July 28, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

This morning at 9:30 a.m. the sky was mostly sunny, the wind was out of the SW at 7-10 mph, the temperature was 70 degrees and the humidity was 76%. I'm not sure what the forecast calls for today, but I can tell it's going to be pretty warm and humid.

On a sad note, our neighbors and friends, the Newmans, had to put down their dog Merle today because he was suffering from cancer. It is a hard thing to say goodbye to a friend and family member, even it is a pet.

Just after noon I waterproofed one set of the stairs near the harbor while Joe threw a lure (a top water plastic frog) off the dock at the cabin. And he had some luck, catching a couple of nice bass. The temperature didn't go up that much, up to only 74 degrees, and the humidity held constant at 76%, but it sure felt hot.

At 2:30 p.m. Joe and I went fishing. It felt great out on the water with the wind blowing at 8-15 mph out of the west. The water temperature was 78 degrees.

We started out in 15 feet of water off Second Duck Point and drifted toward the shores of Ottertail Peninsula with the west wind. Both Joe and I used jigs tipped with leeches. We made several passes in this spot without any success before relocating in front of our house in 18 feet of water and drifting toward shore. Again, we had no success, except for the rock bass which Joe caught. We did have several bites throughout the day, but couldn't hook or boat any fish.

We came ashore just before 5:00 p.m. It was obvious that the humidity was lower, and in fact in registered at 60%. Joe has been trying to catch crayfish, for a crayfish feed, and added 8 more to the 4 he caught earlier. He still needs dozens more to make a decent meal. After tending to his crayfish, Joe jumped in the lake to cool off, while I got the grill ready to BBQ our chicken wings.

After a very tasty dinner, we showered and settled in for a night at the movies, Leech Lake style. Joe and I watched Iron Man 2 then called it a night. Tomorrow we're going into Bemidji to run a variety of errands. More on our adventures in tomorrow's post.

Good night from Leech Lake.