The smaller lakes on the Gunflint Trail are averaging about four inches of ice, which is safe enough to walk on. Roger Campbell and I spent a few hours last Sunday fishing for walleyes and found a consistent four inches of ice all over the lake. The weather was nice, a little windy, but the walleyes were finicky to say the least. Roger and I had high hopes of feeding two households and were reduced to a nice walleye dinner for my daughter, Sophia. Rachelle and I had leftover quiche. The first 10 minutes of fishing produced a nice little eater walleye. A few minutes later the “dead stick” in the hole next to me bent over but the anti-reverse failed on my reel causing a big backlash and blah, blah, blah. We lost it.
I only say “we” because Roger attempted to hand-line the fish while I was picking at the rat’s nest that overtook my reel—so he deserves equal credit. The next couple of hours were fairly uneventful. It was feeling like it was time to call it quits and Roger hooked up. His rod bent over as he got a couple of turns on the reel but it shook loose. We stayed a little longer hoping for a sunset flurry but no such luck.
Teamwork is the most unique facet of ice fishing for me. It is fun to watch four or five people standing shoulder to shoulder around a hole in the ice watching a fish being played. It is even more fun when there is a BBQ full of brats smoking in the background. Ice fishing can be tough, but the hardtop allows a lot of comforts that are not possible from a boat. Bratwurst on the grill and a friendly game of football on the ice are some things that make suffering in the cold a little more tolerable.
The bigger lakes on the Gunflint Trail are still risky. Loon Lake has been “locked-up” since early December but Gunflint Lake still has a long way to go. Heston’s Lodge reported open water on the east end of Gunflint Lake. There is open water right up against the shore in front of their lodge located at the end of the South Gunflint Lake Road. It is going to be awhile before Gunflint Lake is safe. Marco Mango of Sagonto Resort found five inches of ice in Jock’s Narrows on Saganaga Lake, Ontario. I have not heard of anyone taking the trip up from the landing yet, it is still too early.
There could still be open water on the west side of the corridor for all we know. Marco has some footage on Sagonto youtube with an up-to-date report of the ice conditions and happenings on Saganaga Lake. Be safe and I will see you on the ice!
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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