If you caught fish on opening weekend, then you earned them! Saturday morning I woke to snow falling with a temperature of 26 degrees and thought, “These guys are going to cancel.”
But I was wrong. We pushed the snow-covered boats off of the trailers and ran north into the wind that was already blowing 15-20 mph, in search of the walleye.
The sun made a few appearances that day, but so did an occasional squall fueled by gusts of 25-30 mph, as we pounded into the waves on our way to James Bay, on the Minnesota side of Saganaga Lake. I was surprised to see there were a few other boats already fishing the bay, and they seemed equally surprised to see us as well. We caught a nice 21-inch walleye and a few small-mouth bass while drifting the shorelines with minnows, but it was not very fast action.
Eventually we found our way to Red Rock Bay, home of the hawgs, and spent the next three days working the shorelines and pockets with hardly a boat in sight. Ten years ago I would have had to stake my claim each day while battling over spots with 20 other boats, but not this weekend. We had it all to ourselves. I guess that is one good thing about horrible weather.
Tails from the Trail columnist Cory Christianson, who shares tales of his outdoor adventures with News-Herald readers each week, had a great fishing opener weekend, despite cold and windy weather. Christianson shows off the nice 32.5-inch walleye he caught and released on Saganaga Lake.
Most of the walleyes we caught were over 21 inches, and the only two 16-inch walleyes we caught were both milking, so we quickly released them to finish their duties. I think they are done spawning by now, even though the males are still releasing milk. Regardless, the new regulations would not allow a 16-inch fish to be kept since they have to be in between 17 and 19 inches, with the exception of one fish being over 19 inches.
The water temperatures were between 44 and 48 degrees, cold enough that a few lake trout were caught in the shallow bays alongside the walleyes, pike, and small-mouth bass. They are all chasing the same baitfish, and the water is cold enough for the trout to feel safe in these shallow waters. Soon they will return to the big lake portion of Saganaga, and descend to below 45 feet of water for the rest of the summer.
Hawg Report
Caught and released, Saganaga
Lake
. May 15
Cory Christianson
32.5-inch walleye
. May 15
Bob Telander
31.5-inch walleye
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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