Lake Vermilion Fishing Report by Cliff's Guide Service

[Mozer]

Hey guys, me and another guy are heading up from Duluth on Friday for a "bonzeye" run on Vermilion neither one of us have fished the lake before we are experienced eye' fisherman, we were planning to take off from Mckinely park looking at heading out by Ely island and Echo point is all of that ice ok or no? Would that be a good starting point for eyes or would you recommend a different area? Any little bits of info on areas would be great, Thanks guys.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

That is a good take-off point!

Look for steep drops into 20 to 40 foot water. Rocky spots are best.

The North side of Ely Island has a ton of unfished spots that are very good!

Ice is generally safe with 9" to 11" of ice in most areas.

Lots of pressure ridges so go slow and stay away from them!

Cliff

[Mozer]

That sounds good, Thanks for the heads up Cliff.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Lake Vermilion, 1/6/12

The walleye bite on Vermilion has slowed down in many areas with all of the holiday traffic that has been on the lake the past couple of weeks.

There are still fish being caught though!

The best bite has been had by the anglers that have ventured into areas that have not been hit hard by the holiday crowd. Such areas are easy to find as not many anglers have ventured very far away from the traditional winter areas out from McKinley Park.

We have been catching a fair amount of walleyes and jumbo perch in water depths ranging from 26' to 36'the past couple of weeks.

The best presentation has been either tip-ups,dead-sticks, or Rattle Reels baited with a rainbow or small pike sucker.

Jigging has produced an occasional walleye or jumbo also but not nearly as many as the sit-and-wait method!

There is very little snow left on the lake again after the thaw we had the past couple of days.

Ice conditions are excellent with thickness ranging from 14" to 16" in most areas.(Drove out to Spider Island with no problems in my F-150 today)!

Good Fishing!

Cliff

[Wishin4Walleyes]

Headin up tomorrow with the family. Really hope to get the kids on some eyes. Anything working better than others? Dead sticks seem to be preferred. Any general areas to try? Have not been on big v since the summer. 26-36 fow? Out in the east basin? Or shoreline breaks? Any help would be really appreciated.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Wishin,

Number one suggestion....... get away from the crowds!

Even a poor choice of a spot will be a better bite then fishing with the noisy crowds!

Both shoreline breaks and reef breaks are good choices right now.

Look for rock and fish the base of them.

Best bite has been early in the morning until around 9:00 then again from around 11:00am to 1:00pm.

Cliff

[guideman]

Moved out to a trasition from rock to mud on Wednesday, we have been hitting them pretty good except for Saturday. We iced a total of 21 Walleyes since Thursday and some were in the mid 20's. Only threw back a couple that were to small, most were in the 14 to 16 inch range. We kept 3 limits of Walleyes (12 fish) from Friday through Sunday and I'll be out there again tomorrow to try it again. First fresh Walleye dinner for me in a while, yummy.

"Ace"

[TomWehler]

[JerkinLips]

It shutdown for me on Saturday also. I caught 3 eyes and 3 12" perch Friday morning, then caught one more of each in the afternoon. On Saturday I caught only one walleye all day long, so I went home a day earlier than planned.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Well the first week of the 2013 walleye season is already over!

The weather and late ice out has certainly made this week an interesting and challenging one!

Opening day was really nasty weather that had rain, snow, sleet, and a 30 plus MPH wind! Only fished two hours that day with my wife's nephew and his two young sons and quit with zero bites!

Over all the walleye bite has been fairly normal though. I am finding walleyes in all of my normal early season deep water spots and they have been fairly cooperative on most days.

Most of my walleyes are being caught in 34' to 42' of water. They are all relating to a mud bottom with rocks adjacent to the mud.

I have been using both jigs and bait rigs baited with rainbows or fathead chubs.

I tie most of my rigs with a 3' to 5' 8# fluorocarbon leader with a size #4 Gamagatsu bait hook and a 3/4 oz. walking sinker.

Today I added a chartreuse float ahead of the hook and used a shorter 2 foot leader. I had very good luck with this rig. I certainly will be starting the day tomorrow with it again!

Almost any type of presentation has been getting walleyes at all depths so do not hesitate to use your favorite methods!

Good Fishing!

Cliff

[PropsterII]

Cliff, were they still pre spawn last week being that deep, or have already retreated to the depths?

[Cliff Wagenbach]

All of the fish that we caught were post spawn. No eggs or milt in any of them.

Cliff

[Darrell Larson]

Cliff, the guy next door is still getting some fish off his dock. Kind of weird they will not take a minnow below a bobber, but throw out a minnow on a jig and bounce it off the bottom, and bingo, fish on. If this rain and wind ever quit I might have to try his technique.

Later Darrell.

ps: You out there Darin?

