June 15, 2007 - TOP STORIES
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Trophy ’eyes caught along Gunflint
Duluth team win Kolar Toyota Tourney the second time
WAM holds 30th Annual Fishing Tournament
Funding available for shoreland projects
Trophy ’eyes caught along Gunflint
Ham Lake wildfire doesn’t stop the fishing along Gunflint Trail
By Sam Cook
Duluth News Tribune
ON THE GUNFLINT TRAIL, Minn. (AP) – The Ham Lake fire may have blackened 36,000 acres along the Gunflint Trail. But it couldn’t get the walleyes.
Thanks to the efforts of firefighters, Mike Berg’s Seagull Creek Fishing Camp near the tip of the trail survived the fire. Now, Berg’s guides and others along the upper Gunflint Trail are back on the water, putting their clients in touch with Saganaga Lake’s trophy fish.
Any concerns about the state of the lake’s walleyes were dispelled when Berg set the hook on his first walleye of the season last weekend. It was a 32-incher, probably weighing more than 10 pounds.
“First day, first fish, first bite,” said Berg, 49, who has owned Seagull Creek Fishing Camp for 20 years.
Members of his family who were fishing with him boated all kinds of big walleyes. Son Curtis Blake landed a 31-incher. Daughter Jessica Berg-Collman got herself a 29 and a 27-1/2. Mike also picked up a 28 and a 27.
“The resource is still there,” Berg said.
Anglers who want to get at those big walleyes have not been dissuaded by the fire or the notion that some shorelines may be burned over. They’re calling. They’re booking trips.
“At least for the customers I have, none of them have canceled because of the fire,” said Bob Baker, who owns Gunflint Pines Resort and Campgrounds just down the trail from Berg’s place.
“We haven’t had any cancellations on our guides,” said Dave Schudy, a manager at Gunflint Lodge on Gunfint Lake. “There’s been no ill effect on the fishing.”
Berg said he lost about 10 days of bookings, but May never is a big month for Seagull Creek. June is the peak month, and July and August are always good. Some anglers who had to cancel in May will probably rebook later in the summer, Berg said.
Fishing wasn’t foremost in the minds of anglers who called Seagull Creek in the days after the fire, Berg said.
“What do they want to know? First, ‘Are you safe?”’ Berg said. “And everyone is glad your place is still there.”
Eventually, they want to know what Saganaga looks like.
“Sag has been burned,” Berg said, “but it still has a lot of beautiful areas that haven’t been touched by fire or the (1999) blowdown.”
Berg’s is the only fishing camp of its kind on the Gunflint Trail, but other resorts offer guided fishing for their guests who want it. Many anglers from northern Minnesota fish without guides on Saganaga; Northern Light Lake in Ontario, Canada; Seagull Lake; Gunflint Lake; Little Gunflint Lake; Little North Lake and North Lake.
The Ham Lake fire shut down fishing on all of those lakes on Minnesota’s fishing opener because a large portion of the Gunflint Trail was evacuated and closed to traffic. And few anglers made it up for the Ontario fishing opener May 19 because the fire was still burning in Ontario.
Following the fire, it took a few days for businesses to re-establish phone and computer service. Land phone lines still haven’t been restored near the end of the trail, including at Seagull Creek. Most businesses have been issued cell phones, and a temporary cell tower allows them phone service.
Already, grass is coming back at the edges of the burned areas. Spring peepers and chorus frogs are calling from the wetlands. The blackflies are out. Slowly, a sense of normalcy is returning to the area.
But talk of the fire still creeps into many conversations, and when the wind is right, it carries the scent of a charred forest. Psychologically, the Ham Lake fire will weigh on residents’ minds for a long time, Berg said.
“You don’t get over this one quickly,” he said. “It affected too much property, too many people. It still wears on you. It came so close to me being one of them.
“I’ll always be able to walk away and go fishing somewhere. But this is home.”
Now, Berg and other guides must deal with the challenge of low water, a drought-caused condition that existed before the fire.
Saganaga Lake is down several feet, said Baker, of Gunflint Pines.
