May 22, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

The winds today started out light at 5-8 mph out of the SW but increased throughout the day to 12-18 mph out of the west. I went out fishing at 12:30 p.m. with the temperature at the high for the day 70 degrees. The sky was partly cloudy and gradually grew to overcast.

I started drifting at the Birches and caught nothing, so I switched to the #7 Minnow Rap in hot steel color and tried some trolling in the 57.7 degree water. I caught one small perch and nothing else so at 2:00 p.m. I decided to go to shore.

I had a very nice rib dinner at the Newman's tonight and went home around 9:30 p.m. There is a strong chance of thunderstorms this evening.

May 21, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

The winds today were out of the west at 15-20 mph. The high temperature was 61 degrees with a low of just 40 degrees. The sky was sunny and there were white caps on the lake, but I needed to get out on the water.

I awoke early this morning and had my boat on the lake by 6:30 a.m. I drifting using 4" Gulp minnows in smelt color on a Northland Slurp! Jig. I started fishing 8-10 feet of water off Second Duck Point, and gradually worked my way toward our house and eventually motored down to the Birches.

I caught a one jumbo perch, which I put back in the lake, and one FIB walleye (i.e., a rock bass). At 8:00 a.m. I went back to shore because the wind was really starting to pick up and the swells were getting a bit too big for me.

I saw my neighbor John Newman out on the lake, also up early and fishing, and he invited me over for coffee when we both got back on shore. We shared a pot of coffee, caught up on things and then I left to continue a variety of chores back at the house.

The order of business was to take the snow plow off the ATV and move the ATV from the garage attached to house to one of the out buildings we've dubbed the ATV garage. I keep the ATV in the attached garage during the winter, with the plow attached, to make it easier to plow the snow away from the house. But come springtime, I like to move it to the ATV garage so we have more room in the garage at the house.

I went to start the ATV but the battery was completely dead. I keep a trickle charger attached to the battery during the winter to keep the battery fresh, but I guess the battery is so old (7 years by my count) that it could no longer hold a charge. I used the pull cord to get the ATV started, lowered the winch I so could remove the snow plow blade, and then moved the ATV to the out building. I think I'll take the ATV into Bemidji Sports for service and a new battery next week sometime. I do a lot of the service on the ATV myself -- oil and filter change, air filter, grease all the various bearings, etc. -- but I have never had it in for a professional service and it's now due.

My next project was getting the Mosquito Magnet up and running. I had already charged the battery for 24 hours, so I was now ready to clear the hose entry and hook up a propane tank. At first the Magnet didn't work. But when I switched out propane tanks the thing fired up and started running properly.

As the sun set, the wind died down so I decided to go trolling for walleye -- my first such trip of the new season. I tied on a #7 Rapala Minnow Rap in a hot steel color and began trolling from Malays to past Second Duck Point in 8-12 feet of water. The water temperature was 58 degrees.

From 9:00 to 10:15 p.m. I caught a 12", 14 1/2", 17 1/2" and an 18 1/4" walleye. I kept the 17 1/2" fish for a later dinner.

After the various inconveniences of the past few days, it was really nice to settle into my Lund Pro V 1800 IFS boat and do some walleye fishing on Leech Lake!

May 20, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

2009 Minnesota Walleye Stamp

Tom Malay and Ron Neustrand stopped by this morning to help me put my boat in the water. Ron, a former mechanic on the railroad before he retired, took a look at the coupling on my trailer. I figured who better to look at a coupling and hitch than a former railroad mechanic.

Ron took apart the coupling and found a key component was cracked. After putting the assembly back together, Ron said that the coupling still didn't "ride right" on the 2" ball of the receiver hitch. He suggested I take it into Corner Sports for repairs, or better yet, a replacement coupling.

After we got the boat in the water and onto the boat lift, Tom and Ron helped me get the canopy onto the boat lift. We then shared a noon time beer and the two friends and neighbors departed. I then went back to the house to turn on the computer and begin blogging my experiences of the past day.

Unfortunately, a flaw in the Symantec Norton Antivirus software caused my PC to be stuck in a Windows XP reboot mode. Essentially, my PC was continually rebooting. I turned off the PC, unhooked every cable running to it, and got it ready to take into town on Monday for repairs (along with my boat trailer).

