Vermilion fishing report.

[Ace]

Hey Yo,

Ice conditions on Vermilion are excellent right now. We have about 16 inches of good solid ice in Big bay and with the big cold on the way we should be making ice like crazy in the next several days.

Snow cover is only about 3 or 4 inches right now with very little new snow in the forecast for the coming week.  That makes ice travel very easy even without 4 wheel drive.  The ice surface is ver smooth for the most part, with no major ice heaves or ridges to report so far.

The Walleye action hasn't been spectacular however we are on a fairly steady bite.  I'm in 30ft of water and fishing over the mud.  Most of the Walleyes I'm catching are feeding on Mayfly larva.  We are also catching a number of good sized Jumbo Perch in the 11" to 13" range.

Prime time action is early and late in the day however I'm catching many of my largest Walleyes during the midday hours from 11am until 1pm.  It hasn't been as consistent as the early bite, but we are catching a number of quality fish during the day.

Small glow jigs and spoons or a plain #6 red hook with a 1/4 oz  splitshot and tipped with a fathead minnow, have been very effective for me.  Many of the larger fish have been coming on the deadstick rig.

Happy New Year!!

"Ace"

[Randy Kaar]

Thanks for the report Ace!

randy

[Ace]

Not much thats new here on the Big V.  The Walleye action is real slow right now and has been for a number of days.

I did hear of a 26.5 incher caught yesterday near my shack, however all I hooked today was a 15 inch Whitefish.
 :fishing2:

I'm hopping that the weather change over the weekend will get them going again, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Might move the shack on Monday if the bite doesn't pick up soon.  I haven't talked to anyone that is doing any better than me, so I don't know if moving is the answer right now.

"Ace"

[Ace]

Things are still pretty slow up here this week.  The Walleyes haven't been to good for me and the word is they haven't been to good for anybody that I know.

Is the ice gone yet?

"Ace"

 

[Lee Borgersen]

Hey Ace,

Thanks for the report. It's always tuff to post a report when the fishing is slow, but an honest report like yours is always appreciated versus no report at all. I've been keeping abreast of the newly to be enforced USCG requirements and it's a bad break for a lot of folks in the industry. I feel bad for all those effected by this foolish regulation enforcement starting with the costs to the degree of difficulty involved to become licensed.

Good luck with all that mess and lot's of folks have been thinking about you guys from all over the country.


Lee

[Ace]

Hey Lee,
This coast guard thing has been a real pain for all of us on Vermilion and the guys up in the Ely area.  It looks as though we won't have to take the standard 6 pack test that they had demanded originaly.

We will still need to get a twic card and the red cross certifcation and there will be some kind of test involved. It won't however include all the offshore questions that are included in the CG's oringinal test.  This will mean that we won't need to go to Duluth and take the study course to prepare for the test.

From what I have heard, it will be a test on Minnesota inland water regulations and boat saftey.  Which makes much more sence to me and all of my
piers.  The lake Vermilion guides league has already had 3 scheduled meetings with the USCG, all of which were canceled by the USCG, because they just aren't ready with this new plan of action.

The folks up in Ely have been in touch with our freinds out in Washington DC. They have been putting the pressure on them to get their crap together and make this all work, without putting everyody out of business.

If there is one good thing that could come out of this whole mess is that it should keep all those out of state guides out of Minnesota this summer. At least on the lakes that are effected by this new USCG mandate. The penalties for non compliance are strick, so I don't think those guys will risk it for just a few guide trips each summer.

I'm going o Duluth on Monday to apply for my TWIC card and we have a gal coming to the Vermilion area to give the red cross class.  After that it's all up to the USCG to get their act together and decide which test we all have to take to get our guide license.

In the end it will cost me and the other guides about a grand
to get back on the water.  That cost will be passed on to the customer and they can thank the USCG for that new added expence to their vacation.

"Ace"