Lake Vermilion is a 40,000 acre lake that is bordered on the east by Tower, Minn. and west by Cook, Minn. That is a stretch of about 40 miles and it has 365 islands and 1,2000 miles of shoreline. There is a lot of water and a lot of fish contained in Lake Vermilion.

People often mistakenly go on a lake and look at it as a big fish bowl, but fish only hold in certain areas. Many fishermen are tying to cover too much water too fast and aren’t spending enough time in specific areas that hold fish. I always pick three or four spots that look good on a map and concentrate on them.

A sunken island may have a series of spots where the bottom changes from one type to another. Transitional zones might be changes from hard to soft, or sand to rock. These zones are just subtle changes and they could be a very narrow band on a specific piece of structure. Often a point or inside bend is present, too. Concentrate your efforts on the two or three key spots rather than fishing a whole flat or a whole sunken island.

When fishing for walleyes on Lake Vermilion I tend to fish Eastern Vermilion. I especially love the structure of Stonich Island, Taylor Island, Potato Island and Spider Island.

When checking a potential spot, I run at a certain depth and then look for baitfish. If I get too deep I turn in to shallower structure. When it gets too shallow I will turn out to deeper water. By following this simply piece of advice you will find points and inside bends on a specific structure. Plus, my Lowrance electronic depthfinder will find these transitional areas that are either hard or soft.

Walleye fisherman and bass fisherman have debated for years about what is more important — structure or cover. Structure for most fishermen are creek beds, drop-offs, humps, ridges, points and similar changes in the shape of the bottom are structure. Structure provides a route fish follow while feeding and during seasonal migrations and places where groups of fish are apt to locate and establish base areas.

In comparison, objects on the bottom like trees, stumps, brushpiles, boat docks are cover. Cover provides resting and feeding spots for individuals and small groups of fish in areas where favorable structure attracts fish. Cover enhances structure, making structure more attractive or able to hold more fish.

Structure provides areas where fish concentrate and move. Cover provides specific spots in these areas where individual fish can be located.

Cover like weeds, wood, boulders and manmade structure attract and hold predators and prey. Walleyes will relate to this type of cover. Anglers should concentrate on presenting lure choices to walleyes even if there might be snags. Lure modification, such as weedless jigs, or running bottom bouncers over rocks are the best methods for presentation.

When walleyes hold tight to cover because of change in barometric pressure or fishing pressure, the angler has to change or modify the presentation. A perfect example of this is when you stop catching walleyes on a Rainbow Spinner and have to switch over to a light Northland Fireball jig and a bobber combination to dabble in the weeds, instead of running a contour course on the weed edge.

With any type of cover it might be important to look for specific conditions that might make walleyes go to the weeds or brushpiles. Ask yourself some questions before you start fishing a weedbed. Does this weedbed have a distinct edge adjacent to deeper water? Is the wind blowing into this piece of cover? Are there baitfish present? Does this weedline have points, inside turns, pockets? Does the brushpile offer shade or an obstruction to current? If any of your answers are yes then by all means go ahead and slip on a light jig and add a slipbobber.

Try casting a Thill Center Slider float and a 1/16 ounce Northland Fireball jig, tipped with a leech into a pocket formed by the weeds. Allow the jig to touch bottom. Then pop the jig from the floor of the weedbed towards the sky. Allow the jig to settle down again and then pop it again. This will give you a vertical presentation even if your boat is not over the top of the weedbed. If you find the bottom to be full of tangles or weeds, simply raise up your slipbobber stopper to the desired depth and again make the presentation.

If you fish Lake Vermilion, keep structure and cover in mind if you will have a successful outing.