LAKE VERMILION
Lake Vermilion may not get as much press as the oft-touted classics around Brainerd or Walker, but the diverse structure of this lake coupled with the hefty numbers of walleyes put Vermilion firmly in the "classic" designation.

"On this lake you will often find me fishing bars that are extending off islands," Fairbairn said. "There are also some great points on this lake. The deeper structure is where I look for walleyes in July, even though I know there are some fish holding up near the vegetation. By July, I know the classic walleye structure is going to be producing fish, so that's where you'll find me."

For classic structure, Fairbairn uses a classic technique.

"Vermilion is a live-bait rig lake," he said. "You pull up to an offshore hump, cruise over it with your sonar to see if there is anything there. If you spot some fish, catch them with a Roach Rig. You can also use a jig, too, in deeper water with a vertical presentation, but I prefer the rig."

As is typical with pro walleye anglers, they seldom drop a bait into the water until they spot some walleyes on the sonar. Fairbairn thinks this is important on Vermilion where the fish tend to stay a foot or two off the structure.

"The sonar is an effective tool from 15 feet and deeper," Fairbairn said. "You won't see much in water shallower than 15 feet."

PRIOR LAKE
Pretzel had the most difficult assignment. He was to keep all his nominations for classic walleye lakes limited to the metro area. In fact, he found it much easier than you would guess. His second pick was Prior Lake, which has shown tremendous promise for quality walleye fishing in the past five years.

"You're not going to find a lot of different-sized walleyes getting caught in Prior," Pretzel said. "It seems like they are all big."

Pretzel described the structure that is attractive to Prior Lake walleyes as points, inside turns in deeper water, and the saddle on the north end of the upper basin.

"The walleyes in Prior act like walleyes, unlike in some lakes where they're stocked and you can't find them anywhere but in the weeds," Pretzel said. "You want to use a live-bait rig in water from 19 to 26 feet deep and fish the deepest edges of the structure."

A good example of the necessity to stay on the deep edges on this lake is defined by Pretzel's description of his favorite hump.

"In the lower basin, there's a rock hump," he said, "with deep water on both sides. Bass fishermen will motor up to the hump and burn crankbaits over the top. I'll work the base of the same hump and catch walleyes."

MILLE LACS
When it comes right down to it, Mille Lacs is the model for all other classics.

"When I was guiding in the early days," Roach said, "I used to spend a lot of time on Mille Lacs because that's where everyone wanted to go. It was like a dream fulfilled to go to Mille Lacs and catch walleyes. The lake developed a reputation and all other lakes were judged by the standards that were set on Mille Lacs."