With no accidents during the night we were all able to get up comfortably and say goodbye to my parents; as we had planned to do yesterday. It was great having them visit and as always it was hard to say goodbye.
The weather this morning was beautiful. The temperature was already 74 degrees at 10:00 a.m., the sky was mostly sunny and the wind was light at 3-8 mph out of the WSW. As the morning progressed and evolved into early afternoon the clouds rolled in and the sky darkened. It looked as if it was going to storm, or at least rain. But as it turned out, no rain fell and by 2:30 p.m. the sky had cleared again leaving nothing but blue sky.
With Jayden and Melissa napping and Kathleen and Ashley doing yoga and Pilate's, I took the opportunity to go fishing. With no fatheads in my minnow bucket I tipped my jig with a jumbo leech. I spent more than an hour in spots from Second Duck Point to a spot in front of my house to in front of Malay's without so much as a bite. So I went ashore to get a little lunch.
Everyone was still busy or napping so I went out onto the water again. The water temperature was 75 degrees, the sun was bright and the wind had died down completely. With those conditions I figured my best chance to hook a fish was to go bass fishing. With a spinnerbait tied on, I set up on the edge of the reeds in front of Norm's cabin.
I fished for more than an hour, moving slowly all the way to Schiebe's cabin. I made a 100 casts or more and couldn't hook a largemouth, or even a northern pike. With high skies, no wind and hot temperatures I decided it wasn't a good time to fish so I again made my way to shore.
Ashley and I went up to Birch Ridge Resort to buy a scoop of fathead minnows and on the way I noticed that the check engine light was on. I just had the truck serviced less than 1,000 miles ago so I'm not sure what's up. I'll have to take the truck into Bemidji on Monday to ensure all is working smoothly before we head down to St. Cloud later in the week.
We got back from Birch Ridge just in time for me to listen to A Prairie Home Companion, something I really enjoy doing on Saturday evenings at the lake.
After the "News from Lake Wobegon" I went outside and joined Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden and Ashley on the dock. Actually, Melissa, Jayden and Ashley were on the Hot Dog in the water so I jumped in and joined them. With the water at 75 degrees, it was very pleasant being in the lake. The kids asked if I could pull the Hot Dog behind the boat, and I agreed.
We gathered some snacks and drinks and all climbed into the boat. The water was still dead calm so I motored out just a short distance from shore before we dropped the Hot Dog in the water. Melissa and Ashley climbed on the tube and off we went. We raced around Sucker Bay for 15 or 20 minutes before stopping in front of our house. Jayden wanted a turn to ride on the Hot Dog, so Ashley got off the tube and climbed back into the boat while Jayden joined his Mom on the Hot Dog.
I started to make a slow trip around the Bay but Jayden wanted to come back into the boat. At that point we all decided it was time to go back on shore and get dinner ready. I had made some BBQed pulled pork earlier and we added onion rings and a fruit salad to complete the dinner.
We were all tired so after cleaning up the dinner dishes and getting Jayden to bed I called it a night and went to bed myself. We'll try some fishing again tomorrow. Good night from Leech Lake.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
June 29,2012 -- At Leech Lake
This morning Jayden came into our bedroom and woke up Kathleen and me sooner than we would have liked. As it turns out he was on a mission. My father, who along with my mother were set to leave for home in the Chicagoland area this morning, was waiting for us in the kitchen. He was there to tell us that sometime during the night, my mother rolled out of bed hitting her head on a chair and hurting her rib cage, and was currently lying in bed in some degree of pain.
Kathleen and I quickly got dressed and hurried over to the cabin where my parents are staying. My mother had a black eye and was holding onto her ribs in pain. Kathleen sprung into action getting ice packs made, giving my mother some pain medication and calling the hospital in Bemidji to see if we needed an appointment to have a doctor see my Mom.
We managed to get my Mom dressed, out the back door of the cabin and loaded into the car. I then drove her, me and my Dad into town to get her checked out at the Emergency Room (which was the hospital's recommendation).
Since Kathleen and I had planned to take Ashley, Melissa and Jayden down to St. Cloud today so a) the kids could see Kathleen's Mom and b) we could get Ashley to the airport by 7:00 a.m. Sunday morning, plans had to be changed. Kathleen pushed Ashley's flight back to California out a week, called her family in St. Cloud to alert them to the change in plans and then start looking into alternate flights for herself; she was set to fly back to San Jose mid next week.
In the meantime, I got my Mom to the hospital where she was checked out -- including an X-ray -- and was found to have a badly bruised rib cage and black eye, but that nothing was broken or otherwise damaged. Good news. From the hospital, my parents and I went out to lunch since none of us had eaten before leaving the house this morning. Kathleen, in an effort to keep a promise to take Ashley and Melissa shopping, drove into Walker on the south side of Leech Lake for a day of fun. Dramatic change in plans, but all things considered, things worked out.
As for the weather today, it was another hot day in the Northwoods. The temperature at the lake inched up all day long to reach a high of 82 degrees, although it was nearly 90 degrees in Bemidji. The sky was mostly sunny with some high wispy clouds and the wind was blowing out of the WNW at speeds ranging from 10-20 mph. By the time we had returned from our Bemidji hospital trip, the wind was such that it was just a bit to rough on the lake for me to go fishing. And with Kathleen and the kids still in Walker, I decided it was best to stay on shore in case my Mom (and Dad) needed any assistance.
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Kathleen, Melissa, Ashley and Jayden got home from their trip into town around 7:00 p.m. The temperature had climbed all day and was 82 degrees when I got dinner started. I had picked up a couple of pizzas from Great River Pizzeria on the way home from Bemidji. We all enjoyed Friday night pizza at the lake.
The cool breeze that had been blowing eventually calmed leaving the lake nearly still. My Mom, Kathleen, Melissa, Ashley, Jayden and I all sat out on the end of the dock and watched the sunset. My Dad, who was up most of the night worrying about my Mom, was tired and went to bed early.
Once the sun was down, the mosquitoes came out so we retreated indoors. My Mom, also tired, went back to the cabin to go to sleep. Kathleen called it a day early, while I stayed up a bit and read the paper.
It surely was an eventful day, with a trip to the Emergency Room and significantly altered plans, but all in all, things ended up OK. My mother was not seriously injured and we all enjoying an additional day at Leech Lake. Good night.
Kathleen and I quickly got dressed and hurried over to the cabin where my parents are staying. My mother had a black eye and was holding onto her ribs in pain. Kathleen sprung into action getting ice packs made, giving my mother some pain medication and calling the hospital in Bemidji to see if we needed an appointment to have a doctor see my Mom.
We managed to get my Mom dressed, out the back door of the cabin and loaded into the car. I then drove her, me and my Dad into town to get her checked out at the Emergency Room (which was the hospital's recommendation).
Since Kathleen and I had planned to take Ashley, Melissa and Jayden down to St. Cloud today so a) the kids could see Kathleen's Mom and b) we could get Ashley to the airport by 7:00 a.m. Sunday morning, plans had to be changed. Kathleen pushed Ashley's flight back to California out a week, called her family in St. Cloud to alert them to the change in plans and then start looking into alternate flights for herself; she was set to fly back to San Jose mid next week.
In the meantime, I got my Mom to the hospital where she was checked out -- including an X-ray -- and was found to have a badly bruised rib cage and black eye, but that nothing was broken or otherwise damaged. Good news. From the hospital, my parents and I went out to lunch since none of us had eaten before leaving the house this morning. Kathleen, in an effort to keep a promise to take Ashley and Melissa shopping, drove into Walker on the south side of Leech Lake for a day of fun. Dramatic change in plans, but all things considered, things worked out.
As for the weather today, it was another hot day in the Northwoods. The temperature at the lake inched up all day long to reach a high of 82 degrees, although it was nearly 90 degrees in Bemidji. The sky was mostly sunny with some high wispy clouds and the wind was blowing out of the WNW at speeds ranging from 10-20 mph. By the time we had returned from our Bemidji hospital trip, the wind was such that it was just a bit to rough on the lake for me to go fishing. And with Kathleen and the kids still in Walker, I decided it was best to stay on shore in case my Mom (and Dad) needed any assistance.
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Kathleen, Melissa, Ashley and Jayden got home from their trip into town around 7:00 p.m. The temperature had climbed all day and was 82 degrees when I got dinner started. I had picked up a couple of pizzas from Great River Pizzeria on the way home from Bemidji. We all enjoyed Friday night pizza at the lake.
The cool breeze that had been blowing eventually calmed leaving the lake nearly still. My Mom, Kathleen, Melissa, Ashley, Jayden and I all sat out on the end of the dock and watched the sunset. My Dad, who was up most of the night worrying about my Mom, was tired and went to bed early.
Once the sun was down, the mosquitoes came out so we retreated indoors. My Mom, also tired, went back to the cabin to go to sleep. Kathleen called it a day early, while I stayed up a bit and read the paper.
It surely was an eventful day, with a trip to the Emergency Room and significantly altered plans, but all in all, things ended up OK. My mother was not seriously injured and we all enjoying an additional day at Leech Lake. Good night.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
June 28, 2012 -- At Leech Lake
The wind this morning was blowing hard at 12-20 mph out of the WNW. The sky was mostly sunny and the temperature was 74 degrees. Although it was too breezy to go fishing or tubing, the wind sure cooled things off from the heat and humidity from yesterday.
We eased into the day with a pot of coffee, a breakfast of eggs, hash browns and sausage, and then went outside. It was such a wonderful day, despite the wind, that we all loved being outside.
Jayden and I played croquet, Bocce ball and had sword fights with sticks. We went on two different ATV rides including one when we went to the beach and threw rocks into the lake. Kathleen and the girls went for runs, bike rides and exercised out on the dock. What a fun day!
We had so much food left over from the past few days -- meat loaf, salmon, and ribs -- that we just had left overs tonight. Kathleen did make a cake so we could have an early birthday celebration for my Mom who has her birthday on July 2.
After dinner we watched the sunset, just hung out on the porch talking and enjoying the evening before going to bed. Tomorrow we need to take Ashley to St. Cloud so she can see her grandma Coyle before Ashley leaves early Sunday morning. We may stay down in St. Cloud until the Fourth of July, or we may come back up here. What we do will be determined in the next day or two.
As much as I'd like to do some fishing, I'm going to spend as much time as possible with my wife and kids before they all head back to California. Once they do, I'll focus my time on applying stain to the house and fishing. Stay tuned for detailed mid-summer fishing reports from Leech Lake.
We eased into the day with a pot of coffee, a breakfast of eggs, hash browns and sausage, and then went outside. It was such a wonderful day, despite the wind, that we all loved being outside.
Jayden and I played croquet, Bocce ball and had sword fights with sticks. We went on two different ATV rides including one when we went to the beach and threw rocks into the lake. Kathleen and the girls went for runs, bike rides and exercised out on the dock. What a fun day!
We had so much food left over from the past few days -- meat loaf, salmon, and ribs -- that we just had left overs tonight. Kathleen did make a cake so we could have an early birthday celebration for my Mom who has her birthday on July 2.
After dinner we watched the sunset, just hung out on the porch talking and enjoying the evening before going to bed. Tomorrow we need to take Ashley to St. Cloud so she can see her grandma Coyle before Ashley leaves early Sunday morning. We may stay down in St. Cloud until the Fourth of July, or we may come back up here. What we do will be determined in the next day or two.
As much as I'd like to do some fishing, I'm going to spend as much time as possible with my wife and kids before they all head back to California. Once they do, I'll focus my time on applying stain to the house and fishing. Stay tuned for detailed mid-summer fishing reports from Leech Lake.
June 27, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
By 9:00 a.m. this morning it was already 75 degrees and it was on it's to being a hot and humid day. The wind was almost nonexistent from calm to 5 mph out of the southwest. The sky was mostly sunny and it looked like a perfect day to go tubing.
My dad, who normally doesn't like anything to do with the water or boats, asked if I could give him a boat ride. So shortly before 11:00 a.m. we made our way to the end of the dock to get into the boat. Jayden really wanted to join us, so I got his life jacket on him and secured it and helped him into the boat. No sooner had we left the boat lift than Jayden wanted to "go home" to see his mom. So I turned the boat around, got it on the lift again, and walked my little grandson back home.
With Jayden happy and secure on shore, I made my way back to the lift, lowered it into the water and took my Dad for a bit of tour of Sucker Bay. We made our way north along the shoreline to Norm's to The Birches and to Schiebe's. Then I swung the boat around and headed south past Second Duck Point into Duck Bay.
Twice during our ride the few dark clouds in the area opened up and it sprinkled a little, but it lasted no more than a minute or two. By the time we got back on shore, the humidity had risen to more than 70 percent and the temperature was up over 80 degrees. It was definitely a hot day.
After lunch, Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden, Ashley and I went out on the boat for some tubing. With Jayden on the Hot Dog I went slow, just fast enough to keep the tube afloat and Jayden happy. But when Jayden got in the boat with me and Kathleen and it was just Melissa and Ashley on the tube, I could go fast, and I did.
I pulled them at nearly 30 mph all over Sucker Bay; swerving back and forth and bouncing them over the wake. They screamed, laughed and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. After several long rides, we dropped the tube off at the dock and Melissa and Ashley jumped into the lake and swam out to the boat. With the water still very calm, I took everyone on a long boat ride around Sucker Bay -- past Duck Point, down to Ottertail Point, over to Goose Island, up toward Big Hardwood Point and eventually back to our house.
After we all ate a little lunch we went over to the dock to do some fishing in the reeds and weeds next to the boat lift. In no more than a couple of minutes Jayden caught a little bass. Unfortunately that was the only fish anyone caught, even though earlier in the day I'd seen dozens of bass (including some good-sized ones), several bluegills and a few rock bass swimming in the weeds.
All day long I had three racks of pork spare ribs slow-cooking in the oven. When it was time for dinner, I got the grill going, grilled up a whole bunch of marinated vegetables, the put the ribs on for a quick searing before adding the final coating off BBQ sauce. We all ate a great dinner and then retired to the back porch and dock to watch the spectacular sunset.
My Dad was tired and went back to the cabin fairly early. Melissa went to bed at the same time as Jayden, so Kathleen, Ashley and my Mom stayed up to watch a movie.
We had another wonderful day at Leech Lake. We are so blessed to all be together in such a spectacular and peaceful place. I wish we could all stay here forever. But alas, that can't happen so we'll have to enjoy every second of every day that we are here. Good night.
My dad, who normally doesn't like anything to do with the water or boats, asked if I could give him a boat ride. So shortly before 11:00 a.m. we made our way to the end of the dock to get into the boat. Jayden really wanted to join us, so I got his life jacket on him and secured it and helped him into the boat. No sooner had we left the boat lift than Jayden wanted to "go home" to see his mom. So I turned the boat around, got it on the lift again, and walked my little grandson back home.
With Jayden happy and secure on shore, I made my way back to the lift, lowered it into the water and took my Dad for a bit of tour of Sucker Bay. We made our way north along the shoreline to Norm's to The Birches and to Schiebe's. Then I swung the boat around and headed south past Second Duck Point into Duck Bay.
Twice during our ride the few dark clouds in the area opened up and it sprinkled a little, but it lasted no more than a minute or two. By the time we got back on shore, the humidity had risen to more than 70 percent and the temperature was up over 80 degrees. It was definitely a hot day.
After lunch, Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden, Ashley and I went out on the boat for some tubing. With Jayden on the Hot Dog I went slow, just fast enough to keep the tube afloat and Jayden happy. But when Jayden got in the boat with me and Kathleen and it was just Melissa and Ashley on the tube, I could go fast, and I did.
I pulled them at nearly 30 mph all over Sucker Bay; swerving back and forth and bouncing them over the wake. They screamed, laughed and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. After several long rides, we dropped the tube off at the dock and Melissa and Ashley jumped into the lake and swam out to the boat. With the water still very calm, I took everyone on a long boat ride around Sucker Bay -- past Duck Point, down to Ottertail Point, over to Goose Island, up toward Big Hardwood Point and eventually back to our house.
After we all ate a little lunch we went over to the dock to do some fishing in the reeds and weeds next to the boat lift. In no more than a couple of minutes Jayden caught a little bass. Unfortunately that was the only fish anyone caught, even though earlier in the day I'd seen dozens of bass (including some good-sized ones), several bluegills and a few rock bass swimming in the weeds.
All day long I had three racks of pork spare ribs slow-cooking in the oven. When it was time for dinner, I got the grill going, grilled up a whole bunch of marinated vegetables, the put the ribs on for a quick searing before adding the final coating off BBQ sauce. We all ate a great dinner and then retired to the back porch and dock to watch the spectacular sunset.
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| Another amazing sunset over Leech Lake |
We had another wonderful day at Leech Lake. We are so blessed to all be together in such a spectacular and peaceful place. I wish we could all stay here forever. But alas, that can't happen so we'll have to enjoy every second of every day that we are here. Good night.
