VDL Recommended Guides
Walleye, Bass, Crappie, and Pike Guides
Tim Lescarbeau (Bucky)
Tim Lescarbeau (Bucky) is one of the best walleye guides on Vermilion. He is in high demand from all resorts-- contact him early in the year! He has fished Lake Vermilion for many years and has run countless trips out of Vermilion Dam Lodge. Our guests love fishing with him because he is a guide that always seems to have the pattern figured out and finds fish. He can hold a boat perfectly on a spot in strong winds, while tying on a hook, telling a joke and grabbing a net for a fish that needs to be netted!
Dave Swenson
Brad "Marty" Martinson
Text: 218-750-4269
Marty has been employed at Vermilion Dam Lodge for over 20 years. He fishes year-round and knows the lake well. He is extremely knowledgeable in using today's electronics and is very adept at boat control.
While noted for his success in Musky Fishing, he also is highly successful in guiding walleye.
He prefers to guide during peak fishing times of the day and feels that to be successful, it’s not how long you are on the water, but "when" you are on the water.
Steve Krasaway
vermilionwalleyehunter@gmail.com
Text: 218-213-0579
Steve is known as a walleye hunter guide. He runs a large Lund Boat with a full windshield. This provides extra room for a third person and a very comfortable ride for customers. He has run several trips out of VDL over the past few years and we have always received positive feedback from guests on Steve’s ability to put them on fish!
Rob Bryers
Text:218-780-7939
Rob has been running trips out of Vermilion Dam Lodge for years. He has many years of experience on Vermilion. He is an ‘Old School’ fisherman who does not depend on just electronics to find fish. We highly recommend a "RB" shore lunch when you hire him.
Bill Nieters
218-780-6013
A third generation Cook resident, Bill has been fishing Vermilion since the 60’s. He and his wife have lived on the west end since 2012. He has guided for the "Take a Vet" and "Take a Kid Fishing" events and enjoys teaching anyone about Vermilion.
Bill guides in a 19’ 2019 Ranger with a 200hp V8 Mercury ProXS. He utilizes a Humminbird Solix 10”/Mega 360, two Garmin 93’s with Livescope and a Minnkota Ulterra.
Bob Cords
904-528-7745
Vermilion Fly Guy Guide Services offers river excursions for Bass, Walleye, Pike/Musky on the Vermilion and Little Fork rivers.
Experience beautiful remote scenery and exceptional fishing in a perfectly equipped, jet-powered, skinny water
boat.
Half Day and Full Day trips available starting at $400
Al's Vermilion Fishing
Al Wade
Call OR Text:
A resident of Lake Vermilion, Al has 20 years of experience on the lake and knows it well. He love's guiding others to that "Personal Best" and helping to make that happen.
You will be fishing out of a roomy, comfortable Ranger 621. All the equipment is excellent! Al supplies all the fishing gear, bait, and instruction to give you the best opportunity for success. Your catch will be cleaned and packaged for you. Flexible times for your schedule. Trips for families with children and can take up to 4 anglers.
Tyler Guiding
Tyler Demenge
Call OR Text:
218-390-4640
Tyler has worked for Vermilion Dam Lodge for several years. He loves to fish and always has an ear to who and where people are finding success. Tyler loves to fish walleye but is also excellent at catching Musky and early season Crappie.
Tyler is very proficient in the use of the latest electronics and very willing to share his knowledge.
If you have ever stayed at VDL and met Tyler, you know he puts his heart into helping VDL guests; that holds true when he takes people out fishing.
Shawn Novak
952-367-6667
Shawn has 30 years experience on Vermilion and has guided for 10 years. Walleyes, crappie, sunfish, small and largemouth bass are his specialty. A 10-year member of Fall Walleye Schools, he has assisted in teaching techniques to school attendees. With professional-level electronics skills he will show you how to use the tools to put you on fish! He makes it his job is to show clients an awesome time; provide education along the way and to learn from his client's experiences.
"Vermillion Dam Lodge is one of the finest establishments you will ever find; I am proud to be a guide out of such a spectacular resort." -Shawn
Billy Rosner
Bill is a top Guide not only Vermilion Lake but also specializes on Pike fishing on the Vermilion River just minutes from the resort. Bill does a lot of work with Anglers Edge Television show, Lund Boats and is highly respected in the fishing industry. You will find Bill has a great personality and is very accommodating on a guided trip. He is always on time, and only uses top equipment.
