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2018-2019 Lake Vermilion Ice Fishing Reports


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12 hours ago, JerkinLips said:

I have caught only 2 perch this winter so I may not be much help.  However, several years ago I was catching tons of perch on the 20 FOW reef to the west of Spider Island.  Had a hard time catching walleyes on that spot so I quit going there.

Thanks for the note! 

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Finally made it to the fish house at 9am after changing cars due to a breakdown then getting the Ranger stuck on a drifted plowed road 200 yards short of making it. Didn’t find any slush on the way out but the water cane up on the ice about 2” when I opened up my old holes. Very tough traveling on the lake even if driving on a plowed road unless it was plowed less than two days ago. Fishing has been fairly slow so far catching just two 11” walleyes. Now I have to try to get the Ranger all the way to the house. 

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Happy Sunday Everyone.  Thinking of checking the cabin today and curious if anyone knows the condition of the roads coming out of Stuntz Bay?

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SIF I took the snowmobile from Stuntz Bay all the way to Mud Creek last night to clear snow of the roof of my sisters cabin. The plowed road was fine until just after leaving Stuntz Bay. Then it had tons of water on it. Made the mistake of driving through one and it was at least 6” deep. Covered the windshield, hood, and helmet with ice. The plowed road ended close to Ely island. The rest of my ride was okay other than heavy snow and one slush spot by shore. On the way back I took the snowmobile trail on the lake and that was fine except where it crossed the plowed road and was covered with water. Very tough traveling out there except be sled. 

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On 2/17/2019 at 11:35 AM, JerkinLips said:

SIF I took the snowmobile from Stuntz Bay all the way to Mud Creek last night to clear snow of the roof of my sisters cabin. The plowed road was fine until just after leaving Stuntz Bay. Then it had tons of water on it. Made the mistake of driving through one and it was at least 6” deep. Covered the windshield, hood, and helmet with ice. The plowed road ended close to Ely island. The rest of my ride was okay other than heavy snow and one slush spot by shore. On the way back I took the snowmobile trail on the lake and that was fine except where it crossed the plowed road and was covered with water. Very tough traveling out there except be sled. 

 

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2 hours ago, Salo Island Family said:

.      

Road out of Stuntz has some slush at shoreline but got through just fine   Couple areas of slush along road to south end of Ely Island from Stuntz but was solid and nice.  Someone came by tonight on a ATV rig and plowed.  Thanks!  Was able to scope some fish in 24’ of water but couldn’t get any bites (story of my life).   Y store only has Chubs and Crappie minnows    Seems to be the case many places I checked.   Was a beautiful calm day today on the lake.  Looks like tomorrow (Sunday) May be quite a bit different with system rolling in. 

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FB793900-7129-4C18-81F7-07E86227D486.jpeg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Not sure about ice thickness.  Snowmobiled around Daisy bay yesterday, snow is hard packed and the majority of the slushy areas have firmed up.  No travel issues in my area of the lake with a snowmobile, ATVs travel would have been ok also.

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Pat, I pulled my skid house off Richie Bay on Friday.  Ice thickness is not an issue but with the rain we had Wednesday/Thursday the snow has become very heavy and there is water between the ice and snow creating slush and poor traction.  No way you can travel far on an ATV without tracks.  Snowmobile travel is possible but sloppy.  I was able to pull my skid house off with my tracked Ranger but it was touch and go.  

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Raven 77 and Vermilion Gold,

 

Thank you for the updates. With 51 forecast for Saturday I think I'll leave the fishing gear at home and get going on projects.

 

Thanks again.

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I know it was not Vermilion but I was on Burntside Sunday-Wednesday and found the travel conditions great with the snowmobile.  Had 30" of ice, but the top 10-12" was white and there was a 1" water layer under 2" of top white ice.  The top was softening up when we left Wednesday afternoon.  The bottom 2' of ice was nice and clear, so it will be solid for a while.  If they get cold weather up there for a few days, the lakes could be very good traveling for most vehicles since the deep snow has flattened and most of the water on top has drained or evaporated.  If it gets cold, I may be back up on Burntside for the end of March.

