Lake Vemilion Fishing Report 6/1/09

The walleye bite has been pretty hot on the Big V over the past couple of weeks. We are sorting through a lot of small fish out there and the DNR has been spot on as far as what year class fish are being best represented. We are catching a higher than average number of slot fish on the East end which has been a nice change of pace from previous years.

Many of the walleye are still in the deeper water transition areas and many are eating juvenile rusty crayfish and mayfly larva. I have also cleaned fish with minnows in them. Most of the fish are feeding very actively and are nice and plump. Fishing over the softest bottom has produced the most fish for me.

Lindy rigs seem to be out producing jigs for numbers of fish as the fish are starting to scatter. Minnows are still my go to bait but I am starting to have success on night crawlers as well. In the evenings we are starting to get some fish on a leach under a slip bobber. Crankbaits are also taking fish on the shoreline breaks and some of the main lake soft bottom flats.

As the water temps start creeping up on the 60 degree mark a lot of the fish will become active in shallower water. I’m hoping we start to see a more consistent bite with the 14 to 16 inch fish.

Good Fishing,
-Casey

Just got back from the big V and we managed to take our walleye limits home but BEEF was what was for dinner most days.Lindy rigs/minnows worked the best for us in 25-30 feet with 3/4-1oz weight to get down and deal with the wind.Slip bobbers in shallows was slow and produced some dinks and some nice perch.Cranking was also slow and you had to cover lots of area pick one up.90% of the walleyes were dinks and after talking to dozens of fishermen out there that is the case right now. A couple afternoons we were desperate and decided to do some bass fishing on some protected shorelines and finally I had something with some weight tugging on the end of my line with some in the 2-3 pound range.The weather was windy and cold with water temps 56-58 degrees and I thought I was done scraping frosty windshields for the year…LOL… A full consoled boat with sides was the hot tip and was put into good use on those blustery days.Overall it was a slow week but it should definitely get better with warmer weather.

I’m from Austin and got a place in Indian Bay last year. I haven’t even seen most of the eastern section yet. Last week was brutal at times with the wind/temp. I did manage about 50 bass but had to fish very shallow and with crappie spinnerbaits/gulp. The big suprise of the trip was the 36″ muskie I got in Oak Narrows. Had my G Loomis walleye rod, small spinnerbait and 8lb line with no leader. Fought her for 10-15 min. took some pics in the water and let her go. You get up there often?