Unseasonably warm weather, mixed with rain and high winds this week, will be detrimental to many winter activities as the snow begins to disappear. Roads and driveways are going to be a sloppy mess as the snow base dissolves, and lakes will become even slushier than before.
The spring melt-down is a volatile event that can be a nightmare if it happens too rapidly. Road culverts become plugged with flowing ice, causing floods, and steep driveways erode as the water cuts a path to the lakes below. There is still a fair amount of snow in the woods for now, but we are supposed to have warm temperatures all week with scattered precipitation that will transform our winter wonderland to a dull brown mess.
The silver lining of this scenario, for anglers, is that streams will start running and fish will get hungry. Border lakes allow walleye anglers to fish until the end of the month and many of the traditional late ice hot spots will turn on earlier than normal. Running water brings with it nutrients and oxygen needed to trigger spring feeds for pre-spawn walleyes and whitefish.
If you can find schooled whitefish, than you should also be finding some walleyes nearby.
I was unable to fish the Cook County Ridge Riders Trout Derby this year, but I have been guiding on Gunflint Lake, and the few trout we have been keeping are all packed full of two-inch smelt. Smelt migrate to the river mouths in the spring to spawn, and the predators are not far behind them.
It is hard to predict the weather for the rest of this season, but it would be nice if the temperatures held out long enough to capitalize on this short window of angling opportunity. Bare ice creates some problems with snow machines overheating, but there is enough winter left to expect a few more snowfalls, which will help traveling conditions on the lake.
Take extra caution while fishing river mouths this season since we did not receive the ice thicknesses that we would normally see. Dark honeycomb looking ice is not very strong, even if it is thick, and running water melts fast, causing conditions to change daily, so pay very close attention to the ice conditions and be safe.
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.
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