Lake Vermilion Fishing Q&A

[Walleye #1]

Cliff

Would you care to elaborate on your spinner thoughts? What makes Vermilion a later spinner bite then say a Mille Lacs or Leech for example. Just curious to your thoughts?

Also how much do you guys attempt to use slow death up on Vermilion?

Heading up for a week on Saturday and staying on the West End at Phersons for a week and plan on being on the water an awful lot. Any West End Advice? Been a while since I have been on that end of the lake.

Walleye #1

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I have just had better luck using spinners after the May Fly hatch. Spinners will usually catch some fish any time you use them. I just find a plain bait rig much easier to use and most of the time more effective.

I prefer a fast death over a slow death!

Cliff

[Walleye #1]

Have the may flys hatched up there yet?

[Casey Sunsdahl]

Yes they are all done

[SB55408]

Hi!

A friend and I are headed up to fish Vermilion for the first time Aug 13-15. A couple questions we have:

- Where is a good place to camp (tent)? Is there a place that has access to freezers? We're thinking about how we'll keep a catch fresh if we get into some walleyes. (Admittedly we are both rookie walleye chasers, so this could prove irrelevant)

- My buddy has a Lund deep V that's great to fish out of, but no GPS/LakeMaster chip. I have a Glastron ski/fish boat that is much more difficult to fish out of, but I have GPS/LakeMaster. Which boat to take? Fear of rocks suggests we ought to take my boat, but ease of fishing would suggest we take his Lund

-Is there a preferable area of the lake to target both walleye and musky?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Shawn

[neptune]

Shawn,

Welcome to the forum. I know you can camp at a couple of spots on the east end, Hoodoo point and McKinley park but I don't know about freezer access. You could always stock up on ice and fill a large cooler. My brother-in law stays at HooDoo for a week every year and it works well for him and his family.

As far as boat choice, I would be more worried about rocks with your fiberglass Glastron than the aluminum hull of the Lund but they are all marked pretty good. Our family recently bought a 2005 Crestliner Sportfish and I have not convinced the wife to let me get a new GPS fish locator yet but I have done OK just using my iPhone with the Navionics app. This app is just as good as my old LakeMaster chip but the negative is that the screen is obviously very small and you would probably want to bring your phone charger along.

If you stay on the east end you will have quick access to both musky and walleye spots. Good Luck.

[Casey Sunsdahl]

You can only have 4 walleye in possession at any given time. I'm guessing you would eat a meal or two while here and if you had a clean camp at the end of your trip you could each bring only 4 home.. A cooler with Ice is all you'll need.. I would Keep them in water or ziplocks with water.. They will stay nice for several days if kept cool then easily transferred to a freezer anytime. There are free campsites also on hindsdale island.. Check out the dnr website I believe.

[delcecchi]

If you use some salt on the ice, you can make it a little colder which can help keep them fresh.

[lithbeef]

Hi everyone,

I am headed to Vermillion next week. I will be staying near Polley's resort, which is on or near Muskego Bay as I understand it.

I am hoping for help with the following:

1) Does anyone know if a guide on Vermilion? Please reply with a name and contact information if you do. Also, please let me know if they are "kid friendly"

2) This time of year, what is the best species to target for the most action or the most big fish? Please weigh in on that as well. I am going to spend some time reading the posts in this Vermilion forum, but I like to hear the direct answers to questions. This is a great web site and my fellow outdoorsmen seems to be a wealth of knowledge.

I am NOT looking for specific spots at all. I just want to know what to do and what type of structure to look for.

Thank you all!!

[neptune]

There are several guides on Lake Vermilion and many of them post frequently on this site but usually the guides focus on either the east end or the west. This site has a pretty good list of guides Lake Vermilion Guide League

Maybe the guides will chime in as well and give you some advice but most of them work the east end while you are staying on the west end.

As far as what species to target it just depends on what you are looking for? Do you want to catch a meal then go for walleyes. If you are with a guide you won't be dissapointed. Otherwise the west end has great Musky and bass fishing that should be pretty good next week.

[neptune]

Here's another site with some more info about guides.

Lake Vermilion guides

[Casey Sunsdahl]

I take people regularly from the west end and just have them meet me at the casino... Some young boys had an absolute riot this morning slamming the nice smallmouth!!!! I am booked out to the 15th but if you want a suggestion or two just email me.

Capt.

[james_walleye]

Hey Casey, how are you going about the smallie fishing? Fishing plastics a bit deeper?

[SB55408]

Awesome, thank you very much for the suggestions! I wasn't aware of the Navionics app...that's a great idea. Thanks again!

[Casey Sunsdahl]

JW give me a call

[neptune]

Just a quick thank you to everyone on this site who consistently provide useful tips and answers to rookie questions. I had a fantastic weekend of fishing even though I only got out for a couple of hours each morning. Casey's crawlers worked like advertised and after moving locations once, caught a nice limit of keepers in just over an hour on Saturday. Sunday was beautiful and the fishing was steady but I only kept one. Everything was too big. I never thought I would start complaining about catching too many big fish. The largest was 24.5". A 3' snell, red hook, CC and air was what worked. Thanks again guys. I'm learning a little more each time out.

