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I should let Mark B or Cliff reply-- they've reported better days than I've had, but jigs haven't worked for me. Lindy rig.

RLG

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redlabguy,

You're funny laugh! In all seriousness, some of the best fishing of the year is almost here. If I were you, I would book a 1/2 day with Cliff and pay very close attention to what he is willing to teach you. It would most likely be the best money you could spend for someone who obviously likes to fish as much as you do. I personally have never fished with any of the Vermilion guides but I have observed several of them and they are all very good at what they do. One more thing, if you caught a "few" in the mid-20's this afternoon, what do you think I could ever do to help you confused. I consider it a successful day if I can catch one slot fish during an outing.

Good Fishing,

MarkB smile

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Well here's my 2 cents from the past week. Fish from previous week were gone...well not gone but the keepers weren't there anymore. Didn't catch many fish at all on the week, but the ones I got were perfect eaters. Seemed like when the fish just hung on as dead weight that those were the keepers. Missed 2 or 3 fish for every one caught so the fishing wasn't as bad as I made it seem, but very frustrating.

Most of the nice fish came from 25-32 feet. Marked MANY fish in those depths. Used lindy with 1/2 crawler most of the time. Had some minnows but really didn't give them much of a shot. Wish I had internet connection to check the reports up there..probably would have given minnows more of a chance.

All in all it was a fun 2 weeks up at the cabin, ate fish 4 times and brought home my 4 plus a bonus perch and crappie. Wish I had more time for the crappies. I think they would have been very catchable with a little effort...maybe early ice.

Hopefully be back up soon but the roosters in the Dakotas are calling my name and the pup isn't fully trained yet! Take care everyone and good luck out there

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Mark,

Good advice. I went out with Cliff in the dog days of August a couple years ago and learned a lot. I have a lot of respect for him. I wasn't clear when I sai "mid-20s"--- I wish that was inches! I meant feet (FOW).

Timee to fish,

RLG

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Thats not a bad idea at all mark. I did that for musky this year and its amazing the stuff you can pick up on from a guide. The little tricks of the trade can be the difference between catching fish and not catching fish

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Another magnificent day in the north country! We went back this morning to where we had such good luck yesterday and, in typical walleye fashion, they were gone! We tried around the vicinity for ~1 hour and then went prospecting. After 2 hours, my Dad had zero hits! Then at the third spot we tried, we found what we were looking for. In a little over 2.5 hours, my Dad, wife, and myself caught 37 walleyes and 2 bass! Today, the fish were on a shelf that ran ~19' then dropped off into deep water. They were all over between 19' and the deep edge down to 25'. The action was so fast, I didn't get much chance to even fish! shocked And I loved every minute of it. Minnows and crawlers did the trick with crawlers doing the most damage.

Good Fishing,

MarkB smile

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Hello All Knowing Forum Experts!

I commented over the weekend that this weekend is "guys weekend" and unfortunately I am sort of the "guide" even though this has been a very, very tough year for me and the walleyes.

It appears there is going to be significant wind Thursday-Sunday (which I absolutely hate fishing in) and wondered if there were any "wind" tips anyone on the board could provide. We will be fishing primarily for walleyes...is it best to hide from the wind, fish with the wind? Any tips would be much appreciated as I would hate for my buddies to get skunked....

Thanks in advance!

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The wind was very tough over labor day weekend but it was also some of the best fishing I had. I would recommend fishing the storm side of the islands humps and shoreline. I realize its not fun getting pushed around but it sure beats not catching fish. bait fish will be getting pushed into those areas and the walleyes will follow. If it gets to rough out there I usually try to find where calm water meets rough water and fish the calm side but dont be afraid to get into the waves. you will miss fish if you dont. good luck

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The wind was very tough over labor day weekend but it was also some of the best fishing I had. I would recommend fishing the storm side of the islands humps and shoreline. I realize its not fun getting pushed around but it sure beats not catching fish. bait fish will be getting pushed into those areas and the walleyes will follow. If it gets to rough out there I usually try to find where calm water meets rough water and fish the calm side but dont be afraid to get into the waves. you will miss fish if you dont. good luck

Good advice if you can stand the wind!

I also hate fishing in a strong wind and usually try to fish the lee side of islands ans points under that situation.

If you fish in the wind just make sure that you use plenty of weight to stay on the bottom at all times.

Cliff

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Fighting the wind with the bowmount or tiller can get old so I will often anchor off of productive areas. As long as you have a good anchor or 2 you can get away with it and vertical jig, slip bobber, pitch jigs or toss cranks. I have 2 big Richtor anchors with 6' of coated chain and 120' of good rope so I can anchor up in some nasty stuff. If its too bad for that than I hit the windy edges. If its too nasty for that I hit the non wind side. If Im not getting bit there I go home and have a cold one and grill a steak and watch a ball game.

