May 30, 2012 -- On Leech Lake (Memorial Day)

Looking south on Sucker Bay at 6:30 p.m. 

Today is the traditional date of  Memorial Day. So if you know someone who died in war, or may have a relative in harm's way (as I do), then remember them today.

At 9:30 a.m. the sky was grey and nearly completely filled with clouds, the temperature was a brisk 46 degrees and the wind was 5-8 mph out of the north.

After a leisurely breakfast and some time online, Rick and I decided to go fishing just before 1:00 p.m. I got the boat off the lift and motored out to 14 feet of water directly in front of the cabin. The water temperature was 62 degrees, and with the wind coming out of the north, we moved toward Second Duck Point at about .50 mph ground speed with the drift sock in the water.

Rick tried a number of tackle combinations -- Lindy rig, Kastmaster spoon, jig and minnow -- while I stuck to my usual method of using a jig tipped with a minnow. Today I was using a Northland Tackle "Vegas" jig in sparkle red.

I caught numerous small- to medium-sized perch and a small 9-inch walleye, while Rick hooked a couple of small perch. During our drift the wind began to shift and started blowing out of the south, which meant when had completed our drift to Second Duck Point wind simply pushed us back in the direction from which we had just come.

When we had come to a spot directly between our house and cabin in 14-feet of water I hooked into a beautiful 19-inch walleye; still using my red Vegas jig and fathead minnow. I love catching walleye while jigging because on light tackle a good-sized walleye really puts up a good battle, unlike when trolling where the walleye basically gives up and let you reel them to the boat.

After releasing the walleye back into the lake I put on a fresh minnow and started fishing again. Within 10 minutes I'd hooked another nice walleye, this one measuring 20 inches. Again, it went back into the lake per Leech Lake slot limits.

From that point on all we caught were a number of small perch. At 3:00 p.m. we came ashore where I had a fish sandwich with the last of the leftover beer-battered walleye from the other night. A very tasty meal after an afternoon on the water.

With lunch attended to, I got on the ATV and rode up to Birch Ridge Resort to buy another scoop of fathead minnows and a container of leeches. I've yet to fish with leeches and thought I'd give it a try.

At 7:30 p.m., Rick and I decided to go fishing. Our strategy for this evening was to jig with minnows and leeches until the sun set, then switch to trolling crankbaits.

We started by jigging in 10-14 feet of water in a spot between our house and cabin, the same spot I'd caught two nice walleye earlier in the day. During the next two hours I caught four small walleyes measuring from 10-14 inches. Rick caught only one walleye while jigging, but it was a nice 17-inch "eater" fish that went into the live well for a future dinner.

At 9:30 p.m. we stowed our jigging rods and took our our trolling rods. I continued to fish with a Berkley Flicker Shad while Rick used a Rapala Minnow Rap in a purpledescent color. I had a nice hit almost immediately, but about half way to the boat the fish got off.

During the next hour, I didn't hook another fish, but Rick had 4 hits, three of which got off almost immediately and the other came unbuttoned right at the edge of the boat. We estimate it was roughly a 19-inch walleye.

At 10:45 p.m. we came ashore, stowed the gear, got the 17-inch walleye into the basket in the lake and went inside. It was another good day of fishing on Leech Lake; Rick boated a keeper walleye and I caught a total of seven walleye.

Good night from Leech Lake.

At Leech Lake -- May 29, 2012

This morning at 9:00 a.m. the temperature was a cool 48 degrees, the skies were varied with periods of complete cloud cover to times of broken clouds with even a bit of sunshine, and the wind was very strong at 25+ out of the WNW. The lake was covered in white caps.

Throughout the morning we saw a bit of rain, some very heavy mist, and times of bright sun. It seemed to change every 20 minutes or so. But what didn't change was the wind; it remained windy all morning long.

I did a quick survey of the properties this morning and during my walk I saw only one boat on Sucker Bay. That guy must really have a strong desire to go fishing; although with the wind the way it is, I'm betting that the fishing was poor to nonexistent.

As the day progressed the weather stayed static, that is, it continued to be very windy, cloudy and grey, with periods of heavy mist and light rain. The temperature hovered at the 60 degree mark. Rick and I spent a good couple of hours outside filling in some smallish sink holes with gravel and dirt -- which I then seeded with grass -- and other little odd chores around the properties.

By 3:00 p.m. the wind had moved a bit westward and was blowing almost directly from the west. It was still strong at 20-25 mph. The sky remained grey, the lake churning with white caps and a mist in the air. The National Weather Service has issued a frost warning for most of northern Minnesota including the Leech Lake area. With temperatures expected to dip down to near freezing, it may kill off many of the mosquitoes that were just now hatching.

A couple of brave boats have strayed periodically in front of our house, but within 20 minutes or so they move on, probably back to the resort or to the warmth of their cabins.

