The lightning storms and violent rains we have experienced up here lately have made fishing a little bit difficult.Three days this week were so windy that we were reduced to about 20 percent of the lake calm enough to fish on. The winds were blowing around 20 – 30 mph and the wave heights were in the three to four foot range. This may not seem like much, but that was in the smaller part of Saganaga, which is protected by the islands. I only imagine how rough it was on the big lake side of the islands, but I can tell you there were white caps in my coffee cup!
Call it an accident, but many walleyes were caught in the springtime spots like Devils Walk and James Bay. I say accident because this is usually not the first destination choice in the middle of July since most of the fish are in the deeper and cooler water near the main lake. However, these spots were the only places comfortable enough to fish and it worked. The average size walleye was only 14 to 17 inches, but it sure beats getting slammed around in waves all day. Fishing in the wind is no fun. It becomes harder to control the boat, and feeling bottom becomes next to impossible.
My friend Ron Berg told me that “back in the day” everyone fished these spots all summer long. The guides never knew that fish were living on the rock piles for the summer. People knew that the fish populations left these bays, but had no idea where to find them, so they kept trolling the bays and managed to catch fish all summer long. Fishing the same shorelines every day of the summer had to be incredibly boring. It drives me crazy even for the first month of the season every year. Thatis why I get so excited about fish moving out of the bays and into the main lake. A much-needed change in scenery for me.
I cannot say who is credited with introducing the slip bobbers, and discovering fish on the rock piles, but every “senior” guide on the Gunflint Trail will tell you it was them.
If you don’t believe me just ask any of them. Make sure you have a little time because you could be there for a while. A true angler has an inherent ability to embellish the truth a little while tooting his or her own horn. Make no mistake, I am just as guilty as anyone, but it is a lot easier for me to write about it than to actually speak it. In fact when I proofread my articles, I usually end up deleting as many “I” statements as possible just so I do not sound like I am in love with myself. See there were five in that last sentence alone.
It is hard not to be a little proud of yourself in any profession. It is the same passion that drives an artist into believing someone will appreciate his or her work or that a writer will actually get read. There is a little bit of ego in all of us, that is what makes the world go round.
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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