June 26, 2012 -- On Leech Lake -- 31st Wedding Anniversary
Today Kathleen and I celebrate our 31st wedding anniversary. We were married on the shores of the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, MN, and here we are all these later once again in Minnesota, this time at Leech Lake.
And it was a beautiful at the lake. By 10:00 a..m. the temperature was 70 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny and blue and the wind was 8-12 mph out of the SSW so there was a bit of chop on the lake. Melissa and Ashley want to go tubing on the water as soon as possible, and if the wind dies down just a bit, we'll try to get out today.
Most of the morning and early afternoon we -- Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden, Ashley, my parents, and I -- just hung around the house, drank coffee, had breakfast and enjoyed the beauty of the lake. By mid-afternoon, the temperature had risen to 78 degrees, the wind was still a bit breezy at 10-15 mph out of the SSE and the sky was sunny and blue.
The girls really wanted to go tubing (on the Hot Dog), so even though it was a little more windy than I'd like to pull a tube behind the boat, I acquiesced and onto the water we went.
I couldn't go real fast, nor could I swerve side to side and give them as crazy a ride as they like, but we still had fun on the lake. Even Jayden and Kathleen went for a ride.
Once back on shore, Jayden took a nap while Kathleen went running and Melissa and Ashley went on a bike ride. Jayden didn't sleep all that long and when he woke up he wanted me to take him on the ATV to find his mom and Ashley.
Jayden joined my on my Polaris 500 Sportsman and off we went. I didn't go much more than 10 or 12 mph because Jayden was with me, but we did manage to traverse the entire loop from our house to the community center up Ottertail Point Drive to 26th and back to our house. Somehow during that entire loop we didn't see Kathleen, Melissa or Ashley. Jayden and I arrived home to find Melissa and Ashley on the dock.
After we all cooled off and cleaned up we had a wonderful salmon and risotto dinner before we moved next door to have a camp fire. As the sun set and the sky darken, the clouds moved in and as a result we couldn't see the stars as well as we were hoping to. On a clear night, the stars are so bright here at the lake that it is easy to see the Milky Way, and billions of other stars.
We didn't have a chance to fish on the lake today, but we did have a great time at Leech Lake.
And it was a beautiful at the lake. By 10:00 a..m. the temperature was 70 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny and blue and the wind was 8-12 mph out of the SSW so there was a bit of chop on the lake. Melissa and Ashley want to go tubing on the water as soon as possible, and if the wind dies down just a bit, we'll try to get out today.
Most of the morning and early afternoon we -- Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden, Ashley, my parents, and I -- just hung around the house, drank coffee, had breakfast and enjoyed the beauty of the lake. By mid-afternoon, the temperature had risen to 78 degrees, the wind was still a bit breezy at 10-15 mph out of the SSE and the sky was sunny and blue.
The girls really wanted to go tubing (on the Hot Dog), so even though it was a little more windy than I'd like to pull a tube behind the boat, I acquiesced and onto the water we went.
I couldn't go real fast, nor could I swerve side to side and give them as crazy a ride as they like, but we still had fun on the lake. Even Jayden and Kathleen went for a ride.
Once back on shore, Jayden took a nap while Kathleen went running and Melissa and Ashley went on a bike ride. Jayden didn't sleep all that long and when he woke up he wanted me to take him on the ATV to find his mom and Ashley.
Jayden joined my on my Polaris 500 Sportsman and off we went. I didn't go much more than 10 or 12 mph because Jayden was with me, but we did manage to traverse the entire loop from our house to the community center up Ottertail Point Drive to 26th and back to our house. Somehow during that entire loop we didn't see Kathleen, Melissa or Ashley. Jayden and I arrived home to find Melissa and Ashley on the dock.
After we all cooled off and cleaned up we had a wonderful salmon and risotto dinner before we moved next door to have a camp fire. As the sun set and the sky darken, the clouds moved in and as a result we couldn't see the stars as well as we were hoping to. On a clear night, the stars are so bright here at the lake that it is easy to see the Milky Way, and billions of other stars.
We didn't have a chance to fish on the lake today, but we did have a great time at Leech Lake.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
June 25, 2012 -- At Leech Lake
This morning at 7:00 a.m. the sun was shining, the wind was relatively calm at 5-8 mph out of the SSE and the temperature was 62 degrees. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day at Leech Lake.
Kathleen and the kids had some errands to run in Bemidji today, so around 11:15 a.m. they got in the truck and drove into town. I stayed at the lake did a variety of chores -- laundry, cleaning up at the cabin, prepping for our dinner later today, etc.
My parents were expected here sometime mid-afternoon and we want the cabin to be clean for their arrival. So I cleaned up the cabin and made sure things were in order. In the mail today, the part for me to fix the Anderson Window crank arrived, so I also spent a little time repairing the window.
I thought about going out to do a little fishing, but I didn't want to be on the water when my parents arrived.
At 3:30 p.m. my Mom and Dad drove up. We had a great time catching up and talking until Kathleen and the kids got home at 5:30 p.m. We then made dinner, ate and had a very nice time talking and enjoying grandma and grandpa's company.
We stayed up until roughly midnight and then all went to bed. It was another nice day at Leech Lake, even if I didn't have a chance to get out fishing.
Kathleen and the kids had some errands to run in Bemidji today, so around 11:15 a.m. they got in the truck and drove into town. I stayed at the lake did a variety of chores -- laundry, cleaning up at the cabin, prepping for our dinner later today, etc.
My parents were expected here sometime mid-afternoon and we want the cabin to be clean for their arrival. So I cleaned up the cabin and made sure things were in order. In the mail today, the part for me to fix the Anderson Window crank arrived, so I also spent a little time repairing the window.
I thought about going out to do a little fishing, but I didn't want to be on the water when my parents arrived.
At 3:30 p.m. my Mom and Dad drove up. We had a great time catching up and talking until Kathleen and the kids got home at 5:30 p.m. We then made dinner, ate and had a very nice time talking and enjoying grandma and grandpa's company.
We stayed up until roughly midnight and then all went to bed. It was another nice day at Leech Lake, even if I didn't have a chance to get out fishing.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
June 24, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
Unlike the past few days here at Leech Lake, we woke this morning to beautiful blue skies and sunshine. The temperature was 66 degrees and the wind was out of the NNW at 10-15 mph. The water was fairly choppy with some white caps, yet after days of rain, many boats were out on the lake fishing.
With the lake as choppy as it was, I focused my attention on tasks on shore; mainly getting the gutters on the house cleaned out. We've had more than 8 inches of rain in the past five days, much of it very heavy, so I knew that the gutters needed a good cleaning. I hadn't cleaned them since last autumn and they had a lot of debris in them.
I got the ladder from the cabin and began the cleaning process. As always, it was a dirty and stinky job. But when it's done, I always feel a sense of accomplishment. Let it rain!
We -- me, Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden, Ashley, Tim, Connor and Jackson -- all hung out on shore for most of the day just relaxing, playing, talking and enjoying the splendor of the lake. As the day progressed, the wind died down a bit to 8-12 mph out of the north as the temperature rose to 75 degrees. It turned out to be a wonderful day.
At just after 3:00 p.m. I took Tim and Jackson out fishing while Jayden napped and everyone else played Liar's Dice. I motored out to a spot in front of Malay's cabin in 11 feet of water and deployed the drift sock. With the wind blowing the way it was, the boat was pushed almost parallel to the shoreline south toward Second Duck Point.
We all were using jigs tipped with minnows in the 71.5 degree water. The sky was mostly sunny and it was warm on the boat.
I caught a number of perch. Jackson caught fewer and smaller perch. And I'm not sure if Tim caught more than two or three small perch. Unfortunately, during our three drifts from Malay's to Second Duck Point, in water varying from 11 to 15 feet of water, all we caught were small perch. Finally, around 4:45 p.m. it was time to come ashore.
Shortly after arriving on shore, Tim, Connor and Jackson all packed up and left the lake for home in Rice. Kathleen went running, while Ashley and Melissa worked out. I stayed at the house and Jayden and I played with his toys.
I made a tasty dinner of shrimp pasta and garlic bread and after dinner we all relaxed, cleaned up and went to bed. Tomorrow will be another busy day. Kathleen and the kids are talking about going into Cass Lake and Bemidji, while I'll probably put up some zinc stripping on the garage at the house. And sometime around mid-afternoon my parents are due to arrive from Chicago. I'm looking forward to seeing them and having the opportunity for them to enjoy Leech Lake.
Good night.
With the lake as choppy as it was, I focused my attention on tasks on shore; mainly getting the gutters on the house cleaned out. We've had more than 8 inches of rain in the past five days, much of it very heavy, so I knew that the gutters needed a good cleaning. I hadn't cleaned them since last autumn and they had a lot of debris in them.
I got the ladder from the cabin and began the cleaning process. As always, it was a dirty and stinky job. But when it's done, I always feel a sense of accomplishment. Let it rain!
We -- me, Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden, Ashley, Tim, Connor and Jackson -- all hung out on shore for most of the day just relaxing, playing, talking and enjoying the splendor of the lake. As the day progressed, the wind died down a bit to 8-12 mph out of the north as the temperature rose to 75 degrees. It turned out to be a wonderful day.
At just after 3:00 p.m. I took Tim and Jackson out fishing while Jayden napped and everyone else played Liar's Dice. I motored out to a spot in front of Malay's cabin in 11 feet of water and deployed the drift sock. With the wind blowing the way it was, the boat was pushed almost parallel to the shoreline south toward Second Duck Point.
We all were using jigs tipped with minnows in the 71.5 degree water. The sky was mostly sunny and it was warm on the boat.
I caught a number of perch. Jackson caught fewer and smaller perch. And I'm not sure if Tim caught more than two or three small perch. Unfortunately, during our three drifts from Malay's to Second Duck Point, in water varying from 11 to 15 feet of water, all we caught were small perch. Finally, around 4:45 p.m. it was time to come ashore.
Shortly after arriving on shore, Tim, Connor and Jackson all packed up and left the lake for home in Rice. Kathleen went running, while Ashley and Melissa worked out. I stayed at the house and Jayden and I played with his toys.
I made a tasty dinner of shrimp pasta and garlic bread and after dinner we all relaxed, cleaned up and went to bed. Tomorrow will be another busy day. Kathleen and the kids are talking about going into Cass Lake and Bemidji, while I'll probably put up some zinc stripping on the garage at the house. And sometime around mid-afternoon my parents are due to arrive from Chicago. I'm looking forward to seeing them and having the opportunity for them to enjoy Leech Lake.
Good night.
June 23, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
This morning we awoke to more rain. The sky was grey and overcast, a steady rain was falling, the wind was at 8-12 mph out of the southeast and the temperature was a cool 62 degrees.
Jayden was excited to be at the lake, and wanted to do everything at once -- go fishing, play baseball, ride on the ATV, play with his toys, and see his cousins. But with the rain falling, we had to stay inside; at least for a while. By 11:30 a.m. the rain had ceased, the sun was trying to push its way clear of the clouds and the temperature was inching its way toward 75 degrees.
With the weather on our side, we all went outside to enjoy it. Melissa and Ashley went for a bike ride. Connor made his way out onto the end of the dock to enjoy the lake. Kathleen got ready to go for a run. And Tim, Jackson, Jayden and I gathered up our things and went fishing.
The water temperature was 70 degrees, the breeze was blowing at 8-12 mph out of the southeast and the mostly sunny sky made conditions relatively perfect for fishing for walleye and perch. We spent about 45 minutes dragging minnows on our jigs, but all we caught were a few perch and one smallish northern pike. At that point Jayden really wanted to go ashore so I motored the boat back to the lift. Tim and Jackson waited in the boat while I walked Jayden back home so he could see his Mom, grandma and cousin; with his minnow still firmly gripped in his little hand.
With Jayden happily playing on shore, I went back to the boat lift and motored Tim and Jackson back out onto the lake. We spent another 90 minutes catching dozens of perch, but unfortunately only one jumbo and no walleye. Still, it was a lot of fun being on the water.
We were all getting a bit hungry so we came back on shore where I made some chicken salad for sandwiches, while everyone else just relaxed or played in the gameroom.
Everyone just enjoyed being on shore during the late afternoon and into the early evening. I grilled brats, hot dogs and burgers for dinner, and Kathleen made corn on the cob, salad and got some fruit in bowls for us. We all had a wonderful dinner.
After dinner I grabbed my baitcasting reel paired with a lipless crankbait and went out onto the dock to try a few casts. The sky was dark grey and ominous. The air was still and the humidity was high. It felt like we were going to get a storm.
I made a few casts off the dock when I noticed a large fish at the mouth of the harbor. I made a couple of casts toward it and hooked into the 2-foot long dogfish. The fish went crazy after attacking my lure and jumped out of the water, and in the process spit the hooks of the lipless crankbait. The fish bolted from the area, but within minutes was back again.
By this time Tim, Ashley, Connor and Jackson had joined me at the harbor and while looking for the large dogfish discovered a large school of dogfish fry. Ashley, ever the northwoods girl, dipped her hand into the shallow water near the harbor and scooped up a small dogfish. After examining the little dogfish, Ashley carefully released the fish back into the water so it could rejoin the school.
The light rain that had been falling started to get heavier and we all made our way up to the house to seek shelter. Jayden wanted to watch the movie Mary Poppins, so most of the group gathered in the TV room to watch the movie. When Jayden, and Tim, finally pooped out and went to bed, the rest of us gathered in the living room to play Liar's Dice.
We played several spirited games before Connor and Jackson went back to the cabin to go to bed. No sooner had they left when a heavy thunderstorm hit, complete with lightning, thunder and sheets of rain. I can't believe how much rain has fallen this past week. My unofficial lake water level is now at 8 cement pilings; two higher than it was just 4 weeks ago.
When the storm finally petered out, Ashley and Melissa went to bed while Kathleen and I cleaned up. Although no walleye were caught today, and only one jumbo perch, it was still a fun-filled day on the shores of Leech Lake.
Good night.
Jayden was excited to be at the lake, and wanted to do everything at once -- go fishing, play baseball, ride on the ATV, play with his toys, and see his cousins. But with the rain falling, we had to stay inside; at least for a while. By 11:30 a.m. the rain had ceased, the sun was trying to push its way clear of the clouds and the temperature was inching its way toward 75 degrees.
With the weather on our side, we all went outside to enjoy it. Melissa and Ashley went for a bike ride. Connor made his way out onto the end of the dock to enjoy the lake. Kathleen got ready to go for a run. And Tim, Jackson, Jayden and I gathered up our things and went fishing.
The water temperature was 70 degrees, the breeze was blowing at 8-12 mph out of the southeast and the mostly sunny sky made conditions relatively perfect for fishing for walleye and perch. We spent about 45 minutes dragging minnows on our jigs, but all we caught were a few perch and one smallish northern pike. At that point Jayden really wanted to go ashore so I motored the boat back to the lift. Tim and Jackson waited in the boat while I walked Jayden back home so he could see his Mom, grandma and cousin; with his minnow still firmly gripped in his little hand.
With Jayden happily playing on shore, I went back to the boat lift and motored Tim and Jackson back out onto the lake. We spent another 90 minutes catching dozens of perch, but unfortunately only one jumbo and no walleye. Still, it was a lot of fun being on the water.
We were all getting a bit hungry so we came back on shore where I made some chicken salad for sandwiches, while everyone else just relaxed or played in the gameroom.
Everyone just enjoyed being on shore during the late afternoon and into the early evening. I grilled brats, hot dogs and burgers for dinner, and Kathleen made corn on the cob, salad and got some fruit in bowls for us. We all had a wonderful dinner.
After dinner I grabbed my baitcasting reel paired with a lipless crankbait and went out onto the dock to try a few casts. The sky was dark grey and ominous. The air was still and the humidity was high. It felt like we were going to get a storm.
I made a few casts off the dock when I noticed a large fish at the mouth of the harbor. I made a couple of casts toward it and hooked into the 2-foot long dogfish. The fish went crazy after attacking my lure and jumped out of the water, and in the process spit the hooks of the lipless crankbait. The fish bolted from the area, but within minutes was back again.
By this time Tim, Ashley, Connor and Jackson had joined me at the harbor and while looking for the large dogfish discovered a large school of dogfish fry. Ashley, ever the northwoods girl, dipped her hand into the shallow water near the harbor and scooped up a small dogfish. After examining the little dogfish, Ashley carefully released the fish back into the water so it could rejoin the school.
The light rain that had been falling started to get heavier and we all made our way up to the house to seek shelter. Jayden wanted to watch the movie Mary Poppins, so most of the group gathered in the TV room to watch the movie. When Jayden, and Tim, finally pooped out and went to bed, the rest of us gathered in the living room to play Liar's Dice.