Throughout the late afternoon and then into the evening and night the wind continue to blow in excess of 20 mph, keeping the lake too rough to venture out onto. So Rick and I stayed inside and watched the Rob Reiner film, Spinal Tap. Sure, we've each seen it a half a dozen times or more, but it's still really funny; "I don't know, what are the hours?"

After the movie we called it a night. No fishing on Leech Lake today. Maybe tomorrow; it's supposed to be chilly, but at least the wind is forecast to be fairly light. Until then, good night.

Leech Lake Water Level -- Memorial Day 2012

Every year I take several informal measurements of the water level at Leech Lake by measuring how far up my boat ramp the water level is. My ramp is comprised of several cement pilings that go up an incline and onto my cabin property.

The highest I've ever seen the lake level is when the water covered 10 of the pilings. The lowest has been when the lake level didn't even reach the first piling. The average level is between 4-6 pilings.

On Memorial Day 2012, the water level in Leech Lake just barely covered 7 pilings, a bit higher than average for this time of year. Again, this is by no means an accurate or scientific measure of the water levels in Leech Lake, rather just a consistent way for me to get an estimate of the water level throughout the year, and year-to-year.

If you would like more accurate information about the water levels in Leech Lake, please visit the Army Corps of Engineers web site for Federal Dam, Minnesota at this link.

May 28, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

Today is the day America celebrates Memorial Day, although the actual date for Memorial Day is May 30; which this year lands on a Wednesday. I guess at some point in the past our government decided it was better for the country's population to have a three-day weekend -- for camping, fishing, having picnics, watching auto races on TV, etc. -- than it was for them to remember those who have fallen in battle. Oh well, here's to three-day weekends.

The morning started out fairly decent weather-wise, with a temperature of 60 degrees, a partly sunny sky and winds at no more than 8-12 mph out of the WSW. But by 11:30 a.m., the temperature had dropped a few degrees, the sky clouded up and was totally grey and the wind whipped up to 15-25 mph creating rolling white caps that crashed into our shoreline.

A few brave (foolish) boats remained on the lake despite the high winds. The forecast was for a storm to roll in from the west just after noon, with another storm to hit us from the south between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.

By 12:45 p.m., the clouds had given way to blue skies, with only a few white fluffy clouds hovering overhead. The wind had shifted and was now coming out of the north at 15-20 mph. The lake was not quite as rough as it had been earlier, but it was still quite choppy.

After lunch Rick and I decided to tackle the chore of getting the stairs reattached to the dock. The stairs had broken off the dock a couple of years back during high winds out of the northwest. I happened to be sitting in the living room during that storm watching wave after wave rock the stairs until they finally broke off and disappeared below the slate grey surface of the lake.

It took about an hour and a half to get the stairs attached, including the necessity of me donning the waders and getting into the lake. The water level is at or slightly above normal and during the course of me trying to connect the stairs to the dock, a good amount of cold water crested over the top of the waders soaking everything I was wearing underneath.

During the time we were attaching the stairs, a brief rainstorm of no more than five minutes rolled through dropping quite a bit of rain on us even though the sun never stopped shining. As the rain passed, the wind died down, so with our project complete Rick and I hit the water for some mid-afternoon fishing.

We got the boat in the water and I motored out to about 10 feet of water in front of Giza's cabin. With the light wind, which was now blowing from the SW, we put the drift sock in and slowly made our way toward the cabin.

No sooner than I dropped my fathead-tipped jig into the water than I felt that familiar mushiness of a walleye  bite. I set the hook and could tell it was a good-sized fish. I called to Rick that I had a good fish on and to get the net ready. I played the fish for maybe 30 seconds before POW, the lined snapped and whatever was on the other end made its escape.

I tied on a new jig, but after that could catch no more than a small perch or two. Rick's luck was about the same, a few small perch. The wind started to pick up, and with a forecast for a late-afternoon storm, we decided to head for shore.

Once on shore I got a fire going in the fire pit, while Rick attended to the pork ribs in the oven which we would later grill for dinner. About 45 minutes after we came ashore the wind really started to pick up, with speeds of 25-30 mph out of the SW. The lake was quickly covered in white caps and almost devoid of all boats. I spotted one heading SW, into the waves, heading toward Big Hardwood Point.

We had an early dinner and we done eating by 6:30 p.m., almost a record for us here at the lake; it is our typical habit to eat no earlier than 9:00 p.m. We tended to the fire next door for an hour or so after dinner, then put it out and came home.

At 8:00 p.m. the temperature was holding steady at 60 degrees, the sky was mostly cloudy and the wind was ripping at 25+ mph out of the SW. As the sun set, the wind continued to howl and no boats could be seen on Sucker Bay from the end of our dock.

Rick and I watched an Albert Brooks movie, Defending Your Life, and then I spent a little time reading and listening to classical music on MPR before calling it a night. It was a good day at Leech Lake, even if we only got a little bit of fishing in. More tomorrow.

