Fishing Report

Gunflint Lake was been producing Lake Trout lately from all different depths.  With the early iceout the trout are scattered from the surface to 90ft already.  Guys that have been trolling, have been in 50-60 feet of water with downriggers or flat lines getting down around 40ft with mornings and evenings finding fish closer to the surface on flat lines. 

Walleyes have been tough.  Not because they have not been biting, more with the water levels being low on Gunflint and most of the border lakes,  the usual spots at the east end of the lake are just really tough to get into with low water. 

I personally haven’t been out much during the day yet.  Most of my fishing til now has been in the evenings from 8pm to midnight.  Ive been out five evening now, on Little North, Seagull and Saganaga Lakes with fish being caught on all three.  There is a real nice bite going on up on Saganaga right now.  I took the boys up yesterday and we boated a dozen walleyes and were home by 1030pm.  Lindy rigs along wind blown shorelines and trolling stick baits have been working the best. 

Northern fishing is starting to pick up also.  A lot of the bigger fish are becoming more active everyday with the water warming.  Loon Lake is producing the nicest fish and Sag for the numbers…. Casting spoons in the shallows is whats being done right now.

As for the Small Mouth bass, there has been signs of them making beds already.  Warm water is the key here…and they are starting.  I would say in two weeks from now the Smallies will biting strong.

Can’t catch fish, unless your fishing…..

Bob

Many people do not seem to remember that Border lakes have slightly different regulations.  This year's early ice off and wonderfully warm weather gave this fisherman  an early season bonus.  Ryan of Duluth took this nice 26 inch Northern  yesterday. 

Today is the start of the 3rd annual Ham Run Half Marathon.  The race starts here (literally), in the Campground and runs to the end of the Gunflint Trail.  It is a certified half marathon and is gaining interest.  This year 189 runners will be joining us.  There is also a 5K for those beginning their running "careers" or wanting to participate at a slightly lesser level.

Gunflint Green-Up is next weekend along with Mother's day.  We still have cabins open and the camping has been great!  Join us. 800-533-5814

My cousin Ken had so much fun a couple weeks ago that he came back for more fishing.  We hit some of the same spots as before, namely Gunflint, North & Sag and experienced some action each time out.

We spent a couple of days on the west end of Gunflint (close to home) wehre we would hit 4-5 spots.  It seemed like we had a fish or two in every spot we tried, some bit and some did not.

We fished North Lake, Not in the usual spots, and had a few small trout although ken had about a 7 pounder on a tip-up that he somehow managed to hook in the tail.  Oh Yes, he retunred it immediately back to the water as we have done with most of our fish.

Action on Sag remains shady with lots of nice eater sized trout.  Three of ous had 13 fish last time out, still in 45 feet of water.  Most people who have fished with me know that my go to biat for jigging lake trout is Northland Fishing Tackle's Buckshot Rattle Spoon in the glo color (light green).  I prefer the 3/8 oz weight.  I always replace the manufacturers hook with a "Better Quality" #4 treble nad add a  little orange fleck, found at the Beaver House in Grand Marais.

As I talk to the other fishermen, of course they have their favorite baits too, so I feel obligated to give them a try.  Last winter one of the hot baits here on Gunflint Lake was a Blue Neilsmaster.  I tried one a few times with little success and probably not enough patience.  The other day, when fishing got a little slow on Sag I put one on and was rewarded with a couple of trout in just a few minutes.

The Chubber Darter made by Salmo is often mentioned in Outdoor Publications as a good Lake Trout bait.  It darts to the side on the upward jigging motion, then flutters nicely on the freefall.  I have had some really nice trout on the blue with silver bottom Chubby Darter here on Gunflint this winter.

