Lake Vermilion area attractions kept 8 year old Eli and 5 year old Abel busy as they spent last week taking advantage of the many things to see and do in Northeast Minnesota.  Rain in the early part of their stay didn’t get in the way of their trip to the Soudan Mine https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/lake_vermilion_soudan/tours.html.  They were especially interested in taking in some of the local attractions related to Fermilab, the United States Dept. of Energy’s national high energy particle physics lab, located in Batavia, IL – close to the area they live.  They added a trip to the International Wolf Center about a 1/2 hour away and Abel reported climbing around in the tunnel there to be his favorite part.  https://www.wolf.org/.

Another rainy day on Monday didn’t get in the way of their 3.5 mile hike at Bass Lake, where they reported an overabundance of mosquitoes.  Board games finished out that day and Tuesday was a day for a trip to Duluth.  They visited the Army Corp of Engineers Maritime Center http://www.duluthport.com/docks-marine-museum.php as well as Gooseberry Falls, describing the park as “beautiful and free of mosquitoes.”   https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00172#homepage   A stop at their first ever A & W drive-in stand was a hit as was the scenic trip up Highway 1.

Their Wednesday trip was toward the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness with a one day canoe rental including a portage and seeing the Hegman Lake pictographs.  The painted rocks weren’t really what they expected but they handled some heavy winds and stayed dry.  Thursday they headed up to Ash River where they again learned more about the Fermilab operations, this time stopping at the NOvA lab where they heard more about neutrinos.

Hikes at Voyageur’s National Park and Bear Head Lake Park, some restaurants that received high marks and swimming in the pool and playing on the “awesome” playground here at Everett Bay Lodge filled several afternoons and evenings.  Eli’s comment that he found his bed and blanket in Cabin 4 to be especially comfortable wouldn’t be a surprise when you stay that active.   That’s what we’d call making the most of your time up north!

Lake Vermilion fishing over the past week was pretty steady for bass, northerns and walleyes.  Walleye success varied by cabin, with both leeches and crawlers producing fish.  Shaun Jones caught a northern over thirteen pounds – his personal best.  Some of the fish we heard about include:

  • 25″ Walleye – Chandler Everson
  • 24″ Walleye – Chad Everson
  • 21″ Walleye – Daniel Jones
  • 36″ Northern – Shaun Jones
  • 18.25″ Largemouth Bass – Mike Czarnecki
  • 18″ Largemouoth Bass – Mike Sears
  • 40″ Muskie – Dean Halverson

Lake Vermilion water temp is 73 degrees today.  The answer to the burning question – “Have the mayflies hatched yet?” depends on where you are.  We had a couple on the lodge screen last Saturday.  A cool stretch of days early last week postponed their eventual hatch here in Everett Bay until just a few days ago.  We’ve had guests report success catching walleyes and perch right among the carcasses.

We posted the Tower 4th of July schedule last week, but here it is again if you missed it – https://www.lakevermilionchamber.com/tower-4th-of-july   Just scroll to the bottom of that page and you will see all the activities planned.

We have a last minute opening in Cabin 5 through this week into next week.  If you have a chance to slip up north, follow this link.   http://availabilityonline.com/availtable.php?un=everettbay

Have a safe holiday everyone!

Stop wishing….come fishing!