We played several spirited games before Connor and Jackson went back to the cabin to go to bed. No sooner had they left when a heavy thunderstorm hit, complete with lightning, thunder and sheets of rain. I can't believe how much rain has fallen this past week. My unofficial lake water level is now at 8 cement pilings; two higher than it was just 4 weeks ago.
When the storm finally petered out, Ashley and Melissa went to bed while Kathleen and I cleaned up. Although no walleye were caught today, and only one jumbo perch, it was still a fun-filled day on the shores of Leech Lake.
Good night.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
June 22, 2012 -- At Leech Lake
Today was warm in St. Cloud, mid-70s, as we packed up the truck and got ready to depart for Leech Lake. It took us until nearly noon before we were finally on the road heading north. We made a stop in Brainerd (made famous in the Coen brothers' movie Fargo) for lunch and groceries, then it was on the road again to Leech Lake.
We finally arrived at the lake just after 5:00 p.m. Tim, Kathleen's brother, and his boys Connor and Jackson were already here. They are going to join us for a couple of days at the lake. Jayden was very excited to be at the lake and wanted to go fishing right away.
I got one of my small ice-fishing rod and reel set ups for Jayden, put on 1/16 ounce jig, put on a slip bobber and tipped the jig with a minnow. I helped Jayden cast the jig into the reeds right next to the boat lift. Within 5 minutes he'd hooked a nice little largemouth bass.
Jayden fished for a while longer before he decided to move on and play in the yard. We took that opportunity to bake the pizzas Tim picked up at Great River Pizzeria in Cass Lake. After dinner I got a fire going in the fire pit at the cabin where we hung out for several hours talking, making s'mores and just enjoying the lake. It sure was great being back at Leech Lake.
Good night.
We finally arrived at the lake just after 5:00 p.m. Tim, Kathleen's brother, and his boys Connor and Jackson were already here. They are going to join us for a couple of days at the lake. Jayden was very excited to be at the lake and wanted to go fishing right away.
I got one of my small ice-fishing rod and reel set ups for Jayden, put on 1/16 ounce jig, put on a slip bobber and tipped the jig with a minnow. I helped Jayden cast the jig into the reeds right next to the boat lift. Within 5 minutes he'd hooked a nice little largemouth bass.
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| Jayden's first fish -- a Leech Lake largemouth bass |
Good night.
June 21, 2012 -- In St. Cloud
We spent the day in St. Cloud today and most of that time was at St. Benedict's Center visiting with Kathleen's Mom Marge. Marge was very happy to see her great-grandchildren Ashley and Jayden, and her granddaughter Melissa.
Later in the day we took Marge to her house where we had dinner with a number of people from Kathleen's family. Late that night Marge went back to St. Benedict's and we started packing up for a Friday morning departure to Leech Lake.
Later in the day we took Marge to her house where we had dinner with a number of people from Kathleen's family. Late that night Marge went back to St. Benedict's and we started packing up for a Friday morning departure to Leech Lake.
June 20, 2012 -- At Leech Lake -- First Day of Summer
The first day of summer arrives today at 6:09 p.m. CDT here at Leech Lake. But the weather here looked anything but summer-like. At 9:00 a.m. the sky was grey, a heavy steady rain was falling, the temperature was 60 degrees and the wind was out of NNW at 8-12 mph.
With moderate- to heavy-rainfall for the past 24 hours, most of the northern part of Minnesota is experiencing flooding. Many areas around Duluth have serious flooding, while here at Leech Lake the ground is thoroughly soaked. Of course, Leech Lake is a watershed for the Upper Mississippi Valley and the area is used to filtering runoff water. But the amount of rain we've had here in the past day is unusual; by some accounts as much as 7-10 inches.
Kathleen and I were busy this morning getting ready for our drive south to St. Cloud; which is also experiencing heavy rains and flooding. The plan is for us to see Kathleen's mother today before driving to the airport in Minneapolis to pick up Melissa, Jayden and Ashley later tonight. Then we'll spend Thursday in St. Cloud before heading back to Leech Lake on Friday. The forecast is for much better weather this weekend, which should enable all of us to spend time outside playing, swimming, tubing and fishing.
We arrived in St. Cloud late afternoon and immediately went to Kathleen's Mom's house where we got the beds made in preparation for the arrival of the kids tonight. By the time we get back to St. Cloud from Minneapolis it will be very late.
With the housed prepped, we made our way to St. Benedict's to see Kathleen's Mom. We took her dinner and spent roughly 4 hours hanging out with her before we said good night, and got ready for our drive to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport.
We picked up Ashley first, at 11:30 p.m., before racing over to Terminal 2 to pick up Melissa and Jayden at the Sun Country gate. We then made our 2 hour drive back to St. Cloud and finally got to bed at roughly 2:30 a.m. It was a long, tiring day, but now everyone who is planning a trip to MN this summer is now here.
Good night.
With moderate- to heavy-rainfall for the past 24 hours, most of the northern part of Minnesota is experiencing flooding. Many areas around Duluth have serious flooding, while here at Leech Lake the ground is thoroughly soaked. Of course, Leech Lake is a watershed for the Upper Mississippi Valley and the area is used to filtering runoff water. But the amount of rain we've had here in the past day is unusual; by some accounts as much as 7-10 inches.
Kathleen and I were busy this morning getting ready for our drive south to St. Cloud; which is also experiencing heavy rains and flooding. The plan is for us to see Kathleen's mother today before driving to the airport in Minneapolis to pick up Melissa, Jayden and Ashley later tonight. Then we'll spend Thursday in St. Cloud before heading back to Leech Lake on Friday. The forecast is for much better weather this weekend, which should enable all of us to spend time outside playing, swimming, tubing and fishing.
We arrived in St. Cloud late afternoon and immediately went to Kathleen's Mom's house where we got the beds made in preparation for the arrival of the kids tonight. By the time we get back to St. Cloud from Minneapolis it will be very late.
With the housed prepped, we made our way to St. Benedict's to see Kathleen's Mom. We took her dinner and spent roughly 4 hours hanging out with her before we said good night, and got ready for our drive to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport.
We picked up Ashley first, at 11:30 p.m., before racing over to Terminal 2 to pick up Melissa and Jayden at the Sun Country gate. We then made our 2 hour drive back to St. Cloud and finally got to bed at roughly 2:30 a.m. It was a long, tiring day, but now everyone who is planning a trip to MN this summer is now here.
Good night.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
June 19, 2012 -- At Leech Lake
I awoke this morning to the loud sound of thunder and the pelting of rain on the roof. Not a bad way to wake up. The sky was grey and a steady rain was falling, the temperature was a cool 59 degrees, but there was no wind. The lake was still and the flag hung limp against the flag pole.
All morning and into the afternoon the sky was dark and a steady rain fell; sometimes coming down quite hard. The temperature hovered around 60 degrees and the wind remained calm. Periodically there were flashes of white lightening followed by loud claps of thunder, but mostly it was the sound of falling rain that provided the only ambient noise throughout the day.
The loons, Canadian geese and Mergansers loved the weather, and all could be seen swimming in the lake off the end of our dock.
All day long the rain continued to fall. Sometimes steady, other times in torrential sheets. It was as hard a rain as I've seen fall at Leech Lake.
At one point during the middle of the day hail started coming down. First just a little, then harder and harder. Pea-sized hail fell for probably 10 minutes. Throughout the day, and I mean for hour after hour after hour, the rain fell, lightening flashed across the sky, thunder rolled over Ottertail Peninsula as the severe thunderstorms continued.
We got a couple of 30-minute breaks here and there throughout the day, but for the most part the storm raged on. The National Weather Service warned of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail, damaging winds and flash flooding for our area, and while I didn't see any tornadoes, we did have all of the rest.
Needless to say, I did not get out on the water today to do any fishing. While the wind wasn't all that strong, for most of the day anyway, the heavy rain, hail and lightening were enough to keep me indoors.
I did collect the garbage at both the house and cabin and ran it down to the community center during one of the brief breaks in the weather. Kathleen used the time inside to do some cleaning in preparation for the guests we'll have later this week.
My daughter Melissa, her son Jayden and our other grandchild, Ashley, arrive in Minneapolis tomorrow. Then on Friday, they, along with Kathleen's brother Tim and his family are all coming up to the lake for a visit. Then next Monday my parents arrive for a 5-day stay. It'll be great to see everyone, even if it'll be quite a change from the peace and quiet of just me and Kathleen at the house.
As I write this just before midnight, the rain has slowed to a slow drizzle; though just minutes ago it was coming down in sheets. Lightening is filling the room with a soft white glow and the rumbling of thunder can be heard in the distance. Basically, the same sounds I heard when I awoke this morning will send me off to sleep.
Good night from Leech Lake.
All morning and into the afternoon the sky was dark and a steady rain fell; sometimes coming down quite hard. The temperature hovered around 60 degrees and the wind remained calm. Periodically there were flashes of white lightening followed by loud claps of thunder, but mostly it was the sound of falling rain that provided the only ambient noise throughout the day.
The loons, Canadian geese and Mergansers loved the weather, and all could be seen swimming in the lake off the end of our dock.
All day long the rain continued to fall. Sometimes steady, other times in torrential sheets. It was as hard a rain as I've seen fall at Leech Lake.
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| The storm coming in over Sucker Bay |
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| Hail on our lakeside porch |
Needless to say, I did not get out on the water today to do any fishing. While the wind wasn't all that strong, for most of the day anyway, the heavy rain, hail and lightening were enough to keep me indoors.
I did collect the garbage at both the house and cabin and ran it down to the community center during one of the brief breaks in the weather. Kathleen used the time inside to do some cleaning in preparation for the guests we'll have later this week.
My daughter Melissa, her son Jayden and our other grandchild, Ashley, arrive in Minneapolis tomorrow. Then on Friday, they, along with Kathleen's brother Tim and his family are all coming up to the lake for a visit. Then next Monday my parents arrive for a 5-day stay. It'll be great to see everyone, even if it'll be quite a change from the peace and quiet of just me and Kathleen at the house.
As I write this just before midnight, the rain has slowed to a slow drizzle; though just minutes ago it was coming down in sheets. Lightening is filling the room with a soft white glow and the rumbling of thunder can be heard in the distance. Basically, the same sounds I heard when I awoke this morning will send me off to sleep.
Good night from Leech Lake.
June 18, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
Like most of the mornings have been here on Leech Lake recently, today at 9:30 a.m. the sky was grey, the temperature was 65 degrees and the wind was light at 3-8 mph out of the SSW. There were already a half dozens boats out in front of the house this morning; maybe going after my escaped walleye.
As the morning rolled on the temperature continued to rise to just more than 70 degrees, the wind remained calm and the sun started to peak out with patches of blue sky appearing. Kathleen had yet to go on a boat ride and we figured the weather was perfect for it, so after some breakfast and coffee we made our way over to the boat lift.
I lowered the boat into the water, backed it out onto the lake and slowly started heading north along the shoreline of Sucker Bay. We made our way up past Schiebe's cabin before motoring over to the location where Bay Shore Resort once stood. Today, Bay Shore is gone, and in its place are houses and cabins.
From there we motored up the shoreline to Birch Ridge Resort, the new public water access ramp and to the big Robinson house at the very north end of Sucker Bay. I then opened up the motor and started south on Sucker Bay toward Big Hardwood Point. Along the way the wind began to pick up and before we could even reach Big Hardwood the water was getting quite rough. I decided that the boat trip needed to come to an end and we needed to get off the water before the waves got even bigger.
We made it back to the boat lift as the lake was filling with white caps. It was a bit of struggle getting the boat on the lift, but I managed. For the rest of the day, until just before sunset, the wind was strong at 20+ mph out of the WSW and the lake was riled with waves and white caps.
Since we weren't able to get out onto the water, Kathleen and I decided to stay on shore and work on a number of chores. Kathleen got out the blower and cleaned off the porches, driveway and other areas around the house and cabin while I got back on the roof of the cabin and completed the zinc-stripping project. Now the entire roof at the cabin has zinc stripping in place which should help keep moss and mold from growing on it. I need to do the same thing to the garage/game room roof and to the roof at the house.
We wrapped up our chores around 6:30 p.m. and then Kathleen went for a run. Once she was back we sat on the dock and watched the sunset. The weather had evolved yet again, with the temperature at 72 degrees, the skies were mostly clear and the wind had died down to 3-5 mph out of the SSW. And with a new moon, it seemed like a perfect night to troll for walleye.
I got the boat in the water soon after the sun had dropped below the horizon and got the boat set up for trolling at night -- landing net handy, navigation lights on, rod holder in place, etc. I started trolling in 9 feet of water in front of our house and made my way south into the middle of Duck Bay. The water temperature was 70.9 degrees.
During that initial pass I hooked into a northern pike approximately 25" long, which I immediately unhooked and released back into the lake. I continued trolling until 10:45 p.m. but didn't catch another fish. I made my way on shore and back to the house. Kathleen and I ate a very late dinner, watched a movie and then went to bed late.
Although the fishing was not great tonight, it was a wonderful day spent mostly outside on the shores of Leech Lake.
As the morning rolled on the temperature continued to rise to just more than 70 degrees, the wind remained calm and the sun started to peak out with patches of blue sky appearing. Kathleen had yet to go on a boat ride and we figured the weather was perfect for it, so after some breakfast and coffee we made our way over to the boat lift.
I lowered the boat into the water, backed it out onto the lake and slowly started heading north along the shoreline of Sucker Bay. We made our way up past Schiebe's cabin before motoring over to the location where Bay Shore Resort once stood. Today, Bay Shore is gone, and in its place are houses and cabins.
From there we motored up the shoreline to Birch Ridge Resort, the new public water access ramp and to the big Robinson house at the very north end of Sucker Bay. I then opened up the motor and started south on Sucker Bay toward Big Hardwood Point. Along the way the wind began to pick up and before we could even reach Big Hardwood the water was getting quite rough. I decided that the boat trip needed to come to an end and we needed to get off the water before the waves got even bigger.
We made it back to the boat lift as the lake was filling with white caps. It was a bit of struggle getting the boat on the lift, but I managed. For the rest of the day, until just before sunset, the wind was strong at 20+ mph out of the WSW and the lake was riled with waves and white caps.
Since we weren't able to get out onto the water, Kathleen and I decided to stay on shore and work on a number of chores. Kathleen got out the blower and cleaned off the porches, driveway and other areas around the house and cabin while I got back on the roof of the cabin and completed the zinc-stripping project. Now the entire roof at the cabin has zinc stripping in place which should help keep moss and mold from growing on it. I need to do the same thing to the garage/game room roof and to the roof at the house.
We wrapped up our chores around 6:30 p.m. and then Kathleen went for a run. Once she was back we sat on the dock and watched the sunset. The weather had evolved yet again, with the temperature at 72 degrees, the skies were mostly clear and the wind had died down to 3-5 mph out of the SSW. And with a new moon, it seemed like a perfect night to troll for walleye.
I got the boat in the water soon after the sun had dropped below the horizon and got the boat set up for trolling at night -- landing net handy, navigation lights on, rod holder in place, etc. I started trolling in 9 feet of water in front of our house and made my way south into the middle of Duck Bay. The water temperature was 70.9 degrees.
During that initial pass I hooked into a northern pike approximately 25" long, which I immediately unhooked and released back into the lake. I continued trolling until 10:45 p.m. but didn't catch another fish. I made my way on shore and back to the house. Kathleen and I ate a very late dinner, watched a movie and then went to bed late.
Although the fishing was not great tonight, it was a wonderful day spent mostly outside on the shores of Leech Lake.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Father's Day: June 17, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
Happy Father's Day to my great Dad, and to all the other fathers out there. Even though it's your day, it's probably best that you still handle the BBQing duties.
This morning at 9:00 a.m. the sky was grey, the temperature was a cool 58 degrees and the wind was out of the WSW at 8-12 mph. We haven't had back-to-back sunny, warm days yet since Kathleen's arrival a 8 days ago.
Kathleen made me blueberry pancakes for my Father's Day breakfast, and we took our time eating and enjoying our coffee. After breakfast I made my way next door to the cabin to busy myself with cutting long strips of zinc roofing metal in half. The zinc -- which is used to prevent mold and moss from growing on a roof -- should have been installed when Rick and I put on the new roof in 2010, but we forgot to do so, so now it's time for a retrofit effort. Since the 4" strips are too big to put under the shingles as they are, I have to cut them down to 2" strips which can be more easily installed.
I cut several very long (25+ feet) strips before deciding to take advantage of the weather and go fishing. There had been some reports of a storm in the late morning or early afternoon, but at 12:30 p.m. the weather seemed fine so I put the roofing project on hold and got the boat out onto the water.
