2021 Lake Vermilion Fishing Reports

[james_walleye]

.....95 feet at 2 mph

[BirchPtMike]

Listen to what James says He is better at it than I am,but inthis case we are doing almost the same things. You wont need to leave Daisy Bay if you don't want to. Lots of available fish

[Fish Head]

120-130 feet is way too much line out. You'll be banging bottom.  In 18-19 FOW I'll only have 75' of line out.  I use flourocarbon on 20' leaders.  

[Fish Head]

Something I never hear mentioned is when do you zero your line counter?  I start counting when the lead starts coming out of the last eye on the rod. 

[james_walleye]

Good point fish head. I'm 93-95 feet out including a 12-15 foot fluorocarbon leader in that 18-19' range. Puts us pretty close on the amount of lead out.

[Hockeyboys]

Thanks for all the information.  I'll be giving 95' a try.  

 

When you're trying a new area with different depth how do you determine how much line to let out.  Do you go by watching for signs of bumping the bottom or do you have a calculation to get you to the right depth --- 95/19'=X/30'?  I'm new to it this year!

[james_walleye]

At 2 mph the suffix will get down about 7 feet per color. In that 18-19 feet of water I have probably 5 feet of the 3rd color in the water.  The crank itself on the 15 feet of fluorocarbon will get you down a bit on its own. That all equals 93-95 feet total for me. I have a run that I like that's 26-27 feet of water. Same concept. 7 feet per color I'll get about 10 feet of the 4th color in the water. That puts me about 130 total feet. 

[Raven77]

When we talk about how much line to put out keep in mind the brand and make of leadcore you are using makes a huge difference.  Also, I get different results with different reels.  My Daiwas and Okumas differ by more than 10'.  If you really want to know how much line you are putting out measure out 150' of line on the ground and see what your reel says.  It's best to stick with one type of line and one type of reel so you can have some consistency.  Or, as others have said, let line out until you are bumping bottom and then reel in 10'.

[mtheis]

I am an avid Lead Core Troller.  I use 27lb leadcore.  I also use a 10ft floro leader that is 14lb test or 10ft Siege mono that is 12lb test.  Whatever I have on hand.  My measurements start at the rod tip.  That's where I zero my Diawa 47 reel. I try to stay between 1.8-2.2 mph.

 

When I am in 20ft of water, I normally let out 85ft of leadcore using a #5 Flicker Shad.  This also works using a #5 Jointed Shad Rap.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2020 by mtheis

[Better Than Working!]

I troll a fair amount of leadcore. I use the 12lb Suffix Performance with a 50 foot leader of 15lb braid. I troll a little faster usually, 2.3 to 2.6, so I expect about 5.5 feet of depth for each color which translates into 1 foot of drop for every 5.5 feet of lead out. I also factor in the depth the lure will achieve with 50 feet of line out based on the dive curves. Speed really has a large impact on the depth the lead runs. I agree with Raven77 about being consistent with your rigs. The only difference should be what is running at the business end of the line!

[mtheis]

I have often heard that in many lakes the later the season, the bigger the lures.  That includes Lead Core.  Can we share what lures and sizes we are trolling with?  For some reason I have stayed in sizes 5 and 7cm for most of my lead core runs.  Flicker Shads and Shad Raps are used most often, with dapple of Jointed Rapalas sometimes.  Are any of you guys using bigger stick lures or shad baits in your setups?  I am going back up in the first week of September, and I may try some size 9 shad raps, and even some size 10 and 12 Husky Jerks this year.

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by mtheis

[james_walleye]

I have actuality had better luck on vermilion using smaller baits. #4 flickers in particular. There's been many days where they catch more and bigger fish. By bigger I mean bigger eaters. #5 and 7 shads catching fish....14-15" but the #4 flicker catching 16-18s. I've not caught many slot fish on lead personally.  But this is in August through labor day. I've never been able to get up much after that. I will this year though. I have had luck on other lakes catching bigger fish on bomber long As. Winnie for example. 

[side_laker]

Coming up Thursday till Sunday plan to pull cranks (some guys have lead some don’t) also plan to jig and pull spinners and lindys. Wonder what bait we should pick up. I was thinking crawlers and minnows. Not sure if I will be able to find good size minnows or if I will o my be able to find crappie size. Wondering what everyone’s thoughts are 

[Better Than Working!]

The later in the fall the larger I go with cranks. By the time I hit Rainy River at the end of October early November I am using 10 or 12 Husky Jerks or scatter minnows. I would go larger if the depth of water we fished would allow it. I have also found that water temps below 45 a minnow profile and wobble is far more productive than a shad profile and wobble. I have done some size 18 floating rapalas with some success. Not going to get a lot of eaters doing this though! I plan on starting with 7 shad rap, 12 husky jerk and 18 floater when I hit kabetogama over Labor Day week. Find what they want and flood the zone!

[StateofHockey]

side_laker - Per live bait I've been having best success recently with crawlers on a spinner rig.  With all the lead core talk I feel a bit old school but still prefer slowly dragin lindys with the minnkota.  Walleye numbers are there but size running small

[Better Than Working!]

StateofHockey, welcome! Don't feel old school. It is fishing and you never know how a day is going to come together. I approach each outing as a puzzle that needs solving and you need to be prepared for what the fish want. Some times it is cranks, some times it's plastics and often times it is tried and true live bait rigs. Some times I never get it figured out! It is just fun to try and fun to talk about with other people that share the passion!

