This past weekend was very busy with roofing work, that I did not have a chance to write to this blog. So I'm going to try to recapture the events of Saturday and Sunday in posts made today, Monday, June 28.
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June 26, 2010
Happy 29th wedding anniversary Kathleen. I love you. I can't believe it's been that many years already. Time sure flies when you're having fun!
Rick and I worked on the roof today and then in the evening went fishing. The wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SW, the water temperature was just under 72 degrees and the air temperature was in the high 60s.
Using our usual technique of trolling Minnow Raps at roughly 2.25 mph ground speed in 8-11 feet of water, we boated several fish. Rick had a particularly good night catching walleyes of 24", 18", 16 3/4" and 13". He also caught two pike and a rock bass. I caught only one fish, but it was a very nice 24" walleye. All fish went back into Leech Lake.
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June 27, 2010
I did my real work during most of the day, but did manage to find several hours to help Rick on the roof. We did not go fishing this evening.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
On Leech Lake, June 24 and 25, 2010
We've been so busy working on the roof at the cabin during the day, and then fishing at night, that I've not had time to keep up with my blog posts. Some of these are going to have to be retroactive, so I may miss a detail or two.
Yesterday, after we worked on the roof and ate dinner, Rick and I went trolling at 9:10 p.m. The air temperature had cooled to 70 degrees, but the water temperautre had warmed over the past couple of days to 73 degrees. The wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SW and the moon was 99% waxing; Friday would be the full moon.
Despite our best efforts, the only fish we caught tonight was the 17 3/4" walleye that I boated. Although it is technically a legal fish, one we could have kept and eaten, we decided to toss it back into the lake since we had just dined on fresh walleye the night before. I mean after all, we're not FIB's.
Friday, June 25, 2010
After another long day of stripping shingles of the cabin roof and applying Certainteed ice and snow Winterguard, we went trolling in the evening.
The weather earlier today was overcast, but no rain. By the evening the clouds and drifted away and the sky was mostly clear. The temperature when we got on the water was in the 62 degrees, the was no wind to speak of, the water temperature was again at 73 degrees, and the moon was full.
We trolled our usual spot using Minnow Raps. Rick caught a 20 1/2" walleye, while I boated a 16 1/4" walleye. Rick's fish was in the slot and had to go back into the lake by Minnesota law, and my legal fish went back into the lake as well as we decided not to have another walleye dinner until next week.
It was a beautiful night on Leech Lake.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
At Leech Lake, June 23, 2010
We didn't make it out onto Leech Lake to do any fishing today, but we did make some headway on re-roofing the cabin.
The wind was too strong today, roughly 20-25 mph out of the NNW, to get out onto the lake, so Rick and I spent the day working on the roof. We replaced some rotted wood long the edge of the roof with new boards that we had to have specially milled at Johnson Lumber. We then put up the fascia board and metal edging.
Even though the wind was strong today, the temperature was a very nice 78 degrees, making it a fine day to work on the roof. Of course by the end of a long day on the roof, we were tired, dirty and in need of a shower.
After we cleaned up the work site, I cleaned the walleye Rick caught last night and we had it for dinner. We might not have made it out onto Leech Lake today, but we did enjoy it's bounty.
Rick standing on the dumpster while attaching a new fascia board
A new first board on the roof's edge, and a new fascia board
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
On Leech Lake, June 22, 2010
When I woke up this morning Rick was already over at the cabin pulling cedar shake shingles off the roof of the cabin. American Disposal and Recycling of Deer River had dropped off the 20-yard dumpster at 7:20 a.m.
Just by luck Rick was already awake. He woke up at 7:00 a.m. but his alarm clock was upside down so he thought it was 10:30 a.m. so he quickly got out of bed.
I had to take care of a number of work calls, and do some writing, so I wasn’t able to go to the cabin to help Rick until mid-afternoon.
We managed to get the shingles off of the roof above the two bedrooms and the road-side dormer of the front porch.
There was some water damage and rot on several a couple of the boards along the edge of the roof that need to be replaced. The cabin, however, was kit that was assembled back in the late 1960s, 1968 to be exact, so finding matching boards will be impossible. Therefore, we took measurements of the boards that needed be replaced and had Johnson Lumber mill some boards of the same dimension.
We pulled the old boards off and had to wait for Johnson Lumber to finish the milling before we could proceed.
The temperature today was in the high 70’s. the wind was around 8-12 mph out of the NW and throughout the day it alternated between being partly sunny to partly cloudy, and it often looked as if it could rain.
This evening Rick and I went trolling. The wind was still out of the NW at 8 mph, the water temperature had warmed to just over 70 degrees and the moon was 77% waxing.
