Lake Vermilion 2017 open water fishing reports and related information.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

The walleye bite the past couple days has gone from Boom to  almost Bust!

There have been a couple of huge May fly hatches the last couple of nights along with a large Rusty Crayfish molt that have been making catching walleyes a real challenge!

We are still getting some fish but now have to earn every fish!

Lindys with 1/2 crawler fished VERY slow in 18" to 30" depths has been my best presentation.

Cliff

[BulldogInTC]

Hi Cliff -

 

Thanks for the update on the hatch.  Is this usually a bust for 2 weeks once the big hatches start?  Will be up the 30th-9th, but still excited since its the first time staying for a full week at the in-laws cabin.  Hoping to provide a few updates on the West Side through the week.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Big Hatches usually get the slow bite over in a hurry! Hopefully this will only last a few more days!

Boated 22 walleyes today but only managed to keep 7 small eaters in 6 hours of fishing.

Cliff

[mwentw1]

Personal best today at 29".   Half crawler, 26'.  My wife also caught a 34" northern near the same spot.  Weather was crappy but overall a good day on the lake.  

[Lunderfull]

Cliff, how long of a leader do you run when you lindy rig and do you think hook color makes a big difference?

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I run a 4' to 6' leader most of the time.

Hook color can make a huge difference at times! On some days hook color does not matter at all!

Yesterday hook color mattered! Pink hook, green glow bead, 1/2 crawler caught all of our fish!

Bite started at 9:30am and ended at 11:00am! Boated 23 walleyes in that time period.

Cliff

[LBerquist]

Spent the day on the lake. Caught 20 something walleyes. Most on half a crawler lindy with glow bead, others on a jigging rap. Im new to the jigging rap but my confidence has gone through the roof after only using it a few times. 16-30fow. Had to really work for the fish. Lots and lots of mayfly slicks out there. Scrapped together our 8 fish limit, biggest only being 17", no slot fish.

[james_walleye]

After spending a few days taking the kids bass fishing and trying some musky trolling i got after the walleyes the past 2 mornings.  Finding the pods of walleyes haven't been an issue.  I've found plenty of fish off of mid lake structure in 25-30 feet.  They are really touch and go though.  I fished a pod for a couple hours yesterday.  I had an hour where i caught 7 then the next hour i caught 1. This morning it was 4 hours of 1 here 1 there over thick pods of fish.  We managed 7 nice keepers in that 14-16" range.  I have not seen a preference  in a color hook or bead. Everything seemed to get bit equal. Half a crawler was the bait.  I'm up all week so I'm hoping the bite takes off as this fly hatch ends.  

[Captain Acorn]

  It is been a while since I posted on this site hope everyone is well . I was up the past two weekends and some days of been fantastic while others not so fantastic .   One day caught 35 between 14 and 20 inches pulling spinners the next day 2. The key is not only finding fish but finding the active part there's a lot of pots out there that are stuffed.  Also when you're out there remember to be respectful of other boats one thing that was really frustrating about this last weekend was I was on a 20 x 20 rock pile got into some fish and next thing I know I was battling seven other boats around this little little rock pile with plenty of other ones around it's a big lake remember to give people some space  If you want that spot get there first 

Edited July 5, 2017 by Captain Acorn
Wasn't done

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Captain Acorn,

I know how you feel about being crowded off of a spot that you found fish on. I have been there many times! I have just resigned myself to the fact that is just the way it is. Most of those guys never get a fish off of the spot and finally leave or I just find another spot my self! That can also get frustrating when they just follow you to your next spot!

Cliff

 

[james_walleye]

How did you end up today Cliff? I saw you buzzing around a couple times.  Today was a bit different....i didnt find those big pods of fish i had been on..... until i stopped on a spot i had never fished.  My god were they stacked.  We caught 5 beauties and 2 jumbo perch in about 15 minutes and then in vintage vermilion fashion..... they just disappeared.  

Edited July 5, 2017 by james_walleye

[Captain Acorn]

Cliff 

 

you are right about that and I can't imagine how many times a familiar face like yourself on the lake  has that happen.  I get it everyone wants to catch fish but I just can't beleive what some people will do. I fish pool 4 quit a bit and it's expected there but I just wouldn't think to crowd people like that on such a big lake with so many areas to fish. Once all those boats showed up the bite turned off went back in the evening and finished them off. 

[Cliff Wagenbach]

JW,

We boated 12 and managed to keep 8 decent eaters. No really nice sized fish today.

Found a bunch myself and we only got a couple to bite on that spot!

Cliff

 

[LBerquist]

Part of the enjoyment I get out of fishing vermilion is the ability to be away from everything while on the water. But I am guilty of running up on other people too, sorry Cliff. Sometimes you just need to be creative to free yourself from the crowd. Like a marker you can drop in the middle of nowhere to lure the boats off your spot, ignore the work "SUCKER" written in sharpy on it. But the best deterrent are those boats running around with the big white whip antennas,  thanks Cliff. But, like Cliff said, the majority of the guys that run up on you can't catch fish anyway. I like to try and have a good conversation with the boats that get real close, but for some reason most of them don't like to talk.

