Vermillion River (fishing report)

[Renneberg]

Fished the Vermillion for a couple of hours down stream of Farmington.
Caught a total of 6 trout. All Browns over 16 inches. Biggest one went 21 inches. All were released and all were super fat and looked very healthy.
All of them slammed a orange rapala size 7.

I hooked a lot of small fish but they kept getting off before I could see what they were. My guess is chubs of some kind or maybe small trout.

Ben04, do you catch a lot of chubs where you fish the Vermillion?

This was the first time I have fished the Vermillion and I must say that's a great lookin trout stream. It reminded me of the Straight river in a lot of was.

Cann't wait to go back.

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"Study to be quite"

[Guest]

hey there Renneberg. Happy to hear you caught some good browns in the vermillion. I too landed beut this year it measured 22 1/2 inches. Its in the freezer waiting to go to the taxedermist(Bill Minke) he does a great job. Ive caught many big browns in the vermillion. Right now i have a 21 inch female mounted so i thought the 22 1/2 inch male next to it in the case would look beutiful. Anyways, yes i do catch a fair amount of chubs in the river. But it seems when the trout are biting i catch a few but when the trout arent biting i catch a lot. Looking into my fishing journal i have fished the vermillion a total of 8 times this year and landed 22 browns and 33 rainbows. biggest brown 22 1/2 and biggest rainbow 17. A lot more rainbows due to stocking the past few years. Most rainbows are caught in town in the park. I live in Empire and i can walk to the river in about 3 minutes. I usually fish by my house because i never see anyone but catch fewer fish than i would if i fished in the park. But being alone on "My" stretch of river catching maybe 15 trout on a good day is better than going to the park and seeing 30 anglers and catch probably around 40 fish on a good day. I like being alone on the water. Plus fishing by my house if i go fishing say today and a miss a beuty i can leave and come back maybe a couple hours later or the next day and know that no one else has bothered that fish. so you said that you were fishing south of Farmington where exactly because you might be fishing the same stretch of river i do. But dont blaitently type it on this HSOforum because i like this stretch of the river just how it is (not many anglers). give me a clue as to where it is you fish. Also i caught a northern on April 25 that measeured 26 inches. Wish i could have kept it cuz they like to eat trout. Also try some jointed raps they seem to work great. I have caught all of my fish this year on raps. The jointe d being the best. Caught the 22 1/2 on one. Although i,ve lost about 35 dollars worth of raps this year. Thats probably mine you seen hanging in the tree.

[Renneberg]

Ben04, I was fishing very close to that area. I didn't see any lures in a tree. I only seen one set of foot prints a long the river.

I was fishing in a woods, not a field.

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"Study to be quite"

[Guest]

if they were size 12 footprints nike shoes that was me. just got back from fishing the park in town with a few friends. Not a **** thing. missed one. i think this river recieves too much fishing pressure and that too many people keep there limits when they can. I went to a spot that i know had 50 to 60 rainbows in it 2 weeks ago and today i didnt see one fish. I dont think theres many fish left in the river in town. Perfect for trout fishing today when i went nice and overcast. we should have caught some trout but didnt. Sad to see that once the DNR turned this river into a designated trout stream that its made a turn for the worse. Before they designated it i could go in town and be surprised to see 3 other anglers. ANd i could catch big numbers of trout. Now i cant even catch a fish. Pretty sad. This river is going to get fished out. and dang it you wade fishermen please stay out of the water if there is someone downstream or anywhere near you cuz you stir up the bottom. not a big deal but me and my friends had a little problem today.

[TSTEPHENS]

ben04 I lived in empire for the last 4 years and have fished everything from Lakeville to Vermillion in the last 15 years mostly south of Farmington, You haven't seen anything bigger than the ones you mounted? You seem concerned about all the fisherman fishing the river out, yet you know you can get a fiberglass reproduction of those fish you kept, so are you putting yourself in that group that's keeping more than they need? Don't get me wrong I appreiciate a good mounted fish but, why not a fiberglass repo. You give yourself and others a chance to catch that fish next year when it's 23 or 24 inches. I've caught plenty of browns in the 24-25 inch range but I'll keep letting them go until I catch a 30 incher, and then I'll still get a fiberglass repo.
To me It just makes more sense when such a river is subject to so much fishing pressure.

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"ONLY THE BIG ONES"

[smellzalilfishee]

TSTEPHENS, I AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT ONE, I HAVE PERSONALLY SEEN FISH IN NAMED RIVER EXCEED 27 INCHES AND I KNOW THERE ARE BIGGER ONES IN THERE.

[smellzalilfishee]

here here troutman, could'nt agree with you more. with out the proper regs set in place what the heck is "selective harvest", each person selectively harvesting each fish they catch?? We need regs to keep up with todays times not the 60s..........

[smellzalilfishee]

QUESTION?? does anybody know what the length of time it is for all these 13inchers to grow to 20 inches??? just curious, thought maybe the dnr might have that stat, my guess a long, long time...

