Electric Beaver

Just another reminder that we have moved most of our activity to our new site at http://www.electricbeaver.ca/ . Check it out!

Just a reminder........

We have begun posting on our "alternate site".... http://www.electricbeaver.ca/ . Actually it is more than just an alternate location, it is THE location. While there may be new posts happening here, the bulk of new information is on the Electric Beaver. Be sure and check it out! While you are there sign up for the electronic newsletter........any new post will be sent to you automatically by email. Now that is progress.......don't miss out .......

Opening week 2011

Well we are down to 1 week before the big 2011 opening day with the cold spring this year across the country one can only hope that the Canada 2011 opening day brings some more spring like conditions.

As I think back over the years and the different conditions we have had compared to this year I can only expect that this will be one GREAT opener.

Cold water equals shallow water lake trout and hungry shoreline walleyes.

Can't wait to arrive at VBL on Friday afternoon crack open a moosehead compliments of Gord I hope....

Look forward to meeting some new guests this year and GOOD LUCK to all the others that will be making the trek north of the border to VBL..

"Time on the Water".....Quote #18

"This is different fishing. We've got deep-running lures on each of the three rods, and Rose is cruising along at a fairly good clip. Speed trolling is what they call it. He fishes the bars, the humps, the sharp dropoffs. And deep--never getting shallower than 15 feet and frequently in 30 to 60 feet of water. And he keeps doing it. And doing it. And still doing it. Hour after hour. I can hardly stand it. I want to say the hell with it and stand up and throw casts around. It doesn't matter where, anywhere, just to be doing something. Tassi nods off a couple of times. At one point I fall asleep...

That was the longest boat ride I've ever been on. Nine hours. Rose said he averages one musky for every 29 hours of trolling. For those who say trolling rapes a lake, I say it's not rape, it's attempted rape."

-Bill Gardner

Comments on the Electric Beaver....

Here's an update on the Electric Beaver . While we still have a few glitches, it is now possible to make comments on postings similar to how it works on this (blogspot) site. Just click on the comment box and fire away! You can also have your image next to your post, as you do here, by going to this site.... http://www.gravatar.com/ where you can set one up.

Another good feature on the beaver site is the sign up box for an email newsletter. Basically that will notify you whenever a new post goes up. Check it out! This is worthwhile since anything posted over "there" does not show up here. I will be putting up an ice out update soon on the beaver site so stay tuned!

"Time on the Water".....Quote #17

"Saw no muskies today...I think it's safe to say these last two days have been rather unproductive. Why? I've already heard some grumbling that it's been too sunny. Now just a minute here--two sunny days out of 20 is not too much sun, muskies or no muskies. Terry Tassi and others of his ilk say the sun makes musky fishing bad. Who are they trying to kid? Musky fishing was born bad."

-Bill Gardner

Launching a boat at VBL

As opening day approaches, I am reminded of a favorite spring ritual. Observation of the idiots launching their boats for the first time of the year.

It's always quite entertaining and a bit frustrating. Some people just weren't meant to launch boats. So, if you bring your own boat up to VBL, rest assured that Gord has consulted with his canadian friends at the Red Green show and has come up with a solution. It's been a long winter in Vermilion Bay, and Gord has thought long and hard about how to use those extra rolls of duct tape out in the shed. He now has a boat launching device that will solve all of your problems. See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9h3NqMokmg

"Time on the Water".....Quote #16

"One musky in two hours isn't fast enough action to please us so we head to Lake Tassi. As we work the weedbed where we saw the 30-pounder, Tassi insists on humming the music from Jaws. We don't see any action on the lake. The problem, Terry says, is that those big muskies don't feed that often. "You've just got to be here and be here and be here. You've got to be here even when you ain't here."

-Bill Gardner

Eagle Lake Ice-Out....Update #3

Spring seems to be on "hold". Snow is in the forecast for tonight and the long range predictions are for below freezing night time temperatures for the next week. While we've lost a bunch of snow, things are tightening up.

The creek is still flowing but not with any real vigour.

I've noticed a lot of April ice out guesses this year. I even had someone predict yesterday as a possible date. Enthusiastic optimism? Delusional climatic confusion? Only time will tell....

