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.

Sparkling water on a beautiful Leech Lake afternoon

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.