The morning I awoke to the sound of the furnace running. Yep, June 10 and the furnace is required. The temperature this morning was 42 degrees, the sky was mostly cloudy with some blue patches, and the wind was out of the north at 7-12 mph.
There is no work today on the harbor. The plan is that Peterson Excavating will be out on Monday with the big hoe to align the harbor wall. With no jackhammering I was able to enjoy my coffee on the back deck.
After a series of work calls, I decided to go fishing.
The wind on the lake seemed to be swirling. With the drift sock deployed I at first observed the wind to be coming out of west blowing the boat toward shore. Later, the wind came out of the NE and blew me south toward Second Duck Point. And just before I came in the wind was blowing out of the south pushing back toward the cabin. In all cases the wind was light at no more than 5-8 mph, regardless of direction.
The water temperature was 65.8 degrees, and I fished in water ranging from 9-12 feet deep. I used a Gumball jig, 1/8 ounce, tipped with a fathead. I caught numerous perch, a rock bass, a 13-inch walleye and the strangest catch of my current stay at Leech Lake, a 11-inch bullhead. I've only caught maybe 3 or 4 bullhead in the 10 years I've been fishing Leech Lake, so this was a surprise.
Hunger brought me ashore at 3:00 p.m.
Nature Update: For the past 3 or 4 days there has been an ongoing dragonfly hatch. There are literally millions of dragonflies on Ottertail Peninsula. On my regular ATV rides around the peninsula I've been hit in the throat, eye (thank goodness I was wearing sunglasses), shoulder, hand, leg and just about any other body part a flying insect fortress could hit. Now other than there being a million of them, dragonflies are not a nuisance. In fact, not only are they food for many species of birds, they are predators of mosquitoes, which makes them very valuable in my book.
At 8:45 p.m. I went fishing. The wind was 12-15 mph out of the north, creating a good chop to the lake. The moon was 69% waxing, the sun set at 9:14 p.m. the temperature was 48 degrees and the water temperature was a good deal warmer at 65 degrees.
I decided to fish a little bit further south than usual and spent most of my time trolling the flats of "Duck Bay" in 9-11 feet of water. I was using this year's favorite crankbait the Minnow Rap in Tennessee Shad color, fitted with a brand new front treble hook.
While trolling north into the wind at a ground speed at just under 2 mph, I hooked into two nice walleyes, the first 19 inches and the second a sturdy 23-inch, 4 1/2 pound eyeball. After those two fish I decided to head home.
I came ashore at 10:00 p.m. and spent the remainder of my waking hours reading newspapers and listening to music. Another great day at Leech Lake.
Showing posts with label Minnow Rap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minnow Rap. Show all posts
Friday, June 10, 2011
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
June 1, 2011 -- On Leech Lake
Last night, or more precisely, early this morning, I awoke to howling winds and a beeping noise. The 35-45 mph winds had obviously blown down a power line because we were without electricity and the carbon monoxide sensors I have plugged into the wall were beeping to alert me that the power was out and the batteries were low. Great.
So at 3:05 a.m. I was up pulling batteries out of shreiking sensors. Welcome to June.
At 9:00 a.m., the temperature was a chilly 44 degrees, the wind was out of the west at 17-25 mph, the sky was mostly sunny and the lake was rolling with white caps.
As a result of the fairly strong wind for most of the day, Rick and I took care of many chores on land. While I was on a business call, Rick took out a small "junk" tree that was growing outside my bedroom window and while he was off doing other chores I planted the new flowering crabapple tree that I picked up in town yesterday.
Later in the day we stopped by Jerry Schiebe's to see the Bobcat and John Deere tractor that are part of the Hancock estate. Both are old and neither are worth much. Rick spoke to Noel's son Jeff today and the ball is just starting to roll regarding Rick's interest in buying the old place. Both parties have some homework to do before they talk again.