"Time on the Water".....Quote #15

"Tassi and I saw two muskies today and they saved us the trouble of taking them off the hook and putting them back into the water. I'll admit the Muskies, Inc. guys are great sportsman, releasing all those fish, but I believe I've gone them one better. I simply don't catch the fish in the first place. And some of those I haven't caught are damn big too."

-Bill Gardner

Eagle Lake Ice Out.......Update #2

A few more views from recent days.

The creek has busted loose up by the culvert.

Some recent rain has really knocked down some of the snow banks.

......and added even more water coming down the mighty Sucker Creek.......or as it is shown on my property deed......Grassy Creek. I think I prefer the latter.......

Eagle Lake Ice Out........Update #1

Incremental changes are happening to the landscape, and to Vermilion Bay on Eagle Lake. It has been a long winter but things are turning around.

I decided to throw in a few shots of the creek and road culvert to help give you a sense of the "big melt". A bit of current beginning to show up as things heat up a bit.

A few days later and it is not looking a lot different.....or is it? Where is Waldo?

More current though........and less ice at the culvert. Hmmm.....?

A quick walk out to the Gull Rock reveals a healthy flock of gulls showing their displeasure at the hounds. I thought the ice seemed to be changing quite rapidly...

This photo shows the power of the April sunshine. This leaf was sunk down about six inches into the ice due to it's ability to attract solar energy. So, are you quietly shaking your head over your ice out guess? Predictions are for some substantial rain over this weekend.....still plenty of time to formulate a guess if you haven't already done so.

"Time on the Water".....Quote #14

"Walking through the bookstore, I got this irresistible urge to reread The Old Man and the Sea. So I bought it.

As the book opens, the old man has gone 84 days without a fish. I know the feeling, buddy. I can identify with a long losing streak, all right. But it happens that the old man once had an even longer losing streak, 87 days. After that streak broke, he caught big ones every day for three weeks. That I can't identify with."

-Bill Gardner

Fishing without a license can land you in the big house

This is a true story. Meet my cousin.... Jay did a very bad thing. Jay went fishing without a license and got busted. I haven't heard the details on that part of the story. Then he did something not so smart. He missed his court date. On March 30 he went to the 1st district court in Logan, Utah to pay the $220 to settle the case.

Now the scary part. The officer comes out and says, "You are wanted in Nevada for Meth trafficking, in fact, Mr. Patrick you are on the top ten most wanted list". The long story short? He spends two days in the big house while they figure out they have the wrong guy while trying to extradite him to Nevada.

As a newspaper reporter, I suspect Jay could make some hay reporting on this incident. Want the total scoop? Google: "Writer mistaken for meth dealer"

Here's the funny part. The professor and I are making plans for going fishing next week. Our licenses expired March 30, 2011. It never dawned on me until reading about this today that I needed to renew my license. So unless you look good in stripes and enjoy strip searches....get your 2011 license today!

Eagle Lake Blog vs. Electric Beaver....

Over the past few months I have been trying to move the Eagle Lake Blog to a new level that will actually work better for letting folks know about Vermilion Bay Lodge, and Eagle Lake. So far my technical progression has been slow......I am somewhere on the left hand side of the monkey scale.

In order to do this a "new" site has been created...... http://www.electricbeaver.ca/ Why you may ask? They both look the same, don't they? Sort of....but not really. In the world of social media, google, facebook, etc ....things have changed. The new site allows for the potential to reach many more folk about the great things Vermilion Bay Lodge has to offer.......rather than just preaching to the converted (that's you, a VBL regular guest).

The Blogspot site is like a grumpy old man........charming, somewhat smelly, and stuck in a rut (hey, that kind of describes me?). So, just to put you on notice, you may find some changes happening here.......and you may find some interesting stuff over on the Electric Beaver site if you wander over there. My plan is to start doing more posts over there but still leaving a tie-in to this site. Be sure and check out www.electricbeaver.ca and let me know what you think.

"Time on the Water".....Quote #13

"I know darned well that if all I wanted was a big fish on my wall I could have gone after sailfish and taken care of the matter in one weekend. Earlier this year I was watching one of Johnny Carson's guests...tell of the big sailfish he caught. I don't remember all the details, but I do remember thinking to myself, "This is fishing?".....

