June 18, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

Looking south on Sucker Bay toward Second Duck Point


A view from the inside of my boat toward our cabin and house

At 10 a.m. this morning the sky was gray and hazy, it looked as if it might rain, the wind a slight wind out of the SSE at maybe 5-8 mph and the temperature was 66 degrees. According to the weather reports, it might hit 79 degrees today, although there is a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms.

One of the many chores I need to complete before I leave for San Jose is filling the various cracks in our asphalt driveway. The harsh -30 degree winters and humid, hot 90 degree summers really do a number on asphalt. I filled one of the cracks as a test, and it seems to be acceptable, so I'm going to fill other cracks later this afternoon. But first, some fishing.

At 12:40 p.m. I took the boat out into 10 feet of water in front of our house. With the light 5 mph SSE blowing, it pushed the boat toward Malay's and out into deeper water. I made three such drifts and caught 3 big rock bass, a number of perch, including a couple of jumbos, and a 12" walleye. At 2:00 p.m. I came ashore because I needed to eat some lunch, and hadn't taken any food with me out onto the boat.

After I ate lunch I decided to fill in more of the cracks in our asphalt driveway. I managed to fill all of the major cracks, but it took all of my concentration and determination to do so because I was constantly surrounded by a large, buzzing cloud of mosquitoes.

Personally, I have never had so many of the blood-sucking insects around me at one time in my entire life. They were biting my hands, face, ears, neck, and nose and were even trying to get into my eyes. I tried not to let the miniature vampires affect me, but it was hard not to be distracted. It should be interesting to see just how well those cracks are filled in once the mosquitoes retreat.

I went out fishing at 3:30 p.m. Originally I had planned to do some walleye fishing in front of our house in 10-12 feet of water, but I changed my mind and motored down to Norm's to try to catch a "welcome bass." Usually, the first cast into the reeds in front of Norm's cabin produces a nice largemouth bass, thus we dubbed the experience a welcome bass. Unfortunately, my Senko Texas-rigged on a 3/0 hook brought no bass to welcome me.

I moved to Bass Bay right in front of the harbor and began throwing a spinner bait. I moved around for some time and caught only one small rock bass. With my bass fishing not producing fish I decided to go back to "plan A" and fish for walleye in front of our house. I fired up the Mercury Verado and started on my way at 35 mph.

But about half way to our house from Bass Bay the big Verado coughed a couple of times and then stopped altogether. I tried starting it three or four times, but it simply wouldn't turn over. Luckily, I still have "Little E," my trusty Honda 8.8hp kicker motor. I started up the Honda and slowly motored back to the boat lift.

Once the boat was on the lift, I raised the boat just enough so that the boat was secure but the Verado was in the water. I turned off the power to everything, then switched it back on. I then tried to start the Verado and this time it turned over on the first try and sounded like it was running normally.

With the Verado still running, I lowered the boat back in the water and took the boat out for a test drive. The Verado seemed to work fine at slow speeds so I opened it up and got it up to 35-40 mph. Again, the motor seemed to run fine, just as it always has. I was getting ready to take the boat back to the boat lift, when I changed my mind and decided to do a little walleye fishing as I had planned before my motor troubles started.

I put a shiner on my lime green/black XPS jig and dropped it into the 11 feet of 65 degree water. I jigged for about a half an hour with no success, so I decided to go ashore. I was anxious to see if the Verado would start; but no worries, it turned over and started on the first try. I took the boat in and put it on the boat lift.

As I was getting out of the boat I noticed 30-40 largemouth bass swimming under the dock and boat lift. They were joined with some absolutely jumbo perch and monster blue gills. I quickly got back in the boat, got out a light tackle rod and reel set up with a tiny jig, spinner and soft plastic.

I made about 10 short casts just beyond the boat lift, but while scores of bass followed my lure, I could only coax one into biting. So as it turns out, I caught more largemouth bass right off my dock than I did at Norm's (normally a hot bed for largemouth activity) or up in Bass Bay.

Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to go into Bemidji either tomorrow or on Saturday to get my boat trailer, which apparently has been repaired with a new coupling, in case I have additional motor problems and need to take the boat out of the water and into Corner Sports for repairs.

At 9:00 p.m. this evening the temperature was a very muggy 68 degrees, the air was heavy and foreboding with strong thunderstorms looming to the south. I contemplated going fishing, and was even as far as the end of the dock getting into the boat, when those dark threatening skies suggested to me to stay in tonight.

By the time I went back to the house, put my things away and walked out onto the end of the dock at the house, the storm had moved nearly on top of me. The sky, which is usually light until 10:30 p.m. is now pitch black at 9:15 p.m. The rain is starting to fall. The wind is starting to blow hard. There is lightening and thunder. The storm is upon us!!

I’m going to stay in tonight, watch the storm, listen to classical music on KCRB and maybe watch a movie. I think that will be a nice way to complete another great day at Leech Lake.

June 17, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

The spot in front of our house where I caught the 22" walleye this afternoon.

Second Duck Point on Sucker Bay, Leech Lake.

At 9:00 a.m. this morning the sky was overcast and grey, the temperature was 59 degrees, the wind was calm and it looked like rain. By 10:00 a.m. a light rain started to fall. It's not raining as hard as it was most of the day yesterday, but it's once again wet outside.

Yesterday I used the last of my shiners during my second trip out on the water so I'll need to go up to Birch Ridge Resort this morning to buy a couple of scoops. I'll do that as soon as I straighten out my Northwest flight reservation from Minneapolis to San Jose next week.

Originally, I was scheduled to fly direct from MSP to SJC, but apparently that flight was canceled so I now go through Salt Lake City. The problem is is that NWA left me only 30 minutes between arriving in Salt Lake City and departing for San Jose.

Knowing the airlines, there is no way to make a flight with only 30 minutes between flights. So far, I've been dropped from my call after waiting on hold for 15 minutes, talked to a representative who had to transfer me to someone else -- during the transfer I was again dropped from the call. I called back, waited 15 minutes once again, was transferred to some other person and again was dropped from the call. I'm not sure NWA could be more inept.

I guess I'm insane, because I'm trying yet again to get through to someone at NWA and I'm expecting a different result. Finally at 1:30 p.m., I decided to quit dealing with the airline and go fishing.

Earlier in the day I had taken a break from my airline mess and had gone up to Birch Ridge Resort to buy a couple of scoops of shiners. With my bucket of shiners in hand, I got the boat in the water and motored out to depth of 10 feet off Second Duck Point. The wind was out of the south at 10 mph, thus pushing the boat north and progressively further out into Sucker Bay. The water temperature was 64 degrees.

I used a 1/8 oz. lime green/black Bass Pro Shops XPS Walleye Angler jig tipped with a lively shiner. I caught numerous perch on the two or three passes I made from Second Duck Point to in front of our house. I decided to reposition the boat and so rather than starting at Second Duck Point and drifting to our house, I'd start in front of our house and drift to Malay's cabin.

Just as I was repositioning the boat, John Newman called my cell and asked if he could join me on the water. I said sure, and arranged to pick him up at my dock in 10 minutes. After putting away my cell phone, I dropped my jig into the water and immediately hooked into something big. I battled it for a few minutes and eventually netted a very healthy 22", five pound plus, walleye.

After I picked up John we fished in the same location, my house to Malay's, for several passes and we caught lots of medium and large perch. We contemplated keeping some of the jumbo perch, but eventually all of the fish went back into the lake. We came ashore at 4:30 p.m.

John came back over to our lake house at 7:30 p.m. this evening to share a couple of cold malted-beverages and listen to some music. At 9:00 p.m. John and I took my boat out to troll #9 Minnow Raps in 8-11 feet of water in The Alley.

