July 19, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

I happened to wake up at 5:30 a.m. this morning and look outside to see what the weather was like, and was surprised to see the entire sky a cantaloupe orange color. The wind was calm and the temperature was 70 degrees. The humidity, which has been very high the past few days, was already at 87%.

As I lay back in bed I could hear rumbling thunder in the distance, and soon the rain started to fall. "Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in the morn, sailors take warn." As the old saying goes. With the sky the color it was I wasn't surprised that we had a storm.

By 10:00 a.m. the storm had passed for the most part, with just occasional rumbles of thunder, the wind was 6-10 mph out of the ESE, the temperature in the house registered 77 degrees while outside the thermometer read barely 70 degrees, and the sky was mostly cloudy and still retained a slight glow of red and orange.

Just before noon, the wind shifted and started blowing from the north at 15-20 mph. I always find it interesting to watch the lake when the wind shifts. For hours the wind was blowing out of the ESE so the water in the lake was moving in one direction. Then when the wind shifted to a different direction, and picked up in intensity, the water in the lake, for a short period of time, maybe 10 minutes, was going in all directions at once as it caught the new wind.

At this same time the sky darkened, and actually required me turning on the lights in the house to see. The temperature held steady at 70 degrees as did the humidity, which stood at 90%. But it sure looked and felt like a storm was coming.

Finally at 12:50 p.m. the rain came. A hard, steady rain fell for about 30 minutes. There were a few flashes of lightening directly over head followed by loud claps of thunder. The storm was directly on top of the house. But within an hour the storm passed, although the sky remained overcast and gray.

As the day went on I did some work and some various chores around the house, but the humidity made it unpleasant even if the temperature wasn't all that hot.

By 4:45 p.m., the wind had shifted to the ESE again and was blowing at about 8-15 mph. The wind blew most of the clouds away and the sky was partly sunny. So, I decided that with the temperature not as hot and the water near our shore fairly calm, that I would go fishing.

I motored out to spot not too far from shore right in front of the boat lift because I knew the wind would blow me out into the middle of Sucker Bay. I deployed the drift sock, tipped my jig with a leech and began fishing. The water temperature was 75.8 degrees.

I caught a few rock bass, including one that was actually quite big. Twice I had something pull hard on my line and bite right through the 8-lb test Fireline Crystal, taking my jig and bait. I figured it might have been a pike, but I've seen several boats in the past week fishing for muskie in this location so I wouldn't rule out that a muskie is what took my jig.

With yet another jig tied on and with another leech hooked just below its "sucker," I continued to fish. I hooked into what I thought was either another big rock bass or maybe a small walleye. When I got it to the boat I saw that it was a jumbo perch; and truly a jumbo.

I've often said that in my opinion a jumbo perch is one that is between 11-14 inches. Over 14" a perch becomes a monster and is approaching record size. I decided to keep this 12-inch jumbo perch because I thought it would be the perfect size for a meal for one. A 17-inch or even a 16-inch walleye once filleted is a perfect amount of meat for a meal for two, but for one person there is just too much there. I think a 12-inch perch will provide the right amount of fish for my dinner tomorrow evening.

I finally came ashore around 7:00 p.m., not because the fish stopped biting (they hadn't) or because the bugs were bad (they weren't) but because I ran out of leeches. I fished with a Mimic Minnow for awhile and then a Northland Slurpie Grub, but the fish seemed to be active on live bait, specifically leeches. Tomorrow I'll run up to Birch Ridge Resort and pick up a couple of dozen leeches, if they still have them. Sometimes as the summer progresses leeches are a hard bait to find.

Out on the lake the wind felt good and kept me cool. But once back on shore even in shorts and short-sleeved shirt it felt hot. Even after midnight the temperature was 72 degrees and the humidity was 84%. But if the weather service forecasts are correct, then tomorrow should be the last day of this prolonged heat wave.

Until tomorrow, good night from Leech Lake.