Ice Out Update “Open Water”

You heard it right……Vermilion Bay is officially ice free as of this afternoon, May 14, 2026! Here’s a shot from yesterday when the remaining ice pack had migrated to the south side of the bay…….up against Round Island….

Today was overcast with a strong South-East wind which moved the ice up against our shore. Here’s a shot from the Government dock area…

…….and later on in the afternoon…….

Ice free towards the lodge and ……

…ice free to the East!

If you were lucky enough to have guessed May 14th then fame and a fabulous prize awaits you! Others were so, so close……

Runners up:

• Jim “Deer Slayer” Stanzel – May 13
• Ray “O’Sunshine” Heenan – May 13
• Joe “The Professor” Moskal – May 13
• Jill “Perch Queen” Swanson – May 15
• Nancy “Assistant Professor” Moskal – May 15

It seems the VBL clientel has been honing their ice out skills, based on the close choices being made this year…….unfortunately, out of roughly 40 guesses nobody bothered with picking May 14th. Yes, so true, so unfortunate. The VBL bling is safe for another year! I know there will be calls of “rigged contest”, well folks, it’s not all about winning. Time to put it behind us and get on with the season…….speaking of which, what a slow moving spring. We have yet to see a leaf unfold, and the suckers have just started spawning today in the creek. What does it all mean? This and many other mysteries will be revealed over the coming months…..stay tuned for fishing updates and other discoveries of the starship VBL………to boldly go where no angler has gone before!