LAKE VERMILION—While anglers may have to wait an extra week this year to wet a line on Lake Vermilion, the good news is that there’s a strong population of walleye ready to take the bait once open water does arrive. That’s according to the Department of Natural Resources’ latest fish survey on the big lake.

In its annual report on the fishery, DNR officials had good news on both the numbers and the size of walleye in Vermilion, particularly within the eastern basin, where fisheries staff tallied a total of 19.3 fish per test net. An average of 9.5 fish were caught per net on the west end, although fish were generally larger there as well.

As for size, the average Vermilion walleye is now just perfect for the frying pan, at 14.9 inches. That’s just under the protected slot of 18-26 inches, and well into the “keeper” range for most anglers.

According to the report, Vermilion maintains a very high population of walleye in the 15-20 inch range, a population that dates back to the 2006 and 2007 year classes, which were both well above average.

“For those looking for larger, keeper-sized fish, it’s pretty good right now,” said Duane Williams, the DNR’s Lake Vermilion specialist. “Of course some of those larger fish will be moving into the slot.” Despite the abundance of larger fish, Williams said it’s unlikely the DNR will adjust its special regulations, at least for now. “We don’t want to be in a position where we adjust regulations year to year. It’s a pretty lengthy, legal process.” The DNR did adjust the slot last year, to allow anglers to keep fish up to 18 inches long. The previous regulation kicked in at 17 inches.

While Vermilion maintains a strong population of larger fish, two younger year classes offer promise for the future. Williams said 2010 was another strong year class, which should provide further population reinforcement on the smaller end over the next year or two. Results from last fall’s electrofishing survey show that the 2012 year class also looks strong.

“We saw both good numbers and good growth,” said Williams, noting that first year growth is often a reliable predictor of the strength of a year class.

Vermilion anglers will find more than just walleye to peak their interest, according to the DNR survey. While Vermilion sports fewer numbers of northern pike than walleye, the lake maintains a strong population of large northerns. On average, the DNR caught 0.7 northerns per net, but the mean length was 29.6 inches and over half of the fish sampled were over 30 inches long. That’s well above the long-term average for large pike.

Anglers hoping to target northern pike will want to be aware of a 24-36 inch protected slot, with one fish allowed over 36 inches. The northern pike bag limit remains at three. DNR fisheries staff are planning a new round of trap netting this spring to assess the effectiveness of the special regulations.