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.

The course is set for the 2010 snowshoe obstacle course.  Round the pole, down the hill, backwards for a bit, under the pole and through the woods up the hill.  You can do it for fun or compete for the best time.  It is also part of the kids mini winter olympics course. 

Saturday is bound to be a day of kids fun at the Pines - storytelling, dogsled rides, snowmobile tours, kids crafts, sliding, mini winter olympics, snowshoeing, and a USFS speaker to talk about Winter Tracks in the woods along with a woods walk/snowshoe.  There's some snowsculptures already carved, but the block out front of the pines is just waiting for someone with a great idea and a little talent.  The weather is beautiful today!!!!  Saturday looks to have a hi of 30, and a 20% chance of snow after noon.

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.

First and foremost I must apologize for not posting to the blog during the months of December and January.  It's not because I haven't thought of things to tell you, or had things going on here in the Northwoods to share with you - in honesty it's because I haven't had the heart to do it. 

If you got our current brochure, with holiday letter last month - you know my father was diagnosed with cancer a year ago.  His battle ended peacefully at his home surrounded by loved ones (me included) on January 19th.  I spent much time throughout December and January traveling back and forth to Mankato to spend time with him.   I am grateful for the time I was able to spend with him.

I am also grateful for the support so many of you have shown me during this time.  As so many that go through this type of experience have told me, it really makes you re-evaluate your values.  I have found that by far - time with family, time with friends, love, appreciation, smiles, shared memories are infinately more important than things: bigger cars, a bigger house or deck, the newest cell phone, tv, computer etc.  Hopefully I am teaching my children the right lessons and I will not forget it anyime myself soon.  

So here's to renewed values and renewed energy and hopefully a great 2010!!  Hope you'll join us sometime soon! -  Shari