lake vermilion We Finally Got Back Out This Afternoon.......

[MarkB]

Since our guests left, lots of things not related to fishing has been going on. I've been recuperating from a heart procedure and my boat has been recuperating from Aronson's replacing the damaged motor parts. Both of us are much better now, so, my wife and I ventured out and tried our luck this afternoon. I'm not supposed to lift over 10#'s for a few more days and it took me most of the morning to convince her that the anchors only weighed 10#'s. Anyway, it was good to get back out again. We left the house around 4:00 and actually started fishing at 4:30. We were home by 7:15. It seemed like boat traffic was about normal and Daisy Bay water temps were 69.5 degrees when we left. The warmest water we saw on our outing was 71.5 and the water we fished was 69.5 degrees. I drove straight out to a reef we've been fishing on and off for the past couple of weeks. A slight breeze out of the SE made anchoring easy and we were ready to go.

My wife uses a casting reel and while she is excellent at trolling, I usually cast her line while bobber fishing to hold down the back lashes. Prior to casting her line, I had to re-tie her because she broke off on a northern just as we quit during our previous outing. I estimated the bobber stop depth, baited a leech, and cast her out. As I was reaching for my pole, her bobber went down and she missed the fish. I re-baited her and cast her back out. Before she took the pole from me, her bobber went down again! She missed again! This scenario went on for ~1/2 hour! I never got my line in the water, she missed maybe 8 fish, lost 2 halfway to the boat, landed 3-16.5", a 21.5", and a 22". It was unreal! I finally got baited and threw into the same area. I got 2 bites in the first hour or so. Obviously something was wrong with my set-up. I lowered my stop another foot and started getting bites.

This fishing was as good as it gets. We ended up landing 12 walleyes and one northern. We caught 5 slot fish from 21.5"-24", and 7 others from 14.5"-16.5". The 14.5" walleye was actually 3/4 of a fish. A really BIG northern grabbed the fish after it was hooked and I fought the northern all the way to the boat where we got a real good look at it. When the northern finally let go of the walleye, I reeled what was left on in. The walleye was almost ripped in half and its entrails were pretty much gone! I've had several big muskies grab walleyes on the way to the boat but that's the first big northern I've had do it.

I've said that speed is the key to success when trolling. I am now saying that depth is equally important when slip bobber fishing. If someone in your boat seems to be getting all the bites and catching all the fish, reel in your line and theirs and match the depth setting exactly. Last thought, we travelled a fair distance today and saw no evidence of mayflies except for hordes in the water column in places.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

 

 

Edited June 18, 2015 by Rick

[Fish Head]

Great post as always Mark!

[redlabguy]

Thanks for the update, Mark. Glad you and the motor are healing up. We are in Des Moines for a few days (and I obviously can't sleep). Good to hear good news from the lake.  Tuesday evening, I learned what you are talking about. My wife was catching all the fish and I never got dialed in. Good tip to simply compare depths. We aren't finding the kind of fishing you had last night, but evening bobbers are still delivering our fish. I typically go out in the morning solo and troll my so-called go-to spots for a couple hours but I'm finding very few fish on or around reefs and drop-offs. Then we catch our fish in the evening. I have to thank you again for your posts. I just would not have believed in bobbers without them. You may see me in your part of the lake next week. We get back Tuesday and have a couple guys who love to fish Vermilion coming Friday so we'll be all over the lake, including a day in Trout.... and then setting up on some rocks to (hopefully) catch the fish in the evening.

Keep us posted on your adventures.

Dick

 

 

 

[MarkB]

It's not all lollipops and roses for us Dick.. We couldn't resist too much of a good thing, so we went back out last night. Everything was the same except, last night, the breeze was from the west. Once we started fishing, 2 minutes in, I caught a 17.5" walleye. Wow! Instant replay time. 3 hours later, when we left, my wife had NO bites and I had 7 bites which included the 17.5" fish, one lost fish(halfway to the boat), and 5 misses! We did endure a Casey-like experience in that there was another boat in the area when we arrived. After waiting until they left, we moved in and started fishing. 30 minutes later, they returned and appeared annoyed that we were fishing where they had left. At times, they trolled within 20' of our boat! Not good. Eventually, they faded off but took with them the rudeness Oscar for the evening.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[james_walleye]

Awesome report again Mark! I'm hoping the slip bobber bite holds on until I get up a week from tomorrow. Just curious how long you give a spot without action before moving on? Are you finding the active fish on the wind blown side of the structure?

[MarkB]

Awesome report again Mark! I'm hoping the slip bobber bite holds on until I get up a week from tomorrow. Just curious how long you give a spot without action before moving on? Are you finding the active fish on the wind blown side of the structure?

​The slip bobber bite went strong right up through the middle of July last year Jamie. The reef we've fished the past couple of nights were productive a couple weeks ago and have been holding fish ever since. If I mark fish, and I consistently have on this particular reef, I generally give it a couple hours. Usually, if the fish are on, it won't take long to get action and you play it accordingly from there. I stayed longer at this reef because of the phenomenal fishing 2 nights ago. It just didn't pan out last night, so, I'll move on from there. BTW, this is one of those reefs that tops at 16' and it's quite easy to mark fish if they are there. I like fishing deeper reefs because sun usually isn't a factor. The shallow reefs (6'-10') are fabulous cloudy day producers and it's usually easier to hold your anchors if the rocks are nasty enough. If I were trolling, I would always try the windblown side first. Slip Bobbering right on top, I fish where I see the most marks if visible. I will say this, I've had biters going nutz on the slip bobbers and shut off totally with a subtle change in wind direction. I've preached to my wife, Dad, and a buddy who fishes with me, that, when you find active biters, keep the bait in the water because the action can shut down at any time.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[james_walleye]

Thanks Mark! I usually don't fish a reef unless I see them on the graph. Pretty easy on vermilion to find the active reefs I've found in the few years up there. I haven't done much bobber fishing up there but it is my favorite way to fish. 

