Lake Vermilion Fishing Q&A

[PSU]

Over by Fectos Point for me

[Fish Head]

Lots of walleyes off the dock Sunday with leeches and bobber.

[bchandler79]

Any advice on where to fish near Wake em up Narrows in mid July? I need to keep my little guy busy so I'm thinking we're going to fish for smallies. Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[vermilionfox]

I can't answer the question about the smallies for you, but I would consider some bluegill fishing too!

[VermilionKs]

Hey bchandler79,

We'll be in that same area (just west of Voyager Cover Resort) next week. There are some pretty consistent locations for both smallies and largemouth in that area, so I expect to figure something out while we are there for the week. I'll get you an update when we return.

[bchandler79]

Thanks VermilionKs! It would be much appreciated! I've never been to Vermilion so I'll welcome any advice. What will you be fishing for? I plan on doing some musky fishing, but I also have to keep the family interested by catching some fish too! Thanks again and good fishing to you!!

[tutski]

Afternoon everyone... just curious if/how the late ice off affected the bite this year?

[Korey]

Hi guys. I'm a first timer on here as well as a first timer for fishing Vermilion this year. We are staying at a cabin between Larson's and Indian Bay on the West Vermilion end. We'll be there starting Saturday for a week. I was just looking for some advice, maybe a few good areas to check out on the west end (I'm hoping the west end is good too..). We're looking to catch walleye, crappie, smallies, and some bluegill. Any advice you guys have on some good west end spots would be awesome. Thanks.

[VermilionKs]

Hey bchandler79,

Sent you a PM

[bchandler79]

Thanks! Just replied.

[jasonlville]

Hi all... I'm up there next week staying at Hoodoo... how's the weather been? Looks stormy! How long will that spook the fish?

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Big storm last night but that may actually help the walleye bite!

Lots of very hot calm weather all last week plus the mayfly hatch nearly shut the bite down for me.

Cliff

[PSU]

Hello Friends!

Coming up for one last week next week. Have the walleyes transitioned to minnows yet? Still taking worms?

Thanks and I wanted to mention I sincerely appreciate all of the help from this forum surrounding fishing, electronics,etc throughout the year!

Andy

[Cliff Wagenbach]

The walleyes are still biting on both crawlers and minnows. Talked to a guy yesterday that said that he even got a few on leeches!

Water temp. this morning was 57 degrees in big Bay.

I am still using mainly a lindy rig.

Cliff

[jkrash]

I'm still cranking them in with cranks, water temp around here is 54 but will probably climb with the sunny forcast this week.

[Skibo]

We fished on Friday (played cards instead of fighting the wind on Saturday), and caught lots of fish. Lindy-Rig/Worm in one end of the boat, and jig/minnow on the other end. We caught them on the slopes/rocks, in the rock/gravel/mud transition, and on the tops of reefs. Shallowest fish was in 12' and the deepest was 35'. Our other boat was pulling wooden minnows, and catching fish. Right now they seem to be hitting anything that is moving. My favorite time of year to fish.

Lyle...

[Flyguy50]

I'm still cranking them in with cranks, water temp around here is 54 but will probably climb with the sunny forcast this week.

And to think my storage facility called for storing my boat today...bummin'!! Think I'll go bug Wayne'o!!

Jeremy.

[guideman]

Here we are, another winter season is on it's way. I'm already bored to death. If you have any questions or need some info on fishing Lake Vermilion I'll be here all winter long to try to give you the answers.

Just ask!

Happy Holidays!

"Ace"

[mtheis]

Hi Ace! I had the pleasure of your company last year and during our Musky/Walleye trip you taught me alot. I am having so much darned trouble finding those smallies though. Especially in the early bass season.

Help!

[StillFishin']

Hi Ace,

As a West ender who was having trouble catching 'eyes like I did in the "old days", I have done well in Frazier- but not so well this year.

So we ventured farther to the East with better results.

Anyway, in early Oct. I caught several 12+ jumbo perch while fishing for 'eyes. All on Minnow while my buddies were using leaches didn't catch any perch.

Question: We'd like to hone in on more of these big perch as they are a rarely (at least for me ) on the wast end.

Any thoughts on targeting jumbo perch?

StillFishin'

[guideman]

Hey Dude,

Location is always more important than what bait you throw. If they aren't there, they won't hit your presentation, no matter what it is. I like to start with fast moving horizontal baits so I can cover water fast. Spinnerbaits and shallow runing crankbaits are two of my favorite for this application. Sallow shoreline cover with rocks or wood, mainlake points, docks, rock, reeds and saddle areas, are some of my favorite early season locations.

"Ace"

[guideman]

Hey Still,

I don't typically target jumbos, however I do catch a lot of them in the spring and fall. They are primarily mixed right in with the Walleyes in deeper water in the fall. In springtime you'll find them scattered in or near spawing areas, just like Walleyes. Small jigs and spoons with a fathead minnow have always done very well for me. I'm sure that crappie minnows would work very well as well.

