The snow came again and melted away again in the matter of a week. This is such a bizarre time of the year. You can be painting outside one day and shoveling the deck the next. It sure feels like we have had the last of the winter weather, but you can never be too sure.
The lakes are still not showing much sign of letting go of their ice, but I have to believe it will be happening pretty soon. Gunflint Lake has shown the most open water so far on the west end, but that is pretty typical at the mouth of the Cross River.
I still have not seen Iron or Birch lakes show any open water and it is beginning to worry me for the fishing opener this year. I am sure there will be somewhere to fish, but I really like going to Saganaga. It seems like it is a race to Red Rock Bay or Devils Walk every spring even though we usually all end up in James Bay by the end of the day.
The Gunflint Trail has never been famous for the walleye opener, at least since the spawning grounds have been closed, and the guides are rarely booked that weekend.
I used to wonder why the governor does not fish up here instead of Leech Lake or Mille Lacs, but it only took a couple of years to realize that the fishing is usually not very good on the opener. The water temperatures are still very cold and most of our fish are pretty lethargic. I have seen many hawg walleyes caught opening weekend that give up quickly without much of a fight. As soon as the temperatures get into the higher 40s, they start to come alive.
Lately, I have been seeing quite a few grouse along the dirt roads so the fox and wolves must not have wiped them all out this winter. Their population is cyclical and we are supposed to be on the downward slope this year, but it seems like there are still a lot of birds around. Maybe I will actually get enough time to hunt them this fall. Doubtful, but I like to stay open minded.
We are reaching the final stages of building our house and there will be a lot of landscaping type projects to deal with this summer. Our driveway is in desperate need of some good gravel and the building site for the future “man cave” garage is still in the works.
The road bans do not usually get lifted up here until early June so the dirt work will have to wait until then. It will be so nice to store all of our “toys” inside for a change. The elements up here take a toll on everything we have to store outside, no matter how well I cover them up. It will also be nice to start the vehicles in the morning without having to scrape the windshields first.
As soon as those projects are finished we will have to start on the addition. I still have a couple of years before our daughter will need her own bedroom, but time seems to be slipping away quickly.
Sophia is five months old now and growing so fast. She has learned to speak her own language and enjoys growling in a slow deep voice. Combined with the evil face she makes, it is almost a little frightening. Rachelle took her to church on Easter Sunday and she let out one of her devilish growls at a very quiet time of the service. I guess the people sitting near her found it to be quite entertaining, I know it makes me laugh every time I hear it.
As one of the oldest children from a family of nine, I did not expect to be very amazed at watching our child develop, but I am. Every day she does something new and it is really a great experience for all of us. Before long she will be crawling around, so childproofing everything is on the immediate honey-do list. There is a crack of light at the end of my tunnel that keeps me in high spirits. Eventually the projects will be done and we can simply relax for a change. At least that is what I am telling myself.
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.
Leave a Reply