What a difference some rain can make. The entire county has turned green this week with trees beginning to show their leaves, and tall grass filling the ditches. Seasonal allergy sufferers, such as myself, enjoyed a wet week of reprieve from the tree pollens as the scattered storms decided to roll through each day.
Spring rains are great for more than just sprouting new life, they help fish spawn with more oxygenated water running through the rivers, and help prevent wildfires from getting out of hand. On the downside, mosquitoes and biting black flies will also have a bumper hatch, and fish tend to get harder to catch when there is an abundance of free meals floating around in the water after a healthy underwater hatch – but we can live with that.
I was not able to fish this week since I was grounded to the lodge for the holiday weekend, but I hear from the other Gunflint guides that the fish have been biting well. Reports from Saganaga have been good on both the Minnesota and Canadian sides of the lake for eater-size walleye, and Northern Light has been giving up some fish as well. Anglers are seeing a lot of under-size walleyes now that the spawning grounds have been opened for fishing, which is a great sign for the future of Saganga Lake’s fishery.
I still have not had a chance to try my luck on Devil Track, but it will happen soon. The rental fleet needed a facelift and I finally have a couple of fishing boats ready to splash. Some local anglers have been seeing walleye action on Devil Track, but they won’t tell me any of their secrets – I guess I will have to learn the lake on my own, as time allows. One of the best testimonials a longtime customer said about me was, “If there was one walleye left on Saganaga Lake, Cory would find it.”
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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