Tonight we caught only one walleye between us, and that was the 17 ¼” fish that Rick boated. It was the perfect fish for us to keep, so it went into the live well and will be dinner tomorrow night.
After a full day of work on the cabin, Rick was tired and went to bed right after we got back from fishing. I stayed up a little while reading, but not very long. We’ve got lots and lots of work to do on the cabin roof in the coming days, so we both will need our rest.
Just by luck Rick was already awake. He woke up at 7:00 a.m. but his alarm clock was upside down so he thought it was 10:30 a.m. so he quickly got out of bed.
I had to take care of a number of work calls, and do some writing, so I wasn’t able to go to the cabin to help Rick until mid-afternoon.
We managed to get the shingles off of the roof above the two bedrooms and the road-side dormer of the front porch.
There was some water damage and rot on several a couple of the boards along the edge of the roof that need to be replaced. The cabin, however, was kit that was assembled back in the late 1960s, 1968 to be exact, so finding matching boards will be impossible. Therefore, we took measurements of the boards that needed be replaced and had Johnson Lumber mill some boards of the same dimension.
We pulled the old boards off and had to wait for Johnson Lumber to finish the milling before we could proceed.
The temperature today was in the high 70’s. the wind was around 8-12 mph out of the NW and throughout the day it alternated between being partly sunny to partly cloudy, and it often looked as if it could rain.
This evening Rick and I went trolling. The wind was still out of the NW at 8 mph, the water temperature had warmed to just over 70 degrees and the moon was 77% waxing.
Tonight we caught only one walleye between us, and that was the 17 ¼” fish that Rick boated. It was the perfect fish for us to keep, so it went into the live well and will be dinner tomorrow night.
After a full day of work on the cabin, Rick was tired and went to bed right after we got back from fishing. I stayed up a little while reading, but not very long. We’ve got lots and lots of work to do on the cabin roof in the coming days, so we both will need our rest.
Monday, June 21, 2010
At Leech Lake, June 21, 2010 -- The First Day of Summer
The rain moving toward Second Duck Point at 8:30 p.m.
At 5:28 a.m. this morning, summer arrived at Leech Lake. I was not up to greet the new season, but when I did awake around 8:00 a.m., the sky was grey, the temperature was around 64 degrees and the wind was light at 5-8 mph from the south.
I did my CA "real work" from 9:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. before taking a break to go into town with Rick to get wave two of building supplies for the cabin re-roofing project.
After a dinner of grilled porterhouse steaks, Rick and I went fishing. The hour prior to us getting on the water it was raining quite hard, but by 9:00 p.m. the rain let up and the winds, which had been as strong as 12-15 mph from WSW, died down to around 5 mph from the west. A nice, but wet, night to go fishing.
It rained as we walked from the house to the boat lift, but by the time we got on the water the rain had stopped and we didn't see any more precipitation the rest of the night.
We trolled in 8-12 feet of water using Minnow Raps at roughly 2.20 mph. The water temperature was right around 69.3 degrees, the moon was on four days from being full.
Rick caught four walleyes -- 24", 20 1/2", 17 1/2" (which was legally a keeper, but we put it in the lake anyway) and one around 12". I caught only one walleye, but it was 24".
There were only a couple of other boats on Sucker Bay tonight, but they took off about a half an hour after sunset, so we had the bay to ourselves. It was another relaxing, and successful, night on the water.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
At Leech Lake, June 2010 -- A Brief Look Back
I arrived at our house on Leech Lake around 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15. I did not pick up the boat in Bemidji as I usually would because I planned to do so on Thursday when I picked up Rick from the airport. Besides, my plan was to drive to St. Cloud first thing on Wednesday morning to visit Kathleen's mother, Marge.
I spent Tuesday night, my first night at Leech Lake this year, visiting with my neighbor John Newman; it was good to see him again.
At 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning I drove to St. Cloud. I spent most of the afternoon with Marge and my sister-in-law Sandy. In the early evening, I met my aunt Maureen for dinner. She happened to be in St. Cloud for regional quilting convention. After dinner I drove back to the lake and arrived home after 10 p.m. Wednesday night.
On Thursday, June 17, I drove into Bemidji to pick up Rick from the airport. We bought groceries, other supplies, then drove out to Corner Sports on Hwy. 71 in Bemidji to pick up my boat. Throughout the day it rained heavily, the wind was constantly changing direction, but was blowing upwards of 20 mph.
We got back to the house in the late afternoon, put the boat at the top of the boat ramp for its eventual launch in to the water, unpacked the supplies and then just hung out. The rain continued and around 6:00 p.m. we heard that there was a tornado watch for Cass County. We had lots of rain and some heavy winds, but no twisters. Elsewhere in the state, however, there were some fatalities from the tornadoes.
