First Outing Since Last Thursday..........

[MarkB]

Usually, when things go quiet on here, it means there's not much to say fishing-wise. Personally, today was the first day my wife and I have been out since last week. Hurricane type winds pretty much shut us down for awhile. When I was younger and my lake time was limited, it had to be pretty bad out there not to at least try. Getting older has softened up lots of things and fighting rough water to, from, and during a fishing outing is one of them. Today, the weather hit the other end of the spectrum wind-wise and, although it was a beautiful morning, there was zero wind to help fishing methods. My wife and I tried two different spots, both of which involved deep water reefs. I could find no fish on top of either reef. Both "areas" produced fish but our usual snag filled outing involved no snags! The first spot we tried held walleyes in 28'+ of water. We caught as many smallmouth as walleyes and both leeches and crawlers were productive. The best walleye was 14.5" and most of them were in that 14"-14.5" range. The best smallmouth measured 18.5" and put up quite a fight before coming to the net. I took off the floaters this morning and we went with plain hooks and a green bead. I cut off the bottom 2" of wire on the bottom bouncer. I really don't know why but it's a trick a quide friend of mine uses on Ft. Peck reservoir. The second spot was the "hot" spot and we managed to boat 5 walleyes to 15.5" before my trolling motor batteries gave out. These fish were on a 27' bench adjacent to a reef that rises to 15' from the surface. They were mostly scattered and, although they were eager biters, we had to work for them. My wife and I both lost a big fish here this morning.

We brought home some eaters for lunch. When I cleaned them, they were mostly empty. I hope that is a situation that sticks around for awhile. We moved from our first "spot" because the fish quit biting. A big musky was thrashing around on the surface doing what muskies do. It looked to really be enjoying itself. If I were a fisherman looking forward to coming to the lake in the near future, I would be encouraged to find out that the walleyes are definitely biting. I believe fishing is going to get progressively better, but for now, it really isn't too bad...

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[delcecchi]

Thanks Mark.   Maybe deeper is better. 

[MarkB]

Today was another beautiful day to be on the lake. We've been getting out around 7:00 and that's actually quite early for us. Based upon our success over the past 2 days, we may have to re-evaluate our fishing schedule. I went back to where we left them yesterday when my trolling motor batteries gave out. A quick trip to Aronson's yesterday afternoon fixed that problem real quick This morning, it was 28' of water on a mud bottom. The walleyes were scattered as they were yesterday and we caught several fish that were totally random. Today it was all crawlers and the hits were like they really wanted the crawler! Virtually no wind made speed an issue and .4-.6mph worked well. Everything was going well when, at approximately 10:00, they shut down completely. I think an earlier start might put more fish in the boat. Our fish today were mostly 15"-16" and our small fish of the day was 13.5"(only one). We did catch one small slot fish 18.5" and all in all, it was a great morning.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[MarkB]

For us, the walleyes are continuing to relate to the easy food which is the astronomical midge hatch which is in full swing. The perch minnow "balls" are still present and the minnows appear to be growing at a very fast rate! Apparently, as they get bigger, they get harder to catch and walleyes kept in the livewell and cleaned are regurgitating fewer perch minnows and way more midge larvae. This is obviously the reason we are finding pretty nice congregations of eater sized walleyes on soft bottom areas in fairly deep water. All of our fish(now) that are coming from 28' and deeper have a really disgusting used chewing tobacco looking component in their stomachs along with a sprinkling of ~1.5" perch minnows. If the perch minnows keep this growth rate up, my wife and I will be dragging no 5 Firetiger jointed Shad Raps shortly. I know, I know, lures are working now but I'm referring to what my wife and I do according to current conditions. I sometimes get anxious and start a little early but we usually don't get serious about dragging lures until mid August through early September. Until then, we'll just keep pounding the deep water soft bottom and wait for the consistent bite to start again in the rocks

The past couple of days have continued to produce eater sized walleyes from 14"-16.5". We are catching very few dinks now and the majority of the fish still fall into that 15"-16" range. Slot fish are, once again, making up about 20-25% of a daily catch. While our "average" slot fish this year is running in the 20"-22" range, this past week, we've been catching the lower end slot size of 18"-19.999". Personally, I'm happy to see more below 20" sized slot fish because those are the trophies of the future. I'm concerned though that quite a few are right on or only slightly above that 18" mark and I'm sure that a high percentage of them would end up in someone's livewell

I'm getting kind of tired of cleaning green bug *&%#! off my boat. I guess one thing is good about bugs in the boat though: for fear of bugs going in the mouth, it sure holds down the idle conversation.......

