The water level of Leech Lake on Monday, May 27, 2013 -- Memorial Day -- was by my unofficial measure seven (7) cement pilings on my boat ramp.
In years past, the lake has been higher at this time of year, sometimes reaching 8 or even 9 pilings, but it's also been much lower, down around 4 or 5 pilings. So by my rough estimate, we're experiencing roughly average water levels for this time of year.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
May 22, 2013 -- On Leech Lake
Today the temperature hit 65 degrees, the wind was out of the NNW at 12-25 mph and the sky was mostly sunny with a fair amount of big, white billowy clouds.
After breakfast, spending time with my parents, doing some "work" work and some work around the properties, Rick and I decided to take John Newman's boat out for a bit of fishing.
According to John's fish finder, the temperature of the water was 49 degrees. Again Rick and I used jigs and fathead minnows in an attempt to catch walleye and jumbo perch.
The lake was covered in fairly large waves and white caps as the gusts of wind regularly topped 20 mph. We motored our way to a spot in 10 feet of water in front of the Malay's cabin, deployed the drift sock and then drifted toward Second Duck Point. John's fish finder doesn't display ground speed, but I'd guess we were moving along at a 1 mph clip at least.
We fished for about an hour and half and Rick got skunked again today. I, however, caught a hand full of perch, although no jumbos, and a nice 20-inch walleye, the first of the open-water season for me. Rick took a quick picture of the fish and then put it I put it back in the lake.
Kathleen got to go running down our dirt road later in the day, and then we all had a nice dinner. My parents went back to the cabin fairly early and we had a quiet night at the house. The word in our neighborhood today is that Shore Brothers will be out tomorrow to put in the docks and boat lifts along our stretch of the Ottertail Peninsula. If that indeed happens, I'll be able to get the boat in the water.
Good night from Leech Lake.
After breakfast, spending time with my parents, doing some "work" work and some work around the properties, Rick and I decided to take John Newman's boat out for a bit of fishing.
According to John's fish finder, the temperature of the water was 49 degrees. Again Rick and I used jigs and fathead minnows in an attempt to catch walleye and jumbo perch.
The lake was covered in fairly large waves and white caps as the gusts of wind regularly topped 20 mph. We motored our way to a spot in 10 feet of water in front of the Malay's cabin, deployed the drift sock and then drifted toward Second Duck Point. John's fish finder doesn't display ground speed, but I'd guess we were moving along at a 1 mph clip at least.
We fished for about an hour and half and Rick got skunked again today. I, however, caught a hand full of perch, although no jumbos, and a nice 20-inch walleye, the first of the open-water season for me. Rick took a quick picture of the fish and then put it I put it back in the lake.
 |
| The first Leech Lake walleye of the season |
Kathleen got to go running down our dirt road later in the day, and then we all had a nice dinner. My parents went back to the cabin fairly early and we had a quiet night at the house. The word in our neighborhood today is that Shore Brothers will be out tomorrow to put in the docks and boat lifts along our stretch of the Ottertail Peninsula. If that indeed happens, I'll be able to get the boat in the water.
Good night from Leech Lake.
Friday, May 24, 2013
At Leech Lake -- May 21, 2013
Today's weather can best be described as grey and wet. It was raining when I woke up this morning, and rained steadily until right up to sunset. The temperature hit maybe 65 degrees and the wind was variable from 8-15 mph out of the ENE.
Depsite the rain, Kathleen, Rick and I decided to take a hike back in our woods. We donned our rain gear and took a very long hike along the trails in our woods, and eventually down the road, across some very soggy land back to the old Indian cabin that sits on the shoreline of Second Duck Point.
Along the shore was a very large pile of ice, some of the only ice left from when it retreated from the lake on May 15.
About 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon my parents arrived for a 5-day stay. We spent about an hour chatting and catching up at the house before my dad and I made our way next door to the cabin where I helped him unload their luggage and got them set up in their respective rooms.
I grilled some chicken for dinner and then we all went to bed early.
No fishing today, and the boat lift and docks are still not in, but the word is that Shore Brothers will be out on Thursday to put in the docks for everyone along this stretch of Ottertail Peninsula.
Depsite the rain, Kathleen, Rick and I decided to take a hike back in our woods. We donned our rain gear and took a very long hike along the trails in our woods, and eventually down the road, across some very soggy land back to the old Indian cabin that sits on the shoreline of Second Duck Point.
Along the shore was a very large pile of ice, some of the only ice left from when it retreated from the lake on May 15.
About 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon my parents arrived for a 5-day stay. We spent about an hour chatting and catching up at the house before my dad and I made our way next door to the cabin where I helped him unload their luggage and got them set up in their respective rooms.
I grilled some chicken for dinner and then we all went to bed early.
