The lakes have all frozen over up here on the Trail and there have been a few snowmobiles running around. Christmas always seems to kick off the winter season and we are definitely going to have a white one. The trails are in pretty good shape and I cannot wait to get some miles on.
The forecast is for some more snow this week and the milder temperatures usually mean precipitation. You can even see the grayish mist in the distance which is a sure tell sign that we will be getting some more white stuff soon. There has been a lot of snow sticking already but it never hurts to get a little bit of fresh powder every week, especially after watching how quickly winter left us last spring.
I have been looking up the winter fishing regulations for the 2010/2011 season and it does not look like too much has changed in our neck of the woods. There has been some talk about ciscoes and smelt no longer being allowed in the State of Minnesota, but I am not sure that is entirely correct. The only thing I could find out so far is that they cannot be used if they came out of Lake Superior or its tributaries.
The reason there is concern is that a disease called Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia or VHS, which causes fish to die from hemorrhaging on the surface of their scales, mouth, and eyes. The sickly reddish appearance is very obvious, however that is the final symptom and is usually undetectable by eyesight.
The regulation book says that “…smelt and baitfish like smelt taken from Lake Superior or its tributaries must be labeled as such and may not be used for bait in any other waters of the state.”
There is such a thing as certified smelt and ciscoes that are legal to use in Minnesota. There have been a number of bait shops in the Ely and Duluth area advertising the ciscoes so I would have to believe they will be available everywhere. Thesticker on the packaging will have to be carried with you while in possession of the bait. Tackle shops have also been talking about a saltwater herring that they believe will be a good bait for northern pike but nobody has tried them for Lakers.
I have always threatened to bring up some herring from Key West to try them out on our Lakers but never had the cooler space for bait. Lobster, shrimp, and groupers were all I ever seemed to have room for when I returned to the Trail each spring. None of my friends ever asked for herring, just fresh seafood. They might work for trout baits but, as I said, it should not be a problem buying certified ciscoes and hopefully they will not be too expensive.
I have seen many days that ciscoes out-catch anything else, especially under a tipup. The hardest part is keeping them thawed out enough to get out of the package. I read one guy that swears by re-hydrating them in water before using them, but I have yet to try it. It does help to pinch the skin up along their backbone to make them more limber on a jig, but this is usually necessary only when they are really stiff. Usually they are so fragile you just have to bend them back and forth a couple of times and they will look much more lifelike on the hook.
Good luck this season and remember, the opener is January 1 for lakes that are entirely inside of the Boundary Waters and January 15 for the rest of the inland lakes.
Cory Christianson, a graduate
of the University of Iowa, has
worked as a fishing guide on
the Gunflint Trail since 2000. If
you have any fishing reports
or stories to share, send an
email to: christiansoncory@
hotmail.com or call 218-388-
0315.
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