Opener is knocking on the door and I have got the Lund loaded up ready to go. The walleye bite on Lake Vermilion should be going strong for opener. The weather and water temperature are really looking good. 

The walleyes should be shallow opening weekend and I am going to be fishing in shallow to start with. I would guess most fish will be in that eight to twelve foot range. 

If you don’t find any active fish there, then move a little deeper to that first break in that fifteen to twenty foot range. 

Some good opening day baits are gonna be VMC Moon eye jigs paired with live rainbow minnows. Lindy rigs with rainbow minnows will work well. Try to find minnows in about that three to three and a half inch range. I have done the best with minnows that size during the spring for numbers of walleyes. If you are trying to target some of the larger walleyes Lake Vermilion has to offer use bigger minnows. Creek chubs and suckers in that four to six inch range will be the ticket. Generally a bigger minnow is gonna equal a bigger fish.

If the water temperatures are in the low fifties during opener don’t be afraid to throw a jig and plastic up in the shallows. Crank baits that dive to about ten feet will also produce fish.

One thing to keep in mind is that there will be a deepwater walleye bite happening as well. You will be able to find a lot of those smaller males in that thirteen to fifteen inch range that really like to stack up in about twenty-five to thirty-five feet of water on structure. Look for rock piles, sunken humps or sharp main lake points. 

Work the bottom with a Lindy rig set up or with a three quarter ounce jig paired with a fathead or rainbow minnow. Good jig colors on Vermilion are gold and silver.