Next weekend

i am going to be at Vermillion this next weekend and am desprate to know what to expect? I have never fished it before so would love a little help. Is it a clear lake? Shallow. What type of structure will I be fishing? I will mostly be chasing smallies, but my group will be fishing muskies and a few eyes. Like I said, I am just looking for what the water will be like that I will be fishing. Thanks

Bassman

Bassman,

Vermillion is a fun lake and I will do my best to fill you in a little from my one and only time on that lake, but I was up their with a pretty seasoned tournament bass fisherman. Is it clear, I am pretty sure,yes. Is it deep, also yes. Fish the hundreds of main lake points off of the islands galore. This lake has hundreds of islands and it is easy to forget where you came from. Rocks, Rocks, and more Rocks. And they are huge slabs of stone. This is the dominant structure, rocks everywhere. I hope this helps some. I don’t know the lake enough to tell you what specific areas or lures to use, but I would assume the usual fall lures for smallies (tubes,light jigs,crankbaits, spinnerbaits, topwaters early on for sure)will do just fine. Hope this helps a little, I am sure someone who knows this lake way better will pipe in on Monday and be a lot more knowledgeable and helpful, but let me know how you do and how the bite is!!!
-Jeremy

I’v been going up there for years at this time, Its awsome for smallie fishing!! I do not fish much live bait but this time of year live bait is the way to go. Suckers about 2-3″ works the best. The rig I use is a 3/8 or 1/2oz. Ball sinker with a 2ft. leader and a #6 Kahle hook. I will almost verical jig this rig. Remeber this lake has ALOT of rocks in it. Just bring the bait about 6″ to a foot off the bottom. Now you are have the rig its time to find out where these fish live, In the rocks!! You can PM if you need a spot or two just too get you started. Look at you fishfinder and you will see them down there of the bottom in about 8 to 20ft of water. I hope this helps I just got back form Chequamegon Bay fishing this way, we had a ball catching those big smallies Good luck

Thanks guys,

I am leaving for the long trek from chicago on Wed after I get done teaching. I will post how I do.

Thanks Bassman

First off, which end of the lake are you staying, east end, west end?

Each end is a bit different. The west end, which I know little about, has a lot more weed beds and is more clear than the east. (It’s generally accepted that the Oak Narrows is the dividing line between east and west).

East end, which I know a lot more about, is more stained from inflowing rivers, which are low now. The lake is a good 2.5 to almost 3 feet low compared to last spring.

Pike Bay is even more stained than Big Bay. But the lake has been more clear in recent years.

Big Bay as well as the east end has a ton of rock piles and reefs, many exposed and just below the surface out of sight. The hazard buoys are off the lake now, so get a good map and use caution.

As of last weekend, I graphed water temps around 54 degrees. Last Friday, I found big walleyes liking chub minnows on a lighted slip bobber setup set at 6 feet from 9pm to 1 am. I quit at 1am due to the line and rod eyelets freezing, 29 degrees.

We trolled spinners/crawlers and perch Rapalas with bottom bouncers in 20 to 30 feet of water. Got a few walleyes thsi way and a nice 15 inch smallie. Never did find where exctly they were at in the morning/afternoon. I suspect near deeper water where the whitefish may be staging for their fall spawn. Never saw a muskier either, probably out near deeper structure, speculation here.

Take care!

Just got back from Vermilion and had a blast. Unfortunatly the weather was less than cooperative. The wind blew and the rain fell. We caught a number of nice walleyes and some bass mixed in. Many of the walleye were on a jigworm, or sucker minnow. We caught a couple of nice smallies in with the walleyes, the biggest was 4 lbs 10 oz. Had a couple of muskies follow up to the boat that were 45+ and lost one that was also really nice. Will post some pictures as soon as I download them. Take care and good luck to all for the remainder of the season.

Bassman