May 27, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

I woke up this morning at 3:00 a.m. to very loud claps of thunder and the room alight with white-pink flashes of  lightening. I tried to stay awake to watch and listen to the storm, but I find such events so relaxing that I quickly fell back asleep.

At 9:00 a.m., the lightening and thunder continued, the wind had picked up and was blowing at 15-20 mph out of the ESE and the temperature was 53 degrees. I opened the blinds in the bedroom, went back underneath the blanket and watched as sheets of rain fell from the sky.

I couldn't help but think about the hundreds, possibly thousands, of families that come "up north" to Minnesota's lake country every Memorial Day weekend to go camping. For many families it's a tradition to set up a tent in one of the dozens of campgrounds that are in the numerous state parks located in the area. I could picture them huddled inside their tents cursing the cold, wet weather and wishing for a warm, dry bed, like the one where I lay watching the angry weather pass through.

I decided to check on the health of the three fish we have in the basket hanging off the dock, since the storm might have caused them to be stressed during the night. I prefer to clean and eat my catch within an hour if possible. There's nothing better than super-fresh, lake-caught fish for dinner.

As I walked out onto the dock I spotted a mother Merganser duck with at least a dozen little ducklings about 25 years off the end of the dock. They spotted me too, and quickly made their way north putting more distance between us.

The walleye and the foot-long perch were healthy and looked fine, while the 10-inch perch showed some signs of stress; although it was still alive and able to swim upright. All three should be fine until later this afternoon when I filet them, then they won't be doing so well.

As I made my way from the end of the dock to shore a small splash in the reeds to my left caught my attention. I turned to looked and saw a fair-sized muskie, probably 42 inches long, weave its way through the weeds in no more than 18-inches of water. Knowing that a muskie would choose the reeds adjacent to my dock to seek shelter from the storm made me smile.

And nature morning continued as I walked on the path between the cabin and the house. As I neared the fishing cleaning house I spotted a great blue heron standing on the big rock near the dock. It spread its wings slowly and then took to the air as I approached. To me, that 5 minute period sums up one of the many reasons I love being on the shores of Leech Lake. I get to see a family of Mergansers, a large muskie and a blue heron. You won't see that in San Jose.

Rick and I did various tasks around the properties -- such as clean out the "fish garage" and put up the solar lights on the two pathways between the house and cabin -- before deciding to go fishing. We backed the boat off the lift just before 2:00 p.m. and made our way to the Birches. The water temperature was 62.3 degrees.

Rick used a Lindy rig tipped with a minnow, while stuck with the tried and true method of using a jig and minnow. We caught numerous perch, including a jumbo 11-inch that I landed, and Rick caught a small hammer handle.

We fished the Birches for about an hour before moving into Bass Bay to try to catch some largemouth. Bass season opened just yesterday.

Both Rick and I started fishing using a Mimic Minnow with a spinner blade. Within 15 minutes I'd hooked into a good sized bass that must have weighed close to three pounds. I immediately released it into the water. But after that one good bass, neither Rick nor I could hook another bass. Rick did catch a 26-inch pike which managed to wrap Rick's line around dozens of reeds in the shallow water forcing us to spend nearly 15 minutes wrestling it free.

At 4:30 p.m. we came ashore and I set about the task of cleaning the two perch and 15-inch walleye which we caught yesterday. They would be our dinner tonight. I've really gotten into using a Shore Lunch beer batter to fry up the fish, and it works great. The fillets end up light and crispy and a perfect golden brown. To accompany our fish meal we had Minnesota wild rice and asparagus. A very tasty meal of Leech Lake fish indeed!

After eating dinner and cleaning up, it was once again time to go fishing. As is our usual methodology for walleye fishing in the evening/night, we got our trolling rods at the ready. Typically I use the Rapala Minnow Rap, in a variety of colors although recently I've been favoring the perch color, but tonight I switched up and went the the Berkley Ficker Shad in a fathead minnow color.

As is also typical for us, we trolled the "Alley" between our cabin to just south of Second Duck Point. The water temperature hovered between 62.3 and 62.5 degrees. We trolled at a speed of roughly 2.25 mph ground speed. The wind was nearly nonexistent for most of the night, before picking up to 8-12 mph around 10:30 p.m.

Rick caught the first fish, a 19 1/2-inch walleye. I followed with three more walleyes measuring 14-, 16 and 9-inches. That last fish may have been the smallest walleye I've ever caught. Just two days earlier I caught a perch that measured 12 inches long.

The sky darkened as we fished, not only because of nightfall but because of the heavy clouds moving into the area. The clouds brought some lightening with them, but it was high flashes of light rather than the bolts when the lightening is nearby. As I mentioned, the wind also picked up, so around 10:45 p.m. we took the boat back to the lift and came ashore.

