LAKE VERMILION- A pair of Twin Cities high school anglers won the 2022 Minnesota High School Muskie State Championship held Aug. 12 on Lake Vermilion.
Runners-up in last year’s tourney, Elli Borovsky and Carter Graff claimed the championship this year with a 50-inch muskie. The big catch helped them to dethrone the two-time reigning champions, Charles Weiss and Erik Panyan, who finished second.
Sixteen teams spent eight hours out on the water in pursuit of muskies and northern pike.
“Lake Vermilion produced excellent results this year with students logging five muskies and ten northern pike during the event,” tournament director Dave Schueck said. “The five caught muskies is the most we’ve observed in many years for the tournament. Participants indicated that several other 50-inch-class fish were hooked, or nearly so, but never made it to the net.”
Vermilion Dam Lodge again served as headquarters and catered lunch for the annual event. Vermilion Lake Association members performed aquatic invasive species inspections prior to the initial boat launch.
The tournament was dedicated to the memory of Jeff Young, a longtime youth fishing promoter and muskie/pike fishing advocate.
The tournament was sponsored by Youth Heritage Outdoors and the Twin Cities chapter of Muskies, Inc. and supported by more than a dozen vendors and organizations.
The top five teams included:
1. Elli Borovsky and Carter Graff, 23 points, 50” muskie
2. Charles Weiss/Erik Panyan, 15 points, 44” muskie
3. Cole Nelson/Drew Nelson, 13.25 points, 40.25” muskie + 31” pike + 25” pike
4. Aiden Johnson/Emmett Johnson, 10.5 points, 39.5” muskie
5. Landen Brill/Grayson Schmidt, 9.75 points, 38.75” muskie