Edited July 6, 2017 by LBerquist

[JerkinLips]

Fished for a few hours July 2-3 (family was with and they aren't big on fishing) and managed to scrape up 7 walleyes and 3 perch.  Caught one 22" slot eye, and was able to keep one meal of 14-16" eyes.  I would pick up one fish in one spot then no more.  I saw other boats doing the same.  Fishing should pick up this weekend as the mayfly affect runs out.  Water temps were 67-69°F.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

LBerquist,

Always nice to have you come visit on the lake!

Never have any issues with you crowding us or taking over a hot spot! Happy to share fish and info. with you.

Cliff

[LBerquist]

Thanks Cliff. I appreciate your conversation and all your advice. You have helped me immensely and I consider you a mentor. My fishing abilities have gone up exponentially in the past couple years and I owe a lot of it to you. It's always nice to have someone that is willing to answer questions and lend advice. I enjoy being able to stop in on someone on the lake and have a conversation. You are welcome to join me on my hot spot anytime.

[LBerquist]

Gave one good attempt between the storms. Caught 8, lost 3 would have been keepers at the boat, only kept a couple 15s. Jigging rap strikes again but the curse is the lost fish at the boat and the multiple missed hits. Found fish stacked up in 15-18 off structure. Half hour later there wasn't a thing on the graph.

[james_walleye]

LB i found a similar situation.  Did pretty well this morning before the first rains came.  Very nice eaters in that 15-18" range.  Also put back 3 fish from 23-25". I was on top of a couple rock humps with slip bobbers and leeches/half a crawler. 18-22' depending on the hump.  I went out after the last rain and they had all disappeared outside of 1 hump. I fished for an hour and caught a 16" and 18". All fish went back today. Considering how stacked the fish were on these humps the fishing wasn't very great. It's amazing how thick they would be at times. You would think the bobber would be going down immediately but not the case.  

[james_walleye]

Caught a couple on bobbers this morning.  Still pretty slow. My daughter caught a dandy though. 

[Cliff Wagenbach]

JW,

Wow!

That is a real Beauty!

How long?

Cliff

[LBerquist]

Was a rough one for me today. Only boated a half dozen. All on a jigging rap and all went back in the lake. Was able to find some fish but those places ended up being to popular for me. Saw a lot of movement from the whip antennas today.  Cliff, I thought I saw you evacuate big bay this morning, I should have done the same, any luck? Forgot to add, made ceviche out of the fish I caught yesterday, tastes great, used to have it a bit in Hawaii so I figured I would give it a shot with fresh walleye, worth a shot. Awesome fish JW's daughter.

Edited July 9, 2017 by LBerquist

[james_walleye]

Cliff the wife took a good pic.  It was a bit over 25". 

[delcecchi]

Watch for parasites showing up.....

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I stayed in Big Bay today but managed to find a sheltered spot with fish. We boated 19 and kept 12 nice ones. No slot fish again today though.

Took the North route home behind Pine Is. Big Bay was just to rough to run full length for us!

Cliff

[Fish Head]

On 7/7/2017 at 5:18 PM, LBerquist said:

Gave one good attempt between the storms. Caught 8, lost 3 would have been keepers at the boat, only kept a couple 15s. Jigging rap strikes again but the curse is the lost fish at the boat and the multiple missed hits. Found fish stacked up in 15-18 off structure. Half hour later there wasn't a thing on the graph.

That is par for the course with jiggin raps. 

[delcecchi]

That's probably why Al says use mono, and probably a glass rod as well.  

[norwaybay]

Was finally able to get out on the west end over the fourth.  Fished July 5-7 a few hours each evening along the regular spots for this time of year.  Moved in to 9-13 feet pulling lindys with half a crawler adding a spinner blade and caught  8 keepers (16-17.5) and six slot fish biggest 27.5.  Speed mattered as less than 1 mph was the ticket.  Fish were out as the sun went down but once the sun was gone the fish were gone.  Best fishing on the west end I have ever experienced.  Can't wait to get back out there.  Watch your speed and watch for the small perch.  When we found them the walleyes were close.

[Sculpin]

4 hours ago, Fish Head said:

That is par for the course with jiggin raps. 

There are allot of good videos out there that show how to upsize the "belly" hooks on the jigging raps, and open up the throat on the nose and tail hooks. You may also wish to add a good barrel swivel in-line, as twist can become an issue. Consider the use of braid or co-polymer as your primary bottom line. In addition, try to avoid  baits similar to Jiggin Raps that do not have a nose hook, Moonshine, etc. As they get hit from the front many times, no hook, no hook up.

 

Good luck   

[LBerquist]

I'm running a #5 rapala. 10# test braid to a swivel, 6ft 8# florocarbon leader. 7.5ft medium fast action rod. And yes, I have noticed a good deal of nose hooks. Watch out for that belly treble hook, got it caught in the net trying to land a 5lber, fish flopped but the rapala stayed in the net, lost a good selfie oportunity.