[Finnish Flash]

Darrell...You betcha, still here. Been doing really good off the dock up until yesterday. Also been trolling raps and doing quite well, until yesterday. I never have done well in this kind wind......but before they shut down for me, alot of quality fish this year. And good numbers of slot fish too. Have had two fish fry's in three days for my guests, can't beat that fresh walleye! Have not even left Pike Bay yet....which is fine the way the gas prices are!

[Casey Sunsdahl]

Darrell.. I had being doing fairly well on an 1/8 oz jig and a minnow under a bobber.. tread the minnow through the gills and in the back to hide the shank.. you will get em.. don't be afraid to get it off bottom a couple feet.

[Shep7]

Coming up June 1 for a week. We usually come up that time each year. I love catching smallies on tubes and finesse jigs like Bitsy Bugs. With the late ice out will the water temps be high enough for these to work shallower or should I back off and try a suspending jerk bait?

[Cliff Wagenbach]

All will depend upon the water temps. If we get a lot of sunshine the shallow water areas will warm up fairly fast.

Cliff

[034]

Cliff, do you always use a #4 hook on your rigs? How about color? Thanks.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

034,

I usually use a size 4 hook unless I am using larger minnows such as pike suckers or large creek chubs.

I use red,green,chartreuse, and black hooks. I also add a colored bead or a small colored float at times. Again I like red, green,chartreuse, and glow colors for the beads or floats.

Cliff

[034]

another presentation question....using (hooking) a crawler under a slip bobber vs a lindy rig. Use same hook for both?

[Steve Foss]

I use the same size hook for crawlers whether it's slip bobbering or rigging. Also, as beads go, try those newer glow soft plastic beads. I've seen them in white, green and red. They slide down over the knot on the hook. I've had really good luck with them.

[034]

How about the amount of crawler?

[Cliff Wagenbach]

O34,

I like to use the same sized hook under a bobber as I use in a Lindy. Size #4.

Try colored hooks and/or beads also. As Steve said try the rubber glow beads. I like them also.

I also use 1/16 oz. or 1/8 oz. jigs under a bobber.

I use a whole crawler hooked in the middle.

Cliff

[Cliff Wagenbach]

June, 12

The continuing cold water and cold fronts have forced me to abandon my favorite deep water haunts for shallow water in the smaller shallow bays this week!

There is as much as a 10 degree difference in temperature in these shallow bays and it has been the key in getting walleyes to bite!

I have switched over to a split-shot rig or a 1/8 oz Lindy rig with a 4' to 5' leader verses my usual 3/4 oz. lindys.

Leeches or 1/2 of a crawler are the baits of choice.

I have been fishing depths that range from 6' to 12' all week.

We have had very good luck almost every day, averaging 20 to 30 fish a day! No wall hangers but lots of 13" to 17" walleyes and a few bonus jumbo perch.

Good Fishing!

Cliff

[MarkB]

I just noticed, Cliff, that nobody acknowledged your excellent fishing report. There is enough good info in that report to catch walleyes anywhere in the lake right now. I can guarantee you that I read every report you write and appreciate every one of them. Thanks....

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Thanks Mark!

See by your reports that you are having a good season also!

Cliff

[redlabguy]

I appreciate both of your reports and only wish I had similar experience. It's been spotty this week for me even following your advice. This morning I didn't go 100 yards from the dock and found a couple, but that was it. Have to leave tomorrow for a few days, but I'll be watching for good reports!

RLG

[fishingdad]

Cliff, Mark, Casey & others that post your results are what keep giving me hope that I can find them eventually. I honestly have not worked as hard as we did Saturday in years looking to find some fish & we ended up with 1 little northern. The cabin is by moccasin point so we did not travel more than a couple miles but we fished every " fishy" spot. We'll keep it at. Keep the reports coming guys.

[delcecchi]

I just noticed, Cliff, that nobody acknowledged your excellent fishing report. There is enough good info in that report to catch walleyes anywhere in the lake right now. I can guarantee you that I read every report you write and appreciate every one of them. Thanks....

Good Fishing,

MarkB

I wouldn't put that "anywhere in the lake" so stronly, although I can't speak to right now. In general, east is east and west is west and they are often quite different.

Certainly the water color and forage base differ.

[FishinCT]

Cliff, Mark, Casey & others that post your results are what keep giving me hope that I can find them eventually. I honestly have not worked as hard as we did Saturday in years looking to find some fish & we ended up with 1 little northern. The cabin is by moccasin point so we did not travel more than a couple miles but we fished every " fishy" spot. We'll keep it at. Keep the reports coming guys.

It will click eventually. It took me a year or so to really understand how to apply the reports to my fishing style. When I figured it out it paid off big time. I can't thank these guys enough, though I rarely post unless I have my own report to add.