Grand Marais 2021

[JBMasterAngler]

Just got back from our annual Grand Marais trip! I don’t know, maybe I’m just getting old and cranky, but over the last several times I’ve been up there, I’ve been liking the town less and less. Getting too artsy, hippy, liberal for me Also sad to see the northshore getting absolutely “loved to death”! Has totally lost it’s up north feel.

 

Anyway, enough ranting. Fishing was terrible! Numbers and quality were way down. Aside from 2 smallies that barely scratched 17 inches (both were skinny), not even any medium bass were caught. Only caught a few small pike, and 1 walleye. As always, kids had fun catching sunnies from the dock at hungry jack lodge. By the way, we ate at their restaurant for the first time…AMAZING! Also fell in love with castle danger cream ale. Had fun on greenwood lake watching bass jump out of the water and catching dragonflies. There must have been a hatch going on, because they were everywhere! And every bass had fat little belly’s. The rainbow trout on kimball lake has fat belly’s too. They were gorging on mosquito larvae. Casting from shore on superior was actually productive…on the way up I caught a long nose sucker on a daredevil spoon. In front of our motel, I finally caught my first lake trout from superior! Anyway, overall it was still a fun trip. Did some hiking, mini golf, alpine slide. Didn’t see any moose, but we did see a bear and a wolf. 
 

As always, the people at Hungry Jack Lodge were great! I think we’re going to start staying there from now on.

 

[leech~~]

Well at least it was cooler up there then any other part of the state the last few weeks.  My wife and I went up in the spring and camped at Cascade River state park. Most of the town was shut down all together. Even to get a pizza from Sven and Oles you had to phone it in and pick it up inside. The rest of it was closed down and they said they may not open other then take out because they couldn't find anyone to work.

Edited June 13, 2021 by leech~~

[JBMasterAngler]

I just buy their frozen pizzas at the gas station and bring them home in a cooler now. I buy worlds best donuts at the holiday too, to avoid the insane line.

[monstermoose78]

I agree it’s yuppy town. Even with the cabin I only go up once a summer, but come fall I go there much more. You don’t have to fight the crowds in town but I am only in town to get gas and bait.

[leech~~]

5 hours ago, monstermoose78 said:

I agree it’s yuppy town. Even with the cabin I only go up once a summer, but come fall I go there much more. You don’t have to fight the crowds in town but I am only in town to get gas and bait.

 

And Ely's not?  

[monstermoose78]

Ely is getting just as bad.

[macgruber]

Don’t give up on the north shore or Ely or Grand Marais.  Sure it’s more “yuppie” or “liberal” or whatever descriptor you want to apply.  But is that really the issue this spring/summer?  I went up a handful of times between January and May and the biggest issue I encountered was the lack of staffing leading to shuttered spaces.  

 

I don’t know, count me among those who enjoy food options other than a burger and fries and thinks a traditional folk school teaching stuff that’s been lost through the years is special.  It’s pretty amazing sitting down at a place like the Angry Trout and realizing that everything from the furniture to the stained glass to the dishware to the fish they serve is all sourced from different folks on the North Shore.  If that’s “hippie” then I better find some tie dye and dancing bears, cuz that’s my jam.

The town feels off because of all the construction and no workers and Covid.  Other than a couple different new shops and Sven and Oles not figuring out a way to have their upstairs bar open and stay open for pizza past about 8 o’clock on a weekend night, it didn’t seem all that different.  There’s more people cuz folks are still on the “outside or bust” Covid recreation kick.  
 

The fishing I can’t help you with other than the last few times we’ve been up, we’ve done really well on every other lake but Hungry Jack.  The dock there’s been fun for the kids but the rest of the lake’s been a challenge.  It does get a fair bit of pressure.
 

[leech~~]

I don't mind all the “yuppies” or “liberals” on the Northshore, It's the Finlanders!!    

 

No, I know many up there. We will be back up camping this fall!