[guideman]

Hey James, I have bobber spots that don't even turn on until the weather heats up.  There should be a decent bobber bite out on main lake reefs most of the summer. All you have to do is find them. 

"Ace"

Edited June 18, 2015 by guideman

[Casey Sunsdahl]

I had some awesome bobber fishing in August a couple years ago!

[MarkB]

I would guess that anytime the walleyes are in the rocks, bobbers would be killer. An old guide friend of mine, Jack Sparks, fished slip bobbers exclusively. My problem is that once these mayflies start thinning out, the crawlers usually blow up. My wife loves trolling crawlers. Mid August we begin trolling lures quite a bit. It all works one way or another. The really good bite is still 3-4 weeks away for some of our favorite spots. Keep putting em in the boat Casey......

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[Sculpin]

I would also say that once those fish are up on the rocks in wind swept conditions, especially once the water temps reach 70, a crawler under a bobber can be lights out, just nose hook it on a 1/16th ounce jig and let it roll. If you are lucky enough to hit the crayfish moulting period a crawler simply cannot be beat..  

[BrianF]

MarkB

Love your posts, except perhaps for the 'musky are preying on our walleye' part (sorry, I'm a musky guy).

Anyway, I thought of you and other Vermilion walleye chasers recently while perusing social media.  Legendary Canadian angler, Gord Pyzer, is a 'friend' of mine on Facebook.  He posted a recent tip about the best summertime walleye rigging to catch fish while avoiding the age old problem with snags.  This is a rigging technique that apparently no body is using.  Gord is using a drop shot rig like they do in bass circles, with a 'Slinky' (parachute cord with internal split shot) as the weight to which the hook is riding approximately 12-16" above.  Live bait choice doesn't matter.  This rigging apparently works with all of them.  When the Slinky hangs up a bit, simply jiggle the rod and it is said to pop right out.   Couldn't be more simple to rig the drop shot.  Tie a polomar knot with a long tag end, then attach the Slinky to the tag end.   

Ever tried this rigging system to eliminate the snag problems you've been having on some of those reefs??  I'm planning to give it a go this weekend from my pontoon, as my musky chasing machine is in the infirmary.

Hope this helps! 

Brian

 

Edited June 30, 2015 by BrianF

[MarkB]

Thanks for the info Brian. It'll be interesting to see what you think after using it. One suggestion: take a picture of the rig and post it with a report. Everyone I know and talk with here at the lake are mostly Lindy rig specialists. A "new" technique such as this just might solve several problems with reef fishing walleyes including crawdad problems.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[djlong]

I was up last weekend and had a great time with slip bobbers.  I went out with my wife, 5 year old and 3 year old and parked on a hump that topped out at 9 feet and used leeches.  My 5 year old was on fire and my wife was close behind.  I couldn't get my line out  because I was netting and re-baiting.  Saturday night before the storm moved in was the best and if you didn't get a bite in 2 minutes, you probably had your bobber set at the wrong depth.  Sunday morning was slower but still managed fish.  My 5 year old got 2 22 inchers and 1 24 incher with some great eaters and a few small ones.   I wanted to thank Mark, Casey and Cliff for all the great posts and information.  I can't wait to get back out this weekend.

[MarkB]

Gotta love those slip bobbers! And what better way to introduce a 5 yr old to the joys of fishing. I would love to see a 5 yr old tackle a 24"er! Glad you had good luck!

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[djlong]

Here is my happy little man. Notice the dog that is awaiting his chance to take a bite for lunch. 

[MarkB]

My wife thinks that picture is "adorable" and for lack of a more masculine word, I couldn't agree more!

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[Casey Sunsdahl]

Awesome! I've got 3 youngsters tomorrow bass fishing, couldn't be more pumped.. Fun times! I've been contemplating the drop shot approach for a month now and this post couldn't have been more timely! That sounds like the perfect style weight system for eyes, I am familiar. Thanks!!

 

[MN BassFisher]

I heard that as well and was intrigued as I am a bass guy and love drop shotting. The only question I had is where to get or how to make the "slinky" style drop shot weights.

[MarkB]

You can buy the parachute cord at most sporting goods stores. Buy the diameter cord you want so that you can stuff split shot in the open end easily after you remove the insides of the parachute cord. Burn one end shut with a lighter before you start and burn the other end when you have the weight you want. When you burn the second end, mash the end together with pliers while its still hot so that there is a flat surface. Punch or burn a hole through the flat end. You can then attach a swivel snap through the hole you punched.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

Edited July 2, 2015 by MarkB

[cherokeeref]

Here you go Mark!

 

 

[MarkB]

That would be it! One thing I forgot to mention. If you are on a bunch of fish and can stay on top of them, this rig would allow "stillfishing" them at the perfect depth WITHOUT the slipbobber!

MarkB

Edited July 2, 2015 by MarkB

[neptune]

You guys have got me very interested in trying bobbers again but you never mention whats on the end?  are you using any particular jig with a leech or worm or just a hook and sinker?

[MarkB]

Hook/split shot for me.

MarkB

[Casey Sunsdahl]

1/16 - 1/8 jig or plain snelled hook split shot. 1/8 jig no split with large (not XL) thill, perfect bass or walleye deal I think