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Memorial Day weekend has always been the unofficial kickoff to the guiding season. But it is never easy to know when to book a fishing trip, since our weather is so touchy. After Memorial Day, the fish start to bite a little more consistently with the warming lake waters.
Maybe that is why we don’t get the Governor to join us on opening day up here? We are famous for producing the state record walleye, but it could be snowing sideways on any given opener. Or there could still be a glacier floating around the lake!
Memorial Day weekend, I am told, is the time to start the garden. I am not what you would call a "Green Thumb." In fact, I could kill a dandelion, but I am still going to give it a shot this year. In the past I have unsuccessfully grown a garden every summer but I have confidence that this will be the year.
We are still iving without running water which may seem insane, but I have been accused of doing dumber things. I appreciate a good challenge. I have designed a water recovery system from our gutters to help with the watering, but that assumes that we will have sufficient rain. TheFarmer’s Almanac is predicting a very dry season.
I have received a lot of helpful advice from successful Trail gardeners. There are many vegetables that simply will not grow in our short season. For instance, radishes and green onions need too much time for harvesting while tomato plants, lettuce, and zucchini do quite well. Herbs such as basil, cilantro, and parsley can be fruitful and can continue to grow throughout the fall if they can be brought indoors.
The problem up here is to find good soil, whether that means importing top soil by the bag or simply finding an area that isn’t just clay, sand and rocks. My wife suggested we borrowed a tiller from somebody, but I cannot imagine the damage that would occur to such a useless tool on the Trail.
We will do it the old fashioned way with hand tools until the garden gets enough soft soil built up on it. Theother problem is the abundance of wildlife in our neighborhood. We will have a six-foot fence bordering our garden, but I’m told that the deer can still jump six feet if they are hungry enough.
There is something soothing about producing your own food. It is a self sufficient feeling that I miss from my childhood in Iowa. My mother spent hours pulling weeds and fertilizing her produce when I was a child. You simply cannot beat the taste of vegetables fresh from the garden.
Things are starting to "green up" around here. Grass is growing in the areas we had bulldozed last year and slowly but surely we are seeing some foliage on the tree limbs. The fire danger does not seem high to me right now, but burning permits will not be issued until green up, assuming conditions are acceptable. Smokey Bear next to the Sea Gull Guard station says "Moderate." I hope that does not change. I know there a number of prescribed burns scheduled this year and I hope that everything stays in control.
We are looking at a warmer week ahead of us, which should turn the fishing on and get some people out in the woods. Good luck and I hope to see you out there.
Cory Christianson, a 2000 graduate of the University of Iowa, has worked as a fishing guide at Seagull Creek Fishing Camp for eight years and worked for Almost There Charters in Key West for nine years. If you have any fishing reports or stories to share, send an e-mail to christiansoncory@ hotmail.com or call 218 388-0315.
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