I started by motoring south to Second Duck Point and setting up in 12 feet of water. With a 8-12 mph south wind, the boat was pushed north up the middle of Sucker Bay at about .50 mph ground speed. I had absolutely no luck, so after 30 minutes I repositioned the boat in front of Newman's house and let the wind push the boat north and out into the bay.
I was using a gold Northland "Vegas" jig tipped with a fathead minnow. The water temperature was 69.9 degrees in the 12 feet of water in which I was fishing.
In this spot I caught several perch and had a couple of minnows bitten off, leaving only the head still on the jig. This is usually a sign of walleye in the area, since they will often bite (very lightly) the minnow, but not even touch the jig.
After 30 minutes or so I repositioned the boat again, this time closer to our house in 12 feet of water. Again the boat drifted out into the middle of the bay and again I caught several perch. Then I felt that familiar "walleye tick" and set the hook. I brought a very nice 16 1/4" walleye into the boat. Kathleen and I had talked about going to the Big Fish Supper Club in Bena tonight for dinner, but with a walleye in the live well the plans changed and called for a Father's Day walleye dinner at home.
I continued to fish and caught several more perch, including a couple of 11- and 12-inch jumbos, but they all went back into the lake since the one walleye would be enough for tonight's dinner. At 2:30 p.m. I motored the boat back to the lift, stowed the gear, put the walleye in the basket which went into the lake and set about my roofing work.
I worked for a couple of hours getting the zinc stripping up underneath the cap shingles on the peak of the roof before taking a break for a late lunch. After my lunch, Kathleen went for a run while I went to clean the walleye, or so I thought.
When I catch walleye I put them in a holding basket made out of wire mesh with a floating top. I put the fish into the basket, lower the basket into the lake, the floating lid seals the top and the fish stays secure and alive. That's how it always worked until today. Somehow, maybe from a wave from a passing boat, the mesh basket got hooked up on the underside of the dock and in that position the floating lid opened and the fish escaped. When I arrived to clean the walleye for dinner, I found nothing but an open basket. In all the years I've used that basket I've never had something like this happen before. So the Big Fish Supper Club in Bena was back on the agenda.
The drive to the Big Fish is pleasant and relatively short. We drive 8 miles up Sucker Bay Road before heading east on Hwy. 2 to Bena, no more than about 5 or 6 miles. The Big Fish is a bit of a northern Minnesota landmark, and even had a brief cameo appearance in the movie National Lampoon's Vacation starring Chevy Chase.
The food is good enough for a supper club and the people are always friendly. We enjoyed our meal and then drove home. We had heard on the weather station that most of the state of Minnesota was getting bombarded with severe thunderstorms, and that there was even a tornado warning for several counties down around Minneapolis. But most of the really bad weather was south of us, and other than a little rain and a few flashes of lightening, we missed the storms completely.
We arrived back at Leech Lake just in time to see the sunset. To the north, the sky looked yellowish and non-threatening. But to the south, the northern edge of the statewide storms could be seen.
Kathleen was tried tonight, so we simply climbed onto the couch and watched a movie before heading to bed just after 11:00 p.m. It was another great day on Leech Lake, even if my walleye managed to escape. I'll go after him tomorrow.
Good night from the northwoods.
This morning at 9:00 a.m. the sky was grey, the temperature was a cool 58 degrees and the wind was out of the WSW at 8-12 mph. We haven't had back-to-back sunny, warm days yet since Kathleen's arrival a 8 days ago.
Kathleen made me blueberry pancakes for my Father's Day breakfast, and we took our time eating and enjoying our coffee. After breakfast I made my way next door to the cabin to busy myself with cutting long strips of zinc roofing metal in half. The zinc -- which is used to prevent mold and moss from growing on a roof -- should have been installed when Rick and I put on the new roof in 2010, but we forgot to do so, so now it's time for a retrofit effort. Since the 4" strips are too big to put under the shingles as they are, I have to cut them down to 2" strips which can be more easily installed.
I cut several very long (25+ feet) strips before deciding to take advantage of the weather and go fishing. There had been some reports of a storm in the late morning or early afternoon, but at 12:30 p.m. the weather seemed fine so I put the roofing project on hold and got the boat out onto the water.
I started by motoring south to Second Duck Point and setting up in 12 feet of water. With a 8-12 mph south wind, the boat was pushed north up the middle of Sucker Bay at about .50 mph ground speed. I had absolutely no luck, so after 30 minutes I repositioned the boat in front of Newman's house and let the wind push the boat north and out into the bay.
I was using a gold Northland "Vegas" jig tipped with a fathead minnow. The water temperature was 69.9 degrees in the 12 feet of water in which I was fishing.
In this spot I caught several perch and had a couple of minnows bitten off, leaving only the head still on the jig. This is usually a sign of walleye in the area, since they will often bite (very lightly) the minnow, but not even touch the jig.
After 30 minutes or so I repositioned the boat again, this time closer to our house in 12 feet of water. Again the boat drifted out into the middle of the bay and again I caught several perch. Then I felt that familiar "walleye tick" and set the hook. I brought a very nice 16 1/4" walleye into the boat. Kathleen and I had talked about going to the Big Fish Supper Club in Bena tonight for dinner, but with a walleye in the live well the plans changed and called for a Father's Day walleye dinner at home.
I continued to fish and caught several more perch, including a couple of 11- and 12-inch jumbos, but they all went back into the lake since the one walleye would be enough for tonight's dinner. At 2:30 p.m. I motored the boat back to the lift, stowed the gear, put the walleye in the basket which went into the lake and set about my roofing work.
I worked for a couple of hours getting the zinc stripping up underneath the cap shingles on the peak of the roof before taking a break for a late lunch. After my lunch, Kathleen went for a run while I went to clean the walleye, or so I thought.
When I catch walleye I put them in a holding basket made out of wire mesh with a floating top. I put the fish into the basket, lower the basket into the lake, the floating lid seals the top and the fish stays secure and alive. That's how it always worked until today. Somehow, maybe from a wave from a passing boat, the mesh basket got hooked up on the underside of the dock and in that position the floating lid opened and the fish escaped. When I arrived to clean the walleye for dinner, I found nothing but an open basket. In all the years I've used that basket I've never had something like this happen before. So the Big Fish Supper Club in Bena was back on the agenda.
The drive to the Big Fish is pleasant and relatively short. We drive 8 miles up Sucker Bay Road before heading east on Hwy. 2 to Bena, no more than about 5 or 6 miles. The Big Fish is a bit of a northern Minnesota landmark, and even had a brief cameo appearance in the movie National Lampoon's Vacation starring Chevy Chase.
The food is good enough for a supper club and the people are always friendly. We enjoyed our meal and then drove home. We had heard on the weather station that most of the state of Minnesota was getting bombarded with severe thunderstorms, and that there was even a tornado warning for several counties down around Minneapolis. But most of the really bad weather was south of us, and other than a little rain and a few flashes of lightening, we missed the storms completely.
We arrived back at Leech Lake just in time to see the sunset. To the north, the sky looked yellowish and non-threatening. But to the south, the northern edge of the statewide storms could be seen.
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| Relatively clear skies looking north on Sucker Bay |
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| The storms that hit the state are visible looking south on Sucker Bay |
Good night from the northwoods.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
June 16, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
At 10:00 a.m. this morning the sky was grey, but bright, the temperature was already 75 degrees and the wind was out of the SSW at 8-12 mph. The forecast was for storms to roll in shortly after 12:30 p.m. and for rain for most of the afternoon.
Kathleen and I started the day with coffee on the end of the dock. There were only two boats out in front of our house and near Second Duck Point. Down at Duck Point, however, were more than a half a dozen boats, and I think I know the reason why.
I ran into Sandy Newstrand on the road the other day and she was coming from Birch Ridge Resort where she had picked up two frozen walleye, both 27-inches long, which she was planning to stuff and mount. She took up taxidermy several years back and often does work for guests at the resort. Apparently a guy caught a 27-inch walleye and while he was dealing with it he handed his wife the rod and reel. She took the opportunity to cast out the lure and moments later had hooked herself a second 27-inch walleye. Since the couple will probably never catch two such big fish back-to-back again, they decided to have the mounted. And where did they catch the two prized fish? Duck Point. So now guests at Birch Ridge are hovering around Duck Point trying to get their own trophy fish.
As the morning progressed, the wind began to pick up and the sky began to darken. Forecasts called for a storm to roll through the Leech Lake area sometime between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m. I thought about going fishing before the storm hit, but decided to stay on shore, enjoy a pot of good coffee with Kathleen while sitting on the dock.
From our vantage point at the end of our dock, we could see the storm approaching from the southwest. The wind was picking up -- near 20 mph -- and the rain was clearly falling. Then right at 1:00 p.m., as predicted, the storm hit. The rain came down in heavy sheets while the wind kicked up a notch to near 25 mph out of the southwest.
Kathleen and I sat on the back porch (not the lakeside, but the side of the house facing the road) and watched the heavy rain beat down on the ground. The temperature had dropped from 82 degrees at 12:45 p.m. to just 65 degrees by 1:30 p.m. Since it was now chilly, we went inside to warm up.
Kathleen asked me innocently enough if I'd removed the insulation from the vents under the house; a routine chore that I've done for each of the 11 years we've owned the house. But for some reason, this year I'd forgotten to do so, so I got on some old clothes and made my way under the house to remove the blocked up insulation. Doing so will provide better ventilation under the house reducing the possibility of molds growing down there and keeping our house cooler during the heat of July and August.
Crawling around under the house is a hot and dirty job, so once the job was complete I took a quick shower to clean up. Kathleen and I then spent from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. relaxing and just hanging out in the living room as the storm made its way through the area. By a little after 4:00 p.m. the wind had died down to 8-12 mph out of the WSW, the clouds, while still plentiful, had parted a bit to give way to some blue sky and the temperature began to climb closer toward 70 degrees. It was a perfect time for Kathleen to go running and for me to get some fishing in.
I got the boat onto the lake at 4:20 p.m. and decided to motor south toward Second Duck Point and let the wind push me north toward our house and toward shore. I turned off the motor in 14 feet of water, deployed the drift sock and put a fathead minnow on my jig. I noted that the water temperature was varying from 69.9 degrees to 70.5 degrees depending where I was on Sucker Bay and how deep the water was.
I made several drifts over a wide area of Sucker Bay during the next 100 minutes, but caught only dozens of small- to medium-sized perch. I did catch a couple of perch that were a bit over 10 inches, but no 11-14 inch perch which I consider to be the size of jumbos.
I came ashore just after 6:00 p.m. and no sooner was I comfortably back in the house when the wind began to pick up to 15-20 mph out of the WSW with some gusts up over 25 mph. The lake was quickly churning with white caps and most of the boats that had been out on the lake at the same time as me moved to get off the increasingly rough water.
Kathleen and I spent a quiet and enjoyable evening at home reading, talking, listening to music and eventually watching a movie. We had a wonderful day at our oasis on Leech Lake. Good night.
Kathleen and I started the day with coffee on the end of the dock. There were only two boats out in front of our house and near Second Duck Point. Down at Duck Point, however, were more than a half a dozen boats, and I think I know the reason why.
I ran into Sandy Newstrand on the road the other day and she was coming from Birch Ridge Resort where she had picked up two frozen walleye, both 27-inches long, which she was planning to stuff and mount. She took up taxidermy several years back and often does work for guests at the resort. Apparently a guy caught a 27-inch walleye and while he was dealing with it he handed his wife the rod and reel. She took the opportunity to cast out the lure and moments later had hooked herself a second 27-inch walleye. Since the couple will probably never catch two such big fish back-to-back again, they decided to have the mounted. And where did they catch the two prized fish? Duck Point. So now guests at Birch Ridge are hovering around Duck Point trying to get their own trophy fish.
As the morning progressed, the wind began to pick up and the sky began to darken. Forecasts called for a storm to roll through the Leech Lake area sometime between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m. I thought about going fishing before the storm hit, but decided to stay on shore, enjoy a pot of good coffee with Kathleen while sitting on the dock.
From our vantage point at the end of our dock, we could see the storm approaching from the southwest. The wind was picking up -- near 20 mph -- and the rain was clearly falling. Then right at 1:00 p.m., as predicted, the storm hit. The rain came down in heavy sheets while the wind kicked up a notch to near 25 mph out of the southwest.
Kathleen and I sat on the back porch (not the lakeside, but the side of the house facing the road) and watched the heavy rain beat down on the ground. The temperature had dropped from 82 degrees at 12:45 p.m. to just 65 degrees by 1:30 p.m. Since it was now chilly, we went inside to warm up.
Kathleen asked me innocently enough if I'd removed the insulation from the vents under the house; a routine chore that I've done for each of the 11 years we've owned the house. But for some reason, this year I'd forgotten to do so, so I got on some old clothes and made my way under the house to remove the blocked up insulation. Doing so will provide better ventilation under the house reducing the possibility of molds growing down there and keeping our house cooler during the heat of July and August.
Crawling around under the house is a hot and dirty job, so once the job was complete I took a quick shower to clean up. Kathleen and I then spent from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. relaxing and just hanging out in the living room as the storm made its way through the area. By a little after 4:00 p.m. the wind had died down to 8-12 mph out of the WSW, the clouds, while still plentiful, had parted a bit to give way to some blue sky and the temperature began to climb closer toward 70 degrees. It was a perfect time for Kathleen to go running and for me to get some fishing in.
I got the boat onto the lake at 4:20 p.m. and decided to motor south toward Second Duck Point and let the wind push me north toward our house and toward shore. I turned off the motor in 14 feet of water, deployed the drift sock and put a fathead minnow on my jig. I noted that the water temperature was varying from 69.9 degrees to 70.5 degrees depending where I was on Sucker Bay and how deep the water was.
I made several drifts over a wide area of Sucker Bay during the next 100 minutes, but caught only dozens of small- to medium-sized perch. I did catch a couple of perch that were a bit over 10 inches, but no 11-14 inch perch which I consider to be the size of jumbos.
I came ashore just after 6:00 p.m. and no sooner was I comfortably back in the house when the wind began to pick up to 15-20 mph out of the WSW with some gusts up over 25 mph. The lake was quickly churning with white caps and most of the boats that had been out on the lake at the same time as me moved to get off the increasingly rough water.
Kathleen and I spent a quiet and enjoyable evening at home reading, talking, listening to music and eventually watching a movie. We had a wonderful day at our oasis on Leech Lake. Good night.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
June 15, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
This morning the sky was mostly sunny and blue, the temperature at 9:30 a.m. was already almost 70 degrees and the wind was at 8-15 mph out of the WSW.
Throughout the morning and into the early afternoon the wind picked up to 12-18 mph out of the SSW and the temperature continued to increase to a high of 82 degrees. Several boats were out in front of the house and cabin in 10-14 feet of water fishing. I contemplated going out just after noon, but decided to hold off because Kathleen was interested in going on a bike ride.
We had been wanting to ride the bikes out to Duck Point Woods to check out if any more of the properties had sold and to see if the eagle's nest, which we'd seen last year, was being used again this year. We got on our bikes just after 1:00 p.m. and rode down West Shores Road to 26th Ave and up to Ottertail Point Road. We made our way past Moose Lane and out to Duck Point Woods.
Sure enough, the eagle's nest was there and we were able to spot two eagles in the nest; most likely the male and female guarding the eggs, or the eaglets. We continued our ride to the end of Ottertail Point Road before turning around and coming home. We were hot and sweaty so we took a quick camp bath to cool off. The water was cold, but invigorating.
After cooling off in the lake we made lunch. I took my sandwich out onto the lake while I fished while Kathleen ate her lunch on the dock.
I fished with a jig and minnows and caught a dozen or more smallish perch, as well as a couple of northerns, but was unable to catch a walleye. I came ashore around 5:30 p.m. because I'd run out of minnows. I took the truck up to Birch Ridge Resort to buy a scoop of fatheads, while Kathleen used the time to go on her 6-mile run. Unfortunately for her, the deer flies were out in full force and she stopped me on my way back from the resort and asked for a ride home because she could no longer take the buzzing of the biting flies.
We had a late dinner and rather than go out fishing I stayed inside and just hung out. It was an uneventful and rather unfortunate evening despite being here at the lake. Maybe tomorrow I'll get out fishing earlier in the day.
Good night from Leech Lake.
Throughout the morning and into the early afternoon the wind picked up to 12-18 mph out of the SSW and the temperature continued to increase to a high of 82 degrees. Several boats were out in front of the house and cabin in 10-14 feet of water fishing. I contemplated going out just after noon, but decided to hold off because Kathleen was interested in going on a bike ride.
We had been wanting to ride the bikes out to Duck Point Woods to check out if any more of the properties had sold and to see if the eagle's nest, which we'd seen last year, was being used again this year. We got on our bikes just after 1:00 p.m. and rode down West Shores Road to 26th Ave and up to Ottertail Point Road. We made our way past Moose Lane and out to Duck Point Woods.
