Vermillion River, Farmington, MN.

[jigginjim]

I would like some help on where I can take my son fishing? I live in Buffalo, my 8yr old son just moved to farmington with his mom. I would like to take him fishing trout, but I do not the area or where I could take him? Can someone give me a start?

[JBMasterAngler]

I don't know anything about trout fishing on the vermillion...but if you'd like to try a place that has more water to fish, more accessible, and probably has more trout, try the little cannon river right smack dab in cannon falls. It's only about 20 minutes away from farmington. You can catch an equal mix of rainbows and browns.

[Bassinbob84]

Start at the park in Farmington. There is also some public land on 66 that the river runs through. I would suggest getting the trout map book from the dnr. That will fill you in on streams and regs. Most of the vermillion is catch and release only.

[youngie22]

both great suggestions. If he's in Farmington and want to stay close the vermillion and cannon should be perfect. rapalas and live bait (worms usually) are my best bet on both streams. If you really want to target trout specifically get that map from DNR, w/ a little drive past cannon you have many more trout options hay creek, belle creek, trout brook...... Let us know what you choose!

[itchmesir]

the map books at the dnr are outdated.. and the dnr probably doesnt have any copies.. since it was last printed in '08... just use the HSOforum

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/trout_streams/winter.html

[roughfish29]

over opener, fish "rambling river park" in farmington, plenty of rainbows to be had with a few browns mixed in.

i know the vermillion quite well, its one of my favorite rivers to fish

[goblueM]

with an 8 year old i'd fish the "catch and keep" area right in farmington. good for kids. other parts of the vermillion don't have a lot of fish, but they can be bigger. tough to get to as well

[JBMasterAngler]

Heck, make a day of it and hit both the vermillion and the little cannon rivers. Sounds like something I might be doing this spring

[jigginjim]

Thanks guys I like the you help you give me. Many times I only have a couple hours to spend with him in a evening. He loves fishing and since I'll be going down after work in chanhassen the boat is not an option. We have not tried trout yet, but sunnies crappies and bass, have really got him hooked. If you have any special areas just e-mail me. May be we can workout some deals on fishing. Area for area, or we can get together.

[Scudly]

Quote:

over opener, fish "rambling river park" in farmington, plenty of rainbows to be had with a few browns mixed in.

If you are going for catchables I'd say OPENING DAY MORNING at Rambling River. Last year I showed up with my kid Sunday, day after opening and it seemed like the bows were gone. Bows like to wander so best to get them right after they are dumped in. The fish are certified free of disease and designed to eat so feel free to keep them. Holdover rainbows are rare. Opening day at Rambling River is a "for the kids" type event.

[popriveter]

I grew up fishing Rambling River Park at all my family reunions. The chub fishing was the main draw in those days. We'd stumble into a trout every now and then, but they were rare. In the late nineties, I caught a lot of trout in that stretch, but over the last 5 years or so, I have caught almost exclusively northern pike out of the vermillion. I caught one 2 summers ago that was pushing 10 lbs. The kids at the park got a thrill from seeing that fish come out of the little stream. Make sure you send him back there with a leader and a decent sized Mepps or a Husky Jerk once Pike season is open. He will have a blast and can provide some protection for the trout.

[roughfish29]

^ bingo

[goblueM]

shh!

[Scudly]

I grew up fishing Rambling River Park at all my family reunions. The chub fishing was the main draw in those days. We'd stumble into a trout every now and then, but they were rare. In the late nineties, I caught a lot of trout in that stretch, but over the last 5 years or so, I have caught almost exclusively northern pike out of the vermillion. I caught one 2 summers ago that was pushing 10 lbs. The kids at the park got a thrill from seeing that fish come out of the little stream. Make sure you send him back there with a leader and a decent sized Mepps or a Husky Jerk once Pike season is open. He will have a blast and can provide some protection for the trout.