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[delcecchi]

Careful about what you wish for, Mark.  As Mille lacs and perhaps the west end shows, a high population of big walleye can be a bad thing. 

[MarkB]

I guess I'm in somewhat of a minority in my thinking on walleye fishing on Lake Vermilion. Please don't interpret what I'm about to say as me thinking I actually know the mechanics of the Lake Vermilion fishery. I just have my ideas on what I would like to see as "ideal" fishing opportunity. BIG walleyes are my goal each and every time my wife and I go out on a fishing outing. To me, BIG walleyes are those slot fish over 20" and the bigger the better. If I could go out each and every day and catch ALL slot fish, it would be an ideal scenario for us! Of course we enjoy eating walleye for some of our meals but I would gladly give up our "eaters" to catch BIG fish exclusively. Presently, I feel we(my wife and myself) have a good mix of eater sized walleyes and slot fish. I was totally against the slot before it was put in place on Lake Vermilion but, today, I am one of it's biggest cheerleaders. I was wrong about the effect of slot limits and the results have definitely given my family everything we could realistically ever hope for in a "home" walleye fishing lake. My wife and I have caught some huge trophy walleyes since the slot was introduced. Just in case some of you haven't seen them or have forgotten, the fish pictured below is why I live on this lake

Good Fishing,

Mark B

[redlabguy]

And this from a guy who used to fish the big Missouri reservoirs where it's all about big fish. That is a bunch of nice fish and I agree with the goal. Big fish! Thanks for the posts, Mark. Hope to get back to paradise in a week! And I hope trolling the Lindys is still the best technique. Heck, our tomatoes may even be ripe by now, we've been gone so long.

Dick

[delcecchi]

Things are different over here on the west end, where big walleye purportedly roam but eaters are scarce.  Bass all over the place so that is the main target.  

Today I got away from grandkids and got 4 bass in one hour. Right after lunch.

[muskie-mike]

I have been trying leadcore and shadraps a couple of times every week.  Got 2 walleyes and a jumbo in 12 feet of water on Saturday. Can't get anything at 24 feet even though it looks like plenty of fish at that depth. What triggers when the bite starts on Vermilion?  Seems like mid August. Other lakes have a good bite much earlier.....

[chaffmj]

Nice fish Mark and thanks for the posts and pics. They are always appreciated.

[PSU]

Agreed surrounding Mark's posts! Very helpful and informative. I can honestly say that his posts (and our other experts on the forum) have helped me catch more walleye! In addition Mark, or any other regulars on this forum, I am always willing to hand out a cold one if you are ever in the neighborhood. We are the only dock on the northern part of our island (furthest western island in Smart's Bay towards Frazer) just south of Hinsdale and adjacent to Retreat.

[Mbarbeau]

Lots of great tips on here thanks guys. I will be heading up to fish vermilion for the first time augest 14th I keep seeing you guys say mid augest is the best time of year on this lake? When u talk about pulling rapalas are you talking on leadcore? Just curious as to what kind of fishing is gonna produce for us this time of year. I have a short weekend and a one and a half year old to battle with to get on the lake but we are staying on big bay on the point right behind moose island. Any tips for a newb that will be fishing the area? 

[delcecchi]

Read what Cliff and Mark say, and do what they say.  That's what I would do if I were going to the east end. 

[Fish Head]

Read what Cliff and Mark say, and do what they say.  That's what I would do if I were going to the east end. 

Also check out Casey's weekly YouTube updates.  https://www.youtube.com/user/CaseysGuideService

 

[delcecchi]

Last few have been a little thin, but in general they are interesting.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Mid August is usually the best time period for pulling crank baits if that is what you like to do.

Lead core or  long lining deep divers in 17' to 30' works best.

I still stick to my lindy rigs with either crawlers or pike suckers.

Cliff

[Mbarbeau]

I think I'm with you on that cliff. Always been a live bait kinda guy.

[MarkB]

This morning was a total mixed bag for us. Northerns, smallmouths, jumbos, and walleyes were boated. The nicest fish was a 19.5" smallmouth and the nicest walleye was 15". I wouldn't, by any means, call this a fantastic outing but the day was nice and the fish cooperated so what more could you ask for? We started off in Armstrong Bay trolling shoreline with mediocre results. We didn't mark many fish but we managed a nice northern(~28"), a couple walleyes(dink class), and a 16" smallmouth, all crawlers. From there, we moved over to the reef between JB and Nyberg. I marked quite a few fish and we decided to anchor and slip bobber fish it. We got several really nice bass and walleyes to 15" all on leeches. Our depth was 22'. I then moved to Canfield Bay and we trolled the east shoreline with zero results! I marked fish at 21'-28' but no biters this morning. We watched an eagle that was fishing the same shoreline we were. He did way better. Water temps have dropped back to the low 70's

