Ice Out Update for April 10, 2017 and a looming confrontation!

Well, it seems as though the ice fishing gear has been put away for the summer.  Not saying some foolhardy souls might be drilling the odd hole, but it’s been at least a week since I’ve seen any activity from my vantage point overlooking Vermilion Bay.  Here’s some shots of what it looks like now….

You may recall that last fall we started on adding a porch to cabin 3.  Things were stalled when the weather turned nasty, but with the good weather some further progress has been made.  Getting the siding done…..

Lastly a rather disturbing development regarding the upcoming “Perch Rodeo” for 2017.  As you may know, this will be the third year for this competition.

Paul Fulka has taken the competition for two year’s running….in 2015 with a 11 3/4″ perch and last year with a 12 1/4″ slob-o-sore-ass.  Let’s see this Perch King…

As in many things, when you are at the top there will always be those that want to steal your glory.  Things began to heat up once Paul announced he was once again returning to VBL.  Over the past few weeks, the VBL lines of communication have been abuzz with “trash talk” concerning who will take this year’s Perch Rodeo.  Some have even gone as far as predicting their own success.  Who are these “young guns”, these perch wannabe’s and why does their behavior border on shameless self promotion?  Let’s start with Andy Lewis and his sidekick, “The Professor”…

One can easily see from this photo the “cockiness” of these two challengers.  Don’t be fooled though.  A team is only as strong as the weakest link…..and here the Professor has been known to drop the ball on occasion…

Can he remain sober long enough to successfully challenge Paul?  Time will tell….but there is further developments.  After many years of self exile, the self proclaimed “Perch Queen”, Kurt Hebecker, and associate “Bamboo Room” Mark will be back in May to challenge all comers.  Kurt has gone so far as to claim the title as his, and his alone.  From the archives I present one of the few know photos in existence of the “Perch Queen” back in his hay day……

With 16 years and many bottles of Bud Light under their belts, how will these two perform in today’s real perch world?  2017 is shaping up to be a perch-fest of chest beating egocentric anglers pulling out all stops on the way to glory.  Join in the fray, one and all.  The gauntlet has been dropped, and the trash talk has heated up.  Now’s the time for results.  I will await you in the fish house, ruler in one hand, and an OV in the other….till then, good luck!

The Holy Grail of Perch

 

10 thoughts on “Ice Out Update for April 10, 2017 and a looming confrontation!

  1. I am going to put my money on the Perch Queen. However, given his early arrival at VBL he is going to have to squirm all year wondering if his bull perch will stand up.

  2. With the PQ being absent the last couple of years, I hope he can still fish with that big chip on his shoulder! Should be an interesting year to watch the battle!

  3. Well as Gord try’s so very hard to drum this competition up Paul and myself have been emailing back and forth and have decided to pick a size for this year and settle on a tie only to have to watch Gord clean hundreds of perch this season. Information is being shared by the 2 of us and Gords Facebook page along with VBL’s Facebook page will be plastered with pictures of poor Gord filleting perch after perch

    1. Agreed. Kurt and I have shared all our secrets baits and secret fishing spots so catching the biggest perch is no longer a challenge. The trophy will go the person who can post the most embarrassing picture of Gord cleaning Perch.

  4. Is that an electric fillet knife in the background of the Perch Queen photo? I knew it, Gord is not the master of all things fillet……

    The shame this now brings upon himself at the beginning of a new season is just ………awkward ?

    PJ

    1. Two comments. Obviously the “Perch Queen” has grown out of touch with VBL over his absence, and the new fish cleaning guidelines. Let me quote: “All perch cleaning at the discretion of the management”. Bring a knife!

      Secondly, yes PJ, a very good observation regarding the electric knife. Kurt and Mark thought they could challenge me to a race with their electronic gadgetry…….they were wrong. I was also very disappointed they wrote their names and dates all over the fish house walls in red marker. What bastards!

  5. Friends, bloggers and lurkers…I hope all of you can see how one man, Gord, can whip-up a frenzied response in people too consumed with “perch lust” to remain rational. Frankly, I find it disturbing. What else could possibly explain the Perchmaster with a bottle of Bud Light in each hand? The delicious beechwood-aged flavor? No This is a classic symptom of “perch-lust”.

    I’m not taking Gord’s bait. But, I will do my best in the competition–even if that means fishing sober.

    1. I heard a rumor that only one perch may be entered into this year’s contest. That should make it an interesting game of strategy. Do you keep that 11.75 inch perch or let it go in hopes of getting a bigger one. No culling allowed. you need to make the decision as soon as you catch the fish. Is a bird in the hand really better than two in the bush?

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Testimonials

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!

Trevor Benner

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