By 4:30 p.m. the wind had calmed to around 15 mph out of the NW and it is supposed to weaken even more as the afternoon melts into evening. That should provide us with waters safe enough to do some after-dinner trolling for walleye.
For dinner I filleted the walleye I caught the other night and then fried it up in a Shore Lunch beer batter, along with French fries (with malt vinegar of course) and salad. It was, as always, a very tasty affair.
By the time we finished dinner the wind had died down to near calm. What breeze there was came out of the NW at maybe 3-5 mph. The sky was clear and the temperature was a pleasant 62 degrees. The water temperature has warmed just slightly to 60.7 degrees.
We started fishing directly in front of our house using my MinnKota electric trolling motor. I was using an 1/8 ounce chartreuse Northland jig, while Rick was using a much heavier 1/2 ounce shiner jig in a pink color. We both tipped the jigs with leeeches.
After a few minutes Rick decided to add a classic red and white snap bobber to his line to keep the jig about a foot off the bottom. I continued to use the standard jigging method with no float.
Well, apparently the bobber was the preferred method because Rick caught walleyes of 14-, 18-, and 20-inches; all were returned to the lake. I wasn't skunked, I managed to catch a northern pike and six, count them six, rock bass. Not exactly my favorite fish.
At 9:30 p.m., under clear skies, falling temperatures to about 54 degrees, and a breeze that was starting to pick up to about 7-10 mph out of the NW, we put away our jigging rigs and decided to troll "the Alley."
As usual we both were pulling Minnow Raps (Rick used one in purpledescent, while I used a Tennessee shad color) about 50-60 feet behind the boat at a ground speed of 2.25 mph in 9-11 feet of water.
Trolling seemed to work better for me than jigging this night, because in addition to a northern pike I caught two 15 1/2-inch walleye, both were put back into the lake. Rick didn't catch anything while trolling. At 10:30 p.m. we came ashore.
The final tally was 5 walleye boated in about 2 1/2 hours. Not a bad night of fishing on Leech Lake.
So at 3:05 a.m. I was up pulling batteries out of shreiking sensors. Welcome to June.
At 9:00 a.m., the temperature was a chilly 44 degrees, the wind was out of the west at 17-25 mph, the sky was mostly sunny and the lake was rolling with white caps.
As a result of the fairly strong wind for most of the day, Rick and I took care of many chores on land. While I was on a business call, Rick took out a small "junk" tree that was growing outside my bedroom window and while he was off doing other chores I planted the new flowering crabapple tree that I picked up in town yesterday.
Later in the day we stopped by Jerry Schiebe's to see the Bobcat and John Deere tractor that are part of the Hancock estate. Both are old and neither are worth much. Rick spoke to Noel's son Jeff today and the ball is just starting to roll regarding Rick's interest in buying the old place. Both parties have some homework to do before they talk again.
By 4:30 p.m. the wind had calmed to around 15 mph out of the NW and it is supposed to weaken even more as the afternoon melts into evening. That should provide us with waters safe enough to do some after-dinner trolling for walleye.
For dinner I filleted the walleye I caught the other night and then fried it up in a Shore Lunch beer batter, along with French fries (with malt vinegar of course) and salad. It was, as always, a very tasty affair.
By the time we finished dinner the wind had died down to near calm. What breeze there was came out of the NW at maybe 3-5 mph. The sky was clear and the temperature was a pleasant 62 degrees. The water temperature has warmed just slightly to 60.7 degrees.
We started fishing directly in front of our house using my MinnKota electric trolling motor. I was using an 1/8 ounce chartreuse Northland jig, while Rick was using a much heavier 1/2 ounce shiner jig in a pink color. We both tipped the jigs with leeeches.
After a few minutes Rick decided to add a classic red and white snap bobber to his line to keep the jig about a foot off the bottom. I continued to use the standard jigging method with no float.
