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Day one results... I'm guessing it was pretty friggin nasty weather up there yesterday... 4 footers on the main lake I heard too...

52 Benson/Hirsch 51.75" & 49.75"
34 Erickson/Murphy 48.50"
76 Sennette/Ronnestrand 47.75"
23 Brickdson/Graca 46.25"
44 McCollum/Olson 44.00"
55 Polman/Augustine 42.00"
27 Wojtusik/Long 41.00"

Looks like an amazing day yesterday for Benson and Hirsch, 2 very solid fish...

I just hope Ace and Tommy get there names on the board and make the cut.

RU

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Yeah no kidding what a terrible day to start off Wednesday. Today made up for it all though. What a beauty, can't wait to see what was caught today should be a good one!!

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http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/leaderboard/llb.asp?t=367

Here is a URL for the tourney update. For some reason Simply Fishing is not updating their web site.

Way to go DAVE SWENSON!!!!!!!!
He is a FM'er and guide here on Vermilion.
He is on the board day 2 with a 42"er.

------------------
Captain Doug Wintle
Licensed Guide
U.S.C.G #938941
Spring Bay Resort & Guide Service
http://www.SpringBayResort.com

Lund Pro Staff
RJ Sport and Cycle Pro Staff
[email protected]
800-847-5253

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At least two locals that I know of made the finals!
Dave Swenson & his partener and Dave & Dennis Schaefer of Tower. Dennis caught a 53incher on day three.
Congratulations guys!!!
Good Luck this weekend!
Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Wagenbach (edited 09-17-2004).]

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Just got back from the big top at Bayview, it was quite a show. If you get a chance you should stop by tomorrow and root on Dave and Jim R. aka Silver Scale. If they catch a fish tomorrow they will be in the hunt for the big bucks.
Good Luck guys, stick a pig.

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I stayed away from my place this weekend due to the tournament, but I was able to glean a few tidbits of info based on the updates from another web site. What I have heard from the participants so far has fallen in line with my observations throughout the years.

1. Vermilion is not a numbers lake. Some of the best musky fisherman in the world caught fish at lower than a 5% rate, which I’ve read is well below normal tournament standards. The lake is a tough nut to crack. Factors to consider: Weather, Increased Pressure, Time Restrictions. A question for those that read this: Are they spawning successfully - Are there weak year classes?
2. The weather up here can ruin a week or weekend trip. It sounded like it was flat out nasty on the water.
3. Vermilion has some big fish in it. Some of the fish that were caught were large. We all know getting these fish to bit is not easy.
4. The people who talk and brag the most are generally not the people who put the most fish in the boat. As proof I use the fact that a couple non-pros won the event. Note: this is in reference to no one in particular. Rather it is a general statement about individuals who talk a lot, but have no substance behind their words.

I am one of those who was against the tournament from the get go, however, was willing to see how things panned out before jumping to any conclusions. Here are a few things I would like answered, if possible.

1. Judge boats – were they able to get to boats fast enough? I’ve heard at least one instance where on the last day a fish was kept for a while longer after being judged so a camera boat could get there. Is that ethical?
2. Day one was a classic example of big waves during a tourney. An argument I’ve heard a lot is that fish would get beat up along sides of boats in these waves waiting for a judge boat to arrive. I do not know if this is a legitimate argument or not. Can someone please give me some observations of what they saw during that first day regarding fish in nets and waves.
3. I’ve also heard it is unsafe for judges in these conditions. Any judges take a spill going from boat to boat?

This is too long. I’ll shut it down here and see what others think.

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I observed several boats with a large fish on the west end Saturday. There appeared to be about a 10 minute wait from the time I heard all the yelling (I assume that was the landing) to the time a large judge boat going about 50 mph in rough water came up for the check.

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Hi ya FM'ers old and NEW!!

My short take on what was what last week before, during and after the event.
Then I'm heading back up Wednesday to get back to guiding, hang, work and fish a bit with Capt. Ken Kessler.
Might even let Bonnie catch me and have her way with me a bit?
We never did get to Honeymoon after our June 12th wedding. Ooooooooooo Baby!!!
smile.gif

We as a team had high hopes, but would take what ever was delt.
Work hard, have fun and work the plan.
The end did not turn out as we wanted, but we stand tall and accept we got beat, of that you can be sure..

We got it handed to us Big Time by some pretty good sticks.
As did a bunch of real High end Musky Guys from across the Musky fishing world.
Winners in the top 20 were simply doing their thing and got it done.
A few who are friends of us both and as individuals.
We wished them good luck from the Heart at the start and congardulated them at Torunys end and here on-line today.
You guys ALL ROCKED!!!
Thanks for making it something to remember always.


