Photo/Album: Post 6

Welcome to the winter solstice 2009. It arrived at 11:47 a.m. CST today at Leech Lake. Therefore, for this installment of the Photo/Album series I thought I'd use a winter photo and an album that the band began recording in December, 1966.

PHOTO


This is a view of Sucker Bay looking north as a mid-winter's storm is brewing. The photo was taken on February 25, 2007 during a trip when my son Joe and I spent some wonderful time on the ice fishing, digging ourselves out of a massive winter blizzard and inside our warm house playing games and listening to music.

The Northwoods is a great place any time of the year, but there's something almost magical being there in the winter. The first thing that I always notice is how peaceful and quiet it is at Leech Lake during the winter months. This photo seems to capture that feeling for me.

ALBUM


I still remember hearing The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for the very first time. I had purchased the album at the record store at the local mall, came home to my parents' house, went into my bedroom, removed the shrink-wrap plastic from the LP and placed it on my turntable. Although I'd been listening to The Beatles since I was in kindergarten, nothing had prepared me for listening to Sgt. Pepper in its entirety. Wow!

There is a very good reason that Rolling Stone magazine named Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band the #1 album of all time -- it's simply incredible. From the method the LP was recorded to the breakthrough artwork on the cover to the stellar music itself, there's nothing lacking in this record.

Recording for the LP started in December, 1966 and the album finally hit record stores in June, 1967. I purchased it years later, but to me it was as fresh and incredible as the day it was released.

In case you need a refresher, here's the first song on the album, the title track. Enjoy.

Photo/Album: Post 5

For this installment of my Photo/Album series -- where I post a picture from Leech Lake and highlight one of my favorite albums -- I've decided to go back a ways in history for both. The photo comes from a guided muskie trip we took back in 2003, and album goes back to 1965.

PHOTO

This is a picture of my friend Rick, who was visiting Leech Lake from his home in Brisbane, Australia, legendary Leech Lake guide Al Maas, my son Joe's shoulder, and a 50 1/2-inch muskie that was taken on a safety-pin style jig in 3-feet of water at the south end of Sucker Bay.

I had hired Maas to guide us on our hunt for muskie because at the time I was relatively unfamiliar with the lake, had never really fished for muskie in a serious fashion, and because it was Rick's birthday present I wanted to up the odds that he caught a fish. He did, and it remains to this day the biggest fish I've seen come out of Leech Lake.

ALBUM


Back when I was in high school I got a turntable for Christmas one year which finally gave me the ability to switch from cassette tapes to LPs which sound infinitely better, in my opinion.

As I started out compiling my album collection I knew I needed to add some Bob Dylan to the mix. Since I was unfamiliar with any of his albums in detail -- although I knew many of his hit singles -- my selection of his fifth studio album Bringing It All Back Home was made as much by chance as it was design. Boy, did I luck out.

It is not only one of Dylan's most celebrated albums, but one of the greatest rock albums of all time. In the 2003 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, where it listed the Top 500 rock albums of all time (see Photo/Album 4 for the #7 album on that list), Bringing It All Back Home ranked 31st.

Here is the studio version of Subterranean Homesick Blues, the first song on side 1 of the LP, which many people say foreshadowed the invention of rap music some 20 years later.

Photo/Album: Post 4

This is installment 4 of my Photo/Album series. I again selected a photo from my most recent stay at Leech Lake. For the album, I selected what is generally considered to be one of the greatest rock 'n' roll albums of all time. Enjoy.

PHOTO


October, 2009 was the fourth coldest October on record, and for Minnesota that's impressive. It was also one of the wettest and snowiest months on record in Minnesota. This photo was taken from the dock looking back at our harbor and house. You can see that most of the leaves on the trees haven't even fully changed color, yet there is snow on the ground. It would snow at least a few more times before it finally warmed up at the very end of the month and into November.

ALBUM


Soon after graduating from high school I moved into an old house in downtown Lansing, Michigan located just a couple of blocks from the state capital building. One of the guys that lived with me in the house -- Marcus Cafagna -- turned me onto, among many other things, the Rolling Stones album Exile on Main Street.

I was, of course, very familiar with the Rolling Stones at the time, but for some reason I had not yet discovered this particular album. It was released in 1972, and was the first 2-LP studio release from the Stones. Every song on this album is a gem and I never tire of listening to it.

Some years back, Rolling Stone magazine put out a special issue listing the Top 500 albums of the 'classic' rock 'n' roll era -- from 1964 through 1983. Topping the list was the Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, while the Stones' Exile came in at number 7.

If you're unfamiliar with Exile on Main Street, check out this studio version of Sweet Virginia -- it might surprise you.

Photo/Album: Post 3

I went back to a photo from this past June for today's installment of my Photo/Album series, and went all the way back to 1959 for my album selection. Enjoy.

PHOTO

This is a photo of Sucker Bay on the afternoon of June 19, 2009. You can read more about my fishing success that day by visiting this link. I will tell you that I caught one walleye during an afternoon trip on the water, and two more that night while trolling. I also witnessed an incredible sunset during my evening trip onto Leech Lake.

ALBUM

From his late-1940s album The Birth of the Cool to his seminal work with his famous quartets of the 1950s and 1960s to his groundbreaking album Bitches Brew that gave birth to jazz fusion, no musician of the 20th century had more influence on music over a longer period of time than jazz legend Miles Davis.

I don't recall the first time I heard landmark LP Kind of Blue, but I do know that during my college days at Cal Poly I must have listened to this album hundreds of times with my friend Vince alone. John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley provide the dual saxophones on the set and are joined by Detroit native Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly split the session on piano.

Many music critics consider Kind of Blue not only one Miles Davis's best, and not just one of the best jazz albums ever produced, but one of the greatest albums ever recorded. If you've never heard this album, start hear with the album version of the unbelievable tune, So What.

Photo/Album: Post 2

Here is the second installment of my Photo/Album series -- where I post a photo from Leech Lake and an album that I find particularly important to the history of music (in my life).

As will be the case in all such posts, let's start with a photo from Leech Lake.

PHOTO


This was taken the on the Saturday afternoon five days before I left Minnesota for California in the Fall of 2009. It's taken from the end of my dock looking south on Sucker Bay toward Goose Island. This was a typical mid-afternoon, late-Autumn day on Leech Lake.

ALBUM


From the first time I heard Frank Zappa's music in 1974, he has been one of my favorite musicians. As I dug deeper into his extremely vast catalog of music (I now own all 80+ titles from Mr. Zappa) I found myself listening to his album Hot Rats more than any other. The cut Peaches en Regalia from the album is generally considered one of the greatest jazz-fusion tunes ever recorded.

It has been covered by numerous musicians ranging from the Dixie Dregs to Phish to Frank's son Dweezil, whose version of the song with former Zappa alumni Steve Vai and Napoleon Murphy Brock won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 2009. Check out this clip for the version of Peaches en Regalia from the Baby Snakes video, or this clip for a live version of the song.

Photo/Album: Post 1

Most of my posts to this site happen while I'm actually at Leech Lake. Now that I'm in California, I'm only able to reminisce about being on the water (open or hard) and enjoy the many photos I've taken while at Leech Lake.

Until I make my next visit to Minnesota's third biggest lake I thought I'd occasionally post photos from past visits. In addition, I'm going to post an album that I'm particularly fond of, just 'cause.

So here's the first of my "photo/album" posts.

PHOTO


Here's a photo of our dock, boat lift and boat as seen from the dock at our house. Countless times each open-water season I make my way next door to our cabin, walk down the dock, climb into the boat, lower it into the water and go fishing. Since it's an activity that plays a predominate role in my life while I'm at Leech Lake, it's the first photo in this series.

ALBUM


The Grateful Dead album American Beauty is one of my all-time favorite albums. It contains some of Jerry Garcia's finest songwriting, singing and guitar playing, and it holds a special place in my heart and soul. If you haven't listened to this album, start with this live version of Ripple and move on from there -- "a ripple in still water."

October 29, 2009 -- At Leech Lake, I Leave Today

It's a balmy 42 degrees at 8:00 a.m. The sky is overcast, there is a fog and mist hanging over the lake and there is virtually no wind. Kind of eerie.

I'm scurrying around making final preparations to leave our house at Leech Lake for potentially many months.

I've got the last load of laundry going, the food I'm giving to the Malays is all packed up and the rest of the food has been thrown out. I'm having a quick bowl of cereal, then I have to unload the dishwasher, lock up the cabin and turn on the security system.

As I look out over the lake, I'm hit with the desire of wanting to go fishing. It would be an interesting morning to be on the water. No wind. Heavy mist and fog. Water temperature dropping. I bet the walleye are feeding fast and furious this morning. But no fishing today.

Tom is going to come by in a few minutes to pick up the food I'm giving them and a bag of garbage. Elaine has an appointment in Bemidji this morning and rather than carry around the food with them, they'll put it away before we leave for town. Same for the garbage.