Sure enough, the eagle's nest was there and we were able to spot two eagles in the nest; most likely the male and female guarding the eggs, or the eaglets. We continued our ride to the end of Ottertail Point Road before turning around and coming home. We were hot and sweaty so we took a quick camp bath to cool off. The water was cold, but invigorating.
After cooling off in the lake we made lunch. I took my sandwich out onto the lake while I fished while Kathleen ate her lunch on the dock.
I fished with a jig and minnows and caught a dozen or more smallish perch, as well as a couple of northerns, but was unable to catch a walleye. I came ashore around 5:30 p.m. because I'd run out of minnows. I took the truck up to Birch Ridge Resort to buy a scoop of fatheads, while Kathleen used the time to go on her 6-mile run. Unfortunately for her, the deer flies were out in full force and she stopped me on my way back from the resort and asked for a ride home because she could no longer take the buzzing of the biting flies.
We had a late dinner and rather than go out fishing I stayed inside and just hung out. It was an uneventful and rather unfortunate evening despite being here at the lake. Maybe tomorrow I'll get out fishing earlier in the day.
Good night from Leech Lake.
Friday, June 15, 2012
June 14, 2012 -- On Leech Lake -- Flag Day
This morning the temperature was 62 degrees, the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SSW and the sky was grey and it looked as if it might rain; again. When we awoke, the ground was wet and there were puddles everywhere so it had obviously rained during the night. Kathleen would tell me later that around 5:00 a.m. she woke up to loud thunder, bright flashes of lightening and heavy rain. So even though I didn't hear it, thunderstorms did roll through early this morning.
Kathleen and I took it very slow easing into the day. We just hung around the house, had coffee, and ate some breakfast before Kathleen retreated to the bedroom to read her book. I took the opportunity to go fishing.
Expecting rain, I donned my Frog Togg's, grabbed the minnows and made my way out to the boat. Once the boat was in the water I motored out to a spot between the house and cabin in 13 feet of water, deployed the drift sock, put a minnow on my red "Vegas" jig and started fishing. The wind was coming out of the south at 10-15 mph so at the boat lift the water was fairly calm, but out on Sucker Bay the water was quite choppy.
No sooner than I started fishing than a heavy mist/light rain began to fall. I caught several 6-10 inch perch and small rock bass, but no walleye. I did have that familiar walleye "tick" and when I set the hook I could feel good weight on the other end of the line, but after just a turn or two of my reel the fish came off. Although I couldn't see it, I'm guessing it was a walleye by the way it bit and how quickly came off.
I fished for a little more than an hour before coming ashore for lunch. The sky was still grey, a light rain continued to fall and the wind was a little lighter at 8-12 mph out of the south.
By 5:00 p.m. the clouds finally began to break and blue sky started to shine through. Just before 6:00 p.m. Kathleen decided to do her 6-mile run, while I got on a work call. The temperature was actually going up as the evening progressed. It was 68 degrees at 6:00 p.m. and 74 degrees at 7:30 p.m.
As is typical for us when we're at the lake, Kathleen and I didn't eat dinner until after 9:00 p.m. We then concluded the day by listening to music, talking and just enjoying our time alone at our oasis on Leech Lake.
Good night.
Kathleen and I took it very slow easing into the day. We just hung around the house, had coffee, and ate some breakfast before Kathleen retreated to the bedroom to read her book. I took the opportunity to go fishing.
Expecting rain, I donned my Frog Togg's, grabbed the minnows and made my way out to the boat. Once the boat was in the water I motored out to a spot between the house and cabin in 13 feet of water, deployed the drift sock, put a minnow on my red "Vegas" jig and started fishing. The wind was coming out of the south at 10-15 mph so at the boat lift the water was fairly calm, but out on Sucker Bay the water was quite choppy.
No sooner than I started fishing than a heavy mist/light rain began to fall. I caught several 6-10 inch perch and small rock bass, but no walleye. I did have that familiar walleye "tick" and when I set the hook I could feel good weight on the other end of the line, but after just a turn or two of my reel the fish came off. Although I couldn't see it, I'm guessing it was a walleye by the way it bit and how quickly came off.
I fished for a little more than an hour before coming ashore for lunch. The sky was still grey, a light rain continued to fall and the wind was a little lighter at 8-12 mph out of the south.
By 5:00 p.m. the clouds finally began to break and blue sky started to shine through. Just before 6:00 p.m. Kathleen decided to do her 6-mile run, while I got on a work call. The temperature was actually going up as the evening progressed. It was 68 degrees at 6:00 p.m. and 74 degrees at 7:30 p.m.
As is typical for us when we're at the lake, Kathleen and I didn't eat dinner until after 9:00 p.m. We then concluded the day by listening to music, talking and just enjoying our time alone at our oasis on Leech Lake.
Good night.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
June 13, 2012 -- At Leech Lake
This morning was beautiful. The temperature was 62 degrees at 9:00 a.m., the sky was mostly sunny and the wind was 8-12 mph out of the southwest; although the forecast is for stronger winds throughout the day.
Kathleen and I had lots of errands to run today, so just after 10:00 a.m. we drove into Bemidji.
More than nine hours later, at right around 7:30 p.m. we arrived back at the lake. We'd accomplished a lot in town, but it took us all day. Once home, Kathleen went for a quick 6-mile run while I unloaded our groceries and other items.
We had a quiet night of reading and talking before heading to bed early. No fishing today. Maybe tomorrow. Good night from Leech Lake.
Kathleen and I had lots of errands to run today, so just after 10:00 a.m. we drove into Bemidji.
More than nine hours later, at right around 7:30 p.m. we arrived back at the lake. We'd accomplished a lot in town, but it took us all day. Once home, Kathleen went for a quick 6-mile run while I unloaded our groceries and other items.
We had a quiet night of reading and talking before heading to bed early. No fishing today. Maybe tomorrow. Good night from Leech Lake.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
June 12, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
The wind this morning had decreased significantly from the howling winds of yesterday, but were still stiff at 12-18 mph out of the WNW. The temperature at 10:00 a.m. was 52 degrees and the sky was mostly sunny. The lake was full of foam and debris from the pounding it took from all of the wind, and I'm doubtful that the fishing will be very good today. There are a few boats on Sucker Bay, most between our place and Second Duck Point, and they are out a ways, in roughly 14-17 feet of water.
By noon, the wind had calmed to about 10 mph and had shifted to WSW. The sun was shining and the sky was mostly blue with some white fluffy clouds. I decided it was a perfect time to go fishing, but I needed minnows first.
I drove the truck up to Birch Ridge Resort and picked up a scoop of fatheads. Once home, I got the boat in the water, noted the water temperature to be 69.5 degrees, and motored out to a spot between our house and cabin in 12 feet of water.
Using a red Northland "Vegas" jig tipped with a fathead I immediately started catching perch. I must have caught close to 20 perch in the 7-10-inch range. I then felt that familiar tick of a walleye. I set the hook and hauled in a beautiful 16 1/2-inch walleye that went into the live well; that will be dinner tonight. So much for my earlier doubts about it being a poor day for fishing.
I stayed out for a total of 90 minutes and caught more perch and a northern, but I didn't catch any more walleye. No matter, I would have thrown any other walleyes back into the lake since I already had dinner in the live well.
Once on shore I ate some lunch, then Kathleen and I took a bike ride. It turned out to be a beautiful day -- sunny, temperature in the mid-60s, light wind. A perfect day to be outside in the northwoods.
While Kathleen was out for her daily run, I cleaned the walleye. Along with the beer-battered walleye, using Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy for a hint of lemon, we had Minnesota-grown wild rice, salad and broccoli and cauliflower. A wonderful dinner at the lake!
After dinner we watched the sunset and then just hung out together in the living room. It was another fantastic day, and evening, at Leech Lake.
By noon, the wind had calmed to about 10 mph and had shifted to WSW. The sun was shining and the sky was mostly blue with some white fluffy clouds. I decided it was a perfect time to go fishing, but I needed minnows first.
I drove the truck up to Birch Ridge Resort and picked up a scoop of fatheads. Once home, I got the boat in the water, noted the water temperature to be 69.5 degrees, and motored out to a spot between our house and cabin in 12 feet of water.
Using a red Northland "Vegas" jig tipped with a fathead I immediately started catching perch. I must have caught close to 20 perch in the 7-10-inch range. I then felt that familiar tick of a walleye. I set the hook and hauled in a beautiful 16 1/2-inch walleye that went into the live well; that will be dinner tonight. So much for my earlier doubts about it being a poor day for fishing.
I stayed out for a total of 90 minutes and caught more perch and a northern, but I didn't catch any more walleye. No matter, I would have thrown any other walleyes back into the lake since I already had dinner in the live well.
Once on shore I ate some lunch, then Kathleen and I took a bike ride. It turned out to be a beautiful day -- sunny, temperature in the mid-60s, light wind. A perfect day to be outside in the northwoods.
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| Sparkling water on a beautiful Leech Lake afternoon |
After dinner we watched the sunset and then just hung out together in the living room. It was another fantastic day, and evening, at Leech Lake.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
June 11, 2012 -- At Leech Lake
Well, the weather forecast was spot on, it is very windy today. By mid-morning the wind was howling at 25-35 mph out of the WSW, the lake was churning with white caps, the sky was mostly cloudy and grey with a few occasional patches of sun peaking through and the temperature was a chilly 62 degrees compared to the heat and humidity of yesterday.
As the day went on, the wind continued to blow in excess of 25 mph and the temperature actually dropped. By late afternoon, the temperature was only 54 degrees and near sunset it was 48 degrees. Throughout the day waves of heavy mist and light rain would wash across the lake from the southwest and everything would be left cold and wet.
During one of the breaks in the rain, Kathleen and I took a bike ride. We rode down the road to 26th, then up to Ottertail Point Road, around to the community center and back home. I nice ride of between 6-7 miles. When we got home Kathleen decided to go for run. She ran to the community center and back which is about a 6 mile round trip. Then she climbed into our big spa bath to warm up.
This evening we took it easy and just hung out and talked and listened to music. The wind was still blowing at more than 25 mph from the WSW as Monday morphed into Tuesday. The forecast for tomorrow is more wind, but sunny skies.
No fishing again today, due to the strong winds. Good night from Leech Lake.
As the day went on, the wind continued to blow in excess of 25 mph and the temperature actually dropped. By late afternoon, the temperature was only 54 degrees and near sunset it was 48 degrees. Throughout the day waves of heavy mist and light rain would wash across the lake from the southwest and everything would be left cold and wet.
During one of the breaks in the rain, Kathleen and I took a bike ride. We rode down the road to 26th, then up to Ottertail Point Road, around to the community center and back home. I nice ride of between 6-7 miles. When we got home Kathleen decided to go for run. She ran to the community center and back which is about a 6 mile round trip. Then she climbed into our big spa bath to warm up.
This evening we took it easy and just hung out and talked and listened to music. The wind was still blowing at more than 25 mph from the WSW as Monday morphed into Tuesday. The forecast for tomorrow is more wind, but sunny skies.
No fishing again today, due to the strong winds. Good night from Leech Lake.
Monday, June 11, 2012
June 10, 2012 -- In Leech Lake
At 9:00 a.m this morning the sky was grey, although the sun was still strong enough to cast shadows through the light, grey clouds. The air felt heavy and the wind was light at 5-10 mph out of the NW. The temperature was already 72 degrees.
While Kathleen slept I went next door to check on the minnows. I had given them fresh water on Friday evening, and I keep them aerated, but I figured yesterday's heat might have gotten to them; I was right. The entire scoop I had just purchased had perished. It was simply too hot for them. I often keep them in a minnow bucket in the lake, but with strong winds the rough water can also kill them, so I tend to keep them aerated in a bucket in the "fish garage." I'll have to run up to the resort today to pick up another scoop. I would like to get out on the water fishing today since it's been a few days now since I last fished.
As it turned out, however, I would not get up to the resort to buy any minnows, nor would I get out on the water to do any fishing. The wind picked up as the day went on until it reached its peak in the late afternoon at 25-30 mph out of the SW as a severe thunderstorm rolled through. Just an hour or so before the storm hit, Kathleen and I took a camp bath in the lake to cool off and escape the heat and humidity of the day. The temperature was in the mid- to high-80s and the humidity was very high as well. The lake water, which was probably in the low 70s, immediately cooled our core and refreshed us. We then sat on the dock and watched as the storm approached from the southwest.
As the storm raged on, I got dinner started. Soon we had a wonderful dinner of salmon, risotto, broccoli and cauliflower, salad and garlic bread. A very tasty dinner, if not way too much food.
The storm passed and as we sat eating dinner the sky cleared somewhat and treated us to a beautiful sunset. After dinner we hung out in the living room, listening to music, played a dice game and eventually called it a night.
The forecast for tomorrow is much cooler temperatures, with a high of only 68 degrees, and strong winds upwards of 30 mph. If that is indeed the case, it may be yet another day with no fishing. Good night from Leech Lake.
While Kathleen slept I went next door to check on the minnows. I had given them fresh water on Friday evening, and I keep them aerated, but I figured yesterday's heat might have gotten to them; I was right. The entire scoop I had just purchased had perished. It was simply too hot for them. I often keep them in a minnow bucket in the lake, but with strong winds the rough water can also kill them, so I tend to keep them aerated in a bucket in the "fish garage." I'll have to run up to the resort today to pick up another scoop. I would like to get out on the water fishing today since it's been a few days now since I last fished.
As it turned out, however, I would not get up to the resort to buy any minnows, nor would I get out on the water to do any fishing. The wind picked up as the day went on until it reached its peak in the late afternoon at 25-30 mph out of the SW as a severe thunderstorm rolled through. Just an hour or so before the storm hit, Kathleen and I took a camp bath in the lake to cool off and escape the heat and humidity of the day. The temperature was in the mid- to high-80s and the humidity was very high as well. The lake water, which was probably in the low 70s, immediately cooled our core and refreshed us. We then sat on the dock and watched as the storm approached from the southwest.
As the storm raged on, I got dinner started. Soon we had a wonderful dinner of salmon, risotto, broccoli and cauliflower, salad and garlic bread. A very tasty dinner, if not way too much food.
The storm passed and as we sat eating dinner the sky cleared somewhat and treated us to a beautiful sunset. After dinner we hung out in the living room, listening to music, played a dice game and eventually called it a night.
The forecast for tomorrow is much cooler temperatures, with a high of only 68 degrees, and strong winds upwards of 30 mph. If that is indeed the case, it may be yet another day with no fishing. Good night from Leech Lake.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
June 9, 2012 -- At Leech Lake
I had a lot of trouble falling asleep last night and didn't doze off until after 1:00 a.m. Then I awoke at 4:00 a.m. and tossed and turned until 6:00 a.m. when I thought about getting up. But then I dozed off again awaking for good at 8:00 a.m. I guess I was excited about Kathleen arriving from California later today and all of the things I need to do to get the house ready.
At 8:00 a.m. the sky was mostly sunny with some high clouds, the wind was out of the SSE at 5-10 mph, but the water along the shoreline was calm. The temperature was nearly 70 degrees, and the forecast is for temps in the low- to mid-90s with a dew point up over 70; a hot and humid day ahead.
I immediately got the linens off the bed and into the laundry. Then I made coffee; must have coffee. As I was waiting for the coffee to brew, I noticed that one of the suet feeders I had put for the birds was missing. It was the same one that came down a few days ago when the branch it was attached to was completely snapped off. I searched the area for the suet feeder, but all I could find of it was a few small pieces of the chain from which it hanged. The feeder itself was gone. Maybe I'll find it in the woods sometime this Fall when the thick growth of knee-high plants and grasses dies back. For now, it's missing.
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The cleaners came at 9:30 a.m. and immediately got to work. I had already pulled the ladder out of the garage and has started washing the windows. It took me a little over three hours to wash the windows and screens, and then another half hour to wash the back porch. The day had grown to be a hot one. The temperature by 2:00 p.m. was 85 degrees. Although there was some wind, about 10-15 mph out of the SW, it felt a lot hotter under sunny skies. By the time I was done with the porch, the cleaners had completed cleaning the house.
I took care of some other chores, had some lunch, swam in the lake (for the first time this year) cleaned up and then listened to A Prairie Home Companion on MPR. Eventually at 9:00 p.m. I went into Bemidji, had some dinner and then picked up Kathleen at the airport at 10:45 p.m. It's always so exciting to start a vacation here in the northwoods, and Kathleen was excited.
It had been a long hard day of work for me, and travel for Kathleen, so we went to bed soon after her arrival. It's supposed to be another hot one tomorrow. Good night from Leech Lake.
At 8:00 a.m. the sky was mostly sunny with some high clouds, the wind was out of the SSE at 5-10 mph, but the water along the shoreline was calm. The temperature was nearly 70 degrees, and the forecast is for temps in the low- to mid-90s with a dew point up over 70; a hot and humid day ahead.