Let's say I did want a sailfish. I'd hire a guide with a big boat and let him cruise along with some baits dragging in the water while I sipped mint juleps and buried my head in Hemmingway's The Old Man and the Sea. I'd tell him to let me know when I caught one. Now let's say Johnny Carson wanted a 30-pound musky. He could come up here and hire a top guide, say Joe Bucher, for a few days. He'd probably hear a few good stories, get sunburned, rained on, windblown, a lot of sore muscles and maybe a couple of muskies. But no 30-pounder. He could have hired Bucher every day of the season so far and still wouldn't have taken a 30-pounder. He could have hired him every day of last season with no better luck."

-Bill Gardner

Eagle Lake Ice Out.....2011..."Guess the date!!!"

Well, folks, it is time once again to start buffing up your crystal balls. Yes, that's right, put down your carrot and put on your thinking caps. To help you with your mission, I present a few images from the Vermilion Bay Lodge vault. First up, the April 2nd, 2010 image of Eagle Lake as seen from the lodge deck. Remember that this was an extremely early ice out year....April 14th to be exact. Congratulations to Chuck Weiss for nailing that one.

Second up, the image from a few days back of the same April 2nd date....only from 2011. Can you spot the difference? If you guessed that the flag was blowing in a different direction you are working on a different contest....but good use of detail!

Another shot from April 2nd, 2011......this time looking towards the lodge. All those nice cabins just waiting for guests to arrive on their annual Eagle Lake adventure!

Susanne and the hounds heading towards the little island by the lodge.....

It turned out to be a warm day and the result was some watery ice. Still a couple feet of solid ice according to my Jiffy ice auger.......and trucks are still driving on it.

Your Mission....should you be willing to accept it .... Be the first to guess correctly the date that Vermilion Bay on Eagle Lake is ice free and win a very nice Vermilion Bay Lodge fleece zippered hoodie (new this year, and to die for!). Submit your entry by clicking on Gord and I will make note of your guess. Remember....the first correct entry will win the prize and glory.....but before you rush and make a rash decision consider the following. Do you bide your time to be able to check my ice condition updates.....or do you throw caution to the wind to enter that "special date" before someone else? You only get one chance and the judge's decision is final. Anyone can enter, even those that are just lurkers on this site. My only stipulation is you must pick up your prize at VBL. Good luck and keep tuned for my ice update posts!

Electric Beaver.....The Hard Copy.

I just received my own hard copy of the 2010 season of the Electric Beaver! 164 pages of rivetting, action packed reading.

When you are next at Vermilion Bay Lodge, be sure to browse through the archives of what took place in 2010.

Any idea who these 4 attractive looking fans of the Electric Beaver are? What are they looking at, and why are they hunched over? Maybe it's better to not know!

VBL Guest Profile #1..."The Round Island Boys"

In this new series, "The Guests of Vermilion Bay Lodge", we will shine our spotlight on those folk who make the annual trek to Eagle Lake in NW Ontario. Who are they and what makes them tick? The "Round Island Boys" from Milwaukee, Wisconsin....an enigma wrapped in a shroud of mystery? A group of walleye anglers led by a leader driven by the need to catch as many fish, and drink as many beer, as possible? Let's view the details.......

Back row (left to right).....Arnie Novak.....known for catching geriatric walleye and landing the "big one" while fishing solo. Steve Blatter....has been seen trimming trees at the lodge around cabin #6 to allow for better monitoring of Round Island...a seasoned walleye veteran. Rob Hanel...don't let his sleepy demeanor fool you, his walleye catching prowess is second only to his ability to smoke cigars and consume Labatt's Blue. Front row (left to right)....Pat Mitchell...reluctant bottom bouncer and accidental muskie angler....knows his way to the beer fridge. Mike Mitchell...known for his ability to navigate Eagle Lake and, in particular, a route to Round Island in a fog. Also, passionately driven to try and pull the starter cords out of the camp motors.

Favourite time to fish Eagle Lake Ontario............end of August, Early September

Favourite cabin at Vermilion Bay Lodge...............cabin #6

Favourite activities........jigging for walleye, shorelunch, campfires, sitting on the deck by cabin #6, cigars, beer, fishing Eagle Lake, relaxing in the screened porch, harassing each other.

