On Leech Lake -- Week of May 23-29, 2013

Thursday, May 23, 2013

We first heard the crew from Shore Brothers around 9:00 a.m. as they were putting in the dock and boat lift down at the Malay's cabin. With two other cabins to go before they got to our cabin we figured that they would get to our docks and boat lift by 11:30 a.m. or so. And sure enough, at 11:30 a.m. they were making their way down our driveway to get started on the dock and boat lift at the cabin.

It was really the first really nice day we've had here at Leech Lake. And according to Mark from Shore Brothers, the first nice day since the ice finally came off the lake. The sun was bright, the sky was blue with virtually no clouds and the temperature was in the low 70s. The wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SE leaving the lake in front of the house and cabin nearly dead calm.

With a crew of 6, Shore Brothers had our dock and boat lift in at the cabin within 45 minutes. As soon as they moved next door to the house, Rick and I got to work. We ran a power cord underneath the dock out to the electric boat lift motor.

Next, I got the truck hooked up to the boat trailer, backed the boat down the ramp and into the water. Then I got into the boat, got it off the trailer, fired up the Mercury Verado and got the boat onto the lift. Rick and I then got the boat lift canopy on and put all of the fishing gear into the boat. We were now ready fish in our boat.

By the time we had completed our work with the boat and boat lift, Shore Brothers had completed putting in the dock at the house. Soon, Kathleen and I were on the end of the dock enjoying the wonderful view of Leech Lake.

Later that evening, right around sunset, Rick and I went fishing. As is our typical method, we pulled crankbaits (a Rapala Minnow Rap, MR-9 for me) behind the boat about 60-70 feet back. That drops the lure to around 8 feet deep in the 10 feet of water we fish. The water temperature according to my Lowrance unit was 54 degrees. The wind was light out of the south at 5-12 mph.

Rick caught a 18 1/2-inch walleye, and shortly after we released that fish I hooked into a nice 16 3/4-inch walleye which went into the livewell. We have to have a fish fry before Kathleen heads back to California on Memorial Day.

When we came back on shore, my parents had already retreated back to the cabin for the evening. So we had a quiet night at the house before going to bed.

Friday, May 24, 2013

The sky today was mostly cloudy with some sun peaking through the clouds throughout the day. The temperature never hit 70 degrees, but it felt warm. The wind was 8-15 mph out of the south, but gusts were up around 20 mph.

With the boat in the lift overnight I noticed that the motor, which I had trimmed up the night before, was now all the way down. That meant that either there was air in the hydraulics, I was low on hydraulic fluid or that there was a leaky seal keeping the hydraulic system from staying fully charged.

I trimmed the motor up and down about a half a dozen times to work out any air, trimmed the motor up and then left it for about an hour. When I came back the motor was all the way down so air in the system was not the problem.

I next got the waders on, walked around to the back of the boat and opened the cap where the hydraulic fluid goes into the system. It appeared that all was fine there so the only other thing it could be is a bad seal. To fix that would require me taking the boat back to Corner Sports in Bemidji and since I'm here for such a short time and spending so much of that time with family, I decided to wait until I take the boat in for service and storage in October.

I figured that since there was nothing I could do to fix the motor now, I might as well take it out on the water, so I took my Dad and Rick for a boat ride. After motoring around Sucker Bay for a half an hour or so we dropped my Dad off at the dock and Rick and I went fishing.

We used jigs and fatheads to target jumbo perch and walleye, but all we caught were numerous small perch.

Around 5:00 p.m. we all got cleaned up and drove to the Big Fish Supper Club in Bena. My Mom, Dad and I had the all-you-can-eat fish fry -- which was only average at best -- while Rick opted for the steak sandwich (which he said was good) and Kathleen had the walleye sandwich, which she also reported to be good.

The sky continued to darken and cloud up as we drove home, so instead of watching a sunset we watched the sky turn from grey to black.

My Mom, Kathleen and I watched a movie, while my Dad headed back to the cabin. Rick decided to tie a crankbait onto one of my spinning reels and try fishing off the dock. A short time later he came into the house to get a measuring tape and flashlight since he'd hooked a walleye and wanted to see if it was slot fish or not (all walleye between 18- and 26-inches must be returned to the water on Leech Lake).

