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Posts: 568
| So my family ( brother) owns a camp on the Manitou north of the closed border and our group of 8-12 guys that have been going up there for 21 years made reservations for an Island home on this lake and we know NOTHING about the lake or how to approach fishing it , are there any Facebook sites worth joining where current fishing trends are somewhat discussed ? Truth is the group is getting so old ( myself included) that slinging 6-10oz lures all day chasing Ski's doesnt hold the allure it once did . We have 3-4 smallmouth guys , we have 3-4 guys who will certainly try muskie , and I might try to supply some walleye to eat . But I'm sure you guys understand how challenging this will be for a new group with no experience on the lake. So if any info could be shared it would be appreciated . Thanks PM me if desired |
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Posts: 568
| Also safety of lower units is paramount , how many unmarked prop busters are there ? 1 billion ? LOL I'll get a more detailed area that we are staying soon. |
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Posts: 2376
Location: Chisholm, MN | The lake is mapped out perfectly with lakemaster. No issues hitting rocks if you’re not brand new to bots. As far as muskies. Treat it like your Canadian fishing spots but expect a lot less action. Multi species is a good choice. |
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Posts: 568
| Looks like we are in the skinny NW arm called black bay . |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Howdy, Dan. I think I still have some maps, PM me if interested, I can lend them.
Best advice I heard is, 'when you see a buoy, fish it!' Also, plan on moving fish during the day, napping, then catching the ones you found at night.
GPS and good sense are important.
Chip in and hire one of the many lake guides for your first day or two then share the information with the group. Also, at which end of the lake will you be staying? East is different from the west end. m
Edited by mikie 6/22/2021 6:32 PM
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Posts: 568
| Kirby Budrow - 6/22/2021 6:22 PM
The lake is mapped out perfectly with lakemaster. No issues hitting rocks if you’re not brand new to bots. As far as muskies. Treat it like your Canadian fishing spots but expect a lot less action. Multi species is a good choice.
Thanks Kirby .. Sadly our guys are used to calling on 2 decades of memory on the Manitou and dont have fancy electronics . I've got a 1st gen HBird sideview with GPS .. no I'm not even sure it takes a chip . It does great on Erie marking cans/fish and stuff. |
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Posts: 568
| We held out til the last moment hoping and praying Ole boy would open the border to those with vaccinations at least .. no go, that really sucks  |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | No chip? Stay in at night! m |
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Posts: 568
| mikie - 6/22/2021 6:29 PM
Howdy, Dan. I think I still have some maps, PM me if interested, I can lend them.
Best advice I heard is, 'when you see a buoy, fish it!' Also, plan on moving fish during the day, napping, then catching the ones you found at night.
GPS and good sense are important.
Chip in and hire one of the many lake guides for your first day or two then share the information with the group. Also, at which end of the lake will you be staying? East is different from the west end. m
Thank Mike and great to hear from you ! We are in the skinny NW arm near black bay . |
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Posts: 1381
| Get you a good ol' Fishin Hot Spot map. The old info still applies. Should have plenty of action on smallies, crappies and walleyes. Muskies will visit most good looking spots at some point. You'll probably see a couple knee knockers. Getting them to eat is a trick. Very educated. West end, bigger walleyes, east end, eaters. Smallies everywhere. Stay away from buoys, points and shorelines and don't buzz too close to islands. Talk to Steve at Spring Bay. Literally grew up on the lake. Hire him if he has an opening, he will give you enough info. to last your stay. I prefer the west end, but that is mostly because that is where I've spent most of my time there, and I usually catch enough fish to be happy. |
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Posts: 24
| I just got back on Saturday night from 2 weeks up there! I stayed at vintage vermilion up in black bay, and I’m 99.9% sure I know what cabin you’re staying in, if it’s on the island up there. Black bay is pretty shallow right now, 6’ was the deepest spot in the entire bay. One other thing, the channel to get back there off the main water is very shallow, make sure to stay in the center. It becomes very narrow when boats decide to stop and/or anchor in there to fish! Shoot me a pm if you have any other questions |
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Posts: 568
| Thanks Snake , yeah we have the cabin on the island reserved . an A frame I think. Brother took care of the details ..I'll message ya later |
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Location: oswego, il | Black Bay is shallow fairly dark and will be warm. That week is about the hottest temp the lake will be. Nights just start to cool off about a week later than this. Lots of good spots once you get out of the bay which would be good early. Pike in there and the west side will provide good sized panfish, bluegill, crappie, perch for eating every day |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | You could spend 1 full day fishing from the Partridge river just outside of Black bay and around the Islands, bays, & buoys before you reach Wakeum Up Bay and find some pretty nice fish... lots and of weeds.... and some Rocks... do your studying before you go.
