Big fish tales.........

From the dusty VBL archives I have unearthed this photo of some happy guests getting loaded up for the return trip home. Obviously this was "back in the day" before sensible conservation measures. The only thing I can compare this lack of fishing ethics to is the times in Clearwater Lake when several boats from another lodge* took up the disturbing practise of trying to fill giant coolers they had mounted in the bows of their boats with whitefish & trout. We referred to these as "cooler boats"........

Here is a fish tale from last week. The weather was great and the Walleye Highway was on fire! We had been catching them in 8-10 feet of water where the walleye seemed to be targeting mayfly larvae (judging by their stomach contents). Bruce Rasmussen and Bill Shultz were doing well......Bruce had already released a 28" beauty when Bill tied into a good one. When they were able to get it to the side of the boat they realized that it was bigger than the one Bruce had landed....unfortunately that was about the time the big fish broke the line on Bruce and swam off with the orange Little Joe spinner. Fast forward a day or so to the same location, but this time the Missouri boys from cabin 6 are catching some walleye but notice what they think is a turtle on the surface. Motoring over they discover the "turtle" is a huge walleye that has a 20" northern sideways in it's mouth! After unsuccessfully trying to net the fish it swam off after abandoning its pike snack. When they mentioned this to me I was somewhat leery of this, I mean, how often do walleye attack pike? Then they mentioned that it had a orange Little Joe stuck in it's jaw..............!!

A helping hand

It is a bit odd that Neil would mention the "man hand". I am beginning to get a little concerned that the Professor watched a little bit too much of the Six Million Dollar man television series as a child. The Professor and I were honing our skills for our trip up to VBL under a hot sun and I kindly asked him to pass me a beverage. Out comes the man hand...from his pants. The man has sprouted another bionic hand. I have often said that a third hand would come in handy (pardon the pun) when those walleyes at VBL are biting fast and furious. But this seemed a bit much. But I have to admit that the Professor's signature series red Frabil glove was actually quite nice. At first I was a bit hesitant knowing where it had been, and you will notice in the first picture that it is hardly noticeable. But then, I started picking out clothes to match the mighty frabil glove.

Now of course Gord will note that this is yet another lame attempt to post some pictures of some nice fish. We will be very happy to post some actual VBL walleye pictures this fall if only Gord would give up the coordinates for that walleye pen. On a positive note, the Professor and I were reminiscing about catching a lot of very nice walleyes at a number of different places. None of those experiences match what we have experienced at VBL on a regular basis. And the Professor will tell you that he started fishing Eagle Lake at a competitor's place. Gord and Susanne, we can't wait to make it up this August.

Oh yea, the Professor caught a few too. Is it real or is it memorex? Come up the third week in August to find out for yourself.

Twin Cities Fandango....

Well, it started out with getting stuck on the way down to the boat launch.......and you thought it was impossible! Scott, Wayne, Steve & Tim were up for their annual short trip (June 13-17), chasing the elusive Eagle Lake walleye. Not the success they have had in the past but Steve (top photo) and Scott (bottom photo) both caught their all time biggest walleyes this trip...26 inchers! With the cooler than normal water temps their "usual hotspot" was dormant. While the size was great, let's hope for more normal conditions for their return in '10. By the way, the "Walleye Highway" is starting to heat up. Terry from cabin #3 released a 27 incher yesterday (photos to follow) .......he and his dad did well on the walleyes today in 8 feet of water. Seems like we might be back on track!

Thanks for the photos..........

Magnification of Neil's Picture

Like a number of people, I really liked the photo of the island through the bathroom window taken by Neil. It looks like the juxtoposition of two framed photo's next to each other. As I zoomed in on the picture using some sophisticated software, I see that one of my secret musky spots has been revealed.

Andy

Trout Pursuit.........

Pete & Ken spent the week chasing after lake trout using downriggers and spoons. I thought this was a good opportunity to do some research on where these fish seem to go after the initial "shallow water bite". Pete was fully rigged with some great downriggers and a speed and temperature probe which gave readings from whatever depth you happened to be fishing. Seems the fish were pretty scattered, which kind of made sense. We caught several in the VBay area at around the 35 foot level. I was noticing that there were few suspended but they seemed to be around structure of some sort......points, dropoffs, etc. I spent the day with Pete & Ken and we poked around in the West Arm where Pete caught this 5 #'er. At 35 feet water temps were around the 49 degree mark........further into Trout Hole 2 the temps were quite cold....about 44 degrees, which Pete felt was too cold. In the end no lunkers were caught but Pete & Ken ended up with some good eaters........also the experience of catching a handful of walleye on downriggers. One interesting observation that Pete made was the possible connection to last spring's fantastic shallow water bite in VBay and the forest fire that scorched parts of Trout Hole 2 the season before. Increased acidity causing a movement out of the area? Makes for a good theory, especially since the similar spring conditions this year did not yield nearly the number of lunkers as '08. Something to mull over ..............

