TOWER— As a former Mentoring Coordinator for the Minnesota DNR, Mike “Cold Front” Kurre was the perfect person to emcee the 2025 Take a Kid Fishing event on Lake Vermilion.

After all, getting kids and their parents excited about the outdoors was a large part of his job prior to retiring some seven years ago and that DNA is still in Kurre’s blood.

“I just want to get them fired up about the outdoors and how fishing can play a big part of that,” said Kurre, who was officially introduced to Lake Vermilion when the area hosted the 2015 Governor’s Fishing Opener. “The goal is to get kids out fishing and hopefully they’ll get hooked on the sport.”

Over 50 kids signed up for this year’s event and given the erratic weather, the organizers had to go with Plan B and that was to get the kids out fishing earlier than expected. However, in the end it did not matter as plenty of fish were caught and many new memories were formed, thanks to the steadfast support of the Lake Vermilion Guides League.

“The guides mean everything to this event,” said Kurre, who was also a former radio host at KFAN Outdoors and added that he got the nickname “Cold Front” on “cold days” like these. “I got to meet a lot of them at the Governor’s Fishing Opener and formed a lot of solid friendships.”

Kurre said the kids should appreciate the knowledge they gained by going out on Lake Vermilion with some of the best guides around.

“It shows the type of people they are by giving up some of their time during the busy summer months,” said Kurre, who spent a lot of time in Ely and the BWCA as a youngster. “And they do it for free—they give up their time, effort and money to pay it forward for the next generation of anglers.”

And by talking with some of the kids after they got off the lake, it seems like many of them will take up the sport of fishing as they grow older.

“This was my first year fishing this event, but I’ll definitely be coming back next year,” said 12-year-old Proctor resident Tony Schmidt, who caught two perch and three walleyes, but threw one walleye back. “After I caught my third fish, my grandpa (Mike Estrin) said, ‘I thought I was supposed to be the guide.”

Despite being skunked, Estrin was super happy for his grandson and all of the other kids who partook in the day’s activities.

“It was quite windy out there, but the kids enjoyed fishing, and everyone had a good time,” said Estrin, who serves as the chair of the event. “I didn’t even have to remind the kids of not using their phones while on the lake, because they were focused on catching fish, so that was great to see.”

Another happy angler was 12-year-old Willow Hoechst from Aurora.

“It was fun,” said Willow, who spent the morning fishing with her 10-year-old brother, Crosby. “I caught six fish—three smaller ones and three bigger ones. One was a walleye, and the rest were bass. This was my third year, and I really enjoy this event.”

Meanwhile, her brother, Crosby, caught four fish.

“The lake was a little rough, but it was good fishing,” said Crosby, who said his guide, Al, was fun to fish with. “It was my first year, but I’ll be back again next year because I really like fishing.”

Over on Fortune Bay’s family fishing dock a group of youngsters still didn’t have enough fishing under their belts, so 12-year-old Hudson Peterson from Embarrass tossed a line into the shallow waters. Within 30 seconds he caught a very small perch and meekly held it up for a quick photo. A playful argument ensued as Hudson tried to tell his buddies that this fish counts toward his daily total, which had been zero up to that point.

“Yes, it does count,” said Peterson trying to convince his friends that he was no longer skunked on Lake Vermilion.

With that, it was time for lunch under the expansive lakeside tent at Fortune Bay Resort Casino and to listen to Kurre tell some tall fishing tales, offer some invaluable advice on the great outdoors and to once again remind the kids what a great sport fishing is.

For Estrin, it was a great way to spend a day doing what he loves best—fishing Lake Vermilion.

“We will back doing this again in another month with the Take a Vet Fishing event and we can’t wait,” said Estrin. “I’d like to thank all the volunteers who made this possible, plus our sponsors and the staff here at Fortune Bay—everyone was so helpful, and we appreciate the support.”

Cutlines:

HAPPY CREW!— The 2025 Take a Kid Fishing event on Lake Vermilion did not disappoint as many fish were caught and many memories were created. Pictured in the back row, left to right, are Take a Kid Fishing Chair Mike Estrin, Emcee Mike “Cold Front” Kurre and Guide Eric Hoffman.

Pictured in the front row, left to right, are Krosby Hoechst and his sister, Willow, both from Aurora, and 12-year-old Tony Schmidt from Proctor.

BUDDIES FOR LIFE!— This group of buddies pose for a quick photo after getting off Lake Vermilion Wednesday as part of the 2025 Take a Kid Fishing event. Pictured, left to right, are: Hudson Peterson, 12, of Embarrass, Tanner Cismiski, 13, of Ely, Tanner Wells, 13, of Aurora and Blake Pineo, 12, of Aurora.

THAT’S NOT A KEEPER!:)— Hudson Peterson, 12, of Embarrass meekly holds up a small perch that he caught off Fortune Bay’s family fishing dock.

STILL WORKING— Hibbing’s Rory Oberhelman, a volunteer guide for the 2025 Take a Kid Fishing event, was busy cleaning walleyes early Wednesday afternoon. Thanks to all of the volunteer guides and guides from the Lake Vermilion Guide’s League for helping out!