Today: Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 82. West wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 52. West wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. West wind between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 49. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. South wind between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Friday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.

Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77.

Saturday Night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53.

Sunday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 76.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 53

We've started doing some crafts with the kids while they're here!  Indy & Purdy spent an afternoon coloring t-shirts to take home & remind them of their vacation at the pines!                        

Sota our Camp dog is famous as a hiking guide!  She is a great dog and we have allowed her the run of the camp because she does not often abuse it by running off.  She is the official camp greeter - friendly to all people and children 2 or 4 legged.  She takes her job seriously as each morning when we open the lodge she is off on her rounds in the campground making sure that all is well and tidying up if anyone were to perhaps drop a breakfast sausage or piece of cheese.  As the Guests rise for the day and begin their activities it is not uncommon for her to tag-a-long and act as local trail guide for guests hiking the trail system in the forest behind us.  She knows the woods well and will ususally lead the way looking back often to keep an eye on you to be sure you’re on the right path.  

Last week Sota guided Emmy and I on a hike to High cliffs.  I don’t know who was panting harder when we got to the top - Sota or me!  On the way we stopped to find Lost Cliffs - it was right there where I left it last time!   I don’t know when we “lost” the cliff.  In my younger years working at Gunflint Lodge in the 80’s it was Middle Cliffs.  When I graduated college and did the corportate thing for a couple years I came back to find that it had dissappeared!  They had developed some ski trails and that may have had something to do with it.  It became less used and the trail less worn.  I mentioned it to one of the area naturalists when I returned in the 90’s and told him he should look for the old path.  He did and found it.  He began taking guests there and the path was reborn.  Whatever its name - I’m glad it’s there it’s a beautiful vista overlooking Gunfint Lake with the High Cliffs towering overhead behind it.

High Cliffs remains one of the highlights of our area.  The rock bluff ridge on the South side of Gunflint Lake can be seen from the lake when boating or canoeing on Gunflint.  With an elevation difference of some 400ft from Gunflint Lake to the ridge top, the view is spectacular!  Looking north you can see Gunflint and Magnetic lake and the hills surrounding much of the Granite Lake river sysytem.   I also took note of the Blueberry bushes while up there.  From the looks of it, it should be a bumper crop again this year!  We still have cabin openings for July & August so start planning your trip to the Northwoods!

This time of the summer the lake trout can be at varying depths.  On some of the local lakes they can still be taken with floating stick baits on the surface.  On other lakes you will find them suspended 20 to30 feet below the surface over deep water.  These fish are usually hovering just below the thermo cline. 

Last Tuesday I took a couple of fishermen out on Sag looking for lake trout.  The thermo cline appeared generally at about 20 feet and I am sure that a little weight in front of trolling stick baits would of produced some trout.  However, these guys wanted to learn how to fish mid-lake humps using ciscoes as bait. 

I checked a couple of spots before I found some trout roaming near the bottom in about 40 feet of water.  I anchored the boat and an hour later we had six nice trout in the box, all caught on ciscoes. 

So, how did we do this?  Rigging the baits is a little unique.  With three fishermen, I like to use two bait casting rigs with line counters and a 4000 series spinning reel on the third.  I will rig the ciscoes on the bait casters and drop one off each side of the boat.  Then I cast the ciscoe on the spinning rod, 7 foot medium action, off the stern of the boat. 

The reels are spooled with 10 pound test line.  The first step in rigging a ciscoe is sliding a half ounce egg sinker onto the line followed by a #5 barrel swivel.  A leader made of 8 pound test line about 4 to 6 feet long is tied to the barrel swivel followed by a little red bead.  A piece of wire is used to string the leader through the ciscoe with the line coming out the mouth.  A #4 treble hook is tied to the leader and the hook’s shank is pulled into the ciscoe mouth.  A half hitch is made with the leader and pulled tightly around the tail of the ciscoe.  The baits are now ready and can be lowered to the bottom with the bait casting rods and cast away from the boat with the spinning rod.

I will be gone next week (on a fishing trip!), but if you check in in a couple of weeks I will tell you what to expect once the trout picks the ciscoe up off the bottom of the lake!

Bob Sr.

Today: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. South wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tonight: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Thursday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. East wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Friday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 78.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 55.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 78.