Lake Vermilion Musky and Pike

[muskyfishin]

My wife and I are heading up to Lake Vermilion the last week in August and are staying on the west end of the lake. We are looking for any information on where to start for some good pike and musky fishing. We are fairly experienced as we have been to Leech Lake 5 times, but this is are first to Lake Vermilion. We are coming up there from Michigan so our time there is very limited. I do have a hotspots map so any information someone is able to give us would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[bonefish]

With your expereince in northern MN lakes, finding good spots for Musky is pretty easy on Vermillion - it's getting them to bite thats the challenge. The west side has well marked reefs and great shoreline structure around most of the islands that provide for some great opportunities to hook up. Last year it was definitely a night bite lake. Although I've never tried it, there are HUGE schools of whitefish in that lake that should provide for some trolling opportunities too. You can catch a ton of smaller northerns in the weedy bays along Norwegian bay and other bays in the area closer to the Narrows with x-raps and other rapalas. The big ones are pretty deep that time of year, although I've caught a few trolling what I would consider the "classic" northern spots which are deeper areas near a mouth to a shallow bay. If you have a good map, it's pretty easy to identify those areas.

[Wookiee]

Bonefish gave some great advice there!