It's now 9:00 a.m. The cabin is locked and security system is armed. I've got the laundry done, the refrigerator is cleaned out, and the dishes are done. The only thing I've got left to do is turn off the water pump and lock the house and arm the security system. I'll do that on my way out the door.

So from Sucker Bay, so long until my next visit to Leech Lake.

October 28, 2009 -- At Leech Lake, One Day and Counting

Today is my final full day at Leech Lake for 2009, and I've got a lot of work left to do to close up the house and cabin for the winter.

My first order of business will be to store the boat lift canopy in the garage at the cabin. I had it out drying on the back deck railing at the cabin, but today it's time to put it away.

I would like to power wash the truck before I store it for the winter because it's so dirty. I hope I have time to get to it. I also have to do loads of laundry, go through all of the food in the refrigerators -- freezing what I can, get some of it ready to give to Tom and Elaine, and throwing the rest away -- put the snow plow on the ATV and move it into the attached garage, and a million and one other little chores.

At 11:30 a.m. the temperature is 40 degrees, the sky is gray and overcast (again), every now and then it sprinkles rain, and the winds are calm.

It's now 6:30 p.m. and I'm in the house for the first time since just after noon. I got the boat lift canopy rolled up and stored in the garage, I power-washed the truck, put it in the garage, disconnected the negative battery terminal and hooked up a trickle charger to the battery to keep it fresh throughout the winter.

With those chores complete I came back to the house where I attached the snow plow to the ATV, moved it to the attached garage, shut the gas line on it and ran the rest of the fuel out of the carburetor. Then it was on to leaf blowing.

For 3 straight hours I blew leaves off the lakeside lawn, the two sides of the house, the porches, the yard by our bedroom, the patch of grass in the driveway turnaround, and the entire driveway itself. The only place at the house that I didn't get to was the yard between the wood pile and the gas tank.

The entire time I was outside there was a heavy mist in the air. It wasn't actually raining, but everything was dripping wet. I finally put the leaf blower away when the light was nearly gone because I wanted to have one last walk down our dirt road before it got dark. So I took my final 2-mile walk to Paulsen's and back for 2009.

I'm now inside having some salad and squash hotdish for dinner, before I start in on the rest of my in-the-house chores.

I've now cleaned out the fireplace, vacuumed the house, mopped the kitchen floor, chopped up and froze onions, carrots and celery, did a couple loads of wash, made the bed and did the dishes. My hot shower felt great.

It's now 11:30 p.m. and in just 10 hours I'll be leaving the house and driving with the Malays to the airport in Bemidji. It's been a great year here at Leech Lake. I had a 10-week visit from the end of May to the end of July, and a second six-week visit from mid-September through tomorrow. I hope I have a chance to get back here sometime this winter to do some ice fishing and to enjoy the winter.

Once I'm back in California I'll be posting only occasionally to this blog. I'll recap some of the fishing stats from this year -- how many walleyes boated, size of fish, time caught, etc. -- as well as post various pictures I've taken during my two visits this year. I'll also post any relevant news regarding the water levels on Leech Lake or any other MN DNR and lake news.

Now it's time for bed. Looking back on these visits, I have to admit, I really love fishing Leech Lake.

October 27, 2009 -- At Leech Lake, 2 Days and Counting

The dock coming out of the water signals the end of another season on Leech Lake

At 10:00 a.m. this morning the temperature is 39 degrees, the sky is partly cloudy with some sun and blue sky visible and the wind is 12-15 mph out of the WSW creating a few white caps here and there on Leech Lake.

The wind is blowing strong enough to knock most the remaining leaves out of the trees and onto the ground. It is raining yellow leaves this morning. Kathleen loves seeing the leaves fall, but unfortunately she missed seeing it by a day; she left for California yesterday.

I'll be joining Kathleen in San Jose on Thursday, leaving behind our haven on Leech Lake until some time in the future. I'm hoping to get back here during the winter for some ice fishing, but I had the same plan last year and it never materialized.

At 2:00 p.m. the temperature has warmed to the mid 40s, the wind is steady at 12-15 mph out of the WSW, the sky is mostly cloudy, but there is some blue sky visible.

Mark and his crew from Shore Brothers are here removing the boat lift and dock at the cabin, and the dock at the house. It's going pretty quick too. The guys got the dock and lift out at the cabin in about 35-40 minutes, and the dock at the house may go a little quicker because there's no boat lift to remove. My lift in the harbor stays in the water all winter because it's sheltered enough that it doesn't suffer any ice damage during the spring thaw.

After the Shore Brothers crew left I decided to split the several stumps and rounds that both John Newman and Duane Paulsen had left near my wood pile. There were two different trees that came down back in the woods that Duane has been cutting them into stumps and rounds for the past couple of weeks. Since one of the trees was on my property I asked that Duane leave me some of it.

In all there were probably 10 or 11 stumps and rounds that I split into small fireplace sized pieces. It took me the better part of an hour to split all of the wood, and then another half hour or so to stack it. And since I had the splitter out, I split a small pile of kindling wood too. We now have plenty of kindling and firewood in the garage for several fires should we make a wintertime visit to Leech Lake.

After dinner I had a fire in the fireplace, listened to music and thought about all of the fun times I've had at Leech Lake. We're very fortunate indeed.

October 26, 2009 -- Kathleen Leaves for California

As Kathleen did earlier in the day, the sun leaves Leech Lake in the western sky

At 10:00 a.m. this morning the temperature is 36 degrees, the sky is overcast and gray and the wind is out of the WNW at 8-10 mph.

Kathleen and I left the house at 10:35 a.m. to take her to the airport. I had the boat in-tow behind the truck. The truck thermometer read 39 degrees. We had a nice drive into Bemidji, but it was hard dropping off Kathleen at the airport and saying goodbye. I will, however, see her in three days in California. But we would both have preferred to stay here at Leech Lake for several weeks, or months, longer.

After saying goodbye to Kathleen, I drove from the Bemidji airport to Corner Sports to drop off my boat for winter storage. My goodness, how many goodbyes can a guy do in one day? Mike at Corner Sports told me that they would repaired the cracked dash area -- apparently the 2005-06 Lunds had problems with them cracking -- as well as winterize the boat, fix the gas vent cover and do a computer check on the Mercury Verado motor.

I left my wife and boat behind in Bemidji and drove back out to the lake. I got home at 2:15 p.m. under mostly cloudy, gray skies, a SSW wind at 8-10 mph and a temperature of 40 degrees.

At 5:00 p.m. I walked over to the cabin to make the beds and clean out the refrigerator. With those chores complete I took my daily 2-mile walk down to Paulsen's and back.

On my way back I again stopped at the cabin this time to remove the power cord that runs from the electrical outlet on shore out to the end of the dock to power the electric motor for the boat lift. I got that stowed in the garage then gathered up some firewood so I could have a fire in the fireplace tonight.

At 6:10 p.m., under partly cloudy skies and a temperature of 37 degrees, I walked out onto the end of the dock to enjoy the sunset. While I was out there I lowered the US flag for the season. It's in pretty bad shape after two years of Northwoods weather, so next year I'll get a new one and burn this old one in one of our camp fires at the cabin.

I had some salad for dinner, had a fire in the fireplace, listened to music and read the paper before going to bed. I'm trying to enjoy every last minute I have here at Leech Lake.

October 25, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

At 10:00 a.m. there is a light rain falling, the sky is overcast and gray, the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the NNE and the temperature is 36 degrees.

Today is Kathleen's last full day at Leech Lake. Tomorrow at just after noon she is scheduled to fly from Bemidji to Minneapolis and then onto San Francisco. I will join her in California soon enough; I'm scheduled to leave on that same noon flight out of Bemidji on Thursday, Oct. 29.

It's almost 3:00 p.m. and it's still raining out. There's been a light, but steady rain all day long. he sky is gray, the wind is light to calm out of the NNW and the temperature is 39 degrees.

Kathleen, for some reason, has decided she wants to do some cleaning around the house this afternoon, so we've stayed inside cleaning and listening to the Vikings lose to the Steelers 27-17 on the radio (since we have no TV here at the lake).

At 4:00 p.m. Kathleen and I took a walk in the woods. A light rain continued to fall, but it didn't bother us as we walked on many of the trails that wind their way through the 60-acre woods shared by us, the Newmans and Norm Hansen.

Once we emerged from the woods, we walked to Paulsen's house where I turned back to go home, while Kathleen continued on for the full 6-mile run/walk.

When I came into the house, I prepped our salmon for dinner. The recipe is incredibly easy, but very tasty. Simply mix together one tablespoon of stone ground mustard, one tablespoon of brown sugar and one teaspoon of dill weed and then spread over the salmon fillets. Let the mixture sit on the salmon for at least an hour or two (4-5 hours is optimal), bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees and voila!, a salmon dinner as good as any you'd pay for in a high-quality restaurant. Serve with risotto and salad to complete the meal.

After dinner we had a fire in the fireplace and then we watched a DVD. It was a short visit for Kathleen, but I hope she enjoyed her time here at Leech Lake.

