The beautiful colors of autumn are in full swing as the landscape turns from green to gold. I feel like the peak season is rapidly approaching since many trees are still half-green, while others have already lost some of their yellowed leaves after the recent storms.
Autumn is famous for colorful transformations of the forest, but it is also a time for the creatures of the forest both big and small to experience a change as well. The little critters are busy gathering and storing food for the long winter months ahead, while the moose are beginning to rut.
Now that I spend more time indoors around other people, I often rely on experiences of others for writing material. A nice couple came into our restaurant this week and told us they had witnessed the fresh aftermath of two bull moose scrapping in the middle of a nearby gravel road. They saw clumps of hair scattered along the hoof-beaten gravel where the two bulls had recently been facing off – it must have been a brutal fight since they had found a chunk of broken moose horn lying on the road near the clumps of hair. Although they were unable to see the incident, or the moose that were involved, it was a very cool discovery with a souvenir to take home.
The Gunflint Lodge fishing guides used to lead guided moose calling excursions in the fall when the fishing began to slow down, but it became harder to produce results for their customers as the moose population declined. I would have as much luck finding sasquatch as I would a moose, let alone be able to call in a rutting bull like the guides would do for their guests—I think I will stick to finding walleyes.
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.
Leave a Reply