The water temperature this evening was 64.7 degrees, the air temperature was 64 degrees and there was a slight wind out of the south at 5 mph; a perfect night to fish for walleye on Leech Lake. There was an added benefit that we were the only boat in the area.

John had the "hot stick" tonight and caught two northern pike as well as a 15" walleye and a 19 3/4" walleye. I went fishless. Nonetheless, the conversation was lively and the weather was ideal.

John leaves for home tomorrow and I'm not sure when I'll see him again, since I'm not sure when I'll be back at the lake after June 24. But for the next week, I'm going to enjoy every minute here and get out fishing for walleye as much as possible on Leech Lake.

June 16, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

The gang's all here, l-r, Tom M., Duane P., John N. Clarence T. and Jerry S.

This morning at 9:00 a.m. the temperature was 60 degrees, the wind was calm and the sky was grey and overcast with a steady rain falling. By 1:00 p.m. the rain was still falling, and had not let up a bit. We need the rain in Northern Minnesota to fill the lakes and ease the drought, and I'm happy because it will provide much needed moisture for the trees and bushes I planted a couple of days ago.

Mark from Shore Brothers stopped by at 11:00 a.m. to discuss the problem with my boat lift. Mark's son Ben was here yesterday looking at the boat lift motor and gear mechanism and determined that the clutch plate was probably wearing out. Mark concurred with his son's assessment and said he would order a new one for me. Mark said he'd come out in the next week or so to install the new clutch plate.

I received word today that some business meetings that have been discussed for the past several weeks are indeed happening during the final week of June in California. That means that I will be flying back to San Jose on Wednesday, June 24. I can't believe that in 8 days from now I'll be back in California. What a dramatic, and not altogether pleasant, thought.

I really love being at Leech Lake, and the transition back to city life is always a hard one to make. I'm not sure when I'll be back to our cabin in the Northwoods, but I'm hoping it will be around Labor Day (if not sooner). If I can swing it, I'd like to stay six or seven weeks -- from Labor Day to the third week in October.

If that indeed happens, I would be here for the great walleye fishing in September and October, as well as the Otter Tail Peninsula potluck dinner in mid-October. That's also the time I'd pull my boat out of the water. Here it is not even officially summer yet and I'm already planning the time to pull my boat out of the water. That's what going back to "civilization" does to me; it makes me plan months into the future rather than loving and experiencing the moment.

At 3:00 p.m. this afternoon I'm going to my neighbor John Newman's cabin for an early BBQ with a bunch of guys from the Peninsula. In addition to John, others who have said they'd be in attendance include Clancy (the man from whom we bought our Leech Lake house), Jerry Schiebe (the current OPA president), Tom Malay (my long-time friend, neighbor and VP of the OPA), Noel Hancock and possibly Norm Hansen (unofficial Peninsula historian and past OPA president). It should be an entertaining time with such an august assembly.

Despite the steady rain, I decided to go fishing at 2:10 p.m. this afternoon. I donned my Cabela's GORE-TEX Guidewear jacket and bib overalls, grabbed the bucket of shiners and took the boat to 9 feet of water off Second Duck Point. I caught a number of small- to medium-sized perch, but no walleye. At 3:00 p.m. I headed for shore so I could get over to Newman's for the BBQ.

When I arrived at John's cabin Jerry Schiebe, Duane Paulsen, Clancy T., and Tom Malay were already there. (Noel and Norm were no-shows). We hung out for about an hour drinking beer and sharing tall tales while John grilled up some brats and burgers. While we ate, Clancy continued to entertain us with an endless stream of stories about Otter Tail Peninsula and the characters long ago who inhabited this part of Leech Lake.

After dinner, and a little more chat, the party broke up and we all headed home. When I got home, I decided to feed my last 5 shiners to the perch and walleye. At 6:40 p.m. I went out onto the lake. The water temperature was 64.5 degrees, the air temperature was 61 degrees, the wind was slight at maybe 3-5 mph from the NE and the sky was overcast, grey and drizzly. The steady rain had stopped, but the air was still heavy with moisture and it felt like it could start raining again at any minute.