We stayed up late listening to music and solving the worlds problems, well, at least identifying them. Before I went to bed for the night I called Kathleen. We talked while she was on her laptop and made travel arrangements for her to come to Leech Lake. As things stand today, Kathleen is scheduled to arrive at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 9. I look forward to seeing her; we always have so much fun here at the lake.

Until tomorrow...

May 26, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

This morning the temperature at 9:00 a.m. was a cool 48 degrees, the sky was grey and it looked like it could rain at any moment. The wind, however, was light at 3-8 mph out of the NW.

Rick and I greeted the morning slowly, taking our time to eat breakfast, drink coffee and generally get going. It wasn't until after 1:00 p.m. that we made our way next door to take the boat out fishing.

The water temperature had dropped to 61.5 degrees, a full three degrees cooler than it had been earlier in the week. The cool daytime temperatures and even colder temps during the night sent the lake temperature in the wrong direction. At this time of year the water should be warming up, not cooling down.

Based on a tip from John Newman, we made our way to the Birches where we heard tell that jumbo perch were biting. I fished with a jig tipped with a fathead while Rick tried a Lindy rig and minnow. We both caught several small perch, before I boated a true jumbo perch which measured a full foot long. Rick added a 10-inch perch and both went into the live well. If we catch one more good-sized perch, or a smallish walleye, we'll have enough for a fish dinner.

We came ashore around 3:00 p.m. under grey skies, a cool NW wind of 8-12 mph and a temperature that had finally hit 60 degrees. It was time for some lunch in advance of listening to A Prairie Home Companion tonight on Minnesota Public Radio.

After hearing A Prairie Home Companion, which wasn't one the better shows, I got the brats in a beer bath and heated them up on the stove in preparation for grilling. Along with the brats we'll have corn on the cob and baked beans for dinner.

With the wind still very light, ranging from calm to 5 mph out of the NW, I think we'll try to go trolling tonight. Since it's Memorial Day weekend, there are a lot of tourists and others visiting Leech Lake so there will be some boat traffic to contend with tonight.

We backed the boat off the lift at just after 9:00 p.m. After getting the navigation light on and getting our trolling rods (with Minnow Raps) from the storage locker I guided the boat south toward Second Duck Point in 10 feet of water.

Almost instantly Rick called that he had hooked a fish. With the official sunset coming just minutes earlier, we figured it was a pike on his line, since pike generally bite up until 30 minutes after sunset which is when the walleye start biting. However, we were wrong and Rick brought a 16-inch walleye into the boat. We contemplated keeping it, but Rick decided to put it back into the lake.

We made several passes in the "Alley" between our house and the middle of Duck Bay, but didn't catch anything. The wind was picking up, actually quite a bit, so I let Rick know that we'd make another pass and then we'd head home.

Shortly after my pronouncement, I hooked into a fish and when all was said and done I had a very nice 18-inch walleye in the boat. But the slot limit on Leech Lake requires that all walleye between 18 and 26 inches be released back into the lake, so my nice fish was quickly and safely returned to the water.

Not more than 10 minutes later Rick caught another walleye, this one measuring just under 16 inches, so we decided to keep it. That smaller walleye, together with the 12- and 10-inch perch we caught earlier in the day, will provide us dinner tomorrow night.

We came ashore around 10:30 p.m. and spent the next 90 minutes just listening to music and talking. It's now nearing midnight and time to call it a night. It was another good day of fishing on Leech Lake.

May 25, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

At 8:30 a.m. this morning the sky was sunny and free of clouds, the temperature was 49 degrees and the wind was variable from 10-20 mph out of the WSW. The forecast for the day is lots of sunshine, but stiff winds.

Our plan is still to go into Bemidji, which we'll do sooner than later. We need to pick up a few groceries, Rick needs to mail some auto parts to himself back in Australia and I need to run various errands such as picking up a furnace filter, some wire molding and attend to other odd little tasks.

We spent several hours in Bemidji and upon our return home found the lake churning as a result of the 20 mph WSW wind. It was otherwise a pleasant day with mostly sunny skies and a temperature in the low 60s. But it was the wind that kept us off the lake.

Later in the day we visited with the Newmans, performed minor little tasks such as pulling weeds from the flower beds, planting some marigolds in the planter box, fixing a loose connection on the ATV battery terminal, etc.

As evening became night, the wind began to die down, but at that point we had made the decision to not go fishing. The forecast for the Memorial Day weekend is cool, grey and rainy, with the possibility of a thunderstorm or two. Not the weather that the tens of thousands of people who flock "up north" in Minnesota at this time of year hope for.

Signing off for Friday night.

May 24, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

I awoke at 8:00 a.m. this morning to grey skies, wet ground (it obviously had rained during the night), a temperature of a cool 54 degrees and almost no wind. In fact, the lake was quite calm. Not quite "like glass," but close.

Rick got up a short time after me and while we drank a pot of coffee he made numerous phone calls trying to track down the mortgage/foreclosure status of the old Hancock property. Long story short, the property is in a legal situation called redemption, and until such time as it clears that classification, Rick can do nothing but wait. Oh, and no one at the bank that now holds the paper on the property could give Rick a date for the of the property redemption.

