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Grindstone Lake Fishing Reports


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thanks JB, for the report. sounds like the temps are cool enough to bring the browns and rainbows near surface. few years ago i was at the boat landing and this couple came in from the lake. talked to them awhile and the guy said his wife got a nice brown. i asked to see it and he lifts this 6 pound brown out of his cooler. i took a video of it with my old vcr camera. she caught it on a floating rapala with the orange back and gold sides trolling in the middle of the lake near the surface with no weights. soon the dnr will be stocking the fall batch of rainbows in the grind. good luck.

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They must stock that lake after the season closes at the end of the month? I may have to make another run down there if the trout start getting active. A couple of colder nights will start to draw them up I'm guessing? I know the trout in some of the streams along the north shore are pretty active right now.

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i'm not exactly sure what date they stock them but it is late fall. they used to only stock them once in the spring but do to increased popularity of hard water trout they have been doing this for a few years now. i know a few big pike will be waiting for the rookie rainbows as well. good luck.

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Kinda, sorta sounds like I can pull the down riggers off for the season. At least where trout are concerned. Confirmation please... Lakers are now off limits and other stream trout are good to go until the end of the month?

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ya, lakers are done until the special hard water season. stream trout are open till the end of october. good luck.

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  • 3 weeks later...

No posts here for over two weeks? Everyone hunting now?

I've been focusing on hunting myself, but I thought this snap of cooler weather might start enticing the rainbows to shallow up? Might be fun to make it there in the next couple of weeks before I put the boat away. Is there someplace that we can call to get a water level report of the landing? It would be pretty disappointing to make the drive to find out I can't launch...

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i've been doing a little bird hunting and preping my deer area up a little. i wish i could help you with the water level at the landing. i would think the trout are active now and some big pike in the shallower waters. the grind takes a little longer than other lakes in the area to freeze up because of it's depth. i dont fish the grind on hard water till the trout opener in january.

at that time i fish for trout, pike, and crappies. and i fish for trout and smelt there until march when trout closes. so i'm looking forward to the hard water there. good luck.

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I "may" be making a trip to The Grind later this week. I have to confirm my back up plan (Mille Lacs) before I can commit though. If I make it, we're gonna see just how "smart" my phone really is. If it works, I'll post a pic of the dock IF it's still in.

With the my local water levels dropping by the minute, I'm giving my 17' Trophy a 50/50 shot at best, for a decent launch depth.

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Hope you can make it out. realy haven't had any rain to make a difference. Lake Eleven is nearby if you like panfish and Bass. there are some walleys in there as well. of course mille lacs gives you lots of options. good luck.

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I'll post a pic of the dock IF it's still in.

Ouch, I didn't even think about the dock being pulled. I normally hunt straight through until the lakes are frozen up here, but I've grown fond of fishing Grindstone in open water. I've kept my boat out in the hopes I could make another swing down there but I may have to wait for hard water, my favorite time of the year to be on The Grind.

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I'm making a run up to Duluth this afternoon to visit an ATV dealer, and then I have to run down to Hinckley tonight. I'll see if I can buzz over there and take a peek along the way, but I have to be back in Cloquet by 10 so it might be close.

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I didn't have a chance to get over there yesterday. Hoping someone can give a report soon. I'd like to make it over there the early part of next week for a last hurrah.

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thanks for the try anyway. that landing can be a problem at times due to low water. i think right now would be a great time to be out there. not much time left for stream trout. pike should be roaming the shallows as well. good luck.

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sled, i wish i could tell you. i imaging the DNR has taken the dock out by now and the landings water lever is low. i think a smaller boat would be no problem but a boat like my 1850 crestliner with a 115 merc would have problems. maby someone could pipe in with up to date info. good luck.

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Sorry guys... I dropped the ball the other day and never made it up. That four letter word that begins with "W" again!!! mad

I'm going to try again for either Thursday or Friday. With the season so short... I'm not sure if that'll help much unless trout is not on your dance card.

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Dock is out, and the water level is extremely low. I had to buzz down to Hinckley, and stopped by this morning. I don't know if I could get my 12 footer out. I could see a noticeable sandbar along the right hand side, I little closer to shore than I remembered. Hardly any water movement in the channel. Hard water here we come!

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thanks for your effort and information. always keep that sandbar on the right in mind when the landing is "normal" and it should be no problem. that is my only complaint on that lake [the landing at times]. the DNR planted 3,000 rainbows again this fall [last week]. the rainbows distribute quickly around the lake. i'm sure some big pike grabbed a few as well. keep in touch and we will see you on the ice. thanks again. good luck.

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  • 3 weeks later...

i've been thinking about what my goals are this year for this lake. one thing is that i dont spend enough time on the lake trout. i love to sight fish for rainbows and bring home those tasty smelt. depending on the ice thickness this January when trout opens i will key on the lakers more. heck, there are always some rainbows cruising just under the ice even in the deep areas of the lake, although the shallows are much better.

but then i would be missing out on tagging some pike on tip ups. well early on in january i think early in the day as usual, i'll be putting out a tip up for pike and sight fish for rainbows and then mid day go deeper for lakers. but in this lake one never knows. my brother got a nice 8 pound laker once fishing in 20 foot of water near shore. but there is something about fishing in 80 feet of water watching your flasher light up 25 to 30 feet down with clouds of smelt comming by. we have caught crappie and lake trout at that depth over the years.

just thinking right now, who knows what i'll do. but it's nice to have the choices. good luck.

