The snowmobiles and icehouse have been put up for the summer, but I am not quite ready to break out the boat yet.
I’ve been told a boat was heading up the corridor on Lake Saganaga this past weekend and it was able to get out past the “Spawning Area No Fishing Zone” but could not get much farther than that.
Walleye season is open until the 14th of the month, so there are some very realistic places for last minute fishing from your boat. I would be willing to bet you could get into James Bay by the time you read this article.
The lakes are already so low that many fish will not be drawn to their normal rivers and places of current to spawn. There simply is not enough current. Fish are very capable of spawning on shorelines and in brush, so I hope they are able to adapt this year.
Gunflint Lake has opened up a bunch. You can see the remaining ice moving up and down with the waves. It will not be there much longer if it is thin enough to show waves under it.
It is beginning to feel like an early spring with a few bugs flying around. Ducks are being spotted on any open water and a friend told me he has already seen a “V” formation of geese heading north. All that is missing is black flies and tourists to make it really feel like spring.
This could be the longest summer I can remember if this weather keeps up. The ground is already thawed enough that light shoveling has not been a problem.
The grass is holding onto the golden color of last fall, refusing to turn green. We have not had enough moisture to allow any green up yet.
It is so hard to predict the weather on the Gunflint Trail. I remember last November as some of the best fall weather we have had. Usually I would not even be thinking about fishing from a boat in November, except in Florida, but you sure could last year. I winterized the boat too soon, but I won’t make that mistake this year.
Thelonger in-between seasons are taking a toll on some of the resorts and businesses up here. You would think there would be some last minute vacationers taking advantage of the warm weather to do some hiking or moose horn hunting this weekend. Visitors could beat the bugs and the tourists and the rates on your cabin would be at the lowest rates of the year. I would do it if I did not already live here.
Residents don’t ever seem to have enough time to enjoy the activities that our wilderness has to offer. I believe that someday my wife and I will have more time to enjoy the things we fell in love with, but it seems like the more we accomplish the more work we create.
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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