Shortly after 9:00 a.m., I got a call from John Newman who was on the lake fishing to inform me that he'd just caught a nice "slab" crappie down in Bass Bay and that Rick and I might want to get in on some of the panfish action. So we ate a bit of breakfast and went fishing.

Per John's recommendation, we started in Bass Bay at the harbor by Wagner's and fished with slip bobbers in the weeds in water no deeper than 2-3 feet. We caught a few perch, and Rick caught a rock bass and a couple of small largemouth bass, but neither of us caught any crappie, which had been our targeted fish.

A slow steady rain began to fall from the slate grey sky but the wind remained nearly nonexistent, with just a whisper from the southwest.

We spent roughly an hour in the shallows of Bass Bay hunting crappie before moving to "The Birches" in search of jumbo perch and walleye.

We both caught a few small perch and hammer-handle sized pike before Rick's rod doubled over. At first we speculated that it might be a pike, but as Rick brought the fish to the surface we could see it was a good-sized walleye. I grabbed the net and landed the fish. A quick measurement revealed the walleye to be 20 inches long, the biggest walleye in my boat this season so far.

With the walleye, Rick upped his tally for today's fishing trip to a few largemouth bass, several perch, a rock bass, a northern pike and a walleye. Truly a multi-species affair.

We came ashore around 2:00 p.m. with a steady rain still falling, a temperature of 54 degrees and a light wind out of the southwest at 5 mph. By 5:00 p.m., the wind had picked up and was shifting more toward the west, the rain had stopped, and the temperature remained steady.

For dinner we had grilled steak, ratatouille, grilled portabella mushrooms and baked potatoes. We decided to stay off the water this evening due to the wind and since we'd eaten fairly late in the day. Instead, we sat in the living room and listened to music. We ended the night before midnight, with plans to go into Bemidji tomorrow to run various errands.

Until tomorrow...

May 23, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

At 8:00 a.m. this morning the sky was overcast and grey, the wind was 8-12 mph out of the southwest and the temperature was 62 degrees. It was once again clear that it had rained over night because the ground, porch and driveway were wet and spotted with puddles.

Rick and I took our time having breakfast and coffee before making our way outside to tackle some chores. We took down the storm windows at the cabin and replaced them with the summer screens. We then cleaned up the garage a bit and put a new seat and cover on the toilet at the cabin. It was then time for some fishing.

We hit the water at just about 11:30 a.m. to medium winds of 12-15 mph out of the southwest, temperatures just under 70 degrees and water temperatures at 64.5 degrees. The sky was grey and cloudy and was threatening rain.

We got the minnows into the boat, got the boat into the water, and then motored north toward Norm's cabin, rather than heading south to Second Duck Point the way we did yesterday.

The wind was such that even with the drift sock in the water the boat was being pushed north at nearly 1 mph. With our jigs tipped with fathead minnows, we set to work. During three drifts between Norm's to just north of Schiebe's cabin, I caught three small pike, a rock bass, and a dozen or so perch, but only one worth keeping, an 11-inch jumbo. Neither Rick nor I hooked a walleye. In fact, Rick struggled today catching only one small perch.

The grey threatening skies dropped a few sprinkles on us, but no rain of any consequence. We came ashore just before 2:00 p.m.

I took the afternoon to rearrange some of the book/record case in the living room, while Rick went down to the old Hancock place to do some reconnaissance. Rick has been interested in that property for nearly a year now and was curious to its current state.

The Newmans had invited both Rick and me, as well as the Malays, over for an early dinner, so just after 4:00 p.m. we made our way next door for a BBQ of brats, burgers and beans.We stayed at Newman's until close to 7:30 p.m. and then made our way home.

At 8:45 p.m. Rick and I made our way to the boat under dark skies, a light rain and a temperature of 53 degrees. The wind was very light at 3-5 mph out of the southwest. The water temperature was 64 degrees.

Rick was trolling with a purpledescent Minnow Rap, while I used the same lure in a yellow perch color. We made several passes between the middle of Duck Bay to the south and the Malay's cabin to the north in water depths ranging from 7.5 to 12 feet.

Rick caught a rock bass so quickly that I hadn't even had a chance to put my lure into the water. A short time later I hooked into a small northern pike. Then we didn't catch a thing for nearly an hour before Rick caught a 16 3/8 inch walleye. We contemplated keeping it, but since it was the first fish of the season, it was released back into the lake.

The rain continued to fall, at sometimes quite hard, but most of the time steady and light. At sunset, which occurred just after 9:00 p.m., the western sky was a rosy pink color while the rest of the sky, in all directions, was a dark grey. Truly the land of grey and pink.

