It is hard not to complain about the recent heat wave, especially after seeing the damage to the south of us. Record-breaking drought conditions are destroying crops— and the unbearable heat is literally killing people. The corn is supposed to be “knee high by the 4th of July” and it currently looks like it might not fully mature in time for the harvest. The ground is so dry and hard that any rainfall will shed quickly, causing flash floods. The devastating blow will also cause a lot of financial stress in the Heartland.
We are beginning to see the lake levels descend, about six inches in the past two weeks or so. The shoreline vegetation shows exactly how high our lakes were last week, since the leaves will only grow above the waterline. They are still higher than normal and we have been fortunate enough to continue to receive some rain.
There was a lightning storm on Saturday evening that had a lot of people concerned— including the Canadian firefighters. The spotter planes were flying above Sag, Northern Light, and Gunflint Lake all day Sunday looking for fires. The Canadians are very good at attacking fires immediately, and that makes them great neighbors to have.
It was pretty amazing to watch their pilots during the Ham Lake fire. They are very talented and dedicated to what they do. It is comforting to know that they are so close by and ready to respond. Especially since many of our resources are currently fighting fires all over the United States. The hot sun has been doing its share of evaporating water from the lakes, but the Boundary Waters lakes are really part of an enormous river system that is constantly shedding.
We were bobber fishing a rock pile this week, on anchor, in a miserable slicker. Without a lick of wind, our bobbers were drifting so fast that they would actually tip over a little while being pulled across the reef. The current was so strong that I had to re-anchor our boat so the bobbers would sit still long enough to get eaten.
The rock pile we were fishing was a long way from shore or any rivers, so it just proves that the water in Saganaga is continuously moving, even on a slick calm day. That is the same reason that we can see our lake levels rise in the early spring long after the snow has melted. That was certainly the case this year. The Seagull River did not rise until the middle of May which was long after our snow had melted and with very little rain.
Fishing has been fair this week on the Minnesota side of Saganaga, despite the hot days, with the lake trout bite still providing the most action. Fishing is always good on Northern Light, so I will not waste any time talking about that.
Saganaga has been where I have been fishing this week and it has been good enough. The wildlife has been stealing the show in my boat, but it is hard to compete with a bear cub swimming across the lake. We also saw a lynx, standing near the shoreline in the Saganaga narrows. We turned around and took a bunch of photos before it walked away. I could not tell if it was a male or female, but it was pretty big, and it did not seem very concerned about us.
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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