The Sea Gull River has managed to collect enough water to attract spawning walleyes. It is hard to imagine that the river has any water in at all, but it does. We spent some time on Gull Lake working this week and although I tried, I did not see any fish along the shorelines, but I have heard they are in the river already.
The season has changed so quickly this year that I feel like we are in the Twilight Zone. The weather is very touristy, but there is nobody up here. It seems like the two best months were November and April, which ironically is when most places are closed.
The drawback of course is that it is drier than burnt toast up here, with major winds to boot. I would worry about any outside fire right now, including chimneys. It is that dry.
Fire danger is very high and we have already begun running sprinkler systems to make sure they are ready.
It is smart to inspect and run your systems often. Trees fall, bears chew on things, and improper winterizing will cause damage. It is possible that your suction hose from the lake is too short in these low water conditions. That has been a problem in the past. Many things could go wrong, but simple maintenance makes sure sprinklers are working properly. It does not do any good to have a system that does not work.
I was in Des Moines, IA this past weekend and we stopped at the Sailor Ville Lake spillway, which is a reservoir above the Des Moines River. It is letting out close to maximum capacity and the lake is still flooded. There is a lot of water to the south of us even though they have not had any rain. It was strange to see all of the farmers burning brush down there, but things were looking pretty green. We are all so “fire aware” in this county that I sometimes forget that other places are not worrying at all.
There have been a lot of hammers flying on the Trail lately with construction happening everywhere you look, or so it seems. Thishas been nice weather to get caught up on work and everyone seems to be taking advantage of the longer days. I know I have been.
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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