Fishing Report

Lake Vermilion Fishing Report - September 16, 2019

Don't blink twice because it seems as though summer will rear it's beautiful face for just a bit longer on scenic Lake Vermilion! The past couple of weeks of inconsistent, poor weather has dropped water temperatures significantly while altering fishes' patterns, however stabilized weather the next week will certainly change this. Being just about a week out from 100% fall foliage, fishing is exceptional for most species and I expect this trend to continue.

Walleye - Success rates for most anglers has been high as is to be expected on a fishery like Vermilion at this time of year. Plenty of fish are being caught, using a plethora of methods. Personally, rigging larger minnows as well as snap jigging jig raps and casting Moonshine Shiverminnows have produced best. Large rock to sand transitional zones in the 12-32ft range has been best. Anglers must keep in mind that cool nights have started water temperature shifts, i.e turnover. Denser, cooler water is beginning its rise while less dense warmer water is dropping in the water column. This uniformity in temperature throughout the water column is not concentrating fish to one specific zone or the other. Walleyes will be essentially found anywhere, but once located the bite has been great as most fish are actively roaming feeding on perch fry and 2nd year perch. This time of year graphing skills are more important than ever.

Bass - As with the walleyes, I have found larger smallmouth in a wide array of depths from 8-22 feet of water. Most have been coming off of secondary structure. Large, singular boulders atop this structure is key. I like to look for smaller pieces of structure rather than fishing your large reefs. Live bait rigging or jigging large suckers has been best for your larger football smallies.

Musky - Consensus reports have been of some tough sledding in this department. Lots of followers, some biters, but few and far in between. With some cooler temps projected next week, I expect musky action to finally pick up come the backend and going into the next week

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Jarek Wujkowski

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