Started out some what handie capped from the start by me.
Then Terry suffered a family member loss.
It or things got worse, and tuffer to even deal with in ones mind from there, but we did our best and made it something I for sure will never forget.
Nothing what so ever to do with the Tourney or the weather for both of us.
We are both VERY tuff and now I know how just how tough.

Dave Swenson and Jim Roerig got it done and that is SUPER!!!
Way cool.
Congrates to you both.
You deserve everything thing you got.

I heard a different team from the area of Pike Bay got into a Huge fish on Friday.
They placed higher yet and that is something VERY special for them.
Congrats!
I don't know them, but hear they seem to feel they know me.
They only wish they did?
LOL

Think I'm weird do ya?
So be it.
I shake things like this off witha big smile.
Like so much dust in my brain.
smile.gif

Will NEVER forget what Terry and I did and did not do.
It was ALL good at the END!


I heard or saw of NO trouble myself with fish during the wait for Judge boats.
We even knew a few of them judging and never got to brib them at ALL!!!
smile.gif

Water is or was 58 to 62 or there abouts.
Everyone who Volunteered to do the Judge boat deal was given a small amount for gas or what ever and did a absolutly wonderful job.
Hats of to them all.
Bob even did his share of Judging and his boat ROCKS!!!

Time an again Fish waiting in a BIG, treated Bag boat side, handled by people who know HOW to handle fish have no trouble being released to fight again under these conditions.

Again as said by a few around the Net, Waves and very, very HIGH winds were simply UNREAL Wednesday for EVERYONE.
NEVER once stopped raining and and I mean RAINING.
The Gusts of wind were simply something you must be in to understand.
I may be mistaken, but I swear my Island moved six feet to the East?
LOL

I run a 21 foot Lund Pro V Magnum LE with a Merc 225 Opti and we got our *** kicked time and again and never once gave in.
Time and again we got hammered moving from spot to spot.
This was the norm for us ALL.
Felt at times like we were hitting a concret WALL!
I would slow her down, level off, We mostly looked at each other to see if we were both still in the rig, slap hands, laughed a bit then went about our biz.

Thursday was not rain, but huge waves off and on depending on where you were.
Absoluty fun, but TOUGH all the same.

Friday was a good mix with less wind.
Terry Almost made it happen around 1:45, but alas, it was not to be AGAIN.

Fish are fish and we did see a good number.
Some were HOT, some were not.
Those who got the fish to bite got in.
Simple as that and simple is most times BEST!!

I feel We fished a very smart plan all three days.
Tried to take what the lake would give.
Mixed things up and found a few KEY things that were working, but we or they could not simply close the deal.

SLOW, Fast, Deep, Skinny, Bright and Dark we did it all at one point or another.
smile.gif

Our plan worked right off, but I did not close the deal a number of times in the first few mnutes and into the first two hours of the event.
Even had one come un-buttoned at one point.
BUMMER!!!!
Life goes on.
smile.gif

Everyone we were around on the water and off was cheerfull, helpful and respectfull of each other, the fish, the Lake and all people who own land on her.
They were also Dazed and Confused as we were!

Some of the very best in the biz were scratching and doing there very best to do the do.
Some failed, some got it done but absolutly no one got mad, complained or bitched.
Hand shakes, good luck hand slaps and pats on the back were all over.
New friends were made and old relationships were made stronger.


Only down side or nagging thing I felt or saw was during the Rules meeting a lot of people were drinking and drinking and making it tough on most of us to hear.
Also at what point is a question simply STUPID!!
Maybe next time the booze and beer can wait.

Super week, super fun.

Maybe we get them next time around?
Maybe NOT!

Nuff said!!

Thanks for your time.

Keep on Rock'en!


Tom Wehler

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Parker,
I am the release chairman for the Arrowhead Chapter of Muskies Inc. For the last two years we have been keeping track of fish that were fin clipped or not. To date we are seeing well over 50% of the fish being caught are naturals so they are spawning successfully. The DNR would have more info on year classes but from the fish I get reported to me there is appears to be good year classes of all ages.

I was lucky enough to catch a fish during the tournament and also witnessed another in someone else's net. The judge boat, Bob himself was there within 5 minutes. We never took the fish out of the water and with the large coated, knotless nets everyone was using the fish were kept very fresh. Once out of the water they were measured and put back in within a minute. All the people from the contestants to the judges know how to handle these large fish and releasing a vigorous healthy fish was a high priority. If you watch the shows this winter you will see some of the fish being released and you will be able to see they were in great shape.

As far as the judge boats and all contestants, safety first was the norm. All contestants and judges wore life jackets any time the large motor was running, even if you were trolling. Plus the kill switch was attached to the driver. I heard of no one being put in an unsafe position while judging.

Hope this answers some of your questions.