Ode to Boat Lifts

Silver metal skeletons

Standing guard near the lonely the dock

Awaiting removal from the lake

Their green and blue skins are gone

No longer home to the Lunds

Alone in the icy cold water

Soon to be pulled and dragged

From their post in the shallow water

Empty and out of place on land

October 24, 2009 -- The Boat Comes Out of Leech Lake

Boat and trailer await the trip to Corner Sports in Bemidji

At 9:30 a.m. this morning the temperature was 26 degrees, there was a light covering of frost on the ground, the sun was shining through partly cloudy skies and the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SW.

As I pulled the truck from the house to the cabin in preparation of pulling my boat out of the water this morning, I bumped into Duane Paulsen. He was on his old Ford tractor pulling into our woods in search of a tree he said had fallen. He offered to help me take my boat out of the water, but I declined. I figured it was best to let Duane focus his attention on cutting up firewood.

I got the truck into position, backed it up and got it lined up with the boat trailer. I hooked up the trailer to the receiver hitch on the truck, got the cables in place and connected the wiring. I then got to work removing the canopy from the boat lift. If I don't take the canopy off the lift with the boat in the lift, I would have to wait until Shore Brothers got it on shore to remove it. And doing that would run the risk of the lift becoming airborne should we have strong winds.

The canopy came off fairly easily since there was little wind to get it flapping. I pulled the canopy onto the dock, then dragged it up near the cabin. I'll get the power washer out later today and spray off the seagull guano that accumulated during the summer months.

I then backed the trailer down the boat ramp and into the lake. With the water temperature in the low 40s I got my waders on to finish the job. I lowered the boat off the lift, got in the water myself and walked the boat around the dock and lined it up with the trailer.

I snapped the strap onto the front of the boat and slowing began cranking the wench handle thus pulling the boat onto the trailer. With the boat on the trailer and secured, I got into the truck and pulled the boat and trailer up the ramp and parked them next to the garage. Later today I'll go back over the cabin and take everything out of the boat and fully secure it -- with tow straps and transom saver -- for the trip to Corner Sports in Bemidji. I'll take it into town on Monday when I take Kathleen to the airport.

It's not rocket science getting a boat out of the water, but this was the first time I did it without any assistance. I've often had a neighbor or family member standing by should I need help. I guess going it alone is some type of Northwoods rite of passage. I passed.

After lunch I devoted my time to cleaning out all of the gear from the boat -- tackle, rods and reels, life jackets, etc. I also added some air to the tires of the boat trailer; they were each about 10 lbs light.

Just as I started to put the cover on the boat the skies opened up and it started raining hard. I didn't want the boat to get too much water in it before I take it in for winter storage, so I continued to cover the boat in the rain. Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I had the cover completely on the boat the rain stopped and the sun actually peeked out from behind a cloud.

It seems not that long ago that I was putting my boat in the water for the season. Now it's out and ready for winter storage.

Once I take it in to Corner Sports, I'm going to have them repair or replace the driver's side dashboard, which they cracked while installing the networking system for my two Lowrance units. I'm also going to have the repair the bilge outlet cover, which I damaged while pulling into the boat lift. If the water levels wouldn't have been so low, that mishap never would have happened.

I'll also have them do a 350 hour check on the Mercury Verado motor. Three-hundred and fifty hours is the total number of hours the Verado has run since leaving the manufacturer. I'm estimating that I've put on about 250 hours of the total (my boat was a demo so it did have some hours on it before I bought it). All of those nights trolling for walleye over the past three years do add up.

At 2:45 p.m. it's 40 degrees outside, the sky is gray and it looks as if it might rain again, the ground is wet from the previous rain and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the SW.

Kathleen and I went for a walk at 3:40 p.m. I went as far as Paulsen's, while Kathleen went to the Community Center (2 miles and 6 miles respectively).

Once home I cleaned and oiled my four primary fishing reels and stored them for the winter. A Prairie Home Companion came on at 5:00 p.m. and I listened to that while enjoying a Leinenkugel Oktorberfest beer.

Kathleen apparently didn't get enough exercise on her 6-mile run/walk, so once home she got on her bike and rode the 6-mile loop from our house to the Community Center down Ottertail Rd. to 26th and back home again.

By 7:30 p.m. the temperature was down to 30 degrees and it was raining. I got a fire going in the fireplace and Kathleen and I enjoyed a peaceful night in front of the fire playing dominoes and listening to Joe Pass guitar music.

My boat is out of the water so there will be no more open-water fishing this season. But despite no trolling for walleye tonight, it was a wonderful evening at Leech Lake.

October 23, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

This morning at 10:00 a.m. the temperature is 29 degrees, the sky is gray and overcast and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the NNE.

After enjoying our coffee and having some breakfast, Kathleen and I decided to take a walk. As usual, I joined her on the 2-mile round trip walk to Paulsen's house, then I turned back while Kathleen continued on to the Community Center for the full 6 miles.

While Kathleen was on her run/walk, I got out the leaf blower and cleared off the leaves from the lakeside yard at the house. There are still many trees still on the trees, but since I leave for California in a week I wanted to get as many of the leaves cleaned up as possible.

Tom Malay has offered to come down to our house and cabin with his mulching attachment on his John Deere lawn mower to clean up any remaining leaves after they've all come down.

When Kathleen returned from her run she and I took a long leisurely walk in our woods. Many of the leaves have changed to yellow or russet brown, but there are still a good amount of leaves that are green. It's been a crazy autumn. Warm temperatures into early October then almost overnight they dropped to below freezing and there was snow.

The temperature by 4:00 p.m. had climbed to 38 degrees and the wind was blowing at 8-10 mph out of the ENE.

My plan is to pull the boat out of the water tomorrow, so I will definitely get out for one last trolling session tonight. I can't believe it's already time to take the boat out of the lake.

At 6:25 p.m. I lowered the boat into the water, fired up the Mercury Verado and slowly made my way out to 9-10 feet of water in front of the cabin. I turned the boat lights on since the sun had already set, got the landing net ready, put my #9 Rapala Minnow Rap in a bleeding copper flash color into the water and started trolling.

I made my way south past Second Duck Point, turned west out into Sucker Bay and started trolling north toward Malay's. When I was between our cabin and Malay's house, I felt that familar "thud" of a walleye hitting the Minnow Rap.

I quickly put the motor in neutral and began reeling in the fish. I could tell by the way it was fighting that it was a walleye, and I also could tell it was a fairly big fish by the weight on the end of my line.

As I got the fish close to the boat I reached over and grabbed the landing net in order to boat the fish. Once on board, I could tell it was a good-sized fish. I carefully removed the front treble hook from the mouth of the fish and took a quick measurement -- 24 1/4 inches. Any time you can catch a walleye that's over two feet long you've got a big fish. And this fish was fat too. Obviously bulking up for the upcoming winter season.

I caught the fish at 7:00 p.m. The sky was mostly cloudy and almost dark. The water temperature varied between 41.7 and 42.3 degrees. The winds had died down and the lake was nearly calm.

I fished for another hour but didn't catch any other fish. Nonetheless, I did catch a beautiful 24 1/4 inch walleye on my last open-water angling trip of 2009 on Leech Lake.

October 22, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

Tonight's spectacular sunset over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

At 10:00 a.m. the temperature is 30 degrees, the sun is out for the first time in days with just a few clouds hovering over the western shore of Sucker Bay, and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the NNW.

I got a call from Shore Brothers this morning letting me know that they would be out here either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week to pull the docks and boat lift out of the water. This Saturday the weather is supposed to be sunny with light winds out of the east, making it an ideal to get the canopy off my boat lift and the boat out of the water. Tom Malay offered to lend me a hand in both operations. I'll check with him later today to see what time he might be available on Saturday to help me.

Kathleen went to Bemidji this afternoon for a 2:00 p.m. meeting with various people from the Bemidji Hospital regarding physical therapy jobs at the hospital. We've often talked about moving here full-time, and if we do, Kathleen would like to continue working and the only logical place for her to do that would be the hospital in Bemidji.

While Kathleen was in town, I took down the screens from the windows and doors at the cabin and replaced them with storm windows. When I was done with the storm windows I decided to go fishing.

I hit the water at just after 3:00 p.m. under partly sunny skies, light winds at 5-8 mph out of the ENE, a temperature of 40 degrees and a water temperature of 42.7 degrees.

I started fishing at The Birches in 9 feet of water. I used my usual set up of a jig and fathead. The breeze was such that it pushed the boat away from shore and slightly south toward Malay's.

I caught a few perch including one that measured close to a foot long. All fish went back into the water.

At 4:30 p.m. I motored back to the cabin and realized how cold I really was. Kathleen had just gotten home and asked if I could give her a ride on the ATV so she could see the Peninsula.

We went down W. Shores to 26th the south on Ottertail Point Rd. We explored the new housing development at Duck Point, checked out the lots for sale along Ottertail Point Rd. and eventually made it home. When we got home we took a nice walk in the woods.

