Coming up to Vermillion from the cities on May 24th... Hope the ice is gone.

As a first timer on the lake is there any advice on depths, presentations, or certain bays that produce more than others.

Any help would be appreciated. We do have GPS and all the goodies. If you dont want to post, you can email me at twins57fan@hotmail.com

Thanks for your help!

With current water temps, the fishing should really be cranking by then. The fish should be spread out so you should be able to catch them just about anywhere. Deep, shallow or in between, shouldn't make much difference.

What part of the lake are you staying on?

hoo doo campground. I think it is Pike bay, but i could be wrong. Crankbaits, minnows, leaches, lindy rigs... what works best up there?

carnkbaits, minnows, and lindy rigs, in no particular order... with the opener being the way it was, I would expect to see a lot of boats in the area that you're staying. Don't be afraid to do some searching, and maybe even deeper water than most people. You might surprise yourself...

Ill also be at hoodoo point that weekend since i have a seasonal campsite there. Should still be fish in pike bay by that time with the water temps this year. Got all of ours on slip bobbers and minnows last weekend.

I will be up there Saturday to Saturday staying at Retreat Lodge. The last couple of years have been upthere in the second week of June but the years before that I was up there around this time and we caught our fish in the narrows and around the islands. I like using crawlers and rigs but that's just me even if the water is cold. This will be our 5th year on Vermilion.

We have been going up to Vermillion over Memorial Weekend for 3 years now and have always done well on the East end with lindy rigs and jigs tipped with minnows. Try the rocks north of St. Paul island, we caught numerous fish there last year, and even some with good size (25"+). I too however am looking for some more advice because the lake is so large and there are infinate places to try. This forum is a great tool to help us all learn and have more fun and productive fishing adventures and that is what it is all about!

Cool to see a few people from the cities will be up there for the Memorial Day weekend. Our group has a few people that live in Shakopee too. We will be up there on the 22nd til the 26th. On the West side of the lake though. We mostly used jig and minnow the times before when we were up there. Not good fishing but good fun. Hopefully this year will be different, even though the late ice, I think will hurt the fishing a little. Anyone have any suggestion on what works best on the west side?

I dont think the late ice has hurt the fishing at all, we caught more slot walleyes in my boat this weekend then i have seen the last 2 years combined. I think the late ice should help the fishing, keep them a little shallower.

So does anyone know if the spawn has happened yet? We were in Alexandria for the opener and the spawned had just ended before we got up there.

Iam glad to hear that people have been catching more slot fish this year. That was a problem we had last year. Thanks for correcting me vermilionwally. Gives us hope!

The spawn run, at least as far as the DNR stripping eggs for the hatchery, was completed pretty quickly with the walleyes coming into the river. They were done May 1st or 2nd, not sure of the exact date. They had put nets in earlier and gotten some fish, but I think that the fish that were in early should be out and ready for you to catch!

Good luck!