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Any news or rumors for 2011? Seems to be tons of slot fish in the lake now by my experience and reading a lot of posts.

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I sure hope so! But i think the DNR are pretty happy with the results so i dont see it changing this yr..

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Its a ten year program and I don't see them interrupting that timeline.. fishing should be great this year.. lots of nice fish this winter

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Can someone remind me again the slot regs for Walleyes and Northern on Vermillion? I am heading up this weekend. Thank you

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Lake Vermilion walleye: a 17-26 inch protected slot with one fish allowed over 26 inches, and a four fish bag limit.

Lake Vermilion pike: a 24-36 inch protected slot, with one fish allowed over 36 inches. Three-fish bag limit.

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Since the slot is working so well on the east end and has adverse effects on the west end I think if enough people from the west end complain the DNR may remove the slot or adjust it from Oak narrows west.

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We used to fish on the West end about 10 years ago and had trouble seeing pike smaller than 30 - 36 inches.

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The Lake Vermilion Guides League has discussed the present slot among ourselves and also a little with the DNR in respect to the West end "problem" of having more slot fish and few eating sized fish.

The consensus is mostly that if any slot changes were made they would have to be made throughout the whole lake. There would be just to many people keeping slot fish on the east end and then claiming that they were caught on the west end of the lake.

I personally think that the slot is working great! I do think that it could be opened up a little now to maybe allow fishermen to keep one walleye up to around 19" or 20" in their limits. Not very likely that will happen this year though!

Cliff

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Cliff

Is there a lake in Minnesota that has had a slot adjusted by the DNR to allow the keeping of fish within the slot? Speaking from an east end perspective, I totally agree that the slot appears to be working. It was a very short time ago that there was a thread on this forum discussing the "small" size of Lake Vermilion walleye. Now, the discussion pertains to "only" BIG walleyes in some areas of the lake crazy I am concerned about the "impact" of the new state park on the east end. IF the projections of up to 400,000 additional visitors/year are correct, the impact on the east end fishery would not be good. Personally, I hope the slot remains indefinitely because of the new state park. I would bet that any adjustment, involving keeping slot size walleyes, would eventually have an adverse effect on the quality of the fishery. When 100's of thousands of potential "additional" fishermen enter the equation, the effect could be devasting. JMHO.

Good Fishing,

MarkB smile

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The consensus is mostly that if any slot changes were made they would have to be made throughout the whole lake. There would be just to many people keeping slot fish on the east end and then claiming that they were caught on the west end of the lake.

I like to think most anglers would follow the rules, the ones that don't are probably keeping everything right now.

The west end does have a healty population of big pike as well as a growing population of large mouth bass, maybe it's time to start stocking walleye fingerlings instead of fry.

Also with more and more people using the lake maybe it's time that the DNR manage the lake on a bi-yearly basis instead of the 10 year cycle that they currently use. Just look at leech lake, it went from no walleyes to the best fishing ever, if they can accomplish that in a few years there they can do it here.

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The fishing is great on Vermilion, what you seem to be more concerned about is the "keeping" of walleye on Vermilion. Count me as a west-end guy that is happy with the slot. I don't see as many eaters but I'll trade an eater for catching a 24" walleye any day.

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I'm an action guy and miss the days of cpr 20-30 fish, catching a 25" walleye on the west end has never been a propblem over the years.

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MarkB,

Red Lake and Mille Lacs slots and limits are adjusted every year and many time more than once a year to allow for the fishing pressure .

The DNR claims they only do it there because of tribal netting and rights. ???

They could do it on Vermilion also if they really wanted to go through the hassle.

Cliff

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I tend to side with you Mark.. keep the slot as is and I've also always thought it should be a three fish limit..

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How long has the slot been in force 3 or 4 years? I dont remember exactly , but it hasnt been long seems like it has made a big impact already. I think they should let it run its course ,why tear down what they have built its a good, thing and it will only get better.seen it happen here on the Mississippi our regs are, 15 to 20 inchers are keepers,and can keep one over 26 ,all kinds a of fish 20 up to 30 inches.i personally dont keep any over 17 inches there ok but not as good a table fare as the 15s .

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It would be almost impossible to enforce seperate slots for each end of the lake and if you think people wouldn't take advantage of it, I have some swamp land I'll sell you cheap.

The main reason for the slots was over harvest, the harvest numbers are still over what the DNR considers safe harvest levels. It's still to early to start adjusting slot numbers just because some people aren't catching all the Walleyes they want.

Just take a short drive over to the east end if you can't find enough eaters on the west end. The fish are there, maybe not where you used to catch them however they are there to catch. The fall bite was fantastic and the fish we caught were in all sizes. The Walleye fishing on the west end was tough before the slot so it isn't the reason for the low numbers of "eaters". As for the Pike slot, I think it is doing just what they wanted it to do. My customers and I are catching more and more large Pike than ever before. I'm not having any trouble catching lots of 10 to 15lb Pike and 40 inchers are in all parts of the lake, east and west.

