Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

Recommended Posts

10 inches of ice in a new location today. Lots of wheelers and snowmobiles running around. A couple of good sized wheel houses were pulled out by Birch Island. A small pickup and SUV were parked by each. Brave people. Good bite from 8 to 12 then only a handful of bites in the afternoon. Chubs still seem better than rainbows. 25 fow. Going to get even busier on the lake this weekend. Tomorrow is my last day until the Monday after Christmas. Good luck if you venture out and be careful.  

  • Thumbs Up 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So great to hear quality ice is forming on LV.  Hopefully we won't have to fight slush like we did last year.  Heading up between Christmas and NewYear.  Can't wait!

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/19/2020 at 12:09 AM, JerkinLips said:

Talked to someone at McKinley Park Wednesday and they said they were catching a lot of tullibee.  They said they were catching them near the bottom using medium size minnows on walleye-sized hooks.  Don't know why I haven't caught any this year, and only caught 2 all last winter.

 

Interesting sighting at McKinley Park this afternoon as I was leaving the lake.  This older Ski-Doo was ready to tow a canoe.  Also saw a power auger sitting outside an empty truck so somebody must have been having equipment problems.

 

Fair bite from 8:30-11:00 today with the pictured 26½" coming at the end of the bite.  Bite picked up again at 2:00 but I had decided to leave then when the snow ended.  Thought the roads would be better then but had freezing rain from Soudan to Cotton.  3 vehicles in the ditch including one car backwards and tipped on its side between the Y-store and Black Bear, and a pickup-plow backed way into the ditch just past Eveleth.  Glad to make it safely home, but 45 minutes later.

 

Only got 2 inches of very light snow in Soudan today so it shouldn't cause problems to the ice.  The water in my fishing holes stayed almost an inch below the top of the ice so there is not much weight on the ice now.  As long as we don't get a lot of snow before next week's cold snap, the ice should be ideal.  Someone drove a full-sized pickup truck out of the bay to a group of wheel houses.  Will probably see a lot more this weekend.  Good luck fishing and be safe.

20201218_150402.jpg

20201218_110919.jpg


Your long arm pics are always the opposite of everyone else’s! ?

 

Thanks for all your reports!  It’s nice to be able to follow along with developing ice season, even for the area.  I made a decision yesterday that I want to head to my place in Ely for the New Year weekend and your reports give me some level of confidence how the ice will be.

 

Good luck out there this year!

  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ice update, snowmobiles this weekend on East side from Frazer to Trout portage and big bay from Birch pt to Mc Kinley park and Everett bay. Ice seemed consistent 10". Some large pressure ridges in big bay but easy enough to find safe crossings in daylight. Only open water I saw was at Moc pt so detour around Swanson island. Did not get over to oak narrows but would always advise caution there.

Cold weather for Christmas eve so maybe the Penguins will stake the lake next weekend.

 

  • Thumbs Up 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

West side ice seems a little behind that on the east.  We’ve not measured any 10” of ice.  We’ve found 8” to 9” with some variable spots which were even less.  This is from Wake Em Up Narrows all the way to Wolf Bay.  Our fishing had been spotty.  Lots of walleyes but nothing of size.  

  • Thumbs Up 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fished last weekend around Moccasin point.  No walleye bites only had a couple of northerns or muskies bite me off.  10" of ice and easy to get around on the ATV.  Might need the snowmobile next time up.

  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey we're thinking aboutwalking from Birch Point to Daisy Island next weekend.  Anyone know if sleds have been going through this area?  We want to be careful in the narrow spot between the point and the island.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ice update, thanks to the penguins the east side lake trails are now staked. Significant slush along many shorelines for first 50 yards. Better farther out but many grey areas where water pushed up along  cracks. Trail stakes through Moc pt but lots of slush so recommend going north around Swanson island instead. Measuring 12" ice out on the lake in Moc pt area.

Whitefish biting better then walleyes for me

  • Thumbs Up 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fished from 10am to 6pm today and did not catch a fish. Had one bite on a rainbow that I lost half way up. Marked a few but couldn't get them to bite. May have to try pike suckers tomorrow. 14.5 inches of ice and about half inch of water came on the ice when drilling holes. Didn't run into any slush out of McKinley Park.

  • Thumbs Up 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, JerkinLips said:

Fished from 10am to 6pm today and did not catch a fish. Had one bite on a rainbow that I lost half way up. Marked a few but couldn't get them to bite. May have to try pike suckers tomorrow. 14.5 inches of ice and about half inch of water came on the ice when drilling holes. Didn't run into any slush out of McKinley Park.


How is the snow load?  Curious if I do get up to Ely this weekend if I can walk/pull easily or if I’ll be challenging a heart attack without my wheeler.  I’m in decent enough shape so really just worried about deeper powder and slush.

 

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Wanderer said:


How is the snow load?  Curious if I do get up to Ely this weekend if I can walk/pull easily or if I’ll be challenging a heart attack without my wheeler.  I’m in decent enough shape so really just worried about deeper powder and slush.

 

Thanks

Wanderer, My daughter is up at the cabin now and it looks to be about 3-4" on the ice where it is not slushy.  Looking to get 1-3 tonight.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The west end is similar. There are patches of slush but mostly in good shape. Wakemup seemed to be in better shape than Head-O-Lakes. Black Bay was 50/50 on slush, worse than most places I went.

 

....to the guy ice fishing along the staked trail in HeadOLakes, I would strongly advise against putting your tipups directly in the middle of the west-bound snowmobile trail. I almost ran them over but was able to split the two at the last second. Maybe he didn't know why those fancy plastic stakes were placed in the lake!

