October 7, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

At 9:00 a.m. this morning the temperature was 39 degrees, the sky was partly sunny and the wind was light at 5-10 mph from the SSW. As the morning went on, the temperature warmed a degree to 40 and the clouds moved in blocking out any sunshine. It is now gray and looks as if it could rain again.

I have a few business calls to take care of, but by 1 p.m. I'm hoping to be able to get out on the lake.

I did make it out onto the water at 1:30 p.m. The wind had shifted to the SSE and had picked up to 10-15 mph. The water temperature ranged from 50.5 to 49.3 degrees. The sky was still gray and it looked like it could rain.

With the wind from the south, I started fishing just past Second Duck Point in 9-11 feet of water and used a VMC jig tipped with a fathead minnow. The wind pushed the boat north and out into the bay so by the time I reached Newman's house I was in 13-14 feet of water. I had no bites during that pass.

I motored back toward shore and started my second drift from between Giza's cabin and Newman's. This time I drifted out to in front of Malay's house before I was in 13-14 feet of water. Again, no bites.

I repositioned again, this time starting in front of our cabin and letting the wind push the boat toward The Birches. I also replaced the 1/8 oz. VMC jig with a heavier 1/4 oz. VMC skirted jig in a chartreuse color. For a little more attractant, I tipped the skirted jig with a fathead.

Right in front of The Birches, in 9 1/2 feet of water, I hooked into a beautiful jumbo perch. It was the biggest perch I'd hooked this season. I put it in the live well and continued my drift.

The wind continued to blow stronger, and was now coming out of the SSE at 15-20 mph creating large swells and white caps on the lake. I figured 90 minutes on the water this afternoon was good and headed home at 3:15 p.m.

Once I got back to the boat lift I had quite a challenge getting the boat onto the lift. The waves were pushing the boat north and twisting it sideways. Eventually I got the boat on the lift and decided to take a look at the jumbo in the live well.

The jumbo was on its side from all of the sloshing around in the live well. I figured if I put it in the wire basket at the end of the dock it would probably get pounded by the rough water and die during the night. I didn't feel like cleaning one fish right now, so instead I put the big perch back into the water. I hope to catch him again, with about 5 of his big friends later this week. And if not this weekend, then through the ice this winter.

I stopped by the Malays this evening to share a malted beverage, discuss the water levels in the lake, and just chat. Tom shared with me the weather report he heard. It’s supposed to snow this Saturday and Sunday, not a lot of snow, but some flurries.

Tom and I discussed pulling our boats out of the water sometime next week if the weather continues to get cold. Once the lake begins to freeze, and the boat lifts are encased in ice, it’s impossible to pull your boat out of the lake. And that’s not good.

We’ll both keep a close eye on the weather, because both Tom and I would like to wait as long as possible to end our open-water fishing season on Leech Lake.