August 11, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

Despite going to bed after 2:00 a.m. last night I awoke at 6:30 a.m. this morning and was unable to go back to sleep. I got out of bed 15 minutes later, got dressed and then went fishing.

The wind was coming out of the SW at 10-15 mph which created a strong chop on the lake including some white caps. The temperature was 59 degrees, although it felt muggy, and sky was clear.

When I got out onto the water the sun was just rising above the tree line so I watched it climb into the sky from the lake. I always like watching the sun rise from the water.

I took the boat out in front of Giza's cabin in 11 feet of water, put the drift sock in the lake, tipped my jig with a fathead and started fishing. I made three passes from Giza's to Malay's during the 70 minutes I was on the water during which time I caught several perch, including one 11-inch jumbo that went into the livewell, a couple of rock bass and I had a hit from something that bit clean through my minnow leaving just the head; most likely a northern, but it could have been a walleye.

By 8:20 a.m. I was on shore and feeling tired from the little sleep I'd had. I tried laying in bed and resting, but to no avail. I finally got up and got on with the day.

At noon the temperature had risen to the low 70s and wind had calmed a bit and was blowing out of the SW at 7-10 mph.

From 1:00 p.m. until just before 2:00 p.m., Joe and I went on a bike ride. We rode down to the Ottertail Peninsula Community Center then decided to keep going and did the "loop." We rode down Sucker Bay Road to Ottertail Peninsula Drive and then on to 26th Ave and finally back onto West Shores Road and home; a total round trip of just under 8 miles.

After our bike ride both Joe and I were hungry so we had some lunch. Then I went out fishing while Joe stayed on shore and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

With the wind coming out of the SSW at 8-12 mph I was able to motor the boat down to Giza's cabin in 10 feet of water, deploy the drift sock and the drift at 2/3 mph parallel to the shoreline. From 2:30 p.m. to 3:40 p.m. I made three passess from Giza's to Malay's in 12 feet of water, 10 feet of water and in 9 feet. I caught numerous small perch and a small northern pike, but no walleye or jumbos.

At 3:40 p.m. I saw that the storm cloud I'd been following was getting very close. I could feel the temperature drop, the wind pick up and I could sense that the storm was very close. I quickly got the drift sock in the boat and motored back to the boat lift.

On my way to the boat lift the rain started to fall. By the time I got on shore it was raining pretty hard, and in a matter of 15 minutes the rain was coming down in sheets. For the next two hours it rained, there was flashes of lightning and loud claps of thunder, some sounded like they were directly overhead.

By 5:30 p.m., the wind had died down so the flag hung limp and the water was without a ripple. The rain had stopped, but the sky dark and stormy and the lake was an eerie light green color. The temperature was 64 degrees. The forecast called for more thunderstorms until midnight. But we'll see. Joe and I plan to go trolling tonight, weather permitting.

At 6:15 p.m. the wind started to pick up and another storm blew in. We had more lightning and thunder and lots of rain. The rain and poor weather continued right up to sunset, so Joe and I made the decision not to trolling tonight.

Instead, we had an early dinner (for us at the lake it was early anyway) and watched a DVD. I was exhausted having had only 4 hours of sleep last night, and after a bike ride and the fresh air from being out fishing I was ready for bed earlier than usual. We closed things down for the night shortly after 10:00 p.m.

Good night from Leech Lake.