[chrismo]

Hi everyone, I'm a first time user. This is an extremely helpful forum. I'm coming up to Lake Vermilion with my wife for the first time for the week of August 18th and we are staying on the east side close to Everett Bay. I was wondering if anyone would be able to offer me a little help on how deep to fish or some general areas for northern and musky. Do they both usually occupy the same areas? We don't have a lot of knowledge on either species but from reading previous messages we thought that we would target areas with weeds. Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks

[chrismo]

what's the matter, nobody wants to help the new guy?

[Cherokee Ref]

Chrismo, Don't know how much help I can be as I don not fish the east end. If you can find weeds, I would definitely target them with spinnerbaits, in-line spinners (like big Mepps) and large rattle trap-type baits. That last one is one many people don't try, but fished at the edge of a weed bed, it can be killer. Easy for the wife to reel in, too, as those big spinners can really hurt the wrists after a while.Good luck and please post results. I will be up in Sept.

[chucker1101]

what's the matter, nobody wants to help the new guy?

Well, i don't think i'm giving anything away by saying Everett Bay will be holding Northerns. Since you're staying close to there, it'd be a good place to start. Especially if the wind is kicking up hard. It can be tough on Big Bay when the wind kicks up over 15 mph.

I get Northerns on just about every bait i throw, including leeches and worms. I think i fish the shoreline breaks more than most here, though. Spinner baits have produced the most Northerns for me this year.

The muskie fisherman can tell you more, but from my observation they throw the big hardware around the islands and rockpiles in Big Bay. And there are a lot of those. Find a rockpile or island, and start tossing hardware.

[vermilionfox]

chrismo, don't know alot about the east end but Everett should hold some pike and bass. Also try casting to any reeds that you see, the far west end of Big Bay all the way pasy Bay View has some pockets of the reeds that have produced pike for me. Send me an e-mail if you like, I'm in Florissant.

[TruthWalleyes]

A trip to vermilion is something that i'd really like to do sometime in the next several weeks, i may even skip a weekend of sturgeon fishing for a first time on vermilion.

Looking for a place to plop a tent down and beach the boat for a 3 day weekend. I did some looking at a few resort sites yesterday and found only cabin rentals.

Any help would be appreciated. I'd love to get up there and enjoy the scenery and fishing! With only a 16' boat a shore location that is semi-protected would be a plus.

[chucker1101]

A trip to vermilion is something that i'd really like to do sometime in the next several weeks, i may even skip a weekend of sturgeon fishing for a first time on vermilion.

Looking for a place to plop a tent down and beach the boat for a 3 day weekend. I did some looking at a few resort sites yesterday and found only cabin rentals.

Any help would be appreciated. I'd love to get up there and enjoy the scenery and fishing! With only a 16' boat a shore location that is semi-protected would be a plus.

On the East end, there is McKinley Park, just North of Tower. They have a dock with slots you can tie up to overnight and camping sites, and just as importantly, parking for a boat/trailer.

In the middle of the lake, there are a bunch of state campgrounds on the East side of Hinsdale Island, facing into Smart Bay. I assume you can reserve these, but i don't know. I think the campground is run by the Bear Head Lake State Park. You'd have to find a place to leave your car/boat trailer on shore. These sites are well protected from everything but East wind, for a boat. East wind is pretty rare.

On the West end, there's the Wak-em-up State Forest campground. They've got sites with and without electricity, and they have water and trash removal service. The dock is pretty small, holds maybe four boats. First come, first serve for campground users. The launch is primitive, from what i recall. Don't think you can beach your boat on the shore, but can't quite fully remember the layout now.

Edit: Hinsdale Island campground is run by Soudan Mine State park, and it's first come first serve. And they're free: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_forests/facilities/cmp00030/index.html

[delcecchi]

There are campsites on Hinsdale Island and a forest service or something campground at wakemup narrows.

or for a little more civilization, hoodoo point or McKinley park.

[vermilionfox]

Life Of Riley Resort on the west end has a small number of lakeside campsites, check them out.

[TruthWalleyes]

Thank you guys. I can't wait to get up there.

[guideman]

There are also a few new primative sites available within the new state park. I know of at least one that has a dock in Cable bay. I haven't seen anybody use it yet.

"Ace"

[olboy35]

Hey everyone! Traveling up to lake V for the first time next Saturday, 9/1. Will be staying in a cabin in Black Bay. How is the fishing for bass, walleye, and pike up in that region? I have a boat and I'm going with uncle who has fished up there in the past, but I was looking for a few tips/advice. Thanks in advance!

-Dennis

[delcecchi]

Black bay itself is quite shallow and not very good this time of year. Once you go down to the end of the Partidge river, you can go to the left (east) to Wakemup and Norwegian Bay or right (west) to head o lakes.

A popular spot in the fall is off the north end of Schmidtts Island in Head O lakes. There is sort of a point that sticks out and drops into deep water. I can't say if the walleye will be in fall mode or not. But if they are it is a pretty good spot.

Otherwise there are a number of reefs in either direction that might be good.

How big a boat do you have? That would affect how far you want to go.

[olboy35]

Thanks for the reply. We have an 18ft boat and 19ft boat between five of us to use.