June 23, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

The torential rain during the early-afternoon thunderstorm

It was near 80 degrees and the sun was shining at 9:00 a.m. this morning, but as the morning progressed it kept getting darker, and cooler. By noon, the sky was gray, overcast and was actually as dark as it is typically around 9:30 p.m. The temperature had dropped to 70 degrees.

I did a quick check of the weather on the NOAA marine station on my Uniden Atlantis 250 two-way VHF marine radio, and discovered that the National Weather Service had issued severe thunderstorm warning 497 for this part of northern Minnesota.

By 12:40 p.m. it started to rain, the wind out of the SW picked up to more than 20 mph, with gusts exceeding 30 mph according to the NOAA station. The storm was upon us. I could hear the near constant rumbling of thunder over the lake.

A large blue heron flew by with purpose, possibly on her way back to the nest to check on the safety of her chicks. The trees contorted in the wind and the white caps lashed at the rocky shoreline. Another Northwoods thunderstorm was here.

By 2:00 p.m. the sky had cleared, a gentle 8-12 mph wind was blowing from the SW and the temperature had once again warmed to 80 degrees. I heard that in the southern part of Minnesota the temperatures were in the 90s and in some parts of the state the heat index (which is the opposite of wind chill) was 115 degrees. Heat advisories had been issued in many cities in southern Minnesota.

At 3:30 p.m I decided to go fishing. I started in a spot between Duck and Second Duck Points in 8-11 feet of water. I used a jig and a fathead minnow, but caught only a couple of small perch. I relocated to Second Duck Point, but again caught only a couple of small perch.

I ended up in front of our house, and while more and bigger perch were biting, I still didn't hook any jumbos or walleyes. At 5:00 p.m. I came ashore to get dinner started.

Evening Fishing Data:

Time -- 9:15 - 10:45 p.m.
Temperature -- 70 degrees
Wind -- 8-15 mph WSW
Water temperature -- 72.9 -73.1 degrees
Locations -- Malay's to south of Second Duck Point
Water depth -- 8-10 feet
Lure -- #9 Rapala Minnow Rap
Ground speed -- 2.15 - 2.55 mph
RPM --570 - 600
Fish caught -- four rock bass, one perch, 15" walleye

Good night from Leech Lake.