Grindstone Lake Fishing Reports

[duckhunter1]

thanks 4 the post maybe keep it safe and bring portable good fishing

[reinhard1]

you can get on by the red barn also on the north east side. that's were i have been driving out of. good luck.

[reinhard1]

anyone on the grind today? please post any results. i'll be there tommorow with my son-inlaw all day. good luck.

[MuntzAngling]

Maybe see you there Reinhard. Look for me, I got a silver Explorer and I'll be searching for lakers to start, then we'll see. I'd like to compare notes as the day goes, good luck!

I'll have to put a shallow tip-up for my first brown trout out there, eh?

FYI all, have your smelt fry with some cocktail sauce...mmmm kinda like shrimpys! Can't avoid shmeltyness and please release the harmless mudpuddies. They just want to get their grub on too!

[reinhard1]

i'll be in my white dodge with white topper in a green eskimo flip up. i will be starting with rainbows shallow and tip up for whatever and later in the day smelt. have to wait for my son in law so i wont be up there at sun up. good luck.

[reinhard1]

what a wonderfull day to be on the ice. i guess any day is good. the day started out good with 5 rainbows in 2 hours. my son in law got three and myself 2. he got them on a panfish teardrop [white/red] and eurolarva. i was using small pimples with minnow head and got nothing until i changed over to a similiar rig. then nothing the rest of the day except for 3 northerns on tip ups with rainbow chubs on them, one in 15 ft and one in 23ft. pike were in the 25in range. perfect for some pickled pike. so that was it from 9am to 4pm. was going to try for smelt but we stuck it out shallow hoping for more. great day to be out. good luck.

[pkv]

We checked out Grindstone for the first time on Saturday afternoon. Wasn't sure where to go, just followed the other ice houses and trucks. I think we hit the smelt hole so we were limited to the smelt schools. They were pretty fun to catch and play around with. We didn't go elsewhere on the lake, but interested in catching other fish besides smelt! Any suggestions or tips? Probably won't go back to Grindstone until next year.

[Riverratpete]

Hit Grindstone for the first ever time at sunrise Sat AM down by where the river, couple bumps, thats it. Moved up to the Smelt Hole area around 10..nothing..left by noon to try another lake I was interested in..limited on Crappies/sunfish mix by 5...great day to be outside, probably won't hit Grindstone again until after opener.

[reinhard1]

grindstone is not for everyone. it is however a lake that is challenging and to have a chance for a trophy. this time of the year the fishing is tuff all over. panfish are generaly cooperative as they are in the grind. for sunfish the cribs are the place to go this time of the year. crappies are suspended in deep water right now right along with the smelt. later in march they move in closer to the bay areas and the cribs in the am and late afternoons. rainbows are best caught in the shallows 10ft or less or if you are out deeper going out for lakers the rainbows travel just under the ice. the browns still are a mystery. i have cought mine over the years mostly on tip ups going after pike on shiners or rainbow chubs. pike are in the shallows and i have cought them this time of the year fishing for smelt in deeper water. that is why the pike get big and fat in this lake, there is plenty to eat. that is why it is tough fishing at times as well. the predators have a full buffet so you have to be persistant and change presentations till you connect. i have been critisized in the past for giving up to much info on the lake. well if that was true i would be telling grand stories of how many times i have limited out on this lake. there are plenty of fish there but the fish outsmart me and most fishermen here anyway. many come to the grind one time to never come back again. it's not an easy lake to fish. same with open water. but i fish it a lot and it's not to bring home stringers full, it's to bring home a couple of trout for a meal or sometimes it's catch and release and have fun. my brother and i have cought some big fish out of here of all species over 40 years. the state record brown came out of here once and i believe there are more in there. we all have goals in fishing of some sort, and my goal is to catch a state record brown. very difficult but outside lake superior this is the only place to do it. good luck.

[Riverratpete]

Oh I'm not giving up no no no no..."regrouping" would be my choice of words..looking forward to the challenge...that was just a scouting mission (lol)..did see a dog go through the ice close to shore up by the smelt hole on SW? side...that was a little disconcerting, got out fine by itself.

[reinhard1]

regrouping is a good term on that lake. as for that dog, it could be two things. there is a creek that comes into that portion of the bay there and also many springs all over the lake near shore. this is why i constantly say to not drive near shore. there is also a small creek that enters near the red barn that will show itself soon if this warm spell continues. there were times i have fished near there on the ice while there was water rushing onto the lake. good luck.