“The other day I was fishing next to a cliff, and standing in the boat, the high-water line was at eye-level,” he said.
Low water presents problems for some Gunflint Lake anglers who traditionally have taken their boats up narrow currents into Little Gunflint Lake, Little North Lake and North Lake.
“They can’t get into North Lake right now,” said Gunflint Lodge’s Schudy. “And on Sag, you just have to be more careful. I hit a reef the other day.”
Anglers can get a 16-foot boat into Little Gunflint and Little North Lake, Baker said, but not into North Lake. Some anglers are remaining on Gunflint Lake, fishing lake trout and walleyes.
“Trout fishing has been really good,” Baker said. “And they’re still getting walleyes.”
Walleye fishing continues to be productive on Saganaga. Seagull Creek clients have caught 26 walleyes longer than 28 inches already this spring in just seven days of fishing, compared to 24 in two weeks of May last year.
And Berg is getting his share. On Thursday, he caught three more of 28, 28-1/2 and 29 inches.
Six elk permits available
Deadline to apply is Friday, July 13
DNR News
Hunters have until Friday, July 13, to apply for one of six antlerless elk permits offered this year by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
The hunt is being held to reduce the elk population, located in a zone around Grygla in northwestern Minnesota, from the present level of 55 animals. There will be no bull permits offered this year as six bull elk mortalities were documented in 2006. Two were legally taken during the 2006 season, one was taken mistakenly during the antlerless season, one died presumably of brain worm, and the remaining two were found dead from unknown causes.
“While we are mandated to keep elk populations low, we believe the bull population is low enough and should not be hunted this year,” said Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator.
Applications may be made at any of the 1,800 statewide locations where hunting and fishing licenses are sold. Applications are also available from the DNR License Center at 500 Lafayette Road in St. Paul. Paper applications will not be accepted. Hunters may apply individually or in parties of two. There is a non-refundable application fee of $10 per hunter. Successful applicants will be notified by mail, and must purchase an elk license for $250. Each party will be authorized to harvest one elk.
One of the six licenses will be issued to a qualified landowner in the elk zone in a preferential drawing. Unsuccessful landowner applications will then be added to the general drawing, from which five more applicants will be selected. Alternates will be selected in case successful parties opt not to purchase a permit.
If no qualified landowners apply, all six licenses will be drawn from the general pool of applicants. Although the hunt is antlerless only, it is still once in a lifetime, which means parties that choose to purchase their license will not be eligible to apply for future elk hunts.
The antlerless elk hunt seasons are Sept. 15-23 and Dec. 1-9. Applicants interested in the early hunt should select area 10, while applicants for the late hunt should select area 20.
“The early hunt will be a good opportunity to try calling a bull then taking a cow from the harem,” Cornicelli said. “During the late season, elk should be congregated in larger groups with snow on the ground, making tracking and trailing easier.”
All successful applicants will be required to attend an orientation session at Thief Lake Wildlife Management Area headquarters prior to the hunt, and will be required to register any elk harvested at this location. Some biological information relative to elk physical condition will be collected at the check station and elk will be tested for chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis as part of Minnesota’s wild cervid surveillance program.
Duluth team win Kolar Toyota Tourney the second time
Photo in this week's issue!
HERMANTOWN, Minn. - Duluthians Eldin and Gary Hage took advantage of rainy weather June 2 to win the Kolar Toyota ALS Walleye tournament for the second time. Their total weight of 12.61 pounds bested the runner-up team of Troy Skorich and John Swanstrom.
The weather was similar to the last time the father and son combination won the tournament in 2005.
“It was very similar,” said Gary Hage, who has fished all 12 Kolar Toyota tournaments with his father Eldin. “I guess we do our best fishing when it’s raining.”
Skorich and Swanstrom, both of Superior, finished in second place in the tournament once before, in 1998. Four teams weight more than ten pounds of walleyes on Island Lake, the first time in tournament history some many teams have boated more than ten pounds of fish.
“The weather wasn’t great,” said tournament director David Kolquist. “But the fishing sure was. And we raised a lot of money to fight ALS, which is the most important thing.”
