Lake Vermilion Fishery History
A Native Fishery
Long before it drew resort visitors, Lake Vermilion sustained the Ojibwe, whose Bois Forte Band has fished these waters for generations and remains a co-steward of the fishery today. The lake's food-rich bays and connected river systems made it a natural gathering and fishing ground – a role it has never stopped playing.
The "Annual Robbery of the Lake"
For decades, the State Fish & Game Commission set up camp each spring on the Pike River to net walleye spawn from Lake Vermilion's own fish – eggs that went to stock lakes elsewhere. Locals had a name for it. A 1915 item in the Tower Weekly News described the state's crews arriving once again on the same old site, and awaiting what it called the "annual robbery of the lake."
First Fish Surveys
The lake's reputation was already established when scientists began studying it. The first comprehensive survey, conducted by the Minnesota Department of Conservation (the DNR's predecessor) from 1940 to 1943, formally documented what anglers already knew: Lake Vermilion was a popular resort destination famous for its walleye. It also recorded the first known stocking of smallmouth bass, in 1943.
The Lean Years
The Pike River hatchery closed in 1946, and for more than twenty years Vermilion was neither stocked nor harvested. By the 1960s the fishing had gone from famous to dismal — a crisis for the resort families whose livelihoods depended on it.
The Sportsmen's Club Fights Back
Resort owner Jay Mault of Vermilion Dam Lodge rallied his neighbors — fellow resorters Bob Mann and Theodore Anderson, the Tower Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota Power, and Aronson Boat Works — to found the Sportsmen's Club of Lake Vermilion. Within a single meeting it had 1,700 members. When the club moved to build its own walleye hatchery, officials warned they'd be jailed for stocking the lake themselves. The compromise was permits to trap suckers, then believed to be crowding out walleye. The "season of the sucker" became local legend: neighbors hauling away trunk loads of fish, and one group loading so many they broke an axle.
Enter the Muskie
Muskellunge aren't native to Lake Vermilion – they were first introduced in 1968. Early stocking was limited and experimental, but it planted the seed for what would become one of Minnesota's premier trophy fisheries.
The Hatchery Returns
Photo credit: M. Helmberger, Timberjay, 2022
The Muskie Program Takes Off
Casual stocking gave way to a serious, sustained program in the late 1980s. Beginning around 1987, the DNR stocked Vermilion annually with Leech Lake–strain muskie fingerlings, deliberately managing for a low-density, high-quality fishery — fewer fish, but bigger ones. It's now considered one of the great success stories in Minnesota fisheries management.
The Governor's Fishing Opener
Lake Vermilion took its turn in the statewide spotlight in spring 2005, hosting Minnesota's annual Governor's Fishing Opener — a nod to its standing among the state's marquee walleye destinations.
Managing for Quality
As the walleye population shifted, so did the rules. A protected slot limit took effect in 2006 to safeguard spawning-size fish, and as the population rebounded, an updated slot regulation followed in May 2017 — the kind of active, responsive management that keeps the fishing consistently strong year after year.
Science You Can Hold
Vermilion's muskie became research partners: every muskie stocked since 2017 carries a tiny microchip under the skin. Anglers who land one can scan it and log the data, helping DNR biologists track survival, growth, and movement — a rare, hands-on collaboration between fishermen and scientists.
A Record "True Giant"
On August 6, 2019, Iowa angler Corey Kitzmann landed and released a 57¼-inch muskie on Lake Vermilion — certified as Minnesota's catch-and-release state record.
A Thriving Fishery
Careful stewardship has left Vermilion with a diverse, resilient fishery: naturally reproducing walleye, trophy-class muskie, strong smallmouth bass, northern pike, crappies, and bluegills. Guided by the DNR in partnership with the Bois Forte Band, lake associations, and local guides, it remains one of Minnesota's most celebrated fishing destinations — the reason many anglers and families have returned for over a century.