May 31, 2011 -- At Leech Lake

It is the final day of May. It's amazing how fast each month zips by.

Here at Leech Lake, the temperature at 10:00 a.m. was 60 degrees, the sky was partly cloudy, and the wind is extremely strong at 30-40 mph out of the SW. In fact, I had to go out to the end of the dock and lower the US and Australian flags because I was afraid the with the high winds the flag pole might actually snap! White caps roll across the lake, and with the water level as high as it is, waves are hitting the dock and coming up onto it.

At about 11:00 a.m. Rick and I drove into Bemidji to run a host of errands. I needed to settle up with Norton's Heating for the new furnace they put in back in February, I needed to pick up a few items (such as a cable jack and some chain saw bar oil) and groceries. We also stopped at Froggy's Sports in Cass Lake for fatheads and leeches, as well as J&L Oil for a new gas filter for the gas tank here on the property.

While in Bemidji I picked up a Purple Prince crabapple tree, pictured below, to replace the "junk" tree that currently grows outside our bedroom window.


A purple prince crabapple tree like the one to be planted outside our bedroom window.

At 6:00 p.m. the wind was still blowing very hard -- 20-30 mph -- out of the SW. I've never been here when the wind has blown as hard as it is today. I'm actually kind of nervous about the docks, boat and lift being able to withstand the rough, pounding waves created by this extremely strong wind. The sky remained grey and overcast, rain fell intermittently and the temperature dropped from 48 to just 40 degrees. The lake was a strange greenish-grey color.

As I get ready to sign off for the night the wind has not let up. In fact, it's increased! According to the www.weather.com web site, we've got 32-35 mph winds right now and they're expected to blow this hard until 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

When I get up tomorrow morning I'll take a tour of the property to assess any damage and to pick up what is likely to be a small forest of fallen tree limbs and branches. Until then...

May 30, 2011 -- Memorial Day On Leech Lake

Early in the morning -- and I'm talking about 2:30 a.m. -- on this Memorial Day, there was thunder and rain. By 9:00 a.m. the rain had stopped, but the sky was dark and overcast, the temperature was a cool 48 degrees (I just heard the furnace kick on) and the wind, from what I can tell my the movement of the flags, is a relatively light 5-7 mph out of the north. According to the National Weather Service, the wind is at 16 mph out of the ESE.

As the day wears on, however, the weather is supposed to get real nasty. Here's a quote from the http://www.weather.com/ web site: "Severe thunderstorms with hail, high winds, and tornadoes will rock the Plains and Upper Midwest on Memorial Day." (That includes Leech Lake.)

In fact, I heard on the radio yesterday that we could get winds up to 25 mph today and as high as 33 mph on Tuesday. If that's the case, we will not be fishing for the next couple of days.

At 11:00 a.m., after a pancake breakfast and maple syrup made by Jerry Schiebe from Ottertail Peninsula maples, Rick and I went fishing. The wind was 10-15 mph out of the ENE, which meant that along our shoreline the water was calm for about 50 yards out from the shore.

There were a dozen boats or more in front of the house, so we motored down to the Birches to try for some perch and maybe a walleye. Once there I decided to fire up the Honda 8hp kicker motor and while it would run while idling it stalled out when put into gear. I'll have to have that checked out by either Mark Ashe (the local mechanic from New Leech Lake Campground) or Corner Sports when I take the boat out in October.

We didn't catch much at the Birches, I think I caught a couple of small perch, so we moved back in front of the house. I caught a few more perch, but Rick came up empty.

Once on shore -- at 1:15 p.m. -- I cleaned one of the two walleye we had in the basket and took it to Jerry Schiebe to repay the favor he did us by giving us a jar of homemade maple syrup. In about 45 minutes from now, Rick and I are going next door for a BBQ with the Newman men -- John, John Jr. and Greg. I understand that "danger dogs" will be on the menu.

The weather remains grey, overcast, with a temperature of 44 degrees. The wind is out of the ENE at about 15 mph and everything is wet. It's not raining per se, it's just wet. Not the kind of Memorial Day weather that entices tourists to Leech Lake; which is fine by me.

Rick and I did dine with John and Johnny Newman (Greg had gone to their home in the Twin Cities with his mom and sister on Sunday). And we did indeed have burgers and danger dogs. After dinner Rick and I came back to my place where we got ready to go fishing.

The weather reports were of a tornado watch for our area and expected severe thunderstorms as the evening progressed, but when we hit the water at 8:15 p.m., there was little sun light peaking through the heavy clouds, the wind was at 12-17 mph out of the ENE, and the temperature was about 63 degrees; it actually felt balmy.

We fished in "the Alley," and saw only three other boats, one of which were the Newman's in their rowboat. The water temperature remained at 60 degrees.

We trolled Minnow Raps (I used my Tennessee Shad color while Rick opted for purpledescent) in 9-13 feet of water. Tonight the bite was slow, I caught three northern pike and a 17 3/4-inch walleye. Rick, for the second time today, came up empty.

As we were motoring back to the lift, we could see flashes of lightening across the sky to the southwest and could hear the low rumble of far-off thunder. It's hard to tell if the storm will move in on us or pass us altogether.

Since the reports are calling for "strong thunderstorms" and possible "damaging hail," I decided to move the truck from its usual spot in the driveway at the house into the big garage at the cabin. On my way back from the cabin I could bright flashes of lightening directly overhead. Maybe the storm is getting closer.

A quick report from the Newman's on their fishing tonight. In their little rowboat (the Johnson 6hp clunked out) they rowed into 10 feet of water and used lighted slip-bobber rigged with Northland Gumball jigs and tipped with fatheads. Foth father and son caught 22-inch walleye, while John Sr. also added a nice "eater" walleye and a jumbo perch. Just goes to show you that you don't need a fancy boat or expensive tackle to catch nice Leech Lake walleye.

The web site http://www.weather.com/ predicted the "severe thunderstorms" to hit our area at 11:30 p.m., and right on time, at exactly 11:30 p.m., the rain started pounded the windows of our living room, lightening lit up the sky, thunder rumbled and the wind began to howl.

As I sign off for the night, it is raining and there are still occasional flashes of lightening. Good night.

May 29, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

Today is the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and at 10:00 a.m. this morning there were 21 boats between Second Duck Point and the Malay's. Someone must be reading this blog! The area I call the "Alley" is obviously producing some fish, or at least someone at one of the resorts is saying it's producing fish, because it is very popular spot on Sucker Bay today. There are other good fishing spots on Sucker Bay including, Hardwood Point, the Flats around Goose Island, the flats between Duck and Second Duck Points, and the tip of Ottertail Peninsula, i.e., Ottertail Point.

Although the sky is grey and looks ominous, there is little wind, maybe 5 mph out of the WNW, and the flags are laying limp against the pole. The temperature at 10:00 a.m. was 50 degrees. The hourly forecast for the day says that there's a 35% chance of showers around noon and then again at 3:00 p.m.

