While many people are returning north, we are heading south. April might seem a little late in the season for a Florida vacation, but it is hard to leave the Gunflint Trail while there is still snow on the ground, especially when plowing snow is one of my numerous jobs. We are ready for a break from winter and April is peak fishing in the Florida Keys for tarpon and sailfish.
Sunshine and snow have been a rare combination this season, but this past week on the Gunflint Trail has shown us plenty of both. The ice has not been melting as quickly as the snow, and it looks like we might have frozen lakes for a few more weeks yet.
I hoped we would return from vacation to open water and green grass, but that is not going to happen in the next week. There is still 10 inches of snow on the ground and lake ice has been varying in thickness between 12 and 36 inches, depending on the lake. I have been anticipating an early break-up, but it is not melting as fast as I thought it would.
Last week’s early taste of spring was appreciated by all, even the forest critters who are appearing from their winter haunts to play in the sun. The woods that surround our house are alive with bird chatter that is so loud, we can hear them singing from inside our dining room table each morning as the sun rises. Quite a difference from the eerily silent mornings of winter, and a nice reminder that we are not entirely alone up here.
A bone-white snowshoe hare ran across our driveway recently signifying that we are not beyond winter’s grasp yet. The hares will start showing some brown in their coats as soon as the snow melts, which helps to camouflage them from hungry predators. Snowshoe hares will be nesting soon, and our wiener dog, Maggie, has already begun sniffing for their secret lairs within the forest on our property. The newly uncovered smells are driving her crazy after a scentless winter of lying on the couch.
The older Maggie gets, the less interested she seems to be with hares and squirrels. Lately she opts to simply bark and growl at them, which is better than the full out high speed chases we used to see in her younger days. Wiener dogs were bred to hunt, and the only animals she can catch are young hares, or an occasional chipmunk. Red squirrels are way too fast and agile for Maggie, and they know it. It is more like a game for the squirrels, and we often see them taunting her from a tree limb before playfully trotting across the driveway like children at a playground. Little do they know that Maggie is not playing.
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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