Anchor Inn Resort Blog - Home

The opener was great weather for the Northwoods.  The water levels have risen about 10 inches since opening.    The unusual warm spring had the bite well advanced in most species.   The air temperatures have been in the mid 70’s this past week.  Scattered showers and fronts moving through have scattered the fish.   During the opening weeks many walleye were harvested from smaller eating size up to a four pounder.  After a May Fly hatch in early June the walleye bite slowed, but they are now being caught again.  Crappie and pan fish have been caught in water depths of 4 to 10 feet.  Both are being caught off the Anchor Inn Bridge.  Most on jigs with live bait.   Large jumbo perch and northern continue to be caught.  The water temperature has been recorded at mid 70’s.

A nice start for the bass season!!  The vegetation has completely covered Rice Lake leaving no place to navigate into this natural fish hatchery until Fall.

Small and large mouth bass are being harvested in good numbers.  Good eating size of 2.5 to 3 pound range.    Weather fronts continue to move in.   Bring your rain gear, just in case, and enjoy the fishing, moderate temperatures, and cool evenings.

Keep an eye on the pictures in the 2010 Guest photo album and updates on the fishing reports.

The Anchor Inn boat launch continues to be very busy due to low water levels and poor access at the public landings.

If you have not tried fishing in the Sand Lake chain you need to come try it out.  We believe you will find the accommodations at Anchor Inn relaxing, clean and reasonable.

The biggest catch of the week!!

Over 40 pounds

We have an early spring with ice going out two weeks earlier than normal which is four weeks out before 2009.  Are you ready to go fishin’?

This year, 2009,  produced good fishing at Anchor Inn Resort .  The following are the winners of the fishing contest:

 No one entered their walleye in the contest, but there were a lot of nice walleye.   There was an abundance of small walleye which indicates there is a strong class of fish coming up.   The stocking of Sand  and Little Sand Lakes continue through the combined efforts of the Sand Lake Property Owners Association and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.  This Fall a total of 1,897 pounds of fingerings were stocked.  The cool summer and abnormally warm September did impact some of the usual patterns of fishing and hunting.

Fishing Opener for 2010 is Saturday, May 15.  Make your reservations now for the opener!!

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is considering implementing new limits of only five each on Sunfish, Perch and Crappie on the Sand Lake Chain.  You will have an opportunity to voice your opinion on their website www.dnr.state.mn.us during a public comment period next spring, summer and fall.  If this were enacted into the regulations it would take place in 2011.   Your opinions and comments make a great deal of difference.

 The best hunting this year was the grouse.  Field and Stream has ranked the Chippewa National Forest as the Number 1 grouse hunting location in the United States.  We had several parties who were flushing better than 20 birds a day.   The Whitetail deer herd is down.  The DNR just reported that the  statewide harvest is down 19% from last year and the Grand Rapids area is down 26%.

Legendary Fishing

Anglers find a sportsman’s paradise at Anchor Inn Resort.  Our unique location on the shore of the Bowstring River offers our guests lake access to Minnesota fisheries like Bowstring Lake, Big Sand Lake, Little Sand Lake and the Bowstring River.  Walleye, northern pike, crappie, sunfish, rock bass, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and perch all thrive in the clean and unspoiled waters of the winding Bowstring River.  Anglers come from miles around to fish from the “Anchor Inn Bridge.”  Its walkway, just a few feet from our front door, produces everything from stingers of sunfish to buckets of bullhead as well as wall-mount walleye and trophy-size northern pike.  Our guests often find a shady spot under a tree and shore fish along the resort’s mile-long river frontage.  Just downstream is Rice Lake, a spectacular fish hatchery, with 817 acres of sun-warmed shallow water nearly covered with wild rice.