After we finish breakfast and our coffee Rick and I are going to hit the water as well, although I'm not sure where. I really have no desire to pull into the flotilla of FIBs, so maybe we'll head north toward Bass Bay, try the Birches, or maybe make a run south to Ottertail Point. I'll let Rick make the call.

Sometime today we need to contact Jerry Schiebe so we can get in to see Noel's old place. To some degree, Rick is interested in purchasing it and the obvious next step is to get inside and check out the structural integrity of the house.

At 11:00 a.m. Rick and I launched the boat and made our way out into Sucker Bay where 23 boats were gathered from our cabin to Second Duck Point. I asked Rick how and where he'd like to fish and he suggested we troll Minnow Raps from our cabin down to the middle of the bay between Duck and Second Duck Points in a little deeper water than usual around 13-14 feet.

The water temperature was right around 60 degrees, the wind was out of the SW at 7 mph and the air temperature was 54 degrees.

I set the SmartCraft control at 580 rpm to achieve a ground speed of roughly 2.25 mph, which is the speed that typically works well with Minnow Raps in that depth of water.

During the troll the only fish we managed to boat was a 20-inch northern, which I immediately released into the lake. We then motored south to Ottertail Point where we used Northland Mimic Minnow spins for walleye. Unfortunately, we caught no walleye.

I then motored the boat around the point into Portage Bay and moved up to a small point just south of Two Points. We again used Mimic Minnows in 18 feet of water drifting toward shore into about 13 feet of water. I caught a decent sized perch and a very nice 17 1/4-walleye, which I put into the livewell for a future meal. Unfortunately continued his fishless streak stretching it to three days now.

We came ashore around 1:30 p.m. I called Jerry Schiebe to see when it might be a good time for him to show us the old Hancock place. He replied, "how about now?"

Rick and I walked down to Schiebe's house and then the three of us made our way to Noel's old house. Jerry found the keys and we spent the next hour or more inspecting the old place. According to Rick, the framing looks good, although that's about the only good thing to say about the structure itself. It will need everthing from the roof down to the floorboards.

The other potential downside is that of the 300 feet of shoreline most of it, maybe as much as 225, are swamp. That leaves little room for lake access via a dock.

Rick is going to contact Jeff Hancock on Memorial Day to discuss the property in more detail.

At 7:00 p.m. the sky was overcast and grey, the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the NW, the temperature was right around 60 degrees. We ate dinner early so we could get out on the water well befor sunset. That is still the plan and we should be departing soon.

We fished from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. When we got out onto the lake to start fishing there were 16 boats clustered between our house and Second Duck Point. Since everyone one else was "zigging," we zagged. I motored the boat to the Birches where we began tossing our Mimic Minnow spins. We fished in 10-12 feet of water, which had a temperature right around 62 degrees. The wind was light, almost nonexistent, at 5 mph out of the NW.

After 40 minutes of fishing the area with no luck, we changed tactics.

I took the boat out to 13-14 feet of water, set the Mercury SmartCraft controls at 580 rpm and we began trolling Minnow Raps. After a pass or two neither Rick nor I caught anything, so he switched colors and began trolling a purpledescent Minnow Rap while I continued to pull my Tennessee Shad colored Rapala.

It turns out the walleye liked the purpledescent color on this night. Rick caught a 13-inch, 16-inch and 16 3/4-inch walleye, the first two went back into the lake. We kept the 16 3/4-inch walleye and it joined my 17 1/4-inch walleye from earlier in the day in the basket. I'll probably fillet one for Jerry Schiebe (since he was kind enough to give us a jar of homemade maple syrup earlier today) and keep the other for us for a meal on Tuesday. I'm really starting to love the beer-batter Shore Lunch on fresh walleye fillets.

All in all, a great day of fishing on Leech Lake.

May 28, 2011 -- At Leech Lake

Today it's a bit warmer, already 60 degrees by mid-morning, but it's also overcast, mostly grey with sun peeking out every so often and the wind is blowing at 15-20 mph out of the SW. The flags (I fly the Australian flag as well as the US flag when Rick is visiting) are straight out from the pole, and there are white caps on the lake.

It rained numerous times throughout the late-morning and all afternoon. Occasionally the storms would subside and the sun would come out for 30 minutes or so, but like clockwork the next front would move in. There was some periods when the rain came down in buckets and the wind blew so hard that the lake was riled with big white caps and was turned a slate grey color.
I hung out inside most of the day, while Rick helped John Newman with a few projects in his garage, such as installing some new light fixtures.

I called Jeff Hancock, my deceased neighbor's son, to inquire about what will be done with Noel's old house. Jeff told me that he and his sister are trying to unload and gave me a quote of $200K for it; which, ironically, was the exact number Rick said he'd be willing to pay for it. Rick and I will probably meet up with Jerry Schiebe in the next day or two to see the inside of the house and garage. Who knows, Rick could a Leech Lake resident by the end of his visit!

I joined Rick in the Newman's garage for a beer, threw some darts and just chatted. After hard rain and strong winds, the storm finally let up as Rick and I made our way home at 6:30 p.m. The temperature was 52 degrees, the wind was out of the WSW at about 15 mph and the sky was filled with clouds, but the sun was shining. Maybe if the weather holds we'll get out to do some trolling for walleye this evening.

I got some brats in a pot of beer and onions in preperation for the grill. After our dinner, I checked the weather the best way I know how, I walked out to the end of our dock at looked. It is very windy, I'm estimating 17-20 mph out of the WSW, and the temperature is 52.

The high winds alone have me nervous about taking the boat out tonight, but there's another obstacle to deal with as well, the crowds of Memorial Day boaters and fishermen. Despite the wind and heavy waves, I counted 16 boats between our house and Second Duck Point. I don't have any desire to try to weave my way through a crowd of FIBs in search of walleye.

Instead of fishing tonight, Rick and I had a fire in the pit over at the cabin. After that we came home and called it a night. Maybe tomorrow conditions will be better for fishing.

May 27, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

I forgot to check the temperature when I woke this morning, but when I checked it at 10:30 a.m. the thermometer read 44 degrees. The sky was grey and overcast and wind was out of the SE at 10-15 mph.

After a frustrating experience dealing with CitiMortgage which I won't go into here, other than to say I was on the phone with them for nearly an hour and didn't get my situation taken care of, Rick and I decided to go fishing.

I put three 6-gallon containers of gas in the boat since I noticed the tank was around 20 percent of capacity last night when we were trolling. Once the boat was gassed up, we launched and made our way to the "perch hole" near Norm's cabin. Both Rick and I were using Northland Tackle Mimic Minnow Spins.

We didn't catch anything in about 15 minutes of fishing, so we moved to "Bass Bay." During about an hour of drifting across the bay I caught maybe 10 perch, no jumbos, while Rick kept his fishless streak alive.

It was very windy in Bass Bay and with the temperature hovering just near 50 degrees, it was quite cool on the water. I had been keeping an eye on the storm that was predicted to hit mid-afternoon and from my perspective from Bass Bay it looked as if it were raining south of us near Goose Island, so I decided to get us back to shore since neither Rick nor I were wearing our rain gear.

