August 25, 2012 -- On Leech Leech

Today was another hot and humid day, although neither as hot nor as humid as the past few days. Still, it was  78 degrees by 10:30 a.m. and the humidity was pegged at 82%. The sky was full of clouds in every direction expect directly overhead which created a bright, sunny day despite heavy cloud cover. The wind was out of the south at 8-15 mph, but by early afternoon had shifted to the north and was variably from 5-18 mph.

Joe and I eased into our Saturday with a pot of coffee and a hearty breakfast. Then I went up onto the roof of the house to spray a diluted bleach solution onto the mold and moss growing in certain spots on the shingles. The light mist of chlorine should kill the unwanted invaders.

After cleaning up from the roofing project, Joe and I went muskie fishing. We had heard about a dock hand from Birch Ridge Resort who caught a 48-inch muskie while trolling in spot directly across Sucker Bay from the Resort, so that's where Joe and I began our assault. 

We lowered our lures into the 74 degree water, let out line to get them 50-60 feet behind the boat thus about 12 deep, and then I set the Mercury SmartCraft controls to keep the boat moving at approximately 2.25 mph ground speed. 

We trolled from the north end of Sucker Bay south along the Bay's western shore until just about Big Hardwood Point, but the only thing our lures hooked were many of the weeds floating in the water. So we decided it was time to change locations, if not tactics. 

I kicked the Mercury Verado into gear and motored the boat at 35 mph over to Ottertail Point. Once there Joe and I dropped our lures in the water and trolled all around the point. We made four passes around the point before turning north and trolling up to Duck Point. When we arrived at Duck Point we still hadn't hooked a muskie or even had a follow, so we reeled in our lures and sped north toward home. 

We made it back on shore at 5:45 p.m. and had a "fend-for-yourself" dinner where Joe and I ate whatever leftovers we could find, then it was time to get outside again. Joe went over the cabin and got a fire going while I decided to get out onto the water again.

I lowered the boat into essentially calm water. There was just a hint of a SSW breeze blowing and the temperature was steady at 80 degrees. There was a huge bank of clouds over the peninsula, but virtually none over the lake. I didn't plan on staying out until dark, so I motored to a spot directly in front of the house and cabin and started jigging there in 8-10 feet of water.

Looking back at our shoreline from Sucker Bay as the sun set

The shoreline was alight with the glow of the setting sun as I caught a decent sized northern pike; probably 24 inches long. I played it for a short time to ensure it didn't snap my line and once it was close enough to the boat I reached over, quickly removed the jig and released the fish back into the lake. 

Duck Point in the distance looking south on Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

I fished for about 30 minutes longer during which time I caught another, although smaller, northern. With the sun definitely below the horizon I packed up and moved the boat slowly back toward the lift. As I approached shore I could see Joe had a good fire going. 

Back on shore I played a little ping pong with Joe before we both settled in around the fire. With the sky nearly completely dark I went back to the house followed a little while later by Joe. We watched a movie on DVD and stayed up way too late. But it was a nice Saturday at Leech Lake.