[Guest]

first of all- good for tstephens on catching big browns but the reason i mounted these fish were because they're the 2 biggest trout i have ever caught out of river. And, fiberglass mounts dont look as good. by the way how much would it cost to mount a 22 1/2 trout? And all i said was that its too bad that after the DNR designates a trout stream the river makes no improvements. oh well, thats my opinion and everyone has the right to have their own. its too bad the river is flooded right now.

[troutman]

TSTEPHENS,you nailed it.You can talk selective harvest(an extremely ambiguous term in my opinion)all you want.The fact is,given enough fishing pressure,and the Vermillion has it,you will"selectively harvest" those big fish into oblivion.Unless the DNR puts some special regs on this stream,you better enjoy these big fish while they're there.There are more of these big fish ending up on peoples walls,than we think.Mike

[Sarge]

Smellz, grow rate varies from stream to stream. And individual streams can have long term cycles of varied grow rates, due to flooding, silt and sediment, fishing presure, forage available, changes from pollution(improvements included), etc.

Around here a brown can reach 20 inches in about 7 years. Faster in ideal conditions, and possibly never in some waters.

[smellzalilfishee]

SARGE, thankyou i did'nt really have a clue but i figured one of you guys might know. I am thinking these rivers with large chub populations may produce larger trout faster?

[smellzalilfishee]

BEN04, in the dnrs defense we should give the Vermillion some time-they only recently put the extra designation on it and not enough time has passed to make an accurate assesment...

[TSTEPHENS]

BEN04 SO WHEN YOU CATCH THAT NEXT BIGGEST TROUT YOU'LL MOUNT THAT TOO? I JUST DON'T SEE YOU MAKING A CUTOFF, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOUR JUST GOING TO KEEP MOUNTING THE NEXT BIGGEST TROUT YOU EVER CATCH, AND I KNOW YOU'LL CATCH A BIGGER ONE SOMEDAY.
THE PRICE OF A FIBER. REPO. IS NOT TO BE COMPARED TO ANOTHER FISHERMANS EXPERIENCE ON THE WATER AND OR SUPPROTING A TROUT STREAM WITH SUCH CONSISTANTLY LARGE TROUT.
YOU KNOW BETTER BRUTE FISH CREATE BETTER OFFSPRING AND IF THESE FISH ARE SERVIVING SUCH HARSH ENVIRONMENTS THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE EXCELLENT OFFSPRING.
THE DNR DON'T HAVE THE ACCESS NOR THE RESOURCES TO MAKE ALOT OF TROUT STREAMS BETTER. THEY JUST DESIGNATE THEM AND HOPE THAT THAT'S ENOUGH.

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"ONLY THE BIG ONES"

[RiverRunner]

Hey Smellzailefish and Tsephens

If I ever catch a 20+ inch trout I'll probably mount it. I keep very few trout to eat and let every thing 14 inches and over go. Why don't you guys just keep your opinions to yourself. It's Ben's deal if he want's to mount a trophy trout, not yours.

[smellzalilfishee]

well riverrunner i guess the reason anything was said at all is because Ben04 was talking about mounting these two fish and then one post later he is complaining about all these anglers now keeping their fish. 22 inches is a very common fish on this river. i do not have a problem with Ben04 keeping his fish but what is a double standard o.k.?? oh and by the way in case you haven't heard in america we all have the right to voice our opinions so if you don't like it don't read it. Perhaps reading all the posts in the fututre may be of some help to your comments.

[troutman]

Some of you guys are getting all defensive over this.Yeah,it's your right to keep and mount anything you want.It's your right to keep a limit of these big fish,if you want.I think all some of us are asking is to take a reality check.There are not an endless supply of these fish.It's not just ben04 keeping and mounting these fish.There are people catching and keeping these fish who don't even use the internet...lots of them!Again,their right you say?Absolutly!The point is,what is a mount anyway but something to brag about and say lookee what I caught,aren't I a great fisherman?Change is hard to accept my friends but,if the catch and keep habits that are taking place on this stream don't change,you'll someday be showing your mount to your kids and telling them,"yeah,we used to catch fish like this all the time but,they're all gone now."If you doubt that,let me know and I'll personally take you to a stream that I witnessed this very thing happen to in just a few short years.The reality is...as hard as it may be to accept...this stream will sooner or later succumb to the intense pressure it currently recieves unless we all accept and practice a very strong catch and release policy.Personally,I'm not holding my breath on that.TSTEPHENS was absolutly right.Take a pic,let the fish go,have a fiberglass mount made if you must have a mount.They age much better than the real thing.I'll get down off the soapbox now.Mike

[Jim W]

Sarge,

I totally agree on, growth relates to many factors. However, I would have to say a 20 inch trout takes a bit longer to reach said length.

