June 12, 2008

Today I fished from 5:00 to 6:15 p.m. The temperature was 72 degrees and the water temperature was 64 degrees. Under partly cloudy skies, the wind was calm at the start of my trip and picked up only slightly to about 10 mph out of the south by the time I headed in.

I drifted around Second Duck Point using an 1/8 ounce Lindy Max-Gap jig in an emerald shiner color, tipped with a Northland Slurpie Swim'n Grub in a Super Glo Lady Bug color and a Berkely Power Bait grub. No fish this evening.

Prayer of Thanks

I've always heard that the Native American people in the Northwoods around Leech Lake -- the Objibwe -- would give thanks to the animals they ate following a hunt, or when fishing. When I selectively harvest fish from the lake, I say the following prayer of thanks before I kill and clean the fish:

Thank you Mother Earth
Thank you Spirit of the Lake
Thank you soul of the walleye
These fish will give their lives so we can have a healthy and delicious meal
Thank you.

I just thought I'd share my little ritual with you.