2014 recap

[fishmarket]

Now that the ice is here....how was the 2014 fishing compared to last year or the year before?? Thanks.

[SkunkedAgain]

Opening weekend was the best that I've ever fished in my life: nothing but 24-27 inch females with one 29 1/2" beauty. I hardly got to fish for walleye after that except for a late season trip which the guys which meant 12-14 inchers on the east end. So not much of a report.

[Wanderer]

No comment if you're only interested in V. I don't fish it.

The Ely area was good to us this year but not always in the normal places. I fish different lakes regularly and some of the old hotspots were dead. We just found new ones!

[PSU]

I have been coming up to Vermilion for the last 16 years after moving from PA and have owned a island cabin in Smart's Bay for the last 10 years.

I can honestly say 2014 was by far the best year we have had walleye fishing on Vermilion. I attribute it to knowing the lake better, much improved electronics, insight from experts (including this board), and meeting some great folks on the lake who provide solid tips!

Looking forward to next year already!

Andy

[fishmarket]

Yes, I am looking to hear how everyone did this year on Lake Vermilion mainly. I only get to get up there one week a year so its interesting to hear how the local fisherman rated this year compared to years past.. Besides the walleye fishing, if anyone wants to talk about their smallmouth experiences that works, too! Thanks..

[jkrash]

Bass fishing is always great on Vermilion and this year was no exception, just check out some of the tournament results.

Muskie fishing started off HOT with an excellent June trolling bite, lots of big fish showed up in mid July then disappeared never to be seen again, the fall bite was OFF with just a few sub 40" fish for most. I think it's time to increase the stocking to match the fishing pressure the lake receives.

Walleye fishing was excellent if you don't mind catching 12"ers all day. If you wanted eaters you had to wait until a 1/2 hour before dark and fish for a 1/2 hour after dark, they were pretty aggressive as were the slot fish. This winter should bode well for walleyes, I'm sure their will be a lot of pesky 12"ers stealing minnows but at least it's action. Next summer should be really good for keeper size walleye if we get an early spring.

[StillFishin']

We didn't do well this year as 2013. In 2013 be venture east quit often and did well from Fraizer to Fectos to points farther east. Not so this year. We tried lots of east end spots and caught some dinks but all in all we were disappointed.

But on the positive side. We did very good in Niles bay near the end of the season. We tried a spot that produced gills and for several days we got eyes(27ft going down to 40)

So I'm optimistic for the West end for next year.

StillFishin'

[delcecchi]

We didn't do well this year as 2013. In 2013 be venture east quit often and did well from Fraizer to Fectos to points farther east. Not so this year. We tried lots of east end spots and caught some dinks but all in all we were disappointed.

But on the positive side. We did very good in Niles bay near the end of the season. We tried a spot that produced gills and for several days we got eyes(27ft going down to 40)

So I'm optimistic for the West end for next year.

StillFishin'

That makes up for me fishing the spot that was supposed to produce eyes and getting gills (pretty nice ones)

[TomWehler]

Thought I might type a few things here for fun an silliness.

Lots of fish of all kinds.

Major shrinkage dropping docks at Opener but well worth it to be BACK HOME!

Lots of wallys an pike in that cool water.

Weekdays we a blast.

Hounds enjoyed it all also..swim, fish, jump, swim, eat, sleep, LETS DO IT AGAIN TOMMY..

NO musky fish guiding, just fishen an working on stuff needed fixin in-between fishys..

Spent lots of time with my Bonnie also...all good.

June brought BIG surprise...Doc Peepers found Tumor in right eye...CANCER.

KCUF!!!!!!!

No play in sun to long all summer unless hat an shades on.

I hate hats.

Chemo drops, special Rocket fuel to me name of Alpha Interferon @ FOUR times a day for 102 days killed it dead...recheck every two months.

Tricky stuff....go with the flow until back to me the one an only Musky T..

Lucky again.

BIG fish in fall.......BIG.

Last swim Oct 2nd was ever so cold...only live once.

Got cut off by a few younger guides on the lake while fishen rocks.

That was funny to a point, but truly odd.

Lucky I'm a mellow dude when it comes to idiots roaming the lake for $$$.

Good year on the lake less the cancer stuff but all in all a rocken good time.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Keep on Rocken!

Tommy

[Frank Boling 41]

Tommy,

I pray and hope that you will have good health!...Have a great thanksgiving and keep Rocken!

Frank

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Tommy,

Great news again!

Have a good turkey day! Hi to Bonnie and the boys also.

Cliff

[Cherokee Ref]

Tom,

Great post as always. And as always, words of wisdom and wit. Stay well.

[chucker1101]

From my perspective, i thought the year was down a bit. Mainly on size of fish, my log shows me catching more 12-14" walleyes, and less 14-16" ones. On the up side, i caught more and larger perch while walleye fishing than ever, including a new personal best of 14".

p.s. for reference i fish East End exclusively, and mostly in Big Bay and Daisy Bay.

[10,000 Casts]

We had a great year and it was my best so far having lived up here for 3 years now. I never fished West of Fraser Bay. We cashed a check in the CAG Walleye Classic, caught a good amount of Walleyes and Smallies throughout the Summer. Fished Muskies for 1 weekend all summer and had a great 2 days of fishing. Then this fall we started out catching a lot of 12-13"ers but we were able to find the 15-18"ers and some nice 20-24"ers.

I just hope all the 12"ers that everyone is talking about are 14-15" next year. It could be really good.

[CigarGuy]

I'm finally able to stay logged in long enough to post!

I started the season thinking my luck on this lake has turned for the better. Had a great few weeks of the season catching a fair amount of walleyes, a lot of big slot fish with eaters mixed in. Also, got into some nice crappies. Then they moved out of their spring area and back to reality for me. It seemed like the only way I could catch a walleye on the west end was pulling cranks on leadcore. It would only be 1 or 2 fish per outing and mostly slot fish. I'm more of a jig or rig fisherman, but it seemed like like only way I could catch fish on the west end.

I made a few trips to the east end and was able to catch some eaters and felt like a decent walleye fisherman again. I even trailered the boat a few times to spend more time fishing. I was also able to find some crappies during the summer on the west end!

Being fairly new to the lake, I sure noticed some rude fisherman on the lake, you think I was fishing on Mille Lacs! I don't think I have been cut off more trolling and/or other boats pulling into a very small area I was working and trying to push me off the spot! If I go to an area I want to fish and see another boat I move on! I know, I don't own the lake, but I guess unspoken fishing etiquette is a thing of the past. It just amazes me that we have a 40,000 acre lake and people have to fish on top of you. Not to mention the a-hole on the jetski that buzzed me-about 5' from my boat on one side and 5' from an island on the other side, going wide open. Done b!tching Well, I could talk about my luck deer hunting...just kidding

Seems like a small problem compared to what Tommy has gone through this summer! Very happy to hear things are looking better! On a positive note, this is one beautiful lake/area and can't wait to retire up here!