Frazer Bay - Lake Vermilion Fishing Reports

[BigVwalters]

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Anybody been fishing the frazer bay area this winter?  Heading up this weekend and was wondering if anyone has traveled out that way yet. 

 

[BulldogInTC]

How'd you do?  Buddy and I tried quite a few spots anywhere from the launch to 36 to Golden and anywhere in between.  Marked fish in quite a few spots, but not much action to show for it with 2 walleyes and a 33" northern on a tip up.  Tried everywhere from 11'-30'.

[BigVwalters]

We tried a couple shoreline breaks in 25 to 30'  not much to show either few eaters.  Coming back up this weekend to try again maybe in a different spot.  

[ANYFISH2]

Good luck guys, thanks for the reports.

Welcome to FM.

[Wheres_Walter]

Headed up this weekend and next weekend.  WIll be fishing mostly Frazer.  Sounds like the hatch is on.  If anyone has been fishing walleye on frazer in the past few days, got any tips on depth?  Presentation?  

 

Sounds like crawlers are the ticket right now.

 

Thanks

[redlabguy]

Sorry if this reply is too late for you. I was off the lake for about five days. In the last few days, the fish are not in big bunches due to the hatch. But they are 25-30' deep near rocky shore or underwater projections. I've been managing dinner fish on outings using 1/2 crawler, sloooow troll on light weight lindy or bottom bouncer.

[PSU]

Seems like the bite in Frazer and Smart's Bay really picked up on Sunday and from what I hear is continuing. We had to leave yesterday unfortunately....As Redlab said, 1/2 crawler in 20-30 feet. I also caught a bunch off our dock (one a 24") on slip bobbers and leeches (8-10 feet)

[Wheres_Walter]

I couldn't buy a walleye this past weekend.  lindys, jigs, slip bobbers, crawlers/leaches.  Didn't matter.  I was fishing deep structure and flats near structure, 20-30 FOW.  I saw the clouds of what I assume to be mayflies all over the water column on the depth finder.  When you see that, what is the best approach to walleye?  Is it fishing the bottom beneath those clouds?  Dragging a lindy through the bugs higher up in the water column?  I also saw boats fishing in the middle of "nowhere" out in the middle of Frazer.  Places I've never even heard or seen a boat fishing before.  Are they fishing the hatch for walleyes?  Seemed like some of them were casting big baits for muskies? 

I usually just sleep through the mayfly hatch because I find the fishing so unproductive, but in reading around here, people still have success so I'm looking to tap into some of that knowledge.

 

Thanks!  Matt

[Cliff Wagenbach]

W_W,

The people out in the middle of no where could easily be fishing for walleyes in the mud flats or they could be trolling the bug hatch for Muskie  that are chasing the Tulibee that are after the suspended mayfly larvae.

Best bet under these hatch conditions is to first locate a pod of walleyes on the bottom with your finder. Then use a plain hook lindy rig baited with 1/2 of a crawler. Persistence pays off with these fish! Keep dragging your presentation through them until you pick off a couple. Then you may have to find another pod to pester! 19' to 30 depths have been best.

Cliff

[FishinCT]

5 hours ago, Wheres_Walter said:

I also saw boats fishing in the middle of "nowhere" out in the middle of Frazer.  Places I've never even heard or seen a boat fishing before.  Are they fishing the hatch for walleyes?

Very common tactic all year in Frazer so it can't be just the big hatch. My theory is that 10% of the fisherman catch most of the fish, and those people are in the 90%

 

On the the other hand, I'm no Cliff myself so who knows!

[delcecchi]

Last couple years there have been a bunch of folks fishing muskies out in featureless deep water.   Sometimes trolling big planer boards at dusk.  About ran over those boards a time or two, kind of hard to see in the near dark

 

[Wheres_Walter]

Struggled again on Saturday morning and saturday night fishing deeper reefs and flats 18-30 FOW.  I can only get out for a couple hours here and there, so Sunday morning I moved into 12-14 FOW and started getting bites.   Managed to eke out 3 nice eaters (and a handful of smaller eye's) in my last hour of fishing on sunday (8-9am).   Went from no fish (aside from accidental perch and smallies) on Lindy/crawler in deeper water, to a nice little burst of eyes in shallower water, again using lindy/crawler.     