After a week of high wind, it was a great morning to be on the lake.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[bturck]

Great reports Mark as always.  Haven't fished V since early 80's but some great memories. Your reports just add fuel to the fire .  Keep the reports and pics coming

[MarkB]

It's time for an update post from one of the "luckiest" fishermen on our favorite lake My wife and I have been getting out more frequently lately and enjoying some cooler weather thanks to overcast skies and steady winds. Actually, the wind has been the major factor in dictating what part of the lake we target for an outing. Most of the time, the windblown shorelines, points, and reef edges are the focus because that's where the feed congregates with steady constant wind. But not always.....We've had several days where the areas we wanted to fish were just too windblown to fish effectively and, so, we have shifted(during those times) to sheltered shorelines and bays. As a result, I have found fish, and lots of them, in totally new areas where my wife and I have never fished before. Our method, during high wind days, is to go to sheltered locations and "hunt" for congregations of fish. Usually when we can mark fish at regular intervals on our sonar we drop baits and try them for a short while. If we don't get the action that we're looking for, we move on to another promising looking area. An example would be an area I've been fishing for the past couple of days. In the beginning, I marked fish on a mainland shoreline that were strung out at 19'-23' adjacent to a rocky area. The fish holding water broke fairly sharply from the rocky edge. Fishing by myself, I landed 10 walleyes in about 1.5 hours using 1/2 crawler, 1oz bouncer, 3' leader, green bead, and #6 fluorescent chartreuse hook. The biggest walleye I caught was 20" and 7 others were 14"-15.5". The fish I cleaned were full of crawdads. As normal, I missed a few fish and lost a couple hooked fish, so it was a good outing. These fish have stayed in this area and they appear to be tickled to death eating crawfish. My second outing there produced similar results. A couple days prior to finding those fish, my wife and I were searching areas and I stumbled into a small sheltered bay. I marked a few big marks on my first pass in 20' of water. After dropping our baits, we landed 17 walleyes during the next 2 hours. All fish were caught on 1/2 crawler in 15'-22'. We caught one slot fish(18.5") and several others were 15"-17.5". I tried them the next day and they were way less cooperative and we only boated 8. There were absolutely no rocks in the vicinity and the bottom was sand/mud. Crawdads were a nuisance here even with floats. Most of the areas where we have put some time in has produced fish. Once again, because of constant strong wind we have been fishing mainland shoreline and sheltered bays in 15'-23' of water with 20' probably producing the best. The biggest fish have come from the shallowest water we have fished. The structure we have been successful with is relatively snag-free and that's something new for us. My wife is getting used to snag-free fishing and she likes it. Both of the areas I described above were totally new to us. We fished a main lake hump almost a week ago with fantastic success but winds have kept us away recently. That area was wall to wall fish and the biters were spread out over a 15' bench. A few rocks but nothing significant. I am sitting here today at my computer itching to get out and try some of the "regular" areas we fish at this time of the year. With the water temperatures dropping down into the mid 60's, visions of deeper water and BIG minnows keep popping into my head. My wife and I generally suck at lure fishing and this season has been no exception. My usual trolling run has been stacked up with walleyes and we can't get them interested(In lures that is). An interesting thing happened to me the other day while pulling lures in the Strawberry Island area. I was out in front of the sand beach that Skubic's old resort used to sit on and I reeled in my line to clean off the spiny water fleas. I dropped my lure back into the water beside the boat to make sure it ran properly. It was, maybe, 2' down(I could see it clearly) and WHAM!! a 15" walleye clobbered it!! Wow! I hurriedly took care of the fish and dropped it back over and WHAM!!! it happened again! OMG!!! I figured I found the absolute "SECRET" to late summer lure fishing in Lake Vermilion. Well, I absolutely wore out the upper 3' of water in that area with no more "LUCK"!! I guess I'll keep trying my luck out in more traditional places.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[Casey Sunsdahl]

Fall fishing is certainly fast approaching! Brrr

[Fish Head]

Great post as always Mark!

[redlabguy]

Mark,

An old boss of mine said "the harder you work, the luckier you get." I'd say you're making your own luck. Most of last week I was hunkered down. I never ventured out of Frazer Bay- didn't care to fight those winds that you took on. We did manage to find eaters and the occasional slot fish- I caught a 22 Friday that just about wore out my arm- thought it was a big northern. But we laid in for most of the week. Now (that the weather is more hospitable) we're back south taking care of real estate business. I join the many fishermen and women who like reading your posts much more than watching the fishing shows. We'll be back in two weeks for the real fall fishing.

Keep making that great luck!

Dick