Minnesota fishing guide Bill Rosner of Wild Country Guide Service gives his us his latest Lake Vermilion fishing report on July 16th, 2024
Lake Vermilion Fishing Report: 7-16-24
Fishing has remained good up on Lake Vermilion as we enter the dog days of summer. The walleye fishing has been decent but a number of other species such as pike and bass have been fishing very well.
Lake Vermilion Fishing Report: Bass
Smallmouth: The smallmouth bass bite has been very good with the warmer water temperatures out on Lake Vermilion. The topwater bite has been pretty good in the mornings and evenings. Both poppers and prop baits are working.Focus on shallower rock piles, rock points, and structured filled shorelines to find fish. Docks are also producing smallmouth, along with some largemouth too. Ned rigs and tubes have been working well.
Largemouth: Some nice largemouth bass are being caught lately. We’ve had the best success pulling senkos with some weight in the weeds. If you are fishing the West side of the lake focus on depths between six to ten feet of water. Look for cabbage or grass. Weed beds are defiantly holding the most largemouth bass. Green pumpkin, pink, and purple have been some hot colors.
Lake Vermilion Fishing Report: Walleye
Walleye bite has remained good as we transition out of the mayfly hatch. The fish have been using the weeds lately. Numbers of walleyes can also be found on rock piles and points on the West side of the lake. On the East side of the lake the bottom transitions have been holding the most fish. Both rock to sand or sand to muck are holding walleyes. Take advantage of your electronics and look for structure and marks. It may take some searching to find a active school of walleyes.
The best bite has been in the early morning and late in the evening. Anglers are having the best success slow trolling/drifting live bait rigs and spinner rigs. Go very slow keeping the boat between 0.3 to 0.7 mph. Use heavy bottom bouncers or slip sinkers to make sure the rigs are on the bottom.
Crawler harness with small gold and silver spinners have been best. Chunk of crawlers and leeches on smaller live bait rigs has been working when fish are finicky.
Lake Vermilion Fishing Report: Pike
The northern pike bite has been very good. We are finding fish on the deeper weed edges and the rock points mixed in with the smallmouths. Look for fish in six to twelve feet of water. Spoons in copper and gold have been working well. Spinnerbaits in white or chartreuse are also catching fish in the weeds Inline spinners have been catching pike too, size 4 and 5 blades in copper and gold.
