Lake Vermilion Fishing Report (9/14/26)
Another week of the 2026 open water season down. The beginning of the week it was hot and the bite was decent.
Lake Vermilion Fishing Report (8/31/26)
Water temps: 69-72 Another inconsistent week of fishing but we managed to put quality fish in the boat! We didn’t catch a lot, but the ones we caught were the right size. This morning, 8/31, was the most amount of small fish I’ve seen in a while. Our most consistent bite was still pulling lead core. 15-18’ and 28-34’ produced most of our fish this week. A few times we caught some in 22-24 but not as many as the other depths. Speeds varied by the day. Some days 2.0 worked best and others it seemed like 2.3-2.5 produced more. Adjusting speed has seemed to matter more in 2026 than any of the previous 3-5 years. Today, 8/31, we did not touch the trolling rods. My group didn’t have the set ups to use leadcore on their own so we used techniques they could do. We caught every fish on a jig and crawler in 8-16’. The structure we fished was sand break lines with rock on them. Once we dialed in the pattern, every spot we tried we caught a good handful of walleyes. A lot of 10-13” fish, a few really nice 15-18s and even a 25.5” which
Lake Vermilion Fishing Report (8/24/26)
Water temps: 69-72 The only thing consistent was that it was inconsistent! A very up and down week of fishing on the Big V. It seems as if it’s a guessing game right now on picking the right area during the time you’re out and if you guess wrong, it’s not much fun out there. Overall, when the fishing was good it was pretty dang good and the quality of fish we are catching is still really good! We are pulling lead core and cranks all day long. I did mix in some jig and crawler action the last couple of days and have caught a few fish but nothing great to speak of. Part of that is due to lack of trying it. Except more of it this week if things don’t change! The areas we have focused on the most are 16-20’ mud flats and 25-28’ mud flats. I have noticed a big uptick in action when we are close to rock structure. I’ve seen this be the case in years past but never as much as it is right now. Today we caught all of our fish at 1.9-2.1 mph. Slower than in previous weeks. With the
Lake Vermilion Fishing Report (8/17/26)
Water temps: 70-74 Another solid of week of fishing on the Big V! Stable weather, before Saturday, allowed us to dial in a very solid and consistent bite. Pulling cranks has been our pattern and we are sticking to it. This week our best action was in 20-26’ over mud but close to structure. It seemed like being close to some form of structure provided us with nicer fish and more action.We are using minnow style crank baits in all colors. The hot color seems to change daily, but once you figure out a few colors they like, it’s been great action. I am getting 6’ of depth for each color of lead core on my set ups when pulling them at 2-2.5 mph. I have been moving around a lot lately. Each area has been producing better on different days. I haven’t really done much moving around in previous years when pulling lead but this year I am really focusing on switching basins when the bite is slow. It’s paying off big time! Sometimes we are in spots 4 or 5 before we really get some quality action. The average size of our keepers is well over 14” right
Lake Vermilion Fishing Report (8/10/26)
Water temps: 70-74 This has been one of the best weeks of fishing of the entire season for us! As many probably already can guess, our trolling bite has started and it’s been great so far. Cold mornings really kicked off the bite middle of last week and it’s been game on since! We are trolling shad style baits in anywhere from 18-24’ of water over mud. The depth we are catching them changes each day but once you find the active fish it’s time to have some fun! We are pulling our cranks at 2.0-2.5 mph. On my set ups for lead core, I am running suffix 832 advanced 18 pound. I am running it to a barrel swivel and then a 6-7’ braided leader to a snap. I don’t like the 15-20’ mono or fluorocarbon leaders, personal preference. I run a wide variety of minnow style baits so I’m not going to list those out but any style in sizes 5, 6 or 7 have been working.
