July 26, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

3 Days and Counting...

This morning at 9:00 a.m. it was nearly 70 degrees on its way to a high of 78 degrees, the sky was sunny, but it was windy. The wind was out of the WNW at 12-18 mph creating nice swells on the lake and the occasional white cap.

While I was enjoying my third cup of coffee on the back deck of our house watching the beauty of a Leech Lake morning, Tom Malay stopped by with the Sunday papers from Minneapolis and Bemidji. We spoke for a few minutes, and then he had to leave. He is working at Birch Ridge Resort again today.

After I finished reading the Sunday papers and had had some breakfast I went out onto the lake to do some fishing. I started in 14 feet of water in front of Malay's cabin using a jig tipped with a leech. I had numerous bites, but caught only a couple of small perch.

Once I had exhausted my supply of leeches, I switched to Northland Slurpie Grubs in an Alabama Craw color. Instantly, the number of bites I was getting increased and I started hooking many more fish. I guess plastics really are the future!

From 12:15 p.m. to just before 4:00 p.m. I caught dozens of perch, a few rock bass and a small northern pike. I kept one of the jumbo perch that I caught for a future fish fry. I fly back to California on Wednesday and I'd like one last Leech Lake fish fry before I leave. A walleye, even a 16" fish, is more fish than I can eat in one meal. A nice 12" jumbo perch is the perfect size for my one-person dinner table.

By 8:00 p.m. tonight the wind had died down to completely calm; there was barely a ripple on the lake. I decided that I'd go out early and try jigging with my Northland Slurpie Grub before switching to trolling a crankbait for walleye.

I caught a couple of small perch with the jig and plastic combo, but had no where near the action I had had earlier in the day. At 9:15 p.m. I put away my spinning rod and reel and switched to my baitcasting rig with the #9 Minnow Rap.

I trolled The Alley from 9:15 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. but caught only one northern pike and a couple of rock bass; no walleye. The water temperature tonight varied from 71.6 to 72.3 degrees depending on my location and depth.

With no wind at all on the lake tonight, the big Minnesota mosquitoes were out in full force. Even with my Deet-laden spray I was covered in mosquitoes the entire evening. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful night on Leech Lake.