On Leech Lake -- October 15, 2010

The temperature when I checked this morning at 8:30 a.m. was 38 degrees. The winds were light at 8 mph out of the SSW and the sky was sunny. As the morning went on, the temperature rose quickly to 46 and then 50 degrees. The wind stayed at 8-10 mph. It was under these conditions that I decided to take a break from work and do some fishing.

I got out on the water around 11:00 a.m. and found the water temperature to be 56 degrees. Using the drift sock, I drifted from 7 1/2 feet of water in front of Giza's cabin out to 10-11 feet of water in front of our cabin. During that pass northward, I caught several decent sized perch, but put them all back into the lake.

I saw John Newman on the water. He was in his little 12-foot Lone Star row boat. I asked if he'd like to join me in my Lund, and he agreed. After leaving his boat on shore, I picked him up at the end of my dock and then repositioned my boat in front of Giza's cabin for another drift.

John and I caught several more perch and we kept seven of them. John wants to take some fish home on Sunday morning so he can have a fish fry with his family on Sunday evening.

By 12:15 p.m. we came ashore since both John and I had work to do. We agreed to meet up after our respective conference calls for more fishing. My call ended early, so by 4:45 p.m. John and I were back on the lake.

Our plan was to do several drifts from Giza's to my cabin using 1/8-ounce jigs tipped with fathead minnows. Then, right after sunset, we would shift gears and start trolling Minnow Raps.

For an hour an forty-five minutes, John and I made several drifts. We each caught a few nice perch, which we kept. In addition, I caught a 17-inch walleye, which I kept, and a 22-inch eelpout. Yes, an eelpout. Usually eelpout are caught only through the ice in January and February when they spawn in the cold water. Catching one in open water, with water temperatures in the mid-50s is not common.

The sunset lake at Leech Lake at 6:31 p.m. CDT today, and by 6:35 p.m. John and I had stowed our jigging rods and switched to our trolling rigs. We trolled in 7-10 feet of water from Malay's cabin to just south of Second Duck Point. On a pass just between Giza's and Newman's, I hooked a very solid 21-inch walleye, which had to immediately go back into the lake because it fell into the 18-26" slot limit.

Unfortunately, as the fish thrased about in the net, it twisted the line around the two treble hooks of my Minnow Rap. Rather than cut the lure off and do a quick re-tie, John suggested we head to shore and start dinner.

We dined on a delicious grilled pork loin, accompanied with baked potatoes and a Caesar salad. Tasty indeed. We then retired to the fire pit for some malted beverages and conversation.

The sky was covered with stars; the way it is when you're deep enough into the woods so there is little ambient light.

I gave John the walleye I caught the other night, my contribution to his family's fish fry, and kept the one I caught tonight, which will become dinner on Sunday when my brother-in-law visits Leech Lake.

The forecast for Saturday is very windy, with gusts up over 25 mph, so I might not get out onto the water. If not, I'll write here again the next time I'm out fishing.