Saganaga, Ontario is an excellent choice for big water lake trout fishing. The convenience of motor use allows an angler to bring anything he or she can pull behind a snowmobile while fishing some of the best lake trout waters the Gunflint Trail has to offer.
The Sag Corridor can be taken straight into Canadian waters by snowmobile, and once you have crossed the border Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) rules no longer apply to the lake. On fair weather days it is possible to fish a lot of spots by staying mobile.
Far too often I am guilty of setting up camp and waiting for the bite to happen but it is hard to investigate a lake too much while hiking. It is awfully hard to leave a heated tent, especially this year.
The Minnesota side of Saganaga Lake is within the BWCA and does allow the use of snowmobiles within the corridor. To fish the Minnesota (BWCA) side of the lake, anglers must park their sleds on the corridor and hike in with a hand auger since normal BWCA rules apply on the lake.
The corridor is dangerously close to some excellent fishing spots near Horseshoe Island that have been giving up lake trout and even a few walleyes. The snow is freezing enough to make hiking a little easier this week but without the aid of snow shoes expect your foot to punch through shin-deep snow every four or five steps.
I have spent most of my time fishing Gunflint Lake this week and the morning bite has been a little better than the afternoon. I can usually get one or two trout in a couple of hours of fishing and that is good enough for me. It would be nice to try and catch some walleyes, which I have never been able to catch through the ice on Gunflint, but I plan to see if those Canadian walleyes are any easier to find.
Whenever I am fishing the bigger lakes I find myself in 40-60 feet of water. These depths produce fish but it is also possible to catch fish much shallower. I have heard of more than one laker caught in less than ten feet of water. It never hurts to experiment.
Mid-Trail lakes sound like they have been fairly productive this week. There are still a few of those big rainbow trout being caught on Birch Lake, although not as common as they were a few years ago, the remaining trout are getting big. Moss Lake has been a very consistent lake to catch eater-size lake trout this season. The access is hikeable from the Hungry Jack Road and the action is usually good. Moss is a great lake to take some kids with short attention spans fishing.
I like a pink 1/16th ounce jig and minnow but a lot of different things will work.
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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