Each day becomes more difficult to believe that we will experience any nice weather this summer. I can remember a couple of summers that never seemed to happen and this year could be another one. We are over the “hump” so to speak and if it is going to warm up it will need to happen soon. Rachelle and I usually long for the warm beaches of Florida sometime in January…not August.
Weather is a hot topic with Minnesotans, but we are not the only ones affected by the barometer. There are noticeably fewer loon babies this season and my uneducated guess would be that the cold temperatures and high water did not help the springtime nesting period. Saganaga Lake usually has a number of fuzzy loon babies shadowing their mothers but this year I have only seen a few.
One set has been loitering just outside of the narrows and another by the Trading Post located behind the deserted Customs building. The babies are kind of ugly and fuzzy and if it were not for the fact that they are swimming side-byside, I would not even know they were loons. The immature loons bear a slight resemblance to the adults in the face and eyes but the fuzzy gray bodies look nothing like their elders. The babies have a lot to learn in a short time before migrating south for the winter.
The water temperatures on Saganaga Lake have peaked out in the upper 60s and will most likely begin cooling off again soon and I never even went swimming this year. The walleyes have been hanging out in 20 feet of water and are feeding on minnows. They are willing to bite both crawlers and leeches despite their stomachs being full of little smelt on both Saganaga and Northern Light lakes. The fall pattern is beginning and traditionally the bite will get better as the fish continue to descend.
On a different note: The Gunflint Trail Historical Society and Chik Wauk Museum will be hosting Gunflint Woods, Winds, and Strings on Saturday, August 17 at Fire Hall #1 beginning at 4 p.m. Tickets for the concert can be purchased at Chik Wauk Museum, by phone, or on the GTHS website: gunflinttrailhistoricalsociety.org.
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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