As another season of summer approaches the sun is finally taking its toll on the ice-covered lakes. Just this week we are seeing some open water along the shorelines and the streams are beginning to appear as they make their way towards the lakes.
Our driveway went from sloppy wet to slightly dusty within a few days’ time. High winds and low humidity are a dangerous combination when it comes to wildfires— especially when the lakes are still frozen. Soon the ground will be too hard and dry to even accept water unless we start seeing some rain showers this week.
Slow soakers with no lightning are the key to having an early green-up and fire safe spring. The Ham Lake fire started on May 5th which is only a few weeks away and was a very dry spring as well. Red Flag days and fire bans have already been issued to help people beware of the dangerous conditions.
The recent sunshine hasn’t been all doom and gloom, our family has been enjoying the outdoors this week rediscovering our yard. Rachelle also took the tykes to the campgrounds at the end of the Gunflint Trail last weekend to ride their new bikes around the newly opened road. The “end” is a nice place to have a picnic or simply watch the river chisel away at the ice from one of the many campsites overlooking the Seagull River.
Soon it will be open and the big female walleyes that Saganaga Lake is famous for will be making their way into the current to deposit eggs. Spring rains and melting snow aren’t just important for green-up, they also provide current and are instrumental in the spawning process providing fresh oxygenated water for walleyes and their eggs to survive in.
Too many low water springs in the past decade have caused havoc on the walleye population in Saganaga Lake, but now the strong presence of juveniles we are seeing is a welcome sight for the future. Unfortunately we have to wait until they are bigger to harvest due to the newly imposed regulations for Seagull, Gull, Seagull River, and Saganaga lakes.
The new regulations are posted at the public landings and as many of you already know I disagree with them, not because I think I am smarter than a fisheries biologist when it comes to managing a lake—I most certainly am not—I feel the experiment was inspired by inaccurate data from both gill netting results and less experienced anglers. Let’s all hope that I am wrong.
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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