Just as we came ashore it started to rain, but only very briefly. Within 15 minutes or so the rain had stopped, but we decided to stay warm and inside just the same.

Around 5:00 p.m. Rick and I went over to the Newman's and hung out in his garage, drank a beer or two and worked on his small boat trailer. It was raining the entire time we were at the Newman's, it rained while Rick and I ate our dinner of beer-battered walleye and it rained right up to the time we went to bed. We had a good deal of rain today.

As a result of the 40 degree temperature and the constant rain, we did not go fishing on Leech Lake this evening. Maybe tomorrow.

Water Level Update

Periodically I post the water level of Leech Lake measured by my highly unscientific method of seeing how many cement pilings of my boat ramp are under water.

On Friday, May 27, 2011, seven (7) of the pilings were completely covered with water with the waves lapping up on piling number eight.

The highest I've seen the water level on Leech Lake was nine (9) pilings covered. The lowest I've seen is none of the pilings in the water. Based on the high and low of what I've seen in the past six years or so, the water level is above average on this date.

May 26, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

The weather at 8:00 a.m. at Leech Lake was as follows -- the temperature was a cool 38 degrees (yes, it's the end of May, but it's northern Minnesota), the sky was clear and blue, and the wind was variable with a breeze of about 7-10 mph out of the SSE, which meant the lake in front of our house/cabin was calm.

I have a business call I must take today at 9:30 a.m., so I'll be on shore and in the house until roughly 10:30 a.m. or so. But after that, I'm hoping that Rick and I can get out onto the lake to do some fishing. Maybe we'll zip down to "Bass Bay" and try our hand at some panfish or crappie.

After my call and some breakfast, Rick and I went fishing. The weather was very nice, if not a bit cool. The temperature was 46 degrees, the sky was clear and blue, the wind was out of the SSE at 8-12 mph and the water temperature was hovering around 62 degrees.

We started fishing in 11 feet of water off Second Duck Point using jigs tipped with shiners. We had a few bites, and something nipped the entire body of my shiner off the jig leaving just the head, but we caught no fish.

I moved the boat to 12 feet of water straight out in front of our house, but we didn't have a lot of luck there either. I caught a few small perch and Rick didn't hook into anything. So, once again I moved us. This time I position us in front of Norm's cabin allowing the wind to push us north toward Schiebe's in about 9 feet of water. For this drift I changed up and went with a Mimic Minnow Spin from Northland Tackle.

I my very first cast I caught a nice perch; not quite a jumbo, but still a nice fish. I proceeded to catch at least a half of a dozen to 10 perch during that drift with the Mimic Minnow, but Rick, who was using a jig and shiner, caught nothing.

At about 1:45 p.m. we came ashore, had some lunch, then launched into some chores. I planted the other two Colorado blue spruce trees at the cabin, while Rick started tearing about the old smoker that Clancy (the previous owner of our house) had left behind the Bunkhouse and which has been an eye sore for the entire 10 years we've owned the property.

After I had planted the trees, I went over to the house and helped Rick finish tearing up the smoker. It was made of mostly sheet metal and heavy wood so it was not an easy thing to demonlish. But at last we had it torn down to the point we could load it into the back of my truck.

Paulsen's, who live down the road from us, have has some roof work done to their place and as a result have a large, industrial-sized dumpster sitting in their driveway. When I stopped by to chat with Duane this morning I noticed that there was barely anything inside the dumpster and asked if I could throw the old smoker in it. Duane was fine with it as long as American Disposal, the owner of the dumpster, OK'd it. I called AD to check, and got the go ahead.

So at about 4:30 p.m. Rick and I threw the old smoker materials into the dumpster, cleaned up and came home. Once home I swept up the driveway where we loaded the materials into my truck, swept out the back of the truck, and generally cleaned up. Rick, meanwhile, checked out the roof on the cabin (which had replaced last year) just to make sure everything still looked good; and it did.

While sitting inside the house listening to music and waiting for dinner to cook, I looked out toward the lake and right where our dock meets the shore were a mated pair of Canadian geese and 5 yellow-tinted goslings. For the longest time the 5 little geese preened themselves, rested in the warm evening sun and snacked on just hatched birch flies, while the two adults stood on guard, one looking north the other south. Instinctively these geese parents protected their offspring and held the family together. The geese stayed near our dock for nearly 25 minutes before moving toward the water and wading away. I watched them move north toward the cabin before they disappeared behind the trees.

After dinner I walked out into the living room and looked outside only to see the that the Canadian geese and their 5 goslings had returned. Three of the little geese were bundled together sleeping while the other two goslings and the adults ate birch flies and grass. This is one of the many pleasures of the northwoods, being close to nature. When I'm here at Leech Lake I see eagles nesting, Canadian geese with their goslings, families of beaver, deer and their fawns, turtles laying eggs and on and on. At Leech Lake I'm connected to nature in a way that I'm not able to achieve aware else. I have to say, it's good for my soul.

We went fishing at 8:15 p.m., about 45 minutes before sunset. As usual, we trolled from Malay's cabin to the north and between Second Duck and Duck Points to the south in 9-12 feet of water pulling Minnow Raps at a ground speed of between 1.75 and 2.45 mph depending on if we were going with or against the wind. The wind was blowing at 12-17 mph out of the SSE, the water temperature was 62 degrees, and the air temperature was 42.

During the two hours we were on the water I caught a 13-inch, a 15-inch and a 16-inch walleye -- all of which went back into the lake -- as well as a northern pike. As was the case earlier in the day, Rick was skunked.

Good night from Leech Lake.

May 25, 2011 -- At Leech Lake

This morning at 9:00 a.m. the temperature was a cool 44 degrees, the sky was mostly clear with just a view high wispy clouds and a stiff wind out of the north at 15-18 mph. There are few white caps rolling across the lake, making it a morning we'll stay on shore.

I spent a good chunk of the morning dealing with Delta Airlines trying to change the date of my flight from Bemidji back to San Jose. As is always the case when dealing with any airline, I spent long periods of time on hold, spent considerable time with an agent trying to change the flight, only to be redirected to another agent because the first one couldn't help. Of course, another long period on hold was encountered between speaking with agents. This really shouldn't be so hard.

After going around and around on dates, times and charges, I finally settled on a new date for my return to California. Total time on the phone with Delta was 1 hour, 7 minutes and 14 seconds. I still have another flight to change, but I'll do that on a different day. They simply wore me down by constantly putting me on hold, playing crappy hold music, and charging outlandish change fees. I sure with Southwest Airlines flew to Bemidji!!

After my lengthy call with Delta, I made a call to a friend of mine regarding a business opportunity. But alas, we traded voice mails, so nothing accomplished, yet.

T&K Outdoors showed up at the house/cabin at around 11:15 a.m. to cut the lawn. It's the first time they've been out this year, and it's good they're here, the grass is nearly a foot tall in many spots. If I lived here year 'round I'd make the investment in a good riding mower and tackle the chore myself, which I actually kind of enjoy doing. But since there are periods throughout the spring and summer when I'm not here to mow the lawn, it makes sense to have T&K take on that responsibility.

