2021 Lake Vermilion Fishing Reports

[jkrash]

it always does... but the hard part is getting out there.

[Klinger]

Fire up the sleds Jamie! Soon we will be drilling holes out by Moose....

[Fish Head]

it always does... but the hard part is getting out there.

Please tell me that photo is not from this fall! I'm headed up tomorrow morning and I still have my dock in. Shouldn't we have a couple more weeks of open water?

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I wonder if the great bite this year will carry over to hardwater?

It did last winter!

Cliff

[Finnish Flash]

Cliff - Did you call it a season or is the boat still on the water?

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Darrin,

I pulled the boat on Tuesday!

Still got caught with a boat full of snow though!

Drying it out in the garage so that I can cover it for the winter now.

Cliff

[Finnish Flash]

Cliff - See you on the ice!!

[JerkinLips]

Likewise for me. Due to family issues, my boat is still in the water in the boathouse, but at least the motor is tipped up. Is there any ice on the lake yet? I was planning on pulling the boat out the day before deer hunting.

[jkrash]

The picture above is from last year, the water temp right now is in the mid 40's. It will be a while before we have ice.

[jkrash]

This picture is from today

[Tominator692]

This picture is from today

Great picture. Thank you for posting. Did you get out fishing?

[JerkinLips]

Love the snow for deer hunting; not so much for soft water fishing. Is the snow melting on gravel roads around Vermilion? I need to make it back up the Stuntz Bay hill next Friday with a vehicle that is not good in snow.

[Sota2Florida]

I'm a little South of the big V but the roads were mostly clear here this afternoon and we got a few inches. I was hunting about 10 miles East of here and no snow! The temps are suppose to be in the low 40's most of the week so you should be ok.

[Hawgeyes]

FYI - DNR meeting Thursday night in Tower regarding Lake Vermilion:

http://news.dnr.state.mn.us/2012/10/26/l...v-1/#more-10336

[Fish Head]

This was Sunday morning-

[SkunkedAgain]

FYI - DNR meeting Thursday night in Tower regarding Lake Vermilion

Hopefully the walleye report isn't as bad as the one for Mille Lacs

[NilesBayHusker]

Is anyone on this list planning to attend the DNR meeting in Tower on Thursday? If so, please post a report.

Thanks

[Casey Sunsdahl]

Ill be there.

[delcecchi]

If anyone goes, I would be interested in any information they present. I'd love to go but it's a pretty long drive from Rochester.

[mtheis]

Hey guys!

How much snow is on the ground near Tower? I am coming up for deer hunting and

just wanted to know what to expect.

[MarkB]

I waited until it warmed up a bit today and then went out for a few hours. Things have remained pretty much the same, fishing-wise, since my last outing. I fished 3 different spots adjacent to holes/reefs in water with maximum depths to 28'. Two of the spots were blanks but the third produced some good fishing. Right in the hole itself, I found dinks from 10"-13". I kinda got hung up on those because they were biting pretty good. I dropped a marker at each end of the hole and, then, drifted down the middle. On one pass, I got a bit shallow(20')and noticed some big marks on top of the sharp break down into the hole and close to the 12' reef top. I adjusted my drift and caught a 22",2-20", and hooked and lost 3 other big fish. The action lasted for about an hour and then, they quit. I could see them on the sonar, but they just wouldn't bite. It was fun while it lasted.

Today, the water temp has dropped to 43.5 degrees. The air temp was 41 degrees at it's highest while I fished. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed watching young loons faking a mating ritual and a pair of eagles fishing close to my location. The buoys in Daisy Bay were removed today, so, I assume, the rest of the lake is also clear or will be shortly. Be careful chasing the muskies. Although I didn't see a walleye fisherman today, there appeared to be several musky hunters.

I plan on fishing as long as the water allows. My big boat is in storage for the winter and my fishing partner does not like cold weather .

Good Fishing,

MarkB

As you can see, self timer photography is not my bag. I post this not for it's quality but because it's the only picture I got before I killed my battery trying to figure out the self timer.

[Fish Head]

As always, Thanks for the great posts Mark! I'll be up this weekend. Mostly chasing muskies.

[TomWehler]

You catch a lot of walleye fish.

Does the camo gear help when fishen is tuff?

But beware...you can not hide form the blood lust of the Vermilion Werewolves ....BEWARE!

[TomWehler]

Why is that one guy sweeping letting the other guy whiz in that boat.

Hope the Vermilion Werewolves get them.

[MarkB]

Fish Head:

Yesterday there appeared to be several musky guys casting the "spots" in Daisy Bay, Birch Point, and Comet. Can't say if anything was happening. Remember that the Hazard buoys are out....

Tom:

I've tried both Mossy Oak and Real Tree and have found that Real Tree outfishes Mossy Oak 3:1 when fishing green beads, short leaders, and plain hooks. Actually, the camo gear I wear in the spring and fall is raingear rated to about 10 below. That coupled with an ample waistline keeps me toasty .

I've been sitting here watching the thermometer and it's finally reached 32 degrees. I've talked my wife into going out for a few hours when it warms up a bit more. I want to go way east and try some deeper water. We'll see how that works out.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[Scupper]

Thank you Mark.

Keep your partner comfortable and be safe...

Scott

[MarkB]

I finally made it out at ~1:30. It was cool and my wife opted to stay home. Blue skies early and a chilly breeze from the NW. Drifting was perfect. I went east as I said earlier and saw only 2 other boats. The area that I fished is a fairly large flat with a consistent depth of ~35' and a deep area that runs 40'-43'. I started in the deepest area and worked out in all directions. The walleyes today were scattered and finicky. I caught fish and had hits in depths from 36'-41'. The bite was extremely light and I missed more fish than I caught. I fished for ~2.5 hours and boated 7 with the largest being 18". There must have been quite a nest of 14" fish down there today because everything else was cookie-cutter 14"ers. I did lose a fish that felt big but I didn't have it long enough to get excited. I said it last fall and I'll say it again here, these musky guys are tough!For me, the weather is getting very marginal for spending much time on the water. My hands, ears, and feet get uncomfortable after a few short hours. Those guys roar around the lake all day in 35 degree weather wearing clothing like I wore in September!

I am now treating each one of these outings as if it were the last for the year. We'll see if the taste of fresh walleye tonight makes me feel as tough as a musky fisherman .

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[Fish Head]

The hardest part of muskie fishing in late fall for me, is the spray from the line when casting keeps your hands wet. It's hard to stay warm when your hands are getting wet constantly. This weekend may be my last for the year, but I'm still holding out hope for the weekend of November 10th also.

[Casey Sunsdahl]

I was even one of those Muskie heads today lol. Fish head .. I wear black nitrile textured gloves for hunting and fishing this time of year.. Best thing since sliced bread. You can fit any other kind of glove over if need be but they keep your hands dry better than anything.

[Hawgeyes]

I made it back to Vermilion on Tuesday and fished the East end for walleyes. It was a cold morning 23 degrees when I launched however by ~10am it wasn't that bad. The bite was very light and like MarkB stated I too missed a number of fish. I definitely had to work hard to muster some action, nothing came easy. During the day I managed to catch 2 @16.5", a 21" and a 25" along with some 12"-14". The best action I had was with the biggest minnows in my bucket (chubs and rainbows). I found walleyes as shallow as 20' and as deep as 40'.

I too didn't see another walleye fisherman, MarkB you must have been on a different section of the lake . I was very surprised to see so many boats fishing for muskies on a Tuesday!

Overall a good day on the water.