Ice Out is called for May 1st, 2015…losers are outraged!

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Late afternoon ice conditions on April 30, 2015
Late afternoon ice conditions on April 30, 2015

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April 30th, 2015 and the remaining ice is piled up against the Government Dock late in the afternoon.  The VBL panel of experts has officially declared that the ice will be gone on May 1, 2015!

 

Now, some of you may be wondering how this is determined.  Let me show you….

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When Stella see’s her shadow there shall be “ice free” conditions on the following morn….(it’s true, those eyes can’t lie!)

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Our panel of “ice out” experts (Smiley & Stinky) have crunched the numbers from the VBL ice monitoring research station….

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So who was the lucky winner?

First, let’s define a few basic terms.

  • “Runner-up”:  Close but no banana…also term used to describe the person or persons who will not win a fabulous prize. 

  • “Fabulous Prize”:  A highly subjective concept that conveys deep meaning and high worth to objects found at the VBL gift shop.

  • “Honorable Mention”:  Credit bestowed on those unlucky enough to lose.  Often this “honor” is shallow and fleeting, and unlikely to inspire awe in others.

  • “Winner”:  Term loosely  used to proclaim the dominance of an individual, in this case, their “ice out guessing prowess”, over those seemingly less talented.  “All hail the winner!”

Without further adieu…

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Honorable Mention:

  • Bruce Rasmussen…April 30th

  • Dean Thorn…May 2nd

Runner-up (right date but not the first to pick it)

  • Jeff Reau…May 1st

Winner:

  • Pat Kitchin (PJ Shorthorn for those WC fans)

Congratulations Pat, your fabulous prize awaits you!  Congratulations too, for those that came so close……..good try.

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Well, that’s it.  The lake is open, the season will soon begin.  Hope to see you all at the lodge this summer, and we look forward to some great stories and exciting adventures.

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19 thoughts on “Ice Out is called for May 1st, 2015…losers are outraged!

  1. It is with little surprise that I have been crowned the 2015 King of the Eagle Lake Ice Out contest. One may think that my comment might be a bit arrogant, but it is just a high degree of “confidence” that I have in scientifically calculating actual ice out dates. Through the use of the Bernoulli Principle and then plugging the results into the Pythagoreom Theorem, BOOM, you easily obtain the correct ice out date 100% of the time. I can say this, with the highest degree of honesty, as I have been correct on every ice out prediction I have ever submitted. I am currently 1 for 1.
    Due to this significant honor having been bestowed upon myself this fine day, I will accept my fabulous award wearing the appropriate attire – of course, it will be a Kenora Dinner Jacket. I’m glad that Gord’s crotchless chaps have gone missing as the award ceremony could become a little uncomfortable ( or scary ) for some of the attendees if he were to “sport” that outfit :):).

    To celebrate the great news and revel in my calculated and predicted submission, I will tip a few Canadian beverages with Smiley and Stinky throughout the day . Somewhere during the course of the day I’ll also find time to celebrate my 50th birthday.

    Sometimes a fella can just use the KISS ( Keep It Simple Stupid ) method and choose their birthday :):).

    See y’all in July Gord.

    PjShorthorn

  2. PJ…….Firstly, my hat goes off to you, fellow Walleye Central member….good job! Secondly, I must break the bad news. Smiley and Stinky will not be onsite when you visit in July. All is not lost though. The “Professor” will be in residence during your week (July 25 to Aug 1) and has been known to tip a few Canadian cocktails.

    For those out there interested in rubbing shoulders (and perhaps other body parts) with the likes of the 2015 ICE OUT CHAMPION (PJ Shorthorn), as well as the knowledgeable “Professor”, we still have a limited supply of cabins on standby…..including the “River Monster” cabin where Jeremy Wade plotted his strategy during the filming of “Canadian Horror”.

    Come join in on the horror…….

    1. Gord:

      I booked my “boys” a flight to Atlanta early this morning when I read the news. They should be here this evening to “party on”……. ATL style. I am a little concerned if they will be able to clear customs though…….hhhmmmm.
      I will leave the body part ” thingy” to the sauna experts…. LOL.

      Professor, I look foward to meeting a tenured teacher of VBL tactics and general baloney that can take place during the course of a great week in Canada!!!

