In Iowa, farmers can judge a corn stalk’s progression by this simple rule of thumb.
On the Gunflint Trail it pertains to the daisies growing alongside the road and it means that the hawg walleyes are moving out to the reefs and rock piles. I stubbornly spent all day trying to find some action on the reefs, but I should have given up sooner since we only managed to find a few smallmouth bass.
The movement should be happening any day now with the surface temperatures reaching the high 60s, but the majority of fish being caught are holding in the same places you could find them on the opener. Some bigger fish have been caught since last week, but fishing is still not like it usually is.
Larch Creek has high enough water to navigate, but once you portage into Clove the water level drops severely. In fact there is no water flowing out of the Granite River into Clove, so the fishing has been very slow there. Larch must be a pool that does not really drain into anything else and the Granite River, which also dumps into Saganaga on a normal year, feeds Clove.
Lake Saganaga has been very busy on the American side, making it hard to even find an unoccupied campsite. The Canadian side seems to be quieter and the fishing is a little bit better as well. Thelake trout are crushing the ciscoes and I had to hang up the ice fishing lures I would normally use. Theyare still working, but the large trout are full of smelt so they are looking for a bigger bait to eat. Theaverage size has been around four pounds with an occasional 10-pound fish thrown into the mix.
The Fourth of July is a pretty exciting time up here even though we are not exactly a “fireworks” destination. The canoe races at Gunflint Lodge are coming up and many summer homeowners will be around to enjoy the festivities. If you have never been to the races, you should make it a point to attend this year. It is a great fundraiser for the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department and a lot of fun.
The daisy is not the only flower reaching knee high levels up here; the lupine flowers are also reaching full bloom and really bringing some color to the Trail. Speaking of color, the burn areas on Saganaga from the Ham Lake fire are greening up rather quickly. I know that it is not the old growth that flourished before but it is truly amazing how quickly the burn areas are producing new growth.
There are four different forest fires represented on Saganaga, at least that I know of, and it is very interesting to see how the forest responds to a fire. A few areas were scalded so badly that only bare granite cliffs remain. It is very possible they are eternally sterilized from future growth. The Seagull area near the Guard Station still looks very devastated, especially along the Gunflint Trail with all of the half burnt Jack pines but for the most part things are coming back to life.
Cory Christianson, a 2000
graduate of the University of
Iowa, has worked as a fishing
guide on the Gunflint Trail
for nine years. 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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