Planning a trip to Lake Vermilion late January. I’m wondering if anyone has ice fished Vermilion much? What’s it like getting around on the lake, how easy is it to find fish, what part of the lake should we concentrate on, plowed roads, resorts, etc.?? Targeting walleye but consistent action is always nice!
I’m looking forward to seeing some replies, as I’m interested in ice fishing there, too. It’s my favorite lake in MN.
Late January the lake really slows down, it can be an awesome bite through December, but nearing mid January and later it can be much slower for eyes. Most of the area locals switch over to trout by then, so you should have less competition at least. The resorts here don’t really do anything like on other large lake fisheries. There is usually a plowed road coming out of McKinley. You may be able to get in from Fortune Bay as well, but I’m not certain. It’s stained water, so the eye fishing is better after sunrise and until sunset, with little night action. Gold, green, orange, red, and pink in uv or glow are the go to colors depending on cloud cover. Prepare to be mobile as there is a lot of structure in that lake; an inside curve may limit you out in an hour one day and skunk you the next 2 days, while everyone else is killing them in narrows or basin edges.
Don’t forget the 4 fish limit and 18-26″ immediate release slot when you’re out there. DNR gets a lot of people for too many fish and fish in the slot each winter. It is an absolutely beautiful lake to fish, even if the action is slow you’re usually not bummed about deciding to fish Vermilion.
Thanks for the info, Ben.
Al
Thanks Ben, I appreciate it!
Ben… never fished trout through the ice. What type of structure / bait do you use for that? Are we talking lake trout? Thanks!
Lake trout and stream trout, 5-100 feet from on the bottom to inches below the ice, on structure or suspended over deep flats… Always moving, always ready to chase! For stream trout, small jigs and spoons tipped with waxies, or #2-#3 jigging raps. For lakers anything from 1/4-1oz spoons tipped with minnows or heads, 3/4 oz tube jigs on 3-5″ tubes, #5-#9 jigging raps, #4-#7 rippin raps, live bait, frozen ciscos… The list goes on… Just make the bait move fast and try to out-reel an incoming big red line on the Marcum… You’ll lose and win at the same time.
Watch In-Depth Outdoors season 8 episodes 12 & 17 to get a taste of what it’s like for both kinds. You probably already have mostly everything you need to get started on either.
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