It turned out to be a 20-inch fish so back to the lake it went. Rick would go on to catch a 21-inch and 17-inch walleye, both of which he tossed back into the lake. Not bad for an hour of fishing off the dock!

Saturday, May 25, 2013

My parents had said that they were in no rush to get on the road and get back to Illinois, but by 10:00 a.m. they had the car packed and were ready to say goodbye.

We did manage to spend a few minutes chatting with them before finally saying goodbye. It was a great pleasure to have them visit us at Leech Lake, something Kathleen's mother can no longer do.

Kathleen and I went for a bike ride down to Duck Point and out onto the boardwalk. Once we got home Kathleen went for her usual 6-mile run down the the Ottertail Peninsula Community Center and back. Rick and I worked around the properties, did some fishing (only a few perch) and then got a fire going in the fire pit at the cabin.

We basically spent the day quietly and peacefully at the lake. Something we all enjoy very much.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Today is Kathleen's last full day at the lake before heading back to California. Luckily the weather cooperated with a high temperature of near 70 degrees, mostly sunny skies and a light wind of 8-12 mph out of the SE.

Kathleen wanted to try to fit in as many "lake" activities as she could today. We went on a long boat ride, and she even did some fishing, although we didn't catch anything. We went on a long bike ride; we did the "loop." Kathleen took a long run and did lunges down the driveway. And for dinner I made Minnesota wild rice, freshly cleaned and cooked beer-battered walleye and a variety of veggies.

It was a full day of activities outside. Then it was time for Kathleen to start gathering her things together for that tough trip home. No matter long we stay here -- for months at a time or just a week -- it's always very difficult to leave here. It's so quiet and peaceful at the lake, free from the stress and hussle of the Bay Area. But unless we can figure out a way to live here year-round, we will have to leave Leech Lake and head back to the bustle of big city life. And for Kathleen, that day is tomorrow.

Memorial Day, May 27, 2013

The weather for Memorial Day was cool -- mid 60 degrees -- overcast and grey with some light rain throughout the day. The winds were relatively light at 8-12 out of the SE.

Today is the day Kathleen flies back to California. She had a good stay in MN and was able to spend a lot of quality time with her mother, as well as my parents. We cherish that time because all are in their 80s and aren't getting any younger.

Yet it is always very difficult to leave the lake. It's just quiet and peaceful here. Both Kathleen and I really enjoy who we are and how we interact when we're here at the lake. So it was with more than a little sadness that Kathleen packed up her things and made one final walk around the properties before it was time to go to the airport in Bemidji.

At last the truck was loaded up and Kathleen, Rick and I drove into town. After I dropped off Kathleen at the airport Rick and I went to take care of a variety of errands. We needed some lumber to fix parts of the deck at the house and at the gameroom at the cabin, we needed groceries and number of hardware items from Home Depot.

It was late afternoon before Rick and I made it back to the lake where we immediately began various fix-it chores. Then after dinner, we decided to go fishing.

We got the boat onto the water just after 9:00 p.m. with the sun just setting. The water temperature was 60.4 degrees, the air temperature was a cool 58 degrees, the sky was cloudy with a light rain falling off and on, but the winds were light out of the south at 5-12 mph.

Shortly after we started trolling with our Rapala MR-9 Minnow Raps, I hooked into a small fish, which I guessed was a perch. It turned out to be a 13-walleye, which is way to small for me to keep so it went back into the lake.

A short time later Rick hooked into a fish which he figured was a walleye by the way it initially fought but then gave up on the ride to the boat. Rick got the fish up to the boat where I netted it. It was indeed a walleye.

Rick then set about unhooking the fish so he could measure it. Somehow, the fish flopped in just the right way and impaled one of the treble hooks into Rick's thumb, so both Rick and the fish were hooked by the same lure.

I quickly got the wire cutters out and snipped off the part of the hook shank that was jammed in Rick's thumb. That enabled him to unhook the fish and get it back into the water. It was 18 1/2-inches long by the way.