A Trout Day, the DNR mentioned(if my memory serves me correct and Renneberg and Sarge, please correct me if I'm off ) that a 10-12 incher takes 3-5 years, again depending on the water quality, forage and availability of habitat it could be faster or slower.

I have noticed, that certain streams that typically don't have great hatches, have excellent populations of shiner, creek chubs,
scalpin etc. This "could" relate to faster growth. Generally these streams are larger as well.

As far as the conversation towards Catch and release and selective harvest etc, even DNR doesn't even have a clear picture on these topics.

They did comment that complete catch and release IS NOT good for a stream. Granted, some mortality occurs after release from any technique used. There needs to be some harvest, but they are unclear on that equation. "Harvest is a good thing, but to what extent"?

They did comment, that when keeping on occasion, removal of larger fish is NOT a detriment. If everyone removed, "just the eaters"(define that one, recommended length to eat by DNR was 11 inches and below), the stream could lose out on that year class etc.

Use good judgement on the water! Be easy with fish you decided to release, crimp etc.
Have in your mind before making that first cast, what your plan for catching and/or keeping will be for the day, especially trophy fish. It will make it much easier to decided when it comes time to keep or return.

Keep the rods bendin'!!!

Jim W

[troutman]

Jim,Given that human nature is what it is,is complete C&R even a remote posibility?I don't think so.I don't think we'll ever need to worry about trout getting big and dying of old age because everyone is releasing everything they catch.You're not suddenly going to convince the masses that the fishing ethics that perhaps you and I adhere to are the way to go.Not now...not in 20 years.In my opinion,you'd be extremely lucky to convince 25% of the people."Selective harvest" sounds nice and when practiced by responsible, well informed people,is a wonderful thing.The problem is that it is a far too ambiguous term to think that it means the same thing to everyone or that the "selective harvest" you practice on stream A is also a good thing for stream B.Just my 2 cents.Mike

[smellzalilfishee]

Troutman, you make very good sense and i am in line with your thinking. Jim W also has brought up some good points, i agree that there needs to be some harvest on most all waters, but how much and what size?? If their is concern by the DNR about losing a certain year class by harvesting only "eaters" then perhaps different regs could protect this? This is only my opinion but what i think is happening is that the DNR is short of funds and bodies and they are setting some of these regs in place and just "hoping" that things work out because the only way to really know is to study each and every stream sepperately and decide what is best for that body of water.. just my 2

[troutman]

Renneberg,Why would that be bad news for me?If I'm wrong and the DNR and their limited staff and lack of funding is right......for one thing,it's not the first time I've been wrong,secondly,great!!Then I've been overly concerned about the numbers of big fish being taken.That would be anything BUT bad news to me.Perhaps this is not a good analogy but,here goes.What would happen if the DNR said,starting now,there will be no special regs on Mille Lacs lake.No slots...nothing.Come on up,take your limit and be happy.How long would it remain the trophy lake that it is and with the potential it has today?Not long,I'd say.I think the Vermillion is similar in that the pressure it recieves far excedes what the trophy trout population can withstand under the current regs,but again,maybe I'm wrong here too.Don't get me wrong about the DNR,I think they do a great job with what they have.I just don't think that they have enough.Because of that fact,I don't put 100% faith in their stats.As I have stated earlier,I've watched it happen elsewhere so it's not like I'm the boy that cried wolf here but,I'll put my glasses on and.....maybe the wolf I think I see,is actually a puppy dog?I guess we'll see.Mike

[Guest]

I just like to say I do pratice C&R but will, from time to time, keep a limit of eating size (each man has his own size) trout. There is nothing wrong with C&R and there is nothing wrong with keeping a limit.
Those that keep their limits should thank the C&R people for releasing fish back so they can catch their limits. Those C&R people who catches a trophy should thank the eaters for thinning out the population so there will be trophies due to less competition for forage. Finally, those (like myself) should thank ourselves for playing both fields: THANK YOU, ME.

[greenman]

Why did he keep the fish for a mount? All fish now are made from fiberglass molds. Just measure the fish you caught, photo and release. If your feeling the need to eat it that's a different story. Personally I go to the grocery store when I want a trout to eat and leave the really big ones in the stream for others to catch. To each his own.

[Sarge]

Jim and Smellz, These are the numbers and data directly from DNR.

1yr=5.3"
2yr=8"
3yr=11"
4yr=12.5"
5yr=14.6"
6yr=17.5"
7yr=19"to 20"
8yr=19"to 20"

These are median growth rates, not averages. Their numbers also show that some 20"ers are 10yrs, and on the other end, 10% of the total reaching 20inches were 5 to 6 years. So with that, I will stand by my numbers.

Man, I love this! people really interested and discusing TROUT!

[smellzalilfishee]

Sarge, you did some good homework there.. Those numbers are very interesting, I never had the facts but my guess was between 7 and 10 years. I think our cold winters really slow trout growth?? thanx for doing the research Sarge. 3rd period of the Wild game just started, hoping to see a game five.