Smallmouth/sunfish info

[blue_healer_guy]

Hey guys, bringing my son and a friends son both ages 12 leaving tomm am. Probably not gonna be doing much eye fishing becuz of ages but would like them to taggle with those to keep them busy. we will be camping in hinsdale area, are smallies shore related or reef? any help with sunfish would help to, we will have a couple of meals if possible for a 3 day trip. not bringing any home. Thanks in advance as we are leaving at 6am.

[delcecchi]

I have been catching sunfish on reefs/rockpiles although not on purpose. They seem endemic on west end. Weedbeds should be good too.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

The smallies that I have heard of being caught now are coming off of the deep edges of the reefs.

Cliff

[Steve Foss]

What Cliff said on the smallies. For sunnies, find a good weed bed and slip-bobber the openings and the deep weedline with small leeches, if you can find them. If not, crawlers. Some places you won't have to travel far between deep weedlines and mid-lake humps/reefs. You'll find some smallies along those deeper weed edges, too. Could also connect with some evening 'eyes there.

FWIW, I think the slip bobber was a phenomenal invention. Kids and bobbers go together like bread and butter, and with the slip bobber you can get those kids fishing a lot deeper and more productive water than would have been possible before.

If you have the right kind of electronics/chip, you can find good numbers of those places. If not, both Lakemaster and Fishing Hot Spots offer excellent paper maps of Vermilion. An hour looking at a good map and an hour of exploration before fishing will help immensely, and are good fun, too.

You'll even find a multispecies fishing book written about Lake Vermilion in stores around the lake. Could be some worthwhile info in that.

Good luck. Hope you and the kids connect and have a great time!

[blue_healer_guy]

Just returned and found to be a tough bite for everything for us. a few smallies, few northerns and 4 walleyes. did have 1 fish fry and kids seemed to enjoy camping on the island. one nasty thunderstorm fri am tho!

[Steve Foss]

Thanks for the report! Sorry the fishing wasn't better, but it's always nice to see someone asking for info who comes back after the trip and tells us how they did. So thanks again.