Grindstone Lake Fishing Reports

[keifer]

Anyone know if the smelt have run on grindstone yet if not what water temp. do they run at?

[reinhard1]

Welcome to HSO!!! i dont know for sure but the smelt run is winding down up in Duluth so i would bet there is none left on the grind. it was all about temps and the rain. i would wait till next year. good luck.

[keifer]

Thanks Reinhard1, It must have been a quick run, cause 3 of us have been taking turns checking every 3rd day, for about a month now. Just tired of checking should of just went to Duluth. Thanks again

[reinhard1]

ya, it's a small body of water and harder to judge when the run is on. fishing for them on hard water is fun however. with the exception of this year i have always caught enough for meals for our family. depends what a person means by enough . i do get some in the 10 to 11 inch bracket at times and those are great for smoking. good luck.

[reinhard1]

Grindstone crappies with a 5 gal bucket. good luck.

[lispeej]

That's some nice crappies you got there.

[247outdoors]

wow, nice color on them black crops.

[rumeye]

Wow nice crappies where on the lake did you get them ? I heard there is cribs in that lake.

[reinhard1]

that picture was from last year in early June. got them on the north end of the lake very shallow. just getting started on posting pics on here. now this year the crappies may come in earlier due to the early ice out. since it's such a deep lake the crappies dont move shallower as quickly as some of the shallower lakes.

there are 3 cribs on the lake. crappies move in all over the lake in the shallows where rocks,gravel, and kelp weeds are found. good luck.

[reinhard1]

Have a great opener everyone!!!! i'll probably be at the grind during the week. heading up north with my wife for a day up north on Monday first. cant wait to get into some trout. good luck.

[reinhard1]

need to do some work on my boat but i will be on the grind on Sunday with my wife. anyone been out there yet and how did you do and how is the boat landing. thanks. good luck.

[Will]

Reinhard,

Boat landing is good, water is up. Fishing was a bit tougher but we got a few rainbows. No browns in my usual "brownie" spot. Had lots of follows, but they were a little shy.

The ones we caught were smaller than usual. We did get one 17".

All in all a great day on the grind. I've been fishing there for the past 20 years and am still excited every time I go.

-Will

[Moose-Hunter]

Reinhard,

Boat landing is good, water is up. Fishing was a bit tougher but we got a few rainbows. No browns in my usual "brownie" spot. Had lots of follows, but they were a little shy.

The ones we caught were smaller than usual. We did get one 17".

All in all a great day on the grind. I've been fishing there for the past 20 years and am still excited every time I go.

-Will

Will...

Many thanks for your report! So is it safe to assume my big ol' 18 footer will make it out of the creek? Been off The Grind for way too long. I hear it calling. Just want to make sure I can launch.

[Will]

I don't think you'd have a prob if you use a trolling motor. The launch itself is a little shallow, my back tires on my truck were under water. Someone removed the log that was at the end of the creek, so if you stay to the left side it should be smooth sailing.

-Will

[reinhard1]

Will, thanks for the report also. that 17 incher is a good one. i got one 18 in. two years ago on hard water. as for the landing i usualy go by the tires on the DNR dock. if they are half way submerged then its good to go for my 1850 Crestliner. normaly early in the year the tires are submerged but we haven't had the rain that we had last spring. but i think the way it sounds it's good to go. good luck.

[Moose-Hunter]

Last time out, the "tire gauge" looked like this...

And I had ZERO issues launching, navigating the creek and loading at the end of the day.

So if you see this...

Keep your eyes peeled... the ol' Moose- Hunter is about!

What do ya think? This kind of weather for Sunday?

[reinhard1]

LOL, that's the tire guage alright. that's what i like to see and highter. nice shot of the entry of the landing. for first timers, keep your prop shallow until you get to the drop off. so far it looks like showers early Sunday but that's down here. dont have an idea about the grind area. hoping for a nice day. we will be in a 1850 Chrestliner with a 115 Merc in the back and a chocolate lab's first time out. good luck.

[SpecialK]

Headed out there in about an hour. Weather report tomorrow night and sunday morning doesn't look good. If you a little 14'er with an old evenrude on the back wave me over. Going to try dragging some kastmasters in the usual trolling areas.

[reinhard1]

that's a good lure choice. hope you have a great day!!! ya, Sunday looks like possible thunderstorms, but we'll see how it goes. otherwise the next day, but we are shooting for Sunday. good luck.

[SpecialK]

You as well my friend. I hope the weather holds off for you.

[SpecialK]

Got out for 2 hours between 9 and 11. Wind was blowing me around pretty good so I was steering more than concentrating on electronics. Feed bag turned on around 10. Missed a good hit, caught an 11" rainbow and then missed another strong hit all on a small rainbow painted kastmaster. Tire guage looks the same as moose's picture so the bigger boats should be good to go.

Found the fish stacked up on the north side of the humps in the normal trolling run and hugging the bottom. There were a few higher but most were waiting for the smelt to move I think.

Will try to get back out tomorrow if the wind quiets down.

[reinhard1]

thanks for the report. ya, i realy dont like windy days like we have today. a good chop is good but not when your blown around and cant have the control you would like to have. hope the winds die down a bit tommorow. they should i think. good luck.

[SpecialK]

This morning looks beautiful after the t-storm rolled thru last night. We didn't see much rain last night tho. Will try to get out again this morning when the gf heads to work.

[reinhard1]

Hopfully not as windy as yesterday. good luck.

[SpecialK]

Wind was worse Saturday than it was Friday. There were few more boats out but didn't hear of anyone having any luck with either Lakers or Rainbows / Browns. I was able to make one full pass then I had to get off the water as I didn't feel safe in my little boat. The big boats were handling the waves fine tho.

Smelt were every where and the trout were right there with them.

[Mnfisher]

Special K...how deep were the smelt and trout?

[SpecialK]

Most trout were either hugging the bottoms deep which I am assume were lakers. All the rainbows and browns were either just under the surface(not many), at 30 feet or hugging the north sides of the humps at about 30 feet. They were stacked up on the north sides of the humps like cord wood.

The one I did catch friday morning was actually while I was on my way back across the lake heading to the landing.

Smelt were usually around 30 feet or just under the surface.

[Moose-Hunter]

I'd like to head up tomorrow early morning... As in before the city folk hit the roads I'd like to be "line down". BUT... With all the construction, can anyone suggest a drama free route from the west metro? Feel free to drop me a PM if you'd like.

[SpecialK]

Monday morning going north you shouldn't have any problems at all. Most of the traffic is heading south.

[Moose-Hunter]

Monday morning going north you shouldn't have any problems at all. Most of the traffic is heading south.

Thanks S.K.!!

I'm hoping that's the case... If all goes right, in less than 8 hours I'll be on The Grind!