Spring has been threatening to rear its muddy face up here, but the lakes are not melting very quickly. Iron Lake is usually one of the first to show some open water and over by the snowmobile bridge; it is just starting to melt away from shore.
This could be one of those years that Saganaga still has some ice floating around on the walleye opener.
I have heard stories from old timers about a year when the ice was still covering parts of the lake on opener and they decided to fish anyway. They were able to get into Red Rock Bay for the day—until the wind shifted and pushed the ice to the opposite side of the lake blocking their return to the landing. Eventually they were able to plow their way back through the maze of ice, but it was not easy.
Gunflint Lake has opened up by the Cross River Bridge and the current is really moving right now. The heavy current causes the ice to break up quicker and sometimes the pressure begins smashing the ice up against the adjacent shorelines. The ice formations on the shore can be really cool, much like you see along Lake Superior in the winter.
There has been a lot more wildlife around and our wiener dog, Maggie, is in heaven with all of the squirrels racing around the yard. We saw a young doe on the North Gunflint Lake Road last week that was missing a patch of skin at the base of her neck. It was about six inches square and the flesh was completely gone. I can only guess that a wolf had a hold on her and somehow she managed to escape death. I cannot imagine that too many deer get away from a wolf clamped on to its neck, but it appears that she did.
My wife and I drove to town last night and I was amazed that we did not see one moose. Twilight hours along the Gunflint Trail are usually a sure bet for spotting at least a couple of them, but we did not see any. I cannot even remember the last time I have seen a moose. There was a report of a dead one lying on the ice in the corridor on Sag that was surrounded by wolf tracks. It was near the summer homeowners’ cabins on the Minnesota side and was picked clean by the ravens by the time I saw it. Either the wolves attacked it or it slipped and broke its leg on the ice only to be discovered by the wolves later.
Pretty soon there should be some walleyes showing up in the Sea Gull River to spawn and with any luck this will be a productive year for them. The low water years we have had in the recent past certainly hinder the spawn. Hopefully this year the water will be a little bit higher. The cabin owners along the river are saying that it already looks low, but it is still pretty early to tell how the spring weather will pan out.
I remember seasons when it started raining in May and stopped sometime in August. Every day we fished in the rain and the fish loved it. Limits were easy to catch but you couldn’t get much of a suntan.
Last year the water was so low in the Sea Gull River that the bald eagles were plucking walleye right out of the water. It was pretty easy pickings for the eagles and who knows how many they actually killed. Walleyes are so lethargic during the spawn that people have been known to pick them up without any resistance. This is illegal and very harmful to the delicate spawning females so please do not do it.
In fact if you try to harass the spawning walleye, there is a pretty good chance you will get caught since the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources keeps a pretty close eye on the Sea Gull River, but you can certainly go up and look at them.
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.
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