When T&K was finished with the yard, Rick and I went on a bike ride. We rode down Ottertail Point Road to Duck Point Woods and rode back to where you can see the eagle's nest. The eagle -- I couldn't tell if it was a male or female since both have the white head -- was in the nest guarding either the eggs or eaglets. It's not everyday you get a chance to see a bald eagle nesting in the wild.

Once back at the house/cabin, I planted one of the three colorado blue spruce trees that I bought in town the other day. I still haven't decided on where I want to plant the other two. Since it's supposed to get down to as low as 30 degrees tonight, I moved the two potted trees into the garage to keep the roots from freezing.

While I was planting the tree, Rick took down the old antenna that was out by the lake at the house. It has been there for years and has never been operational since we bought the house back in 2001. All that remains is a 10 foot high metal pole and a small cement slab. I'll have both of those removed when WC Excavating comes to work on the harbor walls, most likely sometime in early June.

The wind never let up today. It was blowing at 17-22 mph out of the north, with gust even higher. There have been white caps on the lake all day, and only a few hearty (or foolish) boaters were out on the lake.

For dinner I barbecued a brined chicken, cooking it beer-can style, where a 3/4 can of beer is placed inside the chicken for barbecuing. We'll finish off the potato salad I made a few days back as the side.

No fishing today. The wind was simply too strong all day to make it worthwhile. I'm not a pro walleye fisherman that has to go out fishing regardless of the conditions. Instead, I'm here to enjoy the lake and post updates about what's working to catch walleyes and where they're biting. I'll leave the unpleasant weather conditions to those who get paid to fish. Until tomorrow...

May 24, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

Today the sky was grey and overcast all day long. At mid-morning the temperature was only 46 degrees and it didn't get past 60 throughout the day. The wind remained pretty steady all day at 12-15 mph out of the north.

After being up so late the previous night, neither Rick nor I arose early. We pretty much just hung out around the house most of the day, before tackling a few chores later in the afternoon. Rick took a look at some faulty wiring on a trailer of John Newman's. Then we took down two dead trees that were on the Newman's land near our property. Of course we checked with Karen Newman first to make sure she (and John) were OK with us removing the trees. We didn't want a strong wind to bring them down randomly.

At around 7:30 p.m., I got the grill going for the porterhouse steaks Rick bought at the store yesterday. They look like very good cuts of meat and should be tasty.

As the day has moved toward evening the sky has cleared some and there is now some blue to been seen, and the sun is peeking through the clouds. The wind has slowed considerably and is now blowing at 5-8 mph out of the north. The temperature is about 52 degrees.

Tonight is the last night Kathleen will be in St. Cloud visiting her mother. Tomorrow Kathleen flies to San Francisco and will be in our house in San Jose by 7:00 p.m. How weird that someone can go from one environment and setting to another so completely different is such a short amount of time.

At 9:15 p.m. we went fishing. Like last night, I used the bluegill colored Lindy Shadling and Rick used a purpledescent Rapala Minnow Rap. About an hour into our fishing, I had caught two northerns and had to deal with at least two tangles with the Lindy Shadling. The design of the Shadling is such that if you use a locking swivel (which I do to reduce line twist) the action of the lure ends up catching the line in the lead treble hook. On two occasions tonight, and two more last night, my lure got tangled up in the line. Not a great design for a lure that is meant to be used for trolling. After it happened the second time tonight I changed from the Shadling to my old reliable Rapala Minnow Rap, in the Tennessee shad color. No problems with the Minnow Rap. Live and learn.

On our last pass by Second Duck Point on our way back to the cabin, Rick hooked into a nice 20-inch walleye; which was immediately released back into the lake. The wind was still blowing out of the north at about 10 mph, the water temperature was right around 60 degrees, the moon was 50% waning and was scheduled to rise at 1:32 a.m. CDT, and the air temperature was a very cool 40 degrees.

We came ashore around 10:45 p.m. and caught the end of the Sharks vs. Canucks Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. The Canucks won 3-2 in OT and won the series 4 games to 1. Another disappointing end to the Sharks season. No more hockey for me this year.

I've got a number of business and home related calls and projects to attend to tomorrow, so I'll sign off for now.

sj: 2 pike
rs: 20" walleye

May 23, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

This morning at 9:00 a.m. the sky was grey and overcast, the wind was out of the north at around 15 mph and the temperature was 50 degrees.

At 10:00 a.m. Rick and I went into Bemidji for breakfast and to run a series of errands. I picked up 3 colorado blue spruce trees to plant at the cabin between our place and the Poage's. I also bought a new battery for the ATV, and other odds and ends that were needed around the house and cabin.

Once home, Rick rebuilt the little bridge that spans a small gully between my property and Newman's. I planted the new blueberry bush that arrived, and positioned the pines trees where I want to plant them near our property line with Poage's.

At 5:30 p.m. the temperature was 65 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny and the wind was fairly strong at 12-15 mph out of the north. I went down the end of the dock, took out the jumbo perch and walleye, took them up to the cabin and cleaned them. The perch look like it has some type of small parasite in the meat -- little black dots and some bigger orange marks -- so I decided we wouldn't be eating it.

Instead of my normal method of frying the walleye fillets I decided to do a beer-batter coating and I have say, they fillets tasted much better than ususal. I think I'll try a beer batter the next time we eat walleye.

By 9:15 p.m. the wind had died down to around 5-8 mph out of the north, so Rick and I decided to go fishing. I was trying out a new lure, a Lindy Shadling, in the bluegill color, and Rick used a magnum X-Rap from Rapala before switching to a Rapala Minnow Rap in a purpledescent color.

I caught the first fish, a nice 17 1/2-inch walleye, which we put in the livewell. I caught it while making a turn out toward the lake just past Second Duck Point in 11 feet of water with my Mercury Smartcraft trolling speed set at 570 rpm. The water temperature was hovering around 60 degrees, there was a half moon, and the wind had all but died down completely.

We were joined in "the Alley" by 4 other boats, although I didn't see them catching anything.

Rick caught a northern pike, about 22 inches long, and later a 21 1/2-inch walleye, which had some new cuts, or bites, on its side. After looking at the fish's wounds, and contemplated the size of the monster fish that would have hit such a big walleye, we put the wounded, but spirited, fish back into the lake.

We came ashore around 11:00 p.m. and then proceeded to stay up way too late listening to music and debating the problems of the world; none of which we solved by the way.

I'm still trying to decided if I should clean the walleye in the basket and trade it with Jerry Schiebe for a mason jar of his homemade maple syrup or eat the walleye fillets with Rick using my newly found beer batter. Decision, decisions...

May 22, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

The sun was shining this morning at 9:00 a.m. although there were some clouds in the east and north that were starting to move our way. The temperature was 60 degrees and the wind was 8-12 mph from the ENE.

Kathleen went for a run around 11:00 a.m. since she wanted to get on the road to St. Cloud by 1:00 p.m. Indeed, just after 1:00 p.m. Kathleen was all packed and was driving out of the driveway to head south. She had a very nice, and unexpected, six-day stay at Leech Lake, and it was wonderful having her here.

