Everything that swims in Vermilion, the Ely lakes, and the Boundary Waters, and when to come chase it. Not sure what to target? Tell us your dates and we will point you at the hottest bite.
The fish Minnesota is famous for, and the reason most guests get in the boat. Spring fish feed shallow on sand and gravel; summer fish slide out to deep structure and follow the wind. Jigs and minnows early, live-bait rigs and crawler harnesses as the water warms. They are plentiful here, and they taste as good as they fight.
The fish of 10,000 casts, and Vermilion is one of the best places in the state to shorten those odds. Big rods, big baits, long days working weed edges and rock. The figure-8 at the boat is where trips become stories. Every muskie is released healthy.
Aggressive, everywhere, and pound for pound the most fun a kid can have with a rod. Spoons, spinnerbaits, and big minnows all get crushed. Ice season produces some of the biggest pike of the year.
Rock piles, boulders, and current seams hold smallmouth that hit like fish twice their size. Topwater mornings in June are something every angler should experience once. Light tackle, heavy bends.
The family favorite. Spring crappie stack in the shallows and bite all day, and a bucket of bluegills means a fish fry back at the cabin. Perfect first-fish territory for kids, and a sneaky-good winter target through the ice.
A cold-water native of the deep, clear lakes near Ely and the BWCA, and few things in fresh water pull harder. Winter is prime: jigging spoons through the ice over 60 feet of water. A northern Minnesota specialty most anglers never get to try.
The bite by month. Book around the dark squares and you are fishing peak water.
