Hello everybody,
This will be my last report for the hard water season. I'll be pulling my shack off the lake very soon. Ice conditions are very good on Vermilion right now. I have about 22 inches of good solid ice under my shack right now. Even with the recent snow fall ice travel is still pretty easy for most vehicles. You do have to pay attention as you drive because there are several drifts and pressure ridges to avoid.

The Walleye action in the McKinley park area has been slow for most of the anglers that I have talked to this week. The good news is that the Perch bite has picked up for most. Small jigs and spoons in bright colors continue to be my go to baits. I am tipping them with minnows and sometimes just a minnow head, depending on how active the fish are. The early morning bite has been the most productive for me but there are anglers catching fish late in the day as well.

The Pike action has been very steady for me lately with some very nice Pike coming through the hole. Tip-ups with suckers on a quick strike rig have been very effective.
I also like to use a 3/8oz hair jig tipped with a sucker when the fish are active. I am finding most of my fish along rocky shoreline breaks, main lake points and the deep weed edges in 4 to 12ft of water. I like to set one line just under the ice when using tip-ups. You would be surprised just how effective that can be.

Enjoy the rest of the ice fishing season on the Big V. I'll be getting ready for the show season in March and April. Ace guide service will have a booth at the Minnesota Muskie Expo in St.Paul on April 13th and at the Minnesota Bass Expo on April 20th at the international sports center in Blaine.
I hope you'll come down and see us at the shows.

Have a great week everybody and as always, please remember to put some back. The future of Lake Vermilion depends on it.