Here we are starting May and things are looking a little more normal up here. Gunflint Lake is melting faster than any other lake and it is refreshing to come over the hill and see blue water for a change. It is strange that many other lakes have barely began to melt, but it should not be too much longer considering the warm days we are getting.
Trail Center is open again and they were busy doing some light remodeling over the break. The corners of the dining room have been revamped with booth style seating and the men’s restroom got a facelift as well. It was nice to have dinner down there this week, not that I do not enjoy cooking at home, but it is a great excuse to get out of the house for a change.
The month of April went by rather fast and it will not be much longer before the campers and canoes are trekking up the Trail.
My wife and I will be taking a much-needed vacation this week. We are off to see Elton John in Duluth and then driving down to Des Moines, Iowa to spend Mother’s Day with my family. It is the last chance either of us will have to get away before a busy summer. My family does not get to see our daughter Sophia very often due to the distance between us and I know my mother will be very happy to see her again.
Rachelle’s family has a cabin on the Canadian side of Saganaga so they get up here quite a bit. It is good to have some family close by especially with a 6-month-old baby. Their help is welcomed and her mother has been a blessing.
Only one more weekend until the walleye opener and I cannot wait. I do not even care if we have open water on Sag, I will find somewhere to fish where there is no ice.
I like to talk about fishing and right now there is not much fishing to talk about around here. I have heard there a lot of people fishing the rivers of Lake Superior right now for steelhead, but that has never really interested me.
Too many people and too skinny of water. I like boats and I like deep water, and nothing is more frustrating than seeing the fish you want to catch refuse your bait. I guided for tarpon in Key West and that was frustrating enough for me. At least then you had a 100-pound fish ignoring your bait.
There have been a lot of signs telling me that Mother Nature is a little behind schedule this year. The northern pike are still spawning. The snowshoe hare are still sporting a little bit of white in their coats and the moose I have seen lately are still molting. Their hair is very matted because they have not yet completely lost those thick winter jackets. These are all signs that winter was not that long ago and history on the Trail has shown us that we could even get yet another snow storm this season. Natives on the Trail have told me they witnessed snowfall on the Fourth of July one year, yikes!
I found my first tick of the year and that is usually a sign of warm weather. It was on my wife’s back. She likes to hike with our dog, Maggie, through the woods by our house. There is a lot of tall grass around where ticks love to hide. It seems like you can find ticks just about everywhere up here these days. It was not that many years ago that a person would be surprised to find even one the entire summer. Now you can pull 20 of them off after being in the woods for a short period of time. Once you find one, it feels like they are crawling over you all night, even if they aren’t.
One thing is for sure, summer will happen soon enough and I think I am speaking for everyone up here when I tell you that we are ready.
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.
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