I started fishing in 9-12 feet of water off Second Duck Point, but quickly moved to directly in front of our house in 9 feet of water. At the latter location I caught a few perch and a 13" walleye. All fish went back into the lake.

Around 7:40 p.m. the last of my shiners was picked off my Bass Pro Shops XPS Walleye Angler jig, so I decided to go home. John had mentioned that he'd like to go out trolling for walleye tonight, and if he doesn't mind sitting in the rain, I'll be happy to take him out. He leaves for Mahtomedi sometime tomorrow late morning, and since I leave in a week, this may be the last time we get to fish together for months.

As I sit at my computer writing this blog entry I can look out onto Leech Lake (a wonderful sight). It's 8:20 p.m. and I just saw John Newman pull out onto the lake in his boat. I don't know if he's planning to come back to do some trolling or not. Regardless, I'm going out fishing at 9:00 p.m.

I did indeed go out fishing at 9:00 p.m. I trolled a hot steel colored #9 Minnow Rap in 8-10 feet of 64.2 degree water in The Alley. Just as the light was leaving the overcast sky, I caught two rock bass (aka Charlie Brown fish, Indiana walleye, Iowa wall-hangers).

During a slow turn out into the lake off Second Duck Point I hooked a very sturdy 15" walleye. Then on my next pass through The Alley I hooked a beefy 21 1/2" walleye. I made another pass, but caught no more fish. At 11:15 p.m. I came ashore.

I went fishing three different times today. I plan to go fishing as many times each day as possible during my remaining week here. I love being here at Leech Lake and plan to enjoy each and every moment.

June 15, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

The sunset over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake; taken from the boat

Today was the warmest it's been since my arrival in Minnesota back on May 19; the temperature hit 82 degrees. The wind was calm, with a slight breeze now and then from the south. The sky was hazy -- there were high clouds, but at the same time the sun was shining enough to where there were shadows.

At 10:30 a.m. my new refrigerator was delivered. I spent the morning cleaning it out with baking soda, per Kathleen's instructions, and then moving the food from the cabin back to the house. I still have a few more items to transfer, but I'll get to those tomorrow.

After lunch I stained the door frame on the game room side of the new door that Rick installed during his recent visit. I was going to paint it white, but I found some white cedar stain that looks much better than the white paint in my estimation.

Once the door frame was stained I moved outside to paint the stairs on the side of the cabin. I had picked up some deck stain during my last trip into Bemidji, and completed that chore in about an hour or so. At this point I was dripping sweat and being eaten alive by hummingbird-sized Minnesota mosquitoes, so I decided to cool off and escape the mosquitoes with one activity -- a fast ride on the ATV.

During my ride I drove by Jerry Schiebe's place and came across quite an operation. Jerry had received a DNR permit to dredge his harbor, so there was a large front-loading shovel and dump truck removing and dumping the muck from the harbor. I stopped in to observe the work and saw Norm Hansen who was there doing the same thing. The three of us had a nice chat and then I left to continue on my ATV ride.

No sooner had I pulled out from Jerry's than I came across Noel Hancock who was driving his truck down to Schiebe's to check out the action. Heck, Jerry should have sold tickets with as many people that there were stopping by. Noel and I talked a while and I think he's going to stop by for coffee on Wednesday or Thursday.

At last I finished my ATV ride and went into the house to clean up and make some dinner. The sky is dark and it looks like it could rain, but the wind is calm and it's still warm out, so maybe later this evening I'll go trolling for walleye. I haven't been out fishing today and I have the urge to get out onto Leech Lake. I think I'll call John Newman to see if he'd like to join me on the lake.