We tried to push the hook through Rick's thumb so it would clear the barb, but we were having difficulty doing so in the dark on the lake, so we came ashore. We worked on it some more, but the shank of the remaining part of the hook was too short to effectively push the barb clear of the skin of the thumb. Thus, at 10:15 p.m. we made our second trip into Bemidji on Memorial Day, this time to the Bemidji Hospital Emergency Room.

According to Rick, even the doctor had a bit of trouble extracting the hook from his thumb, taking more than 5 minutes of tugging and pushing before the small piece of metal was no longer in Rick's thumb. A simple band-aid is all they used to cover it up and just before midnight we were on our way home.

We finally got back to the lake just before 1:00 a.m. and after recounting the story yet again, we headed off to our respective rooms and went to sleep.

It was an intersting Memorial Day to say the least.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

I spent nearly the entire day, from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. doing my "Silicon Valley" work. I was on the phone, sending emails, etc. all day long. Rick spent the day working the Muscateer. What's a Muscateer? Check out this blog devoted solely to the restoration of the Muscateer that now sits in my garage.

The was not great for fishing this evening -- grey skies, rain off and on, wind out of the NW at 12-17 mph, and temperatures in high 50s. Thus we decided to stay on shore, grill New York strip steaks, and then enjoy the warm, dry living room while we listened to old music on the stereo.

Rick reported no pain from his thumb, which he had impaled with a treble hook the day earlier while we were trolling for walleye.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Today was overcast, grey and rainy. In fact, during the afternoon we had a bit of thunderstorm roll through complete with lightning and some thunder that shook the house.  The temperature got up to 68 degrees, although for most of the day the temperature was in the mid- to lower-60s. The wind was relatively light at 5-12 mph out of the SSE.

As a result of the poor weather conditions, especially the lightning, we stayed off the water and did no fishing. In fact, I think I only saw one or two boats out on Sucker Bay all day.

We used the breaks in the rain to do some repair work on the deck in front of the game room, and on the railing of the porch at the house.

Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to get out on the water. Rick leaves for Las Vegas on Sunday, and I head back to California a week from tomorrow. Time always goes so quickly at the lake.

Water Level of Leech Lake -- Memorial Day, 2013

The water level of Leech Lake on Monday, May 27, 2013 -- Memorial Day -- was by my unofficial measure seven (7) cement pilings on my boat ramp.

In years past, the lake has been higher at this time of year, sometimes reaching 8 or even 9 pilings, but it's also been much lower, down around 4 or 5 pilings. So by my rough estimate, we're experiencing roughly average water levels for this time of year.

May 22, 2013 -- On Leech Lake

Today the temperature hit 65 degrees, the wind was out of the NNW at 12-25 mph and the sky was mostly sunny with a fair amount of big, white billowy clouds.

After breakfast, spending time with my parents, doing some "work" work and some work around the properties, Rick and I decided to take John Newman's boat out for a bit of fishing.

According to John's fish finder, the temperature of the water was 49 degrees. Again Rick and I used jigs and fathead minnows in an attempt to catch walleye and jumbo perch.

The lake was covered in fairly large waves and white caps as the gusts of wind regularly topped 20 mph. We motored our way to a spot in 10 feet of water in front of the Malay's cabin, deployed the drift sock and then drifted toward Second Duck Point. John's fish finder doesn't display ground speed, but I'd guess we were moving along at a 1 mph clip at least.

We fished for about an hour and half and Rick got skunked again today. I, however, caught a hand full of perch, although no jumbos, and a nice 20-inch walleye, the first of the open-water season for me. Rick took a quick picture of the fish and then put it I put it back in the lake.


The first Leech Lake walleye of the season


Kathleen got to go running down our dirt road later in the day, and then we all had a nice dinner. My parents went back to the cabin fairly early and we had a quiet night at the house. The word in our neighborhood today is that Shore Brothers will be out tomorrow to put in the docks and boat lifts along our stretch of the Ottertail Peninsula. If that indeed happens, I'll be able to get the boat in the water.

Good night from Leech Lake.