I may be up there then. Good Hunting. |
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Posts: 50
Location: Mississippi | My wife and I are heading up there the same time you are. We are stay at Muskego Point Lodge. I'm hiring a guide for Sunday to help show me some spots for Musky and Walleyes. I do have a new Helix 12 Chirp Mega SI gps Gen 4 with Lakemaster V9 Minnesota lake maps to help guide my way, while we are there. If water temps get into 80's I will leave the Musky alone till night time, and concentrate on Walleye and Smallys. Good luck to you and your group! |
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Posts: 568
| Thanks Handy .. I'll be in a blue/silver Alumacraft with a walk thru windshield and a 150 Yahama off the back .. so this boat came with a 1198c Hummingbird SI graph/finder . 10.2 inch color screen .. but I see no slot for a chip , the details for the unit say it has a built in Contour XD maps .. it certainly showed depths with shallow water on Lake Erie .. does that mean Vermillion will show depths too ? Sorry I grew up with flash finders , lol |
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Posts: 2376
Location: Chisholm, MN | This is where you put the chip. I suggest getting one. There are micro sd and regular sd chips available. Make sure you get the right one for the unit you have. Look on humminbirds website and or call them and find out exactly what you need. You have a good unit. I suggest using it to it's full potential. A good map will help you immensely.
Edited by Kirby Budrow 6/29/2021 3:04 PM
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Location: Mississippi | We will be in Lund 1675 Pro Guide red/silver with 60 Yamaha. With MI(Mississippi) boat registration. Hey I'm 55 years old and started to get back in fishing from a boat couple years ago, and What a Learning curve!!! Thank goodness for internet and Youtube, lol. |
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Posts: 568
| Kirby Budrow - 6/29/2021 2:59 PM
This is where you put the chip. I suggest getting one. There are micro sd and regular sd chips available. Make sure you get the right one for the unit you have. Look on humminbirds website and or call them and find out exactly what you need. You have a good unit. I suggest using it to it's full potential. A good map will help you immensely.
Thanks Kirby !! |
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Posts: 568
| And much thanks to all the anglers here who have helped me out . Muskie fishing is hard enough in general , you add a new lake to the mix and it can make a new lake extremely difficult .... our guys dont care too much about muskie , me and my brother do but the other 6 are kinda smallie guys . But its much appreciated , if I can ever help out on Cave Run look me up. |
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Posts: 75
| ManitouDan - 6/22/2021 4:51 PM
So my family ( brother) owns a camp on the Manitou north of the closed border and our group of 8-12 guys that have been going up there for 21 years made reservations for an Island home on this lake and we know NOTHING about the lake or how to approach fishing it , are there any Facebook sites worth joining where current fishing trends are somewhat discussed ? Truth is the group is getting so old ( myself included) that slinging 6-10oz lures all day chasing Ski's doesnt hold the allure it once did . We have 3-4 smallmouth guys , we have 3-4 guys who will certainly try muskie , and I might try to supply some walleye to eat . But I'm sure you guys understand how challenging this will be for a new group with no experience on the lake. So if any info could be shared it would be appreciated . Thanks PM me if desired
Ah the Manitou.....I currently have a trip booked for there week of August 7th....not real optimistic on that happening. |
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Posts: 568
| ColdLabatts - 6/30/2021 6:30 AM
ManitouDan - 6/22/2021 4:51 PM
So my family ( brother) owns a camp on the Manitou north of the closed border and our group of 8-12 guys that have been going up there for 21 years made reservations for an Island home on this lake and we know NOTHING about the lake or how to approach fishing it , are there any Facebook sites worth joining where current fishing trends are somewhat discussed ? Truth is the group is getting so old ( myself included) that slinging 6-10oz lures all day chasing Ski's doesnt hold the allure it once did . We have 3-4 smallmouth guys , we have 3-4 guys who will certainly try muskie , and I might try to supply some walleye to eat . But I'm sure you guys understand how challenging this will be for a new group with no experience on the lake. So if any info could be shared it would be appreciated . Thanks PM me if desired
Ah the Manitou.....I currently have a trip booked for there week of August 7th....not real optimistic on that happening.