[side_laker]

I plan to try little if everything. Will do a lot of jigs, lindys and spinners and mix in some cranks. Best way to catch a fish is be on the lake holding a fishing rod 

[james_walleye]

I was up this past weekend. Saturday I tried lead and it was pretty tough. Went back to rigging a crawler Sunday morning and did well. 

[Feeshin]

We will be up for a week starting 9/5, staying on the West End.  Plan to mainly do live bait lindy rigging in search for walleye.  Perhaps some snap jigging as well.  Are any bays or general locations better than others at this point - was honing in on Norwegian Bay but also around Head of the Lakes Bay.

 

We plan to spot fish near drop offs and weed lines between 20-35fow.  Is this still the recommenced play?  Any specific colors for this time of the year?  

 

Lindy rigs, crawler harnesses/bottom bouncing, snap jigging... this is what we'll be using to start.  Hoping to get on some fish!  

 

 

[Fish Head]

#7 Flicker shad is my go-to trolling bait. My best success trolling lead is usually mid-August through September. Generally when we get into October I seem to do better with live minnows. 

[Skis]

Hi Guys (and Gals):  My wife & I, along with another couple have made reservations at Everett's Bay Lodge for the last 5 days of September.  Never been there, but Lake Vermillion is a "bucket list" trip for me.  I don't know what to expect, but I am hopeful that the walleyes cooperate!!  I prefer fishing livebait, so do I pack my jigging rods to fish with minnows?  Bottom bouncers/spinners/minnows/leeches/crawlers?  Jigging Raps?  All 4 of us will be fishing out of my boat.

 

I looked at the average temperatures for that time frame & I told my wife to plan on packing warm clothing!!! Any other input to make this a great trip is greatly appreciated!!

 

Thanks!!!

Edited August 27, 2020 by Skis

[Pat McGraw]

Skis, There's a nice channel heading into Everett Bay from Big Bay. You shouldn't need to go any further. Pull shad raps in 7 to 10' at ~1-mph (just fast enough to feel it's swimming) or shiner under a slip bobber at the deep weed edge. Hope you and your wife have a great time. Good luck.

[StateofHockey]

Skis, Consult with Darrell, owner of Everett Bay, when you check in. He's been on the lake for years and happy to provide excellent fishing advice for his guests.  End of Sept/ early Oct is one of my favorite times, best fishing and fall colors. My tip is to have some thin gloves so you can feel the bite and not freeze your fingers.

[SkunkedAgain]

My advice is to have your wife wear a lot of layers. A warm fishing wife is a happy fishing guy that time of year. Pack some soul-warming beverages as well.

 

As long as your spending the money to go to a bucket list lake, think about enlisting a guide for the first day. It'll pay more dividends than the cost.

[delcecchi]

On 8/26/2020 at 7:55 AM, Feeshin said:

We will be up for a week starting 9/5, staying on the West End.  Plan to mainly do live bait lindy rigging in search for walleye.  Perhaps some snap jigging as well.  Are any bays or general locations better than others at this point - was honing in on Norwegian Bay but also around Head of the Lakes Bay.

 

We plan to spot fish near drop offs and weed lines between 20-35fow.  Is this still the recommenced play?  Any specific colors for this time of the year?  

 

Lindy rigs, crawler harnesses/bottom bouncing, snap jigging... this is what we'll be using to start.  Hoping to get on some fish!  

 

 

no fish under my dock..... It's on shore...Had to come back.  

[Yancimator]

Heading up to Ludlows Sept 9-12.   Never been to Vermillion.  Can't WAIT!!!   I've gotten some great tips on another topic string but thought I'd throw it out to this group as well.  I know 99% of you are Walleye fisherman, so my promise to you is that I'll leave your fish alone!!   I also offer this wonderful service to help ya.   If there are any specific spots where those annoying big pike or smallmouth keep stealing your bait, breaking your line, harming your tackle...……………...I offer a service where I try to go in and remove them for ya!!!   Consider me like a pest control service!        Ok, in reality, I don't keep any, but you get the point.   Any of you walleye guys run into pike or smallies regularly in Mid-September anywhere??   I'll be sure to go try and catch a bunch of them and give em an old fashioned lecture about respecting their boundaries and leaving you alone!!!  

 

Happy Friday everyone!   Feeling blessed to check out your neck of the woods from St. Louis, MO in two weeks.  Can't wait!

[BigVTim]

Went up this weekend and tried a few tactics for Walleye. Mostly fished Niles/Wolf/Smarts/Frazier Bays. Tried lead with not much success. Switched to wind-blown primary shoreline breaks and started doing a bit better. Catching fish between 15-22 FOW with a bottom bouncer and crawler rig. Water temps were still 72 degrees but finally the water was warmer than the air and the cool nights will bring us into the 60s soon. Anyone else having mixed luck?

[BrianF]

BVT, we fished the same areas and found fish - just couldn’t find a great way to get them to react.  Probably just poor angling on our part.  Caught a few, nothing special. 
 

We switched over to smallies each day in the late morning.  The bite was overall pretty good.  Did a lot of experimenting and it paid off in a strong pattern that we were able to replicate over much of the lake.  So, we learned a lot and had fun.  Even caught a bonus musky.  Oh, and we came across another bear swimming across the lake.  Second one this month. 

[chucker1101]

That is a nice bonus muskie!

[schmitty3]

We really struggled to get them to go this weekend. Finding them was not an issue, getting them to bite was. 
 

fished all over big bay, best results came on leadcore with a blue size 6 flicker minnow in 30 fow. Had one of the walleyes spit up about 7 minnows, but we couldn’t get anything on a jig n minnow.