Saganaga Lake is as low as I have ever seen it. There are rock piles sticking out above the water line that make parts of the lake look entirely different. Many people have been using the landing off of Sag Store Road, or the “beach,” due to the difficulty getting through the lighthouse at 81. The rocky reefs by Stake Island are so high and dry they look like little islands. I can actually see spots that I know I have caught fish on in higher water years.
The interesting thing is that other lakes such as Poplar and Hungry Jack are not as low. In fact, Poplar looks like it normally would at this time of year. All I can figure is the lakes that are not low must have fewer outgoing rivers. Makes sense, but Saganaga has three major rivers dumping into it. I do not understand.
Horsetail Falls in the northeast arm is still flowing, but that is due to the recent rainfall. The lake above it fills up quickly and the falls can change volume every day. The falls used to run so fast that the water shot out in the shape of a horse’s tail, but I have yet to ever witness that happening. It usually trickles down the side of rocky cliff barely noticeable to the passerby.
I helped a friend take his motor over to the Northern Light Lake portage this week and was not surprised to see that the lake levels were very low there as well. Northern Lights has much darker water than Saganaga so spotting hittable rocks is a bit more of a challenge. The boats that are stored on the other side of the portage are all very high and dry.
I was amazed at last week’s “Big Fish” entries. Or should I say lack thereof. No, I was not amazed that Jeffrey Buetow caught a hawg over on Northern Lights, but that no other people had reported any. I thought I was the only one having a hard time finding the pigs this year.
June is the month for big fish and twenty-sixers have been the biggest walleyes in my boat so far. I can normally boast of a big fish per day average in June. Most of the guides can, but instead I have been getting a lot of smaller fish. I hope the eagles did not pick off all of our trophy females from the shallow river this spring. I know some big fish have been caught, but not as many as usual.
The smaller wildlife has been in full motion along the Gunflint Trail so watch your speed. A family of fox is residing near the Birch Lake overlook with some pretty playful little ones attempting to challenge the traffic.
Cory Christianson, a 2000
graduate of the University of
Iowa, has worked as a fishing
guide on the Gunflint Trail
for nine years. If you have
any fishing reports or stories
to share, send an email to:
christiansoncory@hotmail.com
or call 218-388-0315.
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