Professional athletes Kent Hrbek, Jim Johnson and Darby Hendrickson hosted the one-day event.
Also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is a fatal disease that affects more than 30,000 people in the United States and 300 in Minnesota. Thirteen new cases are diagnosed each day. Patients eventually become paralyzed, but their minds remain unaffected. Although there is currently no cure or treatment, research in recent years has made startling in-roads toward those ends. Dollars raised will not only go toward furthering this research, but also toward helping ALS patients here in the Northland.
WAM holds 30th Annual Fishing Tournament
Photo and top results in this week's issue!
Women Anglers of MN (a non-profit organization) proudly hosted their 30th Annual fund raising fishing tournament for any and all women ages 16 years of age and older on June 2nd, 2007. The tournament is held on a different lake every two years. This year found over 125 women fishing on Lake Koronis in Paynesville, MN. Forty-six boats eased off at 5:30 am and fished for walleye, northern, bass, sunfish, and crappies. Many wonderful sponsors help to pay out over $8,000 in prize money for 8 different categories.
This is WAM’s only fund raiser of the year. All money raised from the tournament is used to teach women and children to fish and enjoy the outdoors. The 162 fish caught during the tournament were released with only three fish dying the entire day. The Grand Prize fish is calculated by a point system. Any species of fish is able to win the Grand Prize purse of $2000. WAM boasts a membership of over 150 women from all over the state.
For more information on Women Anglers of MN check out: www.WomenAnglersMN.com
Funding available for shoreland projects
DNR News
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is making more than $300,000 available for grant proposals for restoring native shoreline vegetation across the state. Individual grant requests can range from $10,000 - $75,000.
This program provides cost share grants to counties, cities, watershed districts, other local units of government, conservation groups and lake associations to conduct shoreline restoration projects with native plants to improve fish and wildlife habitat.
Projects on private properties will have at least 75 percent of the frontage restored with an adjacent buffer zone that is at least 25 feet wide. The focus of these projects must be on re-establishing vegetation for fish and wildlife habitat. Funds cannot be used for rock riprap stabilization or permanent wave breaks.
Grants recipients will be reimbursed for a maximum of 75 percent of the total project costs. Applicants must be able to fund at least 25 percent of the total project costs from nonstate sources. Matching funds may be cash, volunteer labor, in-kind contributions of materials, equipment and services.
“This is an opportunity for lake associations, local communities and conservation organizations to help enhance native shoreline vegetation and fish habitat in their local lakes, streams and rivers,” said John Hiebert, DNR shoreland habitat coordinator. “Last year, 27 projects were funded for $315,000.”
Applications are available by clicking on grants on the DNR Web site at www.dnr.state.mn.us or by calling the DNR at (651) 296-6157 or toll free 1-888-MINNDNR (646-6367). Completed applications are due Sept. 17.
Successful applicants will be notified in February. Their funds will be made available after July 1, 2008.
The grants are funded from state lottery proceeds deposited in the Heritage Enhancement Account. Grants, administered through the DNR Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, are selected and designed with guidance from local DNR fisheries managers.
Shoreline alterations, aquatic plant removal may require permits
Lakeshore property owners are reminded that removing aquatic plants or altering shoreline may require a permit from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
DNR staff members who issue permits for shoreline alteration or aquatic plant removal can help lakeshore owners avoid harming the lake or river near their home, said Steve Enger, DNR Division of Ecological Services.
“We encourage shoreline property owners to keep alterations as small as possible, because aquatic plants stabilize bottom sediments, protect water clarity, prevent shoreline erosion and are important fish habitat,” Enger said. “Changing the shoreline or improperly removing aquatic plants can seriously damage the lake in the long term.”
Information on both the Aquatic Plant Management Program and the Public Waters Work Permit Program is available on the DNR Web site at www.dnr.state.mn.us or by calling (651) 296-6157 or toll free 1-888-MINNDNR (646-6367). For more information about the Public Waters Work Permit program, contact DNR area hydrologist or the central office Division of Waters at (651) 259-5700.
© 2007 Outdoors Weekly Corporation