Ice update

Thu, 05/08/2008 - 9:34pm

Amazing news —  it looks like you won’t need to bring your ice auger to East Bearskin Lake for the fishing opener this weekend. 

Yesterday was incredible.  We watched and listened all day as the ice made a remarkable transformation, gradually turning black, then crumbling and disappearing throughout the day.  About 4 PM the remaining ice forged eastward across the lake, knocking around a bit of the big dock along the way–and then it was gone. 

Ice remains around the south shore now, but even that is rapidly disappearing.  Somebody who wants to fish on East Bearskin Lake this weekend must have some clout with the powers above, because the changeover went extraordinarily fast once it started.  Considering that it snowed on Sunday night, a clear, ice free lake by fishing opener seemed impossible.

This is the update we received this afternoon on the ice status of various Gunflint Trail lakes:

ICE STATUS as of 1530, Thursday, May 8, 2008

ICE FREE

Alpine
Banadad
Brant
Crocodile
Cross River to Long Island
Iron
Jap
Little Saganaga
Missing Link
Moon
Ogishkemuncie
Portage
Round
Sawbill
Tucker
Two Island

SOME ICE REMAINING

Alton
Cherokee
East Bearskin
Flour
Frost
Hungry Jack
Kimball
Little Trout
Meeds
Mink
Seagull (especially on western end)
Swan

FROZEN

Bearskin
Birch
Brule
Clearwater
Davis
Duncan
Elbow
Gabimichigami
Gaskin
Gillis
Greenwood
Kemo
Loon
Mayhew
McFarland
Musquash/Misquah
North Fowl
Pine
Poplar
Rose
Saganaga (quite frozen, according to the pilot)
South Fowl
Trout (east of Kimball Lake Campground)
Tuscarora
Winchell

The pilot feels that things will change quickly with the exception of the
eastern side of the Gunflint Trail (Clearwater, Greenwood, Duncan, Pine,
etc).

Judith A. MacCudden
Information Assistant

       

 

Ice (not) out

Wed, 05/07/2008 - 12:10am

We’re thinking we should have an “ice out” guessing contest — estimate which day in July the ice will go out of East Bearskin Lake.

About all we do right now is answer phone calls about whether the ice has gone out yet on Gunflint Trail lakes.  “No,” is not the response anyone wants to hear.  

 ”Do you think it will be out by Saturday?” is invariably the next question.  Alas, if any of us had the ability to accurately predict the future, we probably wouldn’t be answering phones at Bearskin Lodge. The signs are not promising.  It snowed a few times during the last week.  The lake thawed a bit but then refroze, so there wasn’t even an edging of open water along the shoreline.  Ducks are walking around out on the ice, looking perturbed and distressed over their poor travel planning.  Unless your boat is a USCG icebeaker, lake travel this weekend on Gunflint Trail lakes is not a sure thing.

But then again … the ice is really black and punky looking.   Its rough texture right now is reminiscent of heavily grained black leather.  Standing on the dock, you can hear a glassy tinkling noise made by millions of little floating ice pebbles crushing against each other in the waves.  If we would get a windy day or a heavy rain, this ice might surprise everyone and quickly disappear.  It could happen.

We’re ready.  Bring on spring.