Today is the day America celebrates Memorial Day, although the actual date for Memorial Day is May 30; which this year lands on a Wednesday. I guess at some point in the past our government decided it was better for the country's population to have a three-day weekend -- for camping, fishing, having picnics, watching auto races on TV, etc. -- than it was for them to remember those who have fallen in battle. Oh well, here's to three-day weekends.
The morning started out fairly decent weather-wise, with a temperature of 60 degrees, a partly sunny sky and winds at no more than 8-12 mph out of the WSW. But by 11:30 a.m., the temperature had dropped a few degrees, the sky clouded up and was totally grey and the wind whipped up to 15-25 mph creating rolling white caps that crashed into our shoreline.
A few brave (foolish) boats remained on the lake despite the high winds. The forecast was for a storm to roll in from the west just after noon, with another storm to hit us from the south between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.
By 12:45 p.m., the clouds had given way to blue skies, with only a few white fluffy clouds hovering overhead. The wind had shifted and was now coming out of the north at 15-20 mph. The lake was not quite as rough as it had been earlier, but it was still quite choppy.
After lunch Rick and I decided to tackle the chore of getting the stairs reattached to the dock. The stairs had broken off the dock a couple of years back during high winds out of the northwest. I happened to be sitting in the living room during that storm watching wave after wave rock the stairs until they finally broke off and disappeared below the slate grey surface of the lake.
It took about an hour and a half to get the stairs attached, including the necessity of me donning the waders and getting into the lake. The water level is at or slightly above normal and during the course of me trying to connect the stairs to the dock, a good amount of cold water crested over the top of the waders soaking everything I was wearing underneath.
During the time we were attaching the stairs, a brief rainstorm of no more than five minutes rolled through dropping quite a bit of rain on us even though the sun never stopped shining. As the rain passed, the wind died down, so with our project complete Rick and I hit the water for some mid-afternoon fishing.
We got the boat in the water and I motored out to about 10 feet of water in front of Giza's cabin. With the light wind, which was now blowing from the SW, we put the drift sock in and slowly made our way toward the cabin.
No sooner than I dropped my fathead-tipped jig into the water than I felt that familiar mushiness of a walleye bite. I set the hook and could tell it was a good-sized fish. I called to Rick that I had a good fish on and to get the net ready. I played the fish for maybe 30 seconds before POW, the lined snapped and whatever was on the other end made its escape.
I tied on a new jig, but after that could catch no more than a small perch or two. Rick's luck was about the same, a few small perch. The wind started to pick up, and with a forecast for a late-afternoon storm, we decided to head for shore.
Once on shore I got a fire going in the fire pit, while Rick attended to the pork ribs in the oven which we would later grill for dinner. About 45 minutes after we came ashore the wind really started to pick up, with speeds of 25-30 mph out of the SW. The lake was quickly covered in white caps and almost devoid of all boats. I spotted one heading SW, into the waves, heading toward Big Hardwood Point.
We had an early dinner and we done eating by 6:30 p.m., almost a record for us here at the lake; it is our typical habit to eat no earlier than 9:00 p.m. We tended to the fire next door for an hour or so after dinner, then put it out and came home.
At 8:00 p.m. the temperature was holding steady at 60 degrees, the sky was mostly cloudy and the wind was ripping at 25+ mph out of the SW. As the sun set, the wind continued to howl and no boats could be seen on Sucker Bay from the end of our dock.
Rick and I watched an Albert Brooks movie, Defending Your Life, and then I spent a little time reading and listening to classical music on MPR before calling it a night. It was a good day at Leech Lake, even if we only got a little bit of fishing in. More tomorrow.
Monday, May 28, 2012
May 27, 2012 -- At Leech Lake
I woke up this morning at 3:00 a.m. to very loud claps of thunder and the room alight with white-pink flashes of lightening. I tried to stay awake to watch and listen to the storm, but I find such events so relaxing that I quickly fell back asleep.
At 9:00 a.m., the lightening and thunder continued, the wind had picked up and was blowing at 15-20 mph out of the ESE and the temperature was 53 degrees. I opened the blinds in the bedroom, went back underneath the blanket and watched as sheets of rain fell from the sky.
I couldn't help but think about the hundreds, possibly thousands, of families that come "up north" to Minnesota's lake country every Memorial Day weekend to go camping. For many families it's a tradition to set up a tent in one of the dozens of campgrounds that are in the numerous state parks located in the area. I could picture them huddled inside their tents cursing the cold, wet weather and wishing for a warm, dry bed, like the one where I lay watching the angry weather pass through.