Jim Roerig

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I must say a valiant effort Tom and Jim. I'm sure going into this thing you knew it was going to be a tuff deal since the fish had a bad case of lock jaw and an uncanny ability to shake off this year. You as well as everybody else faced some tough compitition and MOTHER NATURE.

From a spectators point a view I thought things went rather well. You never would of known there was a tournament going on all week. One thing that could of been better is the communication. I did hear one radio call for help, but found out later that the team was concerned about the fish and the time it was taking for a judge boat. It probably felt like hours with a 53" in the net.

I witnessed the release of the winning fish (I hope they show that on TV) It was penned for 10 minutes while waiting for the camera boat, the fish swam off strong.

I must say I got caught up in the excitement but now that it's over I think we need a major water temp change so magical things can happen.

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First off, thank you Tom and Jim for replying. Congrats to you Jim, for getting into the money.

I have some additional questions. Based on reports here, contestants with fish waited 5-10 minutes for a judge boat. Can anyone tell me how many judge boats there were?

To the people who participated, do you feel waiting 5-10 minutes was acceptable? Were there enough judge boats? Based on everything I’ve read, the people who manned the judge boats were outstanding.

Again, I have my opinions but would rather hear others before I post what I think.

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Wow! What a lake and what a tourney.

I dabbled a little on this message board over the past year and really enjoyed the info shared and the personalities of the members. My username is Magnum A.K.A. Jason Long. For those here that don't know, I was on the winning team!!!!

With that said, I'd like to respond to some of the questions.... especially those pertaining to judge boats. I don't know how many spanned the lake, but I feel the coverage was sufficient. Always room for improvement (more judges the better), but I don't feel the health and integrity of the fish were compromised in the event.

We never waited more than 10 minutes for any of the three fish we measured. Granted, when you have a 52.5 incher in the net 10 minutes can FEEL like an hour! I chattered a little on the Marine Radio with that fish so I may have given those listening the impression it took a long time. None of our fish were caught in the BIG wind, so I can't comment on how a fish would have faired had we boated one in 4 foot swells. All I know is that giving the fish time to revive in the net seemed to actually be a good thing for them to handle the stress of measuring them. All three fish took off strong and required no boatside assistance when returned to the lake.

I am so thankful I had the opportunity to experience Lake Vermilion. It is wonderful place and an amazing fishery. I've fished Lake of the Woods for 7 years and never broke the 50 inch mark there. I made three trips to BigV (trip 3 was the tourney) this season and I was fortunate enough to catch a 50+ on EACH trip. That is absolutely AMAZING!!! I'd be a fool to not return to the lake again. Its certainly not a numbers lake, but when you catch one.... odds are its going to be BIG.... and quite possibly HUGE!!!

Thank you all for making us feel welcome in your neighborhood.

MAGNUM

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Hey Jason – Congrats! That’s a heck of a win.

I think a lot of us remember your questions from the summer of ‘03 regarding water level and clarity.

So, in your opinion, you did not find the wait time for judge boats excessive? I’m asking because I’ve never had a fish in a net anywhere near 10 minutes. I have no idea what kind of impact that would have on a fish. It seems like a long time and longer than I’m sure you would normally keep a fish.

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Congrats on the tourney, Magnum! Looks like us FM'ers taught you well... wink.gif

Generally speaking, not necessarily specifics, which areas did you target?

Couple of more trips, then it's time to think about drilling holes through the ice?

------------------
Big Bay IBOT #130
Net? You don't need a Net, just LIP them!

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magnum,

job well done , nice to see a fellow wisconsinite do well.and a fisherman like most of us on this board.

i love the v, return as much as i can. met some great people up there.
i bet your life is going kinda crazy right now.eh?

im interested in your pattern/lures / techniques. can you help us now?


hello to all.

dannyboy

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Hey JLong,
Tom and I knew you were scoping for the tournament and not just your summer vacation. Why do you think we gave you such a hard time all winter and spring.

None the less, you guys did a great job catching those fish, on your home made bucktails. You may want to put bigger hooks on afterall this isn't Wisconsin.

The guy that measured your fish is one of my best friends, I got the low down after Tom and I were eliminated. The V can be a great numbers lake if your on it at the right time, however this last summer was much different than most of the recent years up here.

Next time you come on board with a new handle, use a different IP number, you weren't as sneaky as you though. By the way....Great Job!! don't spend it all in one place... smile.gif

------------------

Terry "Ace" Sjoberg
aceguideservice.com
Lake Vermilion
Muskies and More.

Pro Staff Member.
Catch-n Tackle.
CKat Custom Muskie rods.
Bearpaws Handpoured Baits
Ohio Pro Lure.
Muskie Nut Tackle.
Big Chimney Muskie Baits.
H20 Muskie Tackle.
Marcum.