No fishing today, and the boat lift and docks are still not in, but the word is that Shore Brothers will be out on Thursday to put in the docks for everyone along this stretch of Ottertail Peninsula.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Arrival At Leech Lake
I arrived at Leech Lake late on Thursday, May 16, just one day after the official "ice out" day on the lake. The all-time latest ice out on Leech Lake, at least in the past 78 years that they've been keeping records of it, is May 23. As a result, none of the docks or boat lifts along Ottertail Peninsula were in the water.
On Friday, my friend Rick and I drove into Bemidji for supplies and to pick up the boat. But with the lift not in the water, the boat was parked near the garage until a later date. The wind was out of the NE at 8-15 mph, the sky was overcast and grey and the temperature was in the high 60s. We grilled steak for dinner and had an early night since both of us were tired from getting in late the night before.
Saturday was supposed to bring thunderstorms and cooler temperatures, but all we got was rain, no big storms. By 9:00 a.m. we were on our way to St. Cloud to see Kathleen's mother, and to pick up Kathleen and bring her back to the lake. We spent the entire day in St. Cloud and didn't arrive back at the lake until after midnight.
All three of us spent most of Sunday outside working on variety of projects from replacing burned out light bulbs to rebuilding broken stairs to miscellaneous yard work. We had a nice seafood pasta dish for dinner, but couldn't watch the sunset because the sky was very overcast and grey. Although the rain did hold off and the temperature reached a high of 73 degrees.
On Monday, Rick and I borrowed John Newman's boat and went out fishing. We used jigs and fatheads and drifted in 11 feet of water, and then moved shallower into 8 feet of water. The water temperature was 47 degrees, the air temperature was 57 degrees, the wind was out of the NE at 8-12 mph and the sky was overcast and grey and a light rain was falling.
I hooked a few perch, no jumbos, but couldn't hook a walleye. The rain began to fall harder so we decided to go back on shore, dry off and warm up.
It's good to be back at the lake. Hopefully later this week Shore Brothers will be out to put the docks and boat lift in the water so I can get my boat readied for the open-water season.
On Friday, my friend Rick and I drove into Bemidji for supplies and to pick up the boat. But with the lift not in the water, the boat was parked near the garage until a later date. The wind was out of the NE at 8-15 mph, the sky was overcast and grey and the temperature was in the high 60s. We grilled steak for dinner and had an early night since both of us were tired from getting in late the night before.
Saturday was supposed to bring thunderstorms and cooler temperatures, but all we got was rain, no big storms. By 9:00 a.m. we were on our way to St. Cloud to see Kathleen's mother, and to pick up Kathleen and bring her back to the lake. We spent the entire day in St. Cloud and didn't arrive back at the lake until after midnight.
All three of us spent most of Sunday outside working on variety of projects from replacing burned out light bulbs to rebuilding broken stairs to miscellaneous yard work. We had a nice seafood pasta dish for dinner, but couldn't watch the sunset because the sky was very overcast and grey. Although the rain did hold off and the temperature reached a high of 73 degrees.
On Monday, Rick and I borrowed John Newman's boat and went out fishing. We used jigs and fatheads and drifted in 11 feet of water, and then moved shallower into 8 feet of water. The water temperature was 47 degrees, the air temperature was 57 degrees, the wind was out of the NE at 8-12 mph and the sky was overcast and grey and a light rain was falling.
I hooked a few perch, no jumbos, but couldn't hook a walleye. The rain began to fall harder so we decided to go back on shore, dry off and warm up.
It's good to be back at the lake. Hopefully later this week Shore Brothers will be out to put the docks and boat lift in the water so I can get my boat readied for the open-water season.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
MN Walleye Opener 2013
Today, Saturday, May 11, is Walleye Opener in Minnesota. Although there will probably be few, if any, boats on Leech Lake today because most of the lake is still covered in ice.
Average ice out for Leech Lake occurs on April 27. The earliest the ice was off the lake was April 2, 2012, just last year. The latest the ice has come off Leech Lake was May 23, 1950. This year may push close to the record.
The weather today is not ideal for fishing even if there was open water. The temperature at Federal Dam at 2:00 p.m. was 41 degrees, the wind was out of the NW at 17-25 mph, with gusts up near 35 mph and the sky was mostly cloudy and grey.
I arrive in Minnesota on May 16 and will pick up my boat in Bemidji the following day. But with this much ice on the lake, my boat may be sitting at the top of my boat ramp for quite some time before I'm able to get it in the water. Absolutely crazy!
Average ice out for Leech Lake occurs on April 27. The earliest the ice was off the lake was April 2, 2012, just last year. The latest the ice has come off Leech Lake was May 23, 1950. This year may push close to the record.
The weather today is not ideal for fishing even if there was open water. The temperature at Federal Dam at 2:00 p.m. was 41 degrees, the wind was out of the NW at 17-25 mph, with gusts up near 35 mph and the sky was mostly cloudy and grey.
 |
| Looking northwest out over Sucker Bay from the Malay's cabin |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
