Our isolated way of life carries some disadvantages when the cold and flu season arrives. Lately a majority of the people I see daily on the Gunflint Trail are all hanging their aching heads low with a miserable cold. Coughing, sneezing, headaches and fatigue are the standard symptoms and it is very resilient.
I have some friends who have been sick for three weeks now and the light at the end of the tunnel is still too far away to be seen.
Rachelle, Sophia, and I have all contracted the cold along with the majority of the upper Gunflint Trail residents. Colds are miserable any time of the year, but I feel especially thwarted when they happen in the summer. It reminds me of being sick in Key West. It is so depressing to feel so miserable when it is this nice outside.
The temperatures have been very pleasant lately with the cooler nights cutting some of the daytime humidity. I heard Duluth was forecasted for some hot days this week with highs in the 90-degree range, but that has not been the case up here on the Trail. The wind and clouds are pretty comfortable to work under, even if you are coughing and sneezing.
If you have been paying attention to the lake levels lately, you might have noticed how fast they are dropping. Saganaga Lake has receded approximately 10 inches in the past week. Betsy’s rock in the Northeast Arm is now showing itself for the first time since May, and it is usually visible for most of the summer. It feels like we are at normal lake levels for this time of the year, but the lakes are still dropping more each day.
The walleyes have started descending on Saganaga and the hot bite has been in 35-40 feet of water. Their stomachs are full of minnows and they are already on a fall feeding pattern. The same is true over on Northern Light Lake, except that there is a huge population of smaller walleye (13-17 inches) that are feeding in 8-10 feet of water.
Northern Light Lake is so versatile that you can literally catch fish in more places than you cannot. How many big lakes can you say that about? We boated well over a hundred walleyes on Sunday. The biggest was only 18 inches, but I have learned that bent rods equal happy faces. My customer said that he had only seen such action on “fly-in” lakes before.
The warm days might feel like summer will last awhile, but we can all see a hint of fall approaching. The leaves are barely showing some color and the evenings are getting chilly. If my light orange tomatoes are any indication of the changing season then it will not be long.
Sophia and I grew a lot of tomatoes this summer and they are just starting to ripen. She loves to show off her tomato garden to everyone, but she does not understand the concept of vine ripening. As soon as they start to show some color she likes to pick them when I am not looking. We will have to work on that.
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.
Leave a Reply