By the time we got inside I was freezing. I had been outside for several hours and my head in particular was very cold. Despite the cold, we went out onto the dock at 6:15 p.m. to enjoy the amazing sunset over Sucker Bay.

I decided not to go fishing this evening even though I don't have much time left with my boat in the water. I opted to stay inside and hang out with Kathleen. We made dinner, had a fire, and just hung out.

It's supposed to be cloudy and possibly rain tomorrow, but since it may be the last day I have my boat in the water this year, I'm going to try to get to do some fishing on Leech Lake.

October 21, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

This morning we woke up to dark skies and a steady rain. The temperature is 36 degrees at 9:00 a.m. and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the NNE.

Mark and his team from Shore Brothers showed up on the Peninsula by noon and took out Newman's dock and boat lift, Poage's, Malay's and a couple of other folks. I spoke to Mark and he said he'd be back next week to take out our boat lift and two docks and do the same for a couple of other people in the area.

That will enable me to keep my boat in the water until this weekend. I just hope the weather improves a little so I can get out on the water without it raining or snowing.

It rained all afternoon so Kathleen and I stayed inside and had a very slow paced, relaxing day. We even did something we hadn't done in years, maybe decades. We took a nap.

After our nap we took a walk. I went to the Paulsen's and back (2 miles) while Kathleen went all the way to the Community Center and back (6 miles).

It's now 6:20 p.m. The temperature is 37 degrees, there's a light rain falling and the wind is at8-10 mph out of the NNE. I think I'm going to go fishing. The sunset tonight was a minute ago and the moon is 13% waxing.
________

I got the boat off the lift, the lights on, the landing net ready, the rod holders in place and motored out to 9 feet of water in front of the cabin. I positioned the boat so I would travel south, set the SmartCraft controls to 2.50 mph ground speed, and dropped my #9 Minnow Rap into the 43 degree water.

Just 5 minutes after starting my troll, I hooked into a fish. At first I thought it might be a northern given the way it hit, but once I began reeling it to the boat I could tell it was a walleye. I got the landing net ready and landed a beautiful 19-inch walleye.

I carefully removed the front treble from its mouth and put the fish back into the cold, dark waters of Leech Lake.

I made two passes through The Alley, but caught no more fish nor did I have any bites. At 7:45 p.m. I came ashore with a light rain still falling.

I took a quick shower, got a fire going in the fireplace and then made dinner. I made risotto, baked walleye and asparagus. After dinner Kathleen and I sat in the living room watching the fire, listened to music and talked.

The weather today was cold and rainy, but it was another fantastic day at Leech Lake.

October 20, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

This morning at 8:30 a.m. the temperature is 38 degrees, the sky is completely cloudy and gray, the wind is light at 5-7 mph from the NW and the ground is wet from an overnight rain. It is supposed to rain on and off for the next several days.

At 1:15 p.m. Kathleen and I went for a walk. I walked with her as far as the beaver swamp, then turned and walked home (about 2.5 miles) while Kathleen went all the way to the Community Center and back (a 6 mile trip).

On my way back to the house I stopped by Malay's to discover that Tom had pulled his boat out of the water by himself. He thought the water level may have been too low to do it, but he decided to try anyway. Apparently he donned his waders and walked the boat around the dock and onto the trailer, then used the strap and wench to secure his boat onto the trailer. He never even fired up the motor.

After my stop at Malay's I went to the cabin where I retrieved the walleye from the wire basket, cleaned it, and got it ready for our dinner tonight. I am going to make baked walleye, risotto and asparagus.

I brought a load of firewood into the garage and cleaned out the fireplace in case Kathleen and I decide to have a fire tonight.

The temperature at 3:45 p.m. is 38 degrees, the sky is gray and overcast, there is a light rain falling and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the NW.

At 5:00 p.m. I went fishing. There was still a light rain falling, the temperature was 39 degrees, the wind had shifted and was blowing at 5-8 mph out of the NNE and the water temperature was 43.7 degrees.

The way the wind was blowing enabled me to start at The Birches in 9-10 feet of water and drift in that same depth all the way back to my boat lift. I used an 1/8 oz. pink jig tipped with a fathead minnow. I caught one nice jumbo perch, which I put back into the lake, but caught no other fish, and didn't have any other bites.

I came ashore around 6:15 p.m. I was planning to cook the walleye I had cleaned earlier in the day, but Kathleen and I decided to eat light, opting instead for some hors d'ouvres and salad. We'll have the walleye and risotto tomorrow night.

We listened to music, watched the fire in the fireplace and eventually watched a movie. Once again we went to bed late. Oh well, that's what you do when you're at Leech Lake.

October 19, 2009 -- Kathleen's Birthday

Happy Birthday Kathleen! I love you.

I'm so glad Kathleen can be here at Leech Lake to celebrate her birthday. She loves it here in the Northwoods, as do I, and there is no place better to enjoy your birthday than here at the lake.

At 10:00 a.m. the temperature is 45 degrees, the sky is cloudy and the wind is fairly strong at 15-18 mph out of the NW. I was hoping to pull my boat out of the water today, but it's a little too windy now to do that easily and safely.

Tom Malay was going to pull his boat out of the water today as well, at my boat ramp, but now we're thinking we'll do it tomorrow. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be rainy, but the forecast is for light winds at no more than 5-7 mph out of the ENE. I don't mind getting wet if I there are calm waters in which to pull my boat out of the lake.

By mid-afternoon the temperature climbed close to 50 degrees and there was a little sun peeking through the clouds. Kathleen and I took a walk through our woods then down to Paulsen's house. That's where I turned back and came home, while Kathleen started her run. She did the entire loop -- down 26th to Ottertail Peninsula Rd. to the end near Two Points onward to the Community Center and then down W. Shores Rd. back to our house. About a 6-mile trip.

When Kathleen got home she asked if we could take a boat ride. The wind had died down to about 5-8 mph from the NW, so I said sure. I got the boat off the lift and we made a leisurely trip down to The Birches. Kathleen enjoyed seeing the color of the trees from the water and the beauty of the lake in general.

I took the opportunity to put a minnow on a jig and drop it into the water. I fished for no more than 10 minutes in the 44.3 degree water and didn't get a bite. But technically, I did get some fishing in today.

When we got home I received a call from Tom Malay. He had heard from Shore Brothers -- the outfit that takes out my dock and boat lift -- and apparently they are going to have to make two separate trips out to Ottertail Peninsula, so the guy told Tom that I could leave my boat in the water until the week of October 26. So instead of pulling my boat out of the water tomorrow, I'll have an extra week to fish.

Tom is thinking he may still pull his boat out of the water, and I'd be happy to help him as we had originally planned. I also would be happy to take Tom fishing once his boat is out of the lake.

After Kathleen and I got cleaned up, I made her a shrimp pasta dinner for her birthday meal. We then retired to the living room for a fire in the fireplace and competitive game of Scrabble, of which Kathleen won.

We had another wonderful day at Leech Lake.

October 18, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

Today was a beautiful day right from the start. The sun was out, the wind was light at 8-12 mph out of the south and the temperature hit a high of 50 degrees. A spectacular autumn day in northern Minnesota.

After a brunch with Kathleen, her mother Marge, Mike, Barb and Sean, we all decided to go for a walk in the woods.

We took a leisurely stroll through the woods and it was absolutely beautiful. Most of the leaves on the trees in the woods are still green, despite several days of sub-freezing temperatures and shorter daylight hours. But there was enough color -- mostly yellows -- to remind everyone that it was mid-October.

Once we were all back home, Sean and I got ready to go fishing. Last year when Sean visited Leech Lake during MEA weekend he took home a nice 17" walleye. I was hoping he could repeat that performance this year.

We pulled the boat off the lift with light winds from the south at 8-10 mph, under partly sunny skies and a temperature of 50 degrees. The water temperature was 43.3 degrees.

I motored the boat to The Birches and Sean and I started fishing, using jigs and minnows. We fished for nearly two hours but just as it was on Saturday, we had no bites and caught no fish.

We came ashore around 4:00 p.m., and I was surprised at how cold it had been on the water. During the past week I'd been on the lake with the temperatures in the 30s and low 40s and thought it was cold so I figured with the temperature being 50 today it wouldn't be as cold so I didn't wear my Gore Tex bib overalls and parka opting instead for just a couple of sweatshirts. In hindsight, my insulated parka might have been a better choice.

Around 5:30 p.m. Mike, Barb, Sean and Marge got into the Coyle's minivan and left for points in southern Minnesota. Kathleen and I went for a walk, and then she went for a run.

This evening Kathleen and I had a wonderful time playing cribbage by the fire in the fireplace before getting to bed way too late again -- I wanted to stay up to wish her a happy birthday.

Another in a series of great times at Leech Lake.

