October

10/8/09 – After 5 days of hunting hard getting soaking wet and seeing nothing for the first 3 days, I was successful on my once in a life time Minnesota moose hunt. I know I said I was going to try to use my bow. But with the rain creating less than ideal conditions and the general lack of moose sign I opted for the rifle. I called this 45" wide bull into 30 yards. On the way to me it was grunting, snorting, and raking trees with its antlers. What a great hunt, I wish I could do it every year.

September

9/28/09 – Now this is a good day to stay on shore. NW winds are maintaining 25 - 30mph with gusts up to 46mph so far. Trees are down across highways and on power lines. Stopped by the Grand Marais Harbor around noon to see the waves hitting the inside of the breakwall and spraying over the top. The boats tied to the floating docks against the inside of the breakwall were really taking a beating. One boat with outboards and the lower back end was taking it worse than the others. It was full of water and listing away from the dock. Sorry didn´t have my camera with me at the time. Both motors would go under water with each wave. I think the boat´s floatation was the only thing keeping it a float. Another good reason not to have a boat with a low backend on Lake Superior. Stopped by Taconite Harbor to snap this photo of the Gull Island and the sheets of spray. Keep in mind the waves are headed the other way. We are looking at the back of the white caps. I would hate to be seeing them from the other side.

A couple days left in the lake trout season and then I am pulling the plug for the year. A little earlier than normal, but I was lucky enough to draw a moose tag this year. The moose season starts October 3. I have started my search in earnest with the hope of filling my freezer.

9/24/09 – Great lake trout fishing has continued, showing no sign that it should slow down before the end of the month. We are nearing the end of the lake trout season soon. Just a couple more opportunities for a big laker. Officially fall now, days are shorter, which makes the sunrises later in the morning. We have been treated to some spectacular colors as the sun peeks over the breakwall.

9/13/09 – Wow! Some of the best lake trout fishing we have ever had. Great numbers of fish with big lake trout interspersed. In the past 4 days we have landed 15, 16, 17 & 18.5 lb lakers. All big fish were released.

9/8/09 – Lake trout fishing is awesome in September. Not only does numbers of fish increase but the average size of fish jumps a couple pounds. Yesterday we had back to back big fish. First a 14lb 34" laker followed by a 16.2lb 36" laker. I love to hear the drag clicking out line.

Fall migration is well underway, a lot of small birds flitting by out on the lake. It seems strange that the smallest birds migrate over Lake Superior. Until you realize the hawk migration is also going on at the same time and they like to follow the ridge line. So being out over open water, even though there is nothing to land on, is far safer than flying over land. This little guy decided he needed a break and used the roof of the boat for a few minutes before continuing south.

August

8/28/09 – Another big fish tipped our scales last week at 19lbs and 37". This week´s weather brought tougher fishing conditions. As we moved toward the end of the week we seem to be slipping into the fall lake trout pattern. Male lake trout moving toward the shore in increased numbers getting ready for the spawn. The full moon is coming I am expecting a few more big fish soon.

8/20/09 – A small craft advisory in effect today forecasting winds gusting to 25 knots has me land locked. Last week water temps warmed to almost 60F. Salmon started to move in and we caught our first cohos of the summer. Almost a month later than normal. Then over night the water cooled off again. Monday morning we were greeted with 39F, which you would think to be a bad thing. However it seemed to put the big fish on the bite. Monday we landed and released a 33 1/2" 17 lb laker and on Tuesday a 40" 21 lb laker.

Thomas brought a lure he called the "Double" all the way from his home country of Germany. We dropped it down on the downrigger and caught lake trout on it. He left it with me to add to my collection. Thank you Thomas.

8/8/09 – Cold water all week made for a tough bite and a lot of work to put fish in the boat. This morning after winds from the NE yesterday we were greeted with 47F water. A big jump from 39F. I see easier fishing in the near future.

8/1/09 – The big lake is not cooperating this year. One more time the warm water has come and gone. Hit 55F last week before the north winds took it away. Today we are off the water with a good SW blow in progress. Hopefully this will bring some of the warm water back. Herons and other shore birds have started to migrate south. It reminds me every year how far north we are, just when we think summer has arrived some birds are already thinking fall.

