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1 hour ago, Pat McGraw said:

I don't see anything regarding Vermilion or Pike Bay on there, so I assume its open. I'm probably in the minority here but I personally wish they would close it for the first week of the season. 

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Fish Head, we may be in the minority but not alone.  I also wouldn't mind seeing Pike Bay walleye being protected for the first week.

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Per Rick:  

Posted 1 hour ago

Anglers heading to Lake Vermilion will notice fishing closure signs for the Pike River near the seasonal Pike River hatchery operation. The temporary closure is enacted each spring from April 1 to May 30 to protect concentrations of spawning walleye that may be vulnerable to over-harvest.

The fishing closure extends from the Pike River Dam to the mouth of the river where it enters Pike Bay.  Signs are posted at the closed area.

Pike Bay on Lake Vermilion is not closed to fishing.

The protected slot requires that all walleyes from 20 to 26 inches be immediately released. Special regulations for pike require that all pike from 24 to 36 inches be immediately released.

Closures apply to fishing only; travel is permitted through these areas.

Questions can be directed to the DNR fisheries office in Tower at 218-3300-7803, or to Edie Evarts, Tower area fisheries supervisor, at [email protected].

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2 hours ago, ozzie said:

Per Rick:  

Posted 1 hour ago

Anglers heading to Lake Vermilion will notice fishing closure signs for the Pike River near the seasonal Pike River hatchery operation. The temporary closure is enacted each spring from April 1 to May 30 to protect concentrations of spawning walleye that may be vulnerable to over-harvest.

The fishing closure extends from the Pike River Dam to the mouth of the river where it enters Pike Bay.  Signs are posted at the closed area.

Pike Bay on Lake Vermilion is not closed to fishing.

The protected slot requires that all walleyes from 20 to 26 inches be immediately released. Special regulations for pike require that all pike from 24 to 36 inches be immediately released.

Closures apply to fishing only; travel is permitted through these areas.

Questions can be directed to the DNR fisheries office in Tower at 218-3300-7803, or to Edie Evarts, Tower area fisheries supervisor, at [email protected].

Ok ! Thank you for clarifying the closure  .

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Awesome news thank you for the update, opener is happening lock, stock and barrels.!!!!  Next two days of work will be really productive.  

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DNR has posted May 8th as ice-out on vermilion. Good luck fishing everyone! If you're on Frazer Bay, stop and say hi.

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After all of that, this winter/spring only ranks as the 13th latest ice-out. Well short of the 2013 and 2014 ice-free days of May May 17th and May 13th respectively.

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15 hours ago, Pat McGraw said:

DNR has posted May 8th as ice-out on vermilion. Good luck fishing everyone! If you're on Frazer Bay, stop and say hi.

The definition of lake ice out can vary from lake to lake. For the citizen observers reporting data, ice out occurs when the lake is completely free of ice. Or, it may be when it is possible to navigate from point A to point B. Ice out may also be when a lake is 90 percent free of ice. Observers use consistent criteria from year to year when reporting lake ice out dates.

2018 Ice Out isn't official until we here from the "Ice Man" www.lakevermilion.com/iceout/contest.html

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The DNR feels that with the slot and the 4 fish limit there isn't a need to close Pike bay to Walleye fishing. In all my years fishing Vermilion I can only remember about 3 or 4 years when the entire bay was closed to angling and it appears that the Walleye population has survived pretty well. The larger Walleyes are protected by the slot so most of them that are taken by anglers will be released. Keep in mind also that the egg take has been over for days now and taking some fish on opener won't have that large of an impact. Pike bay only represents about 5% of the entire Walleye spawn on east Vermilion. ;) 

"Ace" ;) 

Have a great opening day everybody !  ;) 

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A hearty round of applause for everyone posting pictures and drone video of the lake opening up.   My office window in Minneapolis faces north, and I spend a lot of time in late April/early May day dreaming about vermilion and open water season.  Your posts and pics help build the anticipation! (they are murder on my productivity at work some days, however).

We will be up next weekend to start the summer pursuit of walleye, smallies, and lake memories and I'll be sure to post what has worked for me.

Thanks again for keeping it interesting the past few weeks, and be safe out there this weekend!

Matt

 

 

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