Well, apparently the bobber was the preferred method because Rick caught walleyes of 14-, 18-, and 20-inches; all were returned to the lake. I wasn't skunked, I managed to catch a northern pike and six, count them six, rock bass. Not exactly my favorite fish.
At 9:30 p.m., under clear skies, falling temperatures to about 54 degrees, and a breeze that was starting to pick up to about 7-10 mph out of the NW, we put away our jigging rigs and decided to troll "the Alley."
As usual we both were pulling Minnow Raps (Rick used one in purpledescent, while I used a Tennessee shad color) about 50-60 feet behind the boat at a ground speed of 2.25 mph in 9-11 feet of water.
Trolling seemed to work better for me than jigging this night, because in addition to a northern pike I caught two 15 1/2-inch walleye, both were put back into the lake. Rick didn't catch anything while trolling. At 10:30 p.m. we came ashore.
The final tally was 5 walleye boated in about 2 1/2 hours. Not a bad night of fishing on Leech Lake.
Monday, May 30, 2011
May 30, 2011 -- Memorial Day On Leech Lake
Early in the morning -- and I'm talking about 2:30 a.m. -- on this Memorial Day, there was thunder and rain. By 9:00 a.m. the rain had stopped, but the sky was dark and overcast, the temperature was a cool 48 degrees (I just heard the furnace kick on) and the wind, from what I can tell my the movement of the flags, is a relatively light 5-7 mph out of the north. According to the National Weather Service, the wind is at 16 mph out of the ESE.
As the day wears on, however, the weather is supposed to get real nasty. Here's a quote from the http://www.weather.com/ web site: "Severe thunderstorms with hail, high winds, and tornadoes will rock the Plains and Upper Midwest on Memorial Day." (That includes Leech Lake.)
In fact, I heard on the radio yesterday that we could get winds up to 25 mph today and as high as 33 mph on Tuesday. If that's the case, we will not be fishing for the next couple of days.
At 11:00 a.m., after a pancake breakfast and maple syrup made by Jerry Schiebe from Ottertail Peninsula maples, Rick and I went fishing. The wind was 10-15 mph out of the ENE, which meant that along our shoreline the water was calm for about 50 yards out from the shore.
There were a dozen boats or more in front of the house, so we motored down to the Birches to try for some perch and maybe a walleye. Once there I decided to fire up the Honda 8hp kicker motor and while it would run while idling it stalled out when put into gear. I'll have to have that checked out by either Mark Ashe (the local mechanic from New Leech Lake Campground) or Corner Sports when I take the boat out in October.
We didn't catch much at the Birches, I think I caught a couple of small perch, so we moved back in front of the house. I caught a few more perch, but Rick came up empty.
Once on shore -- at 1:15 p.m. -- I cleaned one of the two walleye we had in the basket and took it to Jerry Schiebe to repay the favor he did us by giving us a jar of homemade maple syrup. In about 45 minutes from now, Rick and I are going next door for a BBQ with the Newman men -- John, John Jr. and Greg. I understand that "danger dogs" will be on the menu.
The weather remains grey, overcast, with a temperature of 44 degrees. The wind is out of the ENE at about 15 mph and everything is wet. It's not raining per se, it's just wet. Not the kind of Memorial Day weather that entices tourists to Leech Lake; which is fine by me.
Rick and I did dine with John and Johnny Newman (Greg had gone to their home in the Twin Cities with his mom and sister on Sunday). And we did indeed have burgers and danger dogs. After dinner Rick and I came back to my place where we got ready to go fishing.
The weather reports were of a tornado watch for our area and expected severe thunderstorms as the evening progressed, but when we hit the water at 8:15 p.m., there was little sun light peaking through the heavy clouds, the wind was at 12-17 mph out of the ENE, and the temperature was about 63 degrees; it actually felt balmy.
We fished in "the Alley," and saw only three other boats, one of which were the Newman's in their rowboat. The water temperature remained at 60 degrees.