I decided to check on the health of the three fish we have in the basket hanging off the dock, since the storm might have caused them to be stressed during the night. I prefer to clean and eat my catch within an hour if possible. There's nothing better than super-fresh, lake-caught fish for dinner.
As I walked out onto the dock I spotted a mother Merganser duck with at least a dozen little ducklings about 25 years off the end of the dock. They spotted me too, and quickly made their way north putting more distance between us.
The walleye and the foot-long perch were healthy and looked fine, while the 10-inch perch showed some signs of stress; although it was still alive and able to swim upright. All three should be fine until later this afternoon when I filet them, then they won't be doing so well.
As I made my way from the end of the dock to shore a small splash in the reeds to my left caught my attention. I turned to looked and saw a fair-sized muskie, probably 42 inches long, weave its way through the weeds in no more than 18-inches of water. Knowing that a muskie would choose the reeds adjacent to my dock to seek shelter from the storm made me smile.
And nature morning continued as I walked on the path between the cabin and the house. As I neared the fishing cleaning house I spotted a great blue heron standing on the big rock near the dock. It spread its wings slowly and then took to the air as I approached. To me, that 5 minute period sums up one of the many reasons I love being on the shores of Leech Lake. I get to see a family of Mergansers, a large muskie and a blue heron. You won't see that in San Jose.
Rick and I did various tasks around the properties -- such as clean out the "fish garage" and put up the solar lights on the two pathways between the house and cabin -- before deciding to go fishing. We backed the boat off the lift just before 2:00 p.m. and made our way to the Birches. The water temperature was 62.3 degrees.
Rick used a Lindy rig tipped with a minnow, while stuck with the tried and true method of using a jig and minnow. We caught numerous perch, including a jumbo 11-inch that I landed, and Rick caught a small hammer handle.
We fished the Birches for about an hour before moving into Bass Bay to try to catch some largemouth. Bass season opened just yesterday.
Both Rick and I started fishing using a Mimic Minnow with a spinner blade. Within 15 minutes I'd hooked into a good sized bass that must have weighed close to three pounds. I immediately released it into the water. But after that one good bass, neither Rick nor I could hook another bass. Rick did catch a 26-inch pike which managed to wrap Rick's line around dozens of reeds in the shallow water forcing us to spend nearly 15 minutes wrestling it free.
At 4:30 p.m. we came ashore and I set about the task of cleaning the two perch and 15-inch walleye which we caught yesterday. They would be our dinner tonight. I've really gotten into using a Shore Lunch beer batter to fry up the fish, and it works great. The fillets end up light and crispy and a perfect golden brown. To accompany our fish meal we had Minnesota wild rice and asparagus. A very tasty meal of Leech Lake fish indeed!
After eating dinner and cleaning up, it was once again time to go fishing. As is our usual methodology for walleye fishing in the evening/night, we got our trolling rods at the ready. Typically I use the Rapala Minnow Rap, in a variety of colors although recently I've been favoring the perch color, but tonight I switched up and went the the Berkley Ficker Shad in a fathead minnow color.
As is also typical for us, we trolled the "Alley" between our cabin to just south of Second Duck Point. The water temperature hovered between 62.3 and 62.5 degrees. We trolled at a speed of roughly 2.25 mph ground speed. The wind was nearly nonexistent for most of the night, before picking up to 8-12 mph around 10:30 p.m.
Rick caught the first fish, a 19 1/2-inch walleye. I followed with three more walleyes measuring 14-, 16 and 9-inches. That last fish may have been the smallest walleye I've ever caught. Just two days earlier I caught a perch that measured 12 inches long.
The sky darkened as we fished, not only because of nightfall but because of the heavy clouds moving into the area. The clouds brought some lightening with them, but it was high flashes of light rather than the bolts when the lightening is nearby. As I mentioned, the wind also picked up, so around 10:45 p.m. we took the boat back to the lift and came ashore.
We stayed up late listening to music and solving the worlds problems, well, at least identifying them. Before I went to bed for the night I called Kathleen. We talked while she was on her laptop and made travel arrangements for her to come to Leech Lake. As things stand today, Kathleen is scheduled to arrive at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 9. I look forward to seeing her; we always have so much fun here at the lake.
Until tomorrow...
At 9:00 a.m., the lightening and thunder continued, the wind had picked up and was blowing at 15-20 mph out of the ESE and the temperature was 53 degrees. I opened the blinds in the bedroom, went back underneath the blanket and watched as sheets of rain fell from the sky.