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terry,
nice to see your back my man and in good spirits.

hope you don't think all of us are sneaky here in WI. !!!!!!!!!!just the ones who live in southern wi..........

homemade bucktails eh? hummmmmmm!!!!

any thoughts form you on tourney etc?????many of us here were checking everynight to see how you and tom and the rest of the fisherman and women did. kinda neat to see it transpire and the theories on other boards as to what was happenning.some were kinda funny. people fishing without hooks cause the already"qualified"etc...

muskiefirst
muskyhunter
muskie101
this board etc...

looking foreward to show if it ever comes on to tv....

take care

dannyboy

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Ace, I wasn't trying to be sneaky by using an alias. I apologize if you felt that way. But, I figured some of my questions would seem "dumb" had I asked them using my own name. Its the "dumb" questions that I wanted answers to. I know how to catch fish, read a lake map, etc. But, I wanted to learn some of the lakes history and its progression.

By coincidence, we shared a dock with Jim Saric during the tourney and my partner is friends with Chip Porter. Those guys have told us about the days when you could catch 12 fish in one day and a 50 incher every weekend. Those days are history from what I can tell. The good news about your lake is that is is probably the single BEST lake in the world to fish if you want a 50+ incher. The trick is preparing yourself to only see 5 to 15 fish a day and feel GOOD about it. But, you can expect 95% of the fish you contact to be 45 inches or better.... and that is absolutely insane. And I won't even suggest how many of those are 50+ or people will think I'm just making this stuff up!

Anyway, we kept our presentation simple. We used efficient lures and worked them fast. Bucktails, cranks, and an occasional glide bait. Despite intense efforts during prefishing, we never did figure out a presentation that could trigger those fish to strike... so it became a game of contacting as many fish as possible and hope to find ONE biter a day.

We learned that when the fish are shallow (6 feet or less) that you only need to get your lure within 30 feet of them and they will engage your lure. Thus, we scouted for the "spot on the spots" on those popular community structures and then scoured for hidden "Dick Pearson Holding Pens" to complete our milk run. When we would Run&Gun... I feel we took it to a whole new level. No more than 3 to 4 casts per spot. Only ONE guy casting... the other is running the boat for proper positioning. Never drop the trolling motor and leave the big motor running! Its some high intensity fishing... but when the fishing is tough it pays off. We knew it was working when other tourney anglers were only seeing a handful of fish each day and we were seeing more. Don't get me wrong... we weren't seeing a lot of fish either, but consistently more than others from what I can tell. Our best day was day one when we contacted 15 fish and put 2 in the boat (one shorty). The rest of the days we saw between 7 or 10 fish. On sunday we moved 8 fish with 5 of those over 50 inches. In fact, two of those were larger than the 52.5 I got on saturday. Its the frequency of THOSE kinds of encounters that will bring me back to the BigV.

I envy you all for having the opportunity to fish such an outstanding fishery on a regular basis. It truly is amazing.

Oh... I almost forgot. Yes, I feel waiting 10 minutes for a judge boat is a LONG time. However, I saw no evidence of it hurting the fish... and could even argue that it may have been beneficial for them since the fish had time to revive between the stress of being fought and captured and the stress of being measured and photographed. I was skeptical when Bob said that at the rules meeting... but what I observed seemed to support his claims. For what its worth....

Magnum/jlong

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J LONG,

Congrats and nice job on goating me. I pulled up our post from Feb. but it would not let me post on it. You SOB LOL

Bob

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Congrats Jason and Dan You guys showed every one how to get it done. Didn't get a chance to shake your hands at the awards ceremony but I was excited for you guys.

On waiting for the judge boats I feel as long as the water is cool, as it was, that 5-10 minutes with a fish in the net is ok for the fish. Like others have said they got green again in the net. My fish swam off very strong. However if the water is 70+ you don't want to hold them in the net too long. Fall Tournaments are the best for the fish. As a tournament angler I had no problem with the wait. If fact it was a nice break.

Now you no why I live close to Vermilion and I think your'e right on about the fishery. If you're ever up this way when we have a MI meeting drop in...
Time to hit the water... :-)

Jim Roerig

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Hi J L

We figured that out a long time ago who you were?
smile.gif
How about sharing your winning pattern with a few of these people?

Congrates on Takeing top honors dude!

Keep on Rock'en!

T.

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Magnum,

Congrads on the big win! You guys did a great job!

I went out guiding my first time since the tourney yesterday on Vermilion. I caught a 49.5 incher. Were was that fish last Saturday when I needed it? Oh well, that's muskie fishing!

David Swenson
http://muskieguide.homestead.com/

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Good job Dave, I hope it wasn't to painful ROERIGGING. grin.gif

[This message has been edited by jkrash (edited 09-24-2004).]

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Dave,

If only you could have been showing me how to catch those 49.5 inchers during musky school. Oh well maybe next year.

Andy

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
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    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
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      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
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