It is 8:45 p.m. and John and I will be going out trolling in about 15 minutes. The wind is still calm, the temperature is a warm 70 degrees and the sky, while filled with clouds, does not look threatening, as if it were going to rain. It should be a beautiful sunset over Leech Lake this evening. I'll provide a full fish report when I get in later tonight.

John and I made several passes through The Alley pulling Minnow Raps in 8-11 feet of 67 degree water, but the only fish hooked were a small perch by John and a 12" walleye that I caught. Despite it being a beautiful night on the water, the walleye on this part of Sucker Bay were not biting. I'll try again tomorrow.

As was the case last night, the loons were in full voice tonight as we put the boat on the lift and came ashore. It was as if they were saying, "good night, see you again tomorrow."

June 14, 2009 -- Flag Day At Leech Lake

Old Glory at Leech Lake -- Flag Day 2009

Today is Flag Day, and as always, I have the American flag flying on the flag pole at the end of our dock. Although today the flag is hanging limp because the wind is calm with maybe a slight breeze from the south. The temperature at noon was 70 degrees. A perfect day at Leech Lake.

This morning at 10 a.m. I counted 18 boats directly in front of our house. The word is definitely out that this is a good place to fish for walleye and good-sized perch. I may go fishing later this afternoon, but before I do I want to plant the Colorado blue spruce trees and lilac bushes I bought when I was in Bemidji yesterday. I also want to fill in the nail holes of the door frame in the game room in preparation for painting.

I spent most of the afternoon planting trees and bushes, and transplanting ferns, but finished up in time to do some late-afternoon fishing. I got on the water just after 4:00 p.m. and stayed out until just before 6:00 p.m. The temperature had climbed to the mid- or even high-70s, and with little to no wind, it was hot on the lake. The water temperature had warmed too, and was 66.6 degrees while I was out this afternoon.

I started in 9 feet of water and let the gentle south breeze push the boat to 12 feet of water off Second Duck Point. I made this drift 3 or 4 times, and although I caught numerous perch, I was unable to boat a walleye.

I am now going to go prep for dinner. I may go out fishing tonight, but it'll really depend on when I finish eating.

At 8:30 p.m. I was done eating my very tasty steak dinner and had already talked to my neighbor John Newman about doing some night trolling for walleye. By 9:10 p.m. we were on the lake with our Minnow Raps in the water. I was using an orange colored Minnow Rap, having lost my favorite Tennessee Shad colored lure to the mystery lunker from last night. John was using the same Tennessee Shad color.

The wind was still calm, the temperature a very pleasant 65 degrees and the water temperature was still 66.6 degrees. Within a half an hour I had a very big hit, and something -- a big pike, or possibly a walleye -- bit through my Fireline taking my lure. That's the second Minnow Rap I've lost in as many days. I went the entire season last year without losing a single crankbait, and now this.

I tied on a new #9 Minnow Rap, this one in hot steel color, and got back to the business at hand -- catching walleye. We made several passes in The Alley before we started to catch fish.

On our fourth pass through The Alley, I hooked an 18" and a 20" walleye and John had an 18" and a 20 1/2" walleye. Almost identical fish.

The two 20-inchers were a doubleheader. John said he had a fish on, so I began to rapidly reel in my lure so I could get the net ready to land John's fish. But as I was speedily retrieving my lure, a walleye hit it. We now had two fish on at the same time. John was able to reach over the side of the boat and use his hand to pull his fish into the boat, while I used the net to land my fish on the other side of the boat. It's always fun to boat two fish at the same time.

As we walked up the dock to shore at 11:15 p.m., we could hear the lonesome cry of the loons on the lake and the croaking of the frogs on shore. Wonderful sounds to hear at the end of a great night of walleye fishing on Leech Lake.

June 13, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

Rick and I left the house at 9:10 a.m. this morning for the Bemidji airport. The sky was grey, overcast and a light rain was falling. The wind was out of the west at 8 mph and the temperature was 65 degrees.

