Vermilion or Cass Lake

[rocky]

I am trying to decide between two resorts for the 1st week of July. I stayed at Cass last year and liked it but I am thinking of trying a week at Vermilion this year. I have never been to Vermilion and always thought it would be fun to try. Would one lake be better than the other at that time of year? I would primariliy be fishing walleyes and sunfish but may also dabble into the musky and bass. I am briging my two kids (6 & 4) and wife also.

Thanks in advance for replys

[PerchJerker]

I fished a tournament on Vermilion a couple years ago, it had been years since I had been there. The whole time we were there my partner and I kept saying we needed to get back up there with the wife and kids. I think that'd be a great spot to go.

[rocky]

I think I am leaning towards Vermilion. Is there a spot that yopu stayed that would be recomended?

[Finlander]

Vermillion hands down! Big bluegills in that lake! And lots of them. I don't think they get any fishing pressure whatsoever!

Just look for any typical weedbed and the sunfish will be there. Nice crappies too!

[vermilionfox]

Not sure what kind of price range you'd be wanting on Vermilion, but I can recommend two resorts. First on the west end, Life of Riley Resort. Great place to stay with the family, reasonably priced! Not the fanciest place on the lake, but Rock and Lee (the owners) really make you feel like family. Great fishing on Norwegian Bay for walleyes, northern, muskies, SM & LM Bass, sunnies!

On the east end a reasonable place to stay for the family is Forest Lane Resort, small family oriented. The downside I see is it's on big water so wind and waves can be a problem. Also good fishing for sunnies can be a boat run away.

I have stayed at both resorts and would recommend either for the family!

[Haug Hunter]

We have vacationed on Vermilion in early July the last two years and love it up there, beautiful lake and lots of fishing options. As for places to stay with kids, we have stayed at Everett bay lodge, nice cabins and the kids love the pool.

[Walleye Guy]

I have never fished Cass but I would still highly recommend Vermilion. The great thing about Vermilion is that you can almost always get out to fish even if there is a big wind. There are so many bays and points that can block the wind.

Keep in mind Vermilion is like two separate lakes: east & west. I have found that the east end holds better populations of walleyes and muskies and the west end has good walleyes but has bigger populations of crappies and sunfish. I think you will do fine on either end.

I generally stay at Bay View on the east end. They have a pretty hopping night life at their bar if you are into that.

Good luck,

WG

[harvey lee]

You could also look at these Fishing Minnesota sponsors on Cass and Vermilion.

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/resort.html

[Central Bassman]

Cass Lake... I have fished that seens i was young its a great lake. It's nice because you can get to different lakes without taking your boat out of the water. The Lake inside the inland has some great bass and sunfish in it.

[fishinpapa]

Two things to keep in mind about cass...Water level is VERY low!!! and because it's so clear, plan on doing a lot of early or late day fishing. I know last fall cass was down almost 2 feet. The flip side of cass is that winnie and leech aren't far away if you want to take the boat for some nice long drives.

[Parker]

Vermilion is down about 2 feet right now. Many of the obvious reefs are marked during open water, but with the low water many that normally would not be a problem are going to take your lower unit off.

[rocky]

thanks for all the replys. I am leaning towards vermilion. I found a couple resorts that are kinda in the middle that seem to be real nice. Cass is a lot a fun but I may try something different this year. I guess I was unware of the sunfish abundance in Vermilion, the kids would have a blast for those. It did not seem like we could find much for sunfish in Cass but maybe we were not in the right spot either.

[PerchJerker]

I don't remember the name of the resort we stayed at but it was in the middle of the lake, the narrow section between the west and east ends. The guys we stayed with booked the accomodations, I just needed to drive there.

We did some trolling to try to learn some spots. A #4 or #5 jointed shad rap, especially in the bluegill pattern, caught a TON of fish for us - big bluegills, smallies, largemouths, pike, etc. We didn't find any walleyes up shallow but it was late July when we were there, we got a few walleyes on cranks with leadcore but got most of them with traditional live bait methods.

Hope you have a great trip.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

It is very hard to beat Vermilion in July !

Great bite on all species of fish and generally a good daytime bite.

As stated above the East end for walleyes and the West end for panfish at that time of the year. Both ends have great resorts that cater to familys.

Cliff