Lake Vermilion Fishing Q&A

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I have always used Lowrance and like them.

I have an Elite 7 and it shows fish easily and clearly.

Cliff

[VermilionGold]

I have an hds9 touch gen2 and love it.

RoosterMan is running some birds on vermilion, maybe he'll chime in.

 

[james_walleye]

I have a humminbird 999 si and that thing is great.  I don't think you can go wrong either way. 

[SledNeck]

On ‎7‎/‎9‎/‎2016 at 3:06 PM, Cliff Wagenbach said:

I have always used Lowrance and like them.

I have an Elite 7 and it shows fish easily and clearly.

Cliff

 

no ipliot?

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Yes I do have ipilot!

Cliff

[Wheres_Walter]

Cliff,

Cabelas has the elite 7 Chirp on sale for $379.00 down from $699.00.  Is that model you have?  If so, this sounds like a great deal, no?

 Also, do you know if an older lakemaster chip would work in a newer unit, or is it time to upgrade the chip too?

Thanks.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

WW,

I do not have the "Chirp" model, (Newer?), but it is probably close to the same as mine.

Very happy with mine.

Good price!!

I do not know if the older map chip will fit. Take it in with you and they will be able to tell you. Probably not much different then the newer chip though.

Cliff

[Casey Sunsdahl]

Can't go wrong with Humminbird Helix series, absolute best value in electronics right now.. customizable lake master chip, crystal clear images, best costumer service, helpful you tube videos and channel, easy install, easy to use. Oh, and you can link your trolling motor to it if you so choose.

 

[hayseed]

I'm running three different units on my boat and will offer my opinion. I have a Helix 5 si, Lowrance elite 7 hds and Garmin Striker 7. Start with the Helix. If you do the Hummer avoid the five inch models. Go seven or bigger. Couple reasons. First the display is not bonded and will fog up and be useless for about an hour when you turn them on in the spring and falls cooler temps. In dealing with this issue I found less than stellar customer service. Display is decent, but not as good as either of the other units. The side imaging seems to fade out in twenty feet of water. I only keep it for the Lakemaster mapping.

I love the Striker, but no map chip display. GPS tracking, but not compatible with any map chip. Much better resolution than the Hummer.

Just started using the Elite 7 and I'm very impressed with it so far. Crisp and bright display and great resolution. None of these have link capability, but that is unimportant to me. All are easy to use and seem to be pretty durable. If I were looking again to spend under a grand, I would look closely at the Lowrance Hook series or the Garmin Echomap series. Just my opinion. Good luck with whatever you choose. 

[delcecchi]

The elite 7 takes a micro SD map chip.  The older units and chips used the full size SD card form factor.  So it is probably not physically compatible. 

[guideman]

  I have used them all over the years and about 15 years ago I became a Lowrance pro staffer.  In all that time I was never disappointed by their performance or the customer service.  I keep it pretty simple with one HDS 7 and two 5 Elite sonar units.  All of the units are affordable and I think well worth price. JMHO.

 

"Ace"

"It's just fishing man".

[FishinCT]

Ended up going with the lowrance I looked at. Scheels had a heck of a deal on it. Can't wait to get to the cabin in 2 weeks to use it!

Thank you to everyone for the input

Edited July 14, 2016 by FishinCT

[Wheres_Walter]

I picked up the Lowrance Elite 7, look forward to hooking it up this weekend and getting out of the dark (black and white display) ages.  Like FishinCT, thanks for the input.

[BartmanMN]

You boys with all the new Electronics, save some eyeballs for me. 

[FishinCT]

Unfortunately the new depth finder has not found its way onto the boat yet. Coming up in a week and a half and need to get it on ASAP before the serious fall fishing starts!  Where would you guys recommend taking the boat to have it done?

[h8go4s]

9 hours ago, FishinCT said:

Unfortunately the new depth finder has not found its way onto the boat yet. Coming up in a week and a half and need to get it on ASAP before the serious fall fishing starts!  Where would you guys recommend taking the boat to have it done?

It will probably be faster to do it yourself. It's not rocket surgery. They come with instructions. All you need is a drill and a screwdriver. Get a transducer mounting board (Cabela's has them) so you can adjust the transducer location without putting extra holes in the boat. Seal all screw holes in the transom with Marine Goop (Menard's has it).