With Kathleen gone, Rick donned the waders, got into the water, and led the effort of getting the power cord tied up underneath the dock. We then decided to go fishing. Starting in about 10 feet of water we drifted north to south in the ENE wind using jigs and shiners. I had a really good bite and when I reeled in to check my shiner, it was bit completely off just below the head. Most likely the work of a walleye.

We only fished for about 30 minutes when the rain started. We didn't have our rain gear with us, so we quickly went ashore, just ahead of a torrential downpour.

Once inside, I listened to some of Game 4 of the NHL Western Conference Finals between the Sharks and the Canucks. In one horrendous stretch in the 2nd period, the Sharks gave up 3 goals while killing three 5-3 penalties in the span of just 1 minute and 55 seconds. At that point I'd had enough of Sharks hockey for the year, so I closed the game on the PC and decided that since the rain had stopped that it was time to go fishing again.

The sky remained overcast and grey, and the wind had picked up to about 12-15 mph out of the ENE. On the lake the water was choppy, but that should have been good for producing walleye. Instead, all we caught using jigs tipped with shiners were a few perch. Rick did hook into a nice jumbo perch that measured just under 12 inches long; which we kept.

We continued to drift in 10-13 feet of water between the Birches and Second Duck Point when it started to rain again; at first just a sprinkle, but soon a complete downpour. Although we had on rain jackets we didn't wear rain pants or bibs, so both Rick and I were soaked by the time we came ashore.

We had a light dinner of some chili Kathleen had made the day before, then went out for an evening troll. As is our usual method, we troll in 10-12 feet of water from Malay's to the north and south past Second Duck Point. We use Rapala Minnow Raps trolled about 50 feet behind the boat which has a ground speed of roughly 2.25 mph. Tonight the water temperature was 60 degrees, the wind was still blowing out of the ENE at about 12-15 mph and there was a light rain falling.

This time both Rick and I had on full rain gear and it was a good idea that we did. Not long after launching the boat it started to rain. At first just a good steady rain, but soon it was once again pouring.

I managed to hook into a nice 19-inch walleye right in front of our house, which I immediately released back into the lake. But that would prove to be the only fish of the night. After enduring about an hour of pouring rain we went inside to dry off and warm up.

If the weather permits, we'll be out fishing for Leech Lake walleye again tomorrow night. Until then...

May 21, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

We all went to bed late last night since Rick and I didn't get back from the airport until after midnight, so we slept in late this morning. I got up around 9:30 a.m. to a steady rain, grey skies, a temperature of 50 degrees and light winds out of the east at 5-8 mph.

The rain, and the previous days of sun, have made the tiny buds on the trees explode into bright green leaves and the grass too has turned a brilliant shade of emerald. It's as if we're in the middle of some fairy tale land where everything is shining green.

After coffee and breakfast, Kathleen and I spent some time going through a pile of old photos, some more than 20 years old, putting them into various categories (by person) in hopes of getting them into photo albums at some point. Rick spent some time trying to figure out why our brand new HP printer -- which we just bought last summer -- refuses to print. I've found that over the years the quality and reliability of HP's printers has gone downhill significantly. A once proud brand is now just middle of the road.

One of the big projects that I have to address during my stay is the repair of the wall around the harbor at the house. Over the years, water has drained down behind the wall, and then during periods of thawing and freezing, the ice has pushed the wall inward toward the harbor, and has heaved up the cement walkway that encircles the harbor. I've contacted an outfit out of Federal Dam -- WC Excavating -- about doing a complete repair job. They'll have to remove all the cement walkway, put in a tile drain, sewer rock, gravel, rewire some of the electrical work, and of course realign the harbor walls using cable jacks and chain. I'm expecting an estimate for that work some time next week.

At 1:30 p.m. the rain was coming down even harder. It's been a steady or hard rain now for at least 5 or 6 hours straight. I bet we've had more than an inch of rain, maybe even two. The temperature hasn't budged from 50 degrees, and the wind has pretty much died down to an occasional breeze out of the east.

As I watched two fishermen in a Ranger boat through the binoculars something in the foreground caught my eye. I quickly adjusted the focus of the binos and saw three beavers swimming from in front of out house toward the cabin. They better stay away from our birch trees!

Rick and I just got back from Birch Ridge Resort where Rick bought a Minnesota fishing license and we picked up two dozen shiners. It is still raining steadily, and the temperature hasn't moved from 50 degrees. A cool, wet day.

I listened to a Prairie Home Companion on the radio as I made potato salad to go along with the BBQ ribs for dinner. After dinner Rick and I went fishing.

The rain had finally stopped and from about 5:30 p.m. to sunset the sun was actually out. A welcome sight after a full day of rain. The temperature also reached its highest of the day at right around 60 degrees. The wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the east.

As is our typical pattern for evening fishing, both Rick and I pulled crankbaits in 10 feet of water from Malay's to the north, and south past Second Duck Point. I caught a northern, and Rick caught two walleyes, one 18 inches which went back into the lake, and another one that measured 17 1/2 inches which we kept. We may have walleye for lunch tomorrow before Kathleen leaves to go back to St. Cloud.

It was nice to finally get some good sized walleye in the boat. I'm sure Rick and I will do more fishing tomorrow. Until then, good night from Leech Lake.

May 20, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

This morning at 10:00 a.m. Jerry Schiebe and Butch Bader (from Peterson Excavating) stopped by to look at the harbor wall to see how we can make repairs. Water has seeped in behind the wall and has pushed it out toward the harbor and in the process has heaved the cement walkway upward. From what Butch tells me, it should be a fairly simple thing to fix once we bust up the cement and have it removed. I need to figure out if Rick and I will do that, if I'll have Mark from Shore Brothers do that, or if I'll just have Peterson's do the entire thing.

The temperature at noon is 65 degrees, the sky is grey and overcast, the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the east, it's a bit humid and feels like it might rain. There is a 50% chance of rain today.

Kathleen is wrapping up some phone calls relating to the care of her Mom, but after that I think we're going to go on a bike ride. And later today, at just before 11:00 p.m., my friend Rick, from Australia, will be arriving at the Bemidji airport for a couple of week stay. I'll leave here around 10:00 p.m. to pick him up.

We went on a bike ride doing the "loop" from W. Shores Rd. to Sucker Bay Rd. to Ottertail Point Rd. to 26th and then back home. Along the way we had a couple of "stop and chats," one with Ron Geppart and his wife and the second with Rome Von Rossum. It's always nice to catch up with our peninsula neighbors.

Once home I decided to go fishing while Kathleen ate some lunch and took care of many more emails and phone calls.

The weather was grey and overcast as I pushed off the boat lift, and no sooner did I start up the motor than it started to sprinkle. The water temperature was 60 degrees and the air temp was around 68. The wind was still out of the ESE at 8-12 mph, with occasional gusts up around 20 mph.

I started near Second Duck Point using a Northland Mimic Minnow spin, and caught nothing. I went around the point near the weeds and shoreline, but again came up empty. After an hour of no fish, and on-again off-again rain, I went home.