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ANYONE HAVING ANY LUCK WITH JIGS YET

Have fished exclusively with jigs and minnows the past 3 weekends and have been doing real well. Up for 4 days starting this Thursday, can hardly wait!!

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Cabin bound today- doing chores. Thought I'd mention something that happened yesterday. We found some fish, but couldn't trigger a bite. Then the "Duh" moment hit. I realized I'd been getting lazy about my jigging action. We passed over the fish again and caught 3 using a stiffer 12-16 inch jerk. One other thing: location, location, location. I usually fish Frazer Bay but it's been very slow. Frazer's day will come, maybe soon, but we found many more fish in the eastern reaches of Big Bay yesterday.

RLG

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Slooooow action this past wknd. Picked up a few walleyes and one nice perch but had to work for them. Found that if you use sucker minnows, you either have to let them have it longer or use a stinger. Many held on right to the boat then spit it out.

They don't appear to be stacked up yet. Tried Big Bay area on rock humps from 15-30 FOW. Lindy's and jigs tried. Crawlers and minnows. Maybe the stable weather this wk will help the bite kick in better. Very windy on Saturdary, but what a beautiful day on Sunday, wow!!

For you musky hunters, a guy just down the shore from us caught two 40" and one 52" muskies right off his dock.

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Sorry to hear that, PSU. It has been tough the past few days. I zeroed yesterday afternoon and this morning; but never quit-- chores are almost done so I'm going out for my last adventure until next May.

RLG

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Came up and fished Thursday thru Saturday. Had 3 guys with me and we boated 70 Walleye. Probably missed close to 30 light biters. About half the catch were nice 14" to 16" chunkers and we only had 2 slot fish. Plenty of smaller stuff as well. Several big Perch and 2 huge Smallies were caught as well. Fished about 8 of my favorite fall spots with 2 areas producing most of the action. Strictly used jigs and minnows. 2 more weekends to go before I close the cabin for the season. frown

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Thats good to hear Tominator. what depth was working best and was there any particular jig color working better? Im heading up to close our place this weekend and its always is nice to leave on a good note. As far as the jigging goes were you snap jigging or was it pretty mild jigging technique.

thanks

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I was out alone this morning. Fished 4 different spots. The bite was very difficult to say the least but managed to boat 5 walleyes, 1 jumbo, 1 large crappie, ans 2 bass. All were caught using pike suckers and a lindy. Released a very fat 24 inch walleye also. Look closely at the back of this 24" fish! Teeth marks from a Vermilion Gator!

Clifffull-396-12754-pa020030.jpg

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Wow, I am fishing with Tominator as soon as possible! Although that's only 68 more walleye than my group of 5 caught during the same 3 days!

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Last weekend I watched a guy fight what turned out to be a 19" walleye with a very large Vermilion "river monster" attached to it and the walleye was shreaded. As far as the fall fishing goes, I have noticed the same thing with the bite, they are really light "taps" and have to give it little line each time. Also, I catch a few walleyes in one spot, go back to the same spot the next day and nothing!

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Thats good to hear Tominator. what depth was working best and was there any particular jig color working better? Im heading up to close our place this weekend and its always is nice to leave on a good note. As far as the jigging goes were you snap jigging or was it pretty mild jigging technique.

thanks

It was mild jigging which seemed to trigger most of my bites. 2 colors produced the majority of the fish, solid glo orange and solid glo green. A 3" to 4" minnow worked best and if the minnows were smaller I baited up with 2 of them. Can hardly wait till Friday!!!

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We fished this weekend Friday through Monday and while the weather was beautiful, I think it slowed the fishing down a bit. Overall, we did fairly well, but had to work for them. Our group had the most success using jigs and minnows (rainbows and shiners) in 20-30ft of water. Some of our typical fall areas we like didnt have a fish to be caught, so we moved around and found some new locations working the big bay and East. A couple areas were "hot and fast" with action for short amounts of time around 4-6pm. Our group of 4 guys probably caught 60 walleyes in the 4 days there with a dozen or so 12inch perch. A few were too big and in the slot, but most of our throw backs were smaller. Ended up getting enough keepers for a good fish fry and a limit for each to bring home to prove to the wives we went fishing!

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Good to hear that some people are catching eyes. I am heading up to Vermilion in 7 hours for 3 days of triple-header action (duck hunting in the morning, grouse hunting in the middle of the day, and walleye fishing in the evening). Hope I do better fishing than I have so far this year.

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  • The title was changed to 2020-21 Lake Vermilion Fishing Reports
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