June 21, 2009 -- Father's Day and Summer Solstice

Happy Father's Day dad, and to all you fathers out there.

Today is also the summer solstice. Officially summer arrived at 12:45 a.m. CDT (5:45 a.m. UTC). Solstice is from the Latin, the sun stands still. At the solstices the sun's apparent position on the celestial sphere reaches its greatest distance above or below the celestial equator. On the summer solstice, the sun is directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Cancer.

At 11:00 a.m. here at Leech Lake on Father's Day and the summer solstice the temperature was 80 degrees. The wind was out of the south at 8-12 mph, with gusts up to 15-20 mph. The sky was overcast, gray and threatening to rain.

I ate a quick breakfast of yogurt and coffee, then went out for a long ride on the ATV. I rode all the way to the end of Otter Tail Point Dr., went to the boardwalk at Duck Point Woods, rode out to Two Points, and eventually to the Community Center and home. The entire trip took me about an hour and a half. It was a great ride, and it was the first time I'd made that trip during this visit.

On my way home I stopped in to see the Malays, but Tom was getting ready to up to Birch Ridge Resort to help Frank mow the grass, so it was a short visit. I came home, had a quick bite of lunch, and then went out fishing.

I fished both in front of our house in 8-12 feet of water and off Second Duck Point, and while the perch were biting, the walleye weren't. I was using fathead minnows on a jig in the 69 degree water of Sucker Bay.

I came in at 3:30 p.m. because it started to rain. It wasn't raining hard, but I wasn't wearing any rain gear and I didn't feel like getting soaked. Later this evening I'll clean that 17" walleye I caught last night and enjoy it for my Father's Day dinner. Depending on the weather I may go fishing later tonight.

I did in fact clean and eat the 17" walleye. Well, I ate one of the two fillets. I have the other fillet tomorrow for lunch.

At 9:00 p.m., with a steady rain falling, I decided to go fishing. I leave for California on Wednesday, so I'm trying to get in as much fishing at possible, regardless of the weather.

I started trolling in front of Malay's cabin in 9.5 feet of water. The water temperature had cooled to 68 degrees. The air temperature was 60 degrees, but it felt cooler because of the 12 mph SSE wind.

I pulled my hot steel colored #9 Minnow Rap to Second Duck Point, then back to Malay's. I then did one additional pass through The Alley, but tonight, I caught no fish at all. No rock bass. No northern pike. And no walleye.

I was also the only boat on the water. I guess most people would rather sit at home in front of the TV on a Sunday night than get pelted by a cold rain on a charcoal colored lake. For me, however, being rocked back and forth by the waves on the dark water was a perfect way to wrap up Father's Day at Leech Lake.