The sun was setting on the local musicians of “Bughouse” this past Sunday as they closed their show with “teenage waist-land” at 8 p.m. Daylight hours are getting noticeably shorter, as the month of August becomes another memory.
Two days of guided fishing per week are enough for me to stay on top of the walleyes while taking a break from the lodge, and it provides me with something worthy to discuss in this article. Plugging the new Skyport Lodge and Raven Rock Grill on Devil Track Lake, “where a table is waiting for you!” is great, but reporting on the loon baby’s progress on Saganaga Lake, or knowing how deep the walleyes are hitting is more fun to write about.
After spending years guiding anglers on Saganga Lake, I began developing a conceited notion that I had become part of the lake, as if to say that it somehow needed me. The bald eagles continue to soar over Saganaga Lake while the hawg walleyes swim below, regardless of my presence and hopefully they always will. A peaceful day on a beautiful lake with miles of pristine shorelines preserved in time for future generations to enjoy.
The early pioneers of the BWCA, called voyageurs, learned to navigate by paddling canoes across the lakes and “bush-whacking” portages, that we still use today, to connect the lakes. The shorelines and islands of the BWCA are the same as they were then, and we should be proud that because of our conservative efforts to preserve the BWCA, this little piece of unspoiled earth exists.
The Chik Wauk museum, on Saganaga Lake, educates visitors on these very subjects with continuously evolving pictures and stories to help tell the history of the BWCA from a Gunflint Trail perspective.
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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