VBL Video challenge has been met

VBL Video Challenge

Or "why I like to go to VBL"

See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipnNT_Jcq1E

I will try to get a sound track added but it didn't like the format of the audio clip I tried to use.

Excellent Lake Trout Recipe........

A Sunday outing to catch lake trout produced a key ingredient for that night's dinner. Usually we catch most, if not all of our fish jigging with spoons. That day this fish preferred a live minnow on a Rattle Wheel.

Having one in the bag for dinner is critical, especially when your fishing partner seems to be fading! I also have a recipe in mind..........

The recipe came from outdoor writer Gord Pyzer and called for Chorizo pork sausage. I had never heard of it before and my first attempt I substituted Italian sausage. The result was mediocre. Then I stumbled into this Corizo sausage, courtesy of friend Jim K from Minneapolis.

Well, the trout is filleted and ready to go......it doesn't get much fresher!

The Corizo is in the frying pan. I'm not sure what I was expecting but this is definitely a spicy ingredient.....definitely not just a normal sausage.

The fish is cut up into chunks....... and a can of diced tomatoes awaits its turn.

Add the tomatoes to the fried Corizo and let simmer.

Add the lake trout chunks and simmer further. One addition I made to the recipe was to add some frozen corn.

It didn't take long. Served over a bed of rice, a salad, and a glass (or two) of a chilled Gewurztraminer. It was excellent! Give it a try next time you happen on a lake trout. Better yet come up to VBL this spring and catch some fresh trout.......it doesn't get any better.

VBL 2010

VBL 2010 First try at this not great but was worth a shot. Looks like a guy needs to purchase the longer version for this.

Winter at Vermilion Bay Lodge

Click on the "Winter at Vermilion Bay Lodge" link to see what really goes on here at VBL!


Winter at Vermilion Bay Lodge

Here's a challenge to you bloggers out there! Go to www.animoto.com and create your own 30 second video / slide-show of your adventures on Eagle Lake. It's free, it's easy......be creative. If you can't figure it out have your kids do it for you! Post it to this blog and be eligible to win big in the VBL Video Challenge! Don't delay......do it today!

Winter Trout

Susanne and I managed to get out for a few hours to catch some trout. This "lunker" was caught while I was checking the depth. I was using a large orange clip-on weight attached to the treble hook on my spoon to figure out how deep I was when the fish hit! I never did get my weight back......

Susanne was putting the new Otter "Ice Lodge" to a good test......keeping out of the wind and catching fish!

I thought this was an artistic shot of a technique that caught squat. I'm not sure why I bother with live bait, tip-ups, or in this case a "rattle wheel". Seems 90% of our catches are on jigging spoons, without live bait. It is always a cold, wet chore at the end of the outing to pull in the tip-ups.....made even worse when they don't produce.

Most of the VBL guests who do the portage trail seldom get to see it in the winter months. Let's just say it is faster in the winter and the chances of getting attacked by mosquitoes is slim to none!

Well, we didn't set any records but we did end up with a good meal. We had some other bites and lost two fish on the way to the hole, but not bad for our first trout outing!