"Ace"

[Craigums]

Ace, I read some of your comments regarding bass. It sounds like the west end is typically better for largemouth and the east end is better for smallmouth. If I were to target smallmouth on the east end around August are the smallies going to be shallow (docks and weeds) or are they going to be deep (weeds and rocks)? Thanks

[guideman]

Late summer typically means some excellent dock action. They will also be on mainlake points and boulder flats in the 5 to 15 ft range. You can find them deep with dropshot rigs and spoons however that means a lot of searching to find the fish. There are always some fish along the bank, but they are typically smaller fish that time of the year. Saddle areas in the main lake can also be very good.

Merry Christmas!

"Ace"

[ghuntofish]

I am up on vermilion right now. Ice has pockets of slush, which means no driving. Sleds are okay, and will handle the slush pockets. Gonna head out there today and go fishing. Any recommendations on where to go?

Thanks

[Snook]

Awesome thread! Thank you to everyone. I've been coming up a few times per year for ten years or so and it took many years to figure out any decent patterns. After swallowing my pride and starting to hire guides once per year (for walleye), my productivity went up ten fold even when I fished alone - you learn that much. They're great.

So, my question is on Muskies, which I know basically nothing about. Let's say it's early August and weather is stable. What is the right approach strategy? Start casting main lake points? How shallow should your casts land and how deep do you work out to? Do you run your buck tail along the surface or try to trace the bottom?

If that doesn't work, is it best to try weeds next or just keep hitting points? If you're hitting weeds do you want to fish the deep or shallow weed edge? Or over the tops or try to dip you lure down through the weeds?

At what point do you head out looking for suspended fish? How deep do you usually troll?

Hopefully this series of questions makes sense....

[Ice Wolf]

Have a question. Why is it when I check out bull rush and cabbage on the east half of V. for sign of musky activity before season opens in June I see lots of them. I know they are spawning at that time but when I return in June to fish all I ever catch is large mouth bass and small pike no muskys? I seam to fish these spots in the middle of the afternoon is it a timing thing or do the muskys head out to deeper water and leave the vegetation after spawn? Sense them rusty's have wiped out deep weed lines have the muskys relied on a deep water forage?

Ice wolf.

[guidemane]

Hey new guy,

Local weather is always the main reason that Muskies bite or don't bite. Their activity levels are directly related to weather most of the time. Late summer fishing bucktails is always a good choice. Even if you're not sure what to throw Bucktails are usually the right choice. Warm water typically means you want to retrieve your bucks at higher speeds, even bulging them to break the water surface. Muskies can be in very shallow water at times, even to where their backs are touching the surface or in some cases even breaking the surface. I will throw mine as close to the shore as I can, especially if there are boulders or wood close to shore. The key is not to let them sink as you can get snaged up. I like to see my baits as it comes back to the boat when fishing the skinny water, if you are siting in deeper water and casting to skinny water you can let the bait sink a bit however you don't want to slow it down. As your retieve gets closer to the boat you'll want to transition into your figure eight. Make this a natural part of EVERY cast and it will become instinctive and you won't really have to think about it.

There thousands of great looking spots on Vermilion, if they look good fish them. You can typically always find Muskies in the weeds, any time of the season. Work the inside and the outside as well as the first break beyond the outer weed edges. Most anglers avoid the really thick stuff, or the "SLOP" because it's difficlt to fish, there are however fish to be caught in those areas. Main lake points, islands, inshore rock piles and saddle areas are all good locations. If you find a spot that just looks so good but you can't seem to raise any fish there. Just try it at different times of the day or with a different style of lure. You will eventually find that you are learning more and more even if you aren't catching a lot of fish. Keep your mind and your eyes open. Many Muskie anglers keep detail logs of every day on he water. Just remember to keep it fun and go cast until your arms all off.

[Snook]

great advice, thank you!

[guidemane]

I forgot to touch on the trolling questions that you had. Typically the fall trolling action isn't at it's best until Water temps fall below the 50 degree mark. Not that you can't catch them when it's warmer but That is when it gets to Prime time for trolling. I like to cast until it just gets to darn cold for holding onto a rod. I'm kind of a wimp when it gets cold, wait until you get to be my age, you'll understand.

Main Lake shoreline breaks, Islands and weed edges are good places to start if you don't have a clue. Big minnow style baits,(10"Jakes are one of my faves) large bucktails and big spinnerbaits are some of my favorites. Look for large schools of bait out in the open basin if you want to try some open water trolling. If there isn't any bait you won't find fish. Some guys troll at speeds up to 7mph but I try to stay in the 3 to 5mph range most of the time. Some baits will roll at high speeds so you'll have to watch for that when you drop your baits in the water. Alway run a line in the prop wash when you can. If there are two or three of you in the boat, put each line at a different depth with different colors and actions. After you start to contact fish you can fine tune your presentation.

I'm not the worlds best troller my any means, but this should help you get started and once your on the water doing it you will learn what works the best and where to find them. Most of the very largest Muskies caught on the Big V are caught trolling so be patient, it will eventually happen for you.

"Ace" 8)