During the next 45 minutes -- between 9:45 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. -- Rick caught three more walleyes, a 14-inch, a 15-inch and a 19-inch, and I caught a 14-inch walleye. At 10:30 p.m. we decided to come ashore. We had five walleyes in the boat on our first night out fishing, so it wasn't a bad start to the season.

Weather permitting, we'll be out on the water again tomorrow so stay tuned. Good night from Leech Lake.

May 22, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

At 9:00 a.m. this morning the temperature was 62 degrees, the sky was mostly cloudy, almost grey, and the wind was 8-12 mph out of the SSW. The wind was forecast to be out of the SSE, which would have left the waters calm along our shoreline, but with it out of the SSW, the water was somewhat choppy. I'll wait to see if the wind dies down a bit before attempting to put the boat in the water.

The ground was wet, so it obviously rained sometime during the night, although I did not hear it. Rick and I finished off a pot of coffee, ate breakfast, then set about getting the boat into the water, despite the breeze.

While I got the boat prepped to put in the water, Rick ran the power cord out to the lift. Once the lift had been lower into the water, I backed the truck down the ramp into the water. I then got out of the truck and climbed into the boat. With my extra weight at the back of the boat, and with Rick pushing the bow off the trailer, the boat was quickly afloat.

I fired up the Mercury Verado 150 hp motor, moved the shift lever into reverse and slowly backed the boat out into open water. I then swung the boat around and guided it onto the lift. With the boat on the lift and raised  up out of the water, Rick and I were able to get the canopy on the lift.

Next it was time to get our fishing licenses and buy some bait. We drove the truck up the peninsula to Birch Ridge Resort where the owner Frank sold us our annual fishing licences and two scoops of fathead minnows. Frank's assessment of the current fishing situation was that his resort guests were catching some panfish, including some decent-sized crappies, but that the walleye fishing was slow. With our minnows in hand, it was time to drive back to my place.

After a quick bite of lunch, and spending a some time getting all of the fishing and boating gear into the boat, Rick and I decided to go fishing.

We were on the water by just after 3:00 p.m. and started our 2012 season by motoring to Second Duck Point where we deployed the drift sock, let the wind push us north and west, and fished using jigs tipped with minnows. I noted that the water temperature varied between 63.7 and 64.3 degrees.

We made several drifts but the only fish we caught was a very small perch that I hooked. Rick suggested we switch tactics and troll, and I agreed, so we stowed our spinning rods and got out our baitcasting reels and Rapalas. I used my standard Minnow Rap, while Rick used a new model back called the Clackin' Minnow.

No sooner than we started trolling than something hit my lure hard, nearly pulling my rod and reel out of the rod holder and into the lake. I managed to grab the rod before it went over the side of the boat, but whatever it was that hit my lure broke off almost immediately.

After a couple of passes trolling, we packed up and came ashore. Once on dry land again, Rick got out my chainsaw and cut up a couple of small trees that had fallen near the fish-cleaning shed. While Rick was busy with that, I got the ATV out of storage, hooked up the battery, gassed it up, and took it out for a quick spin to get it ready for some summer riding. I also got out all of the outdoor furniture, washed it off, and got it on the back porch.

Rick and I also got the lake-water pump primed so we now have lake water running to all of the outside faucets. Basically, we spent a couple of hours just doing routine beginning of the year chores.

Around 7:00 p.m. we got dinner started; I BBQed a chicken. We didn't finish eating until after 9:00 p.m. and at that point I didn't really feel like going out for any evening trolling for walleye, so instead we just hung out at the house before going to sleep around 11:00 a.m.

It was a busy and productive day at Leech Lake, even if we didn't have the best of luck fishing. More tomorrow.

May 21, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

Despite not falling asleep last night until nearly 2:30 a.m. -- I'm obviously still on Pacific Time -- I was wide awake at 7:00 a.m. I guess being at Leech Lake again has me excited, making it hard to sleep.

The temperature this morning was a cool 45 degrees on its way to a high of 74 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny with some cloud cover, and the wind was out of the SSW at 8 mph.

By just after 8:00 a.m., there were three boats stationed in front of the house fishing for walleye. This spot from Second Duck Point north to Malay's cabin is a popular destination for walleye fishermen, and our house happens to fall right in the middle of that span.

After getting a pot of coffee started, I did a quick walk around the properties. I opened up the cabin and powered up the well pump. I checked out the new toilet in the cabin bathroom before opening up the "fish" garage and the game room. Everything seemed to be in order.

I noticed that the lake water covered six of the cement pylons at the boat ramp, which is about average for this time of year. I'll take another reading on Memorial Day.

I noticed on the small road between the house and cabin a small tree, maybe 5-inches in diameter, had fallen. I'll need to get the chain saw out later and cut that up.

T&K was supposed to come out last week to clean up the yard and mow the grass, but they failed to do so so the grass is nearly shin-high on me. I called T&K to find out when they were going to come out, and they promised to be out today; we'll see.