Since I couldn't use the PC, I went back outside and got the water pump primed and running so we can pump water from the lake to water our flowers, garden and trees. I then got in the truck and drove to Birch Ridge Resort where I purchased a 2009 fishing license and the first ever walleye stamp (photo above).

I got home and checked the lake to see if going fishing was an option. The temperature was a very warm 81 degrees, but the winds were strong at 10-15 mph out of the SSE which created quite some big chop on the water by mid-afternoon. I decided to stay on shore and work around the properties instead.

In the evening I went to turn on the furnace, because the temperature had dropped to a cool 44 degrees, only to discover that the furnace was on the blink too. Boat trailer. PC. And now the furnace. I put a call into the Hill's Heating and Plumbing and hopefully they'll call me back in the morning.

A variety of "things" may have gone awry, but one gigantic thing is working in my favor -- I'm at Leech Lake!

May 19, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

Well, my intention was to post to this blog from the day I arrived at Leech Lake this spring -- May 19 -- but circumstances forced to delay my entries until now.

Let me start by recounting the events of Tuesday, May 19.

I left San Jose airport on time (unusual these days) and arrived in the airport in Minneapolis/St. Paul early. I had a nice lunch, relaxed for a bit, and then caught the flight to Bemidji. I arrived just before 4 p.m. I put gas in the truck (which my friend Tom Malay had left at the airport a few days earlier) and then drove to Corner Sports to pick up my boat.

My boat was ready and waiting for me, so I hooked the trailer to the hitch on my truck and drove into Bemidji to get groceries. After getting enough groceries for a week or so, I was on my way to Leech Lake.

It was a welcome sight to drive east on Hwy. 2 from Bemidji to Cass Lake. I made my way through Cass Lake toward Sucker Bay Road. I turned onto Sucker Bay Road and headed south toward W. Shores Rd. and home. But just after the railroad tracks on Sucker Bay Road the unthinkable happened.

I hit a large dip in the road and the ensuing bump jarred the boat trailer off the hitch dropping the tongue of the trailer, with the boat sitting on it, onto the road itself. I heard a very loud "bang" and looked in my rear view mirror to see my boat on the trailer swerving back and forth behind my truck. Sparks were flying as the safety changes were doing their best to hold the trailer in place.

While praying that nothing worse happened, I slowly applied pressure to the brakes and gently steered the truck and flaying trailer to the side of the road. Once stopped, I got out to assess the damage. One of the safety chains had been ground completely through and was broken. The other chain, while worn, had held and kept something worse from happening.

I was able to get the front, movable trailer wheel up enough so I could reattach the trailer to the truck. I then drove very slowly to the cabin where I positioned the boat at the top of the boat ramp at the cabin in preparation for putting the boat in the water the next day.

At last I made it home to unload the groceries and call back to California to let my family know I had arrived at the lake, and of my harrowing experience with the boat/trailer.

As the sun set it started to get cold; I think the temperature dropped in to the high 30s, so I went to turn the furnace on. But once again fate stepped in and said "no." The furnace would not turn on, so I put on an extra layer of clothing and settled in for the evening.

There was no fishing on my first day at the lake. And even though I had a scary experience with the boat trailer coming unhitched, there was no damage to the boat, the truck or to me, and I was once again at Leech Lake, so all was well. I'd have to wait to see what adventures May 20 would bring.

Less Than 24 Hours Now

In less than 24 hours from now I'll be at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport having lunch and awaiting my 2:30 p.m. CDT flight to Bemidji.

I am very excited about getting to Leech Lake, getting my boat in the water and doing some walleye fishing. If all goes according to plan, I should be on the water fishing sometime late on Wednesday.

I'll try to have my first "at-Leech-Lake" post tomorrow evening.

Stay tuned.

More On Leech Lake's Great Walleye Fishing

In 48 hours I'll be on a plane on my way to the Bemidji airport. From there, I'll pick up my boat and drive to our cabin on the Sucker Bay of Leech Lake. Then on Wednesday I'll put my boat in the water, and by that evening I hope to be able to post my own report on the walleye fishing at Leech Lake.

Until then, here's another report on the resurgence of Leech Lake's walleye population.

This is from TwinCities.com, the St. Paul Pioneer Press

Landing a Leech Lake lode

The walleye — and the anglers — are returning to this largely undeveloped north-central Minnesota area, where one guide says the fishing is the best it's been in years.
By Chris Niskanen

WALKER, Minn. — Even after 35 years, Jeff Woodruff hasn't lost the thrill of hooking the Minnesota state fish.

