What a difference a rainy day can make. Last week I was writing about ice fishing on Lake Superior, and this week the ice on the Big Lake has left the bays while the inland lakes became soft.
Luckily it has been cold enough since the rainfall to harden the slushy lakes for now, but the warm temperatures and powerful sunshine will certainly soften them up again this week.
The snowmobile trails should last longer than the lakes, but their days are also numbered as the trails deteriorate in the sun. We are hoping to get another few inches of snow to cover the trails and maybe extend the snowmobiling season for another week or two.
A fresh six inches of snowfall would certainly help the trails, and there is a couple of inches in the forecast, but it might be too little too late. It has been a great season for winter sports, and now that the business has begun to slow down, we get to run out and enjoy the tail end of it before it all melts away.
This week we are riding snowmobiles, since it will be the first activity to go, then I would like to spend some time wetting a line while the lakes have safe ice. I was able to fish Kemo Lake a couple of times this week and the action has been great. I was very surprised to see that my auger barely made it through without an extension; the top 20 inches of ice is re-frozen slush, before hitting 20 inches of solid ice.
Once the lakes begin thawing this upper crust of frozen slush will fall apart and eventually drain into the lake exposing the hard ice below. Hopefully this process happens quickly so we can fish the tail end of the season without standing in a foot of slushy water. Time will tell.
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. You can also visit Cory’s website at Gunflintfishingguide.com.
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