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Lake Vermilion 2017 open water fishing reports and related information.


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On 10/8/2017 at 10:12 PM, kaparzo said:

Gold jigs with rainbows in 30-35' with sand bottom adjacent to rocks was best for us

 

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We used 1/4 and 3/8 oz jigs in calm conditions. The more vertical your line could be, the better. 1-2 feet up was better than the jig sitting on the bottom. Our experience was that the fish were more active with a gold jig. 

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Headed up for one last weekend of open water fishing.  Anyone been out this week, how’s the bite?

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VG,

Good bite most days now!

All minnows for me. jigs or lindys. Chubs, shiners, and pike suckers.

Found walleyes from 8' to 40' yesterday.

Cliff

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PSU,

Lots of smaller walleyes mixed in with the keeper sized fish at most spots. A few spots do seem to have a larger percentage of keeper sized fish though. Looks very good for the next couple of years!

Cliff

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same results here lots of fish but had to sort through them for keepers. How bout them jumbo perch mixed in though wow.  I actually was catching quite a few smallmouth deeper as well. I had good luck with gulp alive pink shine 4" minnows too seem to catch bigger fish 

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Where's the best place to get bait at Vermillion?? Is Hoodoo the best access to fish big bay? The girlfriend and I are going to come up for a day trip tomorrow...Thanks for any help.

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HooDoo Point, Everett Bay public landing, or the Casino are all good landings if you want to fish Big Bay. The Y-Store or  the Food and Fuel in Tower both have good bait.

Cliff

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Well the weather was pretty crappy but the fish were biting...Had to sort through but kept some for dinner. Caught a variety today, eyes,jumbos,crappie and a few smallies... rigging on or next to rocks worked best for us.

20171021_163343.jpg

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Good day! 

Keep the reports coming! We’re islanders and had to pull out a week ago. On my last day out by myself I boated a thick 28” walleye to close my season. We brought filets Home so my old fisherman, 95 year old dad could enjoy a good fry,  I still enjoy reading about the lake so keep reporting.

Thanks,

Dick

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I pulled my boat for the winter today. Sure hated to have to do that, but have tons of stuff to do to get ready for the fall, winter stuff!

Cliff

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Caught an 18 inch walleye on a crank bait and a 48" muskie grabbed it..Got it up to the boat a few times but rolled and cut my line,the walleye was dead and I had it for supper...got 2 muskies on walleyes,1 on sunfish and 1 on a crappie..

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21 hours ago, Cliff Wagenbach said:

I pulled my boat for the winter today. Sure hated to have to do that, but have tons of stuff to do to get ready for the fall, winter stuff!

Cliff

Sorry to hear that Clifford, I would always look to see if you were out or not, kind of strange when I drove by today and the lift cover was off and the boat was missing. 

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I once had a big muskie hit a 26 inch walleye and rip the guts wide open! Had to release that fish because it was not quite a legal fish! The eagle ate well though!

Cliff

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Coming up this weekend with a friend of mine, even though the weather looks terrible. Any advice for how to catch them when mother nature brings the hammer down?  Highs in the mid 30's, lows in the low 20's.  

On Friday I had a muskie in the upper 40s hit a 19 1/2" walleye.  As usual she let go at boatside, but it was fun while it lasted. 

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F.H.,

Fish deep and slow with lindys or jigs with minnows. Sometimes smaller minnows will work best at other times large suckers or shiners will get more hits.

Cliff

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22 hours ago, LBerquist said:

Nope, you wont. Anyone know if the dock is still out at hoodoo?

If no one responds about the dock at HooDoo, Fortune Bay always leaves their docks in, this time of year the Marina is closed but the landing is available. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

At least a couple weeks yet (for Big Bay area). Temps moderating into next week. Couple more cool nights this week then things won't be changing much. I'll go with first week of December (2nd) to safely walk out from McKinley park on 5 inches. 

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • jparrucci
      Very low, probably 2 feet lower than last year at ice out.
    • mbeyer
      what do they look like this spring?
    • SkunkedAgain
      I might have missed a guess, but here are the ones that I noted:   JerkinLips – March 27th, then April 7th Brianf. – March 28th Bobberwatcher – April…. MikeG3Boat – April 10th SkunkedAgain – early April, then April 21st   Definitely a tough year for guesses, as it seemed to be a no-brainer early ice out. Then it got cold and snowed again.
    • mbeyer
      MN DNR posted April 13 as Ice out date for Vermilion
    • Brianf.
      ^^^45 in the morning and 47 in the evening
    • CigarGuy
      👍. What was the water temp in Black Bay? Thanks....
    • Brianf.
      No, that wasn't me.  I drive a 621 Ranger. 
    • CigarGuy
      So, that was you in the camo lund? I'm bummed, I have to head back to the cities tomorrow for a few days, then back up for at least a few weeks. Got the dock in and fired up to get out chasing some crappies till opener!
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Lots of ice on the main basin, but it is definitely deteriorating.  Some anglers have been fishing the open water at the mouth of the Rainy River in front of the Lighthouse Gap.  The rest of the basin is still iced over. Pike enthusiasts caught some big pike earlier last week tip up fishing in pre-spawn areas adjacent to traditional spawning areas.  8 - 14' of water using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring has been the ticket.  Ice fishing for all practical purposes is done for the year. The focus for the basin moving forward will be pike transitioning into back bays to spawn,  This is open water fishing and an opportunity available as the pike season is open year round on Lake of the Woods. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. With both the ice fishing and spring fishing on the Rainy River being so good, many are looking forward to the MN Fishing Opener on Saturday, May 11th.  It should be epic. On the Rainy River...  An absolutely incredible week of walleye and sturgeon fishing on the Rain Rainy River.     Walleye anglers, as a rule, caught good numbers of fish and lots of big fish.  This spring was one for the books.   To follow that up, the sturgeon season is currently underway and although every day can be different, many boats have caught 30 - 40 sturgeon in a day!  We have heard of fish measuring into the low 70 inch range.  Lots in the 60 - 70 inch range as well.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  Open water is continuing to expand in areas with current.  The sight of open water simply is wetting the pallet of those eager for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th.   A few locals were on the ice this week, targeting pike.  Some big slimers were iced along with some muskies as well.  If you like fishing for predators, LOW is healthy!  
    • Brianf.
      Early bird gets the worm some say...   I have it on good authority that this very special angler caught no walleyes or muskies and that any panfish caught were released unharmed.        
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