August 23-24, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

August 23:
Today the temperature by 10:00 a.m. was very warm 75 degrees on its way into the mid-80s. The humidity was high making is a hot, sticky day. The sky was hazy with some high clouds and the wind was out of the south at 8-12 mph.

I took care of a variety of work tasks in the morning and then after lunch decided to go fishing. Joe again opted to stay on shore to go walking, do yoga and then go for a swim in the lake; all things he really enjoys doing.

I took the boat out to a spot in front of Newman's cabin in 8 feet of water and let the wind push the boat out into Sucker Bay and slowly north toward Norm's cabin. As I have for most of the past couple of months, I used a jig tipped with a plastic grub.

I made several passes -- moving quickly without the drift sock -- in order to cover as much water as possible. I caught a fair number of small- to medium-sized perch, but none that I considered big enough to keep. For me, 10-inches is the smallest perch I typically keep, although a "plump" 9-inch fish has found its way into my live well.

The shoreline of our house/cabin from Sucker Bay

I came ashore late in the afternoon and began prepping for dinner. I'm trying to replicate the grilled chicken that we had at Newman's the other night. Actually, preparations began yesterday when I started brining the chicken. In addition to brining the chicken in water with salt and sugar, I added a variety of herbs and spices as well. Then the brining pot went into the refrigerator for a full 24 hours. Earlier today I made the North Alabama White BBQ sauce, which consists of mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, sugar, horseradish, salt, ground black pepper and cayenne pepper. The sauce then needs to chill in the refrigerator for several hours.

So my prep this evening was primarily getting the grill ready; the chicken needs to be grilled with indirect heat; not over the coals directly.

The chicken came out perfectly grilled and the brining and white BBQ were also right on target. The chicken was paired with mashed potatoes, biscuits, and a green garden salad. Very delicious.

We then had a quiet evening of reading and listening to classical music before going to bed. A great day at Leech Lake.
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August 24:

This morning at 10:00 a.m. the temperature was 74 degrees, the humidity was at 92%, the sky was again sunny but hazy with a blur of white clouds mixed with mostly blue sky, and the wind was light out of the SSW at 5-10 mph.

It hasn't been this humid since back in July when Kathleen was still here; when we took daily camp baths to cool off from the oppressive heat.

By 1:30 p.m. the temperature had climbed to over 80 degrees and the humidity continued to bear down on us at more than 90%.  Despite the heat, Joe went for a 3-mile walk and I enjoyed a 5-mile bike ride. We need our exercise regardless of the heat.

Once both Joe and I were back home, we had some lunch and then decided to go fishing. Joe isn't much for jigging for perch, preferring instead to troll for walleye and hunt muskies, so he sat in the boat with me while I  fished for perch.

The water temperature had climbed back up to 76 degrees due to the heat, humidity and relatively weak winds. We set up in a spot in front of our house in 8 feet of water and let what little wind there was push us out into the bay and slightly north.

I had a few bites, probably small perch, but only hooked one fish, a 28-inch northern pike. While it is by far not the largest pike I've seen pulled out of Leech Lake, it was still a good sized fish and worthy of close inspection, including measurement on "The Judge" tournament rule. After unhooking the fish and the quick measurement, I released it back into the lake where after only a few seconds it got its bearings and swam out of sight.

At 3:30 p.m. Joe and I went ashore, got cleaned up and then by 4:10 p.m. were on our way out to the Pike Hole Restaurant to meet up with Tom and Lainy Malay and Ron and Sandy Newstrand, neighbors of ours on Ottertail Peninsula. Throughout the summer, Pike Hole features a walleye fish fry every Friday night and if you get there early enough, like we did, you can snag a table on the deck that over looks the channel between Cass Lake and Kitchi Lake, which is in the general area of the small town of Pennington.

Everyone at the table ordered the walleye special and it was definitely worth the drive. Not only did we have good conversation, but the location couldn't have been better and the food was fantastic. Maybe not what discriminating city folk from New York or San Francisco might call gourmet, but as far as I'm concerned, it was still delicious.

Once we were back home, Joe and I watched a movie on DVD and then he went to bed. I stayed up to do some reading, and did one last check on the weather. The wind had picked up to 14-18 mph out of the south, the temperature was still a very warm 74 degrees and the humidity was at 82%, which is why it felt so muggy.

Good night from Leech Lake.