2021 Lake Vermilion Fishing Reports

[JerkinLips]

Wife came with this weekend so I only made it out for a couple of hours.  Fishing was slow but at least they were decent size eyes (16, 21, 23, 24).  Looks like the fall pattern might be starting even though the water was still warm (69°F).  Can't wait for my next trip up, solo.

[Wanderer]

FFLF... 

[Wakemup52]

On 9/1/2020 at 9:28 AM, Wanderer said:

FFLF... 

love the Garage Logic reference!

[tarpon6]

Going to be there in a few days. How's the water level? 

[StateofHockey]

Water levels still very low as of last Sunday 

[FishinCT]

Any recent reports from the bait fishermen? Heading up this week to mostly fish smallies but do at least need one walleye dinner..

[Hockeyboys]

Anybody having success with leadcore lately?  I was getting fish last week but over Labor Day weekend I was completely skunked.  I have no idea what happened.  Last week while fishing in Niles Bay and then Daisy Bay I reeled in to find spiny water fleas on the end of the line at the swivel.  Are any of you seeing the same thing? 

[Badgervet]

Hi there,

I'm also gonna be up on the Western side of Lake Vermillion this weekend.  I've never fished the lake in the fall (was up in the spring though we didn't have much luck) and was looking to try and catch some walleyes and maybe a pike or two.  I generally troll with Lindy Rigs with crawlers and minnows (pending on what's producing better).  My plan is to fish points around the islands (20-30 feet of water) and maybe head up to Norwegian Bay in the morning.  I've looked at all the old forums which have been very helpful.  Just seeing if there are any other general helpful wisdom?  

[BigVTim]

I leadcore trolled quite a bit this past weekend and it was starting to produce. I only had 3-4 fish per hour or two stint, but they are starting to be more aggressive. Basically troll what looks like no structure (hard to do for us walleye newbies), in about 19-24 feet and where there is softer bottom. Wind-swept bays are good. Picked up a 34" pike doing this too. I was hoping for more fish per hour but it should only improve here. I only had crawlers and couldn't get anything besides perch to bite on rigging gear. I wish I would have gotten minnows as I think that would be the ticket for jigging/rigging.

[Influenza]

I mostly fish the east side (Ely, Cherry, the sister, JB, etcJ. The eyes are there and becoming more active.  Still in that 20’ area.  When slow, don’t be afraid to troll slower for suspended crappies and jumbo perch.  The smallies are on, but never really shut off.  Hug the rocky shore point.  Always a fun catch.

[Yancimator]

Badgervet I hope you get some info as I'll also be leaving early in the morning from St. Louis to head that way for my first time ever.  Chasing only smallies and pike and staying at Ludlows.  I plan to beat up the rocks, points and islands for smallies and then find some solid weedlines at the mouths of bays or anywhere else I see em and throw spinnerbaits and spoons and in-line spinners for pike.   Good luck to you guys!!!

[james_walleye]

My daughter and I got our 8 trolling big bay Saturday morning. If I were to give a piece of advice it would be don't get completely locked into shad raps. I typically run shad raps and flickers but I'll switch it up if needed. They produced nothing for us Saturday. I use a whole mix of things. Stick baits. Jointed floating raps. Bomber long As. Storm thin fins. Spoons. Jigs and plastics. Color makes a huge difference for me as well. They are going somewhat but don't be stubborn about switching baits. 

[SkunkedAgain]

My FIL fished crawlers on Friday on the west end. All we got were small perch, but only gave it about an hour of effort. It was still beautiful out.

 

Water temp yesterday was around 59 degrees.

[CigarGuy]

Wife and I fished west end of Wakemup the last 3 hours of each day over the long weekend. Got a few smallies and one crappie each of the last 3 nights-right when it was almost too dark to see the float. We marked a ton of fish, just couldn't get them to bite. Skunked, did you see my cool American Flag all lit up on my cabin?

[SkunkedAgain]

I've seen it a few times this summer. That is one creative light display. My daughter pointed to it and said "Cool!"