Northland fishing tackle introduced the "Macho Minnow" recently.  When I first laid my eyes on it, I knew that it was going to be good.  Don't ask me how I knew because it can not be explained.  It has a shape similar to the Cast Master which causes more of a darting action when jigged.  I have fished it a lot inthe lakes where the trout are smaller than here in Gunflint (North, Sag and Moss) and have had some really good catches.  The colors are the same as the Glo Buckshot which by the way is still #1 in my tackle box.

Next time "The little fish that paid off" and "flying high over new fishing holes!"     - Bob Sr.

Last week my cousin Ken was here for a little Mid-Winter ice fishing.  It had been awhile since his last visit and he expressed an interest in hitting a few lakes while putting some miles on the snowmobiles at the same time.

We headed out at 8 O’clock on Tuesday morning and by 9am we were fishing on Portage Lake.  We later moved on to Birch Lake then to Moss.  I had completed what I would call the “Grand Slam” of Trout fishing.  I had caught Splake, Rainbow, Brook and Lake Trout all is the same day.  I can not remember ever doing this before and oh yes; what a feast we had that evening.

In my last fishing report, I left off with a “to be continued . . . and how quickly things can change.”  My brother Dale was here with some friends and one of their sons, a 12 year old named Mitchel.   I had promised to take him under my wing as he had never caught a Lake Trout.  On Saturday on our day trip to Sag (with a little help) he managed to catch 5 Trout followed by 2 more on North Lake on Sunday.  In between the fishing was feeding deer by hand in my yard and driving the snowmobile on North Lake.

Mitchel had just told me about the great weekend he was having and how lucky I was to be able to live here when he heade3d out for one last snowmobile ride.  That is when things changed so quickly.  As he passed between the islands over near the South Lake Portage the skis on the snowmobile caught on an ice ridge causing the machine to flip end over end several times.  When we got over to him, we found him to be shaken but ok.  The snowmobile had suffered significant damage.  The windshield and mirrors were broken off, the handle bars busted, the hood cracked and the list goes on.  With time we reassured ourselves that Mitchel had not been injured other than his pride as he was riding his grandpa’s borrowed machine.  The good news is that his dad works as an auto body repairman and has the skills to make things right – with grandpa.

Fishing on Sag continues to be hot as the average catch has been 14 fish.  Most running 2-3 lbs although I did release a 33.5 inch fish last week.  Gunflint Lake fishing continues to be steady with a respectable 6-7 lb average for Lake Trout.  Yesterday afternoon I surprised myself with a eelpout weighing in at about 8 lbs.  Otherwise known as fresh water cod it made a great tasting meal.

Bob Sr.

There's lots of "Good News" when it comes to ice fishing recently.  The ice conditions are Good.  The fishing has been Good.  The catching has been Good, and I have been on the ice most days.

I've been on the ice eight of the past nine days fishing on Gunflint, Sag and North Lakes.  There is about 20 inches of good solid ice on all of these lakes.  I ran into one small pocket of slush on Little Gunflint, but otherwise have not seen any slush. 

This year I put a little angling shack here on Gunflint Lake on a piece of structure down near Campers island.  I have seen fish on my locater every time I have been out and most days have put 2 nice trout in the 4-9 pound range on the ice.  My bait of preference has been a 3/8 oz buckshot in the glo color.

Last week I fished on Sag for a couple of days with an old friend.  The lake trout were small but numerous.  Thursday we had 9 trout in the 2-4 lb range and a 4 lb whitefish as a bonus fish.  On friday I had the hot hand as I caught and released 15 trout in an hour and a half as my fishing partner watched in awe.  I started with a ciscoe on the bottom and the trout would take it as soon as I put it down, but I found rebaiting too time consuming so I went to the buckshot for non-stop action. 

I returned to Sag on Saturday with my brother and a few of his friends.  The catching was a little slower, but we managed our limits of Lake Trout.  Most fo the fish were caught in about 45 feet fo water, but it took a piece of minnow on the buckshot to entice the bite.

Fishing North Lake, and how quickly things can happen. . . to be continued - Bob Sr.