Needless to say, I decided to stay on shore and do some work around the properties. No fishing.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
June 11, 2008
The winds picked up again today and were as strong as 20 mph out the ENE. There were thunderstorm warnings and it rained pretty much all day. Around mid-day, the temperature dropped to 50 degrees and it began to hail -- hard! I've included a couple of pictures of the hail that covered the ground.
Needless to say, I decided to stay on shore and do some work around the properties. No fishing.
Needless to say, I decided to stay on shore and do some work around the properties. No fishing.
June 10, 2008
It's been overcast and rainy the past several days, but at least today the winds have died down some. With a breeze of roughly 10 mph out of the NNE and temperatures in the mid-50s, a 15 degree drop from yesterday, I decided to go out onto the lake around 3:30 p.m.
Last winter I decided come open-water season that I'd fish as much as possible with artificial bait and I've stuck to that for the most part. Today I used a 1/4 ounce Fin-tech original Nuckle Ball jig in a green/chartreuse color, tipped with Gulp Alive! 3" leeches. I was drifting off Second Duck Point and caught 3 nice perch, which all went back into the lake.
Around 5:30 p.m., I decided to change tactics and started trolling with the hot steel-colored Rapala Minnow Rap. I love this lure and it always produces for me. Trolling back and forth from Second Duck Point to our cabin I caught a small northern pike, a 21-inch walleye (released) and a beautiful 17" walleye which I kept for a later dinner. I pulled onto the boat lift around 7:00 p.m.
There are many ways to use a Minnow Rap, casting, trolling, using it with a planer board, or even on the end of lead-core line. My preferred method is to tie a Berkley Cross-Lok snap swivel, which can be purchased at Cabela's, onto the end of Berkley 14-pound test Fireline Crystal line. I've found that even when I catch a bigger fish, such as a tiger muskie or a big northern, the 14-pound test is more than strong enough to haul them up to the boat.
I've also done my own testing and have found the Fireline Crystal to be much harder to see in the water than the regular Fireline (in either smoke or flame green). How the walleye actually see it is anybody's guess, but it seems to work for me.
Now I know a lot of guys like tying their lure directly to the line without a swivel, but I've found that with a swivel I virtually eliminate any line twist. Plus, the Cross-Lok snap swivels are much stronger than the safety-pin varieties of swivels. Again, these are my personal preferences, and they work well for me.
It's still early in the season, but I've already replaced the two original treble hooks on my Minnow Rap with new Gamakatsu red round-bend treble hooks. Keeping sharp hooks on your lures is a must.
Last winter I decided come open-water season that I'd fish as much as possible with artificial bait and I've stuck to that for the most part. Today I used a 1/4 ounce Fin-tech original Nuckle Ball jig in a green/chartreuse color, tipped with Gulp Alive! 3" leeches. I was drifting off Second Duck Point and caught 3 nice perch, which all went back into the lake.
Around 5:30 p.m., I decided to change tactics and started trolling with the hot steel-colored Rapala Minnow Rap. I love this lure and it always produces for me. Trolling back and forth from Second Duck Point to our cabin I caught a small northern pike, a 21-inch walleye (released) and a beautiful 17" walleye which I kept for a later dinner. I pulled onto the boat lift around 7:00 p.m.
There are many ways to use a Minnow Rap, casting, trolling, using it with a planer board, or even on the end of lead-core line. My preferred method is to tie a Berkley Cross-Lok snap swivel, which can be purchased at Cabela's, onto the end of Berkley 14-pound test Fireline Crystal line. I've found that even when I catch a bigger fish, such as a tiger muskie or a big northern, the 14-pound test is more than strong enough to haul them up to the boat.
I've also done my own testing and have found the Fireline Crystal to be much harder to see in the water than the regular Fireline (in either smoke or flame green). How the walleye actually see it is anybody's guess, but it seems to work for me.
Now I know a lot of guys like tying their lure directly to the line without a swivel, but I've found that with a swivel I virtually eliminate any line twist. Plus, the Cross-Lok snap swivels are much stronger than the safety-pin varieties of swivels. Again, these are my personal preferences, and they work well for me.
It's still early in the season, but I've already replaced the two original treble hooks on my Minnow Rap with new Gamakatsu red round-bend treble hooks. Keeping sharp hooks on your lures is a must.
