A few maple trees near the Gunflint Hills golf course are showing signs of fall as we enter my favorite month in Cook County. Colder nights are cutting down the local mosquito populations and the walleyes are descending about five feet in depth every week, as they start feeding on minnows.
Until recently, lakes had been staying near the high-water mark throughout the summer. However, Devil Track and Saganaga lakes have dropped six inches in the past week, despite the latest rainstorms.
It has been a very wet summer and the 6-year-old white pines I planted on our Gunflint Trail property are appreciating the extra moisture— many of them have doubled in size since last fall. I have planted hundreds of them on our property since it was predominantly a birch and white pine forest prior to the “Blow Down Storm” in 1999.
After being logged, our property began sprouting aspen and balsam trees and I was worried the white pines would not be able to compete with the faster growing species. We planted white, Norway, and spruce by the hundreds and weeded around them for the first year to give them a fighting chance, and it worked. It took a few years to look like they were growing at all, then they started to grow a little each year until finally getting both taller and wider this summer.
Healthier trees make for a brighter fall.
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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