Gilbert Pit

[pastfan]

Hey all, I've got a family gathering to go to at the Gilbert pit over the 4th of July and am curious what the fishing is like there. I checked the dnr site and the info was quite old so any help would be much appreciated. Good luck all!

[vermilionwally]

Fishings good!! Not sure about the catching though never fished there myself . Ive heard theres good trout fishing in there though.

[Wormdrowner]

Have not fished personally, local said walleyes hang out near the swimming beach early in the morning before it gets busy.

[cashcrews]

I've fished this lake for years, mostly for rainbow trout. But I haven't been in there for a couple years now. Occasionally a walleye or lake trout will be caught, along with the various things people have "planted" in there. If you have downriggers, run cowbells down 20-30 feet with crawler harnesses about 18 inches back from the cowbells. That's what's given me the best results on the rainbows.

I saw an article in the Mesabi Daily News that said the lake level on Ore-be-Gone (Gilbert Pit) is mysteriously down about 6-8 FEET this year. Apparently the beach has been closed, and I suspect the boat ramp may have issues. Better check into it before launching your boat!

Cashcrews

[pastfan]

I also saw on the campground website that the beach is closed due to water levels- apparently you walk in and it's almost an immediate drop. Does anyone know if that is how the landing is laid out in terms of shoreline structure - is it an immediate drop after the concrete? As for the fishing, I truly appreciate the help!! Looks like with the variety of species present I'll have to bring the arsenal...awww shucks.

Thanks again for the help guys!

[firemedic5586]

I've done a bit of SCUBA there in the past. Northerns, Lakers, Perch, Wally gaters and a few others also. As far as the drop off from the swim beach, I think the next stop was at about the 80ft mark.

[pastfan]

So I started this 4th of July trip out with a bang, literally. The wife and I left town around noon on tuesday for Gilbert and within 40 minutes we single handedly closed down the northbound lane of hwy 53 for almost an hour. I noticed a little smoke coming out from under the hood and figured we were overheating so I pulled to the side of the road. When I looked under the truck I about pooped myself- we were dripping ignited fuel and already had a moderate sized campfire under the vehicle. Within 30 seconds a guy in a Lakes Gas truck came by and attempted to put out the fire with an extiguisher as I called 911. Right after the fire extinguisher ran out a dnr truck with a water tank came by and also attempted to put out the flames, which were now pouring out from the wheel wells, to no avail. Things were starting to go bang at this point and the whole truck was engulfed in flames. About 10-15 minutes later the first fire truck arrived and started spraying water which helped somewhat, but wasn't enough. Finally the second and third fire trucks came along with the foam and were able to close the deal. I later found out that the reason it took a while for the firefighters to arrive was that the first fire dept dispatched didn't answer the call so 911 had to call in the next closest which was Fayal Township.

I don't know if any of the people that were on the scene were FM'ers, but there probably is someone on here that knows some of these folks and if this is the case please tell them that the guy with the burning silverado extends his deepest thanks. Also, if anyone knows Frank aka "butch" with the Fayal Twp FD, tell him that Brent says thank you from the bottom of his heart. This man went above and beyond the call of duty. After putting out the fire he went back to the hall, grabbed his truck, and came back to the scene to pick up myself and my trailer with two atv's and brought me to the campground we were staying at with family. He then told me that if I couldn't find a way to get the wheelers back home I could call him and he would come to the campground, pick the trailer up, and allow me to store it at his home until I had a way to tow it.

Strangest part of all this is that only things that weren't turned to ash were two out of four fishing rods, as well as half of one of my tackle boxes. God must have felt sorry for me and knew, out of all that was lost that was in the truck including all my camping gear, clothing, and food, those were the items I would've missed the most.

On to the fishing- With the tackle I had remaining i didnt really have the means to get deep to target the eyes or trout so I decided to start beating the shallower areas for bass, initially just for something to do as the dnr site didn't list smallies as a species present in the lake, but soon found that the dnr survey was wrong(maybe just cuz it's so outdated). Ended up catching a bunch of smallies, most of which were around 3#'s. My wife ended up with the biggest fish of the trip which was a smallie that went 4.1#'s (she thought she had a snag until it came out of the water) which was very cool as she rarely fishes and was very stressed over the fire thing. I think she caught the bug on this trip because ever since we got home shes been asking me when I'm taking her fishing again- minus the fireworks. I'm very grateful that we're going to be able to go fishing again as things could've been much worse.

[upnorth]

Good to hear the trip was not a total loss. You seem to have handled it pretty well too, I would probably have just chucked it all and headed home to sulk

[tearin' lips]

Sorry to hear about your truck. Its not very often that freak accidents like this happen. Its great that there are some quality people out there that would help you out like that. I hope everything works out!

Take Care!

[captshorelunch]

Would dodgers work on this pit???

[pastfan]

Quote:

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Good to hear the trip was not a total loss. You seem to have handled it pretty well too, I would probably have just chucked it all and headed home to sulk

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I wanted to head for home right then and there but didn't exactly have a ride . I am glad i stuck it out though as we ended up having a pretty good time and it kinda kept our minds off of things.

[Surface Tension]

I saw the black scorch mark on the side of Hwy 53 Thur on my drive to Ely. Glad you salvaged the trip.

[tyeetanic]

I believe I know the guy you're asking about. Frank "Butch" Pavelich lives in Fayal Twp. and we graduated from Eveleth HS together in the class of 69. If he's 56 years old and has slanty brown eyes, he's your guy. I haven't seen him in 4-5 years; I don't know if he's a vol. fireman, but it sure sounds like him. That is exactly the kind of guy he is, too; he would do just about anything to help out. It must be him- how many Frank's nicknamed Butch could there be in Fayal Twp? His phone number would be listed under Eveleth, if you'd like to call and thank him.

By the way, I used to catch some nice rainbows through the ice in the Gilbert Pit, but I haven't fished it now in over 20 years. Too many places; too little time! Good fishing.

Howard

[pastfan]

Thank you Howard! Thats the guy. I knew that his last name ended in ich but just couldnt for the life of me remember the first part. Thanks again.

[tyeetanic]

You're welcome. Tell Butchie that Howard Maki says hi.