As the Gunflint Trail lakes warm up, fishing is changing a bit. The lake trout have moved into 40-50 feet of water and are biting on crank baits. Nice sized walleyes are still coming in. Teresa Baumann at Golden Eagle Lodge had one of the Sacharski brothers from the Chicago area catch a 9lb 2oz walleye on a blue rapala. Walleyes have also been biting well on spinners with crawlers in about 15-18 feet of water. Adam Treeful guiding out of Gunflint Lodge took a 19-year old guest to North Lake yesterday. They caught 15 large walleyes. Meanwhile on Northern Light Lake the Osbourne familly (Orlando, FL) has been fishing with Dennis Todd for a couple days. Dad Tom caught a 28 1/2" walleye, son Duncan got a 30" walleye and Mom Debbie caught a 32 1/2" walleye. They also got lots of smaller walleyes. Most were caught on jigs. Mary Jane Pratt (Edina, MN) and her daughter Karen were out on Saganaga with Jon Schei yesterday. They caught 25 lake trout up to 8 lbs in size. Throughout the week the bass have continued to bite well. Shari Baker of Gunflint Pines says that her guests have been casting for them with artificial lures.

Lynn Pauloski from Clearwater Lodge reports that the dragon flies have hatched. Aside from being beautiful to watch, they eat mosquitoes. That is enough to make them welcome every summer.

Animals sightings continue to come in. Perhaps the most interesting are the wolves. Debbie Mark from Seagull Outfitters says that her guests have seen wolves between Seagull Lake and Round Lake. They have also seen a wolf on the Moose Pond Road. Jon Schei has also seen wolves between Seagull and Round Lakes. It is unusual to see any wolves during the summer, let alone this many.

The biggest sightings of the week have been the explosion of wildflowers brought on by the warmer temperatures. The latest list features blue bead lily, prickly wild rose, bunchberries, lupine and lady slippers. One of my neighbors on the Trail has 24 lady slipper blooming in her yard. Even though lupine are technically considered an "invasive, non-native plant," they are still striking to see in bloom. Down along Poplar Lake and on the South Gunflint Lake road are two prime places to see them. Soon the blue flag iris will be in bloom. The best place to see them is in a pond just south of Trail Center. You can see it from the road but watch for other cars. Nancy Seaton of Hungry Jack Outfitters tells me that the frogs in that pond have been especially noisy at night lately.

Planning ahead a couple weeks, it is nice to see the tiny wild strawberry plants loaded with berries. Picking them is an on-your-knees job requiring lots of patience. Only A list people get my wild strawberry jam.

That's it from the Gunflint Trail for today.