We got a late start on our trip to Iowa for the holidays and ended up driving through some pretty bad weather. The ride to Minneapolis was nice, but the last leg of the trip into Iowa was much worse. They had temperatures in the low teens compared to 30 degrees in Minneapolis. We had ice and wind for a couple of hours and we saw a few cars end up in the salad. Fortunately they all appeared to be pretty soft landings into the snow-filled medians.
I’ve heard a few reports on the snow conditions up the Gunflint Trail. Mid-Trail received about seven inches in this last dumping and the snowmobile trails are in pretty good shape. There have been a few snowmobiles up the Trail and things are starting to come back to life. The upper Trail did not seem to get as much snow, but still got enough to break out the plow.
The lake trout season inside of the Boundary Waters opens on January 1 and the “all-around” lake trout season opens on the 15th. I know there have been some walleye anglers out there already, but the Trout Opener is what I am waiting for. I like the odds that bigger lakes such as Gunflint and Saganaga have to offer. The bigger the lake, the bigger the fish.
Moss and West Bearskin were pretty good last year during early ice. West Bearskin does not give up a lot of bites, but the fish can be pretty big. Moss is a great lake for action, but the fish are pretty small. Gunflint took a while to warm up for me last year with very few fish caught during the first couple weeks of the season. I do not know if that is common for some of the larger lakes or if I just cannot seem to find them. Who knows?
Remember to renew your trail permits for the season if you are using any of the designated snowmobile trails to get to your favorite lakes. There is a good chance of being checked and the money goes toward things like grooming, which we all love to see. I was very pleased with the conditions of the snowmobile trails last year, and I hope we continue to see such nice trails for this year.
I sure appreciated our home as I watched a couple of snowmobiles racing back and forth across some cornfields. We are pretty spoiled with the number of beautiful trails to explore in this county. It is the only thing that keeps me sane.
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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