      PjShorthorn

      1. Hi Pj…Congrats to you regarding the ice-out contest. Your award for winning will likely leave you pleased, if not awed. The VBL Gift Shop may be small, and the actual number of “gifts” limited, but the quality is excellent. I won this contest a few years ago and was awarded a mink-lined athletic supporter. It’s perfect for those rigorous treks to the back-country lakes, as well as the Sunday night fish fry. Looking forward to meeting you in July.

        1. Thank you Professor. Yes, the gift shop is small but well stocked with hard to find items. The mink lined supporters have finally run their course, sad to say.

        2. Professor:

          I’m honored to be part of the “elite” group now. We should tip a Canadin beverage together and have a photo session so an appropriate picture can be hung in the lodge ( or at least in the fishing cleaning house ). I appreciate your suggestion on the mink lined athletic supporter. It sounds quite 5th Avenue while being a little “uncomfortably interesting” at the possiblity of wearing one. Even if VBL’s Gift Shop was properly stocked with ” The Minkster” I think that I would have some adversion to wearing it for two reasons . ( 1) The picture of “The Thinker on the Rock ” posted on a previous blog thread. (2) The possibility that beaver fur would be used as a substitute and the constant anxiety thinking that it would be chewing on a person’s “naughty bits “.

          See ya in July.

          PjShorthorn

  3. A bit earlier than I wanted, but ready to get after those May Lakers!!

    Congrats to the winner…an honor to be bragged about for generations to be sure.

    1. Thank you Dustin. So far my wife is not duly impressed, but who gives a rip….right?? :):):)

      PjShorthorn

  4. PJ will have to render his prize to me. I was the one who trained him on Bernouli’s principle and in turn for my training he agreed that the prize would be mine. Keep this in mind when we arrive there, Gord.

    1. Frank, perhaps it’s possible to share in this. You could wear the prize on alternating days…..unless, of course PJ selects something out of the VBL “lingerie” line…

    2. Gord:

      Frank has made a critical mistake in thinking that his use of Bernoulli’s Distribution is the same as the Bernoulli Principle. We had quite the debate around the campfires last year at Black Bear Lodge but I was having none of it and I stuck with my stated and ” bullet proof” calculation for ice out analysis. I can understand your suggestion for a fair and equitable solution to Frank’s post, but you have failed to take into consideration one important factor. Fellas on a week long fishing trip may only shower once. My prize could become pretty skanky by week’s end leaving only three options:

      ( 1) Drop it off on Spirit Rock Friday evening before leaving as a gift to the fishing gods
      (2 ) Troll it behind the boat every other day and hope that a River Monster doesn’t gnaw it off.
      (3) Burn it Friday night at a ceremonial campfire.

      Personally, I think a Kenora dinner jacket with a nicely embossed patch memorializing this important achievement is in order.

      PjShorthorn

  5. The story of my life!!!!! Close, but no banana???????

    I think I read in the FINE print of the contest rules that the “first runner-up” received the “honor” to stay at a Fabulous Canada Fishing Resort and bragging rights of the “first lossssssser”!!!!!

    1. Jeff, so close. If only you had guessed that date two weeks earlier. Regardless, you can still proclaim to have guessed the ice out date on Vermilion Bay. Very few have done it. Prizes? Who needs those….

      1. Jeff….

        Looking forward to meeting you SOON! As long as I don’t have to hear about “so close, but no cigar” for the 14 hour drive up!

        But, we certainly will tip a glass to your being almost famous!!

        1. Dustin…….. Looking forward to meeting you and we will be tipping a glass or two to almost being famous! You will NOT hear another word about no “banana”. Lets just hope Mark and Joe have last years “won’t fit in the net and straighten the hooks” Musky story out of their systems!

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On behalf of the Boyes Group, I would like to pass on our sincere thanks for hosting the Muskie Madness Week and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at VBL and had a great time!! This was our 7th year on Eagle Lake and we have stayed at a few other lodges but VBL takes the cake hands down! You can definitely count us in for next year. I’m happy to see you post some of my pics, they turned out well. Thanks again Gord for a wonderful week of fishing and your stellar hospitality, you run a first class operation, we look forward to seeing you next year!

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