October 17, 2009 -- OPA Potluck Saturday

We woke up late again this morning because we didn't get to bed until after 2:00 a.m. Kathleen's brother Mike, his wife Barb, their son Sean and Kathleen's mom Marge arrived at our house just before 11:00 p.m. on Friday night, so we stayed up talking and listening to music.

When I did roll out of bed at 10:00 a.m., the temperature was 32 degrees, the sky was overcast and the wind was about 8-10 mph out of the SSW and there was a heavy fog so thick that I couldn't see the shoreline across the lake.

As the day wore on, and more and more of the people on our compound got out of bed, the fog burned off, although the sky remained gray.

By mid-afternoon, Sean was ready to go fishing and I asked John Newman if he'd like to join us. Since he was heading south on Sunday morning, and his boat was already out of the water, he jumped at the chance to go fishing. As he said, this might be the last time he holds a fishing rod in his hands until ice fishing season.

We bundled up in warm clothes, got into the boat and backed off the lift onto Leech Lake. We started fishing at The Birches; where John and I had caught numerous fish earlier in the week. We all used variations of a jig and minnow set up, but none of us were getting any bites.

I had a northern hit my jig and bite right through the line forcing me to retie another jig onto my line. A few minutes later I caught a small perch, which turned out to be the only fish any of us caught all day.

We moved to two other locations, but no one caught any fish. While we were out on the water the wind picked up to 18-22 mph out of the SSW which created large swells and white caps on the lake.

We came ashore around 3:45 p.m. and it took all three of us to battle the waves to get the boat securely onto the boat lift.

Once I was back in the house I got ready for the Ottertail Peninsula Association annual potluck dinner at the Community Center. I can't believe this will be my ninth straight potluck. Time sure flies (we bought our place in July, 2001).

Turnout at the potluck was light this year compared to years past, with somewhere between 30-40 people in attendance. There have been some years where there have been more than 70 people at the potluck.

It was nice to chat with my friends and neighbors, but I left right as the event was winding down so I could come home and help get dinner ready for Kathleen and her family.

We had a nice dinner with Kathleen's mom, brother and his family, and we topped things off with a birthday cake for Kathleen; her birthday is Monday, Oct. 19.

After dinner we decided to get to bed early since we had had two late nights in a row. So by 11:30 p.m. or midnight, everyone was in bed. Hey, when you consider we'd gotten to bed after 2:00 a.m. the previous two nights, midnight is early.

It was another wonderful day at Leech Lake.

October 16, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

Kathleen and I slept in this morning since we didn't get to bed until close to 3:00 a.m. because of her ordeal with Northworst Airlines.

We needed groceries so after we had some breakfast/lunch, we got dressed and drove into Bemidji to do our shopping.

At 5:00 p.m. we got home, unloaded the truck, I had a quick sandwich while Kathleen got ready to go for a run. While Kathleen went running, John Newman and I went fishing.

The temperature was a pleasent 40 degrees, the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the NW, the sky was mostly clear and the water temperature was 43.2 degrees. The moon was nearly new at 3% waning.

John and I both used #9 Minnow Raps as we trolled The Alley. John had a hit and miss or two, and the only bite I had resulted in the netting of a beautiful 17 1/2 walleye; which I kept. I want to make Kathleen a tasty fish dinner and this walleye will make a perfect meal.

John and I came ashore at 8:00 p.m. and when I came into the house Kathleen was busy making a pot of vegetarian chili (which was very tasty and spicy). I got a fire going in the fireplace and Kathleen and I hung out together as we waited for her brother Mike, his wife Barb, their son Sean and Kathleen's mother Marge to arrive.

The Coyle crew arrived at Leech Lake at 10:30 p.m. We stayed up way too late talking, listening to music and enjoying each other's company.

We had a wonderful day at Leech Lake.

October 15, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

Kathleen arrives in Minnesota today!

At least she's scheduled to. With all of our problems with Northwest/Delta yesterday regarding flight schedules, cancelled flights and rescheduling issues, who knows for sure.

This morning the temperature is right around 32 degrees, the sky is gray and there is a light snow/rain mix falling on and off. The winds are calm.

I'm going to take care of cleaning chores around the house, then sometime around 1:30 p.m. John and I are going to go fishing. I figure even if we stay out three hours, that will still give me plenty of time to have dinner, take a shower and go into Cass Lake and Bemidji to the liquor store and grocery store before I have to pick up Kathleen at 11:30 p.m. It will be a long day and a late night for both of us.

John and I went fishing from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. The rain had stopped, the wind was calm, the sky was gray and overcast with just a few spots of blue and the temperature was 37 degrees. We fished the entire time at The Birches.

Unlike yesterday the bite was slow. I caught a number of small- to medium-sized perch, as did John, but he added a couple of nice jumbos that went into the live well. I also caught a small northern.

When we came ashore I received a call from Kathleen saying her flight was delayed. Delta/Northwest has got to be the lamest airline in the nation. Both were bad before the merger, and now after the merger things have gone from bad to worst. I'm not alone in feeling this way. Check out this guy's blog entry.

At 6:30 p.m. CDT, I checked and Kathleen's flight had taken off from SF and was due to arrive in Minneapolis at 9:37 p.m. Her flight to Bemidji departs at 10:10 p.m., so she just might have enough time to make it if she runs very fast. I'm going to drive into Bemidji in hopes she makes the flight, but there is a good chance I'll be driving in tomorrow morning as well if she misses her connection.

Did I mention that Delta/Northwest suck?

As I was typing this Kathleen sent me a text message saying the flight has NOT yet left SF. Northwest's web site says the plane left at 4:15 p.m. PDT, but at 4:41 p.m. PDT Kathleen sent me her text saying that they're still on the ground. What a horrible airline!

Kathleen's plane finally took off from SF at 5:00 p.m. PDT, or 7:00 p.m. CDT. I've been on this flight dozens of times, and the fastest I've ever made it from SF to Minneapolis is around 3 hours. Which means even if the plane finds some incredibly strong tailwinds, it is unlikely that Kathleen will make her connection to Bemidji, which is scheduled to leave at 10:10 p.m. CDT.

I called Kathleen's sister Mary, and Mary has agreed to meet Kathleen at the airport in Minneapolis should she miss her flight. Kathleen would stay at Mary's tonight and catch either a flight tomorrow morning, or if Northwest can't get her on that flight, then Kathleen will probably rent a car and drive up here. Northwest is a horrible airline.

It is now 9:30 p.m. and according the flight map on NWA.com, Kathleen's flight is still over South Dakota. It is looking less and less likely that Kathleen will be here at Leech Lake today.

Kathleen finally landed in Minneapolis at 10:30 p.m. Her flight to Bemidji had been pushed back to 10:29 p.m., could Kathleen run so fast to her next gate to arrive at the gate before they close the door.

Luckily Kathleen is a runner in good shape. She ran 15 minutes to the gate only to find out that the Bemidji flight was delayed until 11:30 p.m. The plane actually left Minneapolis at 11: 50 p.m. and didn't arrive in Bemidji until 1:00 a.m.

We made a quick stop at the hated Wal-Mart for half-n-half, milk and bread for breakfast, and drove back to the lake. We finally made it home around 2:30 a.m. I was right earlier in the day when I said it would be a long day and a late night for both of us.

The good news is Kathleen is here at Leech Lake.

October 14, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

At 8:30 a.m. it was overcast and gray, the temperature was 30 degrees and the wind was light at 5-8 mph SSW.

Kathleen arrives tomorrow so I've got to do a little cleaning in the house in preparation. However, that will not take all day so I'm planning to some fishing later this afternoon.

John Newman arrived at his cabin earlier this morning. He has some work to attend to himself, but will most likely join me this afternoon on the water. John took his boat out of the water a couple of weeks ago so he's asked if he can join me. I'm more than happy to have some company on the lake while I fish.

At 3:30 p.m. John came over the house and together we walked over to the boat lift. The temperature had warmed to 40 degrees, the wind was light, but swirling -- coming first from the NNE, then the east, then SSE -- and there was a light drizzle that fell on and off. The water temperature was 43.2 degrees.

We decided to fish The Birches. Both John and I used jigs tipped with fatheads. John used a Northland jig, while I used a Bass Pro Shops XPS Walleye Angler jig. We fished until 6:00 p.m.

During the 2 1/2 hours we were on the water, I caught numerous perch, of which John asked if he could keep three. I said sure, and the perch went into the live well. John caught a northern, a very nice 19 1/2 walleye and a 16-inch eater walleye that also went into the live well. John will have a nice mess of fish fillets to take home with him.

Once on shore I was doing a little more cleaning in preparation for Kathleen's arrival tomorrow when the phone rang. It was Kathleen saying she'd received a message from Northwest Airlines saying they had cancelled her flight due to weather.

I did a quick check online and found out that NWA has three flights from Minneapolis to Bemidji throughout the day. One at 10:30 a.m., another at 2:40 p.m. and the last at 10:10 p.m. The airline cancelled the 2:40 p.m. flight, on which Kathleen was scheduled to arrive, but that the other two flights were still on schedule.

