While returning home last night from a four-day marathon to Des Moines, I could see a noticeable difference in the leaves along Highway 61 in Cook County. The maples are beginning to show some red, and compared to Iowa (which is greener than Mr. Green Jeans riding a John Deere tractor on a football field) it sure looks like we are going to see the first signs of fall happening soon.
It appeared there had been some rainfall on the Gunflint Trail while we were sweating out the 88 degree weather in Iowa. The halffull wheel barrow in my driveway was an obvious giveaway, and my boat ran a little slow this morning, which is usually from the carpeted floor being saturated by a good rain.
Saganaga Lake had an isolated heavy shower last week rumored to have been in the 3-4 inch range which is incredible considering that we live near Loon Lake and didn’t see a drop that same night. It is strange, for me at least, to see Saganaga Lake so high (14 inches below the high water mark) this late in the season. Horsetail Falls in the Northeast Arm is still running and it usually tapers down to a trickle by the end of July. It is such a relief to have a wet summer for a change.
After the last winter it is hard to say goodbye to summer, even though I have always appreciated fall the most. I love fishing on Saganaga Lake during the color change. The water temperatures begin dropping and so do the fish. Once those walleyes are down past 30 feet they are eating minnows and not much else, and they are going to show themselves on the depthfinder since they are usually off of the bottom a little. If their bellies are touching the bottom they are impossible to see on the machine.
Electronic fishing is very effective on bigger lakes when fish go deep, but I find myself torn between staring at a depth-finder or the colorful scenery that surrounds us. Once, while fishing in the fall, I had a guy tell me that he wanted to paint every shoreline he could see. “Oh you’re a painter” I asked, and he replied “nope…just inspired.”
It really is that kind of place. A bad day fishing on the Gunflint Trail is still a pretty good day—at least that’s what I hear. Ha ha!
It was nice to get off of the Trail for a spell but it is even nicer to be back. Northern Light Lake gave us three hawg walleyes and a nice baby hawg (27 incher) today, that we released, as well as a nice batch of eaters to take home. Despite the impressive day the walleyes were not very aggressive. When we cleaned the fish they had minnows in their bellies and I suspect they were up feeding at night since they did not really attack the baits today. A shy bite is still better than no bite, and we were able to hook enough of them to have a great day on the water.
Catch & Release Report
Sept. 2
. Orvis Lunke
28.5 inch walleye
30 inch walleye
Northern Light Lake
. Cory Christianson
29 inch walleye
Northern Light Lake
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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