Cold Water but a Nice Day Finally!

[MarkB]

This cold spell has really slowed things up this spring. The past several days have had non-stop wind, rain(all day yesterday), and cold. Miserable conditions for people who wait 6 months to enjoy the soft water. Today, however, the wind let up, the rain stopped, and the temperature was more hospitable, and those boats that were so prevalent on the opener, well, maybe not quite as many but, they're back! The water temp has been holding pretty steady at 48.9-50.9 degrees. I'm hoping the warmer weather that's coming will bring the water temp up to at least mid to high 50's. I've got a bucket full of leeches that are climbing the sides to go fishing. Low 60's should be just about perfect.

My wife joined the outing this morning and we started off on the far east end of the lake. 48.9 degree water. Cherry Island had ~12 boats and the spots on the south side of Ely Island all had a few boats. We started off in Armstrong Bay in  27' and fished as shallow as 15'. There were several boats on the "spots" but we had  zilch luck unless you count watching 2 bald eagles on a date. I did mark a few fish but no biters. We moved over to a deep shoreline and fished the 24'-35' contours with no luck. A half dozen other boats were working the same shoreline a short ways off but we saw no netting activity. There was an armada of boats on the "S" curve this morning. There is a 25' hole on the western end and most of them were in the shallow water in front of it. There were several boats in portage bay but nothing like opening day.

My wife and I tried a small bay on our way around the north side of Pine Island. The deepest surrounding water is 25' and we started there and worked into the bay up to ~16'. The bottom is mud and I marked fish from 21'-16'. The fish were scattered but we managed to land both walleyes and jumbos using our "go to" 3/4oz bouncers, 3' 10# fluorocarbon leader, and red bead and hook. Chubs were our minnow of choice this morning. I stopped by Shamrock and picked up minnows a couple days ago. Randy's gorilla rainbows scared me off with this cold water and I opted for chubs instead. It was a good choice and they worked as promised We kept enough fish for dinner.

Now, if you read this post and try to glean info for your next trip, just remember, most of the spots that myself and others write about are "proven". To go out and randomly find "the" spot on a lake the size of Vermilion is pretty tough when conditions are like they are now and you're trying to  make things happen on a week or two week vacation. I went to specific "spots" this morning where I have had success in the past and there was nothing random about it. If I were going to fish here for the first time, I would most definitely have sonar with a chip. Fish the depths and the types of structure discussed in the posts on this site.

Lastly, I think this new format and "look" for the fishing forum is fantastic! It is easy to navigate and the new features are state of the art. Rick did a great job and I for one am most appreciative. The "like bar" included in every post or reply is a valuable tool. It is a way of letting posters know that their efforts are appreciated and, equally important, LIKED! Thank you to all of those who have clicked the "like" box on my posts. I will continue to post up to the minute informative fishing information.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

The picture is of our best fish of the morning.....

[monstermoose78]

Great post Mark!! 

[james_walleye]

Great post Mark!! 

Awesome Mark! Can't wait to get the new side finder up there next weekend. Just curious, you mentioned shamrock had sumo rainbows? Do they have a stash of big bait?

[MarkB]

Jamie

He always has the best leeches. A couple days ago, he had rainbows that are as good as I have seen, true 4"-5"ers. I love that bait in the fall but I haven't located the big females yet, so I'm sticking with chubs/suckers until I find the right reef.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[james_walleye]

Thanks Mark. Are the suckers easy to come by up there right now?

[MarkB]

I've gotten them at both the "Y" store and the Cook bait shop. Joe always gives a pretty good count and it depends on who waits on you at the "Y". Both places always have them.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[james_walleye]

Good to know! Thx