Roadside swamps are starting to ice over on the Gunflint Trail as the ensuing winter season approaches. The latest storm left a two-inch blanket of wet snow that weighed heavy on the pine limbs, pulling their branches down with a lesson of resilience. It was a glimpse of winter’s whiteness that held on for a few days, before melting away in the rain.
Our children enjoyed the new snow while we finished preparing the yard for winter. Once they began making snow angels and wrestling around in the wet snow, it was not long before they were both wet and cold. It was fun playing in the snow, even for a short time, and it has been nice experiencing a gradual transformation of seasons this year. Parts of Wisconsin had over 12 inches of snowfall from the same storm that left us with two; that is a hard way to start the winter, especially when you are in the snow removal business like myself.
Weekend deer hunters have had great weather so far this season, since most of the foul weather has been happening midweek.
We are getting some hard rains today that are to be followed by a little snowfall later in the week.
More importantly, the overnight temperatures are not plummeting like we are used to seeing by this time and it is hard to make any type of safe ice predictions. I have my first day of guiding on December 11. I know a lot can happen in the next four weeks, but as it stands now, I would be surprised to find safe ice by then.
Ice fishing, for me, begins on January 1 when the Boundary Waters Canoe Area opens for trout. The ice is usually safe by then, and fishing for any other species in the winter is not very productive— at least on the Gunflint Trail.
Trout are very active in the cold water, especially in the early season. They have spent the last two months experiencing high winds and turbulent chilling waters and suddenly, often overnight, the lake becomes tempered and calm. They turn on the feed bag for a few weeks until the bitter cold month of February slows their metabolism again.
Good fishing can happen any time, but in general, the best fishing is early and late in the season while the slowest times are in the middle. The coldest days of winter are usually the hardest to catch fish however, “you never know unless you go!”
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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