The sun has been making regular appearances, days are getting longer, and the winter season will soon be nothing more than a memory. March has arrived, and I am sad to say that I can count the number of fish I have pulled through the ice on one hand.
Not to worry, the best couple of weeks are still ahead and it looks like we will be holding onto the snow for the remainder of the ice-fishing season.
I, like many of you, have my excuses for not wanting to brave the consistently horrible weather we endured through the months of January and February this year. Ice fishing in a T-shirt while sunning my face would be a wonderful way to finish the season.
Recently, my children have mastered their mini-z snowmobile and most of my free time has been spent touring the lake at 10 mph while they ride their snowmobile. The 10-horse gas engine, and heavy snowmobile helmets with neck collars, have been too intimidating for them—until this week.
Now, they demand that we ride for an hour after school, when the weather allows, and they cannot get enough of it. The little sled does well on the hard-packed snow from the continuous flow of snowmobile traffic surrounding our lodge, but not very good in the thick stuff.
Soon the sunshine will begin to melt the snow, and the base that took all winter to build will collapse into a sloppy mess. I suspect the mini-z will not perform as well once this happens, so I am trying to get as much sled-time in with the kids before it falls apart – then we can focus on drilling holes and catching fish.
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. You can also visit Cory’s website at Gunflintfishingguide.com.
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