I immediately got the linens off the bed and into the laundry. Then I made coffee; must have coffee. As I was waiting for the coffee to brew, I noticed that one of the suet feeders I had put for the birds was missing. It was the same one that came down a few days ago when the branch it was attached to was completely snapped off. I searched the area for the suet feeder, but all I could find of it was a few small pieces of the chain from which it hanged. The feeder itself was gone. Maybe I'll find it in the woods sometime this Fall when the thick growth of knee-high plants and grasses dies back. For now, it's missing.
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The cleaners came at 9:30 a.m. and immediately got to work. I had already pulled the ladder out of the garage and has started washing the windows. It took me a little over three hours to wash the windows and screens, and then another half hour to wash the back porch. The day had grown to be a hot one. The temperature by 2:00 p.m. was 85 degrees. Although there was some wind, about 10-15 mph out of the SW, it felt a lot hotter under sunny skies. By the time I was done with the porch, the cleaners had completed cleaning the house.
I took care of some other chores, had some lunch, swam in the lake (for the first time this year) cleaned up and then listened to A Prairie Home Companion on MPR. Eventually at 9:00 p.m. I went into Bemidji, had some dinner and then picked up Kathleen at the airport at 10:45 p.m. It's always so exciting to start a vacation here in the northwoods, and Kathleen was excited.
It had been a long hard day of work for me, and travel for Kathleen, so we went to bed soon after her arrival. It's supposed to be another hot one tomorrow. Good night from Leech Lake.
Friday, June 08, 2012
June 8, 2012 -- At Leech Lake
First, a very Happy Anniversary to my mother and father who are celebrating 55 years of marriage today. Congratulations Mom and Dad, you are an inspiration to all who know you.
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I woke up well before 6:00 a.m. this morning to a light breeze out of the southwest and mostly sunny skies. I didn't check the temperature because I decided that 5:45 a.m. was too early to get up. I went back to bed for 90 minutes or so, and when I got up again I saw that the wind had picked up and was blowing at 8-12 mph out of the southwest, the sky was partly sunny with some clouds, and the temperature was 68 degrees. Despite the wind, I could "feel" that it was likely to be a hot and humid day.
There were no white caps on the lake, but the water was quite choppy. That didn't dissuade a half dozen or so boats that were camped in front of my house in 10-14 feet of water. Most looked to be jigging or pulling spinner rigs for walleye. Another method that seems to be working very well at the moment is trolling crankbaits, especially in the evening after sunset. If you troll during the day, downsize the bait a bit to say a Shad Rad or Flicker Shad.
At just after 11:00 a.m. I drove into Cass Lake to run some errands. I started with a visit to the 371 Cafe for lunch followed by stops at Clem's Hardware, Safari Liquor, Cass Lake Building Center and Froggy's Sports; the latter for a scoop of fatheads. I then stopped off at Great River Pizzeria for an unbaked pizza which I will enjoy during my solo Friday-night Pizza night.
I didn't make it home until close to 2:45 p.m. and then spent the afternoon cleaning up the kitchen, reading and waiting for T&K to show up to cut the grass at both properties. They showed up at 3:50 p.m. and immediately set to work. It's been almost 3 weeks since their last visit and the grass was getting quite long. The two boys, and I'm guessing that neither was 21 years old, from T&K did a great job of not only cutting the grass, but trimming around all the trees, and even around the fire pit on the boat ramp. Then they used a blower to blow the grass off the driveway and porches. First rate job.
The temperature at 4:00 p.m. was 75 degrees, the wind had picked up considerably and was fairly brisk at 15-18 mph out of the WSW. The sky was mostly sunny, with just a few clouds. The forecast suggests that the wind will die down a bit around 9:00 p.m. this evening, to around 8-12 mph, and if it does, I might consider going out and doing some crankbait trolling for walleye.
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Tomorrow Kathleen arrives at the lake. We'll have roughly 10 days alone here at the lake before Melissa, Jayden and Ashley arrive in Minneapolis on June 20. Ashley has only 8 days of visiting time, so we'll have to decide how she wants to split them; say 4 at the lake and 4 in St. Cloud, or some 5-3 combination. It'll be a short visit, but I know she really enjoys it here.
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After much consideration, I decided not to go out fishing tonight despite the fact that the wind had died down to no more than a gentle SW breeze. Instead, I ate my pizza, finished reading the Garrison Keillor book my kids got me for Father's Day (I opened it early), and watched the sunset.
It doesn't happen often, but when it does it's not very pleasant and tonight was one of those nights. There must have been 10 boats cruising between Second Duck Point and Norm's cabin and one of them was loaded with a group of loudmouths. Yelling, hooting, screaming and talking to each other as if they were a mile apart. FIB's most likely; staying at the resort. It made sitting on the dock and watching the sunset much less enjoyable than it could have, and should have, been. I much prefer the calling of loons than the crowing of lunatics.
The temperature remained warm, near 70 degrees as 9:30 p.m. came and went. The breeze was just enough to rustle the leaves in the maples and birch near the shoreline and the purple martins swooped and dived through the air just inches above the water. The sky was mostly clear and had changed to a wonderful shade of purple.
I have a very busy day tomorrow, in preparation of Kathleen's arrival, so I am going to sign off now. Good night from Leech Lake.
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I woke up well before 6:00 a.m. this morning to a light breeze out of the southwest and mostly sunny skies. I didn't check the temperature because I decided that 5:45 a.m. was too early to get up. I went back to bed for 90 minutes or so, and when I got up again I saw that the wind had picked up and was blowing at 8-12 mph out of the southwest, the sky was partly sunny with some clouds, and the temperature was 68 degrees. Despite the wind, I could "feel" that it was likely to be a hot and humid day.
There were no white caps on the lake, but the water was quite choppy. That didn't dissuade a half dozen or so boats that were camped in front of my house in 10-14 feet of water. Most looked to be jigging or pulling spinner rigs for walleye. Another method that seems to be working very well at the moment is trolling crankbaits, especially in the evening after sunset. If you troll during the day, downsize the bait a bit to say a Shad Rad or Flicker Shad.
At just after 11:00 a.m. I drove into Cass Lake to run some errands. I started with a visit to the 371 Cafe for lunch followed by stops at Clem's Hardware, Safari Liquor, Cass Lake Building Center and Froggy's Sports; the latter for a scoop of fatheads. I then stopped off at Great River Pizzeria for an unbaked pizza which I will enjoy during my solo Friday-night Pizza night.
I didn't make it home until close to 2:45 p.m. and then spent the afternoon cleaning up the kitchen, reading and waiting for T&K to show up to cut the grass at both properties. They showed up at 3:50 p.m. and immediately set to work. It's been almost 3 weeks since their last visit and the grass was getting quite long. The two boys, and I'm guessing that neither was 21 years old, from T&K did a great job of not only cutting the grass, but trimming around all the trees, and even around the fire pit on the boat ramp. Then they used a blower to blow the grass off the driveway and porches. First rate job.
The temperature at 4:00 p.m. was 75 degrees, the wind had picked up considerably and was fairly brisk at 15-18 mph out of the WSW. The sky was mostly sunny, with just a few clouds. The forecast suggests that the wind will die down a bit around 9:00 p.m. this evening, to around 8-12 mph, and if it does, I might consider going out and doing some crankbait trolling for walleye.
---------
Tomorrow Kathleen arrives at the lake. We'll have roughly 10 days alone here at the lake before Melissa, Jayden and Ashley arrive in Minneapolis on June 20. Ashley has only 8 days of visiting time, so we'll have to decide how she wants to split them; say 4 at the lake and 4 in St. Cloud, or some 5-3 combination. It'll be a short visit, but I know she really enjoys it here.
---------
After much consideration, I decided not to go out fishing tonight despite the fact that the wind had died down to no more than a gentle SW breeze. Instead, I ate my pizza, finished reading the Garrison Keillor book my kids got me for Father's Day (I opened it early), and watched the sunset.
It doesn't happen often, but when it does it's not very pleasant and tonight was one of those nights. There must have been 10 boats cruising between Second Duck Point and Norm's cabin and one of them was loaded with a group of loudmouths. Yelling, hooting, screaming and talking to each other as if they were a mile apart. FIB's most likely; staying at the resort. It made sitting on the dock and watching the sunset much less enjoyable than it could have, and should have, been. I much prefer the calling of loons than the crowing of lunatics.
The temperature remained warm, near 70 degrees as 9:30 p.m. came and went. The breeze was just enough to rustle the leaves in the maples and birch near the shoreline and the purple martins swooped and dived through the air just inches above the water. The sky was mostly clear and had changed to a wonderful shade of purple.
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| Fading sun over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake |
I have a very busy day tomorrow, in preparation of Kathleen's arrival, so I am going to sign off now. Good night from Leech Lake.
Thursday, June 07, 2012
June 7, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
I received a call this morning at 7:25 a.m. from Mark from Shore Brothers. He said he was coming out this way working on another job this morning and that he could swing by my place sometime today to adjust the boat lift. In preparation of his visit, I moved the boat from the lift to the harbor. The transfer was complete by 7:45 a.m. and it was time for a little breakfast.
The temperature at 7:45 a.m. was 64 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny and the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SSE.
I spent the day around the house, cleaning, weeding the gardens a bit more, etc. As the day wore on the temperature climbed to near 80 degrees, but it felt warmer because of the relatively high humidity. The wind varied throughout the day ranging from 5-12 mph out of the SE.
I expected T&K to come out today to take care of the yard, since they didn't come out on Wednesday as scheduled, but they were a no-show. I'll call them in the morning to try to figure out a schedule that works, and that they can adhere to.
Mark and the Shore Brothers team stopped by the boat lift around 5:00 p.m. They made some repairs to the boat lift winch, which may have been part of the reason the lift was going down far enough. They also noticed that the winch cable was frayed and ordered a new one for me. Everything appeared to work fine when they left.
I went down to the Malay's around 6:00 p.m. to pick up some beer Tom had got on sale and to chat with both Tom and Lainy. I eventually came home around 7:00 p.m. and by 7:20 p.m. was lowering the boat into the water. I noticed that the water temperature had increased to 71.5 degrees. A few degrees warmer and it'll be fine to swim in.
I jigged with minnows in 10-15 feet of water between the house and cabin but caught nothing but small perch. I did have a loon surface right next to the boat, and then let out its fabled call. What a magnificent bird. I came in at sunset, just after 9:00 p.m. because I just feel like fishing late tonight.
I noticed that when I got the boat on the lift the motor started to made a grinding noise that didn't sound good. I'll keep an eye on it and have Mark look at it when he comes out to put the new winch cable in.
Instead of fishing tonight, I stayed home and read Garrison Keillor's newest book, "Guy Noir, and the Straight Skinny."
Tomorrow I have to go into Cass Lake to run a few errands, including getting a pizza for Friday night pizza. More tomorrow. Good night from Leech Lake.
The temperature at 7:45 a.m. was 64 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny and the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SSE.
I spent the day around the house, cleaning, weeding the gardens a bit more, etc. As the day wore on the temperature climbed to near 80 degrees, but it felt warmer because of the relatively high humidity. The wind varied throughout the day ranging from 5-12 mph out of the SE.
I expected T&K to come out today to take care of the yard, since they didn't come out on Wednesday as scheduled, but they were a no-show. I'll call them in the morning to try to figure out a schedule that works, and that they can adhere to.
Mark and the Shore Brothers team stopped by the boat lift around 5:00 p.m. They made some repairs to the boat lift winch, which may have been part of the reason the lift was going down far enough. They also noticed that the winch cable was frayed and ordered a new one for me. Everything appeared to work fine when they left.
I went down to the Malay's around 6:00 p.m. to pick up some beer Tom had got on sale and to chat with both Tom and Lainy. I eventually came home around 7:00 p.m. and by 7:20 p.m. was lowering the boat into the water. I noticed that the water temperature had increased to 71.5 degrees. A few degrees warmer and it'll be fine to swim in.
I jigged with minnows in 10-15 feet of water between the house and cabin but caught nothing but small perch. I did have a loon surface right next to the boat, and then let out its fabled call. What a magnificent bird. I came in at sunset, just after 9:00 p.m. because I just feel like fishing late tonight.
I noticed that when I got the boat on the lift the motor started to made a grinding noise that didn't sound good. I'll keep an eye on it and have Mark look at it when he comes out to put the new winch cable in.
Instead of fishing tonight, I stayed home and read Garrison Keillor's newest book, "Guy Noir, and the Straight Skinny."
Tomorrow I have to go into Cass Lake to run a few errands, including getting a pizza for Friday night pizza. More tomorrow. Good night from Leech Lake.
June 6, 2012 -- At Leech Lake
This morning I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and thought about getting up, but it was simply too early for me so I forced myself to go back to sleep. I eventually got up a little before 8:00 a.m. and saw that the temperature was 65 degrees, it's suppose to be up around 75 degrees today, the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SSW and the sky was cloudy. In fact, the sky had a greenish grey tint to it that usually means rain. I think a thunderstorm is predicted for sometime today, but we'll see. The recent weather forecasts haven't been very accurate.
At 10:00 a.m. a light rain started to fall. More accurately, the drops were heavy and loaded with water, but there were few of them which created a soothing patter on the back porch and quickly had the entire area wet with rain. The wind remained light, if not calm, and the flag hung limp on the pole.
Most of the morning I spent reading and attending to some work calls. After lunch, since the rain had stopped, it was time to get outside and do some weeding in the various gardens and flower beds. It's amazing how many weeds come up in relation to the relatively few number of plants we actually want in the beds/gardens. I spent a couple of hours pulling weeds before calling quits and going inside to get cleaned up.
My concerns about my boat lift, and a forecast calling for possible severe thunderstorms, kept me off the lake today. I'm hoping that sometime again soon I can get out and do some fishing.
At 4:45 p.m. there was brief spell of heavy rain. The really heavy rained stopped after a minute or two, but a lighter steadier rain fell for maybe 30 minutes. I did hear some rumbling of thunder off the distance, but a quick check of the radar weather map showed that most of the worst weather passed by just to the north of Leech Lake.
The evening was quiet and uneventful. I hope to be able to get on the lake tomorrow to do some fishing. If I do, I'll more to report. Good night from Leech Lake.
At 10:00 a.m. a light rain started to fall. More accurately, the drops were heavy and loaded with water, but there were few of them which created a soothing patter on the back porch and quickly had the entire area wet with rain. The wind remained light, if not calm, and the flag hung limp on the pole.
Most of the morning I spent reading and attending to some work calls. After lunch, since the rain had stopped, it was time to get outside and do some weeding in the various gardens and flower beds. It's amazing how many weeds come up in relation to the relatively few number of plants we actually want in the beds/gardens. I spent a couple of hours pulling weeds before calling quits and going inside to get cleaned up.
My concerns about my boat lift, and a forecast calling for possible severe thunderstorms, kept me off the lake today. I'm hoping that sometime again soon I can get out and do some fishing.
At 4:45 p.m. there was brief spell of heavy rain. The really heavy rained stopped after a minute or two, but a lighter steadier rain fell for maybe 30 minutes. I did hear some rumbling of thunder off the distance, but a quick check of the radar weather map showed that most of the worst weather passed by just to the north of Leech Lake.
The evening was quiet and uneventful. I hope to be able to get on the lake tomorrow to do some fishing. If I do, I'll more to report. Good night from Leech Lake.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Shore Brothers/Boat Lift Update
Per my original post on June 5, 2012 I want to issue a retraction, and an apology to Shore Brothers, particularly its owner Mark.
I was frustrated that I was having trouble getting the boat off the lift despite the lake's water level being at or near normal. Last year, with the lake at similar levels I had no problem moving my boat on and off the lift with ease.
What I failed to understand is that with the unusual thaw/freeze/thaw cycle this spring, the lake bottom was significantly altered along Sucker Bay. As a result, Mark, and Shore Brothers, made the correct call by adjusting the lift accordingly. So despite the lake level being normal, the lift is having troubling dropping the boat low enough to get it to float.
This was not an adjustment issue by Shore Brothers. I want to let it be known that Shore Brothers is a quality outfit run by honest, hardworking people. They do the best job of putting in and taking out docks and boat lifts in the Leech Lake area.
Should you happen to read this post, I recommend giving them a call for all of your all of your lake and shoreline needs.
I was frustrated that I was having trouble getting the boat off the lift despite the lake's water level being at or near normal. Last year, with the lake at similar levels I had no problem moving my boat on and off the lift with ease.
What I failed to understand is that with the unusual thaw/freeze/thaw cycle this spring, the lake bottom was significantly altered along Sucker Bay. As a result, Mark, and Shore Brothers, made the correct call by adjusting the lift accordingly. So despite the lake level being normal, the lift is having troubling dropping the boat low enough to get it to float.
