Hotspotoutdoors

How big do those rainbows get on the Grind? Just curious.

the average size are 10 to 14 inches as a rule. in the last few years i have cought some bigger ones, my largest 19 inches [ice fishing]. they are stocked twice a year now instead of once a few years back. increased ice fishing popularity is the reason for this. i believe a lot of the rainbows carry over to other years now and some are getting bigger because of that.

when you get a 12 to 14 incher you will notice the flesh will get orange instead of the white flesh when they are planted. eating more of the natural foods over time. good luck.

The water level at boat landing was good, the river coming in there was full, Could you tell me how you fish for rainbows on the surface? Or what spoons to troll with ? Any info on rainbows would be great. Good luck fishing next week, and thanks for all the good grindstone info you have posted on here.

rainbows can be caught all over the lake trolling. i tend to stay in deeper water but have caught them on the surface close in as well [20 feet of water]. by surface i mean within 10 feet of the surface.

here is what you need. spinning rod with no heavier line than 6lb test. spinners work but twist your line up bad, and i have tried ball bearing swivels and all that but over time twists will come. small spoons such as cleos, krockodile, and mepps cyclops in silver or bronze work the best for me. small floating rappalas work good also in silver black and gold black.

when your ready to troll cast the spoon behind you as far as you can and begin to troll. simple as that. troll fast enough to give the spoon action, not any faster. as far as the rapalas, i usualy put a small split shot a couple of feet in front for a little weight. i dont cast the rapala out, i put it in the water and let line out until it is back far enough as if you cast it out and start trolling. thanks for the reports and good luck.

I was out today, I did not catch anything, kind of a test run for me. I ran into one guy who caught two, let em go, they were under 10''. Although I did see a small school (6 fish or so) all around the 10-12'' range. I did see an enormous one swimming in the shallows, prob in the 20'' range. I didn't have the right baits really though, cyclops spoons but too large. I will try it again soon on a less windy day with some new baits, I sure got blown around. I'm in search of walleye's tomorrow, depends if work is quite tonight and I get some sleep.

color is important also. stick with bronze,gold, or silver. this time of the year they are one the surface. browns also, but i have cought more browns in the shallows this time of the year casting spoons, small rapalas, or spinners [no. 1 mepps gold or silver. good luck.

Thinking about heading up there this Saturday. Do you also troll up the lakers by chance?

i have cought lakers on deep divers this time of the year. if you see smelt on the screen that's where they will be in general. later in the year the smelt go deep and so do the lakers so you will need a downrigger. i have over the years cought some lakers in 30 feet of water with a deep diving plug [this time of year]. my brother cought his biggest one on the south west side of a 30 ft hump on a silver loco spoon [14lbs]. we had just gone over the hump when it hit so the spoon was not on the bottom but i believe the laker came up for it. so in general i would troll with something that would go down 20 to 25 feet sat. for lakers. good luck.

Thanks! I think I'll be doing alot of experimenting..cool

Going out in the AM after work, should be on the water by 630, just dropped a good lump some down at thorn bro.s while visiting the rents today so should have what I need, with all hopes I will have a fish story to report tomorrow evening......

i will be there next week for sure. cant wait to get up there. i'll be looking for your report. hope you do well. good luck.

Got out today, not as early as I would have liked, busy night at work so didn't get too much sleep, made it out around 1000, checked out a few areas on the lake, ended up with two rainbows in the 14'' range, there are definetally a good population of fish, they were feeding and jumping everywhere, herd mixed reports, most of the anglers who got there early got the numbers, I had to call it a day around 1630 had the night shift again tonight. Maybe Sunday or tues get the night or morning bite.

thanks for the report. sometimes when i see activity on the surface i just drift accross the lake for awhile and cast rather than troll. just to take a break from trolling at times. i remember years ago there would be fishermen with flyrods and waders standing in the shallow area in front of the boat landing getting rainbows. dont see that anymore. i think flyrods would be effective but i haven't seen anyone do it for a long time.

glad you had some results. thanks for the report. good luck.

I plan on trying it a few more times this week, my only dayshift is friday, more nights ahead which means more daylight on the lake, I've been an avid fly angler since I was fourteen, so maybe give that a try if the winds agree. The east side has been the area I have targeted lately. Still some waters I need to try for walleyes soon too.

i like trolling the east side for trout as well. much deeper water on that side as far as the shoreline until you get south of the audobon point. the north east bay is my favorite for rainbows, but they are all over. keep your spoons and small rappala's near the surface and if they are cooperative you will get strike. i will be there this week. looks like tues. or wends. good luck.

I think Thursday is my next fish day, rain out today and education at work through Wed. I completely agree with the rapalas, the two fish I cleaned last week stomachs were full of minnows, I used a smaller original rap, new color I think, black on top and silver on the bottom (tinfoil like reflective silver) seemed to do the trip, with a little split shot, gosh way too much fun, I'm already getting excited for Thursday

rainbows in this lake realy pound a lure. there is a lot of forage for the fish in this lake. i have caught creek chubs 6 to 7 inches long on a small piece of worm that i have used for pike in the lake the same day. try casting the shorelines for a little while with the same lures and see if you can pick up a brown. this time of the year the browns seem to hang around the shorelines more. very seldom do i get one out there with the rainbows. but later in june i have got some 20 feet down on deep runners. good luck.

Going to head down to Grindstone tomorrow morning going after a multitude of fish (rainbows, browns, northern and crappies.) Have the whole day to fish, so I figured might as well give it a go. Trolling for trout, pitching for pike, and bobber fishing for crappies to end the day. Should we expect to see the crappies in shallow on that lake now?

give it a try. i usualy have my best luck from memorial day through june as a rule but this has been a cold spring. sounds like you have a lot of fun planned out for tommorow. hope you have some luck. good luck.

Reinhard1 are you going to make it there? Saw a couple of posts earlier that you might try to make it Tues or Wed.

Got out yesterday before the weather hit, 3 bows and a lost Laker at the boat..lots of water running into the lake, swear all a fella could hear fishing the shoreline was the sound of water falls (haha). Your right also, the trout really smash the artificials, was using ultralight equip and had a blast. Looking forward to hitting it again this wknd provided the weather plays nice.

my brothers wife passed away last week after a long illness. my brother usualy hops in the boat on my first trip on open water there every year comming down from duluth. there will be a memorial for her on friday in duluth but he was going to meet me on wensday but called me this morning and canceled it. he has been fishing the northshore since her passing just to get out, so i thought he would come down for sure but he's getting the house ready for some friends to stay for awhile and then come down to my house on saturday. so i wont make it till next week.

in june i will be there every week. the week of the 13th i will be there 3 days in a row for sure with the family fishing. as you can tell june is my favorite month there. good luck.

made it out yesterday we boated 4 about 10-12 inches so not to bad for our first time out.

glad to see you got some. pretty windy yesterday also. i will be there next week for sure and often through june. thanks for the report back. good luck.

ya you could say it was windy the trolling motor drained pretty quick got 3 trolling and 1 casting. we were there from 12:00 until about 7:30 but from about 1:30-7:00 they just would not eat. alot of fish breaking the surface though.

thanks again reinhard for the pointers they deffinately worked.