I got the lights around the harbor at the house set to come on at sunset, and replaced of couple of the burned out halogen bulbs. There's still so much to do! I've got to get the boat in the water, get the power run out to the boat lift, get the canopy on the lift and the move all of the fishing gear from the garage onto the boat. And that's just to get the boat ready.

There's also chores such as taking down the storm windows and putting up the screens. Getting the deck furniture out of storage from the garage, cleaning it up and then moving it onto the back porch. Setting up the hammock. Getting the fish shed water pump primed and connected so we have water running to the outdoor faucets so we can water the yard, plus water running in the shed, which is important when I'm cleaning fish.

And these are all just normal "opening-up-the-cabin-for-the-season" chores. The big project I've got slated for this summer is to stain the house. It's supposed to be done every 10 years and it's been 11 since it was last done. For that project I'll have to first power-wash the entire house and then let it dry thoroughly before I can stain it. With Rick's help, I'm hoping that the staining project takes no more than three days tops.
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Rick's plane arrived on time, and soon we had loaded the truck with groceries and other supplies. It was time to go pick up the boat at Corner Sports. Despite having contacted them 10 days earlier to tell them I'd be picking up the boat on Friday, May 18, and then calling them late in the day on Friday to tell them I'd be picking up the boat first thing Monday morning, the boat still was not ready when we stopped by a 2:30 p.m.

This is the second year in a row Corner Sports has not had my boat ready on time. I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt, again, but if this happens next year as well I'm going to have to complain to the store manager. The service manager was kind enough to call down to his favorite local tavern and pay for a Rick and I each to have a beer while we waited, but the delay set us back significantly and may have cost us a day or two on the water.

By the time we finally got the boat to Leech Lake it was nearing 5:30 p.m. and since I had had little sleep the night before, and since Rick had been traveling all day, we didn't have the energy to get the boat in the water this evening. So we left it attached to the truck, sitting at the top of the boat ramp at the cabin.

After hauling all of our supplies over to the house and putting the groceries away, we relaxed with a cold beer before wandering next door to visit with John Newman for an hour or so. The skies had clouded over by 8:00 p.m. and every now and again a few drops would fall on us, but it never did rain; until well after midnight.

We called it a night early, before 11:00 a.m., with plans of getting the boat in the water on Tuesday morning, weather permitting. That's it for tonight, more tomorrow from the shores of Leech Lake.

May 20, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

Even though I'm posting this early Monday morning, May 21, I'm dating this post May 20 since I arrived at Leech Lake at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday night. 

I opened up the house, turned on the well pump so the water worked, turned up the temperature on the furnace since it's supposed to dip down to 40 degrees tonight, reset a couple of GFI switches, and generally checked out the house since I haven't been here since the end of October last year.

I'm going to keep this short because it's 1:30 a.m. and I have to drive into Bemidji tomorrow morning to pick up Rick from the airport. From there we're going to get groceries, other supplies and then swing by Corner Sports to pick up the boat.

I'll give a more detailed account of activities in my next post. It's great to be back at Leech Lake, so stayed tuned for the first wave of fishing reports later this week.

Global Warming Affects Leech Lake Fishing

Unless you are comfortable ignoring the facts when presented to you by nearly 99 percent of  scientists around the world, there is no denying that global warming is real. Granted, much of the legitimate debate has focused on the cause of the Earth's rising temperature, i.e., is it man made or just the natural weather cycle of the planet?

From my perspective, it would be hard to ignore the human contribution to global warming. Greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels during the past century have been shown without a doubt to affect the climate, and not in good way. But whatever your own personal belief may be, there is one thing we should all agree on -- the rising temperatures across the globe are real and they are having an impact on our fisheries. 

Below is a interview with two Minnesota Department of Natural Resources biologists. I'll let them do the talking.

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Early ice-out: What does it mean for the walleye opener?

Mike Duval of Brainerd and Tom Jones of Aitkin are Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fisheries biologists. They work extensively on fish habitat issues. In the interview below, they discuss this spring's early ice-out, and what it means for fish behavior and fishing patterns. Minnesota lakes became ice free very early this year.

Was this a fluke or part of a larger pattern?
Duval: "Early ice-out is occurring around the globe. What Minnesota experienced this year is part of a larger global pattern. Earlier ice-out dates have been observed throughout the Midwest, continental U.S. and more broadly in Canada, Russia, Scandinavia and Japan. John Magnuson, a limnologist, and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin Center for Limnology in Madison, have concluded that the length of time that lakes in the northern hemisphere are ice-covered has become shorter."

When did this pattern develop?
Duval: "According to Magnuson's research, the average ice-out date for Minnesota lakes has been occurring earlier and earlier over the past three decades. Ice-out in Minnesota is occurring approximately three to five days earlier every 10 years in the central part of the state and nearly a week earlier per decade for southwestern Minnesota."

