Summer is almost a memory as families retreat to the great north woods for one last vacation before the school bell rings. The weather has been fantastic this week with warm sunny days and cool starry nights for visitors to enjoy while telling stories while roasting marshmallows around a campfire.
Soon the leaves will change colors marking the “beginning of the end” for open-water anglers. Fast fall fishing action coupled with the vibrant colors of Saganaga Lake’s landscape are two of many reasons I have fallen in love with this time of year on the Gunflint Trail. The bugs are mostly gone, the nights are cool and bright, and my guiding schedule begins to taper down as I am able to spend some time with my family.
Today I guided a half-day in the morning on Saganaga Lake, then took my wife and children swimming on various island campsites in between fishing spots. We intended to finish picking blueberries for our winter stash, but we were too late. I picked a quarter-gallon a few days before, but the berries are no longer worth the effort. The bushes are bare, other than a few tiny berries hiding beneath the remaining leaves. I will have to ration the gallon-sized bag of berries we have in the freezer in order to make them last all winter.
This summer has kept me very busy guiding anglers, and although I love my profession it is comforting to see some light at the end of the schedule. I never thought I would be excited to go to a wedding, but it does mean a much-needed vacation with my family – not to mention a free meal.
It is rare for me to leave the Gunflint Trail during the summer months, so a short trip to Minneapolis is a pretty big deal. We are planning to visit the State Fair, shop for school supplies and clothes, and get me a professional haircut. I wear a hat 99.9 percent of the time, which hides any of the flaws from my “at-home” haircuts provided by my wife, or myself. Weddings and family reunions justify professional haircuts for me, but the down-side is that I usually look like I just got a haircut in all of the photo albums. I was told once, after complaining about a fresh cut that looked like it came with a free bowl of soup, that the difference between a good haircut and a bad one… is two weeks.
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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