This week marks winter’s descent, despite it feeling like the season has finally begun. We have plenty of snow to accommodate skiers, hikers, and snowmobiles in Cook County, and the trails are looking great. It took a lot of labor and a little help from Mother Nature’s last warm-up to right the drooping trees and improve conditions for the last half of winter.
My son Bo and I fished Gunflint Lake Saturday for a few hours while the Cook County “Fun Run” riders buzzed by us en route to the lodges. The fish did not cooperate, but my 3-year-old son was entertained enough by the passing riders to not mind. Bo would rush to the zippered door of our ice tent waving frantically at every sled, but only a few riders waved back at him. I am sure the riders were too focused on navigating through the slushy pool off of Heston’s point that we were fishing near, to notice him.
I spoke with a few riders that day while sharing a cheeseburger at the bar with Bo, and they confirmed what I had suspected, every lake has slush. The soupy gauntlet called slush is well disguised by surface snow, and an unpleasant surprise for anyone using the lakes. If you are hiking, turn around. If you are snowmobiling, lean back and throttle.
We tried crossing Moss Lake by snowmobile to fish my favorite spots along the northern shoreline and quickly realized we were in a slush field. The snowmobiles acted more like jet skis as we made a lazy “U” turn back to the south shore. We found a patch of solid snow near a spot I had fished before and set up camp. Five keepers in a few hours is as good as I can ask for this winter, and it felt great to finally see some action on the ice.
Fishing has been consistently awful this year and I can only hope that it is going to improve with the ensuing warm-up. Midwinter has never been the most productive time to fish, but it tends to improve when the ice begins to melt. Small creeks and streams begin flowing to the lakes, flushing nutrients and oxygen back into the semi-stagnant waters, ultimately triggering fish to feed.
The bigger lakes have all been in a slump this season, so I have focused my efforts on some of the smaller lakes, which have not been much better. Moss Lake has been the most consistent lake for me this season, and most of the fish have been big enough to keep.
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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