After dinner Kathleen and I listened to the Sharks vs. Canucks Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals online, but after the 2nd period I had to leave to pick up Rick at the airport.

On my way to the Bemidji airport Kathleen called to tell me that the Sharks beat the Canucks 4-3 to now trail in the series 2-1. Game 4 is on Sunday.

I picked Rick up at the airport and we drove back to the lake, arriving at just after midnight. We stayed up for an hour or so, and then we all went to bed. More from Leech Lake tomorrow.

May 19, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

At 9:00 a.m. this morning the temperature was already 56 degrees and I could just tell it was going to be a warm day at Leech Lake. The sky was mostly sunny, with just a few billowy clouds, and the wind was 5-10 mph out of the ESE.

Kathleen spent most of the morning dealing with some work issues online, and then making some calls related to her mom's care. I had a work call myself, so both of us were busy until just after noon.

I decided to do some fishing, even the wind was from the east making "the fishing the least," and Kathleen decided to take an early afternoon run.

I fished using Northland eyeball jigs tipped with shiners, but could only catch 3 smallish perch. I saw a couple of other boats on the water, but never once saw any of them boat a fish. Fishing was slow.

I came ashore around 2:00 p.m. and decided to fire up the ATV and take a little ride. I need a new battery for the ATV so I had to use the pull cord to start it up. On my ride I came across Kathleen just north of Harbor Rd. It was a hot, humid afternoon, with temps in the mid-70s, and she was sweating and dragging just a bit. She's used to running in the late afternoon or early evening when the air is cooler.

When we both arrived at home we did some yard work at the cabin. Kathleen raked out the flower beds, while I used a wire brush to clean off our "love seat swing," which I'll water proof or stain once I get into town to buy the right product.

We had a quiet evening after dinner, just sitting around listening to music, talking and playing dominoes. Later we watched a Woody Allen movie, then called it a night. We had another fun-filled day at Leech Lake.

May 18, 2011 -- At Leech Lake

For the second straight day the wind has been blowing out of the ESE, rather strange from my experience here at Leech Lake. The wind wasn't strong, maybe 8-10 mph. The sky is clear blue and sunny and the temperature at 9:00 a.m. was 50 degrees; it's supposed to get up over 70 degrees by later in the afternoon.

By 11:00 a.m., the wind had shifted to a more common 8-10 mph out of the SW. The temperature increased to the mid-50s and the birds were serenading us with their variety of songs and tunes. We've placed oranges, which we cut in half, on the railing of our back porch to attract the orioles. Today we've had probably a half dozen visit us for a taste of that sweet citrus.

Kathleen and I ate lunch on our back porch and waited to hear from Kathleen's sister-in-law, Sandy, about Kathleen's mom's doctor's appointment. If Marge needs additional therapy, Kathleen would need to leave Leech Lake later this afternoon and make the drive down to St. Cloud. I'm hoping that Marge is fine for many reasons, not the least of which is Kathleen would be able to stay here at the lake if all goes well.

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Update: At 1:25 p.m. Kathleen received a text message from Sandy saying all is well with Marge and there is no need for Kathleen to leave for St. Cloud; at least not for the next several days. To celebrate, Kathleen and I went on bike ride.

We rode our Schwinns down W. Shores Rd. to 26th, then down Ottertail Point Rd. all the way to the end. Along the way we stopped at the development at Duck Point Woods and rode out on the boardwalk to the boats slips. We skipped stones along the shore and in doing so, startled a female mallard duck who took off from her nest. I looked to see where she had flown from and sure enough, found her nest, in which must have been 10 or more eggs (pictured here).


Mallard eggs near Duck Point, Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

On our way back from the boardwalk at Duck Point Woods, Kathleen spotted an eagle aerie in a tall tree. In it was a bald eagle. Obviously we couldn't see inside the very large nest, but we assumed that like the mallard, the bald eagle was guarding her eggs.

As we rode toward home we also saw a painted turtle crossing the road, also probably on her way to laying her eggs, several goldfinch, pelicans and other interesting birds.

When we got home we were hungry so we had some lunch. I decided a rest in the hammock was in order and laid in the warm afternoon sun.

At 6:25 p.m. Kathleen went for a run. The temperature was still near 70 degrees, the wind was light out of the ESE at 5-8 mph. The western sky has a yellowish hue as the sun drops toward the horizon.

I will most likely not go fishing tonight because I want to be with Kathleen since she has limited time here at Leech Lake. We've talked about having a fire in the fire pit over at the cabin after dinner.

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After dinner I walked next door to the cabin and got a fire going in the fire pit. A short time later Kathleen came over with all the ingredients for s'mores. We enjoyed the fire, listened to the loons calling on the lake, played some ping pong in the game room, ate s'mores and then put out the fire and came home.

No fishing on Leech Lake today, but a wonderful day just the same.

May 17, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

Kathleen and I woke to a beautiful morning at Leech Lake. The temperature was almost 50 degrees, on its way to a high of 70, the sky was bright, sunny, blue and clear, and the wind was a gentle 5-8 mph out of the ESE.

After enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee and some breakfast, we went outside for the day. Our first activity was a boat ride. The surface of Sucker Bay was nearly calm, not good for walleye fishing, but perfect for a relaxing boat ride. We headed south past Second Duck Point toward Duck Point and went as far as the old "Al Capone" house (yes, the gangster himself is rumored to have spent quite a bit of time on Leech Lake escaping the heat in Chicago). We then headed back home.

Once on shore, we decided to go for a bike ride. A couple of years ago Kathleen's mom gave us two old Schwinn bikes, a boys and a girls model. The elder Coyles bought the bikes in the late 1960s or early 70s, and were in need of a little maintenance. I took them to a bike shop in Bemidji and a couple of days late they were like new. It pays to buy quality. Here are two bikes that are more than 40 years old and they are in fantastic condition.

Kathleen and I rode those old Schwinns down W. Shores Rd., to 26th to Ottertail Point Rd. to Sucker Bay Rd. and then past the community center and back down W. Shores Rd. A total of 6 wonderful miles. The sky was incredibly blue today, and the pale yellow-green leaves of the just budding trees looked amazing against the azure sky.

After our bike ride Kathleen and I did several hours of yard work. It is great to be outside working together. We cleaned out all of the flower beds, trimmed back some plants, pulled weeds, planted some blueberry bushes, watered and other lawn/plant maintenance.

I also took a little time to put together the hammock and pull out the chaise lounge chairs, which are now situated on the lakeside lawn facing Sucker Bay. Maybe we'll watch the sunset outside today, since it's warm and there still no bugs (especially no mosquitoes).

With the sun having set, Kathleen and I enjoyed some quiet time talking and listening to classical music in our living room. It was a perfect ending to a great day.

May 16, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

The temperature this morning at 8:30 a.m. was 46 degrees on its way to 51 by noon. The sky was clear, blue and sunny, with just some hazy type clouds on the western horizon. The had shifted over night and was now coming out of the SW at 5-8 mph. It was beautiful day, and there were already nearly 20 boats in front of our house by 10:00 a.m.

