Everyone has been patiently anticipating the spring meltdown that does not appear to be happening. Two weeks ago, driveways that had been plowed were showing gravel and the ground became muddy where melting snow had saturated the low spots. It has been a typical spring until the winter storm threw us right back into winter again this week.
I fished a number of different Gunflint Trail lakes before the end of trout season and was amazed at how thick the ice still is. My ice auger bottomed-out on Poplar Lake in some areas (which equates to three feet of ice) and Gunflint has 24-30 inches of solid black ice that has shown no sign of melting yet. Saganaga and Northern Light lakes have a little less ice with 24 inches, which is plenty thick enough to fish walleyes until the 14th of April on border lakes.
The big snow drifts melted on top of the lakes a few weeks ago during a brief warm spell and then re-froze to the surface of the lake adding to the overall ice depth. If it was not for the recent three inches of fresh snowfall we received this week the lakes would have been shear ice and difficult to travel on. So far, none of the lakes have “popped-up” and they look the same as they did in January. It is becoming harder and harder each day to believe there will be open water to fish in six week’s time—but I have been fooled before.
The lack of precipitation in March will be a concern for fire danger this spring. It is easy to become complacent with wild fire prevention when the danger is low like it has been. This would be a good year to make sure your sprinkler system is functioning properly and there is plenty of propane in the tanks. If the original 20- or 50-pound cylinder assigned to your sprinkler system pump became the back-up barbecue tank or is being used to heat your ice house… make sure it gets back to the pump and is topped off with gas before the lakes thaw.
I burned a couple of brush piles in our yard recently and was surprised at how fast they took off considering how green the pile was last fall. It usually takes an hour with the propane torch to start a burn pile, but this year they flashed immediately and burned to the ground by the following morning. If it stays dry you can expect to see fire restrictions across the state until conditions become safer.
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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