LAKE VERMILION— Other than sunshine, local tourism promoters couldn’t have asked for more from last weekend’s Governor’s Fishing Opener. Gov. Mark Dayton, who has struggled to land a fish in previous openers, hit the jackpot Saturday morning, landing and releasing nine walleye during about four hours of fishing at an undisclosed location on Lake Vermilion.

A steady northeast wind kicked up a decent walleye chop Saturday, and clouds kept temperatures in the low 40s, making for a typically chilly opener.

The weather didn’t dampen enthusiasm at all. “I caught more today than I did in the last 62 years on Lake Vermilion,” the governor joked. “If I caught nine, then they must have been ready to just “jump in the boat.”

As usual, it paid to have a guide, and Dayton, who was accompanied by Sen. Majority Leader Tom Bakk and House Speaker Kurt Daudt, had one of the best in Tim “Buck” Lescarbeau, who kept all three of the state’s top leaders busy hauling in walleye all morning. The governor did catch the first fish of the day for his boat, within minutes of casting his first line. Bakk eventually led the group with 14 walleye, while Daudt finished a close second with an even dozen.

The three, who are often at odds politically, said they had initially planned to do some budget discussions while out in the boat, but in the end the three men were too busy hauling in walleyes to focus on business. The governor had initially planned to leave the lake mid-morning, to return to St. Paul, but changed his mind and stayed out on the lake until around 12:30 p.m. since all three men were having too much fun to call it quits.

“It was a remarkable day of fishing,” said Bakk, after the governor’s boat had returned to the Fortune Bay Marina. The three were smoking cigars and looking relaxed as they headed off the boat, where a well-stocked shore lunch was waiting.

The Lake Vermilion Guides League, which helped organize the 100 or so fishing host boats, got rave reviews. “Our fishing guides are something else,” said Lake Vermilion Resort Association President Jay Schelde. “They stepped up to the plate and hit a home run.”

Lt. Gov. Tina Smith caught her first fish ever on Saturday, and her guide Casey Sunsdahl taught her how to take the perfect fish picture, positioning what was a relatively small walleye in a way to make it look like a respectable catch.

Rep. Rick Nolan and his wife Mary also had a great day on the lake. The two both had fish on their line in the first five minutes, and brought home enough good eating-size walleye for dinner on Saturday night.

“We had a ball,” they said.

Banquet wrap-up

The mood was decidedly upbeat as the big event wrapped up Saturday evening with a banquet at Fortune Bay. With the governor back in St. Paul, Lt. Gov. Smith offered up a toast to new and old friends and to the Lake Vermilion area, which she said came together to put on an “exceptional” program. “We’ll never forget the stories from this weekend,” she said.

Karen Hollingsworth, from Wildlife Forever, an organization that works to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, was the lucky winner of the Tracker Boat package, valued at $32,000. She also took top honors for landing the largest northern of the day, a 32.5-incher. The largest walleye of the day was a 24-incher caught by Eric Norberg, and the largest smallmouth bass was 18.5-inches.

The LVRA and Fortune Bay received kudos from just about everyone for all the organizing work they did to bring off a very smooth and successful opener.

The evening concluded with the announcement of the location for next year’s Governor’s Fishing Opener, which will be held at Big Sandy Lodge and Resort in McGregor, in Aitkin County. The community has never hosted the event before, and will be looking towards this year’s committee for advice and support.