It was not very long ago that I cherished the green-up every spring. I would anxiously await the bright sunny days and fresh smell of blooming trees fueled by the cool May showers. Spring is an exciting transition from winter, marking the return of the summer residents and the start of another fishing season on the Gunflint Trail. It is also when allergy sufferers, such as myself, are downright miserable.
I have seasonal allergies that are progressively worsening each year. I know that it is not the end of the world, but they make it very difficult to enjoy what used to be my favorite season. It might seem crazy to wish for the black flies to appear, but that is usually about the time my allergy symptoms subside. Bring on the bugs!
Most of my friends spent the entire Memorial weekend fishing while I finished readying my guide boat for the busy season ahead. Saganaga has been producing some eater-size walleyes on the deep Fall Reefs in 65 feet of water. This has been a new trend on the bigger lakes since many of the juvenile walleyes will stay down in these depths all year round and they are usually hungry. It is imperative to have a good depth-finder that you understand how to read. If the fish are below your boat, the depth-finder should be seeing them.
Northern Light Lake in Ontario has been giving up some nice walleyes so far this year. The water is still cold and the fish are not very active, but the walleyes that are willing to bite have been the big ones. It is not uncommon to catch 10 walleye in a day with three of them being over 28 inches. Scratching out a dinner can be tough to accomplish when all of the fish are too big to keep.
Minnows have been the hot bait to use for walleyes even though a few were caught this weekend using jigs tipped with night crawlers. Northern Light Lake has darker water than Saganaga so brighter colored jigs are more effective. The fish are not afraid to be very shallow in darker water lakes. It is common to cast close to shore and expect a bite in the first couple of rod pumps. Saganaga has clearer water and the fish are usually out from shore a little further to get away from the light penetration.
Saganaga has not been an easy lake to catch a walleye on these past few years and so far there has not been any evidence indicating a difference this year. It will be interesting to see if the stocking efforts in the past few years are going to improve the walleye population. I hope that it works but I also have my doubts. I fear that whatever factors have caused the walleye populations to decrease on Saganaga are still present. Only time will tell.
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.
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