Spring Bay Resort
Lake Vermilion, West End
Cook, Minnesota
June 19-26, 2010

My brother An and I visited Spring Bay Resort in Cook, Minnesota fishing the west end of Lake Vermilion. It was my third time up there and my brother’s first. The weather varied day by day. About half of the days were rain and a couple of thunderstorms, and a couple days were very windy. But for the most part it was sunny and warm.

It was a tougher bite this year. Smallmouth bass were difficult to find. I think a big part of this was due to a late mayfly hatch. Mayfly shell casings were on the surface all over the lake. The biggest fish caught during the week was a whopping 19-inch smallmouth bass. I also caught my biggest bluegill to date! The bluegill was round about the size of a small frying pan. Norwegian Bay was the hot bay this year as both fish came that bay. Rock bass seemed to be everywhere just about and walleyes were scarce. We found some smallmouth bass out in deeper water using Lindy rigs and leeches. I did see another giant musky swim tight to shore by the islands near Cemetery Point. A giant snapper turtle was spotted in Norwegian Bay. The head on that monster was gigantic!

We had a wonderful trip and look forward to next year!