[TrueNorth]

On 7/5/2017 at 10:35 PM, delcecchi said:

Last couple years there have been a bunch of folks fishing muskies out in featureless deep water.   Sometimes trolling big planer boards at dusk.  About ran over those boards a time or two, kind of hard to see in the near dark

 

Hey Del - My sonar blew up with smaller fish on the far west after 2 pm to dark last week out in the middle of the Head O Lakes basin.  Marked an unbelievable amount of what I believe were tullibee/cisco in 35-42 feet of water.  Guessing the cisco were chasing the larve in the mud and the Muskies were gorging on the cisco's.  

[delcecchi]

I can believe that.   I don't know about the muskies but there are a lot of tullibees.  

 

I remember spending a few wasted hours thinking I was on a big school of suspended walleye, down about 20 feet in 40-50 feet off north end of Schmidts island....   Big hooks.  lots of them.  

 

Used to see the tullies splashing on the surface in the evening.   Haven't seen that in the last few years.   Ospreys loved that too.   But now they are gone too.  Eagles chased them off. 

 

Enough digressions.   Ha.   Good luck.  Put a glow tube or something on those planers.... They are hard to see in the near dark

 

[BigVwalters]

Heading up tonight.   Plan on hitting Frazer tomorrow morning.  Any general reports from that area like bait/depth?  Also Delcecchi, there's still plenty of ospreys on the west end of the lake.  

[redlabguy]

The last 7 days have been tough for me. I'm finding one here, one there. I'm not seeing any schools and few fish. And I've been seeing mayfly clouds. Cool weather and water seems to have extended the hatch. I don't want to sound too pessimistic. Maybe others are doing better (I'd bet on that) and the weather has changed as of about 5 o'clock yesterday. Let us know how you do.

RLG

[delcecchi]

9 hours ago, BigVwalters said:

Heading up tonight.   Plan on hitting Frazer tomorrow morning.  Any general reports from that area like bait/depth?  Also Delcecchi, there's still plenty of ospreys on the west end of the lake.  

Not seeing them like back in the day.  Loved watching a family hitting the tulibees splashing on the surface. 

 

If I were to get ambitious and head that far east. where should I start looking?

Edited July 14, 2017 by delcecchi

[bassbouncer]

Del you need to hop in my boat. I run down that way often. 

[delcecchi]

Thanks for the offer...

That would be great.

Edited July 15, 2017 by delcecchi

[BigVwalters]

Yeah Del Ive been lucky enough to have a place near an osprey nest for the last few years so Ive got enjoy the dive bombing.  Anyways I did make it to frazer Saturday morning.  Tried a couple of spots.  Graphed a few fish in both areas but didn't have to much success.  A few smaller eyes.  Ended up going back to the west side around 11am.  Fished a new spot and did very well.  Multiple slot fish biggest being around 24"  and a few nice 17-19" fish I brought back for lunch.  All on lindys and crawlers.  18-28 FOW

[delcecchi]

What are the characteristics of the spot?   I spent Sunday afternoon on Frazier with bassbouncer.   We got one walleye and a whitefish or maybe it was a tullibee.   Mostly fished 25+ feet.   3 or 4 spots.  leeches and crawlers on rigs. 

[BigVwalters]

It was a main lake break line that went from 18' and dropped into around 30'.  Just a sand transition into mud.   The fish we kept were loaded with small perch and crayfish.

[airnuts]

Finally making it up for our first trip of the year. Strictly walleye fishing in Frazer Bay with slip bobbers around the reefs. Appreciate any fishing reports. Thanks!

[redlabguy]

Nuts,

I had to leave Fraser on Monday for some business and a trip, but I think your MO is the right one. However, there are a lot of small (10-12") fish on the reef tops as of Sunday. You might try deeper water just off the tops. I'm not a fan of bobber fishing (like to feel the bite) but it's been a consistent winning method.

Dick

[airnuts]

Managed a 17 and 22 incher while slip bobbering with leeches on a 21 foot reef. Hope the success continues.

[airnuts]

Not a nibble on the reefs this morning. Painting lots of fish on the sides but no hits. Nights have to try some Lindys and troll but I'm a novice at this.

[airnuts]

Might have to try...

[airnuts]

No bites this morning. Managed 2 eaters last night 21 on rock bar 21 fow using leeches while slip bobbering. Anyone else have anything to report?

[redlabguy]

Report: still off the lake. Family, little business, trip...but I'd still rather be where you are, even if it's slow. You might consider reefs on Big Bay.

RLG

[PSU]

Any recent walleye updates? As I reported last week (Tuesday-Friday) it was VERY slow for me