On Leech Lake -- October 13, 2010 (Melissa's Birthday)

Let me start by wishing my daughter Melissa a very happy birthday!

I arrived at Leech Lake yesterday, and today was my first full day at the lake since late July, when I was here with my friend Rick putting a new roof on the cabin.

I started the day doing work work, but then switched midday to doing work around the property. It is going to take me a week or more to do all of the maintenance necessary to prepare the house and cabin for the harsh Minnesota winter.

The day started cool with temps hovering around 42 degrees until it warmed to the mid-50s by 3 p.m. Likewise, the wind started light, at about 7-10 mph out of the WNW, but by noon had picked up to 15+ mph out of the NW. It wasn't until 5:00 p.m. that the wind slowed to 8-10 mph making ideal "walleye chop" on the water.

At 5:30 p.m. John Newman and I hit the water. I got my boat fired up and onto the lake for the first time in nearly 10 weeks. The Mercury Verado started up with the first turn of the key and performed perfectly throughout the night.

The water temperature was 59 degrees and there was a half moon.

We started the evening drifting in the 10 mph WSW wind from 10 feet of water to near shore in front of our house. John and I each caught a couple of decent sized perch, but we through them back into the water. I hooked into something larger, it felt like a walleye, but it came off before I could get it to the boat. Just before sunset, I hooked into a 22" northern pike, which also went back into the lake.

John and I switched gears as the sun dropped below the horizon and started trolling Rapala Minnow Raps. On our first pass, in 9 feet of water, I hooked a 16 1/2 inch walleye in front of Giza's cabin. It was a perfect size for the frying pan, so I put it in the live well. We made several passes in "The Alley" between Second Duck Point and the Malay's, but that one walleye was the only fish we hooked.

We made back on shore at just before 8:00 p.m. and it was already completely dark. The forecast for tomorrow is a high of 60 degrees by 3:00 p.m., but with strong winds from the NNW at 15-20 mph. It might be too breezy to do any fishing tomorrow, but a good day to blow the mountains of leaves off the lawn.

Goodnight from Leech Lake.