We started getting a little more snow again this week and the temperatures have been just cold enough to keep it from melting. It would be a good year to start spring with high water and it will take a lot more snow to make that happen. I remember many years in the past when it started raining in May and didn’t stop until sometime in August.
Heavy rain years are great for the walleye spawn and the fishing is usually pretty good too. With a lot of rain, rivers have strong oxygenated current and are deep enough for the walleyes to do their thing without being disturbed by the eagles overhead. We have not had a highwater spring since before the Ham Lake wildfire.
March is a great month to be on the Gunflint Trail. There is usually a lot of snow and the days gradually become warmer. The wind loses that bone-chilling bite and the fish and wildlife both are actively enjoying the warmth of the longer days. March is my favorite month of the ice season for sure.
There have not been very many animals around lately. Occasionally the snowshoe hares come running through our yard, but other than the hundreds of birds that we are feeding off of the back deck, it is awfully quiet around here.
Last year we saw wolves in the yard daily and this year I have not seen any. All of the deer within a 20-mile radius have migrated to the South Gunflint Lake Road for some free handouts. They are more like pets right now than actual wildlife. And the moose that have survived the road this year are few and far between.
My wife spotted a lynx this week on the Sag Lake Road pretty close to the Gunflint Trail. She is not convinced that it was a lynx because she thinks she saw a long tail, but it was definitely a cat, and much larger than a fox. I have seen lynx up here before and the pointed ears paired with the gray and white streaks made me believe she saw a lynx. It was dark so she was not really sure what it was. I wish I could have seen the tracks.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has been studying lynx in our area for the past nine years. They have caught a few in the live traps and placed radio collars around their necks while they were sedated. Some of the studies were reported in the latest Minnesota Conservation Volunteer and I found it really interesting how far these cats will travel in short periods of time. Some were found 300 miles away from where they were trapped and almost always north of here. We live in the southernmost region of the lynx’s comfort zone and there is not a huge population of them around, but some are believed to live primarily in the Arrowhead region of Minnesota.
It seems that the existence of lynx in our area directly relates to the population of snowshoe hare in Canada. If Canada is having low populations of hare, then we will see more lynx hunting the hares around our neck of the woods. The snowshoes do not seem to be as prevalent as last year, but we have a lot more snow in the woods right now than we did last year too.
I think this is the reason we are not seeing as much wildlife around. They are just having a harder time moving around than they do when we have less snow.
The fox and wolves are probably feasting on all of the grouse, hare, and mice that are burrowed down under the thick snow. Easy pickings when you have a good nose. The smaller animals cannot escape their burrowed safe havens as easily when they are covered up by so much white stuff.
Last year you could find a fresh deer kill on Gunflint Lake every day. We are not seeing nearly as many this year, but you can be sure they are still eating something. It will be interesting to see who survived winter once this snow is all gone.
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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