When cool overnight temperatures clash with the warm water it creates a blanket of fog that settles into the valleys along the upper Gunflint Trail. Each morning has been majestic with fog so thick that only the hilltops are exposed within a sea of white. It feels more like flying in an airplane than riding in a truck.
Morning fog banks will often burn off with the sunrise while the bigger lakes like Gunflint and Saganaga might hold onto a heavy mist for a while longer. It is always a little bit eerie to be on the water when the fog moves in unexpectedly, but it is something Minnesota captains are used to. I captained an offshore boat in Key West, Florida for 12 years and it was not equipped with any type of radar system since fog was rarely an issue, but there are very few Lake Superior boats that would make that claim.
Radar and GPS are your best friend when caught in unexpected fog, especially on a bigger lake. The radar will assist you to see other vessels, channel markers of buoys, and even show you the weather or fog that you are dealing with while a GPS can show you where you are and where you have been. These tools are fairly standard on any serious Great Lakes fishing vessel and are well worth the investment.
The mystical mornings of late summer are also a reminder that things are beginning to cool off around here. I did not have to install the window unit air conditioner this summer but I would say that we did get a fair number of summer-like days. Either that or I have somehow lowered my standards to the point of fooling myself into believing that summer actually happened. My “raccoon eye” tan lines seem to be as pronounced as they usually are by this time of the summer, so it must have happened.
Rachelle and I took the kids to her family cabin on Saganaga this weekend for a nice three-day vacation. Our kids are old enough that it is much easier to travel with them and enjoy a relaxing weekend away from computers and telephones for a change. The water is still warm enough for swimming and there were very few bugs pestering us while picking blueberries. Evenings were spent roasting marshmallows for s’mores by a campfire and telling not-so-scary stories (kids are still pretty little). It was a great weekend to enjoy some cabin life with our family.
It is hard for me to cross off days this time of the year, but business has been good and we needed to unwind. Rachelle and I decided while living in Key West that if we could not afford to enjoy “living where we live” then it is time to move. The most enduring aspect of struggling to survive in a tourist town is to watch visitors enjoy your home more than you. I knew too many people that moved to “paradise” and worked three jobs to make ends meet. Trail living is not always easy, but we are happy here and that is all that matters.
Hawg Report – Catch & Release
Aug. 14
. Cory Christianson
30-inch walleye
Northern Light Lake
Aug. 15
. John Rosenshaffer
29-inch walleye
Northern Light Lake
. Donna Rosenshaffer
28-inch walleye
Northern Light Lake
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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