The 2021 Ice Out Contest!

It is that time! Time to reflect on when the ice will leave Vermilion Bay. Confused? Hold that thought….

Likely William Shakespeare never experienced a NW Ontario winter, but his sentiment is pertinent to this blog post. Another ice out competition is up for grabs! A valuable prize…the ability to boast like a politician on steroids…and the admiration of your fellow VBL’ers. What more could you ask for! We will flesh this out a bit later in this blog post…but first some fish bling:

So just a bit of an update since the last blog post. Weather wise we had a couple weeks of seriously cold weather…

…but things have morphed nicely into a warming trend. In fact the last couple of days have had some rain and serious snow melt. Hence this notification of an imminent Ice Out Contest.

On a recent outing Pat & Sharon (Cedar Point Lodge) were able to put on a fish catching seminar…

So, the ice out contest…

Yes, it’s that time. The rules in a nutshell: You get to make one guess when the ice will be gone from Vermilion Bay. Your guess will be kept confidential! Email Gord with your prediction at vbay@drytel.net. Remember there is no need to rush your prediction…I will be posting regular updates / pictures on ice conditions to aid in your efforts…….BUT…the first person to pick the correct date will be the winner. Do you go for broke and jump the gun, or do you bide your time to collect intell? That is the dilemma you face. Good luck!

Thoughts on the upcoming season…

I probably don’t have to remind folk about the border closure last year. Thank you everyone for pushing your reservations and deposits forward to this year! We appreciate your loyalty! It seems this year isn’t the slam dunk we were hoping for in terms of getting back to normal. I’ve contacted our May guests to say that it is unlikely that those trips will happen with the current state of the COVID. I’m a bit dubious about June as well and would suggest that if you need advance notice to rearrange vacation times and to rebook alternate holidays it may be time to consider this option. I’m happy to leave reservations as they stand in the hopes things turn around…we are here regardless and ready to go at a moment’s notice. On a more positive note, there seems to be an uptick in vaccine shipments to Canada which might mean an opportunity to get things moving again. The US seems to be on-track as well. While I remain optimistic I think it’s important to be upfront with all our guests, especially those who don’t have the flexibility of waiting till the last moment. As a back up plan we have started filling in weeks for 2022 starting in May. We will keep this option available to those that may need it….and will continue to honor your deposit and our 2020 rates for that circumstance.

Good luck in the contest and I will update you with more frequent blog entries, and hopefully some interesting fish pictures!