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Vermilion River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The Vermilion River: a 65-mile Lake Erie tributary that Ohio stocks with steelhead each spring, cutting through the shale cliffs of Lorain County's Vermilion River Reservation before reaching the harbor at Vermilion.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
22 cfs
Air / High
63 / 66 F
Wind
N 12 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 04199500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Vermilion River is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 22 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings a mixed sky, wind N around 12 mph, steady pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 66. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:04 AM-12:04 PM and 10:33 PM-12:33 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

SteelheadGood

Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

WalleyeGood

Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Yellow perchGood

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

White bassFair

The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55°F.

Tomorrow: Similar at 64 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Ohio requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $25.00 for residents. What a Ohio licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing steelhead here? Check the size and bag limits with ODNR before you keep anything. The season dates for Ohio, read off the agency, are on the Ohio seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Vermilion River near Vermilion.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 04199500.

297211522 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 56 years of October 23

At 22 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 04199500 (Vermilion River near Vermilion) is at the 55th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 56 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 15 cfs; the highest was 393 cfs and the lowest 1 cfs.

p10 3median 15p90 148

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 04199500; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp63 F
High / Low66 / 43 F
WindN 12-13 mph
Pressure1026.2 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain51% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:50 / 18:36
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Vermilion River this week

The best day on Vermilion River this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:04 AM-12:04 PM and 10:33 PM-12:33 AM
Minor period
4:26 AM-5:26 AM
Sun
07:50 to 18:36
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 12 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Vermilion River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Steelhead illustration

Steelhead

Great Lakes tributaries from fall through spring; West Coast rivers have both summer and winter runs

Steelhead are rainbow trout that migrate to the Pacific or the Great Lakes to grow, then return up rivers to spawn; unlike most Pacific salmon they can survive spawning and spawn again. Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55°F.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

When to come: the Vermilion River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Steelhead
Smallmouth bass
White bass
Walleye
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Vermilion River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Steelhead led the card at good. High of 64 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Steelhead led the card at good. High of 64 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Steelhead led the card at good. High of 67 F, wind to 13 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Ohio requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Ohio fishing license. Lake Erie trout and salmon rules apply to the whole river: 2 a day, 12-inch minimum, from September 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Snagging is illegal on the Vermilion from September 1 to April 30. Check the current Ohio Fishing Regulations before you go.

Access

Vermilion River Reservation (Bacon Woods and Mill Hollow on North Ridge Road; Vermilion Road, Peasley Road and Gore-Orphanage Road accesses), Schoepfle Garden upstream, and the South Street Public Boat Ramp in Vermilion.

About this water

A 65-mile Lake Erie tributary from Ashland County to the harbor at Vermilion, Erie County, Ohio; the reservation reach is in Lorain County.

Fishing Vermilion River: the full guide

From Bailey Lakes to the harbor

ODNR's 2026 Lake Erie Public Access Guidebook traces the Vermilion for 65 miles, from the Savannah Lakes (Mud Lake and Spring Lake) at Bailey Lakes in Ashland County to Lake Erie in the city of Vermilion, draining 268 square miles. High shale cliffs line much of the lower river through Vermilion River Reservation, and the guidebook says anglers come for smallmouth bass and steelhead.

A stocked steelhead stream

The Vermilion is one of seven Lake Erie tributaries that the Ohio Division of Wildlife stocks with yearling steelhead raised at Castalia State Fish Hatchery: 50,021 fish went in between April 23 and 25, 2025, and the target for 2026 is 50,000. ODNR says the young fish head out to the lake within weeks and come back to the tributaries after two or three years, running from fall through spring, and that stream steelhead typically average about 25 inches and 5 to 6 pounds.

Vermilion River Reservation

Lorain County Metro Parks' 1,110-acre reservation follows roughly 10 miles of river. Its main areas, Bacon Woods on the east bank and Mill Hollow on the west, sit on North Ridge Road in Brownhelm Township and cover about three miles of river; fishing is permitted. ODNR lists further fishing access off Vermilion Road south of Jerusalem Road, at the end of Peasley Road and at the Gore-Orphanage Road bridge. The page's gauge, USGS 04199500 (Vermilion River near Vermilion), sits beside the Vermilion Road trail access.

The lower river

In town, the Vermilion Port Authority's South Street Public Boat Ramp on West River Road has two paved ramps, courtesy docks and a kayak roller launch with access to Lake Erie. Ohio's Lake Erie rules for walleye, yellow perch, black bass and white bass reach up the Vermilion to the State Route 2 bridge.

Common questions

Is the Vermilion stocked with steelhead?

Yes. Ohio stocked 50,021 yearlings in April 2025 and plans 50,000 for 2026, according to the Division of Wildlife's stocking summary.

Where can I fish the Vermilion from shore?

Lorain County Metro Parks' Vermilion River Reservation allows fishing at Bacon Woods and Mill Hollow, and ODNR lists more access along Vermilion Road, Peasley Road and the Gore-Orphanage Road bridge.

Can I snag fish on the Vermilion?

No. The 2026-2027 Ohio regulations make snagging illegal on the Vermilion from September 1 to April 30.

Is fishing good at Vermilion River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Huron River14 miRocky River28 miChagrin River51 miGrand River62 miDetroit River66 miMaumee River67 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 04199500 — Vermilion River near Vermilion
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 41.4270, -82.3641 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 6, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 6, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.