Cancelled due to weather my foot. If weather was the concern, why was the later flight still scheduled? Obviously the afternoon flight wasn't full enough and to save money NWA simply cancelled it. I just wish companies, such as Northwest Airlines wouldn't lie. I'd understand if they cancelled the flight to save money. Just say so.

I spent the next hour and a half trying to rearrange Kathleen's flight schedule so she could still arrive on Thursday as planned, even if on the later flight. After two different discussions with call-center representatives from India, Kathleen was once again booked on the same exact flights as originally planned!

I checked, double-checked and triple-checked with woman on the phone and she assured me that the 2:40 p.m. flight from Minneapolis to Bemidji was not cancelled. I took down the confirmation number, the flight info and then called Kathleen.

When Kathleen tried to check in online, she wasn't able to do so because, guess why?, the 2:40 p.m. flight to Bemidji was "cancelled due to weather." Argghhhh!!!

At this point I could no longer handle talking to the idiots at the airlines and Kathleen took over. Within an hour she called me back with a boarding pass in hand. She is now getting into Minneapolis from San Francisco at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, and taking the 10:10 p.m. flight to Bemidji which gets her into town at 11:30 p.m. Much later than we had originally hoped for, but at least she'll be here tomorrow as planned.

If Kathleen would have arrived as scheduled, then we could have gone grocery shopping together. As it is now, all of the stores close at 11:00 p.m., so I'll have to go in early to get some food for us for the weekend. Then next week, when I take the boat into town to store it for the winter, we can do a more extensive shopping run.

At least things are set for Kathleen's travel, and John and I caught numerous fish this late afternoon. Things turned out OK after all here at Leech Lake.

October 13, 2009 -- Melissa's Birthday, On Leech Lake

Today is my daughter Melissa's birthday. Happy birthday Melissa. I love you.

Here at Leech Lake the weather at 8:30 a.m. is 24 degrees, no real wind to speak of, and heavy fog. The fog over the lake is so thick that I can't see water past the end of the dock.

By 10:30 a.m. the fog had burned off, and by 2:00 p.m. the temperature has warmed to 32 degrees. The wind is light at 3-5 mph out of the WSW, just enough of a breeze to drift the boat along at a leisurely pace. The sky is partly sunny and the water temperature varied between 45.3 and 44.5 degrees depending on depth and location.

I hit the water at 2:20 p.m. and started fishing The Birches in 9 feet of water. I took off the Lindy Max Gap jig I'd been using because it seems to create a lot of line twist, and replaced it with an 1/8 oz. Bass Pro Shops XPS Walleye Angler jig. I tipped the jig with a fathead and dropped it into the lake.

Within 20 minutes I caught a decent-sized perch, which I put back into the lake. Unfortunately, that was the only fish I hooked in nearly 45 minutes of fishing in that area. I moved the boat to a spot between Schiebe's and the government cabins in 10-12 feet of water, but after 30 minutes I hadn't even had a bite.

I moved again, this time to a spot in 12 feet of water in front of Malay's. Again no bites. Finally I moved the boat to a spot in front of our house in 9-10 feet of water and let the boat slowly drift toward the cabin. And again no bites. I reeled in, packed up my gear and went ashore just after 4:00 p.m.

Since there is little to no wind, maybe I'll go out trolling this evening just after sunset, around 6:30 p.m.
-----------

I did indeed go trolling at 6:30 p.m. The lake was so calm the surface looked like glass.

The sunset wasn't brilliant, full of oranges, reds, purples and greens, but it was spectacular nonetheless. There was a quiet, hushed beauty to the way the sun set tonight. I can't describe it accurately, and I doubt even a photograph would have captured its splendor. I, however, thoroughly enjoyed watching the light disappear from the sky while sitting in my boat on the water.

The air temperature was 30 degrees, the water temp was 44.1 degrees, there was no wind as I already stated, and there were only wisps of clouds in the distance.

As usual, I trolled The Alley in 8-10 feet of water using a #9 Rapala Minnow Rap. About 40 minutes into my evening troll I hooked into something that felt like the proverbial ton of bricks. I quickly set the hook, put the motor in neutral and began cranking the Garcia reel.

Whatever was on the end of my line was not going to come in easily. I was able to reel the fish closer to the boat, but as I turned the crank of the reel, the drag was being tested to the limit. I'd crank a whole turn but only get the fish closer to the boat by a half turn because it was pulling out line.

I took my time and eventually got the fish close enough to the boat to where I could see it. The fish on the end of my line was a big walleye. Not the longest I'd ever hooked, but one of the fattest walleye I'd ever seen.

I got the landing net underneath the fish, netted it, and got it into the boat. I could tell right away that in addition to having an amazing girth, this fish managed to get both treble hooks into its mouth and gill.

It took me several minutes, and lots of patience, to carefully unhook this hefty walleye without injuring it. I took a quick measurement of this beauty and it was all of 24 1/2 inches, and as I said, very big around.

I carefully lowered the fish back into the water and watched with a smile on my face as it flipped it tail and swam quickly into the depths of the dark waters of Sucker Bay.

The trailing treble hook on my Minnow Rap was damaged from the encounter with the big walleye, but I didn't want to spend the time replacing it on the water so I continued to fish with a less than 100% effective lure. No matter, for the next hour I didn't get another bite.

I pulled my Lund onto the boat lift at 8:15 p.m. and it was cold. The temperature had dropped to 24 degrees and there was ice and snow building up on the stern of the boat.

Although I only hooked one walleye tonight, it was a big one. I don't know how many more evenings I'm going to have on the lake before I'll have to pull my boat out of the water for the season. It's getting cold, and it probably won't be too much longer before the first ice begins to form on the lake.

That's why I enjoyed every moment I had this evening on Minnesota's fabulous Leech Lake.

Good night Melissa, and happy birthday. I love you.

October 12, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

With no wind, Leech Lake is like glass this afternoon

As the pale yellow sun tried to force its way through the gray, snow laden clouds in the southeast and a 8-10 mph wind from the SSW made it feel even colder than the 28 degrees than the thermometer recorded, I went fishing this morning at 10:00 a.m.

I have a business conference call this morning at 11:30 a.m. so I figured I'd fish for an hour; until 11:00 a.m. In this cold, an hour might be challenging.

Completely bundled up in my Cabela's Guidewear Gore-Tex bib overalls and parka, I lowered the boat into the 44.4 degree water, started up the Mercury Verado motor, and slowly pulled away from the boat lift.

Instead of fishing off Second Duck Point or in front of our house and cabin, I decided to start fishing today just north of Norm's cabin drifting toward The Birches. Once I had arrived at my destination, I turned off the motor, deployed the drift sock, put a fathead minnow on my VMC Hot Skirt Glow jig and dropped it into the 9 feet of water just as a light snow began to fall.

Within minutes I feel that familiar tug on my line and I set the hook. A nice perch is boated. I put the perch back in the lake, put a new fathead on my jig and drop it back into the water.

Over the next 45 minutes I catch several more nice perch, including a couple of jumbos, and a 13 1/2" walleye; a beautiful little fish. All went back into the lake.

Just minutes before 11:00 a.m., as I was preparing to go ashore, something larger hit my jig. I hoped for a big walleye, but I could tell by the way it was fighting it was most likely a northern. Sure enough, as I got it close to the boat I could see it was big pike.

I got the fish along side the boat, grabbed it with my hand, at which point I noticed how warm the 44 degree water felt when compared to the air temperature, unhooked the pike and got it back in the water.

I noticed that the jig was completely bent and twisted as a result of being chopped on by Mr. pike. I cut the jig off the line and decided not to retie at this moment, but rather head home. I fired up the Verado and zipped home in no time flat.

Once again I proved to myself that you can't catch fish from the comfort of your living room, you have to get out on the lake to catch a walleye no matter how cold it may be.

After my conference call, a number of emails, some lunch, and my daily 2-mile walk I decided to go fishing again. I hit the water at 2:15 p.m.

I started in front of Malay's in 9 feet of water but had no luck. I motored a little further north to Norm's, but again caught nothing. I finally decided to go to The Birches, the site of my success earlier today.

Once at The Birches I could see a snow storm approaching from the west and north. As it got closer I lost all visual contact with the western shore of Sucker Bay. The government cabins disappeared behind a white wall of snow.

Before long I was fishing in the midst of a heavy snow storm. Big, white flakes were falling rapidly and beginning to pile up inside the boat. I've fished in thunderstorms, heavy rain, cold, wind, extreme heat and sun, but never had I been fishing open water in a blizzard.

Unfortunately, the snow storm didn't turn on the fish bite, and I finally gave up and came ashore just before 3:30 p.m. It looked like the snow fall from the movie It's A Wonderful Life. Giant, white flakes. Imagine the perfect Christmas morning snow; this was it.

At 5:30 p.m. I went to the Malay's to return some DVDs and pick some new ones. They have about 40 DVDs from a friend of theirs and they are loaning them to me.