At Leech Lake -- May 21, 2013

Today's weather can best be described as grey and wet. It was raining when I woke up this morning, and rained steadily until right up to sunset. The temperature hit maybe 65 degrees and the wind was variable from 8-15 mph out of the ENE.

Depsite the rain, Kathleen, Rick and I decided to take a hike back in our woods. We donned our rain gear and took a very long hike along the trails in our woods, and eventually down the road, across some very soggy land back to the old Indian cabin that sits on the shoreline of Second Duck Point.

Along the shore was a very large pile of ice, some of the only ice left from when it retreated from the lake on May 15.

About 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon my parents arrived for a 5-day stay. We spent about an hour chatting and catching up at the house before my dad and I made our way next door to the cabin where I helped him unload their luggage and got them set up in their respective rooms.

I grilled some chicken for dinner and then we all went to bed early.

No fishing today, and the boat lift and docks are still not in, but the word is that Shore Brothers will be out on Thursday to put in the docks for everyone along this stretch of Ottertail Peninsula.

Arrival At Leech Lake

I arrived at Leech Lake late on Thursday, May 16, just one day after the official "ice out" day on the lake. The all-time latest ice out on Leech Lake, at least in the past 78 years that they've been keeping records of it, is May 23. As a result, none of the docks or boat lifts along Ottertail Peninsula were in the water.

On Friday, my friend Rick and I drove into Bemidji for supplies and to pick up the boat. But with the lift not in the water, the boat was parked near the garage until a later date. The wind was out of the NE at 8-15 mph, the sky was overcast and grey and the temperature was in the high 60s. We grilled steak for dinner and had an early night since both of us were tired from getting in late the night before.

Saturday was supposed to bring thunderstorms and cooler temperatures, but all we got was rain, no big storms. By 9:00 a.m. we were on our way to St. Cloud to see Kathleen's mother, and to pick up Kathleen and bring her back to the lake. We spent the entire day in St. Cloud and didn't arrive back at the lake until after midnight.

All three of us spent most of Sunday outside working on variety of projects from replacing burned out light bulbs to rebuilding broken stairs to miscellaneous yard work. We had a nice seafood pasta dish for dinner, but couldn't watch the sunset because the sky was very overcast and grey. Although the rain did hold off and the temperature reached a high of 73 degrees.

On Monday, Rick and I borrowed John Newman's boat and went out fishing. We used jigs and fatheads and drifted in 11 feet of water, and then moved shallower into 8 feet of water. The water temperature was 47 degrees, the air temperature was 57 degrees, the wind was out of the NE at 8-12 mph and the sky was overcast and grey and a light rain was falling.

I hooked a few perch, no jumbos, but couldn't hook a walleye. The rain began to fall harder so we decided to go back on shore, dry off and warm up.

It's good to be back at the lake. Hopefully later this week Shore Brothers will be out to put the docks and boat lift in the water so I can get my boat readied for the open-water season.

MN Walleye Opener 2013

Today, Saturday, May 11, is Walleye Opener in Minnesota. Although there will probably be few, if any, boats on Leech Lake today because most of the lake is still covered in ice.

Average ice out for Leech Lake occurs on April 27. The earliest the ice was off the lake was April 2, 2012, just last year. The latest the ice has come off Leech Lake was May 23, 1950. This year may push close to the record.

The weather today is not ideal for fishing even if there was open water. The temperature at Federal Dam at 2:00 p.m. was 41 degrees, the wind was out of the NW at 17-25 mph, with gusts up near 35 mph and the sky was mostly cloudy and grey.

Looking northwest out over Sucker Bay from the Malay's cabin

I arrive in Minnesota on May 16 and will pick up my boat in Bemidji the following day. But with this much ice on the lake, my boat may be sitting at the top of my boat ramp for quite some time before I'm able to get it in the water. Absolutely crazy!

How The Ice Melts On Leech Lake

I would like to thank Ron Geppert, Secretary of the Ottertail Peninsula Township Association, for developing and/or borrowing the content of this post.
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As we anxiously await soft water again, here are some numbers to digest. The area of Leech Lake is approximately 161 square miles and ice thickness on the lake is about 32". Using basic math, this equates to almost 12 billion cubic feet of ice to be melted. One cubic foot of ice weighs about 56 pounds and one pound of ice requires 144 BTU of heat to melt. Therefore, for ice-out, a total of about 96 trillion BTUs of heat will be required to melt all of the ice, and may take awhile. To understand the process of lake ice melting, here is a quick explanation.