I couldn't help but think about the hundreds, possibly thousands, of families that come "up north" to Minnesota's lake country every Memorial Day weekend to go camping. For many families it's a tradition to set up a tent in one of the dozens of campgrounds that are in the numerous state parks located in the area. I could picture them huddled inside their tents cursing the cold, wet weather and wishing for a warm, dry bed, like the one where I lay watching the angry weather pass through.
I decided to check on the health of the three fish we have in the basket hanging off the dock, since the storm might have caused them to be stressed during the night. I prefer to clean and eat my catch within an hour if possible. There's nothing better than super-fresh, lake-caught fish for dinner.
As I walked out onto the dock I spotted a mother Merganser duck with at least a dozen little ducklings about 25 years off the end of the dock. They spotted me too, and quickly made their way north putting more distance between us.
The walleye and the foot-long perch were healthy and looked fine, while the 10-inch perch showed some signs of stress; although it was still alive and able to swim upright. All three should be fine until later this afternoon when I filet them, then they won't be doing so well.
As I made my way from the end of the dock to shore a small splash in the reeds to my left caught my attention. I turned to looked and saw a fair-sized muskie, probably 42 inches long, weave its way through the weeds in no more than 18-inches of water. Knowing that a muskie would choose the reeds adjacent to my dock to seek shelter from the storm made me smile.
And nature morning continued as I walked on the path between the cabin and the house. As I neared the fishing cleaning house I spotted a great blue heron standing on the big rock near the dock. It spread its wings slowly and then took to the air as I approached. To me, that 5 minute period sums up one of the many reasons I love being on the shores of Leech Lake. I get to see a family of Mergansers, a large muskie and a blue heron. You won't see that in San Jose.
Rick and I did various tasks around the properties -- such as clean out the "fish garage" and put up the solar lights on the two pathways between the house and cabin -- before deciding to go fishing. We backed the boat off the lift just before 2:00 p.m. and made our way to the Birches. The water temperature was 62.3 degrees.
Rick used a Lindy rig tipped with a minnow, while stuck with the tried and true method of using a jig and minnow. We caught numerous perch, including a jumbo 11-inch that I landed, and Rick caught a small hammer handle.
We fished the Birches for about an hour before moving into Bass Bay to try to catch some largemouth. Bass season opened just yesterday.
Both Rick and I started fishing using a Mimic Minnow with a spinner blade. Within 15 minutes I'd hooked into a good sized bass that must have weighed close to three pounds. I immediately released it into the water. But after that one good bass, neither Rick nor I could hook another bass. Rick did catch a 26-inch pike which managed to wrap Rick's line around dozens of reeds in the shallow water forcing us to spend nearly 15 minutes wrestling it free.
At 4:30 p.m. we came ashore and I set about the task of cleaning the two perch and 15-inch walleye which we caught yesterday. They would be our dinner tonight. I've really gotten into using a Shore Lunch beer batter to fry up the fish, and it works great. The fillets end up light and crispy and a perfect golden brown. To accompany our fish meal we had Minnesota wild rice and asparagus. A very tasty meal of Leech Lake fish indeed!
After eating dinner and cleaning up, it was once again time to go fishing. As is our usual methodology for walleye fishing in the evening/night, we got our trolling rods at the ready. Typically I use the Rapala Minnow Rap, in a variety of colors although recently I've been favoring the perch color, but tonight I switched up and went the the Berkley Ficker Shad in a fathead minnow color.
As is also typical for us, we trolled the "Alley" between our cabin to just south of Second Duck Point. The water temperature hovered between 62.3 and 62.5 degrees. We trolled at a speed of roughly 2.25 mph ground speed. The wind was nearly nonexistent for most of the night, before picking up to 8-12 mph around 10:30 p.m.
Rick caught the first fish, a 19 1/2-inch walleye. I followed with three more walleyes measuring 14-, 16 and 9-inches. That last fish may have been the smallest walleye I've ever caught. Just two days earlier I caught a perch that measured 12 inches long.
The sky darkened as we fished, not only because of nightfall but because of the heavy clouds moving into the area. The clouds brought some lightening with them, but it was high flashes of light rather than the bolts when the lightening is nearby. As I mentioned, the wind also picked up, so around 10:45 p.m. we took the boat back to the lift and came ashore.
We stayed up late listening to music and solving the worlds problems, well, at least identifying them. Before I went to bed for the night I called Kathleen. We talked while she was on her laptop and made travel arrangements for her to come to Leech Lake. As things stand today, Kathleen is scheduled to arrive at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 9. I look forward to seeing her; we always have so much fun here at the lake.
Until tomorrow...
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