August 13, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

This morning was another beautiful day at Leech Lake. The temperature was in the low 70s, the wind was out of the NNW at 8-12 mph, and the sky was mostly cloudy, but with enough open sky to let the sun shine through.

Joe and I drank our coffee on the back porch and took in the beauty of Leech Lake. I never, ever get tired of looking at it. After a light breakfast Joe and I decided to go on a bike ride. Went over the cabin garage, got the bikes, then took off down West Shores Road.

Joe wanted to ride to the end of Ottertail Peninsula, so we turned off at 26th Ave. then took a quick right onto Ottertail Point Drive and began the long part of our ride. When we reached the new Duck Point Woods development we turned in, rode to the end of the road and then rode out onto the wooden boardwalk and took that all the way to the end, where the developers have several floating dock slips.

When we exited Duck Point Woods we went to the end of Ottertail Point Road, turned around and rode back. The temperature, which was still in the low 70s, was perfect for riding, and unlike the last time Kathleen and I rode this route, there were no deer flies harassing us.

After we put the bikes away in the garage, I went for a brief ATV ride while Joe did yoga and took a swim in the lake. When I got back from the ride on the ATV I grabbed a couple of cold drinks, the fathead minnows and went fishing.

With the wind out of the NNW I motored out in front of Malay's cabin into 12 feet of water, deployed the drift sock and let the wind push the boat to a spot right in front of our house in 8-9 feet of water. I caught several small perch and hooked into something big that I fought for a few seconds before it snapped my line and took my jig. I figured it was a northern pike by the way it battled.

I tied on a new jig, tipped it with another fathead, and got back to fishing. I made a total of three drifts, and while I was catching small perch, I couldn't land another jumbo to go with the one in the basket back at the dock. I finally gave up, fired up the motor and got the boat back on the lift.

Once ashore, I cleaned the jumbo perch I'd caught the other day and got the fillets into the refrigerator. I'm hoping that Joe and I can catch another jumbo perch, or maybe a 16-inch walleye to go with this one lone jumbo.

Joe grilled burgers for dinner, but for some reason both he and I got hit with some heartburn before we could even begin eating, which delayed our dinner by an hour or so while we waited for the unease to pass.

After dinner we decided not to go fishing since it was already 10:00 p.m., so instead we stayed inside and watched a movie on DVD.

According to the weather forecast, the next three or four should be beautiful here at Leech Lake, so we're planning to get out on the water as much as possible. Good night from Leech Lake.