Vermilion Houseboats

[fishing4fun]

I'm looking at going on a houseboat rental weekend and just wondering if the boats on Vermilion are decent. Also what about the camping areas. I've been told that there is not a lot of locations to park the boats at night. I've done this out of Crane Lake and Morrison on the Lake of the Woods but never Vermilion. What do you guys think of it?

Thanks

[shamrock7]

Boats are in good condition and there are plenty of places to tie up at night. Chuck will take care of you.

[fishing4fun]

I've never been on Vermilion before, do the tie up spots have nice beaches for the wifes to suntan. That's important, they we can spend more time in the boat fishing.

THanks

[shamrock7]

We can tell its your first time because anyone that asks about beaches, obviously, has not been here before. OK I will go easy on you. Canadian Shield lakes, such as Vermilion, have very few beaches. Most people use the roof patio as the sun bathing lounge. There are a few tie-up spot that may have a little sand but few that can actually be called beaches. Call Chuck, he can give you a better idea as to how many have beaches.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

There are a couple of tie-up spots with lots of sand beach on the back side of Pine Island, just East of the Trout Lake Portage.

Cliff

[fishing4fun]

Shamrock,

Thanks for not bashing me. Yes I know Canadian shield lakes have few beaches. I've been to Canada many times. I'm just learning what is out there. We are trying to figure out what we want to do. Rent a cabin or houseboat. There is going to be 8-10 or us. So it would be nice to get out away from anyone.

Thanks

[shamrock7]

Like Cliff said, there is a really nice beach just East of the Trout Lake portage but there is a lot of competition for that spot. But the nice thing about the houseboats, you don't need a beach. There are a few other spots that the houseboats use that have some sand. The houseboats normally move around quite a bit. May be company policy to allow others to use the nicer spots>?>?>? Don't know for sure, there again Chuck or LeAnn could best answer those questions. No matter, houseboat or cabin, you will be impressed with the lake and you will probably be back many times in the future.

[Kylersk]

I've gone out of Vermilion Houseboats 5 years now, this being our 6th. The boats that we get, 54' catelena plus and the explorer 40' are in decent shape. I've been in a few of the other (newer) boats and there are some really nice looking ones as well.

If I recall, there are about 50 or so sites that you can park at. Some can be just a small island with enough room for a fire pit and a few chairs around it.

If we can get the campsite that we like, I think 21, we stay there for the whole weekend.

Anyways, the people at Vermilion Houseboats have been great to us...

[upnorth]

We are going to be out in a houseboat next week and I am wondering about spots to park the thing in the Big Bay area. I am the most familar with fishing Big Bay area and would like to not have to run 7 to 8 miles each day to fish. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

There are quite a few spots on the East end of Big Bay.

Just chech the map in the houseboat and pick a spot that is close to where you like to fish and hope it is open.

Cliff

[upnorth]

Thanks Cliff.

[88_2000]

this will be our first time in a houseboat the end of june. do you have to tie up at a specific spot for night, or can you anchor anywhere you would like to fish? also, can you clean fish on the houseboat?

[Kylersk]

You cannot anchor the boats. They must be tied up at designated sites before dark. Each boat has a big map with the site locations.

As far as fishing, the only time I ever fished off the houseboat was when it was tied up and I was in back cooking on the grill. When we went out fishing (which wasnt often) we took the smaller boats to fish and left the houseboats tied up at our campsite. Each year we tend to do a little more fishing.. Must be we are all getting older and cannot party as much.

I do not recall any rules against cleaning fish on the boat. Either way, you do not want to leave the boats a mess.

[DaveSorensen]

As far as cleaning fish on the houseboat, here are the rules from the DNR:

While on or fishing waters with size restrictions, all fish for which the size restriction applies must have their heads, tails, fins, and skin intact and be measurable except when a watercraft is docked or moored to shore and the person is preparing and using the fish for a meal.

In other words, I wouldn't have a mess of filets in the cooler for an evening fish fry!

Hope that's helpful