Favourite fishing hole........it might be Round Island??

"Time on the Water".....Quote #12

"I was out there blissfully throwing bucktails over the weeds when my reverie was suddenly interrupted by someone yelling, "Help!" And then again "Help!" My god, I thought, someone's drowning out here. I looked around, trying to figure out where the cries were coming from. And, more desperate than before, another shout rang out across the water. "Help, I've got a big musky on!" Well, that really got me going. A guy drowning is one thing, but when someone needs help with a big musky--that's a real emergency."

-Bill Gardner

"Time on the Water".....Quote #11

"Turned on the television for a few moments this morning and there was Willie Nelson talking to Rona Barrett, the Hollywood gossip queen. So this is what things have come to while I've been away fishing. The beautiful people have clasped ugly old Willie to their bosoms. To them he's real. He writes down-to-earth songs about life. All of a sudden, I had this tremendous urge to grab Willie by his ponytail and scream, "What do you know about life? You ain't ever fished for muskies!"

-Bill Gardner

"Time on the Water".....Quote #10

"Well, here I am in Reno, Nevada, one big-time gambler in a city of two-bit pikers. Look at all these people at the blackjack tables. You call that gambling? Blackjack is nearly a one-to-one proposition. Where are the guys who play the long shots? Who around here is betting 10,000-to-one odds? That's what I do each time I throw out a cast. And that's just for a keeper. Who knows what the odds are on a 30-pounder."

-Bill Gardner

"Time on the Water".......Quote #9

"Back in California the earthquake experts like to say the "big one" gets a day closer with each passing day. I feel the same way about muskies. I'm a day closer to my big one than I was yesterday...There's a thin line between success and failure this season. One cast...A good season is 99,999 casts that don't yield the lunker and one cast that does. A bad season is the same, except for that one cast."

-Bill Gardner

"Time on the Water".....Quote #8

"I took Musky Marsha out on Big Lake today, and we did't catch anything, but did have one of those experiences that makes musky fishing exciting. After a couple of hours of no action, suddenly there was a musky right behind my lure at the boat. He was good-sized, probably about 40 inches, and he showed no inclination to dart away so I kept my lure moving and he grabbed it. But before I could set the hook, he was in the air right by the boat and was off and gone in a flash. That's the thing about musky fishing. Even when you're not catching any, you have encounters with them, frequently heart-stopping encounters. I'll probably remember that musky I didn't catch longer than most of the walleyes and bass I have caught."

-Bill Gardner

"Time on the Water".....Quote #7

"I gave Birch Lake another try today and...didn't catch a fish...Stan Godfrey arrived and went out on Crab tonight with Mike, but they didn't catch any or see anything big. They ran into Terry Tassi on the lake, and he didn't catch anything either. That's one nice thing about musky fishing. If you don't catch anything, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Everybody understands."

-Bill Gardner

Finale to the March Break Ice Fishing Frenzy....

It has been March Break here at Vermilion Bay Lodge, and while in the past this has been our chance to split to warmer climates, this year we decided to hang out at the lodge and do more ice fishing. Over the past two days we have fished Clearwater Lake (Holly above with a whitefish)....



......and a lake trout. These were the only two fish we caught! (###note: NewMexicam has pointed out the "snowmachine lure" that this trout was caught on. Yes, it's true, and it almost swallowed the whole seat!)




Even with a number of holes and fishermen! That's fishing.........

.......there is always the fire and some food to take your mind off the slow bite.

When things get real boring then take a drive. Here we are at.......can you guess where? If you said Caribou Lake then you are correct. Anyone who has ever been there will have caught bass around this large boulder.

The next day Susanne and I ventured back to Teggau Lake (500 feet deep, remember?). We did pretty good in a couple hours..........

......probably 7 fish caught, with these four kept.

On the way home we did some adventuring and came across a fresh deer carcass and some wolf tracks.........also a whole pile of deep slush. This picture doesn't do it justice, but getting stuck in 12 inches of slush is not for the weak hearted. We survived to tell the tale. Weather has warmed and things are wet........perhaps a trip to take gas into the portage lakes needs to occur soon.