Friday, June 18, we awoke to extremely strong winds -- 30-40 mph out of the south. Leech Lake was an odd brownish color due to all of the sediment that was churned into the water by the wind. Several trees along Sucker Bay Road and West Shores Road went down, but we were fortunate not to have any trees topple on our property.
We checked out the roof at the cabin (which we're going to re-roof) and Rick made a CAD drawing of it and calculated the amount of materials we'll need to replace it. Since it was too windy to launch the boat and go fishing, we decided to head back into Bemidji Friday afternoon to get an estimate on the building materials for the re-roofing project.
The roof on the cabin, which is more than 40 years old, is not in good shape. The cedar shake shingles are rotting and are in such poor condition that my insurance company threatened to cancel my policy if I don't replace the roof. There are actually trees going out of the roof!
One of the several trees growing on the roof at the cabin. This one is a birch.
Late Friday afternoon I finally got the new DSL wireless modem up and running so I could check email, and post to this blog again. That's why I've had to post this brief look back. I think I'm all caught up for now.
It's great to be back at Our Oasis on Leech Lake (for you Kathleen).
I spent Tuesday night, my first night at Leech Lake this year, visiting with my neighbor John Newman; it was good to see him again.
At 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning I drove to St. Cloud. I spent most of the afternoon with Marge and my sister-in-law Sandy. In the early evening, I met my aunt Maureen for dinner. She happened to be in St. Cloud for regional quilting convention. After dinner I drove back to the lake and arrived home after 10 p.m. Wednesday night.
On Thursday, June 17, I drove into Bemidji to pick up Rick from the airport. We bought groceries, other supplies, then drove out to Corner Sports on Hwy. 71 in Bemidji to pick up my boat. Throughout the day it rained heavily, the wind was constantly changing direction, but was blowing upwards of 20 mph.
We got back to the house in the late afternoon, put the boat at the top of the boat ramp for its eventual launch in to the water, unpacked the supplies and then just hung out. The rain continued and around 6:00 p.m. we heard that there was a tornado watch for Cass County. We had lots of rain and some heavy winds, but no twisters. Elsewhere in the state, however, there were some fatalities from the tornadoes.
Friday, June 18, we awoke to extremely strong winds -- 30-40 mph out of the south. Leech Lake was an odd brownish color due to all of the sediment that was churned into the water by the wind. Several trees along Sucker Bay Road and West Shores Road went down, but we were fortunate not to have any trees topple on our property.
We checked out the roof at the cabin (which we're going to re-roof) and Rick made a CAD drawing of it and calculated the amount of materials we'll need to replace it. Since it was too windy to launch the boat and go fishing, we decided to head back into Bemidji Friday afternoon to get an estimate on the building materials for the re-roofing project.
The roof on the cabin, which is more than 40 years old, is not in good shape. The cedar shake shingles are rotting and are in such poor condition that my insurance company threatened to cancel my policy if I don't replace the roof. There are actually trees going out of the roof!
One of the several trees growing on the roof at the cabin. This one is a birch.
Late Friday afternoon I finally got the new DSL wireless modem up and running so I could check email, and post to this blog again. That's why I've had to post this brief look back. I think I'm all caught up for now.
It's great to be back at Our Oasis on Leech Lake (for you Kathleen).
On Leech Lake, June 20, 2010 -- Father's Day
I awoke this morning to a beautiful day at Leech Lake. The sun was shining, there were only a few billowy clouds, the wind was light at 5-7 mph from the south and the temperature was on its way to a comfortable 75 degrees by midday.
At noon, Melissa and Jayden called me to wish me a Happy Father's Day, which was nice. I look forward to holding little Jayden again soon.
Then at 1:30 p.m. Rick and I went fishing. We started at the reeds in front of Norm's cabin fishing for largemouth bass. I was throwing a spinner bait on a baitcasting reel while Rick was using a spinning reel with a Senko rigged Texas style, with no additional weight.
Rick caught a 9" bass, but I caught nothing. When we came to the end of the reeds, we switched tactics. We both started jigging with Northland Slurpies on 1/8 oz. jigs. Rick caught a small perch, and again I was skunked.
With very little breeze to move the boat we decided to do some daytime trolling. I was using a small jointed Shad Rap, and Rick used his favorite purpledescent Rapala Minnow Rap (I had replaced the treble hook which had its barbs snipped off last night).
Rick caught a small 13" walleye and small perch, while I finally caught a fish, a small perch. We came ashore at 4:00 p.m. Rick decided he was going to build a work bench in the garage at the cabin while I called my Dad to wish him a Happy Father's Day. After talking with my father, I got a call from Kathleen and Joe wishing me a Happy Father's Day. The circle was complete.
After my family calls I went to the cabin to clean the walleye for dinner. Here's the process from start (before cleaning) to finish (on the dinner plate).
