I know, last week’s column was entitled Fire on the
Mountain
and this week a Touch
of Grey.
I am not really a “Dead Head” but their songs do make pretty good titles for Tails from
the Trail.
The leaves are all but gone and it is now time for the gray season of November. Misty mornings and noticeably earlier sunsets are a sure sign of what is to come. The temperatures have still been relatively mild considering the time of year, allowing me to get some outside projects completed. It will not be much longer before we start seeing some white stuff.
The Forest Service firefighters have completed the prescribed burns for the season, so I was expecting the Trail traffic to slow down. There seem to be a lot of cabin owners still around getting all of their loose ends taken care of before winter. Draining waterlines and sprinkler systems and winterizing boat motors are at the top of their lists. I get a lot of calls this time of the year from people asking me to assist them with these chores. It is a nice way to finish out a very busy season and I do not mind the work. Pretty soon there will not be anything to do but wait for freeze-up.
Above: Aaron Daubanton has been hunting in the forest near his family’s home in Grand Marais for 13 years. This year, on Saturday, October 23, he had his first successful hunt, taking this 215-pound, 14-point, buck by bow. Aaron told his parents, Georgene and Rollie Daubanton, “What a glorious day!”
Fishing has been awfully boring lately and my hunch that the smaller lakes would be producing better than Saganaga was not very accurate. I wasted a day on Poplar last Friday trying desperately to find some walleyes and crappies to no avail. We did manage one walleye and a handful of bass and northerns, but it did not give me much confidence for winter fishing. I was really hoping to find a school of crappies suspended out in the main basin, but no luck. My friends who have been fishing Hungry Jack had the same to say about it, nothing.
I like fishing lake trout in the winter, as many of you do, but I would sure like to be able to target something different this year. Crappies, blue gills, walleyes, even whitefish would be a nice change. I know all of the lakes that have these fish and it would be a lot of fun to see them bite in the winter.
Left: The cold weather didn’t deter these grouse hunters. Dean Holt and his son, Adam, got these two nice birds on Mark Lake Road near Grand Marais on Monday, October 25.
If you can locate some fish in the late fall, there is a very good chance they will be in the same spots during early ice. Crappies are supposed to be pretty easy to find when they suspend, but we combed the main basin and only marked a couple of schools that did not want to feed.
Eternal optimist or foolish fisherman does not really matter to me. Every day on the water is one to remember.
Cory Christianson, a graduate
of the University of Iowa, has
worked as a fishing guide on
the Gunflint Trail since 2000. 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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