Lake Vermilion opener 2018 highlights included many limits for the fryer and a handful of good size fish caught & released. Mother Nature made up for the days of uncertainty regarding the ice leading up to the opener. Once the ice cleared with an official ice out date of May 8th, much needed rain cleared out of the area and left us with some of the nicest opener weather we can recall over our 19 years here at the resort.
Walleyes for the skillet.
The first limits were being cleaned by 10 a.m., with most groups agreeing there were the usual ups and downs in the bite throughout various times of day. Most people targeted shallow water, which produced more of the larger fish, but as the photo above shows, Shane, Parker and Adam and many other boats caught lots of great eaters – some deep as well. As you’d expect, minnows were the bait of choice. Fish for a fish fry – fish to take home. A pretty solid Lake Vermilion opener.
Water temps started their upward climb quickly working their way through the 50s, jumping over 60. Points to a strong year class for this year’s spawn.
Some of the nice walleyes we heard about include a 26″ by Cory Olson, a 23″ by Lance Lind, 22.75″ by Brady Doran, 22.25″ by Brady Doran, 21.5″ by Brady Doran, and 21″ers by Parker Osborne & (you guessed it) Brady Doran.
The highlights of opener would not be complete without giving a shout out to a couple groups that have been with us for every year we have been here – or pretty close to it. We appreciate your business and look forward to next year!
Now that the weather has normalized, if a trip to Lake Vermilion is on your agenda, here’s what we have. Spur of the moment, we have some spots this midweek. We have one spot that opens Saturday night for up to 5 nights and 2 spots for Memorial Day weekend.
June is about full – we have 3 nights starting June 6th, and one spot for the week of June 23rd. If the warmer weather of July suits you, avoid the July 4th action and head up north the week of July 7th.
Stop wishing…Come fishing!