Does anyone have any tips on fishing Lake Vermilion in August/September? It is a big body of water, and I hear can be challenging. I won't ask for your spot, but any advice would be appreciated!

I’m headed up there again next summer for a week. Question for you is what are you fishing for, Walleye, Pike, Musky, Bass? Vermilion is in one of the top lakes in the state for big walleye in the spring, and is one of the top ten lakes in the USA for trophy Musky. Smallmouth bass there are huge too.

I’m after Muskies next year. My goal is a 40” fish. I’m going to toss everything I have at them until my arm falls off. I’ve caught Musky on this lake before and I have 32 spots on my Garmin 73SV fish finder already plotted.

Go buy a Lake Vermillion Hot Spot map, online or in stores. It is very handy resource for getting you close to spots that are proven holding spots for various fish. The map even gives you the GPS locations for the spots.

If you are after walleye be sure to hit 3 spots. Boys camp reef, stovetop reef, and merry go round reef.

Here is the link to the map… Lake Vermillion Hot Spot Map

Savage Voyageur: "I’m headed up there again next summer for a week. Question for you is what are you fishing for, Walleye, Pike, Musky, Bass? Vermilion is in one of the top lakes in the state for big walleye in the spring, and is one of the top ten lakes in the USA for trophy Musky. Smallmouth bass there are huge too.


I’m after Muskies next year. My goal is a 40” fish. I’m going to toss everything I have at them until my arm falls off. I’ve caught Musky on this lake before and I have 32 spots on my Garmin 73SV fish finder already plotted.


Go buy a Lake Vermillion Hot Spot map, online or in stores. It is very handy resource for getting you close to spots that are proven holding spots for various fish. The map even gives you the GPS locations for the spots.


If you are after walleye be sure to hit 3 spots. Boys camp reef, stovetop reef, and merry go round reef.


Good info, thank you Savage!

Here is the link to the map… Lake Vermillion Hot Spot Map "

"Walleyes are the most popular species for our fishing guests, and with good reason. Lake Vermilion has an excellent walleye population, with fish of all sizes present in good numbers. They put up a good fight on light line, and make for a tasty shore lunch or evening meal accompanied by fried potatoes and onions, pork & beans and canned fruit for dessert.

In spring, walleyes spawn either in incoming rivers with rocky shoals, or atop mainlake rock flats swept by wind and current, with water temperatures in the 40 Fs. Many fish tend to linger around such spots until the water temperature reaches about 55 F. Casting a ¼-ounce jig tipped with a minnow or softbait, swimming the jig or lift-dropping it on and off bottom back to the boat, is often all you need to catch fish at this time. As an alternative, try casting or longline trolling 4- to 5-inch minnowbaits through the shallows, targeting about 4 to 8 feet. As postspawn walleyes disperse

As postspawn walleyes disperse back into the mainlake, look for them along the first major points, islands or rock reefs adjacent to their spawning sites, initially focusing your efforts at about the 10- to 20-foot level. Vertically jig jig & minnow combos, or backtroll livebait rigs tipped with shiners, tapping the sinker on and off bottom. The tips of underwater structures, and irregularities along the dropoff to deeper water, tend to concentrate fish.

As summer arrives in earnest, expect some walleyes to drop deeper, down to as much as 35 or 40 feet. Not all, however; some linger along the deep outer edges of mainlake weedbeds, where trolling a bullet sinker/spinner rig tipped with a nightcrawler covers water, using speed and flash as added triggers to catch fish. Try a similar rig on a heavy (2- to 3- ounce) bottom bouncer or three-way rig for fishing deeper if needed. If the fish are finicky, however, switch to a 3-ounce bottom bouncer rig, using a curved “Slow Death” hook, to fish slowly, tapping the wire feeler of the bouncer on and off bottom while the baited hook flip flops and spins a half-crawler threaded onto the bent hook, tempting reluctant biters to respond.

By fall, Vermilion walleyes may drop even deeper, with 40 feet plus not unusual. Beefing up your jig size to ½-ounce or so and tipping with a minnow, or vertically jigging a # 7 or #9 Jigging Rapala does the trick. Be sure to tie a barrel swivel into your line about 16-18 inches above the Jigging Rapala to eliminate line twist. Caution: Walleyes caught this deep may not be releasable; if the fish are stressed, keep just enough for a meal if desired, and then switch to fishing for alternative species. We have lots of ‘em!"