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Some deep slush and water where snow is drifted against shore but otherwise no problems. Anyone else get to enjoy the ice cracking symphony Saturday evening? Must have been 40 to 60 cracks or pops per minute at times.

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2 hours ago, Pat McGraw said:

Some deep slush and water where snow is drifted against shore but otherwise no problems. Anyone else get to enjoy the ice cracking symphony Saturday evening? Must have been 40 to 60 cracks or pops per minute at times.

Every lake I've been on for nearly a week has been making tons of noise after dark. My GF thought it was gunshots at first. I live by a few different lakes and you could hear the popping from multiple lakes... Hasn't affected the fishing much, if any. That's the important thing to me.

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  • The title was changed to 2018-2019 Lake Vermilion Ice Fishing Reports

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • mulefarm
      With the early ice out, how is the curlyleaf pondweed doing?
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   The big basin, otherwise known as Big Traverse Bay, is ice free.  Zippel Bay and Four Mile Bay are ice free as well.  Everything is shaping up nicely for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th. With the walleye / sauger season currently closed, most anglers are targeting sturgeon and pike.  Some sturgeon anglers are fishing at the mouth of the Rainy River, but most sturgeon are targeted in Four Mile Bay or the Rainy River.  Hence, pike are the targeted species on the south shore and various bays currently.   Pike fishing this time of year is a unique opportunity, as LOW is border water with Canada, the pike season is open year round. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. Back bays hold pike as they go through the various stages of the spawn.  Deadbait under a bobber, spinners, spoons and shallow diving crankbaits are all viable options.   Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay and Zippel Bay are all small water and boats of various sizes work well. On the Rainy River...  Great news this week as we learned sturgeon will not be placed on the endangered species list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.     The organization had to make a decision by June 30 and listing sturgeon could have ended sturgeon fishing.  Thankfully, after looking at the many success stories across the nation, including LOW and the Rainy River, sturgeon fishing and successful sturgeon management continues.   A good week sturgeon fishing on the Rainy River.  Speaking to some sturgeon aficionados, fishing will actually get even better as water temps rise.     Four Mile Bay at the mouth of the Rainy River near the Wheeler's Point Boat Ramp is still producing good numbers of fish, as are various holes along the 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  A few spots with rotten ice, but as a rule, most of the Angle is showing off open water.  In these parts, most are looking ahead to the MN Fishing Opener.  Based on late ice fishing success, it should be a good one.  
    • leech~~
      Nice fish. I moved to the Sartell area last summer and just thought it was windy like this everyday up here? 🤭
    • Rick G
      Crazy windy again today.... This is has been the norm this spring. Between the wind and the cold fronts, fishing has been more challenging for me than most years.  Panfish have been moving in and out of the shallows quite a bit. One day they are up in the slop, the next they are out relating to cabbage or the newly sprouting lilly pads.  Today eye guy and I found them in 4-5 ft of water, hanging close to any tree branches that happened to be laying in the water.  Bigger fish were liking a 1/32 head and a Bobby Garland baby shad.   Highlight of the day way this healthy 15incher
    • monstermoose78
    • monstermoose78
      As I typed that here came a hen.  IMG_7032.mov   IMG_7032.mov
    • monstermoose78
      So far this morning nothing but non turkeys. 
    • monstermoose78
      Well yesterday I got a little excited and let a turkey get to close and I hit the blind!!
    • smurfy
      good......you?? living the dream..in my basement playing internet thug right now!!!!!! 🤣 working on getting the boat ready.......bought a new cheatmaster locator for the boat so working on that.   waiting for warmer weather to start my garden!!!
    • monstermoose78
      How is everyone doing? Holy moly it’s chilly this morning I stayed in bed and will hunt later today when it warms up.
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