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Grindstone Lake Fishing Reports


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my wife gets up to go to work and i spend time with her and make her lunch. besides i'm used to getting up near that time and just cant sleep in. maby in time. i'm looking forward to a daytime nap. the only way i seem to do that is in the boat at times. grin. good luck.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

my wife gets up to go to work and i spend time with her and make her lunch. besides i'm used to getting up near that time and just cant sleep in. maby in time. i'm looking forward to a daytime nap. the only way i seem to do that is in the boat at times. grin. good luck.

Hey, as long as you still have the wife pulling a pay check the least you can do is get you ars out of bed and make her lunch! Before you go back to bed! he.he! grin

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i just want to take the time to respond in case you got things going. still if you have questions email me at the address on my last post to you. for rainbows in general early morning were always the best time in the shallows. 10 feet or less. but i have had good results during the remainder of the day as well. of course there are days when you get nothing like everywhere else.

i wanted to tell you were the crib was, in case your kids wanted some sunfish action. this crib is no secret for locals know where it is and it gets used plenty. if you look at the small point by the barn [ a little right from the barn facing the barn] and walk out aproximatly 80 yards in about 20 feet you will find it. there should be plenty of concentrated hole there. once you put the flasher down the hole you will see the panfish there.

this lake is no different than any other lake as far as time of day. as i said before rainbows seem to be most aggresive in the am. but when they are active all day long. they roam all over. so you will have down times and sudden spurts. smelt will bite all day long. they will come in schools and you will see them on the flasher as i described in another post. the crappies will be with the smelt suspended. i have caught them more in the shallows later in march. this isn't your typical deep basin lake. it's deep big time. so they dont follow the same pattern that crappies do on your average lake.

still email me and i will give you my number and you can call me tommorow if you have anymore questions. good luck.

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Well, what a day!!! First of all,,, I must say this lake is very interesting. The kids and I started off on foot by the red barn and eventually made our way to the smelt hole. Great exercise!!! During the day hours, I didn't mark much fish, but once it started to get dark,,,,my marcum lit up like you wouldn't believe. I caught just a hand full of smelt, and ofcourse missed a bunch. Quite a bit of them fell off and went back into the hole. These are some decent sized smelts. The biggest one I measured was about 8 inches. I know there are bigger ones in there. But if I am correct, these might even be bigger than the ones in Lake Superior. Would have liked to catch some trout and crappies, but they were no where to be found. They were suspended anywhere from 5-10 foot below the ice.

Second of all,,,use caution when walking or entering from the public water access side. There is a big hole to the right of the trail. Looks like someones tire went through the ice there. To those that don't already know, there is a small stream/creek that runs under the ice by the public access boat lauch. Again, use caution!

There is barely any snow left on the lake now. The top layer can be very, very, very slippery. I'd recommend bringing your ice skates, or boots with spikes. At times, I was turning with my augar because it was so slippery. Ice out on the main lake is still plenty thick. I'd say about 18-22 inches. Although the top 2 inches of ice is bad ice. You can here it crack when walking on top of it. Again, use caution!

I'd like to go out again before the hard water season is over. But keeping in mind, it's march. I still don't understand why some folks are still driving on the lake. I actually saw a full sized 3/4 ton truck out there. Kinda scary if you ask me.

Good luck to all that go out.

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well it sounds like you got your excersise in. that is a little walk from the red bard to the smelt hole. i have cought smelt up to 11 in in the grind. those are excelent smoked. the smelt in the grind do run bigger than lake superior. but the smaller ones are better for the deepfryer. well i'll give it a shot tommorow and give a report on it. your kids are some troopers for making it through the whole day and into the night. good luck.

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never had a chance to get up to the grind. work schedule changes for one of my daughters so i took care of the grandkids while my wife had commitments at church. well there will be another day. still think there will be two more weeks to get on by foot travel. good luck.

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Well,

I managed to get out Sunday nite for a few hours. In my opinion, the bite was quite slow. Between the two of us, we only managed to get around 3 dozen or so of smelt. I wanted to get to the lake before dark, but it didn't happen that way. I'd say the best times for smelt is between 5pm and midnite. After that, it's a hit or miss, or one every 20 minutes or so.

I'm still hoping to be able to catch some nice sized crappies and trout through the ice.

I brought my kahtoola micro-spikes with me this time, and they were nice to have. Matter fact.......Thorne Bros in Blaine has them on sale with 30% off. They are a little pricey, but they were worth every penny.

Good luck.

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thanks for the tip on the spikes. i have never fished that late on the grind. something i will do however. the crappies will be moving closer to the shore lines as march nears its end. especialy towards the end of the day and early. i was all set up to be up there sunday for the day and as i mentioned before stuff happens. i sent you an email.good luck.

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i have never done that and i think it would be difficult to do being that they will be deep and scattered in schools. no saying it would be impossible but i would suggest to do it on hard water. much easier and you can get enough for the year if you just key on them. good luck.