[pkv]

great information, thanks! had fried smelt fingers last night, wow very good eating. might have to go back for more!

[reinhard1]

check the thread out when the season opens for trout and the rest of game fish. not hard to get rainbows on open water. smallmouth bass as well and some big pike. the dnr stocks rainbows and browns in the spring and rainbows again in the fall. i have crappies mounted from the grind in my play room in my house. good luck.

[Helseth]

Hello, I am new to this site, I have been going to grindstone for many years, I know for a fact that 25 pound pike have been caught there. I have caught them around 6 pounds, but mostly shore fishing. Will be there for opener, I have one suggestion for the site, Post if you know good places to eat or shop in sandstone or hinckley. Good luck fishing !!

[reinhard1]

i gas up a lot at the station by the sandstone exit is what i can say. nice people and the gas sometimes is cheaper than in the cities. welcome to HSO and i hope to see more of your threads. oh yes there are big pike in there. even pike in the 6 pound range have a wide back on them and are very well fed. my brother had one on on the south side that we figured would go 30 pounds easy. lost it as it rolled near the surface and broke the line. we seen it broadside a few times in between runs. it was bigger than the 42 incher that i have mounted in my play room. good luck.

[DonBo]

Welcome Helseth! I can't hardly drive past Hinkley without stopping at Tobies Restaurant & Bakery. Their breakfast is as good as any I've had anywhere. The huge cinnamon/carmel rolls are worth the stop all by themselves.

[Helseth]

Wow, 42 inch Pike, first I have to catch my first 10 pounder and work my way up the scale. I have fished the south side a lot, my grandparents had a dock there for many years. the weedline there is a good spot, and there are cold springs in that area that I have found swimming there. Always look forward to a day on Grindstone, Thanks to all for all the good fishing info.

[Helseth]

Thanks for the welcome.I cannot drive past Hinckley either, but its usally for a couple games of blackjack at the casino, Another really good breakfast is at Banning Junction, first exit past sandstone, turn right.

[catchnothing]

Well said this mourning reinhard1. Me and my 2 boys had fun saturday catching fish. Caught some smelt for dinner and 2 rainbows

[rumeye]

Every winter there is 25 and 30 pound pike speared out there I know this for a fact because the guy is my buddy. Those are some big ones. He did not put the shack out this year. Next year my son and I are going to put one out.Spearing is pretty awesome my son got me hooked this year.

[reinhard1]

over the years i have seen one 25 pounder speared on the east side [i just happened to be there at the time]. who knows the rest of the time over the years. i dont spear but i talk to some of the guys that do and they have let some big girls go by also. get one of those on rod and reel and look out. but i hope you get out next year and enjoy yourself along with your son. not very often you hear of the son getting their dad hooked on something. .good luck.

[StoneCold651]

Hello everyone!! what do you use as bate for the smelts?? thanks guys

[reinhard1]

find the smelt on your flasher. i use 4lb test with a small pimple with a minnow head or eurolarva. waxies work also on the pimple or any small jigging spoon. drop the lure right in the middle of them. there will be a light tug so use spring bobbers to help you. good luck.

[slipperybob]

If the smelt are aggressive, they'll also bite a larger spoons up to weight of 1/4 oz. However any spoon of 1/8th oz or lighter will do fine. Part of the trick is to replace with treble hooks of size 12 or 14. Sometimes you just reel up really fast when you feel the light tug. Many of the smelt I've pulled up the hole will just fall off the bait/hook. I've also had many just doing that right at the hole.

I've been using these rod holders called Jigger Totters and they work well for smelt fishing.

[reinhard1]

thanks, i suppose you can get these rod holders at fleet farm? good luck.

[lakeshoremunster]

found a good video on the jigger totter in action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs2SWucQr4Y

looks like im going to go and get me a few of these now

[slipperybob]

I ordered my Jigger Totters online from their website. I think it's just a website product. It does pretty much the same thing as a Mr. Jigger or a Rod rocker. Only it has a few more innovative ideas to go with it.

[reinhard1]

looks like a good system. it looks like those guys had their bails closed for jigging purposes. i suppose you could leave your bail open with the slack reeled in and when the fish strikes the rod would still go down with line flowing freely. thanks for the info and video. good luck.

[FWA]

Any report on the ice conditions? Want to bring my sons there to try for some smelt on Saturday. Haven't had a good smelt fry in over 15 years...

[Crow Hunter]

I was there last saturday, drove on at the red barn, ice was fine. Caught a few smelt. Have fun.