Tim and Jackson needed to go home today and wanted to hit the road by noon, so just after 10:00 a.m. we got in the boat for one last trip before they had to leave. The water temperature had warmed to 54 degrees.

Again we used Northland eyeball jigs tipped with shiners. We all caught several medium-sized perch, but no walleye.

We came ashore by 11:45 a.m. and just after noon Tim and Jackson were backing out of the driveway. No long goodbyes, that's for sure.

I spoke with Kathleen this morning and there is a possibility that she will come up to Leech Lake later today. But with her mother still needing constant care, I'd say that the odds of seeing Kathleen are no more than 50-50. I'd sure like to see her, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

A repair man from Culligan Water is out at our house and cabin replacing all of the filters in our reverse osmosis drinking water system. The filters should be changed every year, but it's been probably four since I last had them replaced. Oh well, time flies by up here.

A couple of days ago Jackson caught a very big 12" jumbo perch which we kept hoping to add others to the basket. But since we didn't catch any other perch of merit, nor any walleye, I took the one big jumbo in my basket and added it to the Newman's. They've probably got 12-14 nice jumbos ready to clean and eat.

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Well, joy of joys, Kathleen called and said she was on Hwy. 371 near Camp Ripley on her way to Leech Lake. She arrived at the lake house just after 5:00 p.m. After unloading groceries and a quick tour of the compound, Kathleen and I took a walk down to the beaver pond, and at that point she ran down to the community center and back while I turned and walked home. For me I had a brisk 2-mile walk and she had a 6-mile round trip run.

When Kathleen got back from her run we sat on the back deck and watched the sunset over Sucker Bay. It was a beautiful site and very relaxing.

Until tomorrow...

May 15, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

At 8:00 a.m. this morning the temperature was already a relatively warm 42 degrees, the sky was perfectly clear, blue and sunny, and the wind was out of the NE at 10-15 mph. There were about a dozen boats scattered from Second Duck Point to our cabin, all trying to get the jump on an early Sunday morning walleye bite.

At 10:30 a.m. Tim, Jackson and I put on some jackets and warm clothes and made our way to the cabin in order to launch the boat and do some fishing of our own. The wind was still blowing around 15 mph, so the waves made it tricky to get the boat off the lift. I asked Tim and Jackson to help steady the boat as I lowered it into the water.

I didn't see exactly what happened, but when I looked up, Tim had his hands on the inside roof of the boat lift and his feet were on the gunwale of the boat as the boat was backing out of the lift. I expected Tim to let go of the lift, but instead he just kept getting stretched further and further until something had to give. What gave was Tim falling into the lake right in the middle of the boat lift saddle. He let out one little cry that indicted to me and Jackson that the water was very cold. And at 52 degrees, the water was indeed cold.

Luckily, Tim was not hurt, only wet and cold. I quickly got the boat back into the lift as Tim climbed onto the dock. All three of us made our way back to the house where I got Tim a towel and he stripped off his soaking wet, cold clothes.

After changing into dry, warm clothes, and taking the time to place his jacket and shoes on the deck to dry in the sun (the rest of his clothes went into the dryer), we once again tried launching the boat so we could go fishing.

This time everyone remained in the boat and we motored our way to the Birches, dropped in the drift sock, and let the 15 mph wind push the boat at about 3/4 mph toward Second Duck Point; where a flotilla of some 30 boats was gathered.

Tim caught several medium-sized perch, none of which we kept, I caught a couple of perch and northern, while on this trip Jackson was skunked. We went ashore around 1:30 p.m.

After a dinner of wild rice brats, corn and Cole slaw, we went back on the water to do some evening fishing; not trolling, however, just drifting and jigging.

The wind was still about 15 mph out of the north, the temperature was around 50 degrees, the sky was clear, the moon was 96 percent waxing (full moon officially on May 17), and the water temperature was 52.5 degrees.

We tipped our Northland Tackle eyeball jigs with shiners and made several drifts in and around a waypoint I'd set; I'd caught a 24-inch walleye last year at this particular spot so I marked it on my GPS.

We caught a few perch, I caught a 13-inch walleye (which immediately went back into the lake), and Tim hooked something -- probably a northern -- that snapped his line. We stayed on the water until about 9:00 p.m., just after sunset, then made our way ashore. We didn't keep any fish, but it was nice to catch the first walleye of the season; just one day after opener.

Tim, Jackson and I listened online to the end of the NHL Western Conference finals Game 1 between the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks, which the Canucks won 3-2. We then played some cards and went to bed.

It was another wonderful day on Leech Lake.

Walleye Opener 2011 at Leech Lake

Another grey, overcast day with a temperature of 36 degrees at 9:30 a.m. and winds varying from 10-20 mph, with gusts even stronger. A cold walleye opener in Minnesota.

There have been anywhere from 4 to a dozen boats in front of our house battling choppy water and a stinging mist being blown by the stiff winds The boats we've seen that have caught fish have pulled in nothing more than a couple of small perch. It doesn't appear to be a strong opener; at least not near Second Duck Point on Sucker Bay.

Tim, Jackson and I hung around the house for most of the morning and afternoon, and at 3:00 p.m. we went over to John Newman's cabin for an early BBQ dinner of brined, beer-can chicken and "danger dogs, street style."

After our dinner fare, Tim and Jackson helped me get the canopy on the boat lift; not an easy task with the wind still blowing at a good 10-15 mph clip out of the north. But with some muscle and determination, we got the canopy on the lift. We then loaded the boat with tackle, supplies, the landing net, drift sock and other necessities for walleye fishing, and at just after 7:00 p.m. local time hit the water in my Lund Pro V 1800 for the first time this fishing season.

With nearly 20 boats crammed between our house and Second Duck Point, I made the decision that we would begin fishing in 12 feet of water north of our place, up near the Birches. The 150 hp Mercury Verado got us to our destination quickly, where we deployed the drift sock, tipped our Northland Tackle , eyeball jigs with shiners and began fishing.

Very soon after dropping my line in the water I felt that familar "weight" on the end of my line and went to set the hook. For just a split second I felt the weight of the fish on the line, but then the line snapped. It must have been a northern pike because it bit right through my 8-lb Berkeley Fireline Crystal. Although it is possible it could have been a walleye.

We made several drifts from the Birches to Malay's cabin and Jackson and I caught a few perch each, but unfortunately Tim was skunked. Jackson had the nicest fish of the outing, catching a jumbo perch that measured just a hair over 12 inches. A truly big perch; which we put in the live well.

The water temperature was 52 degrees, surprisingly warm since ice-out was May 1, the wind was still 10-15 mph out of the north, making for some nice swells on the lake, and the moon was 90 waxing (full moon on May 17).

We came in around 8:45 p.m., which is the time the sun officially set at our location, unloaded a few things from the boat, then got a campfire going at the cabin fire pit. About 9:30 p.m. John stopped by to join our conversation, and we stayed outside near the fire until almost midnight.

We all had a great walleye opener at Leech Lake, even though none of us boated a walleye. Well, there's always tomorrow.