Ruddy Turnstones on Gull Rock......

Here's an interesting bird sighting for this area. These shore birds are called Ruddy Turnstones and are usually sighted around Lake Ontario or Erie as they make their way to the high Arctic nesting areas. They winter in South America or Western Europe. Called "turnstones" because of their habit of flipping over small rocks with their beak in search of food. There have been a half dozen of them hanging out on the Gull Rock lately, probably waiting for the weather to improve on their journey north. I'm waiting to hear how rare a sighting this is.

Big Female Walleyes Are In Deep Water

A tip in the current issue of In-Fisherman Magazine is worth noting if you're fishing early season (now) walleye. Studies by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources indicate that most of the larger females move out of the shallows and into deep, cool water right after spawning on Canadian lakes. Why? These big females are better able to conserve energy in deep, cooler water as opposed to warmer, shallower water where they burn more calories. The deep water also is home to ciscos, a high-energy baitfish that these walleye seek out as a preferred food source.

The article suggests looking for these fish on classic deep structures, 16 to 24 feet down. Try trolling deep-diving crankbaits or bottom-bouncers with spinners. Incidentally, Gord caught a 28 inch walleye in 35 feet earlier this week. That's a big female, the kind this article is describing.

So, if you want a shot at a hawg walleye, fish deep. For eater walleye stick to the shallow areas.

I find the evidence-based research to be an eye-opener. I've always fished early season walleye on Eagle in shallow water, very rarely deeper than 15 feet. These depths produced some nice walleye for me, but never a truly large fish. Now I know why.

True Nature of the Professor's Hand Revealed

As regular readers of the Electric Beaver, you know, I have been abused by certain bloggers who are "troubled" by my hand. This primarily is based upon an old photo of me holding a walleye. Some have said that my hand is a "mystery" because it does not look normal. Others have claimed that it's not even real, but actually mechanical. There are even a few out there dreaming up schemes that would have VBL selling replicas of my hand for a tidy profit. I find all of this to be a distraction from discussing the fishing on Eagle lake. And isn't this what you really care about? So, I hope to clear this up right now.

My hand is actually perfectly normal, but I keep it covered in a protective glove during the entire fishing season. This is because I have very tender hands which are quite sensitive to sharp fins, gill plates and teeth of various fresh water fish. I took to wearing a glove strictly for protection against the painful cuts, abrasions and pricks that come from handling lots of fish. Last week I was at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago to have the glove surgically attached to my hand.

I realize that my solution might be considered extreme by some, but it works for me and that's what counts.

Incidentally, I ditched the old green glove because it was wearing out. Now I'm going with a new, red one from Frabill. This one happens to be the John Gillespie autograph model. Check it out. Nice, huh?

Neil & Ernie........

Here's a few pictures from Neil & Ernie Hull's first trip up to the lodge (May 23-30). Apparently they had a good time and caught a few dandy's. I particularly like the view from their bathroom window in cabin #5. Just one of those things that after 16 years I just never noticed. Probably because I'm either fixing something or painting something when I'm in that particular location. Perhaps if Neil reads this he can post the link to the rest of his pictures from the trip.......I'm too slow to figure out how to do that.

Neil said he particularly enjoyed the company of the Wisconsin boys and hopes to be up next year when they are at the lodge. Misery likes company I guess!

Thanks for another GREAT trip

Want to send out a BIG thanks to Gord and his family for another GREAT trip

Couple of JUMBO perch

Some Jumbo Eagle Lake perch

Mark with a cold day walleye

Mark with a nice 30" Northern Pike

Mark checking out another slot walleyeThe next set of pictures are of Mark/Matt catching after dinner walleye

Matt nets a walleye for Mark

And another net job by Matt

As the sunsets on another day!!!

Kurt with slot walleye

Mark with an after dinner slot walleye with Matt and Mark in the back ground landing one also

Mark with 24" walleye

Mark with another above size slot walleye

Release of another slot walleye

Mark with a nice slot size walleye(above)

Kurt with slot size walleye(above)

Mark trying to hang onto another slot walleye(above)

Death by StyroFoam.....

Enough of the fishing stuff already!

This sad, crazy, disturbing (all of the above) photo shows a hummingbird stuck into the styrofoam on the lodge addition. How he (she) ended up impaling it's beak into the foam is a mystery, although hummingbirds often defend their territory and can be seen chasing each other around. Unfortunately they apparently lack a reverse gear.

There must be some motto to this tragic end.......any ideas?

Team "Ruka".......

I went out for a few hours with Tim, Bob & Bill Ruka. The "Hawg Trough" was a bust so we tried a few different spots. These fish came out of 25-30 feet of water......go figure! We released a number of walleye in the slot. Water temps are still in the low 50's. Heading up to Clearwater tomorrow hoping to have a lake trout shorelunch.