Top to bottom:
1. The 16 3/4-inch walleye on the cutting board prior to being filleted.
2. One of the fillets removed.
3. Both of the fillets with the skin removed, washed clean and patted dry.
4. Golden brown pan-fried walleye with asparagus and potatoes. Time to eat
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After a very tasty Father's Day walleye dinner, Rick and I hit the lake at 8:55 p.m. The surface of Leech Lake was like glass; there was no wind at all. The water temperature was 70.3 degrees, the moon was 67% waxing and the sunset at 9:18 p.m.
As usual we trolled from the Malays to the mid point between Second Duck Point and Duck Point. I was using a hot-steel colored Minnow Rap, while Rick used a variety of different lures throughout the night.
Rick caught a small northern pike around 9:30 p.m., but we didn't boat another fish until 10:15 p.m. when I caught a 17 1/2-inch walleye off of Second Duck Point. The fish was legally a keeper, but because it was so close to the 18-inch slot limit we decided to put it back in the lake. And besides, we had just eaten a walleye dinner a few hours earlier, so we won't keep another fish for a couple of days yet.
On our final pass past Second Duck Point, at around 10:45 p.m., I hooked into a little bigger fish. When we got it into the boat, the walleye measured 20-inches, a Leech Lake slot fish, so it went back into the water too.
We pulled the boat onto the lift just after 11:00 p.m. It was a beautiful night on the water, with some light left in the Western sky until nearly 11:00 p.m. Summer officially arrives at Leech Lake at 5:28 a.m. tomorrow morning. I will not be up to greet it.
Until tomorrow.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
On Leech Lake, June 19, 2010
My boat, at the top of the ramp, waiting to be launched.
Today was the first day I was on the lake in 2010. I think this is the latest I've made it out onto the water in any year since I've had a place on Leech Lake.
The weather this morning was grey, drizzly and breezy, but as the day progressed the drizzle stopped and the wind gradually died down from 15-18 mph out of the NW to around 8 mph. That made it ideal conditions to put the boat in the water.
Around 1:30 p.m. Rick and I got the boat into the water and onto the boat lift. We then put the canopy on the lift and ran the power cord underneath the dock out to the boat lift and secured it for the season. I now have power at the end of the dock -- which is handy for the light at night and for charging my MinnKota electric trolling motor.
After dinner, Rick and I went out fishing at around 8:45 p.m. The sunset tonight was at 9:13 p.m., the moon was 57% waxing, the water temperature was 66.6 degrees and the wind was slight at 5-8 mph out of the north.
We used our usual Rapala Minnow Raps trolled about 50-60 feet behind the boat at a ground speed of 2.15 mph.
We trolled from Malays house to a point between Second Duck Point and Duck Point in 10-12 feet of water. After many passes with no bites, Rick finally hooked into a sturdy 22" walleye at 10:15 p.m just past Second Duck Point. The fish was hooked awkwardly, so we had to snip the barbs of the trailing treble hook to safely remove the lure from the fish. The fish fell within the Leech Lake slot limit -- where all walleyes between 18 and 26 inches must go back into the lake -- so we released it unharmed.
Then around 10:45 p.m., on our final pass of the night, in almost the same spot, Rick caught a very nice 16 3/4" eater walleye. That fish went into the livewell and will be dinner on Sunday night (Father's Day).
Even though I didn't catch a fish this night, the boat did smell of walleye by the time we made it back to the boat lift which is as it should be. All in all, a good first night on Leech Lake.
Monday, June 07, 2010
Arrival Date Set
My first visit to Leech Lake in 2010 has been confirmed. I'm leaving California on Tuesday, June 15 and will arrive in Bemidji later that day.
This is mainly a property maintenance visit as I need to replace the roof on my cabin in order to keep the insurance company from canceling my policy. Apparently they don't like the fact that several small trees are growing out of the 40-plus year old roof.
Rick will be joining me at the lake on Thursday, June 17 and soon after the construction project will begin.
Check back to this blog for before, during and after photos of the roofing project. This blog will also serve as a public record of the work done in case my insurance company wants to play any games.
So beginning June 15, you'll be seeing daily updates, with photos, to this blog. See you soon, again, in the blogosphere.
This is mainly a property maintenance visit as I need to replace the roof on my cabin in order to keep the insurance company from canceling my policy. Apparently they don't like the fact that several small trees are growing out of the 40-plus year old roof.
Rick will be joining me at the lake on Thursday, June 17 and soon after the construction project will begin.
Check back to this blog for before, during and after photos of the roofing project. This blog will also serve as a public record of the work done in case my insurance company wants to play any games.
So beginning June 15, you'll be seeing daily updates, with photos, to this blog. See you soon, again, in the blogosphere.
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