Denny Van de linde
Denny is an excellent, knowledgeable guide who is very personable. He
runs a very comfortable large Alumacraft boat with a full windshield. He
can take three people and can fish any section of the lake.
Jake Hyppa
Jake is a young man that has grown up on Vermilion fishing. He has dedicated himself to being a productive fishing guide. Feedback from VDL guests is excellent. Comments we hear about Jake from our customers are that he is great with electronics, puts clients on fish, shares his knowledge and treats everyone with respect.
Paul Klancher
Paul has been guiding for years on Vermilion and has done well with trips taken out of VDL. Paul is a Vermilion west end specialist and guides all species, including Musky.
Musky Guides
Luke Ronnestrand
Luke is one of those Musky Guides that seems to have a natural born instinct to find Musky no matter what the conditions. We recommend to Luke’s clients before fishing with him to get a good night’s rest and pack a lunch...maybe dinner too. Luke is as hard core dedicated as they come and loves chasing muskies. He has clients from all over the country coming to Vermilion just to fish with him. Getting a guide date can be difficult... he books up his calendar a year in advance. Although we still recommend trying to book him anyway as it will be well worth it if he has an opening.
Matt Seifert
Matt is top Musky guide who guides on several lakes in Minnesota in addition to Lake Vermilion. Matt specializes in trolling but also loves to cast. He is excellent with marine electronics and shares that with his clients. In addition to being a top musky guide he also guides walleye. Matt makes all his guests feel like longtime friends.
Brad "Marty" Martinson
Marty has been employed at Vermilion Dam Lodge for over 20 years. Marty fishes year-round and knows the lake well. He is extremely knowledgeable in using today's electronics and is very adept at boat control. He is well noted for his success in Musky Fishing and has taken many guests to the catch of a lifetime. He likes to schedule his guide trips during peak fishing times of the day and feels that to be successful, it’s not how long you are on the water, but "when" you are on the water.
Tyler Demenge
Vermilion Dam Lodge has employed Tyler for several years. He loves to fish and always has an ear to who and where people are finding success. Tyler has an excellent record for finding and catching Musky.
Tyler, like many of the guides today, is very proficient in use of the latest electronics and very willing to share his knowledge.
If you have ever stayed at Vermilion Dam Lodge and met Tyler, you know he puts his heart into helping Vermilion Dam Lodge Guests; that holds true when he takes people out fishing.
Dustin Carlson
Dusty is a top Musky guide in Northern Minnesota and the St. Louis River near Duluth Minnesota. Even though he lives in Duluth, he guides frequently on Lake Vermilion. Dusty has helped many VDL guests put Musky in the boat over the years. He is also a key guide for our annual Fall Musky Outing. Feedback we get on Dusty from our resort guests is always positive; they commonly mention not only his skills in finding Muskies but his willingness to share information and teach more about muskies.
Matt Snyder
Matt Guides on Vermilion for both Musky and Walleye. He is an excellent fisherman that adapts to any weather condition. He has a long list of recent Musky tournament wins on many different lakes, which demonstrate his skill adapting to any lake. He lives on the east end of Vermilion and runs a lot of trips from that end of the lake; however he has taken several trips out of the VDL over the years. Matt also participates in our annual Musky Outing as one of the primary guides.
Josh Borovsky
Josh is a well-known Musky Guide in Minnesota. He regularly guides on Vermilion and other lakes around the state. A schoolteacher by trade, he effectively utilizes those skills to help clients learn to be successful musky fisherman. He has been featured on many Musky Fishing TV episodes and frequently speaks at Musky fishing seminars, classes and clinics. VDL guests comment that he works very hard to put clients on fish and provides fishing information that can be applied to any lake.
Bob Benson
Bob has been fishing and guiding for Musky on Vermilion for over 20 years. He is extremely successful and has guided many VDL guests to their dream trophy musky. Bob is very accommodating on scheduling times and is always well prepared with a very detailed game plan for finding fish and provides top of the line equipment. He is noted for being patient with limited experience customers and makes a day of Musky fishing comfortable and fun.
Above are professional guides that Vermilion Dam Lodge frequently recommends* to our guests. There are many more guides in the area, we suggest visiting the Lake Vermilion Guide League's website: lakevermilionguidesleague.com
*= Vermilion Dam provides recommendations solely as courtesy for guests as an aid to hiring a guide. VDL is not responsible for any agreement or contract made with these non-vdl staff guides and is providing this information without consideration from the guides. All information is word-of-mouth and from personal comments made by our guests.