This was not an adjustment issue by Shore Brothers. I want to let it be known that Shore Brothers is a quality outfit run by honest, hardworking people. They do the best job of putting in and taking out docks and boat lifts in the Leech Lake area.
Should you happen to read this post, I recommend giving them a call for all of your all of your lake and shoreline needs.
June 5, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
I woke up around 7:00 a.m. this morning and tried to go back to sleep, but I had no luck. So I got up. I checked the temperature, it was already 64 degrees on its way to a predicted 80 degrees. The sky was sunny and blue and the wind was light at 3-5 mph out of the ESE.
As I ate my breakfast and drank a cup of coffee I noticed that one of the suet feeders I put out for the birds was down. And more than just down, the branch of the tree the suet feeder was attached to was nearly completely pulled off of the tree. The branch, which had to be 1 1/2 inches in diameter, was more accurately ripped from the tree than broken off. By the size of the broken branch and the way the suet feeder was pulled apart, I suspect a bear had a nice suet snack last night.
Now I cannot categorically say it was indeed a bear that did the damage, since I did not see the perpetrator, the way the suet was hauled down is consistent with a bear's behavior. In the spring, and here in the northwoods it is still spring, a mother bear who is tending to a cub or two will get plenty hungry and roam far and wide of a quick snack. I've had bird feeders, which were perched atop inch-diameter metal pipe, bent in two as if it was a flexible straw, so I know how powerful bears can be when hungry. And although I did not see a bear last night, I have seen bear in the yard on several occasions over the years so I know firsthand that they do visit our properties.
I cleaned up the broken branches and rehung the suet feeder (we'll see if the damage happens again tonight) I set about a number of chores I have been meaning to get to. I installed an antenna for the tuner in my stereo system and hid the wire with plastic cord channel molding, stacked some new books on the bookshelf, hung some pictures, washed the dock, did some laundry, put clean sheets on the guest bed, etc. It was a full day of housework with only a break for a sandwich at lunch.
As the day moved on, the temperature climbed. At 3:30 p.m. the temperature was 81 degrees, the sky was mostly cloudy, although sun shined directly over the house and the lake was calm due to lack of wind. What little wind there was was coming out of the ESE at 5-8 mph.
I decided to go fishing at 4:20 p.m. but was frustrated by some boat lift issues. I've got a call into Shore Brothers and hopefully they can come out soon to correct the problem.
Once on the water I motored out to a spot in between our house and cabin in 12-15 feet of water and jigged with a minnow. I caught a big rock bass, a good-sized perch and pike. I decided to head back to shore after only a half an hour on the lake so I could put a call into Shore Brothers about the lift before they close for the day. I'm not sure I'll take the boat out until the situation is fixed because I had a very difficult time getting the boat back onto the lift when I came in from fishing.
I thought about going fishing after dinner, but decided against it. So for the rest of the evening I stayed home, listened to some music and watched an old Sherlock Holmes movie. Good night from Leech Lake.
As I ate my breakfast and drank a cup of coffee I noticed that one of the suet feeders I put out for the birds was down. And more than just down, the branch of the tree the suet feeder was attached to was nearly completely pulled off of the tree. The branch, which had to be 1 1/2 inches in diameter, was more accurately ripped from the tree than broken off. By the size of the broken branch and the way the suet feeder was pulled apart, I suspect a bear had a nice suet snack last night.
Now I cannot categorically say it was indeed a bear that did the damage, since I did not see the perpetrator, the way the suet was hauled down is consistent with a bear's behavior. In the spring, and here in the northwoods it is still spring, a mother bear who is tending to a cub or two will get plenty hungry and roam far and wide of a quick snack. I've had bird feeders, which were perched atop inch-diameter metal pipe, bent in two as if it was a flexible straw, so I know how powerful bears can be when hungry. And although I did not see a bear last night, I have seen bear in the yard on several occasions over the years so I know firsthand that they do visit our properties.
I cleaned up the broken branches and rehung the suet feeder (we'll see if the damage happens again tonight) I set about a number of chores I have been meaning to get to. I installed an antenna for the tuner in my stereo system and hid the wire with plastic cord channel molding, stacked some new books on the bookshelf, hung some pictures, washed the dock, did some laundry, put clean sheets on the guest bed, etc. It was a full day of housework with only a break for a sandwich at lunch.
As the day moved on, the temperature climbed. At 3:30 p.m. the temperature was 81 degrees, the sky was mostly cloudy, although sun shined directly over the house and the lake was calm due to lack of wind. What little wind there was was coming out of the ESE at 5-8 mph.
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| Afternoon clouds on Sucker Bay, Leech Lake |
Once on the water I motored out to a spot in between our house and cabin in 12-15 feet of water and jigged with a minnow. I caught a big rock bass, a good-sized perch and pike. I decided to head back to shore after only a half an hour on the lake so I could put a call into Shore Brothers about the lift before they close for the day. I'm not sure I'll take the boat out until the situation is fixed because I had a very difficult time getting the boat back onto the lift when I came in from fishing.
I thought about going fishing after dinner, but decided against it. So for the rest of the evening I stayed home, listened to some music and watched an old Sherlock Holmes movie. Good night from Leech Lake.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
June 4, 2012 -- At Leech Lake
It was beautiful this morning at 8:30 a.m. with a temperature of 65 degrees, clear blue skies and virtually no wind. The slightest of breezes, out of the WSW, did put a few ripples on the lake, but for the most part the lake was calm.
The birds enjoyed the fabulous morning by providing a chorus of song emanating from all 360 degrees around the house. The trees seemed to radiate bright green, and the smell in the air was that of fresh lake water and clean northwoods air. What a glorious start to the day.
Unfortunately for Rick, this morning was his last day of his two-week long visit to Leech Lake. While I enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee, he bustled about gathering up his clothes, stowing his fishing gear, and as is his custom on the last day of his stay, he lowered the Australian flag which had flown constantly just below the Stars and Stripes since the day of his arrival.
About an hour from now we'll load into the truck and make the 45-minute drive into Bemidji where we'll enjoy a late breakfast at Perkin's before I take Rick to the airport.
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I dropped Rick off at the airport just after noon, after we'd had a late breakfast at Perkin's, and then took my truck to Dondelinger GM for service. While my truck was being serviced I went to the local movie theater and watched The Avengers. Sure it was a Monday afternoon, but I was the ONLY person in the entire theater. In fact, I was one of only 3 people seeing movies in the entire 8-theater complex! I love Bemidji.
When the movie ended, my truck was ready. Dondelinger sent out a car to pick me up at the theater which then took me to my truck; which they had washed. The entire service, including oil change, rotating the tires, topping off fluids, etc., cost $42. I love Bemidji.
The temperature in Bemidji was quite warm, at 83 degrees. I'm sure it was cooler at the lake, with the breeze off the water, but here in town it actually felt hot.
I ran numerous errands in town, and didn't get on the highway back to Leech Lake until almost 6:00 p.m.
After putting away groceries, and many other items acquired in town, it was getting close to 8:00 p.m. I decided that I would not go fishing tonight and settled into a nice evening at home alone. While it was great to have Rick visit, he arrived less than 12 hours after I did two weeks ago which meant other than going to sleep on that Sunday night, I have not been alone at the lake yet this trip. Tonight was my first night alone and I wanted to spend it quietly reading, which is what I did.
Tomorrow I have lots of things I need to do, including putting up some pictures, updating the software on my Lowrance boat electronics, weeding the gardens, etc. I'll have a busy day so tonight was meant for kicking back and relaxing.
Kathleen will be here in just 5 days. She arrives late Saturday night and I'm very much looking forward to seeing her.
Good night from the shores of Leech Lake.
The birds enjoyed the fabulous morning by providing a chorus of song emanating from all 360 degrees around the house. The trees seemed to radiate bright green, and the smell in the air was that of fresh lake water and clean northwoods air. What a glorious start to the day.
Unfortunately for Rick, this morning was his last day of his two-week long visit to Leech Lake. While I enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee, he bustled about gathering up his clothes, stowing his fishing gear, and as is his custom on the last day of his stay, he lowered the Australian flag which had flown constantly just below the Stars and Stripes since the day of his arrival.
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| Rick lowering the Australian flag |
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I dropped Rick off at the airport just after noon, after we'd had a late breakfast at Perkin's, and then took my truck to Dondelinger GM for service. While my truck was being serviced I went to the local movie theater and watched The Avengers. Sure it was a Monday afternoon, but I was the ONLY person in the entire theater. In fact, I was one of only 3 people seeing movies in the entire 8-theater complex! I love Bemidji.
When the movie ended, my truck was ready. Dondelinger sent out a car to pick me up at the theater which then took me to my truck; which they had washed. The entire service, including oil change, rotating the tires, topping off fluids, etc., cost $42. I love Bemidji.
The temperature in Bemidji was quite warm, at 83 degrees. I'm sure it was cooler at the lake, with the breeze off the water, but here in town it actually felt hot.
I ran numerous errands in town, and didn't get on the highway back to Leech Lake until almost 6:00 p.m.
After putting away groceries, and many other items acquired in town, it was getting close to 8:00 p.m. I decided that I would not go fishing tonight and settled into a nice evening at home alone. While it was great to have Rick visit, he arrived less than 12 hours after I did two weeks ago which meant other than going to sleep on that Sunday night, I have not been alone at the lake yet this trip. Tonight was my first night alone and I wanted to spend it quietly reading, which is what I did.
Tomorrow I have lots of things I need to do, including putting up some pictures, updating the software on my Lowrance boat electronics, weeding the gardens, etc. I'll have a busy day so tonight was meant for kicking back and relaxing.
Kathleen will be here in just 5 days. She arrives late Saturday night and I'm very much looking forward to seeing her.
Good night from the shores of Leech Lake.
Sunday, June 03, 2012
June 3, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
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| The golden water of Sucker Bay this evening |
Today is Rick's last day full day at Leech Lake for this trip. He's already hinted that he may be able to swing another trip up here come September or October, but who knows...
The weather this morning was as follows: the sky was grey and overcast and looked like it might bring some rain with it. The temperature was a fairly balmy 65 degrees and there was little to no wind; what breeze there might have been looked to be coming out of the southwest.
Although the Leech Lake Walleye Tournament is in its second and final day, there were relatively few boats in front of our house and cabin; maybe a half a dozen at most. The results from Day 1 of the tournament have the leading team with 13.51 pounds of walleye with six fish caught. The big fish of the day was a 7.28 pounder, which is a big fish. A walleye must be over 26 inches to be kept here on Leech Lake and that fish had to be at least 27 or 28 inches, if not bigger, to weigh 7.28 pounds.
The forecast for today called for rain and light winds starting sometime after noon, with possible thunderstorms around 2:00 p.m. So at 11:30 a.m. Rick and I thought it would be a good time to venture onto the lake to do some fishing. We had washed our rain gear the other day and it was still hanging up in the garage to dry, but since it wasn't predicted to rain for a while we thought we'd be OK. Wrong.
No sooner than we got out on the water than the wind picked up and it started raining. With no rain gear, and my aversion to being on the water in overly windy conditions, we came right back in. When the wind dies down, we'll try again regardless of the rain.
Once inside, I put my rain gear into the dryer and made sure it dried quickly; no more air drying. With my rain gear finally dry, we decided to go back onto the water for some fishing; wearing our rain gear just in case.
No sooner had we left the boat lift when a light rain began to fall. But almost as fast as it started it stopped, and for the rest of our time on the water it didn't rain again. Perfect, since we had our rain gear on.
I motored out to Bass Bay where we threw spinnerbaits for largemouth bass. I deployed the electric trolling motor and got us started fishing at the harbor near Third Duck Point in 2 feet of water. We fished all along the reeds in Bass Bay for more than an hour, but the only fish we caught was a nice 3-pound largemouth that I hooked, and a little rock bass that Rick caught. We did, however, see a large dogfish sitting on its bed in the shallows, but couldn't entice it to bite.
Having thoroughly fished our way around Bass Bay, I pulled up the trolling motor, fired up the Mercury Verado and sped the boat to Second Duck Point, no more than a five- or six-minute ride at 35 mph. Once at Second Duck Point we jigged for walleye and jumbo perch, but caught only a handful of small perch. At that point it was time to go ashore.
Once on shore, Rick and I stopped by John Newman's house for a beer and some conversation. I left about a half an hour later, but Rick ended up staying for nearly three hours. Finally at 9:30 p.m. Rick came home and we went out for our evening troll.
The sky was mostly cloudy, the moon was full, and the wind was calm; the lake was truly flat. The water temperature was 67 degrees and the air temperature was a very comfortable 60 degrees. We made several passes from the cabin south into Duck Bay and back again, but the only fish we boated was a small walleye I caught (probably no more than 12 inches) and a pike and rock bass that Rick caught. Rick did have a walleye on the hook, but it came unbuttoned before it got close enough to the boat to net.
At 11:00 p.m. we came ashore. Rick gathered up some of his gear and stowed it until his next visit. When that will be is unknown. It could be as soon as this Fall, or not again until next Spring. In either case, it was good to have him up here in the northwoods for visit during the past two weeks.
Tomorrow I'll give Rick a ride into Bemidji so he can catch his 1:00 p.m. flight to Minneapolis. From there he's off to Las Vegas for meetings. I, on the other hand, will remain in Bemidji to have the truck serviced, run numerous errands and go grocery shopping. I'm guessing that I won't make it back to the lake until sometime in the evening.
I'll post again here tomorrow, but probably not until later in the day. So until then, good night from Leech Lake.
June 2, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
This morning at 9:00 a.m. the temperature was 57 degrees, the wind was calm to very light and the skies were high and blue. Not great conditions for day one of the Leech Lake Walleye Tournament. I was surprised to see very few boats in front of our house and cabin. Usually during tournaments there are dozens of boats fishing here. Of course, when there's a little walleye chop on the bay the fishing conditions here are much better.
Rick went next door to chat with John Newman and as a result the two of them decided to go fishing; I elected to stay home and drink coffee, listen to classical music on MPR and ease into the day. I will be interested to learn if John and Rick have any better luck fishing than they did yesterday, when they essentially caught nothing of interest.
One week from today Kathleen will arrive for an extended stay at Leech Lake. I am very much looking forward to her visit. We always have a lot of fun when we're together here at the lake. I just hope it warms up considerably so we have a chance to go swimming. I suppose we could go swimming now, but with water temperatures at just 65 degrees, it's a bit cool for our California acclimated bodies.
When Rick returned from fishing he informed me that indeed the fishing had been poor with only a couple of small perch boated. He and I then went down to Jerry Schiebe's to help Jerry put up some paneling on the roof of his porch addition. We spent about 2 hours working on it and only managed to nail up 4 sheets due to the odd framing shape of the porch. The joists did not run true and aren't spaced quite right which made nailing the paneling to them very difficult, and in some places impossible. But Jerry was nonetheless thankful for the work we did accomplish.
After a bite of lunch, Rick and I headed out onto the water to do some fishing. When Rick was out with John earlier in the day they had spotted some crappies in Bass Bay so Rick wanted to start there since he's never caught a Leech Lake crappie.
I motored the boat into 3-feet of water in Bass Bay, noted that the water temperature had climbed to 67 degrees in the bay (in the main part of Sucker Bay the temperature was 65 degrees), and lowered the MinnKota electric trolling motor into the water.
I slowly moved us around in the reeds, and we did see plenty of crappies, including some slab-sized ones, but we could not tempt any of them to bite. After 30 minutes of failed crappie hunting we relocated to the Birches where we caught lots of rock bass and a few small perch, but no walleyes or jumbo perch.
It was time for another move so I repositioned the boat in 14-feet of water in spot between the house and cabin. Using jigs and minnows we fished for another 45 minutes or so, but only caught some small perch. Finally, just before 4:00 p.m. we came ashore, got cleaned up and went next door to join John Newman for dinner.
John had invited Rick and I to a wonderful pork loin, mashed potato and gravy and green bean dinner, which was very tasty. We talked, ate and drank a couple of cold malted beverages before parting ways around 7:00 p.m. Rick and I came back to the house, got a few things together and then went back to the boat lift around 8:15 p.m. for an evening attempt at catching some walleyes.
We started by jigging with minnows in the spot between the house and cabin in 14 feet of water, a spot where a few days earlier I'd caught several nice walleye, but by the time we got there the light breeze that had been blowing out of the NNW had died down and the lake was dead calm; not ideal conditions for walleye fishing.
In addition to the poor fishing conditions, the area was filled with more than a dozen boats; the most we'd seen on the water this year during our evening fishing excursions. We jigged for about 30 minutes or so without any luck, so we changed tactics and started trolling with crankbaits.
