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Hi all,

My family (wife, 10 yo boy, 8 yo girl, and 4 month old boy)are going to Lake Vermilion for the first time ever over Memorial Day weekend!! We are staying at Bayview Lodge-hopefully it doesn't get too wild.

So, what are the area family attractions? We have already been to the Ely wolf center and the Soudan underground mine on a previous trip.

And of couse we want to do some fishing. We will have our Lund fisherman along and also have a GPS with lake chip so hopefully we can make it back to the resort. smile.gif I would like to see the kids get a walleye, smallie and a northern-especially smallie as they have already caught walleyes & northerns. But we would also like to catch a few sunnies for eating. So any tips for that part of the lake and this time of the year would be greatly appreciated!

Also, I hear alot about all the underwater structure. Is there anything I should know about when we am boating around or is everything marked with bouys?

Thanks!

FishingPops

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Well welcome to the forum. Most of the rocks in the main part of the lake are marked. Once you get into some of the bays there are unmarked rocks. I know there are unmarked rocks in Greenwood and Bystrom Bays. You will have decent walleye action close to BayView. I am sure Cliff will chime in and let you know about the other species and maybe more about the walleye. We have gone out the last two nights and limited out. You gotta love fresh walleye!!!

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Check out the bear preserve in Orr, just up Hwy 53 from Cook. I don't know when it opens but you can easily find the website by searching on Google. I don't know if there are a ton of bears there at this point in the year versus fall, but it's worth checking out.

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Absolutely check out the bears. The place is called The Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary. It is probably the only place you can see wild black bears up close- and you stand on a elevated platform away from the bears. It is a really neat place with minimal entry fees- $5 or $10 a person. They are open 5pm until dusk. The Sancutary opens Saturday the 26th of memorial day weekend. They are normally closed on Mondays, but are open on Memorial Day. It is a great experience- bring your camera! They had 22,000 visitors last year- yet is is still relatively unknown to many visitors to the area. Check out their website at www.americanbear.org

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Quote:

Absolutely check out the bears. The place is called The Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary. It is probably the only place you can see wild black bears up close- and you stand on a elevated platform away from the bears. It is a really neat place with minimal entry fees- $5 or $10 a person. They are open 5pm until dusk. The Sancutary opens Saturday the 26th of memorial day weekend. They are normally closed on Mondays, but are open on Memorial Day. It is a great experience- bring your camera! They had 22,000 visitors last year- yet is is still relatively unknown to many visitors to the area. Check out their website at


I remember the days of only a few vehicles and hand feeding them out of the windows of your car.

I could've swore that Vince didn't want his place to turn into a commercial endeavor with entry fees. smirk.gif

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There is also a new bear viewing and information station on Hwy. 169 just before Ely. They have a bear there that is absolutely HUGE! It is around 800 lbs. I believe! shocked.gif

There are a lot of good walleye spots close to Bayview.

Lindy rigs and jigs baited with minnows or leeches are working well now.

Just cast the shorelines with small spinnerbaits or small cranks that resemble a crayfish and you should get lots of smallies!

Cliff

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How "small" of a spinnerbait? Are we talking your standard 3/8oz spinnerbait or smaller?

My wife and I are headed up Saturday returning to Pehrson's and will be there all week. Looking forward to a week's worth of walleye, crappie and smallies on the west end!

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How "small" of a spinnerbait? Are we talking your standard 3/8oz spinnerbait or smaller?

My wife and I are headed up Saturday returning to Pehrson's and will be there all week. Looking forward to a week's worth of walleye, crappie and smallies on the west end!


1/4 oz. to 3/8 oz. spinnerbaits.

Be sure to try Senko worms hooked wacky worm style too!

Cliff

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Thanks for the tips. My kids sound excited about the bears. If anyone else has other ideas feel free to add on.

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Last year we were catching smallies on Yum dingers, rigged weightless. Never failed us all over the west end. I will definately try the spinnerbaits this year.

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dtro - I don't believe that it's a huge profit kind of thing at the bear preserve. MOre like the Wolf Center.. they ask for entry fees to keep things running, in good condition, and to provide for other bear related stuff... I don't know that Vince would have a problem with something that helped the Bruins...

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