Late fall fishing in the Canoe Country is usually a game of chance. To add insult to injury, 2020 has been anything but “usual” in the Boundary Waters.  With the stress of all that had been going on this summer, my goal was to fish a lot and for as long as possible this fall.

Winter Arrives With Snow

Many of you know we stayed open a bit longer than normal and good fortune gave our last few groups some spectacular fall colors and conditions. As chance would have it however, the weather turned hard soon after that. A scheduled week away had me pull and park the fishing boat with the absolute intention of getting it back on the water upon my return. Then winter came! Many places in the northern tier of states, including Minnesota, saw both record cold and snow for any time ever in October.

So, with my boat full of snow and many lakes freezing over (even parts of Moose Lake) as early as ever, hopes of open water fishing were dashed! With over a foot of snow in October and ice up in full swing it was time to pull the dock, winterize the boat, wrap it up for the season and wait for good ice.

Winter Leaves and Temps Rise

But this is 2020…and nothing is as usual. What came next would test this fisherman’s restraint. This past week may have been the most gorgeous six day stretch of late fall I’ve ever experience on Moose Lake. Temps rose into the 60s and if you added up the highest wind speeds of each of those six days, I don’t think it would have reached 10 mph! The long and short of it is that sadly, I didn’t unwrap the boat. I considered this fantastic weather a sign. All (fall chores and such) that was recently buried in snow…presumably until spring, was now in plain sight for me to tend to.

But Winter is Coming Back Again

It’s 65° today. In three days….3-5” of snow and a high of 30°.  The tough call was the right call for me…this time.