With the moon just one day shy of being full, we thought the walleye would be out biting like crazy, but just the opposite was true. And although some of the boats left as the sky darkened, many remained meaning that my trolling was akin to running a slalom course where the poles are constantly moving. It was not a relaxing troll.
We fished for nearly 90 minutes in the area between Malay's cabin to the north and the middle of Duck Bay to the south and we caught only two small walleyes -- Rick caught a 14 1/2-inch fish while mine came in even smaller at just over 10 inches. At that point we decided it was time to leave. Apparently none of the other boats were having any success either, because about the same time we were leaving, so did all but one or two of the other boats.
Once inside we just relaxed and listened to some music. After a quick call to Kathleen --we discussed her arrival in just one week -- I decided to close things up for the night and go to bed. Good night from Leech Lake.
Rick went next door to chat with John Newman and as a result the two of them decided to go fishing; I elected to stay home and drink coffee, listen to classical music on MPR and ease into the day. I will be interested to learn if John and Rick have any better luck fishing than they did yesterday, when they essentially caught nothing of interest.
One week from today Kathleen will arrive for an extended stay at Leech Lake. I am very much looking forward to her visit. We always have a lot of fun when we're together here at the lake. I just hope it warms up considerably so we have a chance to go swimming. I suppose we could go swimming now, but with water temperatures at just 65 degrees, it's a bit cool for our California acclimated bodies.
When Rick returned from fishing he informed me that indeed the fishing had been poor with only a couple of small perch boated. He and I then went down to Jerry Schiebe's to help Jerry put up some paneling on the roof of his porch addition. We spent about 2 hours working on it and only managed to nail up 4 sheets due to the odd framing shape of the porch. The joists did not run true and aren't spaced quite right which made nailing the paneling to them very difficult, and in some places impossible. But Jerry was nonetheless thankful for the work we did accomplish.
After a bite of lunch, Rick and I headed out onto the water to do some fishing. When Rick was out with John earlier in the day they had spotted some crappies in Bass Bay so Rick wanted to start there since he's never caught a Leech Lake crappie.
I motored the boat into 3-feet of water in Bass Bay, noted that the water temperature had climbed to 67 degrees in the bay (in the main part of Sucker Bay the temperature was 65 degrees), and lowered the MinnKota electric trolling motor into the water.
I slowly moved us around in the reeds, and we did see plenty of crappies, including some slab-sized ones, but we could not tempt any of them to bite. After 30 minutes of failed crappie hunting we relocated to the Birches where we caught lots of rock bass and a few small perch, but no walleyes or jumbo perch.
It was time for another move so I repositioned the boat in 14-feet of water in spot between the house and cabin. Using jigs and minnows we fished for another 45 minutes or so, but only caught some small perch. Finally, just before 4:00 p.m. we came ashore, got cleaned up and went next door to join John Newman for dinner.
John had invited Rick and I to a wonderful pork loin, mashed potato and gravy and green bean dinner, which was very tasty. We talked, ate and drank a couple of cold malted beverages before parting ways around 7:00 p.m. Rick and I came back to the house, got a few things together and then went back to the boat lift around 8:15 p.m. for an evening attempt at catching some walleyes.
We started by jigging with minnows in the spot between the house and cabin in 14 feet of water, a spot where a few days earlier I'd caught several nice walleye, but by the time we got there the light breeze that had been blowing out of the NNW had died down and the lake was dead calm; not ideal conditions for walleye fishing.
In addition to the poor fishing conditions, the area was filled with more than a dozen boats; the most we'd seen on the water this year during our evening fishing excursions. We jigged for about 30 minutes or so without any luck, so we changed tactics and started trolling with crankbaits.
With the moon just one day shy of being full, we thought the walleye would be out biting like crazy, but just the opposite was true. And although some of the boats left as the sky darkened, many remained meaning that my trolling was akin to running a slalom course where the poles are constantly moving. It was not a relaxing troll.
We fished for nearly 90 minutes in the area between Malay's cabin to the north and the middle of Duck Bay to the south and we caught only two small walleyes -- Rick caught a 14 1/2-inch fish while mine came in even smaller at just over 10 inches. At that point we decided it was time to leave. Apparently none of the other boats were having any success either, because about the same time we were leaving, so did all but one or two of the other boats.
Once inside we just relaxed and listened to some music. After a quick call to Kathleen --we discussed her arrival in just one week -- I decided to close things up for the night and go to bed. Good night from Leech Lake.
Saturday, June 02, 2012
June 1, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
This morning at 10:00 a.m. the temperature was 60 degrees, the wind was light at 5-8 mph from the WSW and the sky was sunny and blue. There were already more than a half dozen boats in front of the house fishing, some of which were probably pre-fishing for tomorrow's Leech Lake Walleye Tournament.
After kicking around the house this morning, Rick and I decided to go fishing just after noon. We started near Second Duck Point in 12 feet of 64 degree water and let the wind push us north toward my house and cabin. Almost instantly I hooked into a little 10-inch walleye, which of course went back into the lake.
Both Rick and I were using jigs tipped with minnows. I was using a Northland "Vegas" jig in glitter red while Rick was using a Northland Fireball jig in parrot color.
From that point on we made several drifts in the area between Second Duck Point and my cabin, in water depths varying from 9 feet to 14 feet, but could only catch a number of small perch. It must have been the fact that the water was almost completely calm, no "walleye chop", and the skies were high and blue.
With the walleye fishing not happening we changed tactics, and species, and went bass fishing. We started in front of Norm's cabin, one of the best bass habitats on Sucker Bay, and worked our way north along the reeds to Schiebe's.
I caught one small largemouth bass, that came unhooked right at the boat, and that was the only fish either Rick or I caught until the very last cast of the outing when Rick hooked a nice 3-pound largemouth. Rick was using a 5" Senko on a 3/0 offset hook.
With nearly three hours of fishing under our belts during the afternoon, we finally came ashore. I needed to stretch my legs, so I took a walk and ended up stopping and chatting with Jerry Schiebe about the back porch addition he's adding to his house. He asked if Rick and I could come by on Saturday and help him put up some paneling on the ceiling. Of course I agreed.
Once I got home Rick and I just hung out for a while before Rick went next door to say hello to John Newman who had just arrived for a short, few-day stay. Apparently John was champing at the bit to go fishing and Rick wanted to go as well, so the two of them went fishing for panfish down near the Birches. Their preferred method was going to be using a slip bobber with a minnow. They caught a couple of small perch, but no bluegill, sunfish or crappie; which is what they were after. John and Rick confirmed what Rick and I had found out earlier in the day, the fishing today was quite slow.
While Rick and John were out fishing, I cleaned the walleye Rick caught the other night for our dinner tonight. Along with a pan full of stir-fried veggies, we had a very tasty meal. And then, of course, it was out onto the water for some evening trolling.
The water temperature had warmed throughout the day and was now 65 degrees. The wind was light to calm, the air temperature was 57, and the moon was 89 percent waxing, meaning it was on its way to being full. With those conditions we hoped the walleye would be biting.
We spent nearly an hour on the water before we boated our first walleye. I hooked a small 14-inch walleye on my orange fire tiger-colored Minnow Rap. I put it back into the water so it could grow bigger. A short time later, I hooked another walleye this one measuring 18 1/2 inches, which made it a Leech Lake slot fish, so it immediately went back into the lake.
Those we the only two fish we caught in more than 90 minutes on the water so we started home. Just as we approached the cabin, Rick, who was trolling home, hooked into a nice 21-inch walleye directly in front of my house. I was a beautiful fish and a great way to end the night.
We came ashore, stowed our gear and went into the house about 11:15 p.m. Rick went to bed soon after while I stayed up and listened to some classical music and called home to California to talk to Kathleen. In just a week and a day my beautiful wife will join me at our oasis on Leech Lake. I am very much looking forward to spending time with her at the lake; where we always have so much fun here.
Good night from Leech Lake.
After kicking around the house this morning, Rick and I decided to go fishing just after noon. We started near Second Duck Point in 12 feet of 64 degree water and let the wind push us north toward my house and cabin. Almost instantly I hooked into a little 10-inch walleye, which of course went back into the lake.
Both Rick and I were using jigs tipped with minnows. I was using a Northland "Vegas" jig in glitter red while Rick was using a Northland Fireball jig in parrot color.
From that point on we made several drifts in the area between Second Duck Point and my cabin, in water depths varying from 9 feet to 14 feet, but could only catch a number of small perch. It must have been the fact that the water was almost completely calm, no "walleye chop", and the skies were high and blue.
With the walleye fishing not happening we changed tactics, and species, and went bass fishing. We started in front of Norm's cabin, one of the best bass habitats on Sucker Bay, and worked our way north along the reeds to Schiebe's.
I caught one small largemouth bass, that came unhooked right at the boat, and that was the only fish either Rick or I caught until the very last cast of the outing when Rick hooked a nice 3-pound largemouth. Rick was using a 5" Senko on a 3/0 offset hook.
With nearly three hours of fishing under our belts during the afternoon, we finally came ashore. I needed to stretch my legs, so I took a walk and ended up stopping and chatting with Jerry Schiebe about the back porch addition he's adding to his house. He asked if Rick and I could come by on Saturday and help him put up some paneling on the ceiling. Of course I agreed.
Once I got home Rick and I just hung out for a while before Rick went next door to say hello to John Newman who had just arrived for a short, few-day stay. Apparently John was champing at the bit to go fishing and Rick wanted to go as well, so the two of them went fishing for panfish down near the Birches. Their preferred method was going to be using a slip bobber with a minnow. They caught a couple of small perch, but no bluegill, sunfish or crappie; which is what they were after. John and Rick confirmed what Rick and I had found out earlier in the day, the fishing today was quite slow.
While Rick and John were out fishing, I cleaned the walleye Rick caught the other night for our dinner tonight. Along with a pan full of stir-fried veggies, we had a very tasty meal. And then, of course, it was out onto the water for some evening trolling.
The water temperature had warmed throughout the day and was now 65 degrees. The wind was light to calm, the air temperature was 57, and the moon was 89 percent waxing, meaning it was on its way to being full. With those conditions we hoped the walleye would be biting.
We spent nearly an hour on the water before we boated our first walleye. I hooked a small 14-inch walleye on my orange fire tiger-colored Minnow Rap. I put it back into the water so it could grow bigger. A short time later, I hooked another walleye this one measuring 18 1/2 inches, which made it a Leech Lake slot fish, so it immediately went back into the lake.
Those we the only two fish we caught in more than 90 minutes on the water so we started home. Just as we approached the cabin, Rick, who was trolling home, hooked into a nice 21-inch walleye directly in front of my house. I was a beautiful fish and a great way to end the night.
We came ashore, stowed our gear and went into the house about 11:15 p.m. Rick went to bed soon after while I stayed up and listened to some classical music and called home to California to talk to Kathleen. In just a week and a day my beautiful wife will join me at our oasis on Leech Lake. I am very much looking forward to spending time with her at the lake; where we always have so much fun here.
Good night from Leech Lake.
Friday, June 01, 2012
May 31, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
I can't believe is already the final day of May. Where does the time go? Answer, into the past.
At 9:00 a.m. this morning the temperature was 54 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny and there really was no wind to speak of, although officially the wind is listed as 3 mph out of the WNW. The high today would hit 69 degrees.
The 2012 Leech Lake Walleye Tournament is this Saturday and Sunday, June 2 and 3 out of Walker, so most of the 100+ teams are already in the area, and many of them are on Sucker Bay, in front of our house, practicing for tournament. I'm sure as the day wears on, and into tomorrow, many more boats will be out front checking out the fishing. And if past tournaments are any indication, there will likely be upwards of 30 boats out in front of the house come Saturday morning at the start of the tournament. The walleye fishing directly in front of our house and cabin is some the best on all of Leech Lake.
After breakfast and a pot of coffee, and some basic chores around the property (such as getting the hammock set up), Rick and I went fishing at just after noon. We started in 14 feet of water directly between the house and cabin and with the drift sock deployed slowly made our way toward Newman's cabin.
I was using my favorite jig and minnow combination, while Rick was using a Lindy rig tipped with a leech. Within 5 minutes I hooked and boated a 10 1/2-inch perch, just shy of what I'd call a jumbo (11-14 inches qualifies as a jumbo in my book). It went back into the lake. For the next hour or so, all we caught were small- to medium-sized perch.
Then about 1:30 p.m. the wind began to swirl and switch directions coming out of the south rather than the WNW; although it was still relatively light at 5-8 mph. This meant that if we set up in front of Giza's cabin in 10 feet of water and drifted we end up in 14-15 feet of water when we reached the point between our house and cabin; a perfect spot for walleye.
Sure enough, as soon as we got to that "honey hole" I hooked into a small walleye, somewhere between 14-16". I didn't measure it because I could tell it was fairly small and I had no intention of keeping it. Unfortunately, that would be the only walleye we would boat during our afternoon outing. And at 2:45 p.m. we went ashore.
Once I was back at the house, I spent some time getting Melissa and Jayden airline tickets to Minnesota. They are going to come here on June 20, and most likely spend some time visiting cousins, aunts and uncles in Minneapolis and St. Cloud before coming up to the lake. Jayden is very excited and is already playing a game where he pretends to catch and net walleyes. I wonder where he learned that game?
We ate an early dinner of grilled hamburgers, fries and broccoli and then got things loaded up to go fishing again. We started fishing in the same place where we'd left off, in 14 feet of water directly between my house and cabin.
Both Rick and I were using jigs tipped with minnows in the 63 degree water. The temperature of the air was in the low 60s, there were no clouds in the sky and there was virtually no wind.
As beautiful as it was on Sucker Bay, the fishing wasn't nearly as nice. We caught only a few small perch while jigging, and once we switched to trolling, the only walleye we caught was a small 15-inch 'eyeball that Rick boated.
Since the fishing wasn't very good, we decided to call it quits around 10:30 p.m. and head home.
We spent a little time listening to music and playing dominoes before calling it a night. Despite the lack of walleye production -- only two all day between us, when yesterday I caught seven by myself -- it was another great day at Leech Lake.
At 9:00 a.m. this morning the temperature was 54 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny and there really was no wind to speak of, although officially the wind is listed as 3 mph out of the WNW. The high today would hit 69 degrees.
The 2012 Leech Lake Walleye Tournament is this Saturday and Sunday, June 2 and 3 out of Walker, so most of the 100+ teams are already in the area, and many of them are on Sucker Bay, in front of our house, practicing for tournament. I'm sure as the day wears on, and into tomorrow, many more boats will be out front checking out the fishing. And if past tournaments are any indication, there will likely be upwards of 30 boats out in front of the house come Saturday morning at the start of the tournament. The walleye fishing directly in front of our house and cabin is some the best on all of Leech Lake.
After breakfast and a pot of coffee, and some basic chores around the property (such as getting the hammock set up), Rick and I went fishing at just after noon. We started in 14 feet of water directly between the house and cabin and with the drift sock deployed slowly made our way toward Newman's cabin.
I was using my favorite jig and minnow combination, while Rick was using a Lindy rig tipped with a leech. Within 5 minutes I hooked and boated a 10 1/2-inch perch, just shy of what I'd call a jumbo (11-14 inches qualifies as a jumbo in my book). It went back into the lake. For the next hour or so, all we caught were small- to medium-sized perch.
Then about 1:30 p.m. the wind began to swirl and switch directions coming out of the south rather than the WNW; although it was still relatively light at 5-8 mph. This meant that if we set up in front of Giza's cabin in 10 feet of water and drifted we end up in 14-15 feet of water when we reached the point between our house and cabin; a perfect spot for walleye.
Sure enough, as soon as we got to that "honey hole" I hooked into a small walleye, somewhere between 14-16". I didn't measure it because I could tell it was fairly small and I had no intention of keeping it. Unfortunately, that would be the only walleye we would boat during our afternoon outing. And at 2:45 p.m. we went ashore.
Once I was back at the house, I spent some time getting Melissa and Jayden airline tickets to Minnesota. They are going to come here on June 20, and most likely spend some time visiting cousins, aunts and uncles in Minneapolis and St. Cloud before coming up to the lake. Jayden is very excited and is already playing a game where he pretends to catch and net walleyes. I wonder where he learned that game?
We ate an early dinner of grilled hamburgers, fries and broccoli and then got things loaded up to go fishing again. We started fishing in the same place where we'd left off, in 14 feet of water directly between my house and cabin.
Both Rick and I were using jigs tipped with minnows in the 63 degree water. The temperature of the air was in the low 60s, there were no clouds in the sky and there was virtually no wind.
 |
| Sucker Bay at sunset, taken from the boat while fishing |
Since the fishing wasn't very good, we decided to call it quits around 10:30 p.m. and head home.
We spent a little time listening to music and playing dominoes before calling it a night. Despite the lack of walleye production -- only two all day between us, when yesterday I caught seven by myself -- it was another great day at Leech Lake.
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