We trolled Minnow Raps (I used my Tennessee Shad color while Rick opted for purpledescent) in 9-13 feet of water. Tonight the bite was slow, I caught three northern pike and a 17 3/4-inch walleye. Rick, for the second time today, came up empty.
As we were motoring back to the lift, we could see flashes of lightening across the sky to the southwest and could hear the low rumble of far-off thunder. It's hard to tell if the storm will move in on us or pass us altogether.
Since the reports are calling for "strong thunderstorms" and possible "damaging hail," I decided to move the truck from its usual spot in the driveway at the house into the big garage at the cabin. On my way back from the cabin I could bright flashes of lightening directly overhead. Maybe the storm is getting closer.
A quick report from the Newman's on their fishing tonight. In their little rowboat (the Johnson 6hp clunked out) they rowed into 10 feet of water and used lighted slip-bobber rigged with Northland Gumball jigs and tipped with fatheads. Foth father and son caught 22-inch walleye, while John Sr. also added a nice "eater" walleye and a jumbo perch. Just goes to show you that you don't need a fancy boat or expensive tackle to catch nice Leech Lake walleye.
The web site http://www.weather.com/ predicted the "severe thunderstorms" to hit our area at 11:30 p.m., and right on time, at exactly 11:30 p.m., the rain started pounded the windows of our living room, lightening lit up the sky, thunder rumbled and the wind began to howl.
As I sign off for the night, it is raining and there are still occasional flashes of lightening. Good night.
As the day wears on, however, the weather is supposed to get real nasty. Here's a quote from the http://www.weather.com/ web site: "Severe thunderstorms with hail, high winds, and tornadoes will rock the Plains and Upper Midwest on Memorial Day." (That includes Leech Lake.)
In fact, I heard on the radio yesterday that we could get winds up to 25 mph today and as high as 33 mph on Tuesday. If that's the case, we will not be fishing for the next couple of days.
At 11:00 a.m., after a pancake breakfast and maple syrup made by Jerry Schiebe from Ottertail Peninsula maples, Rick and I went fishing. The wind was 10-15 mph out of the ENE, which meant that along our shoreline the water was calm for about 50 yards out from the shore.
There were a dozen boats or more in front of the house, so we motored down to the Birches to try for some perch and maybe a walleye. Once there I decided to fire up the Honda 8hp kicker motor and while it would run while idling it stalled out when put into gear. I'll have to have that checked out by either Mark Ashe (the local mechanic from New Leech Lake Campground) or Corner Sports when I take the boat out in October.
We didn't catch much at the Birches, I think I caught a couple of small perch, so we moved back in front of the house. I caught a few more perch, but Rick came up empty.
Once on shore -- at 1:15 p.m. -- I cleaned one of the two walleye we had in the basket and took it to Jerry Schiebe to repay the favor he did us by giving us a jar of homemade maple syrup. In about 45 minutes from now, Rick and I are going next door for a BBQ with the Newman men -- John, John Jr. and Greg. I understand that "danger dogs" will be on the menu.
The weather remains grey, overcast, with a temperature of 44 degrees. The wind is out of the ENE at about 15 mph and everything is wet. It's not raining per se, it's just wet. Not the kind of Memorial Day weather that entices tourists to Leech Lake; which is fine by me.
Rick and I did dine with John and Johnny Newman (Greg had gone to their home in the Twin Cities with his mom and sister on Sunday). And we did indeed have burgers and danger dogs. After dinner Rick and I came back to my place where we got ready to go fishing.
The weather reports were of a tornado watch for our area and expected severe thunderstorms as the evening progressed, but when we hit the water at 8:15 p.m., there was little sun light peaking through the heavy clouds, the wind was at 12-17 mph out of the ENE, and the temperature was about 63 degrees; it actually felt balmy.
We fished in "the Alley," and saw only three other boats, one of which were the Newman's in their rowboat. The water temperature remained at 60 degrees.
