October 30, 2008 on Leech Lake

The big news today was that I was back on Leech Lake fishing!

Tom Malay and I put his small boat -- a 14-foot aluminum boat with a 10hp Mercury outboard -- in the water and stored in on my boat lift in the harbor at our house. Tom said I was free to use it any time, so I took him up on his offer and went fishing this afternoon.

I trolled a Minnow Rap behind the boat and had one good hit, but it broke off. It was probably a walleye, they are notoriously light bitters that often hold a lure in their mouth for a moment only to spit it out once they realize it's not a real fish.

I also tried drifting using a jig tipped with a Gulp Alive 3" leech, but caught no fish. That didn't matter to me though, I was back on the water.

This is the latest date that I've ever fished open water on Leech Lake.