The road construction that I considered to be a slight nuisance is quickly becoming a major pain. Trailer bearings were my first concern but the dust is collecting throughout the boat and my fishing reels are beginning to feel like coffee grinders. I will have to start covering my boat for the ride to Saganaga until the road construction has finished.
Road crews will be replacing culverts next, then resurfacing the asphalt road within the next few weeks. Plan for an extra 15 minutes of travel time to the end of the Trail and drive slow for the safety of the crew and your tires. I have already heard of two flat tires so far, and it has only been a week.
This morning I broke a roller on my boat trailer and spilled my coffee. If you are going to be dumb, you had better be tough because hot coffee in the lap is painful. I am sure I will re-teach myself this lesson tomorrow.
Last weekend the storms came rolling through bringing some much-needed rainfall and unwanted cold temperatures. Fortunately the walleyes bit all the way through this last series of storms and Northern Light Lake remained true to its reputation again by giving up some pigs. The last group we guided for three days caught nine walleyes over 28 inches and many more from 22-27 inches. The bigger walleyes are still feeding in the windswept bays and the smaller males are starting to join them.
Saganaga Lake hosted a couple of banner days for my old buddy Dave Shay and his friends. They fished Red Rock Bay and were able to spot a school of fish up shallow. The water is often clear enough to see fish swimming in the shallows. The trick is to see them before they see you and decide to swim away. Any day that 17 walleyes (from 22 inches and up) are caught on the Minnesota side of Saganaga is a good day, and these three guys did it for a couple of days in a row—bravo.
Lake trout fishing on Saganaga Lake this season has been impressive, every year this fishery seems to improve despite the fact that most of the anglers are now targeting and harvesting these fish. It is not uncommon to catch a dozen or more lakers in a day, and when they are handled properly they are easy to release unharmed. The bigger trout were biting last week and now the same spots are covered up with smaller ones. Jigs tipped with ciscoes usually catch bigger trout, but I mostly use ice fishing lures. Fifty-five feet of water has been the hottest bite for me but they could be found a little shallower or deeper than that.
Catch & Release Report
June 12
Cory Christianson
30 inch
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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