Sure, the walleye isn't a super-charged fighter like a bass, but Woodruff lives on Leech Lake, one of the finest walleye lakes in Minnesota. He may have guided his first clients in the 1970s, but Woodruff still couldn't suppress a giggle Monday when he felt a jolt at the end of his line.

"That fish just hammered that jig," Woodruff, 62, cried out, as he simultaneously reached to grab the landing net.

"He just choked on it. It is one of those good-sized ones, maybe too big to eat," he gushed.

Woodruff has a sweet swing with a landing net, like Joe Mauer belting a double up the middle, and with a flash of the nylon-webbed scooper, Woodruff had the flailing Leech Lake walleye in the boat. With a weather-cracked hand, Woodruff pinned the walleye against a metal ruler and eyeballed a piece of black tape set at 18 inches.

The fish's tail failed to touch the tape.

"Nope, that's a keeper," he said with satisfaction.

The walleye made a loud bonking sound when it hit the inside of the livewell.

PRETTY, UNCROWDED

Woodruff has seen tornadoes suck water out of Leech Lake. He's guided the wealthy and powerful. He has landed a 55-inch muskie. But it has been years since he has seen such good walleye fishing on this north-central Minnesota lake.

"We had no trouble catching a limit on the opener," Woodruff said. "A lot of guys had a limit by 10 o'clock."

With the feds continuing to control the lake's cormorant population and the Department of Natural Resources entering its fifth year of walleye restocking, Leech Lake is getting a helping hand.

I've been following the Leech Lake walleye resurgence for the past three years, so once again I marked my calendar to fish the lake on the Monday after the opener. Last year, on the same day, local bait shop owner Jack Shriver Jr. and I had fabulous walleye fishing, boating dozens of fish, so I wanted to see if I could duplicate our success.

When Woodruff and I sped out of the public landing Monday morning, headed for Star Point, it was no secret the fish were biting. Even on a weekday, more than a dozen boats drifted lazily across Star Point's shallows, with landing nets popping out of their holders with regularity.

Woodruff grew up in nearby Hackensack, the son of a lumberjack. He headed to the Twin Cities to find his fortune, but grew tired of the bustling city life and came back to Leech Lake 20 years ago when he landed a job as a fish-house operator.

Last year, he had 91 guide trips on Leech Lake and enjoyed all of them. In addition to its superior fishing, Leech Lake has another advantage, he said: miles of undeveloped shoreline. The place is just easy on the eyes, he said.

"Just look at this," Woodruff said, waving to an unending stretch of woods and wetlands. "Leech Lake is just a pretty place, with all these undeveloped points. In the fall, you can sit out here and practically watch the leaves change color. The lake's big enough, you don't ever have to sit in a crowd of boats."

HIGHS, LOWS

Woodruff almost didn't live long enough to see the walleye rebound.

A few years ago, he was driving down Woodtick Trail during the muzzleloader deer season when he had a stroke. When he finally made it out of the hospital and into physical therapy, the best he could hope for was to get around with the aid of a walker. Fishing from a boat — much less loading or unloading a trailer — was out of the question.

But there he is today, running his boat up and down the ramp and beating the waves for walleyes. His special gift, he said, is the chance to fish with his 13-year-old grandson, Ian, in a walleye-fishing tournament at the end of this month.

"That's the real bonus," he said.

Ian has learned a lot about his grandpa's fishing life because Woodruff sat down one day and wrote a 30-page book of fishing stories and gave it to the boy. Every so often, the boy calls Woodruff on the phone and asks, "Did that really happen, Grandpa?"

Woodruff has to answer "yes" every time, even to the infamous moment his dangling cigarette burned through the fishing line of a client trying to land an 8-pound walleye.

"Most embarrassing moment of my career," Woodruff said.

FISH R BITING

Possessing a GPS-like mind for Leech Lake's structure, Woodruff wasn't satisfied when things slowed on Star Point. "Let's reel up and try a new spot," he said.

Wind is a critical element of successful walleye fishing on Leech Lake, and a calm day can kill a good bite, so we kept our eyes on the sky, praying a few small storm cells would keep the water frothy and the walleyes biting.

