LAKE VERMILION—The Lake Vermilion area is getting ready to host the biggest fishing-related media event in the state, starting on May 7.

The annual event, organized by Explore Minnesota Tourism with much assistance from the Lake Vermilion Resort Association and Fortune Bay Resort Casino, will welcome over 300 guests, mostly media from across the state and region. On Friday, media guests will be introduced to local historical and tourist attractions on guided tours around Lake Vermilion. They’ll hear a presentation about northern pike management, take an underground tour at the Soudan Mine State Park, play golf at the Wilderness, and attend a groundbreaking for the campground at the new Lake Vermilion State Park. The weekend also includes a Thursday evening barn dance hosted at White Eagle Resort, featuring local favorites “Home on the Range.”

On Friday, area fourth-graders from Nett Lake, Tower-Soudan, and North Woods will attend a “Take a Kid Fishing” event where with the help of local volunteers, they will learn how to rig and cast their new fishing poles and then fish for pan fish at the Fortune Bay Marina. All the students will get their own lifejacket, tackle box, rod, and t-shirt to bring home after the event.

Starting early on Saturday, event guests will head out onto Lake Vermilion with volunteer fishing hosts, eat a shore lunch at Fortune Bay, and wrap up the day with a dinner at Fortune Bay.

“I absolutely love the Governor’s Fishing Opener,” said Alyssa Ebel, who works for Explore Minnesota and is handling the publicity for the event. Ebel is no stranger to the area, having grown up in the Orr area, with a love of fishing.

Ebel said the Governor’s Opener helps keep fishing at the center of Minnesota’s tourism sector. She noted fishing’s historic importance to tourism.

The event also signals the start of the summer tourism season.

Gov. Dayton’s schedule

Dayton will be attending events throughout the Lake Vermilion area over the weekend, including a visit to the North Woods School on Thursday, where he will tour an exhibit of student art that celebrates Minnesota history.

On Saturday he will head out on the lake with fishing guide Tim “Buck” Lescarbeau, and Lt. Gov. Tina Smith will fish with Casey Sunsdahl.

Lescarbeau, who has lived on the lake for over 30 years, and often gets out fishing 150 days in a year, owns and operates Best Bet Guide Service and is the chairman of the Lake Vermilion Guides League. Lescarbeau has met with area fourth-graders, teaching them about fish behavior and fish ecology.

“Once I had experienced fishing Vermilion’s deep blue water amongst the pines and granite outcroppings, I fell in love with Lake Vermilion and was ‘hooked’ for life!” he says. “With 44,000 acres of water and 1,200 miles of beautiful shoreline to explore, visitors will feel this same allure and want to come back again and again.”

Casey Sunsdahl has been fishing on Lake Vermilion for as long as he can remember, and first served as a guide at the 2005 Governor’s Fishing Opener. Born and raised and still residing in Soudan, Casey is passionate about local stewardship and providing a safe and enjoyable experience out on the water.

“It is an honor and privilege to have been selected to fish with Lt. Gov. Smith for the 2015 Minnesota Fishing Opener,” says Casey. “I am looking forward to showing her the great fishing that Lake Vermilion offers, and hopefully helping her catch a big walleye.”

Casey was also part of the core group who formed the Lake Vermilion Guides League in 2009. He loves to learn about and teach his clients about new techniques and fishing trends, and especially enjoys taking couples and families fishing.

Community Picnic on Friday, May 7

The largest event of the weekend is the free community picnic, hosted at the Tower Civic Center. The picnic will feature free activities for children, displays of new Tracker boats, and information on fishing and how local residents can help stop the spread of invasive species. Tents will be set up outside the Tower Civic Center, with food being served inside. The city will be detouring traffic off of Main Street for the block adjacent to the Civic Center. The city’s Gem Car will help ferry picnic-goers from parking spots to the Civic Center. As many as 2,000 visitors are expected to attend the picnic. The menu will feature pulled pork and chicken sandwiches, baked beans, potato chips, pop, and dessert.

The event will also be a chance to showcase Tower’s new harbor development.

Major sponsors

Major sponsors of the event include Cabela’s, Gander Mountain, Fortune Bay Resort Casino, Tracker Boats, the IRRRB, Enbridge Energy, Mall of America, American Bank of the North, Frontier Communications, Minnesota Power, Motorola Solutions, No Name Steaks, Red Lake Nation Fishery, The Wilderness at Fortune Bay, Twin Metals LLC, and the Timberjay Newspapers.