It truly is beginning to look a lot like Christmas on the Trail. A beautiful white blanket of snow has managed to stick around long enough to justify plowing the roads. The tree has been decorated and the lights have been hung. Thiswill be the first Christmas in our new home and I have to admit that I am feeling a little jollier this season. I have asked Santa for some new ice fishing equipment and I think I have been good enough to actually get it.
The fishing shows of late are mostly geared towards the winter season and they are using some pretty cool new products. There was a 16’ ice house/trailer that has a retractable back door so you can transport your snowmobile or four-wheeler to the lake, and it floats. I would never be in a situation where I would need my ice house to float, but evidently other people are.
I checked out a personal pop-up rig that folds into a large backpack that seems very useful for our area. It was basically a folding camp chair with an overhead canvas and a small window. I like the idea of not having to pull a trailer behind the snowmobile, especially when fishing lakes like Birch and Moss with their less than friendly trails. Anything to break the wind is an advantage especially during the frigid months of January and February.
Heated jackets and pants are now available as well. They are battery operated and actually contain heating elements sewn into the fabric that can be turned on and off with the push of a button. There was even a solar powered backpack that could be used to recharge the batteries inside of your jacket. You could also recharge the battery with a Bosch drill that runs an eight-inch auger. Theyclaim it will drill holes all day long on one battery. Very compact and lightweight.
After my first winter of ice fishing on the Trail, I was convinced that you really do not need a shelter to fish. I have since changed my mind. I prefer fishing in the elements, but a lot can be said about fishing in the protection of a heated house. No messing with cleaning out your hole every few minutes or dealing with your rod tip freezing up. I like the mobility of fishing outside, but I found myself visiting my friends in their heated houses more and more last winter. Fishing in a heated house with a short-sleeved shirt is pretty cool. If the bite is slow you can break out the cards and still be much happier than you are at work.
I am still trying to figure out the ideal way to mount the power auger to my sled. I have seen them mounted to the hood, but my problem is that if they are mounted sideways I cannot get through some of the tight trails up here. Last year I mounted my auger vertically behind my seat, but it would occasionally bottom out when I was climbing steep hills. I had a customer driving my sled with the auger last year. I was following him back from Sea Gull on my other sled and he hit a bump that broke one of the straps off of the auger. The other strap held tight, but he dragged my auger upside down from Sea Gull back to his cabin on Sag before I could catch up with him. Luckily no damage was done, but lesson learned—I need a better system.
Cory Christianson, a 2000
graduate of the University of
Iowa, has worked as a fishing
guide on the Gunflint Trail for
nine years. 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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