Old Lake CottageWalleye fishing near Vermilion Bay, ON
2,174 documented waters within 300 km, 1,262 of them with walleye as the primary species.
Where they are biting today
- Lower Manitou Lake (Sioux Narrows)79
- Pipestone Lake (Fort Frances)78
- Bruin Lake (Vermilion Bay)78
- Winnange Lake (Vermilion Bay)78
- Loonhaunt Lake (Fort Frances)78
- Feist Lake (Vermilion Bay)78
- Caviar Lake (Vermilion Bay)78
- Kilvert Lake (Kenora)78
- Rowan Lake (Vermilion Bay)78
- Shingwak Lake (Vermilion Bay)78
Fishing walleye around Vermilion Bay
Finding walleye around Vermilion Bay does not have to be guesswork. This page tracks 2174 documented waters in the surrounding area where walleye are documented, then re-ranks them every day as conditions shift. Below is the local picture: which waters stand out right now, and how anglers actually fish for the species here.
Lower Manitou Lake (Sioux Narrows) leads today's ranking at a score of 79 (about 67 km from Vermilion Bay, roughly 91 m of water at its deepest). Pipestone Lake (Fort Frances) follows at 78 (about 85 km from Vermilion Bay). Bruin Lake (Vermilion Bay), scoring 78, rounds out the current leaders (roughly 67 m of water at its deepest). Each number compresses the day's weather, modelled water temperature at depth and how well those conditions suit walleye into one comparable score.
Walleye have large, light-sensitive eyes that give them sharp low-light vision - the same trait behind their name (that eerie eye-shine) also explains why they feed most actively at dawn, dusk, and after dark, retreating to deeper, darker water on bright days. Early-season Ontario walleye hold near their spawning rivers and on windswept boulder or coarse-gravel shoals, sliding out to deeper weed lines, drop-offs and channel edges as summer builds. The jig-and-minnow worked near bottom is the default Ontario presentation - vertical jigging in clear water by day, with crankbaits and spinners over shallow structure once the light drops.
Treat this page as a living shortlist: the ranking refreshes daily (currently showing September 15, 2026), and a shift in wind, cloud cover or water temperature is often enough to reorder it.