Upper Grindstone Lake in Algoma: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Upper Grindstone Lake is listed under Algoma, Ontario. The ground round it is lake country bush. It measures about 62 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. With 8.6 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. Thessalon sits 55 km from the bank. Beyond it, Elliot Lake at 65 km and Blind River at 66 km. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Upper Grindstone Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Records held for Algoma cover walleye, northern pike, Iowa darter and yellow perch. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Fish Upper Grindstone Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 17°C in July and bottom out at -13°C in January. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Ice is part of the season here, ending near late April. Average temperatures cross freezing around late April in spring and again near late November in autumn. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Upper Grindstone Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. The nearest alternative is Izaak Lake, 2.7 km out. Where Upper Grindstone Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.