Keep in mind that no two lakes are the same. That is why they no longer manage them all the same way. Leech lake hasn't totaly recovered, it's just better than it was. They still have to kill 100's of Cormorants every year to keep the lake from slidding back to where it was. It was also heavily stocked for a number of years to accelerate that recovery. You just can't assume without knowing the facts about the fishery. Last summer was a tough bite for much of the summer so now everybody is in Panic mode about the Walleye fishing. The previous summer was one of the best Walleye bites we had had in years. I doubt the lake crashed over the span of one season. If the "yearly" test net counts show a big drop in the numbers I'm sure the DNR would make an adjustment. Right now there just isn't any reason to question the science. JMHO.

"Ace"

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...and everyone seems to forget about the incredibly early spring we had in 2010. Nobody truly knows what effect, if any, that had on where the fish were at various points of the year or how that affected walleye classes.

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Yes, last year was weird with a capital W. I didn't get a fish, not even a bite for like 6 weeks after the opener. Not a northern, not a bass, not a walleye, not even a bluegill or perch. Nothing. It was really strange.

OK, I'm not the best fisherman but not a perch? Or a bluegill? Or a hammerhandle?

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It would be almost impossible to enforce seperate slots for each end of the lake and if you think people wouldn't take advantage of it, I have some swamp land I'll sell you cheap.

The main reason for the slots was over harvest, the harvest numbers are still over what the DNR considers safe harvest levels. It's still to early to start adjusting slot numbers just because some people aren't catching all the Walleyes they want.

Just take a short drive over to the east end if you can't find enough eaters on the west end. The fish are there, maybe not where you used to catch them however they are there to catch. The fall bite was fantastic and the fish we caught were in all sizes. The Walleye fishing on the west end was tough before the slot so it isn't the reason for the low numbers of "eaters". As for the Pike slot, I think it is doing just what they wanted it to do. My customers and I are catching more and more large Pike than ever before. I'm not having any trouble catching lots of 10 to 15lb Pike and 40 inchers are in all parts of the lake, east and west.

Keep in mind that no two lakes are the same. That is why they no longer manage them all the same way. Leech lake hasn't totaly recovered, it's just better than it was. They still have to kill 100's of Cormorants every year to keep the lake from slidding back to where it was. It was also heavily stocked for a number of years to accelerate that recovery. You just can't assume without knowing the facts about the fishery. Last summer was a tough bite for much of the summer so now everybody is in Panic mode about the Walleye fishing. The previous summer was one of the best Walleye bites we had had in years. I doubt the lake crashed over the span of one season. If the "yearly" test net counts show a big drop in the numbers I'm sure the DNR would make an adjustment. Right now there just isn't any reason to question the science. JMHO.

"Ace"

+1!

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Del,

You have to be pulling our legs!

You are a better fisherman than many and I find it very hard to believe that you had that tough of an opener.

confused

Cliff

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Del,

You have to be pulling our legs!

You are a better fisherman than many and I find it very hard to believe that you had that tough of an opener.

confused

Cliff

No fooling I really did. That is the gospel truth. None of the normal spring spots did anything, not the south shore of wakemup, not the channel by the stone wall going to black bay, not richies, not woodies. Not even the summer spots did anything. Zip, nada, zilch.

It was positively weird. The fish had to be in the water somewhere but I sure couldn't find them, and the word was no one else was either. In fact all I had to do was look around and notice the paucity of local boats where normally there is a group.

It was bad. My theory is the early ice out followed by a month of cold weather confused the fish they didn't know whether to excrete or go blind as my dad used to say. Maybe they were suspended. Beats me. I would have buzzed down to your end of the lake but it is a really long boat ride.

Anyway, I didn't get it figured out. Not even catching a perch was probably a clue but it didn't help me. Any suggestions for next time this happens appreciated.

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Fish deeper areas! transition areas ,sand to rock, muck clay to rock there are are spots on the west end like that, real close to wakemup village . Those types of areas hold fish, seems like more so in spring and fall .

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Good suggestion. I tried some deep spots. Last spring/early summer was very unusual. It was almost creepy, like there was no life in the lake. Nothing on the sonar, not a bite. It was a most bizarre thing.

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Good suggestion. I tried some deep spots. Last spring/early summer was very unusual. It was almost creepy, like there was no life in the lake. Nothing on the sonar, not a bite. It was a most bizarre thing.

Del,

Sometimes we depend on and trust our electronics to much!

I have caught many limits of walleyes in deep water that I never saw a fish on my electronics the whole day! I believe that they were stuck so tight to the bottom that they blended right into it.

Cliff

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I am not nearly the expert as Del & the rest of you, but the West End was kind of spooky early last year. Every boat we talked to had the same story, no walleye and not much of anything else. Got some nice slot fish in unusual places(bobbers less than 15') but it took some work.

Nephew went exclusively for large mouth and did fantastic.

It will be interesting to see what happens in May/June of '11.......

