accept your predictions till April 25th......after which we must all sit back and watch the ice melt!

Revenge of the Chubby Darter....

The perch coloured Salmo "Chubby Darter" was a lucky lure for me this weekend as I managed to catch a few perch, two lake trout and a nice northern within site of the lodge. All the activity was in 6 to 8 feet of water at the secret perch hole. Apparently some of the bigger fish find the perch a tasty snack. The larger of the two trout shown here was about 8 pounds (released) and the smaller probably 5 pounds. I've had luck with this lure in the past and it is a great vertical jigging lure, winter or summer.

By the way, the gulls have returned to Gull Rock........a sure sign that Spring can't be too far away. Unfortunately the 3 feet of ice I had to auger through says otherwise.

Canadian Deer Hunting: Caution P.G. Rating

...Moderators Comment....The following post does not represent the views or, indeed, the eco-friendly outlook we here at VBL tend to value. It has been left as an indication of the long winter and it's affect on certain VBL guests. Let's hope for warmer weather so that Andy Lewis can get back to normality....and fishing...... By the way, the only connection to VBL is the fantastic shirt that Andy is "sporting"....only available here at the lodge!...

Most VBL guests don't get to experience the long Canadian winters or appreciate the adaptations that have to be made in these harsh conditions. Deer hunting for example. I know this may sound hard to believe, but the snow gets so deep that you have to shoot them in the fall and go back to harvest them in the spring and hope that the wolves haven't devoured them (see earlier post on this topic). So, while Gord was tanning himself in Mexico, we figured it was time to go back and harvest that monster shot in the fall. Go no further if you couldn't handle the photo posted by Gord with the treble hook buried in the hand. Look away now, this isn't for the faint of heart!

Hmmm, what's this (no this isn't this month's contest)??

Let's get a rope on him!

What's that smell??

This should make a fine addition to John's bare cabin wall (notice the VBL jacket).

Hand me Ed Gein's Axe

Now there's some tender canadian viddles

Now don't say you weren't warned. Cabin fever can be an awful thing.