2021 Lake Vermilion Fishing Reports

[delcecchi]

On 7/15/2018 at 10:15 PM, Wanderer said:

We had to cut the hooks on one of my fish this year.  Caught on a Cisco Kid, 2 of 3 sets of trebles in the fish.  Just by how they were twisted, the leverage made removal by pulling very difficult and the fish would thrash when I attempted to work them out.  Made the decision pretty easy to cut the hooks.

I’m honestly considering going barbless on everything.  Half the time the lure shakes free in the net anyway so the pressure is what keeps them buttoned until netted.  The plus is if one of us gets one in the hand when working on a netted fish, it won’t hurt so bad getting it out!

When we go to Quetico, barbless or mashed down barbs is mandatory.   To tell the truth I haven't noticed that we lose more fish with barbless than barbed.   Not catching muskies though.  Pike, walleye, bass, lake trout. 

[LBerquist]

I wish barb less hooks were more available. I'd switch, heard they come out easier....

[Wanderer]

15 hours ago, delcecchi said:

When we go to Quetico, barbless or mashed down barbs is mandatory.   To tell the truth I haven't noticed that we lose more fish with barbless than barbed.   Not catching muskies though.  Pike, walleye, bass, lake trout. 

Manitoba requires the same, and I agree, we didn’t notice a difference either except for keeping bait on the hook.  It’s just a hard mental block to get around.

@LBerquist, ouch!  Unfortunately I know what those are like.  Both getting them out of myself and helping others!  You can pinch the barbs down on any hook though.  Some lay down nice and others will break off, leaving just a little bit of a rough bump which I kind of like better.  There’s a little bit of grip left that way.

[delcecchi]

3 hours ago, Wanderer said:

It’s just a hard mental block to get around.

I haven't done it on all my stuff, but I don't avoid using a bait because I mashed the barbs.   It would probably be a good idea to mash more of them, even if just to make it easier to get them out when they get hooked on something like clothing or a rag.  

[redlabguy]

Okay, I’m not into gore. I’ve only had to do surgery on one hook and that’s enough.

PSU, I’m wondering how you’re doing. Cliff offered good advice. In the Frazer Bay Area, bobbers are my only means of catching fish of size. I t seems like the dinks are dominating the reefs. Spinners can pick up fish near structure. I was looking back at my logs recently and late July has always been tough. 

Dick

[PSU]

Water is pretty high on Vermilion for this time of the year. We were up over the weekend and got another 2 1/2 inches of rain!

[PSU]

We did okay in Frazer over the weekend. Some nice 15's and 16's and tons of the smaller walleyes. For some reason I usually catch the smaller ones clean, but I throat hooked a ton this weekend. Just couldn't feel their bites, so I'm guessing they had plenty of time to try to swallow the bait. 17-22 worked best for us with Lindy's and seemed leeches outperformed crawlers about 2-1

[guideman]

I use some barbless and I also use single hooks on all of my bucktails. I have never lost a fish on single hooks and they are so much easier to unhook than a treble hook.  Get some 8-0 stainless hooks and that will work on just about any bucktail except the very small stuff.  I also remove the extra hooks on larger bucktails like the number 10's and 12's and just run a large single hook at the end of the bait. It hasn't lost me any fish and it will avoid getting deep hooked with a treble which can kill a fish. These tactics have worked for me for many years and many fish. I rarely have to cut any hooks.  

"Ace"  

"It's just fishing man"   

[guideman]

Living on Vermilion for the last 25 years I can tell you that this is the highest water for this time of the season that I can remember. The last 20ft of my dock is still under water and there is more rain in the forecast. I would assume that most of the lakes in the area are also very high right now.  

"Ace"  

"It's just fishing man".  

[roony]

Yes, the reason I asked was because I saw a picture of someone unloading their boat off the trailer right in the parking lot on Myrtle lake. I understand they got 6 inches of rain in early July. I was hoping some of that water would have gone down the river by now. On Vermilion I bet the rapids going into the Vermilion River are just roaring. 

[RoosterMan]

Headed up tonight for the weekend.  Just wondering whats going on up North?  Looks like the water is fairly high by looking at my lake camera.

[Raven77]

I was at Vermilion Falls a week ago today and the water flow was unreal.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

The lake level is high!

Walleyes are active too!

Cliff

Edited July 26, 2018 by Cliff Wagenbach

[Davejf]

Nice, any advice on the eyes? Coming up this weekend and might be able to sneak out, thanks, dave

[JV Ham Lake]

Are there any outfitters who do rafting on the Vermilion river?

