First Trip Back Since Moving....

[MarkB]

Looking forward to a short return to Lake Vermilion the week after next. I actually prefer October but schedules dictated the end of September. My wife and I have had some excellent fishing during that time period over the years and I hope this year is no exception. My wife is staying home this trip, so my good luck charm will be absent. After checking my journal entries from the last several years, it appears that 55-58 degrees is pretty normal for that time period and crawlers and BIG sucker minnows have been the baits of choice. If anything outstanding happens, I'll post a report after our return home.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Water temps right now is running 67 to 68 degrees.

Cliff

[MarkB]

Thanks for the info Cliff. Temps for the next 10 days starting Monday is daytime highs mid to upper 50's and nighttime lows mostly low 40' s with a couple in the upper 30's. Hopefully, that will lower those water temps into that mid to upper 50's range. Since we are limited on time, water temps will dictate where we concentrate our efforts.

Thanks again.

MarkB

[FishinCT]

Good to have you back even if it is just briefly. Always enjoy your reports and you have put me on fish numerous times! Will be particularly interested in how your trip goes as I will be there immediately following you 

[Stephen L Johnston Jr.]

I was just telling my wife how I used to look forward to your detailed reports on here from my dads account on the way to the cabin years back, then I switched over to YouTube to enjoy Casey Sunsdahls updates. If I have time before we come up on our spring trips I will even go deep diving years back that have the same ice out dates to try to gain more insight on new locations to try. Sure miss your reports and hope you and yours find some luck. I will report Monday with our findings as we are also forced to come earlier than we would like, hope we can help narrow the search for Waldo!

PikeMaster

[Fish Head]

Great to see you post again Mark!  Really miss your great detailed reports!  Good luck on your trip back. Looking forward to seeing how your trip goes. 

[redlabguy]

Good to hear from you, Mark. And it’ll be good to have one of best anglers back on the lake. If I learn anything over few days, I’ll post it. Good luck out there.

Dick

[MarkB]

My cousin, his friend, and myself fished Vermilion this past Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. It was my first time back since moving in May on 2016 and it seemed as if I never left. We stopped at Fish Lake bait on the way up and picked up suckers, creek chubs, and crawlers. I bought my 3 day license at the "Y" and purchased some smaller suckers just in case. Wise move! Although, I used crawlers exclusively during the trip, my two companions found that the smaller suckers were the ticket. I used the standard(for me) 3' leader, 1oz bottom bouncer, fluorescent yellow/orange float, red bead, size 8 hook, 4" stinger with a size 8 treble. Most of the larger walleyes were caught on a green spinner. The weather was cold at times and at all times at least chilly and windy. We lucked out with the rain by fishing only in the mid morning to mid afternoon hours. Boat traffic was minimal where we fished. Water temperatures started out at 58 degrees and dropped to 56 degrees by the time we left the lake.

We caught 71 walleyes, a dozen smallmouth, and a few jumbos for our efforts. We ate fish(lots) all three nights and brought 12 walleyes home. The largest walleye caught was 19.5", and we caught several between 17" and 20". The majority of walleyes were 14.5"- 17" with a few 12"-14" mixed in. We missed an estimated 40 hits the first day(my cousin missed the first 4 hits he got)! The second day, I rigged 4 " stingers attached to the eyelet of the terminal hooks and that drastically improved our hook up to miss ratio. We fished exclusively in Daisy Bay and specifically in the channel between the easternmost Banana Island and the 15' reef that extends east from No Name Island(my name for it). This area has a couple humps that rise up to 15'-17' out of 26' of water. The fish were on the slopes of the humps. The buoy west of No Name Island is on a reef that extends further west then drops into a 27" hole. Water surrounding that hole is ~21'. We caught a bunch of fish in the waters adjacent to that hole. 

We ate fish that were 14.5" to 16" and we brought 12 home that were between 16" and 17". All fish over 17" were returned. We brought home a few bass also. It appears that the past two years has not changed the fishing opportunity at that beautiful lake and I hope that the higher slot doesn't adversely affect the big walleye opportunity that Vermilion offers. This trip looks to be an annual thing and we are already looking forward to next year.

Good Fishing,

MarkB

 

The pictures are included to illustrate the class of fish that we caught:

 

 

[redlabguy]

Glad you had a great trip! I was hoping you might still be here. Frazer has been slow for nice fish most of this week but now that I’m not keeping any (closing up Tuesday), they really turned on today. A dozen from 14-20” in two hours this afternoon and it was just me and Ole, the red lab. He didn’t catch a thing. Same sort of structure below and on a drop off from 20 to 30 fow. Pike suckers and rainbows (big rainbows at the Y) with a red bead. 

Give Linda my regards and let us know when you come back.

Dick

[MarkB]

Thanks Dick! will do.

MarkB

[Fish Head]

Great post again. Always good to hear from you Mark! 

[FishinCT]

Thanks for the great report! Coming up in a few days and have been scouring the navionics app for similar areas. I usually hit that same area around banana at least once a trip too, so it's good to know there's fish there. I didn't realize there was a hole that deep just west of banana. Always thought it was just a flat 20-21, unless I've been thinking banana island is a completely different place all these years 

 

Also, I didn't know you used such small hooks with crawlers, but it makes sense to be able to have a more natural presentation 

[MarkB]

FishinCT

Well, actually the spots I referred to are not west of Banana. The small island north of Banana is not named on my map. I have always called it No Name Island. There is a buoy just a little south and west of that island. The buoy is sitting on a fairly large reef that extends west 100 yards or so. There is a hole that drops off into 27' at the west end of that reef. I have caught 100's of walleyes in that hole and in the surrounding 20'-27' water.

The other spot is located in the channel north of the easternmost small island in the Banana chain. The reefs I am referring to are north of that island topping at 13'-15' out of ~26' of water. There's a reddish colored boathouse on the mainland. Line up the opening between the 2 small Banana islands and that boathouse and you should find it easily. Remember, the reef is snaggy so expect to get hung up.

I always use a size 8 hook while fishing either crawlers or leeches. I generally use a size 6 while fishing big minnows.

Lastly, I call the travel corridor between Banana and No Name the "channel".

Good Fishing,

MarkB

 

[FishinCT]

Now I got ya. Appreciate you clearing that up for me. Either way I always try that area. Years back in the fall I had an afternoon of nothing but slot fish on one of those reefs. It was the first year I tried really big minnows (thanks to you actually). No luck replicating that since but a couple hours of nothing but 20-26" fish sticks with a guy. 

[guideman]

Been pounding the Walleyes on jig and minnow presentations for about two weeks now.  Deep holes off of main lake points have been very hot. I'm also doing well trolling shad raps over deep flats in Big bay.

Not much time left.  

"Ace"

"It's just fishing man"