Vermilion Lake fishing: Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike
Target species: Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Yellow Perch, Black Crappie
Boat: 16 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Vermilion Lake, Black Duck Bay Public Water Access Site, 2 lanes.
The lake
Vermilion Lake covers 38,916 acres in Minnesota, across St. Louis County. It is a lake: 92.7% of it is 39 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 70 feet (21.3 m). Our records hold 16 species for this water.
Depth and bottom
Deepest measured point: at least 70 ft (21.3 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 92.7% of the water is 39 feet or shallower. We hold 1,272 depth contour lines for this water.
- 0–3 ft: 11.3% of the water
- 3–6 ft: 6.6% of the water
- 6–9 ft: 7.8% of the water
- 9–12 ft: 6.6% of the water
- 12–15 ft: 7% of the water
- 15–18 ft: 6.9% of the water
- 18–21 ft: 11.7% of the water
- 21–24 ft: 8.1% of the water
- 24–27 ft: 6% of the water
- 27–30 ft: 7.4% of the water
- 30–33 ft: 5.8% of the water
- 33–36 ft: 3.8% of the water
- 36–39 ft: 3.7% of the water
- 39–42 ft: 4.3% of the water
- 42–45 ft: 1.6% of the water
- 45–48 ft: 0.6% of the water
- 48–50 ft: 0.9% of the water
7 target fish, led by Walleye
- Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
- Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
- Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
- Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
- Muskellunge — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
- Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.
- Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
Also recorded here: Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Burbot, Lake Whitefish, White Sucker, Cisco, Rock Bass, Green Sunfish, Brown Bullhead.
16 ramps and launches on this water
On this water we hold 16 trailer ramps.
- Vermilion Lake, Black Duck Bay Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails. website dnr.state.mn.us/water_access/index.html
- Vermilion Lake, Frazer Bay Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
- Vermilion Lake, Hoodoo (N) Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms.
- Vermilion Lake, Moccasin Point Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
- Vermilion Lake, Oak Narrows Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
- Vermilion Lake, Pederson Landing (Wakemup Bay) Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
- Vermilion Lake, Stuntz Bay Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes. Breitung Township.
- Vermilion Lake, Birch Point Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
- Vermilion Lake, Cable Bay Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
- Vermilion Lake, Everett Bay Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
Fee and opening hours are blank for all 10 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.
Water and conditions
Water clarity runs 4.2–10 feet on our readings, averaging 7.2 feet, from 654 readings. Our water temperature readings average 69°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 7.9. These readings span 2017–2025.
What is hard here
Wind is the limit, not the fish: 38,916 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle.
Where this data comes from
- Minnesota DNR — Minnesota DNR: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
- Minnesota DNR — Minnesota DNR: reported depths: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
- Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