I got home at 6:30 p.m. and immediately changed into my cold weather gear for my third time on the water today. This time I'd do some trolling.

The sun is setting at just around 6:30 p.m., so immediately upon getting the boat off the lift I had to put in rear navigation light and turn on the lights. I then got other things in the boat situated -- rod holder in place, landing net ready, flashlight nearby -- and started trolling south toward Second Duck Point with a #9 Minnow Rap.

Within minutes I had hooked a 2-foot long pike that had a big belly on it. I carefully unhooked the fish, trying not to get it into the boat, and got it quickly back into the lake.

I redeployed my Minnow Rap and started trolling again. I hadn't gone 50 yards when another fish hit my lure. It again felt like another northern, but as I got it closer to the boat I could see it was a big walleye. I netted the fish, removed the lure from its mouth and did a quick measurement -- 22 inches. And like the pike, this walleye had a big gut. The fish are feeding heavily now, bulking up for the winter.

I had just passed Second Duck Point for the first time when I had another hit. This time I was sure I had hooked a small perch or maybe a rock bass. But when I reeled it in, I found a small, but healthy foot-long walleye. This fish too was quickly unhooked and put back into the lake.

On my northern pass through The Alley in 9 1/2 feet of water I hooked another walleye. This one measured 19 1/4 inches. And on my southern pass through The Alley I caught a very chunky 18 1/2 inch walleye.

I caught no more fish on my final pass back to the boat lift. But I had caught 4 walleye and one big northern in just 75 minutes on the water. By 8:00 p.m. I was back on shore thawing out my fingers and cheeks.

A quick check of the temperature as I came into the house showed the temp to be 26 degrees, with a slight wind of 5-10 mph out of the WSW.

I got a fire going in the fireplace, warmed up and called Kathleen to see how she's doing. I found out today that she can get away from work for a while, and will be arriving in Bemidji late-afternoon this Thursday. That means she'll be here for the OPA potluck dinner on Saturday and her birthday on Monday. It will be great to have her here at Leech Lake.

October 11, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

It was another cold morning. At 8:30 a.m. the temperature was 26 degrees, the sky was gray and the wind was 12-15 mph out of the WSW.

After some breakfast and a pot of strong coffee I decided I'd go fishing. I didn't actually make it out onto the lake, however, until 1:15 p.m. The wind was supposed to die down to around 5-8 mph out of the SSW, but when I got out on the water it was still blowing at 12-15 mph.

I motored the boat slowly out past Second Duck Point giving the Mercury Verado plenty of time to warm up. I stopped the boat in 9 1/2 feet of water, put the drift sock (which was encased in ice) and put a fathead on my 1/8 oz. VMC Hot Skirt Glow jig.

With the wind out of the SSW, the boat drifted to the north toward our house and cabin. About halfway through the drift, the wind started to pick up. The hour-by-hour weather report had the wind speed dropping, but instead it increased. By the time I got in front of our house the wind was probably blowing at 15-18 mph out of the SSW, there were the beginnings of white caps and I was traveling at a ground speed of almost 1 mph even with the drift sock in the water.
During my entire drift I marked a good deal of fish on the Lowrance electronics, but I didn't get one bite.

Right around 2:30 p.m., and with the boat in front of the Malay's house, and still no bites, I decided to head in. I was cold, the wind was blowing hard and it was even spitting snow. The water temperature was 45 degrees.

I had a tough time getting the boat onto the lift because the waves had become so large and my hands were ice cold grabbing onto the boat lift to steady the boat. Once I got back home it took probably 10 minutes for my hands to warm up. My fingers felt as if they were on fire and being stuck with millions of needles all at the same time.

Once I had thoroughly warmed up, it was time to go outside again. At 5:15 p.m. I took my walk down to Paulsen's and back. It was a great walk and I wasn't cold at all.

On the way home I stopped at the cabin and picked up another few pieces of firewood. With the temperatures due to drop to the mid-20s I knew I needed a fire tonight.

About a half hour after getting home I contemplated going fishing again; this time an evening troll for walleye. It appeared that the wind had died down some, so I got on my Gore-Tex bibs and parka, my wool hat and walked over to the boat lift.

As if it were some kind of warning from the weather gods, several very large gusts of wind hit me just as I was climbing into the boat. I lowered the motor, turned on the power to the boat, and got hit with several more gusts of very strong wind.

I sat in the boat for about five minutes during which time the wind continued to blow very hard. I figured I didn't want to battle rough water and wind at night in the dark and cold, so I went back to the house and started a fire.

I stayed in tonight enjoying the warmth of the fire and reading the Sunday paper. Later I watched a movie before heading off to bed.

I'm hoping the wind dies down tomorrow so I can get in some more fishing on Leech Lake.

October 10, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

Green leaves. White snow. Leech Lake.

I woke up this morning to about a half inch of snow covering the ground, the wind was howling at 20-25 mph out of the WSW covering the lake in white caps, the temperature was 26 degrees and the skies were gray and looked like they could produce more snow.

I heard on the radio yesterday that only eight times in the past 60 years has Minnesota had measurable snow in October. Now I'm not sure how they define "measurable" but the weather reporter said that this weekend we have some. And we sure do.

It's unusual because many of the leaves on the trees still haven't fully changed color. Many leaves are still green. So we have a covering of white snow with green leaves on the trees. Like I said, unusual.

I notice that the sunlight in the kitchen, in fact the whole house, is different with snow on the ground. I guess the light reflects differently off the white of the snow as compared to the green of the grass. But it makes the entire house seem different. Not better or worse, just different. And I like that feel.

It's now getting close to 2:00 p.m. and I just got back from my daily walk. I walk down our road to Paulsen's and back, a roughly two-mile trip. It felt good to be outside in the cold air and strong wind. The temperature is still only 28 degrees and the wind is strong at 20+ mph out of the WSW.

The entire ground is covered in green leaves. It's as if the trees and the weather were having a standoff to see which one would change first. Some of the leaves on the trees had begun to change to yellow, orange and red, but most of the leaves on most of the trees were still green.

Well, the weather couldn't wait. It changed first, bringing with it the first freeze and first snow of the season. Those two factors, coupled with the howling winds, have brought many green leaves to the ground. Northwoods weather 1. Trees 0.

As I walked a light snow started to fall. I only wish Kathleen could be here with me to enjoy the beauty of the changing seasons. She loves the Fall, and the magic of the first snow fall.

After my walk I stopped by the cabin to check on my fathead minnows. I have them in a double-bucket down by the lake. I like to provide the bait with lots of oxygen, so I have an aerator hooked up and the tube and stone in the water with the minnows. The tiny fish have lots of oxygen to breathe and the water isn't frozen, yet. I'll check on them again tomorrow.

I also checked the boat lift to make sure it would still move up and down; since there is ice forming on it. It worked perfectly, and the next calm day we have I'm going to pull the boat out of the water. That might not be until the end of next week if the weather forecast can be believed.

I gathered up some of the chopped firewood we have stacked at the cabin and brought it back to the house. I like to have a fire at night to take the chill out of the house, and we have some nice maple logs next door, so I brought a few back here with me.

After stacking the firewood on the front porch by the door, I walked around the side of the house and checked the propane level. Still at 60% which is fine. I then walked out onto the end of the dock. Boy, the wind sure is fierce out on the end of the dock. And cold too.

I looked around the lake, but didn't see any boats on the water. The combination of the cold wind, snow and freezing temperatures has kept even the bravest of us fisherman off the water this afternoon.

It's time now to go clean out the fireplace in preparation for tonight's fire.

I dumped the ashes from the fireplace outside, then walked over to the cabin for a few more pieces of maple. While I was outside I again walked out onto the end of the dock, being careful not to slip on the snow and ice that had built up on it.

I looked south toward Goose Island and to my surprise, there were three boats bouncing the white caps off Second Duck Point. I couldn't see them well because the wind was blowing straight into my face, and the snow flurries kept hitting me in the eyes, but there were definitely guys out fishing today. Good for them. If I wasn't worried about banging up my boat as I got it off and onto the boat lift, I'd be out there too. I don't mind the cold, the wind or the snow.

I decided since it is so cold that I better get the insulation up in the vents in the crawl space under the house, so I changed into some work clothes, grabbed my gloves and face mask and went under the house.

The vents are now stuffed with insulation and are covered for the winter. It seems as if I mark the seasons with me crawling on my hands and knees under the house. In the spring, the insulation comes out and the vents let in warm, fresh air to keep mold and moisture from building up under the house. In the Fall, the insulation goes back up to keep the crawl space warm and the pipes from freezing.

I noticed that the "stairway to heaven" mouse traps in the crawl space were effective, killing many of the little rodents. I wasn't prepared to clean them out this trip down there, but I'll get to that next week.

Now it's time to listen to the new "A Prairie Home Companion" show live from the Fitzgerald Theatre in downtown St. Paul. I love listening to this show when I'm here at the lake. Tonight the Steele sisters are vocal guests and well as Nico Case.

