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1 hour ago, SkunkedAgain said:

Looks like a 12oz crappie

12+" and said about a 1 lb fish on my bump board. They fight like bass on a med-light combo. Definitely a good way to pass the time until walleyes are fair game.

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BigVTim,

What version is your Helix 9? Gen 1, 2 or 3. Nice school that you found. Thanks for sharing the reports.

 

Steve

Edited by Sorgy
cleared it up.
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13 hours ago, Sorgy said:

BigVTim,

What version is your Helix 9? Gen 1, 2 or 3. Nice school that you found. Thanks for sharing the reports.

 

Steve

Helix 9, Gen 3. Just bought it this year and got a good deal at Cabelas. I think it was $1,299 with another $100 off. Gen 3 and 4 are going to be compatible with the new Humminbird Mega Live (panoptix equivalent). Helix 10 would have been nice and fit, but another $500 felt like a lot for one more inch of screen.

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Those crappies did not hide from you. My old 998C HD SI did not show them very well. I could see the specs of white but very rarely saw the shadows. I am looking at an upgrade this season but I may go to the 12 Version 4  if I can find one over the next couple of months. A red squirrel chewed both of my transducer cables over the winter so now I am wheeling and dealing on replacements. Cash I am saving for the big upgrade..

 

Good Luck

 

Steve

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Nice to be out in the Lund this weekend. Chased the crappies around Black bay, kind of run and gun, getting one or two on most spots but then would need to move again. Most bites seemed in 18" or less but I really didn't try deeper water.

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"Thoughts?"  per Raven77

 

OK.

 

 

Everyone here in SW Wisconsin was thrilled when the deer population reached 80 per mile^2.  Then we got CWD.    Everyone wants to maximize their own interests.  I have no problem with only keeping two, but then i'll be there much more than your average vacationer.   Voluntary efforts like this are great, but mandatory should be left to the biologists.

 

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I typically only keep enough for a meal or sometimes two, when I am keeping fish.  And, being a west ender, in the last decade or so that has often been something besides walleye like bass or a pike.    But I do remember the days in the spring years back when it seemed like there was a lot of freezer filling going on.     

 

I'm thinking this effort may help.   I don't know how much.    I would bet that most of the take is actually a couple fish per person anyway.   

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20 hours ago, Raven77 said:

 

I understand it doesn't work for everyone, but it's voluntary and I like it. 2 fish per person is enough for a great fish fry. 

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I love the fact that it is a voluntary request. I think most people will respect it and feel like they are helping our lake be more sustainable. If you want to keep more, so be it and it isn't like you are some evil person, but if even 50% of people keep 50% less fish, that has to have a positive impact. Not to mention, here we are talking about it so there will start to be community awareness and thought before blindly keeping everything. Knowing the great Vermilion community, this is the perfect solution in my opinion.

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I like it too Tim and that's why I posted the link.  However, I'm not sure it will have a significant effect on the number of fish kept.  Having a cabin on LV I'm lucky to be able to fish a lot and catch a lot of walleyes.  I love to eat walleyes, but one meal a week is plenty for me and my usual fishing partners.  Got to mix it up with steaks, pork chops, smash burgers, brisket and so on.  The number of fish we keep will not change based on this request.  The wild card is the number of non-local fishermen coming here because the Canadian border remains closed.  Not condemning or stereotyping them but my experience is that they are likely to eat several meals of walleye while they are here and take their 4 home with them.  That's legal and their right.  If I could only fish here a few days a year I might do the same.  What we really need is for the border to open to take some pressure off of LV.

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Agree with all of that Pat, except perch and smallmouth.  IMO I would suggest keeping no smallmouth and all the perch you can catch up to the legal limit of 40.  Not that I've ever caught 40 perch in one day on LV :)

 

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So instead of posting signs about the voluntary conservation plan, we should just post signs saying that the Canadian border is actually open. It might work on the dumb ones!

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Went out tonight by myself for 2-1/2 hours. Caught over twenty crappies, kept six smaller one's for dinner for my wife and I. I'm going to practice more c/r from now on, especially with crappies, too valuable of of resource, all we need is a meal or so a week. Regarding walleye's, never really a problem catching too many for me?. Once the crappie bite ends and walleye season starts, one meal a week and two will take care of dinner.

IMG_20210505_214238876.jpg

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20 hours ago, Raven77 said:

Agree with all of that Pat, except perch and smallmouth.  IMO I would suggest keeping no smallmouth and all the perch you can catch up to the legal limit of 40.  Not that I've ever caught 40 perch in one day on LV :)

 

Sorry Raven, but if I didn't keep some smallies down here on far west where they are abundant and walleye weren't I would rarely have had a fish dinner.     And the perch down here are only slightly bigger than smelt so it would take a bunch to make a meal.    Not sure 20 would do it.

 

To each their own...

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I don't have any problems catching walleyes on the west end but keep the myth alive. ?

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1 hour ago, Raven77 said:

I don't have any problems catching walleyes on the west end but keep the myth alive. ?

I'm going to have to start following you around?. Look out for the guy with binoculars checking out your fish catching system and marking those spots on my gps???. I know your ice house spot!!!  I didn't see you out there in the winter, wanted to stop by and say hello!!

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6 hours ago, Raven77 said:

I don't have any problems catching walleyes on the west end but keep the myth alive. ?

How far west?    

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6 hours ago, Raven77 said:

I don't have any problems catching walleyes on the west end but keep the myth alive. ?

How far west?   I am open to any clues..  

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Head O' Lakes, Wakemup, and Niles bays have all been productive.  Use your electronics.

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I realize this is the longest of long shots, but has anyone seen some coolers (one larger blue soft-sided, another smaller gray/blue) floating around Smart's Bay or Northern Hinsdale Saturday morning or perhaps at Timbuktu Marina?

 

We either left them at Timbuktu Marine, or they flew out of the boat going there in Smarts Bay or Northern Hinsdale.

 

Thanks

 

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Countdown to opener is on! Looks like finally an opener with a beautiful stretch of weather. Fish should be active with no cold front on the horizon. What's your go-to opener presentation? Tough to beat a shiner and a 1/8 jig on shoreline points/breaks.

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It all depends. My go-to opener presentation is dragging a #7 perch rap when closer to the spawn. With the water temps as they are, I think that I'll be jigging and slip-bobbering with whatever works, but I usually start out with rainbows.

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First time on the east end today and it was pretty tough.  Moved around a lot seeing where everything was.  Trolled in pike bay a bit, fished in various spots all the way down to the shoreline between Armstrong and Mud Creek on the end, and joined the crowd at Cherry Island.  Didn't have much luck anywhere but got one 19.5" incher and a few small ones.  Anybody do well?

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Per the voluntary limits it's a reasonable move by the lake association and you'll always have people on both sides. I've found over the years that fish always taste best when eaten within sight of the water where caught. Fresh shore lunch is the best and following that naturally reduces the amount of fish kept

 

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  • The title was changed to 2021 Lake Vermilion Fishing Reports

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