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So many options, so little time. I may try to make it up there a few more times this winter, just love those bows on the smoker!

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maby you can make it to our little get together in Jan or early feb. maby try for some larger smelt also for the smoker. we get some in the 10 inch area for smoking and smaller ones for the deep fryer. good luck.

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The only laker I've gotten through the ice on grind was in 15 ft of water...of course it was only a 14 incher.

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cant wait to get out there this winter! this lake sounds like a ball! i especially hope to load up on a pile of smelt. everything loves to eat em. pike, eyes, cats, bass, sturg, and me! and hopefully a few trout would be nice too. mmmm....smoked trout

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i remember many years ago when they used to have a anual fishing contest on the grind in March i believe. i went every year because it was truly a family event. i think the entry ticket was 5 bucks. there was a biggest fish award and many times it was a smelt. it was on the south end near the road. i remember one time i won a can of coffee, a car repair book, and a 12 pack of pop. even when your number was drawn they put it back in the hat for more drawings. anyway on one contest someone won the biggest fish award [i think 100 bucks] with a 4 pound laker caught in 4 feet of water on a waxy. so who knows. good luck.

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there is usualy no problem getting smelt under the ice. of course the "smelt hole" is the most popular although they are all over the lake. it seems to me that i have better luck in deeper water suspended. i also like to fish them suspended in deeper water because i get an occational laker and crappie while fishing for them.

one think i want everyone who fishes on hard water to remember is to know the lake you fish on during hard water. this lake is very deep and is not safe to drive on as early as some other lakes in the area. just because you see trucks and cars driving all over in area lakes does not mean Grindstone is safe. it is one of the last lakes to freeze.

this is one reason i dont fish it until the January opener and even then i have seen ice 6 to 8 inches at times and who knows what it was in the middle. i have seen trucks drive faster than they should accross the lake and i would stand ready with my wheeler should something happen along with a call to 911. thank God so far, so good.

there are many springs around the lake, so DO NOT drive around the shorelines. you can see that litteraly on the east side with murky water in normaly clear water. runoff from nearby shoreline springs. i walked out on january on the west side near one of the points with a chisel and i was over 10 feet of water and with one punch it went through. this was south of the red barn near the first point.

in normal winters with normal snowfall the lake is safe to drive on like other lakes from January on. just want to give a heads up to those on there for the first time. i have been on there when there was a good 25 inches on there and we drove all over with the trucks. there was little snow and the cold was there.

there will be spear shacks comming up in the shallow areas of the north west side as usual as soon as it's safe to slide them on. other shacks will be seen on shorelines with a few here and there along the lake. so shallow water anglers for pike can have some success at time during this time.

there are no guarentees out there. the fish are there, however they have a ton of food out there as well. the stocked rainbows and browns have "carry over" from year to year. lake trout get stocked as well. crappies will be suspended over deep water. there are some large pike in the grind also. i have gone home skunked a few times with nothing but a good day to be out. many get frustrated on this lake and fish elsewere. i can understand that, there are walley lakes and panfish lakes all over with a better chance to get the fryer going. to me it's a unique lake that is very challenging, and if nothing else i can always get a smelt fry going. good luck.

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"cant wait to get out there this winter! this lake sounds like a ball! i especially hope to load up on a pile of smelt. everything loves to eat em. pike, eyes, cats, bass, sturg, and me! and hopefully a few trout would be nice too. mmmm....smoked trout"

Rememeber you can not use smelt for bait anymore unless it comes from an authorized bait dealer. The package has a lot # on it to make it legal.Due to the VHS disease.

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years ago before this smelt bait deal came about, this lake was my source for dead bait for pike on hard water and even during opener for pike trolling with my home made rigs. we kept the larger ones for dead bait and smoking and the rest for deep frying. we also used them for lakers in hard water by hooking them basicly texas style and leaving them lay on the bottom with the tip ups set real light. once in awhile we would get the big mud puppy's [large salamander like creatures] on the smelt. we unhooked them as best and carefull as possible and put them down the hole again. they actualy have a type of gill system alowing them to breath in the water. some say they are ugly, i say they are cool. good luck.

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I will be out there the first weekday after the opener in Jan grin Got a new 4x4 well new to me! Bad weather won't keep me away!!!! Will always have an open seat for the ride up and back and open seat in the house! Long box truck could fit two houses too!!!!!

Kettle

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the opener for stream trout in inland lakes is January 15 until March 31. so there is a lot of time there. January 15 happens to be on a Sunday. you would think that they would open it on saturday but it is what it is. i'm sure sunday will be busy. but after that the pressure gradualy dies off. spurts on weekends and fairly few fishermen on weekday's. a lot has to do with the snow cover and thickness of the ice. smelt fishing is getting more popular every year. actualy the smelt fishing gets better in early March in my opinion not that it's slow any other time, just better. they seem to bunch up more getting ready for the spawn in my opinion. i'll be up there as well Kettle. keep in touch. good luck.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • LakeofthewoodsMN
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