Trout Opener

[HossFisher]

Hey everyone. Heading up to a cabin near Marcell Friday for the weekend and would love to sneak out Saturday morning for trout opener. Usually, I would be fishing Courthouse Lake down in the cities, so crowds are not an issue haha. Anybody have any input on a good put and take trout fishery? Looks like Kremer may be a good option according to the stocking plan. Thanks for any help.

[Amoebus]

I have never fished Kramer, but have fished Caribou. Had decent luck. Quite a hike in (well, actually out). Interesting that we had a game warden check us one time – he flew in. There were 2 parties on the lake and both had trout stamps.

We have also fished the big pit (Canis-something) north of Bovey and caught an occasional laker. That was even a longer hike in.

[NomadicAngler]

I don’t believe the canisteo pit is open to the public anymore. I remember it was open to liberalized fishing a few years ago before mining got started. Don’t know how long it’s going to last, but supposedly they’ve drained lots of water out of the pit.

[OldandInTheWay]

Kremer will have some people on it … but so will most trout lakes. They are all hit-and-miss, at least for me. If interested in stream trout, go to Kremer or Moonshine which is in the same vicinity. Go to Caribou for lakers.

On the topic of Canisteo, I read about people doing well there over the past two years, but never figured out how they accessed it since the mining operation closed the access. I think if you contacted Ben’s bait in Grand Rapids you might get some info on how to access the lake. It has (or had?) some nice fish in it, but they were hard to find. I got broke off there enough times to keep going back. Mostly I caught smaller ones, but believe there are some big ones roaming around. But since it is such a large, deep body of water you are lucky to cross paths with the larger ones …

Either way, good luck …

[HossFisher]

Thanks for the quick replies everyone. I should have specified more, I’m most interested in stream trout. Not that I don’t have the laker itch, but I don’t think time will allow me to chase them all day. Our little 12 acre trout pond in Chaska gets packed with over 1,000 people on trout opener yet I keep going back year after year. I’ll most likely be out on Kremer or Moonshine looking to stick a few rainbows.

[Bigfatber]

Kramer , Caribou, both good choices off Hwy 38 , also
Lucky lake has Brown trout , and some dandys at that.. Moonshine and Nickel lakes can be good also.
If you can make it up to the Togo area , which isn’t too long of a drive , there are some good lakes also , one is Erskine , and one is Larson. Or else most of the iron ore pits on the iron range have the stream trout stocked. Should be alittle warmer on Saturday, good luck wherever you end up.

[Bigfatber]

Hey Pete , sorry i don’t know how to answer your pm to me concerning Lucky lake . Lucky has some awesome Browns in there . It’s been quite awhile since I have been into Lucky . If I remember right it’s about a half mile , maybe three quarter mile hike in . Yes it could be a tough hike in now with the snow we have up this way. Hope this helps you out . Bigfatber over and out !

[HossFisher]

Just to follow up on my previous question. Ended up heading to Kremer Saturday morning for the opener. Got lines in about 7am and fished until about 9am. Ended up with 7 decent rainbows, nothing huge. Didn’t have all that many moving through, but the one’s that did almost all bit. 8-10 other groups on the lake. Anybody make it out for Lakers?

[stickleback]

HossFisher,

I was at Kremer on opener as well. We were in the first house out from the landing on the north shore. Ended up with 5 rainbows.

What lures/presentations worked best for you? We spooked several fish while jigging. Most fish were caught with a frozen shiner on a plain hook…no movement. Only caught one on a wax worm.

We did see two bigger rainbows but they swam through the hole and didn’t even slow down.

Fish shutdown around 9:00 with the bright sun out.

[HossFisher]

Stickleback,

We were in the red Eskimo fatfish along the north shore, just shy of the point that goes into the back bay. We didn’t do all that well early, had 3 fish up until 8:15am then had a 10 minute window where we caught three. All of our fish were caught on small tungstens tipped with waxworms. Didn’t do much sight fishing so not sure how many swam by, but it’s good to know there are a few plus size rainbows swimming in there with all the yearlings.

[Bigfatber]

Yes u can still get into Canesteo pit. And I’ve heard some nice reports.

[OldandInTheWay]

Could you tell me how to get onto Canesteo, since Magnetation closed the access a couple years ago? I used to fish it often but haven’t figured how to access it …

[Amoebus]

DNR lake finder (recreational compass) reports that there is a public access on the West end.

[NomadicAngler]

I e-mailed the DNR in regards to canisteo pit. They told me that, despite the mining operation going bankrupt, the lake is still under private ownership, and closed to the public. The access is also closed, obviously. The lake levels have dropped about 20 feet. i don’t know what the future holds for this lake, but at this time, it’s private and not being managed by the DNR.

[thormoto]

What I would like to know is if we got any money back from how much was spent to stock the lake?

Thor

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