School's Out for the Summer and the Gunflint Trail is Getting Busy!

This past week has been a busy one here at Seagull Outfitters and we LOVE it! The store is full of smiling faces who are excited to start their adventure, along with new stories from those who just came off the lake. The warm weather seems to be sticking around and although it has brought along the bugs it also brought some active fish! Walleye are starting to heat up and are biting best in about 15' of water. As always, jigs and slip bobbers are the best weapon of choice. Smallies are really aggressive right now and can be caught best in the shallows and close to shore. If you are up for a challenge, the Lake Trout are still around and shallow enough to catch! Below are a few pictures from recent trips. The first is one is one of the Mcnabb boys who caught some great Smallies up in Quetico. The second is of our staffer Brad and his string of walleye....both sound delicious right about now…

This is also the time of the year to see Wildflowers bloom and a trip up to Blueberry Hill would tell you that it is going to be a good year for blueberry picking! Of course, the best way to top off a day in the Northwoods is with one of those breathtaking sunsets. So we will leave you with a spectacular  picture take by Jeff Kudla, but remember - to capture all of the beauty this place has to offer you really have to come see it with your own two eyes!

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Warm Weather and Walleye!

The 70 and 80 degree weather has finally come and we are all hoping it is here to stay! The water is getting warmer and we are now starting to hear stories of the walleye bites. They are a little late this year because of our "extended winter," but we are happy nonetheless! Leeches have been the bait of choice here in the BWCA or if you are heading into Quetico, the mimic Gulp leeches are always a great alternative. We are still waiting on our walleye pictures so get up here and send us your shots! We are continuing to see some huge northern...take a look for yourself at what some of our new staffers, Tyler and Brad caught off the dock...

 

Our recent guests, the Dwyer party, who stayed in the Red House cabin also caught some of the biggest northern in their life...we are waiting for their pictures but we were able to capture some of their smallmouth catches with our seagull camera....

 



 

We love when our guests share their experiences...although we don't like to see them go, we always know there is next year!

 

If you are not much of a fisher, the North Woods has lots more to offer this time of the year. The loons have returned and are nesting, the moose viewing is always exciting, and this year is supposed to be one of the best for seeing northern lights in 11 years! All of us are staying up a little later in hopes that we can see the sky light up.

 

We will keep you updated on what the warmer weather brings to the Gunflint Trail, but until next time check out the great picture our staffers, Carlie and Mariah took on their way up the Gunflint...

 



Summer is on its way...

It has been another beautiful week here at Seagull Outfitters! The fish have been a lot more active as the waters are warming up. We have seen a few people catching HUGE northern pike and the walleye are also coming around and seem to be biting best in the shallows. If you are looking for smallmouth bass this could be your year, as we have seen quite a few. The Yang party, who recently did the Granite River Route was kind enough to share a picture of one of their smallmouth catches...

 

We have also had some fun at our cabins as one of our guests, Ernie, turned 92! He is on the far left in the picture below. Proof that you can never be too young or too old for a trip to the Great North Woods! The birds are chirping and the loons are calling. If you haven't already, plan your summer trip with Seagull Outfitters - we would happy to help if you have any questions.

 

 



A New Season at Seagull Lake

The ice is finally gone and the sunshine is here! We have had a busy start to the season with some familiar faces and new friendly staff who are excited to see what a summer at Seagull is all about. The fishing started out slow because of the long winter and cold waters, but we are happy to let you know the fish are now out and biting! The trout are biting good in the shallows and the walleye are continuing to come out as the waters warm up. People have had the best luck using a jig and a minnow. Below is a picture shared by our friend, Chris Lasse of his dad and a lake trout catch on a recent trip...

The holiday weekend has also brought great fun here at Seagull. We have been fortunate enough to see some of our regulars along with new visitors all the way from India. This is a picture of them before they ventured out on their first camping trip...

They come back tomorrow and we are excited to see what they think of the beautiful BWCA.

That is all for now, but remember we are on our summer hours 7 A.M. - 7 P.M. so feel free to stop in if you find yourself in the area or give us a call and we will happily help you plan an unforgettable summer trip!

Happy Summer :)

Anxious for Spring

Here we are on April 16th and it is still below freezing temperatures at night.  We have lots of snow on the ice and have not seen any open water yet.  The next few days call for more snow.  Perhaps as early as Monday of next week we may get some rain to start the process moving towards spring.  We are more than ready!  Cabin fever is upon us and we want to see open water and feel the tug of a walleye on May 12th!

We have a couple of new staff arriving in a couple of weeks to start the reopening process.  Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be easier staying open all the time.  I do like the break though and the excitement of a new season. 

It won't be long and we will be sharing our fishing, paddling and moose photos with you once again.

In the meantime, here is a photo of our afternoon visitor today!

Let's hope the next post showcases our beautiful North Country open water!  Until then....

Deb

Spring is in the air??

What beautiful weather the North Shore has been receiving throughout the last few weeks! I have been sleeping with my window open every night and waking up to birds chirping in the morning! If that and the unbelievable weather we've been having doesn't say spring I'm not sure what it says! I have checked my thermometer outside on multiple occasions over the past few weeks and it hasn't been uncommon to see temps in the 50's! I must admit.... it always seems to be the point in the day when the thermometer is in direct sunlight! Daylight savings time occurs on Sunday and then it will be on summer paddling time! Hopefully this nice weather transitions to a beautiful spring paddling season.

We have been very busy in preparing for summer 2013. This includes completing the staff for the summer, ordering new equipment, ordering shirts, and taking more and more reservations as summer approaches. Please feel free to provide us with any suggestions that you may have. We love feedback and strive to make your trip through Seagull Outfitters as flawless as possible!

Remember to spring your clocks ahead!

Katelyn

North Shore Day Trip

I decided that a day trip to the North Shore was definitely needed by me! My boyfriend and I made the trek and stopped at a few amazing places along the way. We were traveling up from Duluth and took the scenic route to Two Harbors. Along the scenic route we stopped out at a pier and boy, that lake effect made for a cool walk! It was beautiful... There was a cool fog over the lake and the wave were entering into the bay creating more ice. 

From there we kept heading north to Gooseberry where we were able to roam around and take pictures of the beautiful frozen waterfalls and even hike under them! We then went to Split Rock and Tettegouche State Park. We capped off our adventurous day with a slice Heath Cream and French Silk Pie at Betty's Pies! We figured we burned enough calories throughout the day to splurge!

Take an extra day on your trips North and stop to enjoy the beauty around us!

Katelyn