1. In the late fall, the lake loses heat to the atmosphere, and then on a day or night when the wind is not blowing, ice forms. The ice gets thicker as long as the lake can continue to lose heat.
2. In most Januaries and Februaries, snow both reflects sunlight and insulates the lake. With a thick snow layer, the lake neither gains nor loses heat. The bottom sediment is actually heating the lake water slightly over the winter, from stored summer heat.
3. Around March, as the air warms and the sun gets more intense, the snow melts, allowing light to penetrate the ice. Because the ice acts like the glass in a greenhouse, the water beneath it begins to warm, and the ice begins to melt FROM THE BOTTOM.
4. When the ice thickness erodes to between 4 and 12 inches, it transforms into long vertical crystals called "candles." These conduct light even better, so the ice starts to look black, because it is not reflecting much sunlight.
5. Warming continues because the light energy is being transferred to the water below the ice. "Meltwater" fills in between the crystals, which begin breaking apart. The surface appears grayish as the ice reflects a bit more light than before.
6. The wind comes up, and breaks the surface apart. The candles will often be blown to one side of the lake, making a tinkling sound as they knock against one another, and piling up on the shore. In hours, or on a lake the size of Leech Lake days, a sparkling blue lake, once again!

 

Walleye Opener for 2013 in Minnesota is May 11. At last report, just a few days ago, there was still roughly 30 inches of ice on Leech Lake. Given the time it will take to melt the vast sheet of ice currently covering the lake, there may not be open water for this year's Op'ner. 

Remembering Open Water

I received a text from Lainy Malay the other day saying that there was 3-4 inches of ice on Leech Lake and that her husband Tom was preparing to go out onto the lake to cut a couple of holes to begin his favorite time of year -- ice fishing season.

It's been a number of years since I was on Leech Lake for some hard-water fishing, but maybe this will be the year I get back.

Anyway, thinking of ice on the lake got me thinking about being on the lake period. Here's a picture of me in my Lund 1800 Pro-V IFS Verado Limited Edition boat, complete with a 150-hp Mercury Verado motor, during the open-water season on the lake. These memories are going to have to do until I can again visit the northwoods of Minnesota.

Your author on Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

Another view of the author on Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

October 10, 2012 -- Leaving Leech Lake

This morning at 7:00 a.m. the sky was clear and just beginning to show light. The wind was 8-12 mph out of the west and the temperature was right at freezing, 32 degrees.

Leech Lake sunrise

Although I went to bed before midnight last night, I had trouble sleeping; I always do the night before traveling. And before first light I was wide awake in bed making mental lists of the tasks I need to complete before leaving later in the morning.

One thing I realized is that when I first came to Leech Lake several months ago the weather was warm and getting warmer, both in California and in northern Minnesota. As a result, I didn't bring a jacket or a sweatshirt with me, which would have been nice to have since the temperature won't hit 40 degrees until I'm already on a plane on my way to Minneapolis.

Oh well, it's not that bad, especially since the Bemidji airport now has jet ways in the terminal. Just a year ago portable stairs were still used to board the small, regional aircraft that fly in and out of Bemidji. But thanks to government stimulus money, the airport now allows passengers to board without ever having to step outside.

It's now 10:30 a.m. and I'm getting ready to shut down the computer, as well as the well pump. I've cleaned out the food from the drawers and refrigerator and have three bags full to give to the Malays. I've taken the garbage and recycling to the town hall trash center and then stored the truck in the garage for the long, cold winter.

All the buildings are locked, and the security systems armed. My neighbors on either side will be keeping a close eye on the place during my absence; in fact, Tom Malay will help John Newman store John's 14-foot boat in my garage.

The Malays will be here in the next 20 minutes or so, so it's time to sign off one last time from Leech Lake; at least until my next visit.

So long from Leech Lake.