[PSU]

Hello Friends:

Looking for some help as I've been up here since yesterday morning and only two 22" walleyes. I've fished fairly hard (5 or 6 hours) and tried all of my normal spots in Frazer/Smarts/Narrows area using all presentations with minnows and crawlers. Would love to have a walleye dinner (couple of 15's) for my black lab and I tomorrow night and any suggestions would be welcomed.

I'm not looking for spots, but general depth and bait.

Thanks guys

Andy

 

[FishinCT]

They were really slow today. I fished hard all day and didn't manage much. Went over tons of fish and they weren't active at all. Should get better as the weekend gets closer...I hope

[PSU]

Thanks FishinCT, makes me feel a bit better.....

[redlabguy]

Andy,

Two 22's is fun. I fished a few Frazer spots yesterday with the same poor results. Places that had fish (28-30' off rocky points) before our storms and wind came up empty. I'm with CT, hoping more stable weather will improve the catch. In fact I think I'll go out and try it right now.

Dick

[PSU]

Thanks friends, much better luck today, but worked pretty hard. 30-35' rainbows kept two 15's and a 16. Dog will get her allotment of a 1/4 filet for her time on the boat and able to save some in the freezer for my family!!!

 

 

[guideman]

The Walleye action has been excellent the last week or so. Deep sharp vertical drops to the basin have been key locations for me. Jigs tipped with minnows or gulp 3" minnows in "shad" color have been the go to presentation for me and my clients.  I have been catching limits of 14 to 17 inch fish consistently in the 25 to 35ft range and I expect it to get even better after the turnover.

"Ace"

"It's just fishing man"

[Captain Acorn]

I was up for a 3 day weekend and we caught fish some nice ones but I would not consider the bite dynamite. It had its moments but at least for me I could have used a little more action. We actually did our best on jigging raps in 36 to 43 fow. biggest thing with fishing that deep is bringing them up slow. We were using #7 jr.  We caught limits daily but I still believe the best fishing is yet to come. Side note really liking the size of fish I've been catching this year lots in the slot. I'm sure they will be pulling bouys soon so be careful out there 

[guideman]

Always thought that any day you get a good limit of Walleyes in the boat was a pretty good day.

Once water temps get into the upper 40's or even low 50's the Walleyes will be tripping over each other to bite your hook. ;)

"Ace"

"It's just fishing man" 

[FishinCT]

Couple questions after my trip a week ago, also coming up for a few days next week to test out any suggestions!

I always have trouble hooking fish in the fall when using a jig and big minnows. Miss at least half of my bites but probably more.  What do you guys do to get better hookup percentage or is this a universal problem? I usually let them have it about 5 seconds, any longer and they either gut it or you still miss them. Gets frustrating at times.

I also seem to catch a few on a spot and then they stop. They obviously move around and don't sit in the same spot all day so how does a guy stay on them for more time? Do you develop a knack for knowing how fish move around a spot?

[trolloni]

Are you lip hooking the  minnow ?Try  running the hook through the minnows mouth out his gill ,and lightly hook the barb thru   the skin on his back, or switch to a lighter jig .Seems  like walleyes tend  to swim in a circle when in feeding mode,,at least in my experiences They really like pushing bait against  a barrior of some kind , weather its  rocks ,walls , or each other! Its kinda odd that you are missing them in fall ,cause they are hungry now , If you are using braid switch to mono  4 or 6 pound sometimes braid is to sensitive for jigging mid depth ,ok for deep stuff though. 

[delcecchi]

You might consider a stinger hook in the minnow tail. 

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I hook bigger minnows into the mouth as far as I can reach in and then out the top of the head,(just behind the head if possible)!

I always use 3/8 oz. jigs with the largest hook that I can get in that size. Not the short shank Fire Ball jigs either!

I always let them chomp the bait a second time after they hit, then set the hook. Very few walleyes are hooked deeper then the mouth area. Missing a few hook set is common, but the bite is usually good enough that missing a few does not matter.

Cliff

[FishinCT]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've always been a hook through the lips guy so I will get some bigger hooks on my jigs and try through the mouth. 

Coming up next Sunday so hopefully the weather cooperates to give it a shot

[Cliff Wagenbach]

10 hours ago, FishinCT said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I've always been a hook through the lips guy so I will get some bigger hooks on my jigs and try through the mouth. 

Coming up next Sunday so hopefully the weather cooperates to give it a shot

Let me know if this helps!

I hook small minnows through the lips if I am using light jigs, but as you said, you will end up gut hooking a few fish or totally missing them.

Cliff