LAKE VERMILION— Walleye fishing on Lake Vermilion should be solid once again when the 2025 season gets underway on Saturday, May 10, at least based on fall test netting completed by the Department of Natural Resources.
While the lake-wide walleye catch was slightly below average, the numbers remain well above all but a handful of lakes in Minnesota. On a lake-wide basis, the fall survey averaged 13.9 walleye per net. Numbers were slightly higher in the lake’s eastern basin, with an average of 14.7 per net, compared to 12.6 per net on the lake’s west end. According to Matt Hennen, the DNR’s Tower area large lake fisheries specialist, weak walleye year-classes in 2020 and 2022 appear to be impacting total walleye numbers, particularly on the lake’s east end.
Last fall’s netting results again show stronger-than-average walleye numbers on the west end of the lake, which has been a positive development there. Walleye numbers have traditionally run much lower than the east end of the lake. As recently as five years ago, resorts on the lake’s west end were complaining about too few harvest-sized walleye.
“This continues a trend of five consecutive years of high catches in West Vermilion largely resulting from an exceptionally strong 2018 year-class and a strong 2021 year-class,” wrote Hennen in his annual report on the fall test netting program. As one of the state’s premier walleye lakes, Vermilion’s fishery is assessed annually by the DNR.
While strong year-classes on the west end are helping to maintain solid numbers there, a very poor 2022 year-class in the eastern basin is limiting walleye numbers there, according to Hennen. “Overall, fair numbers of fish can be found from 13 to 20 inches lake-wide, which is generally the size range anglers prefer to harvest,” noted Hennen. “Additionally, above-average numbers of smaller fish from 11 to 13 inches were present in the population last fall. These fish will grow throughout the 2025 fishing season and provide catch and harvest opportunities. Moderate numbers of fish 20 inches and larger will continue to provide memorable catch opportunities throughout the lake.”
Walleye populations tend to be heavily dependent on the success of each year-class, and it’s been hit and miss in recent years on Vermilion. “Recently, walleye recruitment in Lake Vermilion has been on a boom-and-bust cycle with weak year-classes occurring in 2017 and 2020 followed by strong year-classes the following years in 2018 and 2021,” wrote Hennen in his report. “This is fairly normal for walleye populations driven primarily by natural reproduction. Early estimates indicate this trend may not hold in the near-term with moderate year-classes produced in 2022 and 2023. Fortunately, back-to-back weak year-classes have not occurred since 2008 and 2009.”
The outlook for the 2024 year-class appears favorable, noted Hennen, based on the results of their fall electro-fishing, which allows DNR fisheries staff to sample smaller fish than they could catch in their standard gill nets. “In Lake Vermilion, both the catch rate and the average length of young-of-the year walleyes help predict future year-class strength. In 2024, high catches of larger than normal young-of-the-year walleyes create the potential for a strong year-class to be produced,” noted Hennen.
Early ice-outs and mild spring weather tend to benefit the reproductive success of walleye and last year saw an exceptionally mild winter and an ice-out almost three weeks earlier than average.
Yellow perch
Anglers on Vermilion should find fewer perch than in recent years, however, the average size of sampled fish was fairly large in the fall survey, including many over ten inches, which are large enough to harvest. The west basin contains more perch, while the perch in the east basin are substantially larger on average.
Northern pike
The northern pike population in Vermilion continues to show a declining trend and this year offered no exception. The good news for anglers is that the average size of northern pike continues to increase, with the catch ranging from 20 to almost 38 inches, suggesting anglers can find trophy opportunities. The protected slot limit implemented for northern pike is likely a contributing factor to the increase in average size.
Fisheries management
In addition to the annual fish population surveys, the DNR conducts regular creel surveys, water quality monitoring on Vermilion along with fish contaminant and disease inspections, zooplankton surveys, and aquatic invasive species surveillance.
The DNR is reminding anglers that special regulations exist for walleyes where all fish from 20 to 26 inches must be immediately released. There is a possession limit of four walleyes with only one fish over 26 inches allowed. Anglers are also reminded that since 2019, northern pike have been managed under the Northeast Zone regulations requiring immediate release of all angled fish between 30 and 40 inches with only one over 40 inches allowed in a two fish possession limit. Separate regulations exist for dark house spearing which allows spearers to have two pike in possession but only one may be over 26 inches. All other fish species are managed under current statewide fishing regulations.