The lakes are beginning to freeze a little more each day. Saganaga and Gunflint are still very open but Poplar and Hungry Jack are mostly covered in a thin layer of ice that looks like it will stay for the winter. It is still way too early to be on the lakes, but it is starting to look like winter up here.
Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year for us since we were not forced to travel. We spent some time with friends in Grand Marais instead. No cooking, dishes, or living out of a suitcase for once. I am not a bah-humbug sort of person, but traditionally Rachelle and I have to put on a lot of miles over the holidays, so it was a blessing to tell everyone that we were staying in our own zip code for a change.
Our families understood since Rachelle is now one week away from her due date. Traveling long distances with someone who has to take bathroom breaks every hour was not on the holiday agenda this year. Especially with all of the bad weather we have had lately. I say bad, but I am loving all of the snow up here. I cannot wait to get some miles on the snowmobile and sink a few minnows though the ice. There are so many lakes to fish up here, and so little time.
This week it is predicted that we will get even more snow and colder temperatures which means the bigger lakes should start making ice soon. There have been a lot more east winds lately, which makes it hard for lakes like Gunflint to start icing up. Just as a rolling stone gathers no moss, a wave does not freeze. I can remember seeing the shorelines of Lake Superior in Duluth full of ice anglers in the morning, then seeing open water and crashing waves by noon. Those fishermen would only get a couple of hours of ice fishing before the wind began to break up the ice. No thanks.
The animals are getting thicker coats by the minute. The sickly looking wolves I see up here are sporting some thicker fur and even the fox are looking much warmer in their full suits.
The wolf that Rachelle and I found dead in our yard last month was recovered by the Fish and Wildlife Service and they sent an e-mail telling us what to expect. If any foul play was discovered, such as a gunshot wound, there would be a full-blown investigation and ballistics report. Otherwise it would be sent to a lab, which could take up to a year to discover the cause of death.
The way that the wolf was lying down, all curled up, looked very peaceful to me. I suspect it died of natural causes but time will tell. It appeared to be younger, but it is pretty hard to say since the females typically run smaller in size. We see a lot of wolves up here but they do not exactly let you pick them up and inspect them very closely. The gentleman at the FWS has been thankful and informative so far and we will pass on any future results from his offices.
Cory Christianson, a graduate
of the University of Iowa, has
worked as a fishing guide on
the Gunflint Trail since 2000. 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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