After 16 days at Leech Lake it was time for Rick to go to his work conference in Washington D.C. and eventually home to Brisbane, Australia. I want to again thank Rick for putting in a door in our game room and for building the stairs on the north side of our cabin deck.

From the airport I ran a bunch of errands in Bemidji before heading back to the cabin on Leech Lake. After I unloading the truck and having some lunch, I decided to go fishing at 3:00 p.m. There were a number of boats off Second Duck Point, which is where I wanted to fish, so I motored to the north part of Sucker Bay to "The Hole."

I jigged shiners in 13-15 feet of water, which was 62 degrees, but only caught a couple of perch. After 45 minutes or so I decided to go to Second Duck Point regardless of how many boats may be there. I arrived to fine only a handful of boats in the area, much to my delight.

I put a shiner on my 1/4 oz. Bass Pro Shops XPS Walleye Angler jig in lime green/black and immediately caught a perch. I caught several more perch as well as a 12" walleye. Just before 5:00 p.m. I decided to go ashore to listen to "A Prairie Home Companion" on KCRB out of Bemidji. I enjoy listening to Garrison Keillor on Saturday evenings when I'm in Minnesota. He's in Cincinnati tonight.

I haven't decided if I'll go fishing tonight or not; my decision will be based primarily on the weather. Thunderstorms are predicted for tonight, but as of 6:20 p.m., the wind is calm, the temperature is 70 degrees and the sky is mostly cloudy. No rain or storms at the moment.

I decided to go out at 9:15 p.m. The wind was calm, the water temperature was 64 degrees, and the air temperature was 60 degrees. I trolled "The Alley" with a #9 Minnow Rap in Tennessee Shad color and caught three walleyes measuring 12", 15" and 18", in addition to a "Chuck."

Then at 10:45 p.m. I hooked into something big. I fought it for more than 15 minutes before it finally broke free. I'm guessing it was a muskie and I just couldn't horse it to the boat and land it by myself. Rick, I'm sure you're enjoying a nice meal in D.C., but I could have used your help. The fish brought free, taking my Minnow Rap with it. I'll never know how big a fish was hooked, but I know it was a big fish.

After that battle with the phantom fish I decided to come ashore. It's now 11:15 p.m. and I'm done fishing for the day.

Tomorrow I'll spend the day planting some lilac bushes and spruce trees. As for today, it was another great day of fishing on Leech Lake.

June 12, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

At 10 a.m. today the sun was shining, but the sky was a bit hazy, the wind was out of the SW at 8-12 mph and the temperature was 62 degrees. I heard on the radio last night that the high temperature today was going to be 72 degrees. If that were the case, today would be the warmest it's been in more than two weeks. Maybe summer is finally arriving in the Northwoods.

Today is Rick's last full day at Leech Lake. Tomorrow I take him to the airport where he flies from Bemidji to Minneapolis to Washington D.C. After his conference ends in D.C., he's flying to Colorado to visit his sister before making the long trip home to Brisbane, Australia. I hope it's been a good visit/vacation for him.

After the pot of coffee was brewed the morning, I poured a cup and made my way out onto the dock to survey the lake. I was greeted by a flotilla of 24 fishing boats. Apparently the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tournament is being held on Leech Lake from June 10-13 and a number of the professional anglers decided that the stretch in front of my cabin is productive water (which of course it is).

I see that the leader of the tournament, a Chevy pro from Wisconsin, has a two-day weight of more than 34 lbs. for his 10 fish. That's not a bad weight at all for 10 fish. The tournament runs through Saturday afternoon, so I'm sure I'll have a number of boats in front of my house again tomorrow morning.

At 1:20 p.m. Rick and I took the boat out into 12-18 mph SW winds that created a decent chop on the lake. We started in 9-11 feet of water off Second Duck Point using jigs and shiners. Both Rick and I were using 1/4 oz. Bass Pro Shops XPS Walleye Angler Jig Heads in lime green and lime green/black tipped with spot-tail shiners (which we purchased at Froggy's Sports in Cass Lake and at Birch Ridge Resort on Leech Lake's Sucker Bay).

