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Last week my wife surprised me with a trip up to beautiful Lake Vermillion for a week chasing muskies. She also set up a full day of fishing with local musky guide Jason Lane. If you aren’t familiar, Jason is a Lake Vermillion nut who lives and breathes for huge muskies. Jason picked us up from our dock at White Eagle Resort and within minutes we were on some beautiful musky territory. We were plagued with some terrible weather as we arrived the day before with 3+ foot waves and torrential downpours. Not the best fishing conditions as you can imagine. The first few spots yielded no fish or follows, but we were hopeful as the major was near midday. As the morning progressed, Jason emphasized the importance of not wearing ourselves out for the upcoming major. He told us again and again that many people wear themselves out during the times of the day that aren’t “prime,” and aren’t totally on their game when it counts the most. We took his advice and fished hard, but smart, throughout the morning hours. The major for the daylight hours started late morning, with the peak at 1230 PM. As you can imagine, the excitement was high as we approached the prime time of the day when you are fishing arguably the best musky water in North America. Jason saved one of his best spots for this time of the trip and it definitely paid off.
We were fishing a shallow bay with the majority of the water being less than 12 feet deep. We fished the weeds with blades and rubber as we slowly moved through the area. Jason and I saw what we believed to be a nice musky follow a bait on the side imaging which got us talking about what the fish do after following when we don’t see them. He said he thinks most fish end up sitting under the boat and moving along with it as the angler continues to fish the area.
Within ten minutes of seeing the fish on side imaging we were into the shallowest part of the bay. I was throwing a black bucktail in the middle of the boat as my wife was throwing a green bucktail on the bow. I made another cast towards the weed line and began the retrieve, paying close attention to the lure as we were nearing the peak of the major. I saw my bait about 15’ from the boat as it rolled just below the surface of the water. As it got closer to my feet I could see the silhouette of a big fish flying up from below the boat. I started yelling “fish, fish, it’s hot, it’s hot” as it followed the beginning of my figure eight. I did a huge sweeping loop towards the bow of the boat and immediately on the turn the fish inhaled my bait. The fight was on!
The fish immediately breached the surface and thrashed in the water. It pulled me towards the back of the boat, and around the transom, which was just enough time for Jason to get ready on the opposite side with the net for a perfect net job. It felt like sixty seconds, but probably took about eight. For those that haven’t experienced this type of fishing let me tell you something. There is no better feeling than seeing a big brown back of a musky in the bag next to a boat. After a few quick ecstatic cheers and high fives it was time to unhook the beast. Jason is an absolute surgeon and quickly cut one of the hooks which was near the gills and within seconds the fish was free without any blood at all.
After a few moments, we were able to collect ourselves and prepared to take the fish out for a picture. Jason dampened the measuring board and helped hold the net as I pulled the fish out of the water. We took a couple of quick photos, put it down for a quick measurement, and back in the water it went. Keeping the amount of time we have these fish out of the water to a minimum is essential to their survival. It wasn’t long and I could tell she was ready to go. She swam off full of power, the perfect release that no angler could ever forget. We again celebrated the catch with high fives all around, an amazing moment shared by three people that were brought together by a beautiful creature.
If you are interested in fishing with Jason Lane feel free to get ahold of him via Facebook. You can also call or send a message to his guide service, Northern Lights and Outdoors Guide Service at (218) 910-5368.