Lake Vermilion Fishing Report (8/3/26)
Water temps: 73-78 A slow start to the week transitioned to the amazing late summer bite I always talk about. We probably had some of the best fishing of the entire season this week! Jig and crawler as well as a Lindy rig produced the most fish this week. We focused on 15-20’ sand humps and flats all week long per usual this time of year. Dragging Lindy rigs at .4-.6 mph produced a ton of fish early in the day and casting on pods with a jig and crawler caught fish throughout the day. Most of the fish we kept this week were full of baby minnows. We did catch a few fish on minnows this week but crawlers produced plenty and are easier to keep alive so I stopped buying minnows. There’s not much of a lead core bite yet, for me. People are doing it and I’m hearing of some success, but not enough success to get me to switch. Hopefully we get some colder nights and I’d guess that bite will start to pickup! But until the bite and pattern we are on slows down, the trolling rods will be kept in the storage. This time
Lake Vermilion Fishing Report (7/27/26)
Water temps: 71-76 What a wild up and down week on the Big V! Good, bad, decent, ok, and great are words I’d use to describe this week. From a high of 65 one day with big winds to back near 90 and no wind we saw it all, I think. Short and simple report this week. This week we caught fish from 15’ of water all the way down to 30’. Rock and sand where the two main areas we focused on, as well. For fish on rocks, we caught a couple on bobbers with a leech but that bite died off after a day or two. After that, it’s been all jig or lindy with a crawler. 15-30’ sand has been the main focus as of late. Break lines, humps, saddles, and flats are all holding fish. The biggest thing is finding active pods. You can mark all the fish you want, but catching them is a little bit different! We were dragging Lindy’s from .3-.6 mph and some days, they liked it faster and some days, slower. Casting on pods with a jig and crawler also produced some fish. It’s a good way to have a little
Lake Vermilion Fishing Report (7/20/26)
Water temps: 76-78 Arguably some of the best mid July fishing I’ve seen in the last few years! It’s consistent, it’s not fast and furious but we are putting fish in the boat and they are schooled up big time! This year is probably the most fun I’ve had guiding yet! Pretty much anyway you want to catch walleyes, you can. Jig and crawler, jig and leech, jig and some plastics, jigging raps, and bobbers all caught fish. Believe it or not, I never took my lindy rig rods out of the storage this week! Probably should’ve some days for some better action but we still caught them. Main lake humps and rock structure from 15-24’ have produced all of our fish this week. Some have muskies, some have walleyes, and a lot of them have both! Pick your battles, if I see a muskie actively chasing the walleyes around on livescope, I immediately leave. Casting a bobber with a leech or crawler and letting them float over the top of them over and over again caught the most fish this week. In a close second was a jig and crawler. An 1/8 ounce jig with half a crawler worked
Lake Vermilion Fishing Report (7/13/26)
Water temps: 76-80 The bug hatches are starting to wrap up and the fishing is showing signs of improvement. Right now it’s steady. You have to work for them a little bit but with a little effort you can catch a nice mess of fish. The main areas we are focusing on right now are 10-20’ humps and rocks. Like I’ve been saying, have every tactic tied up and ready to catch them! We are getting a few on jigs, a few on jigging raps, a few on bobbers, and all types of bait. Fish are schooled up and they are easy to find, but getting consistent keepers is a little tougher and even getting them to bite sometimes is tough. Moving a lot and not staying in one spot too long is the best way to put fish in the box. Get out early, beat the heat, and then fish from 6:00 pm-dark. Bass are shallow and on big boulders and other primary structures. Ned rigs, Senkos, and top water are all my go-to techniques right now and there’s tons of hungry Smallies to be caught. A lot of nice Muskies and Pike are getting caught right now, and
Lake Vermilion Fishing Report (7/6/26)
Water temps: 67-70 The Mayflies are here. Sorry to report the bad news but it’s that time of year! Even with the hatches going on the east side, the bite hasn’t taken as big of a dip as it usually seems to. The hatches seem smaller than the last few years and I think that’s giving us some short bite windows to capitalize on some hungry eyes. The main areas we focused on this week was 15-25’ on reefs and humps. Sand and gravel mixed with isolated bigger rocks was holding a ton of fish. Getting them to go – different story sometimes. We had two really good bites this week and it transitioned from one bite to the other towards the end of the week. The first bite was a jig and crawler. Casting 1/8 ounce jigs and 1/2 a crawler was producing a lot of bites. Getting them in the boat was a challenge as it didn’t seem like they wanted to eat it completely but if you could land them, you could have some really good days! Maintaining bottom contact was key, any more than 6” off bottom for us and we were not getting bit. The