I'll be there the moment they open than #*^@ border !!! LOL |
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Posts: 568
| Kirby Budrow - 6/29/2021 2:59 PM
This is where you put the chip. I suggest getting one. There are micro sd and regular sd chips available. Make sure you get the right one for the unit you have. Look on humminbirds website and or call them and find out exactly what you need. You have a good unit. I suggest using it to it's full potential. A good map will help you immensely.
So I'm learning .. my HB1198C takes the regular sized chip , so like I said , I have no clue how to use one .. In using my graph on Lake Erie safe deep water is marked by a dark blue , you run up on a " reef" ( by LE standards ) say 10 feet deep and the graph go to light blue .. thats with no chip .. I assume I wouldnt get the same info on Vermilion because it hasnt been fully GPS plotted like Lake Erie has ?? Sorry if thats a dumb question , I'm trying to figure out what this chip will give me that my graph wont already do . Technology advances so quick I cant keep up. And it isnt cheap. |
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Posts: 568
| Additionally if I'm going to pick up a chip with the primary reason of not tearing up a lower unit what is the best option ? |
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Posts: 2376
Location: Chisholm, MN | Lakemaster is by far the best and it’s probably 95 percent accurate down to 1-2 foot contours. It’s almost perfect. I would get one for navigation but really it’s about finding the spots and fishing them correctly. You shouldn’t have to worry too much about navigating vermilion since the rocks are marked by bouys but you will not do well fishing the rock without the chip. And in august, you will be fishing the rocks.
The chip will show you a very detailed map of the bottom. You will be able to see almost exact contours of the bottom of the lake. Far better than what you're looking at on Erie. Stick it in your unit, turn on the map and it should show up. I have a similar unit that I use for mapping as well.
The other option is the navionics chip which will get you most of the country and some of canada I believe. It's not nearly as accurate but it would do the job especially for navigation. But it's not bad for finding spots either.
Lakemaster is much better though.
Edited by Kirby Budrow 7/1/2021 4:46 PM
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Location: Chisholm, MN | On second thought you might be better off getting navionics because it looks like it includes manitou. Then you'd be all set. |
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Posts: 568
| Thanks again Kirby  |
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Posts: 23
| The whole bay from Taylor's Island is great musky fishing. We always stay at Head O Lakes and never really go south of Wakemup/Norwegian Bays. Good Luck! |
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Posts: 50
Location: Mississippi | Thank you Tyler Tutt! I will for sure give this try. Looks real good on Lakemaster Map!
Edited by Handy1 7/2/2021 9:30 PM
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Posts: 75
| ManitouDan - 7/1/2021 4:05 PM
ColdLabatts - 6/30/2021 6:30 AM
ManitouDan - 6/22/2021 4:51 PM
So my family ( brother) owns a camp on the Manitou north of the closed border and our group of 8-12 guys that have been going up there for 21 years made reservations for an Island home on this lake and we know NOTHING about the lake or how to approach fishing it , are there any Facebook sites worth joining where current fishing trends are somewhat discussed ? Truth is the group is getting so old ( myself included) that slinging 6-10oz lures all day chasing Ski's doesnt hold the allure it once did . We have 3-4 smallmouth guys , we have 3-4 guys who will certainly try muskie , and I might try to supply some walleye to eat . But I'm sure you guys understand how challenging this will be for a new group with no experience on the lake. So if any info could be shared it would be appreciated . Thanks PM me if desired
Ah the Manitou.....I currently have a trip booked for there week of August 7th....not real optimistic on that happening.
I'll be there the moment they open than #*^@ border !!! LOL
LOL! Well unfortunately I'd have to push my MWS trip to 2022 if it doesn't open.
