It has been seven years since the Ham Lake Fire ravaged the Gunflint Trail leaving a scarred landscape in its wake. Each year the blackened trees become fewer as Mother Nature reclaims the once sterile ground with green life that will provide shade for the blossoming forest. It is fascinating how quickly a forest begins to rebound, however it will be many years before Saganaga Lake shorelines are decorated by towering pines again.
Saganaga Lake, at the end of the Gunflint Trail, is a living history of forest fires and an excellent reference for understanding the timeline of forest regeneration in this area. The 1995 Sag Corridor Fire has jack pines that stand about 15 feet tall, which germinate after a fire, and are so dense I would suspect nothing else will ever grow there. Hopefully I am around another 40 years to find out.
The few surviving pines that stand tall among the new growth have created favorable vantage points for the many bald eagles on the lake this year. Saganaga has always had a good population of eagles but this summer I am seeing more and they are acting unusually aggressive. The seagulls and loons are constantly fending away the bald eagles by squawking and sometimes physically challenging the giant birds—I assume to defend their young. I watched as an eagle and a seagull locked up for a moment in the air while three other seagulls came from far away to join the attack. The battle lasted about 10 minutes before the eagle finally retreated. These amazing displays are what make my job so easy.
Plant growth has also been exploding this week with wild flowers, blueberries, and raspberries filling the voids. My wife and children are gathering a winter supply of fresh blueberries. The berries are slowly becoming larger and sweeter by the minute. I like to wait until they look like clusters of miniature wine grapes before crawling through the woods, luckily my family is not as lazy.
There have been a few bears in the area who also are aware of the ripening berries, so it is a good idea to make a little noise every once in a while to alert them of your presence— which has not been a problem with my noisy little kids. A little yearling has been tearing up rotten stumps in the woods behind our house in search of ants. The little black bear gave up scavenging around our house and has been seen searching a few of our neighbors’ places at night. If there is nothing for them to eat, they will not come back. Usually.
Hawg report
(released)
. Cory Christianson 32 ½-inch walleye Saganaga Lake July 21
. Terry Erhsam 29-inch walleye Saganaga July 20
Cory Christianson has worked as a fishing guide on the Gunflint Trail since 2000. If you have any fishing or wildlife reports or stories to share, send an email to: christiansoncory@hotmail.com or call 218- 388-0315. You can also visit Cory’s website at Gunflintfishingguide.com.
Leave a Reply