The 2010 fishing regulations are not very different than years past with only a few minor changes. There is a lot of focus however on aquatic hitchhikers including the spiny water flea.
Cook County is only listed in the infested waters category with the water flea. Little John Lake was added to the list this year and Caribou, Devil Track, Flour, Greenwood, Gunflint, McFarland, Pine, and of course Saganaga are still on the list.
The water flea is described as having a long tail, white with black spots. It looks like gelatinous globs and grows up to 3/8”. I have seen them on my downrigger lines while trolling on the main lake, but you can consistently acquire them on your line anywhere on the lake.
The correct procedure at the landing is to drain your boat, bait buckets, and live wells before leaving the parking lot. If you bring a container with your own water you can
x2 & 2 4 d to replace your live bait water
with your own, as long as it is not lake water. Unwanted bait
should always be disposed of in the trash, not the lake.
Thisis all discussed in detail on page 15-17 in the Minnesota
Fishing Regulations
for 2010. If you are like me and want to fish more than one lake on one day, you are encouraged to wash your boat with soap and water of 120 degree temperatures. Thisis not very likely or realistic, but it will certainly have to be dry from the previous lake before launching into the new lake.
The summer regulations have not changed very much for this year, but the winter season has. “Lakes outside or partly outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness (BWCAW) includes all of Clearwater, East Bearskin, Magnetic, Saganaga, Seagull, and Snowbank,” are open January 15, 2010 – March 31, 2010 and the same dates for 2011. Thisis on page 19 of the Minnesota regulations. This means no more April fishing for walleyes on Sag, which was out of a boat this year anyway.
I have not seen any new regulations for Canada this year, but you can ask wherever you end up buying a Canadian license. Chippewa Inn, Sagonto, and Gunflint Lodge are all places to purchase licenses. Bait, as always must be purchased in Canada and do not forget to carry your receipt with you. If you do not have a receipt, you can get a ticket. The bait must also stay in Canada and never come across the border with you unless you do not plan on taking the bait back to Canada.
Good Luck on the opener. See you on the lake!
Cory Christianson, a 2000
graduate of the University of
Iowa, has worked as a fishing
guide on the Gunflint Trail
for nine years. If you have
any fishing reports or stories
un ONE TIME
to share, send an email to:
christiansoncory@hotmail.
com or call 218-388-0315
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