OUTDOOR

BY DAVE BECK

Putting the time in Last week I told you about my time on Lake Vermilion with Uncle Frank. He was only the leadoff fishing partner for the week on the water._ After three days of musky fishing and crayfish trapping, he was replaced by Justin Durand. That’s not his real name but it is easy to remember and catchy to say. Justin is actually from Durand but his real last name is Buchholtz._I’ve fished locally with Justin enough to deem him “boatworthy” for time on the water at Lake Vermilion.

Fishing with Uncle Frank is always a treat but he has his limitations. Specifically:_If he fishes late, he sleeps late and there is no debating that. With Justin, I could always plan on burning both ends of the candle and that’s exactly what we did. It is also one of the many reasons why he got the invite. That plus he makes his own lures and they are sweet.

After a couple of days on the water it was obvious that fishing was tough._ Local guides were bailing out to other lakes in search of muskies that weren’t so light lipped. Justin and I did not have that luxury in that we were staying right on the lake and had no knowledge on any other piece of water remotely close._ If we were going to beat Lake Vermilion, were we going to have to do it on the lake’s terms.

There were many long and empty hours of boat time on the trip this year._ Looking back at my notes it was one of the worst trips ever for me in terms of the number of muskies that we dealt with._Then again, even in the good years I still had to put my time in and earn my catches._For that reason, there was a lot of rinse, wash, repeat days._It’s probably more appropriate to call that eat, sleep, fish.

In order to maximize our time and space here, I will fast forward to Wednesday night at 9:37 p.m. Justin Durand threw a big topwater lure into the darkness of northern Minnesota._Then the quiet of the night was interrupted when a musky attacked his lure and the fight was on. Fighting a musky in the daylight is a treat in itself but doing it in the darkness raises the event to another level._Since you cannot see anything it’s only your ears that interpret the battle. A big fish thrashing and throwing a wall of water is deafening in the darkness._ Justin Durand didn’t have to tell me; I could hear that he had a fish on. I immediately reeled in my line, turned on my headlamp, and grabbed the dipnet._ The fish came crashing across the water, changing directions at will, and always seeming to leave me on the wrong side of the fight._If you have never tried to dip a musky by the tail, you don’t know what it’s like to dip a musky._They are too strong, quick, powerful, and smart to get nabbed from behind. _If you’re only going to remember one thing from this story, let it be this: always dip a musky head first.

It took Justin a couple of tries to get the musky pointed in my direction._When he finally did, I eased the net into the water and the 45-inch fish slipped into the dipnet._The fight was officially over.

I’ve always said that musky fishing on Lake Vermilion was like playing in the major leagues. I’ve also said that catching a musky on Lake Vermilion is like hitting a home run in the major leagues._Justin Durand,_congratulations _on your dinger!

Photo courtesy of Dave Beck