So does that mean spring is coming earlier to Minnesota lakes?
Duval: "That's basically correct. The mid-April ice break-up has advanced northward nearly 100 miles over the past three decades. The east-to-west mid-April ice break-up line used to cut through the Montrose area. Today it's closer to Brainerd. At this rate, by the end of this decade spring will come to Minnesota lakes nearly a month earlier than it did 40 years ago."

What are the implications of early ice out?
Duval: "It will mean a variety of things: longer open water periods, warmer water temperatures, more evaporation, and more inter-mixing of lake water because the ice "lid" that capped the lake will have been removed for a longer period of time. Over time, Minnesota waters and their fish populations will tend to be more characteristic of states to the south of us."

Will warmer water improve or reduce fishing quality?
Jones: "That depends. Temperature is a limiting factor for many fish species and, thus, a critical component of their habitat. Clearly, warmer water temperatures will be detrimental to tullibee, lake trout and other species that depend on cold water. Tullibee, for example, could disappear in the next few decades from some southern and central Minnesota lakes due to a combination of higher water temperatures higher in the top portion of the water column, and insufficient oxygen in the lower portion of the water column where temperatures are cooler. On the other hand, bass will do just fine because they can tolerate warmer water temperatures. In fact, bass abundance is already increasing across Minnesota. Growth rates should improve as well because of longer growing seasons. Overall, the early ice-out trend will create winners and losers, depending on the temperature habitat requirements of each particular species."

What's the long-term forecast for walleye and northern pike?
Jones: "In northern Minnesota lakes, higher water temperatures may benefit walleye and northern pike by increasing the length of the growing season. However, in southern lakes, temperatures may become too warm and lead to periods of mid-summer stress. If this stress becomes too severe, fish weights could decrease and walleye mortality could increase."

How will the early ice-out in 2012 affect walleyes this year?
Jones: "For walleye, early ice-outs can lead to poor year classes. The early start for walleyes means that they often hatch before their food supply develops. After walleye absorb their yolk sacs, they depend on zooplankton for forage. If the water is not sufficiently warm, zooplankton will not be present in large numbers, and many of the young walleye can starve. The cool weather this April increases the chance that zooplankton abundance will be low when walleyes hatch this year."

What about impacts to bass and sunfish?
Jones: "Bass and sunfish species depend on a good spring warm-up to spawn. Bass spawn when temperatures reach the low 60s, usually in late May or early June. In very cool years, they may not spawn at all if the water does not get warm enough in time. While early ice-outs don't guarantee that aquatic processes occur very early, they do increase the likelihood that bass and sunfish will be able to spawn in time to have an adequately long growing season."

Did early ice-out affect DNR operations this spring?
Jones: "The early spring meant fisheries crews set up walleye egg take sites a week earlier than ever before. However, because of the cool spring, the walleye egg takes peaked and ended at about average dates. The extra time of cool, open water also allowed fisheries crews to harvest "carryover" walleye from some of last year's walleye rearing ponds. Removal of the carryover fish amounted to more than 12,000 pounds of walleye stocking spread over dozens of lakes, and also will increase survival of fry raised in these ponds this summer."

Do you think this will be a "normal" opener?
Jones: "Opening success varies from year to year and that will be true this year, too. Walleye, like most gamefish, exhibit seasonal changes in behavior and distribution. Walleye spawn within a few weeks of ice-out, when water temperatures are in the low 40s. After spawning they tend to remain in shallow water for a few weeks, feeding on minnows and other small fish. As water temperatures warm, walleye tend to gradually migrate into deeper water. The ice went out early, but cool April weather has prevented water temperatures from rising quickly. As we speak, about one month after Mille Lacs Lake opened, and about two days after average ice-out, water temperatures in Mille Lacs are still in the low 40s, about 3 degrees warmer than average and only about six days ahead of average. On the other hand, in 2010, ice-out occurred April 5, and temperatures by the end of April were 50 degrees. My point is that the fish behavior around opening day depends not just on ice-out dates, but also on weather after ice-out. Walleye fishing for the 2012 opener probably won't be as advanced as anglers might expect given the early ice-outs."

So where would you fish?
Jones: "My sense is that many walleye and pike will probably still be in their traditional early season locations on the 2012 opener. I would start there, but be prepared to try a little deeper if fishing is slow."

Duval: "I agree. While walleye may be a little further along than usual, the April weather has kept lakes cool, so most of the walleye will be close to where anglers usually find them on opener."

Do you think the fishing opener will move to an earlier date sometime in the future?
Duval: "Climate change is a long-term process that cannot be determined based on short-term weather patterns. Biologically, our agency's interest is delaying the opening date until walleye and northern pike have completed spawning and have begun to disperse from spawning areas. The timing of spawning is based on both day length and water temperature, so it is uncertain how much of a shift would occur based on water temperature alone. Any future changes in the opener date should only occur based on scientific monitoring and documented long-term trends. We want to ensure the long-term sustainability of our fisheries."