Oh another note I have the navionics app on my phone and used it to navigate up to an outpost cabin on the Manitou back in 2013. The app worked flawlessly. |
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Posts: 568
| I might not be able to remember Jack Schitt .. but I know every hump/bump/weed/saddle/point etc etc on the Manitou . Funny how that stuff works . I dont need a chip for the up there , 25 plus years experience . and it can still humble you like no other . Tough lake , but insanely beautiful and peaceful . |
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Posts: 323
| I got the Lakemaster chip for vermillion last year since out wabigoon trip didn’t happen. Never been on V before and the Lakemaster chip was awesome. A few nights we were coming back to camp at Spring Bay Resort in total darkness and I was never worried. Just followed my trail back. The hazards are all clearly marked on the map. I’ll be back up there at Spring Bay from July 21-31 and again the last week of September. |
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Posts: 568
| Quick update , we are not exactly knocking it out of the park , have not seen a muskie but haven't pounded the water , probably 6 hours a day .. been out at dusk 3 nights . Group has got 1 26.5 inch walleye and 1 four pound smallie , but no numbers at all. 2 pike , 6-8 smallies among 3 boats . Been fishing the Taylor island area , and center Island reefs -- stove and merry go round . Pretty tough . |
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Location: Minnesota. | ManitouDan - 8/3/2021 9:46 AM
Quick update , we are not exactly knocking it out of the park , have not seen a muskie but haven't pounded the water , probably 6 hours a day .. been out at dusk 3 nights . Group has got 1 26.5 inch walleye and 1 four pound smallie , but no numbers at all. 2 pike , 6-8 smallies among 3 boats . Been fishing the Taylor island area , and center Island reefs -- stove and merry go round . Pretty tough .
Sounds about par... |
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Posts: 568
| Did raise 2 today , both the same area , maybe I've discovered a place that holds some fish . One about 37-38 followed a crawdad3 inch crank while bass fishing , the other a 10 blade spinner with a 9 inch perch colored shad body behind it ( homemade ) .. it was about 40-41 |
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Posts: 50
Location: Mississippi | I had 3 follows today and watched one get caught. I lost two Muskies Sunday, but caught 36” & 40” Northerns, one Walleye 29.5”. Been fishing 10 hours a day. All Musky follows have been in deeper water with reefs/rocks. Monday had 0 follows.
Edited by Handy1 8/3/2021 10:37 PM
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Posts: 568
| What section of the lake are you are in Handy ? |
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Posts: 50
Location: Mississippi | Frazier Bay. |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | Move around... Norwegian Bay, Head o Lakes, The narrows, Niles & Frazier Bay..
Don't forget Cocktails and wings at the Landing !
What are the water temps ?
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Location: Chisholm, MN | Top H2O - 8/4/2021 12:36 PM
Move around... Norwegian Bay, Head o Lakes, The narrows, Niles & Frazier Bay..
Don't forget Cocktails and wings at the Landing !
What are the water temps ?
The main big time guide up there would say you have to hit 30-35 spots a day to have success. That means fishing long hours and moving fast. 6 hours probably isn't going to cut it, especially if you don't know the lake very well. |
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Posts: 50
Location: Mississippi | Water temps 72 in am, 75 in afternoon. |
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Posts: 568
| Bare honesty --I've caught enough , no way I'm working like a washing machine to catch another . I'll wait til border opens and go back to the Manitou where I know my way around . |
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Location: Chisholm, MN | ManitouDan - 8/4/2021 6:08 PM
Bare honesty --I've caught enough , no way I'm working like a washing machine to catch another . I'll wait til border opens and go back to the Manitou where I know my way around .
Good plan |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | Kirby is right .... If you want to CATCH Fish you have to be on the water, 10+ hrs. per day... Pound 10-25 different spots each day.
You get out of it what you put into it. |
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Posts: 568
| I get plenty out of being on the lake , watching otters , seeing an eagle . Its all good , I dont have to kill myself fishing and make it exhausting to enjoy my vacation. Of course I want to catch them , but I'm not into 14 hour days as I get older . |
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Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | I hear ya...A few hrs. out on the lake is still 100 times better than 1 hr. at work.
Being satisfied and having fun should be the end goal sometimes. |
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| Spent most of the day Tuesday on the chain where I retired, mostly casting but did some trolling after supper. Only thing I had to show for it was a dink that came off at the boat while I was deciding whether to try and just release with a long needle nose or net it. Still a great day on the water.
As an old guy who didn't see an eagle until I was 20 and then on a remote lake in Canada, I still love seeing those big birds. |
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