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.