July seems to bring a lot of severe weather with it. The family is currently watching an impressive lightning storm that is brewing from the east and is forecasted to bring heavy winds and hail.
We had lightning strike so close to our house the other night that my wife jumped out of her skin. We heard a big “pop” in the utility room, so I thought for sure that some of our electrical breakers had blown but they were fine. The lightning did manage to fry our telephone service for a day, and I can tell you that the ringing telephone was not missed by me.
Lightning strikes are pretty common up here especially at our elevation near Loon Lake. The surge protectors are supposed to protect electronics from being zapped, but we try to unplug as many things as possible during storms. I know people who have lost every piece of electronics that were plugged in during a strike as well as their entire water system. It is expensive to replace everything and a major inconvenience to boot.
The fishing has been pretty good despite the lightning. The walleyes seem to like violent weather and have been biting just fine. Most of my days have been on Northern Light and fish are being caught in many different places. The reefs in Trafalgar Bay are producing a lot of eaters as well as a couple of hawgs. They were so active before today’s storm hit that you had to be swimming a jig and crawler back to the boat. If you dragged bottom, they would not touch your bait. It had to be moving or at least suspended above the bottom for them to eat it.
My customer Denny Renkiewicz discovered the trick while we were backtrolling jigs on a rock pile in Trafalgar. He popped a 28-inch walleye and coached his friend Jim Hagler into a 27-inch walleye as well. I might have never gotten a bite on that reef if Denny had not discovered the walleyes were chasing baits. It pays to experiment.
Northern Light has been giving up a few eater-sized fish each day as well as a hawg or two. The smallmouth bass and northern are also very active—and the bass are big. Eighteen- and 20-inch fish are fairly common.
It is such a joy to fish a lake with so much life. The northern pike will hit your bobber while it is being reeled in and the bass will pummel a jig and crawler the second it hits the water. My kind of fishing.
It is harder to get clients to acquire all of the paperwork necessary to fish in Canada, but it is well worth the hassle.
The few days I have fished on Saganaga have been a little tougher. The lake trout are saving the day while every other species seems to have lockjaw. Even the big weather has not helped. It is easy to feel like the lake is dying, but I just do not believe it. I have seen too many fish caught over the years to believe it could stop producing them.
Saganaga Lake might be in a slump, but unlike many of the other guides, I do not believe it is dying. It was only a few years ago that we all thought the lake trout had disappeared and now the lake trout fishing is as good as I have ever seen it. I could be wrong (disclaimer) but I do not think so.
Happy Independence Day!
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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