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Thanks R1- I'm very intrigued by Grindstone, and I want to get out and give it a shot...I don't think i'll get there on hard water. So the options for open water summer fishing is trout(very deep water i assume?), Pike, and crappies?

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grindstone is mainly known for trout. rainbows will be shallow and near the surface through the month of june in most years. july they will be near the thermocline arond 25 feet along with the browns. lake trout in may can be caught in 25 feet at times but will be much deeper as the days warm up.

there are pike [and some large ones] to be had year around. the big ones will be deep in the heat of the summer. largemouth and smallmouth are there also. more smallies though. there are also crappies and sunnies. some crappies come with size but the sunnies are on the small side.

this lake is not for people that get bored easy or want guarenteed supper and constant action. it is chalanging, and it seems although i have fished it for 40 years i always learn a new method for this lake. i have had many good days on this lake, but there are days that no matter what i do and spend all day trying, the fish outsmarted me. anytime you are on a unique deep lake such as this there is a challenge. good luck.

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reinhard 1, Forgive me if I have allready asked you this question. When you get to be an Official Auld Phart like me, the memory usually goes first! laugh Have you ever tried using small Sutton spoon's on Grindstone? I would think they might be very effective, especially early in the year. When I've tried them on some of the remote lake's in the BWCA, they worked extremely well. grin 1DIRTBALL wink

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i always say i have a good memory, but it's short. someone asked me that last year and i responded something like, i have some and why did'nt i use them. i might even have been you. but since then they are on the agenda since i have a portable downrigger to use this year. i would think they would be awesome on the grind. but it takes weight to get them sutton spoons down as you know. so no i have not, and yes i certainly will this year. thanks again. good luck.

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I was out sat night for a couple of hours than had to leave earlier than I wanted. That's what happens when you bring kids along. The landings are in rough shape, but beyond that, the ice seemed solid. I parked and walked to my usual spot. Although, I did see a few cars driving on the lake, I still recommend walking.

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thanks for the report. things happen when you take kids along but your doing a good thing by doing so. driving on this lake at this time of the year would not be for me. glad you had a chance to get out. keep in touch. good luck.

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I was hoping to head up there tomorrow, but it looks like wednesday will work better. According to the forecast, the night time lows are looking very favorable for keeping the shoreline ice intact until then. Hopefully things will workout...I have alot of minnows to use up smile

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i'm going to see if i can go wendsday myself. it would be for the afternoon. we are taking care of our two grandaughters and two dogs till next sunday. maby i'll see you up there. looks like tuesday for me now. good luck.

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thursday is the final day of trout fishing through the ice on inland lakes. taking care of grandkids and two dogs the whole week. i wanted one more shot at it. scedule changes from day to day. but it's down for the last day. thursday i'll be at the grind to give it one more try. trout, smelt, or panfish. good luck.

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well if you want to tag along give me a call. had a few things going on but i have to make this one. i will only fish the barn area for rainbows and panfish. hungry for some fresh fish. good luck.

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Is there a place to park at the red barn? My biggest concern is the ice at the access because of the moving water there.

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JB, right by the red barn is where everyone gets on the lake most of the time. you can park right there on the left side of the road as close to the lake as you can. if you are still going tommorow you should be there with hardly anyone else i would guess this time of the year. that's were i will park thursday. even at the access if you walked near shore by the access it should still be ok. the south end you can also park on the side of the road and walk out about 50 yards and start getting into deeper water or fish shallower. good luck.

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Be aware of the lowlife gas thief. I parked in the public access on monday for two hours and the jerk stole half tank of gas out of my van. I was around the corner in the smelt hole so I couldn't see the parking lot.

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thanks for the warning. i'm going to be near my truck anyway where i will be fishing. someday the lowlife will be cought. i know times are hard for some but stealing from others is not the way to go. thanks again. good luck.

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Hit up the grind today. Was out there from 1:30 to 6, and only have 1 smelt to show for it. I had my 3 year old daugher with, so I didn't cover much ground. Fished infront of the boat launch in 2 to 97 ft. Marked a few sniffers, but they weren't too interested. Access was in pretty good shape when I arrived, but on the way back I fell through ice right infront of the ramp, and the river had opened up alot more in the time I was there as well. If anyone decides to fish tomorrow, I would advise against using the boat launch. Red barn was in great shape wink Was alot of fun however, let my daughter jig and reel in my poles, but she was mostly playing with her toys...or the minnows crazy She C&R'd the smelt like a pro smile

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • LakeofthewoodsMN
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    • gimruis
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    • Wanderer
      Oh, h e l l no! 
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    • Wanderer
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    • 11-87
      Looking for recommendations on scope or red dot    I basically hunt turkey and whitetail, live in southern MN. So it’s all deer/ shotgun    looking to add a scope/ red dot as my eyes don’t work like they used to to with the open sights.    my gun options are 11/87 12. Browning BPS 12    not looking for the most expensive or the cheapest    pros and cons of one over the other
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