June 9, 2008
The winds today were strong, 15-20 mph, out of the southwest, with gusts nearing 30 mph. Rain fell most of the day and the temps hovered around 70 degrees. As the day progressed, the winds shifted to the west, but were no less strong.
I did not go fishing today.
I did not go fishing today.
Friday, December 12, 2008
June 8, 2008
NOTE: I spent six months this past summer at Leech Lake fishing and enjoying the northwoods. I am now back in California and am making these posts from the notes I took in my "fishing journal."
Today is my parent's 51st wedding anniversary. Last year we had a big celebration at their house outside of Chicago (yes my parents are FIBs), but this year I celebrated their anniversary by going fishing on Leech Lake.
I decided to start early and was on the water at 7 a.m. I began my day at Second Duck Point using a combination of drifting -- there was a slight breeze from the south -- and trolling using my MinnKota Maxxum Pro electric trolling motor. The water temperature was 62 degrees and the air temp was slightly warmer at 65 degrees.
I fished for three hours, but was only able to pick up one 13" walleye. I was using a Northland Gum-Ball "neon-toned" jig tipped with a 3" Gulp Alive! black leech. Even though my morning venture onto the lake wasn't as successful as I would have liked, it was great to be on the water again after being shore-bound for three days due to inclement weather.
My second trip of the day began at 3:3o p.m. and lasted less than two hours. The temperature had warmed to a pleasant 70 degrees and likewise the water had warmed to 65 degrees. The afternoon sky was had become overcast and it was starting to sprinkle. The winds, however, were still calm, with just a hint of breeze from the south.
My game plan for the afternoon was to troll, using the SmartCraft function of my Mercury Verado outboard motor. It's an amazing option to the Verado motor. It allows me to set the RPM to whatever speed I want, down to a low of 550 RPM. When trolling Rapala Minnow Raps, as I was today, I use the SmartCraft to set the RPM between 580-600 depending on the direction I'm trolling -- faster into the wind, slower with it.
Using my favorite "hot steel" color I picked up a nice 4-5 lb. northern pike, a 16" walleye (which I was tempted to keep, but released) and a 26" tiger muskie, which is a hybrid of a muskellunge and a northern pike. Leech Lake has healthy population of both muskie and northern, so tiger muskies are not rare on the lake; although this was the first time I had actually caught one.
The rain started to pick up around 5:15 p.m. so I decided to head to shore to dry off and have dinner.
Today is my parent's 51st wedding anniversary. Last year we had a big celebration at their house outside of Chicago (yes my parents are FIBs), but this year I celebrated their anniversary by going fishing on Leech Lake.
I decided to start early and was on the water at 7 a.m. I began my day at Second Duck Point using a combination of drifting -- there was a slight breeze from the south -- and trolling using my MinnKota Maxxum Pro electric trolling motor. The water temperature was 62 degrees and the air temp was slightly warmer at 65 degrees.
I fished for three hours, but was only able to pick up one 13" walleye. I was using a Northland Gum-Ball "neon-toned" jig tipped with a 3" Gulp Alive! black leech. Even though my morning venture onto the lake wasn't as successful as I would have liked, it was great to be on the water again after being shore-bound for three days due to inclement weather.
My second trip of the day began at 3:3o p.m. and lasted less than two hours. The temperature had warmed to a pleasant 70 degrees and likewise the water had warmed to 65 degrees. The afternoon sky was had become overcast and it was starting to sprinkle. The winds, however, were still calm, with just a hint of breeze from the south.
My game plan for the afternoon was to troll, using the SmartCraft function of my Mercury Verado outboard motor. It's an amazing option to the Verado motor. It allows me to set the RPM to whatever speed I want, down to a low of 550 RPM. When trolling Rapala Minnow Raps, as I was today, I use the SmartCraft to set the RPM between 580-600 depending on the direction I'm trolling -- faster into the wind, slower with it.
Using my favorite "hot steel" color I picked up a nice 4-5 lb. northern pike, a 16" walleye (which I was tempted to keep, but released) and a 26" tiger muskie, which is a hybrid of a muskellunge and a northern pike. Leech Lake has healthy population of both muskie and northern, so tiger muskies are not rare on the lake; although this was the first time I had actually caught one.
The rain started to pick up around 5:15 p.m. so I decided to head to shore to dry off and have dinner.
June 5, 6, and 7, 2008
The winds were high -- near 20 mph out of the NW -- and there were severe thunderstorm warnings off and on for three days. I didn't go fishing any of these days.
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