It's now 9:30 p.m., it's still 28 degrees, the wind is strong out of the WSW, but it's not snowing. Word is that it will snow 1-2 inches tomorrow night. But no more for tonight.

So good night from Leech Lake. Kathleen and Joe, enjoy the Sharks-Wild game tonight at the Tank. Go Sharks!

October 9, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

The birch tree down by the harbor with its yellow leaves at 5:30 p.m.


An inch or more of snow on the back deck at 11:30 p.m.

Kathleen's brother Mike, his wife Barb and their son Sean were supposed to be coming to the lake today for a weekend visit, but apparently something has come up and now they're talking about coming up next weekend.

Next weekend is MEA weekend in Minnesota where the teachers attend seminars and conferences for two days and the kids all have Thursday and Friday off. Basically the whole state shuts down for four days, and for many people it's a last chance to get "up north" to the cabin before winter comes.

Our neighborhood is always buzzing with activity on MEA weekend, and the Ottertail Peninsula Township Association potluck dinner is always on the Saturday evening of MEA weekend.

But that's next weekend, not this weekend. This weekend is supposed to be cold, and the season's first snow showers are predicted for Saturday and Sunday.

Currently, at noon, the temperature is 36 degrees, the sky is mostly cloudy with just a few spots of sun and blue sky peeking through and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the SSW.

I'm going to try to get out on the water for a little fishing later this afternoon. Right now, however, I have a few calls to make and few emails to answer.

At 3:15 p.m. I went fishing.

The wind was at 8-10 mph out of the WSW, the sky was partly sunny, the water temperature was 48.3 degrees and the air temperature was 40 degrees.

I tied on a lighter weight 1/8 oz. VMC Hot Glow Skirt jig in chartreuse, I had been using a 1/4 oz. jig, tipped it with a fathead minnow and got to work. I was fishing in 12 feet of water in front of our house and the wind was pushing toward shore and slightly north toward Malays.

I made one pass but caught only a couple of small perch. On my second pass, I positioned the boat in 12 feet of water in front of Giza's cabin so I'd drift toward our cabin and boat lift.

Again I caught a few small perch, as well as a nice jumbo perch. I thought about keeping it, but decided I didn't feel like cleaning a fish tonight so the nice-sized perch went back into the lake.

I was marking lots of fish on my Lowrance LCX-28c electronics, but I couldn't entice them into biting. I guess the fish might be finicky because of that cold front that is blowing in and with it lowering temperatures and bringing the possibility of snow tonight.

After a couple of passes I decided to go ashore. I was back in the house just before 5:00 p.m.

After dinner I turned on the outside (lakeside) light to see that the snow had begun to fall!

The wind has picked up to 15-20 mph out of the WSW and the temperature has dropped to 28 degrees. The snow is not coming down hard, but there are good-sized flakes and I'd characterize it as a snow shower.

It's now 11:45 p.m. the wind is howling at close to 20 mph out of the WSW, the temperature is 26 degrees, the snow continues to fall and about an inch has accumulated on the ground.

It should warm up to the mid-30s tomorrow, and into the mid-40s next week, so the snow won't stick around, but there's something always magical about the first snow fall of the season.

I'm glad I could be here to see the first snow at Leech Lake.

October 8, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

This morning at 9:00 a.m. the temperature was 34 degrees, the sky was gray, the wind was out of the WNW at 12-15 mph and the wind chill was 27 degrees. Now this is a Fall day at Leech Lake.

I had a series of long business calls today, as well as a lot of online work, so I didn't wrap up until 5:00 p.m.

Midway through the day, however, I did make time for a walk down to Paulsen's and back, a roughly 2-mile round trip. On my way home, just by Schiebe's cabin, an otter came scurrying out of the bushes on the woods side of the road, probably on its way to the lake. It came to a screeching halt when it spotted me, made a noise that sounded like a cross between a hiss and honk, a "hissonk" maybe, turned and dashed back into the woods. I'd say its body was at least 2 feet long, with a long tail and probably as big around as my arm. A beautiful woodland creature out for a walk, like me, on a Fall day.

At just after 5:00 p.m. I thought I'd get out on the lake for a quick bit of fishing.

The wind was still out of the WNW at roughly 12 mph. It was tricky getting the boat off the lift with the wind essentially pushing the boat back onto the lift, but I managed to get out into the lake without too much trouble.

Once on the lake, I motored out to 12 feet of water in front of our house. My plan was to let the wind push me back toward the boat lift. I'd do one drifting pass, then go back on shore since I was due at the Malay's at 6:00 p.m.

The water temperature was 49.7 degrees, the wind was stronger than it originally appeared and the air temperature was only 36 degrees. On the horizon to the west and to the southwest, I could see three distinct rain fronts moving toward me.

I drifted for no more than 20 minutes and decided to call it quits. No fish. No bites.

I visited with the Malays for about an hour, and when I got home I noticed that the wind had died down and was now blowing at no more than 5-8 mph out of the WNW.

I quickly got on some warm clothes, grabbed my flashlight and went over to the boat lift. I got the boat in the water at 7:20 p.m. and decided I'd do about two passes in The Alley.

I put my #9 Rapala Minnow Rap in the water, set the Mercury SmartCraft controls to where my ground speed was just more than 2 mph, and started trolling. Almost immediately -- directly in front of our house -- I hooked into a good fish.

I put the motor in neutral and began reeling in the fish. I turned the handle of my baitcasting reel only two times when I felt the fish come "unbuttoned." It was a classic walleye light bite. The fish hit the lure just hard enough to become lightly hooked and was able to come free when I began reeling it to the boat.

I made two full passes from past Second Duck Point to the Malays, in water as shallow as 7 1/2 feet and as deep as 12 feet, but had no more bites.

I came ashore around 8:30 p.m. and got a fire going in the fireplace. The outside temperature was now down to 32 degrees, and was supposed to drop as low as 26 over night.

I spent the rest of the evening listening to music, reading the newspaper, and checking up on the Sharks score (BTW: they beat the Columbus Blue Jackets in the home opener 6-3).

It was an cold and unproductive (from a fishing standpoint) day on Leech Lake. But at least I was on Leech Lake and not stuck in an office somewhere.

Until tomorrow.

October 7, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

At 9:00 a.m. this morning the temperature was 39 degrees, the sky was partly sunny and the wind was light at 5-10 mph from the SSW. As the morning went on, the temperature warmed a degree to 40 and the clouds moved in blocking out any sunshine. It is now gray and looks as if it could rain again.

I have a few business calls to take care of, but by 1 p.m. I'm hoping to be able to get out on the lake.

I did make it out onto the water at 1:30 p.m. The wind had shifted to the SSE and had picked up to 10-15 mph. The water temperature ranged from 50.5 to 49.3 degrees. The sky was still gray and it looked like it could rain.

With the wind from the south, I started fishing just past Second Duck Point in 9-11 feet of water and used a VMC jig tipped with a fathead minnow. The wind pushed the boat north and out into the bay so by the time I reached Newman's house I was in 13-14 feet of water. I had no bites during that pass.

I motored back toward shore and started my second drift from between Giza's cabin and Newman's. This time I drifted out to in front of Malay's house before I was in 13-14 feet of water. Again, no bites.

I repositioned again, this time starting in front of our cabin and letting the wind push the boat toward The Birches. I also replaced the 1/8 oz. VMC jig with a heavier 1/4 oz. VMC skirted jig in a chartreuse color. For a little more attractant, I tipped the skirted jig with a fathead.

Right in front of The Birches, in 9 1/2 feet of water, I hooked into a beautiful jumbo perch. It was the biggest perch I'd hooked this season. I put it in the live well and continued my drift.

The wind continued to blow stronger, and was now coming out of the SSE at 15-20 mph creating large swells and white caps on the lake. I figured 90 minutes on the water this afternoon was good and headed home at 3:15 p.m.

Once I got back to the boat lift I had quite a challenge getting the boat onto the lift. The waves were pushing the boat north and twisting it sideways. Eventually I got the boat on the lift and decided to take a look at the jumbo in the live well.

The jumbo was on its side from all of the sloshing around in the live well. I figured if I put it in the wire basket at the end of the dock it would probably get pounded by the rough water and die during the night. I didn't feel like cleaning one fish right now, so instead I put the big perch back into the water. I hope to catch him again, with about 5 of his big friends later this week. And if not this weekend, then through the ice this winter.

I stopped by the Malays this evening to share a malted beverage, discuss the water levels in the lake, and just chat. Tom shared with me the weather report he heard. It’s supposed to snow this Saturday and Sunday, not a lot of snow, but some flurries.

Tom and I discussed pulling our boats out of the water sometime next week if the weather continues to get cold. Once the lake begins to freeze, and the boat lifts are encased in ice, it’s impossible to pull your boat out of the lake. And that’s not good.

We’ll both keep a close eye on the weather, because both Tom and I would like to wait as long as possible to end our open-water fishing season on Leech Lake.