  • Thumbs Up 1
  • Wow, ❤ 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What a beautiful long weekend up north. Fishing was alright. I never expect to much when I've fishing vermilion. Every morning we were able to get 3-4 eaters. Nice quality fish. Mostly 16-18" fish. Nothing midday for us and late afternoons were hit and miss. First afternoon we caught a few nice eaters. Next 2 were slow for us. We found our best luck in 25-30 feet. Fatheads were better than rainbows and shiners. Pretty much an even mix on spoons and set lines. We did see more people fishing outside the McKinley area than ever before but we punched holes in pretty good areas that are completely untouched. I'm kind of curious how people do out of McKinley? We just take our sleds out from near bayview. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, james_walleye said:

I'm kind of curious how people do out of McKinley? We just take our sleds out from near bayview.

Most people fish out of from McKinley Park because of convenient access.  Fishing can be very good there, especially early in the ice season.  It is much worse when there is a lot of traffic around.  Now that I am retired, I will only fish Vermilion on week days, and avoid holidays after my experience last week (New Years crowd).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heading up this weekend out of McK Park to Ely with 1.5T of finishing boards.  Tip Ups out, boards up, and cold drinks. Can’t wait!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The crowds everywhere have been insane. I am in favor of youth sports coming back online, just so that most of the bandwagon outdoors folks have something else to occupy their time and leave the lakes to us! However, I've heard that the resorts generally did pretty well this year on Vermilion so am happy if that is true. There is always a silver lining to every situation!

  • Thumbs Up 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My son and I are heading  up to Vermilion Thursday morning and plan on sleeping out in the insulated tent.  First time up this winter, should I bring the snowmobile or the Side by side? I did see a plowed road, but did not see how far out it went, could just trailer all the gear out in the Highlander.  Snow load issues? Night bite?.  Going out of McKinley, any advice welcomed. Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jim Curlee, I’m considering trading-in my Yamaha Venture for a Skandic.  How does it perform in the deep snow and slush?  Anything you’d do differently?  I wanna make this my last snow machine purchase. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, FishinFreak17 said:

My son and I are heading  up to Vermilion Thursday morning and plan on sleeping out in the insulated tent.  First time up this winter, should I bring the snowmobile or the Side by side? I did see a plowed road, but did not see how far out it went, could just trailer all the gear out in the Highlander.  Snow load issues? Night bite?.  Going out of McKinley, any advice welcomed. Thanks

You should bring your snowmobiles. There is a lot of slush and ruts that have froze over on the west end. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • The title was changed to 2021 Lake Vermilion Fishing Reports

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Similar Content

  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • mulefarm
      With the early ice out, how is the curlyleaf pondweed doing?
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   The big basin, otherwise known as Big Traverse Bay, is ice free.  Zippel Bay and Four Mile Bay are ice free as well.  Everything is shaping up nicely for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th. With the walleye / sauger season currently closed, most anglers are targeting sturgeon and pike.  Some sturgeon anglers are fishing at the mouth of the Rainy River, but most sturgeon are targeted in Four Mile Bay or the Rainy River.  Hence, pike are the targeted species on the south shore and various bays currently.   Pike fishing this time of year is a unique opportunity, as LOW is border water with Canada, the pike season is open year round. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. Back bays hold pike as they go through the various stages of the spawn.  Deadbait under a bobber, spinners, spoons and shallow diving crankbaits are all viable options.   Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay and Zippel Bay are all small water and boats of various sizes work well. On the Rainy River...  Great news this week as we learned sturgeon will not be placed on the endangered species list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.     The organization had to make a decision by June 30 and listing sturgeon could have ended sturgeon fishing.  Thankfully, after looking at the many success stories across the nation, including LOW and the Rainy River, sturgeon fishing and successful sturgeon management continues.   A good week sturgeon fishing on the Rainy River.  Speaking to some sturgeon aficionados, fishing will actually get even better as water temps rise.     Four Mile Bay at the mouth of the Rainy River near the Wheeler's Point Boat Ramp is still producing good numbers of fish, as are various holes along the 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  A few spots with rotten ice, but as a rule, most of the Angle is showing off open water.  In these parts, most are looking ahead to the MN Fishing Opener.  Based on late ice fishing success, it should be a good one.  
    • leech~~
      Nice fish. I moved to the Sartell area last summer and just thought it was windy like this everyday up here? 🤭
    • Rick G
      Crazy windy again today.... This is has been the norm this spring. Between the wind and the cold fronts, fishing has been more challenging for me than most years.  Panfish have been moving in and out of the shallows quite a bit. One day they are up in the slop, the next they are out relating to cabbage or the newly sprouting lilly pads.  Today eye guy and I found them in 4-5 ft of water, hanging close to any tree branches that happened to be laying in the water.  Bigger fish were liking a 1/32 head and a Bobby Garland baby shad.   Highlight of the day way this healthy 15incher
    • monstermoose78
    • monstermoose78
      As I typed that here came a hen.  IMG_7032.mov   IMG_7032.mov
    • monstermoose78
      So far this morning nothing but non turkeys. 
    • monstermoose78
      Well yesterday I got a little excited and let a turkey get to close and I hit the blind!!
    • smurfy
      good......you?? living the dream..in my basement playing internet thug right now!!!!!! 🤣 working on getting the boat ready.......bought a new cheatmaster locator for the boat so working on that.   waiting for warmer weather to start my garden!!!
    • monstermoose78
      How is everyone doing? Holy moly it’s chilly this morning I stayed in bed and will hunt later today when it warms up.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.