When the walleyes weren't snapping at our rainbow dace minnows and spot-tailed shiners, the perch were hammering our baits. Some were small, but others were 9-inch keepers and a few were nearly a foot long. We were filling the livewell with yellow-flanked perch, in addition to keeper walleyes.

Regulations require anglers to throw back Leech Lake walleyes between 18 and 26 inches, and before long, we both had landed and released several walleyes over 20 inches.
One swam up to the edge of the boat and nailed my minnow as it drifted just below the surface. "Now that's a hungry walleye," Woodruff said.

He said he's satisfied the extra regulations are helping protect the lake's walleyes.

"You're able to keep about half of what you catch, which is good. When you got people paying you to take them fishing, you like to get a meal, too."

Fishing still sustains communities like Walker, even if the resort industry is about one-third the size it used to be. "I remember when there were 74 resorts on the lake, and in the chamber of commerce book this year, there are 23," Woodruff said. "Every year, we seem to lose a few more."

Resorts might succumb to the changing whims of vacationers and rising property values, but walleyes are still a draw on Leech Lake. We outraced a storm to the dock, having landed 15 walleyes, and kept a half-dozen "eaters" and a dozen fat perch.

The fishermen are returning, and Woodruff likes what he sees.

"On Sunday, the white spray was coming from all directions as boats headed back to shore and guys headed back to the city. It's good to see it again," he said.

Woodruff can be reached at 218-547-1405. His Web site is fishrbiting.com.

LEECH LAKE FISHERY AT A GLANCE

State and federal officials are taking a multipronged approached to restoring Leech Lake's walleye fishery.

Federal officials are continuing to cull double-crested cormorants from the lake, in hopes of reducing the population to 500 nesting pairs or about 1,000 individuals. This spring, there were 3,000 individual birds. It is the fifth year of such culling. Experts believe the birds eat not only walleyes but also young perch that are the mainstay of walleye diets.

This week, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources again will stock millions of fry into the lake, the fifth consecutive year of the stocking effort. The stocking continues next year, after which the agency will evaluate the effort. Managers want the lake to have self-sustaining walleye populations, as in the past.

DNR regional fisheries manager Henry Drewes said researchers may never know why Leech Lake's walleye population began to plummet in the early 1990s. He said the most important thing is that yellow perch and walleyes are recovering with cormorant numbers under control.

Three Days and Counting...

This is my last weekend in California for the next several weeks. Beginning Tuesday, I'll be at our house on beautiful Leech Lake.

I spoke with my neighbor and friend Tom Malay yesterday and he said weather conditions for the Friday of the second weekend of the Minnesota walleye season couldn't have been worse -- 24 mph winds out of the NW, 3-4 foot waves and whitecaps, rain off and on, and temperatures that fell from a high of 65 to the mid-40s. In fact, the forecast for last night called for temperatures below freezing and the possibility of snow showers.

Tom said he saw 3 or 4 boats heading north on Sucker Bay struggling against the wind and pounding waves on their way back to Birch Ridge resort. "Real white-knuckle weather," according to Tom.

Today looks a little better. The Weather Underground web site says that the wind today is around 15 mph gusting to near 30 mph, the sky is clear and the temperature is hovering around 50 degrees. If you can get on and off the water safely, it probably isn't a bad day for walleye fishing.

I'll be making my first post from Leech Lake either Tuesday night or Wednesday next week. Stay tuned.

First Week of Walleye Season Update

Here's a brief mention of Leech Lake in today's Bemidji Pioneer.

Leech Lake was another good lake for walleyes on the opener, but heavy winds also hampered anglers efforts much of the first week of the season.

Walleyes were biting well in both Portage and Sucker Bay of Leech Lake as well as on some of the larger points like Ottertail and Pine Point in the main lake. Most of the walleyes were biting in 8-12 feet of water on either rocks or on the edges of the emergent cabbage weed beds.

Another Report from Opener

Here's another update on walleye opener from Leech Lake.

Leech Lake: Adam Arnold of Reed's Sporting Goods in Walker said the best bite in 10 years is happening on Leech. Some anglers are catching 23-27 inch walleyes, with lots in the 14-18 inch range. Best have been standup Northland Fireball jigs with shiners.

Goose Island and Pine Point produced some limits for about 500 boats there over the weekend. Best areas on the east side are Partridge Point and Sugar Point, which are producing some walleyes over 24 inches.