[PSU]

Slow "keeper" fishing for me. Managed to get a bunch of 8-9 inchers in various spots in Smarts and Frazer. Used Lindy's and crawlers at depths ranging from 12-28 

[Badgervet]

Thanks for updates and advice!   We are packing up our "cooler" weather gear and are heading up today. Won't be able to get on the water until tomorrow am but I'll post any updates on how the fishing goes.  Any day on the water is still better than a day in the office!  

[mtheis]

On Sunday our trip up to Lake Vermilion started great, and the fishing that evening went pretty well. Luckily the walleye we caught helped us have a fantastic fish fry on Monday as that day on the lake was horrible. The cold, the rain, and the wind never stopped us, but mother nature just turned the fish off. We got a grand total of ONE that day. I was humbled. But Tuesday cheered right up again, and we ended the evening with 8 walleyes in the cooler, and with many lost fish along the way. We even managed to come in on time to have the restaurant cook up another batch of fish for us. Wednesday (today) we came home with a limit of NICE walleyes in the bag. My son and I reconnected like old times and that was the best part of the trip. This may be it for me as deer hunting is right around the corner.

Edited September 10, 2020 by mtheis

[Badgervet]

Mtheis, sounds like you guys had a great time!  I’ve got two young boys so I understand about the bonding!  Do you mind saying if you were in the west or east side of the lake?

[mtheis]

We always fish on the east side, and depart from Hoodoo Point.  Pike Bay was 59 degrees, and trolling around the deeper parts of the bay produced nothing.  So we hit the area around Ely Island, and that is where we found most of them.  The water temperature there was around 61-62 degrees.  Man was it miserable on Monday.  Cold. Rainy. Rough. The lead core bite was really slow.  I picked up a couple on Jigging Raps.  We also used sucker minnows on a slip bobber rig. 

[FishinCT]

I fished all day Wednesday. Beautiful day. Got an 18” for dinner within first 10 minutes trolling so then I went on the search for smallies. Tried drop shot and jigging raps over shallow and deep reefs and shoreline points. Only got one small one on a deep gravel reef. Didn’t even pick up any walleyes with the raps. Lots of lookers but no biters. Trolled the same run coming back in at dark and picked up a 14”. 

 

Think if I would’ve just stayed fishing walleyes either trolling or with live bait it would have been a really good day. But I wanted to mix it up. Didn’t work. Oh well, still had a fun day. 

 

Had 63 degrees in big bay

[Badgervet]

Gorgeous day today!  Calm, sunny and the colors are just starting to show.   Not much for fishing though.  On the west end, temp on wakemup was 61 degrees. Not much action with lindy rigs with crawler or sucker minnows.  Tried some shad raps but no bites.  Went over to niles bay this am and there were a few boats in the area but no one was catching.  Drove up to the channel between wolf and niles and got a little Rock bass.  Think I’ll throw out a buck tail This evening and see if I can get a Muskie to bite.  

[Tlund]

Fished a few hours Saturday with a buddy. We fished deep breaks. Pike suckers and jigs. Kept a 14,14.5,16 & a 18” and threw back a 25”. Seems like the fall bite is finally starting. Anyone else live bait fishing having success with minnows? 

[Skis]

T-minus 10 days until my first trip to Vermillion!!  I am getting stoked!!! 

[adrenalinejunky]

Tlund we did well with big rainbows on Sunday. 

[side_laker]

Where did you find the big rainbows 

[JerkinLips]

Fished Monday-Wednesday for a few hours each day.  Only caught 9 walleyes with the biggest only 14 inches.  I attribute the poor results to only having small chub minnows since both the Y-store and Fuel and Food were out of pike suckers, rainbows, and shiners.  LOL I am just a bad angler.

[lakesareaoutdoors]

 

Hey guys!! Here's a video from earlier this summer up on Vermilion

 

 

[Raven77]

Quote

Where did you find the big rainbows

 

Lucky 7 in Cook has some nice big rainbows.

[adrenalinejunky]

I trap my own minnows.