However, as the population rebounded, a new special regulation for walleye was introduced in May 2017. A four-walleye limit and a 17- to 26-inch protected slot limit took effect on Lake Vermilion in 2006.

Many feel the increased population of muskies has had a detrimental effect on the walleye population. In the spring of 2005, Lake Vermilion was host to the annual Minnesota Governor’s Fishing Opener Weekend. Lake Vermilion is known for its walleye and muskie fishing. The lake contains black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, largemouth bass, muskellunge (muskie), northern pike, pumpkinseed (sunfish), rock bass, smallmouth bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, and yellow perch.

The area was mined from the late 19th century until the 1960s, and the Soudan Mine operated just south of the lake. Lake Vermilion is located between the towns of Tower on the east and Cook on the west, in the heart of Minnesota's Arrowhead Region at Vermilion Iron Range. French fur traders translated this to the Latin word Vermilion, which is a red pigment. The Ojibwe originally called the lake Onamanii-zaaga'iganiing (occasionally anglicized as Nee-Man-Nee), which means “the evening sun tinting the water a reddish color”. Lake Vermilion is a shallow freshwater lake in northeastern Minnesota, United States.

Big pine lake slot limit