May 13, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

I woke up early this morning -- 6:00 a.m. CDT -- and the temperature was a brisk 36 degrees. The sky was overcast and grey and the wind was blowing at 10-15 mph out of the north. I stayed in bed for an hour or so thinking I might fall back asleep, but no such luck. So I got up, made some coffee, got online and read the Detroit and San Jose newspapers getting each city's view of last night's Sharks 3-2 win over the Red Wings in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals.

At 8:30 a.m. I gave John Newman a call and asked if he was ready to help me get my boat in the water, which he had offered to do yesterday. He was up and ready so we convened at the boat ramp at 9:00 a.m. The boat was in the lift by 9:15 a.m., and all went according to plan.

The wind, which was still around 15 mph from the north would have made getting the lift canopy on a challenge, so we decided to wait until Saturday or Sunday when the winds are supposed to be much less stiff.

As I write this at just after noon, I see a bank of heavy mist or light rain moving across Sucker Bay toward our house. It's already cold and damp outside, and this light rain should make everthing wet.

Although Blogger.com is back up and running -- it had been down for a couple of days -- it still seems to be having trouble with formating. There is way too much white space in my last post, and despite multiple attempts to edit the entry, it keeps posting the way you see it. I'm hoping all will be fixed by the time I post this entry.

Kathleen's brother Tim and his son Jackson are on their way up to Leech Lake to take part in a the grand Minnesota tradition of walleye opener, which begins tonight at midnight. In an effort to be completely legal, I applied my new boat license stickers to the boat before I put it in the water, and I bought my 2011 fishing license from Birch Ridge Resort this morning.

Tim and Jackson arrived at the lake around 3:00 p.m. By that time there was a steady, light rain falling and the wind had picked up a little. The temperature was reading a cool 36 degrees.

We contemplated going fishing, but it was simply too rough to take the boat out. I don't mind the cold and rain, but I'm not going to have the boat bounced around in the boat lift getting out onto the lake and returning to the lift. There's simply too much chance of damaging the boat.

So instead we stayed in the house, had pizza for dinner and then watched a movie. The weather report for walleye opener is more rain, more strong winds and slightly warmer temperatures, in the mid-40s. If the weather changes, and I feel it's OK to go out onto the lake, we will go fishing. The report for Sunday is clear skies, warmer temps, in the 60s, and lighter winds. Sunday looks light the better day for fishing.

I'll file another report tomorrow.

May 10-12, 2011 -- On Leech Lake (a recap)

I arrived in Bemidji on Tuesday, May 10, and the next evening I wrote a long blog entry about my first two days at Leech Lake. Unfortunately, Blogger.com, the web site that hosts my blog, had technical difficulties and all blogs written and posted from May 11 through May 13 (at around 11:3o a.m. CDT) were lost. I will not try to re-create my entire entry, instead I'll just bulletize the events of the past few days.

May 10:

• Arrived at Bemidji airport around 4:30 p.m. CDT and went to Corner Sports to pick up my boat, but they hadn't finished the service on it, so I was told to come back on Wednesday, May 11.


• Enjoyed a cold beer on John Newman's dock as we watched the sunset into the Western sky and had a nice conversation.


• The weather in the evening was still up over 60 degrees, skies were clear, and there was just a slight breeze out of the SE.

May 11:

• Picked up my boat at Corner Sports, complete with two new deep-cell batteries for the trolling motor, and a new cranking battery for the main motor.


• Came home, got ready to launch boat, but the electric motor on the boat lift went out, and that subsequently caused the lift chain to break. Shore Brothers scheduled to come out on May 12 to fix the lift motor.


• Weather was in the high 60s, mostly sunny, winds out of the north at 10-13 mph.


• Went fishing with John in his boat at the Birches, and we caught a number of decent sized perch, and I caught jumbo which we kept and added to John's basket.

May 12:

• Weather was much cooler with a high of 44 degrees. Mostly cloudy, grey skies, with the wind out of the north at 10-15 mph.


• Got the lake pump working so we can use the various faucets around the property to pull lake water.


• Shore Brothers replaced the electric boat lift motor and fixed the chain. The lift seems to work fine. I'll launch the boat tomorrow.


• The Sharks beat the Red Wings 3-2 in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals ending a thrilling series and will send the Shark north to Vancouver to take on the Canucks in the Conference Finals.

I'll do a full post on May 13 of the days events.

On Leech Lake -- May 11, 2011

Well I'm finally here at Leech Lake. And it sure is wonderful.

I arrived in Bemidji yesterday around 4:30 p.m. CDT and went directly to Corner Sports to pick up my boat. Unfortunately, it wasn't ready. They hadn't yet fired it up to make sure it was running properly, nor had they installed new trolling motor batteries and a new starter battery. They told me they'd move it to the top of the list and get to it first thing on Wednesday (today).

So off I drove to the grocery store with no boat in tow. After loading up on supplies I headed to Leech Lake.

After unloading the groceries, turning on the well pump, and a few other "start up" activities, I opened a cold beer and started to make my way to the end of the dock to watch the sunset. As I walked out onto the dock, my neighbor John Newman called out for me to join him on his dock. I walked next door and chatted with John as the sun sank into the western horizon across Sucker Bay.

This morning, I called Corner Sports to see if my boat was ready. They told me it would be around noon before all work was complete. I decided to give them a little extra time so I didn't leave the lake until 12:30 p.m.

Once at Corner Sports I hitched the boat trailer to my truck and made the 50 minute drive back to Ottertail Peninsula. I positioned the boat at the top of my boat ramp and then walked to the end of the dock to lower the boat lift into the water so once the boat was launched, I could maneuver it onto the lift.

I hit the down switch on the lift motor and was met with a rough, grinding sound followed by a snap. The chain had come off the gears that raises the lift and in the process the clip that holds the main link of the chain to the rest of the chain snapped. There you go. Something always has to go wrong at the start of the season, it's tradition!

I called Mark at Shore Brothers, the outfit that I bought the lift from, and they'll be out either Thursday or Friday to fix it. Until then, my boat remains trailered at the top of the boat ramp.

After putting that business behind me, I went fishing with John. It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 60s, a steady stiff breeze out of the north at about 10 mph and mostly clear skies, with just wisps of clouds here and there.

We made several drifts at the Birches, starting in about 12 feet of water and then drifting to about 6 feet of water. We used jigs with plastic grubs, and then added a fathead for additional attractant. Since walleye opener in Minnesota isn't until Saturday, May 14, we were targeting jumbo perch. John already had about a dozen jumbos in the basket at his cabin and we were looking to add a couple more.

We each caught a few small perch, and I caught a nice jumbo which we kept. I added it John's stash.

It was my first day on the water this year and it felt great. I'm looking forward to getting my boat lift fixed so I can get my boat in the water and have the luxary of being able to fish when and where I choose. For now, however, I'm grateful that John is letting me fish with him.

The plan is to do some more perch fishing with John tomorrow afternoon after 2 p.m., weather permitting.

I'll post more tomorrow. Until then, I'm just glad to be back on Leech Lake!