October 21, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

This morning we woke up to dark skies and a steady rain. The temperature is 36 degrees at 9:00 a.m. and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the NNE.

Mark and his team from Shore Brothers showed up on the Peninsula by noon and took out Newman's dock and boat lift, Poage's, Malay's and a couple of other folks. I spoke to Mark and he said he'd be back next week to take out our boat lift and two docks and do the same for a couple of other people in the area.

That will enable me to keep my boat in the water until this weekend. I just hope the weather improves a little so I can get out on the water without it raining or snowing.

It rained all afternoon so Kathleen and I stayed inside and had a very slow paced, relaxing day. We even did something we hadn't done in years, maybe decades. We took a nap.

After our nap we took a walk. I went to the Paulsen's and back (2 miles) while Kathleen went all the way to the Community Center and back (6 miles).

It's now 6:20 p.m. The temperature is 37 degrees, there's a light rain falling and the wind is at8-10 mph out of the NNE. I think I'm going to go fishing. The sunset tonight was a minute ago and the moon is 13% waxing.
________

I got the boat off the lift, the lights on, the landing net ready, the rod holders in place and motored out to 9 feet of water in front of the cabin. I positioned the boat so I would travel south, set the SmartCraft controls to 2.50 mph ground speed, and dropped my #9 Minnow Rap into the 43 degree water.

Just 5 minutes after starting my troll, I hooked into a fish. At first I thought it might be a northern given the way it hit, but once I began reeling it to the boat I could tell it was a walleye. I got the landing net ready and landed a beautiful 19-inch walleye.

I carefully removed the front treble from its mouth and put the fish back into the cold, dark waters of Leech Lake.

I made two passes through The Alley, but caught no more fish nor did I have any bites. At 7:45 p.m. I came ashore with a light rain still falling.

I took a quick shower, got a fire going in the fireplace and then made dinner. I made risotto, baked walleye and asparagus. After dinner Kathleen and I sat in the living room watching the fire, listened to music and talked.

The weather today was cold and rainy, but it was another fantastic day at Leech Lake.