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My wife and I were up around June 18th last year for a week and it was slower than in the past. We have made 2 previous trips, both in June. The 1st year I (my wife doesn't fish) nailed everything. The second year was a little slower but I was fishing smallmouths and having a good time with them. Like I said, last year was the slowest for walleye but we caught them. We are not meat hunters so that really wasn't a concern. We enjoy dining in Ely, Tower, the casino and other places that we "find". If I worried about catching fish to eat it wouldn't be a vacation. Vermilion is a beautiful area and we enjoy the serenity. I have found the "locals" to be very friendly and helpful. I realize that a lot of people in the area depend on tourists who like to catch fish but as I grow older I understand that there is more to fishing than catching fish. You have to enjoy the moment.

We'll be back in June for another week and we are looking forward to it.

If GOD wanted you to eat fish every day he would't have made steaks, hotdogs and smores!!!!

Mike

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This thread is turning out to be about the bad fishing last year on the West end. So I'll chime in with my equally bad year. I fish mainly Niles bay, Wolf bay Dago Bay. I did catch a few nice ones at dusk but very far far between and almost seemed to be by luck. I must admit that I didn't pound the water. But a number of years ago I could catch eye's easily. I even had trouble catching decent sized sunnies even while fishing for them. We had one "bonanza" the second week after opening on nice size sunnies but after that I had to settle on 6-7 inchers if I wanted to have a meal.

We would travel to Frazier Bay to get some 'eyes and that also didn't produce as well as the year before.

From reports over the last several years, the East end is the place for 'eyes. The price of gas and the time to travel will keep many of us West enders from reaping the better harvest of 'eyes on the east end.

So you East enders enjoy it while it lasts. Doesn't make sense to me being the same lake and the fact that we use to do better years ago.

StillFishin'

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • monstermoose78
      Had something crazy happen this morning a fork horn buck came running up to Finn and I while sitting on the pond at just after legal shooting time. Finn bark and the buck snorted and came closer. Next I saw was a big white flash of Finn going after this buck. They made it to the field and then the buck started chasing Finn. The buck stopped at 40 yards from me and Finn was behind me. I thought I was going to have shoot this buck if it tried to get me. I also could have got my fall turkey as, but you can’t have a dog with or shot bigger than 4 shot. I had 2 shot only with me. What a crazy day. Only had a few ducks close enough but I was busy trying make sure this deer didn’t hurt my dog. 
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      Shot the muzzleloader and I am good. Then saw big groups of woodducks  everywhere. I saw 300 easy as the sunset. 
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    • MarkB
      My 2 cousins and myself just finished up a windy 4 day trip to our favorite lake. It was the last of the year and was eventful to say the least. When we arrived, water temperatures were 61 degrees and when we left yesterday morning the water temps had dropped to 54 degrees. The fishing was fantastic, once again, and we caught walleyes, bass, and northerns on minnows and crawlers(northerns only on minnows). We found the fish adjacent to shallow rock piles(14') in 20'-28' of water. Our best fishing hours of the day were ~5:30 -twilight in the evenings and until ~ 10:30 in the mornings. Although those two time periods were prime time, fish bit all day. For us, the bite was very light and we probably missed or lost as many fish as we caught. Some people think I'm nuts when I say bead color can make a difference and it certainly did this trip. My cousin's "go to" green/white bead combo did zilch on this trip. It was one translucent red bead and a plain size #2 gamakatsu hook with a 3' leader that produced the fish. We ended up with 137 walleyes and 19 bass for the 4 day outing. We caught far more 17"-19.999" walleyes on this trip than on our previous trips and our numerous slot fish measured from 21"-25". My younger cousin caught 4 slot fish in ~20 minutes one evening. We fish exclusively for walleyes and additional species are incidental. With that said, we caught some beautiful smallmouth bass on this trip and they were right down there with the walleyes, usually in the rocks. As usual, everything is catch and release except for the fish we eat while there and the 12 walleyes(3 individual limits) we take home to the wives. While cleaning some eaters we kept for supper, we always check the stomach contents. One of the walleyes had the jig that is pictured below loose in its stomach!  No attached line, no embedded hook, just the jig! It baffled us as to how in the world it could have gotten there . As you can see, the jig is in good shape so the fish must have swallowed it recently .   The boat traffic was minimal this trip and we had a couple days where it looked as if we had the lake to ourselves. Sunday was a brutal day with wind gusts to 50MPH!. We stayed in and ventured out finally at ~5:00. It turned out to be the best 2 hours of the entire trip. This time, the baby loons were around, the eagles were abundant, the changing leaves made the entire lake area look like a painting. If I could make only one short trip a year to the lake, now would be the time. What capped off the trip was the magnificent display of the Northern Lights. We can't wait for next spring to return, God willing, and, in the meantime, good fishing.  MarkB🙂 The jig found in the stomach of a walleye we ate.   My young cousin with his best of the trip.   a chunky 17" smallmouth   19.5" smallmouth
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