During the next two hours, and at least three different bouts with rain, we caught 8 small walleye between us ranging from 10" to 15", and numerous perch. All fish were released. With yet another storm front moving toward us, and this one showing some lightening and thunder, we headed to shore.

In about 30 minutes I'm going to go over to the cabin to clean the 17" walleye that's been in the basket for the past several days. I'm going to make pan-fried walleye for Rick's last dinner at Leech Lake during this visit.

As of 5:00 p.m., the wind has calmed somewhat to maybe 10 mph out of the SW and the temperature is 70 degrees. The water temperature was 62 degrees.

After our walleye dinner, Rick and I went out for one last troll for walleye before Rick leaves for Washington D.C. We got on the water around 8:45 p.m. and watched a beautiful sunset. The wind picked up during the next hour or so, and ended up at about 15 mph out of the SW. The water temperature had warmed just slightly to 62.5 degrees and the air temperature was 60 degrees.

In the north there was a very large thunderstorm system that kept us entertained all evening with spectacular lightening shows. There was a smaller thunderstorm system to the west that was also producing lightening. But directly overhead the sky was clear and stars were visible.

Unfortunately, the fishing wasn't nearly as entertaining as the lightening. We trolled #9 Minnow Raps in 8-10 feet of water from Malay's to Second Duck Point (newly dubbed "The Alley") but caught only 3 rock bass and one 16 3/4" walleye that hit Rick's purpledescent lure. At 10:45 p.m. we called it a night.

Despite the lack of walleye action, it was another beautiful night on Leech Lake.

June 11, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

At 10:00 a.m. this morning, the wind was at 8-12 mph out of the west, the sky was mostly sunny, with just a few big white fluffy billowy clouds, and the temperature is 54 degrees. If the local weather report can be believed, it's supposed to warm to 65 degrees by the middle of the afternoon.

Since my ATV has been in the shop since my arrival here at Leech Lake, I've yet to take a ride around the peninsula. I think after breakfast I'll take the ATV for a ride, and maybe stop in to say hi to a couple of neighbors I've yet to see. I'm also sure that sometime later today, probably no later than noon or 1:00 p.m., Rick and I will go fishing.

There are already a number of boats out on the water. As I look through the binoculars at the boat licences of the handful of boats right in front of our dock, I see boats from Iowa (FIBs), Nebraska, South Dakota and Missouri. In the past few days, I've also spotted boats from Kansas, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois, as well as Minnesota.

Apparently the ongoing stream of articles about the great walleye fishing at Leech Lake keep a steady flow of out-of-staters coming to our little slice of Northwoods paradise. Unfortunately these "meat hunters" insist on keeping almost any fish they catch including 5-lb largemouth bass, small perch and bluegill, and even rock bass.

According to Frank at Birch Ridge Resort, a number of his guests also try to keep slot-walleyes, that is, walleyes from 18-26" which by Minnesota law must be returned to the lake. I've also heard reports that Mark, the local MN DNR officer, has handed out many citations to fishermen who keep illegal-sized walleye. Go home FIBs.

Rick and I went fishing at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon. We started at "The Hole," and while we caught several perch while jigging shiners in 13-15 feet of water, and even a "Charlie Brown," we didn't catch any walleye. The water temperature at the north end of Sucker Bay was 62 degrees. We decided to move to Second Duck Point, but upon arrival there we found 8 boats already camped on that spot so we kept motoring south to Otter Tail Point.

We jigged shiners for about 20 minutes, but when that method produced no bites we switched to trolling Minnow Raps. We made a couple of passes off the Point in 13-15 feet of water, but didn't catch anything. At 4:15 p.m. we made our way back to shore.

We're going to have BBQ'd pork ribs for dinner tonight, and will then go trolling in our usual evening spot -- Malay's to the north and Second Duck Point to the south in 8-12 feet of water.

