August 13, 2008 on Leech Lake

Today I went fishing on two separate occasions, first, from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., then later from 8:15 to 10:00 p.m.

The temperature today was warmer than it's been the past several days, hitting a high of 78 degrees. The winds were from the NW at 5-8 mph and the water temperature was 74.5 degrees.

In the afternoon I took advantage of the gentle breeze to drift from in front of Schiebe's cabin south toward Norm's cabin. I started in roughly 11 feet of water, which meant I would drift along the weed line. I used a Northland Neon-tone Gum-Ball jig tipped with either a 2" orange Gulp grub or a 3" pearl silver Gulp minnow. Just as yesterday, I caught numerous perch, crappie, and bluegill. A great afternoon of fishing for panfish on Leech Lake.

For my evening trip, I used my trusty trolling methodology. Using a baitcasting reel spooled with 15lb. Fireline Crystal, I tied on my favorite walleye lure the Rapala Minnow Rap in hot steel color. Trolling in 8-12 feet of water from Malay's to past Second Duck Point, I caught two nice walleye -- one 14" and the other 18 1/4". Both were released back into Leech Lake unharmed.