July

7/25/09 – This week has been full of challenges. Almost 3 full days of fog, navigating the boat (in a straight line) was difficult, and the warming of Lake Superior mixed the fish up from all discernable patterns. I am happy to say as of today they have become re–organized and catching became a lot easier. Ideal water temps, hopefully salmon won´t be too far off.

7/19/09 – Let me tell you how much of a difference a good net makes. It didn´t take long this year to figure out that the netting in my dip net had worn out. The plastic was flaking off and it was taking too long untangling the hook from the net. So finally on my trip to Duluth last week I picked up new netting. Now the fish slide out a lot easier and almost no tangling of the hook. The little things in life really do make a big difference.

This is now the fourth time the water has started to warm. Cross your fingers it stays for a while. Winds have been out of the south lately which helps keep the warm water here. Lakers are still cooperating with a king thrown in every once in a while, it would be nice to see a few cohos soon.

7/15/09 – For the third time the big lake has started to warm up and for the third time the NW winds have blown it away. I can´t remember a summer that had this many days with strong winds from the NW. The wind is out of the NE today and we are on shore hoping the warm water will blow in. A rare day on land gives me an opportunity to make a run to Duluth to complete a bunch of tasks that have been building and do something fun with the kids.

7/8/09 – I hope everyone had a fun 4th of July. Good numbers of lake trout has been the norm the pasts few weeks. A slow down over the forth I attribute to extremely nice weather with no wind. Plus the water has been warming up and then cooling off when the north winds blow. It seems to be having a scattering effect on the fish. A change in the weather to south winds should bring some of the warm water back and hopefully some salmon with it.

June

6/29/09 – Water temps had started to creep up into the mid 40´s last week with all the nice weather we had. The past two days have given us gusting northwesterly(s). Today the water temps had dropped back to 37F. Good numbers of lake trout continue to fill our cooler.

6/22/09 – Friday we saw east winds and air temps in the 40´sF with fog that hid the lake all day. Saturday dawned with the wind changing to the north and a spike in the air temp all the way to 85F. The fish didn´t seem to mind as we caught fish all day long. Landed our first steelhead of the year. An unclipped fish that headed back into the lake right after a quick picture.

6/19/09 – The weather has continued to be nice with highs in the 70´s predicted for this weekend. Lakers are being very cooperative while the water temps are climbing. Surface temp last week was 35F, this week it is 37F almost 38F. Not quite swimming temperature yet, but it is a start.

6/12/09 – Good numbers of lake trout continue to bite, with about one nice sized fish every trip. A 14.5lb lake trout was the big fish for the week.

6/5/09 – June is here, school is out and summer is right around the corner. Caught our fish salmon of the season this week. Today was windy and rather difficult fishing, just controlling the boat was a challenge. As the wind started abating in the afternoon the big fish started to feed. By the end of the trip we had landed two lake trout over 11lbs. The full moon is here I am hoping for some more double digit fish tomorrow.

May

5/31/09 – Charter season has officially started and the lake trout are biting. As always the spring fish are not in any recognizable pattern but that doesn't stop us from putting them in the boat. Cool birds are still migrating through the area. Last week we were seeing flocks of long tail ducks.

5/15/09 – Spring has finally come to the north shore. The grass is greening up and the leaves are just coming out on the trees. The boat is out and now all we need is some nice weather. We got in a couple test runs last week to make sure everything was working right. Since then we have had strong winds and cold temps. It actually snowed off and on all day today. Next week is calling for highs in the 60's so we just might get this season started in May.

March

3/26/09 – A long and cold winter finally broke two weeks ago with 40 degree days and melting snow. We got in a few awesome days of ice fishing. I am talking about the days we pray for ... fish are biting, no need for gloves, sunglasses on standing on the ice soaking in the vitamin D. This year Minnesota extended the inland lake trout season from March 15 to the 31st. So now we have to make a decision do we target lakers or walleyes. Tough decision I know.

This past week the north shore was hit with an ice storm that put the damper on all activities. We seemed to be the lucky part of the county with one power outage that lasted only a few hours. Other areas, especially by Finland and Silver Bay have been without power for days. Rain and temps near 35F yesterday removed the ice from the trees. Hopefully the ice on the lakes will still be okay for traveling for a couple more weeks. We still have a lot of fish to catch before we put the auger away for the year. Lake trout ends on March 31st, but walleye season goes until April 14th.