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Grindstone Lake Fishing Reports


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I might take advantage of the longer trout season this year and make a late march treck up there if ice conditions allow for it. Hmmmm, monster perch/crappies out of mille lacs or 14 inch lakers from grindstone? Keep your fingers crossed that I can make time for both.

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I was up there last friday and saw over 2 dozen streamers on the camera but none would bight!!! No luck on the lakers, but did talk to an old timer that caught 8 in the morning ten feet under the ice, he had two nice 3 to 4 pounders in his pail. I measured 19" of clear ice in bothe places we where. There was about 3 to 6 inches of snow on the lake when we got there but when we left it was a big slosh hole!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Anyone been on Grindstone this week or planning for the weekend? Still got the Laker itch. Boarder water action was good last weekend but I think the dog team is dry docked now. I'd like a shot at one more but need some of the weekend to prepare for the gobbler opener! Any update on ice would be great. Thanks

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Im heading up there in the morning. Im sure the ice will be fine for walking out. the slush froze back up on Mille Lacs so it sould be fine out there.

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  • 2 months later...

Yes Jason, small ones. Was hard to get a pattern that works hour after hour. Mixed trout bag last time. Caught about 7 trout, kept 3 last year after a sunrise to 6pm day. Tried ultralight longlining with metal baits, planers and dipseys. Adjusted depths often enough too. Hope you like the sound of your motor!

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  • 6 months later...

I'm looking at trying the lake for the first time probably within the next week or so. Any suggestions for some serious laker action? I'm bringing the kids and hoping they get hooked on fishing!

Thanks.

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My biggest suggestions would be -

wait until jan 15 ( trout opens )

start at the mid-lake humps

check ice conditions

this lake is deep and does not freeze like others

airplane jigs

tube jigs

spoons

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Thanks Will for the info. When I do go I'll have a 2 of my kids with me in hopes of getting them hooked on other types of fish instead of just panfish and walleyes.

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Just prepare your kids for a slow day of fishing. Trout will not fly out of the whole like crappies so maybe bring something for the kidos to do. I have spent many hours on that lake last year with not much sucsess, but then again maybe that is me! I caught browns all winter long with no rainbows or lakers in sight!

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As already said, trout season is closed, so you can't fish for them. So panfish will be about the only thing you can target. So my advice to you is either wait until the 15th, or pick a nearby lake that has better fishing for panfish.

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Its looking like we'll be going on the 16th. As far as getting ready for a slow day goes, its been super slow already for the walleyes anyways so I think the kids have the patience for no fish thing down already. lol

The local lakes (Metro) are really low on water making things a little different than they used to be, and with me spending a lot of time over the last 7 years in Iraq everything seems to be a bit different everywhere I used to fish. frown

I hope I figure out the fish pattern soon for the kids.

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Buckslayer, if you have a chance try West Rush for some crappies as I always have great luck out there. My only advice is go out during the week and fish the edge of the crowds. Would be a fun trip for the kids, I know because I took my 4 year old out there last year and she is hooked now!

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Well, given that will be opening weekend the best advice I can give is stay away from everyone! It will be very busy out there.

Try shallow for rainbows. Go anywhere from 20 to 80 ft for lakers, and jig the entire water column. I like blue and white bucktail or airplane jigs. I've caught smaller ones on orange or red swedish pimples tipped with euros in shallower water.

There's also the possibility a school of smelt will come through...could catch a bunch, but they're very small. Something different anyway.

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Sweet! Thanks a LOT for all of the advice KG243 and JBMasterAngler. Maybe I'll try west Rush this week. I have nothing but time during the week as I am on school break till the 11th. Maybe I'll head out there tomorrow?!

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I'm thinking the browns will be in shallow water...if you can find perch or smelt, you'll probably find some browns (and lakers).

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I caught my browns in any where from 30 fow to 60 fow all though most were in 30 fow right on the bottom. I must note that I did not have any electronics but a camera at the time.

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lakers usually will relate to structure, so humps or steep drops in depth are good. like said, work the whole water colomn, top to bottom. good baits are spoons or tube baits. and hang on to your rod, when they hit, they will hit very hard. lakers are more agressive in winter.

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You would be crazy to drive on it, I have not been up there since the middle of December and it was still open then. A very deep lake with deep thermal pockets. I doubt we will be able to drive out on opener.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
    • leech~~
      As I get older it's really not just about sending bullets down range.  Some of it's just the workmanship of the gun and the wow factor. The other two guns I have really wanted which I'll never have now because of their price, is a 8mm Jap Nambu and 9mm German Luger.   Just thought they always looked cool!  
    • jim curlee
      I had a guy hit me with a lightly used 1969 BAR, he wanted $1650 with an older Leupold scope. More than I think they are worth, I made an offer, he declined end of story.   You know if you look at the old brochures, a grade II BAR sold for $250 in the late 60s, $1650 would be a good return on your investment.    Why would anybody want a 50 year old gun, they are heavy, have wood stocks, and blued metal.  I guess mainly to keep their gun safes glued to the floor. lol   You can probably buy a stainless rifle that you never have to clean, with a synthetic stock you never have to refinish, is as light as a feather, and for half as much money, perfect.   I'm too old for a youth gun, although I've shrunk enough that it would probably fit. lol   No Ruger 10/44s.   Jim      
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