Thanks for the history popriveter. I believe the river is getting better. Do folks harvest pike out of the Vermillion? It is a great idea for those that want to see the trout populations rebound further. It is already a low number stream. Only trout that can survive those pike are big trout.

[JBMasterAngler]

Maybe the DNR should do an experimental regulation allowing the pike season on a designated stretch of the vermillion to open the same time as the trout season. If a lower number of pike meant a better trout fishery, I'd be all for it.

[goblueM]

there's really not that many pike in there, plus there are suckers and rough fish for them to feed on.

big trout probably eat just as many little trout as pike do, so i don't think removing the pike would really improve the fishery that much

[Scudly]

Yeah you are right. Looking at the shock data now. Only about 6 pike/mile.

Reminder: Vermillion is CLOSED in the designated trout area for fishing until April 17 opener.

Tomorrow, April 1 ALL trout streams are open in Goodhue county and everything south. It is C&R however bait also allowed minus the streams that have year round artificial only.

For 2009 station a8 had 1036 trout/mile. There were only a handful of other stations that recorded ANY trout and these were in the 200-300/mile range. Stations a8 and a13 shocked a half dozen in the 20-22" range. Not as many big boys as I thought.

When a barge is used maybe all the noise sends the big trout far upstream before the generator is turned on?

[youngie22]

Did they record the biggest they found while shocking? Gotta be a 30+" in there somewhere!

[Scudly]

Three trout 20-22" and one trout 19" out if all the shock locations. Three out of rhe seven shock sites did not detect any trout... Marginal low numbers stream. Like 200-300/mile. One area has 1000/mile but it has a lot of gravel and good spawning site and all of the fish recorded were under 6.".

[youngie22]

Wow, nothing over 22"??? a little surprising? have seen many come out of that stream between 22-27", and couple over that! Gonna have to look for the report you speak of and see where they did these shocks. Could give a guy a lot more insight to the river, and where a guy would fish next depending on what type of fish you like to catch!

[Scudly]

Send me an email and I'll give you a copy. markdahlquuist@yahoo Well I know there are bigger ones in there. I have caught some as well as another friend and my former barber (below)

So they do it two ways. One is a fiberglass barge with a gas generator. The other is backpack with probe. They do multiple attempts. Sneak up and the backpack is good for sneaking up on a deep pool or undercut bank. At least with the bage this is noisy as hell. Probably sends some trout flying upstream. Although Brian the HI specialist says they mainly just tuck under the banks for cover.

Anyway, with an average of 200-300 trout/mile and knowing the fact that trout like to wander, it will be tough to get consistent results.

One thing is to keep an eye out for beaver dams. There were a number identified and trapped this winter. Later this spring the DNR will organize a day or two to break these downs. Since the V does not have many springs to feed the water to keep it cold it is imperative to keep this water moving. Beaver dams in a warmer river like this can quickly bring water temps to LETHAL for trout, even big trout. So if you see beaver dams on the V, please mark locations and report to the DNR.

Also if and when I find out the date for the dam removal I will post here for any that want to help a hand for a few hours, ask a fisheries biologiest 20 questions, learn more about the river kind of deal.

[itchmesir]

where can one find shock reports? are they done yearly?

[the man]

Does the cannon river have trout in it?

[grate8]

cannon has trout yea

i think some breeders are released in there

[Scudly]

Quote:

[Does the cannon river have trout in it?

Anything is possible. I have heard of folks catching them on canoe trips once in a blue moon. Any trout would come from the tribs.

I just looked at the shock data for Little Cannon and that is poor. Only one station out of three shocked had ANY trout. 17 trout/mile, wow.

They stock the Little Cannon with planter rainbows in Sogn before the opener however usually long gone after a week or two. Silty and too warm, plus no public access.

Feel free to check the stocking records.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/index.html

As for Vermillion info you can email me at markdahlquist@yahoo or you can contact Brian Nerbonne, the HI stream trout specialist for the metro area.