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I am getting most of my walleyes using Lindy Rigs and 1/2 crawler on the sand reefs, 16' to 28' depths.

Trolling Shad Raps on lead core in 26' to 30' is also working well.

Casting the rocky shorelines in the evening with Raps is also working well.

Cliff

[tarpon6]

What size / colors Shad Rap do you like? 

 

Dan

[Davejf]

Thanks cliff 

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Size 5 and size 7 Shad Raps.

To many colors to list! Just pick a color that looks good and try it!

Cliff

[Better Than Working!]

Cliff, I would be interested in your take on leader length with lead-core. I use a 50 ft flourocarbon lead, but have heard a lot of people that favor 12-20 foot leads. Also, what weight are you running? I have been running the suffix 12lb with good results. Thanks

 

Gary

[Cliff Wagenbach]

The 12# Suffix is good! 10' to 12' leaders are plenty in the stained waters of Vermilion.

Cliff

[fins_n'_feathers]

Was out yesterday and caught a lot of fish downrigging over deep mud, 34-40 feet.  No big ones but very nice eaters. After getting close to  to our limits we opted to switch to pulling spinners on a shallow flat on a reef complex as its not best to catch and release fish from so deep. The shallow bite ended up being even better than the rigger bite. Wish we would have checked that spot first as the fish were very nice high end keepers. 

[RoosterMan]

I just wanted to add we have been running LC on Vermilion for a long time now.  I actually prefer to use a shorter braid leader for better rod vibration as to ensure better lure feedback.  Anyhow was up this weekend and found a pretty good LC bite on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  I also fished some shallower fish in the evening and that was good too!  Was able to get two first timers I had with their first Walleye and Smallmouth.  Then put the cherry on top with a bonus musky for one of the youngsters.  Want to talk about excitement in the boat we sure had it.  Anyhow looking forward to the August fishing to come for sure.  

[Better Than Working!]

Sounds like a great weekend! I prefer the braid too, but I am using the flouro on Mille Lacs. Going to Kabetogama in a month and will switch to a shorter braid lead for there. 

[Pat McGraw]

Got out July 26th and 27th. Took note that the wind had been consistently pushing in from the NW. Targeted a southeast inside turn to capitalize on the wind push. Fished the toe of the break (relatively soft break, not something you may target as structure) at 23'. Pulled hammered brass crawler harness, with simple in-line sinker at ~0.7mph. Sand/gravel bottom (occasional mud pocket). Pretty soft but active bite. Fish caught almost every pass but soft bite. First fished from ~7:30 to 8:30PM on 26th. Caught ~10 with 50% in 13 to 14" range and the rest less than 12". Kept none. On the 27th the wind was still holding the same bearing. Went from 10:30AM to 12:30 with same approach and as good or better results. Kept four of five 13-14" keepers for shore lunch. Lesson: This was in my opinion not a bottom material (mud vs. sand) or structure (reef, sharp break, hole, etc.) oriented bite but purely attributable to wind direction. If you get a day or more of consistent wind direction, look at your map and think about where bait and other fish may be blown in.

[muskie-mike]

When I am there for 4 days the wind will be out of 5 directions over 4 days.....

 

[Jetsky]

Thanks everyone for all your postings on what is working.  I'm headed up this weekend for three weeks.  Really appreciate all your input!

[delcecchi]

2 hours ago, Jetsky said:

Thanks everyone for all your postings on what is working.  I'm headed up this weekend for three weeks.  Really appreciate all your input!

which end?  makes a difference

[Jetsky]

On 7/30/2018 at 7:34 PM, delcecchi said:

which end?  makes a difference

 

East end.  Mostly the Frazier Bay area.

[MNBIGBEAR]

Been awhile since I have been on here! I have been fishing mostly the east end lately and have also been having some success with leadcore. Have also hooked into some bonus muskies as well. As others have mentioned, I have been working the deeper mud flats for the most part although we did get into some nice fish on hard bottom areas with a sweet spot about 26'. Shad raps and original floaters have been the go-to. That was before the huge cold front we had go through yesterday though. We have also been getting fish on mid-lake structure using rigs and crawlers with most fish being on the sides of the structure during mid day but we have been getting some nicer fish using slip bobbers on top in the bigger boulders and rocks. Looking forward to getting out again this weekend and will report back! Good luck out there!