Rick and I hit the water at 9:10 p.m. and there was only one other boat within sight; and by 9:30 p.m. that boat took off for the resort leaving us alone on the water. The water tonight was as still as is possible as a result of no wind; the water temperature was 63 degrees. The air temperature was 50 degrees.

About 9:45 p.m., just off Second Duck Point, Rick caught a 23" walleye while trolling a purpledescent #9 Minnow Rap. Shortly thereafter, I caught a nice 17" eater-sized walleye, but with a fish already in the basket for tomorrow's dinner, we let it go.

Then on a single pass from Malay's to Second Duck Point, in 8.5 feet of water, Rick caught a 20 1/2" walleye, a 21 1/2" eyeball and a massive 25 3/4" walleye (a personal best for Rick). Then, as quickly as the bite turned on, it turned off again. We made two complete passes from Malay's to Second Duck Point without so much as a tap and a miss, so we decided to come ashore.

It was beautiful, and productive, night on Leech Lake.

June 10, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

The female common goldeneye

The sky is filled with large billowy clouds with little patches of blue peeking through here and there. The wind is 8-12 mph out of the west and the temperature at 11:30 a.m. is 56 degrees.

This morning as I sat in the living room enjoying my coffee, I spotted a female common goldeneye swimming just outside our harbor surrounded by 6 little ducklings no bigger than my fist. As they swam, they would dunk their heads below the surface of the water looking for something to eat. They paddled north along the shoreline before disappearing out of sight.

At 12:35 p.m. Rick and I left the boat lift to do some afternoon fishing. We started in 8 feet of water off Second Duck Point using jigs and shiners. We caught a couple of perch, but the action was slow. About a quarter past 1:00 p.m., I took us north on Sucker Bay to "The Hole."

Again we used jigs and shiners in 13-15 feet of water. The water temperature was 59 degrees. During the next 2 1/2 hours I caught dozens of perch, including a couple of good sized fish, and three walleye measuring 15", 14" and 15". The second 15" fish was already showing some girth. Next year that will be a perfect eating fish. Rick had tougher luck, but still managed to catch a number of perch.

At about 5:30 p.m. Tom Malay stopped by with my ATV. Tom was in Bemidji and while driving by Bemidji Sports he decided to stop in to see if my 4-wheeler was ready (it had been in for service). It was indeed ready, so Tom brought it home with him.

Tom told me and Rick that he had heard from Frank at Birch Ridge Resort that someone caught a 28 1/2" walleye the other day. That's a nice fish, but both Rick and I are targeting the elusive 30" walleye. So far, it's proven to be very elusive since neither one of us has caught a fish of that size.

Rick and I hit the water tonight at 9:05 p.m. The wind was out of the north at 8-12 mph, but as the night wore on the wind died down completely. By 11:30 p.m when we called it quits, the lake was calm.

We started trolling Minnow Raps in 8-11 feet of water. Throughout the night I caught 3 northern pike and walleyes measuring 15", 18 1/2" and 15".

Allow me a slight digression here. Remember the old "Peanuts" comic strip with Charlie Brown? Well, on Halloween Charlie Brown and the other kids from his neighborhood -- Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, Violet, etc. -- would go trick or treating. The unfortunate joke on hapless Charlie Brown was that while the other kids all got candy and treats, he got nothing but rocks.

In fishing, the rock bass is the equivalent of Charlie Brown's trick or treat rocks. This evening, I had the unfortunate luck of catching three "Charlie Browns," or "Chucks," i.e., rock bass. One I managed to hook in the top of the head.

Rick, on the other hand, got a bag full of candy. That is, Rick caught six beautiful walleyes measuring 15" (2), 17 1/2", 18", 20 1/2" and a very hefty 24".

There were some clouds in the sky this evening, but it turned out to be a mostly clear night with millions of stars visible from the lake. It was yet another beautiful night of fishing on Leech Lake.