We trolled Minnow Raps (I used my Tennessee Shad color while Rick opted for purpledescent) in 9-13 feet of water. Tonight the bite was slow, I caught three northern pike and a 17 3/4-inch walleye. Rick, for the second time today, came up empty.
As we were motoring back to the lift, we could see flashes of lightening across the sky to the southwest and could hear the low rumble of far-off thunder. It's hard to tell if the storm will move in on us or pass us altogether.
Since the reports are calling for "strong thunderstorms" and possible "damaging hail," I decided to move the truck from its usual spot in the driveway at the house into the big garage at the cabin. On my way back from the cabin I could bright flashes of lightening directly overhead. Maybe the storm is getting closer.
A quick report from the Newman's on their fishing tonight. In their little rowboat (the Johnson 6hp clunked out) they rowed into 10 feet of water and used lighted slip-bobber rigged with Northland Gumball jigs and tipped with fatheads. Foth father and son caught 22-inch walleye, while John Sr. also added a nice "eater" walleye and a jumbo perch. Just goes to show you that you don't need a fancy boat or expensive tackle to catch nice Leech Lake walleye.
The web site http://www.weather.com/ predicted the "severe thunderstorms" to hit our area at 11:30 p.m., and right on time, at exactly 11:30 p.m., the rain started pounded the windows of our living room, lightening lit up the sky, thunder rumbled and the wind began to howl.
As I sign off for the night, it is raining and there are still occasional flashes of lightening. Good night.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
May 24, 2011 -- On Leech Lake
Today the sky was grey and overcast all day long. At mid-morning the temperature was only 46 degrees and it didn't get past 60 throughout the day. The wind remained pretty steady all day at 12-15 mph out of the north.
After being up so late the previous night, neither Rick nor I arose early. We pretty much just hung out around the house most of the day, before tackling a few chores later in the afternoon. Rick took a look at some faulty wiring on a trailer of John Newman's. Then we took down two dead trees that were on the Newman's land near our property. Of course we checked with Karen Newman first to make sure she (and John) were OK with us removing the trees. We didn't want a strong wind to bring them down randomly.
At around 7:30 p.m., I got the grill going for the porterhouse steaks Rick bought at the store yesterday. They look like very good cuts of meat and should be tasty.
As the day has moved toward evening the sky has cleared some and there is now some blue to been seen, and the sun is peeking through the clouds. The wind has slowed considerably and is now blowing at 5-8 mph out of the north. The temperature is about 52 degrees.
Tonight is the last night Kathleen will be in St. Cloud visiting her mother. Tomorrow Kathleen flies to San Francisco and will be in our house in San Jose by 7:00 p.m. How weird that someone can go from one environment and setting to another so completely different is such a short amount of time.
At 9:15 p.m. we went fishing. Like last night, I used the bluegill colored Lindy Shadling and Rick used a purpledescent Rapala Minnow Rap. About an hour into our fishing, I had caught two northerns and had to deal with at least two tangles with the Lindy Shadling. The design of the Shadling is such that if you use a locking swivel (which I do to reduce line twist) the action of the lure ends up catching the line in the lead treble hook. On two occasions tonight, and two more last night, my lure got tangled up in the line. Not a great design for a lure that is meant to be used for trolling. After it happened the second time tonight I changed from the Shadling to my old reliable Rapala Minnow Rap, in the Tennessee shad color. No problems with the Minnow Rap. Live and learn.
On our last pass by Second Duck Point on our way back to the cabin, Rick hooked into a nice 20-inch walleye; which was immediately released back into the lake. The wind was still blowing out of the north at about 10 mph, the water temperature was right around 60 degrees, the moon was 50% waning and was scheduled to rise at 1:32 a.m. CDT, and the air temperature was a very cool 40 degrees.
We came ashore around 10:45 p.m. and caught the end of the Sharks vs. Canucks Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. The Canucks won 3-2 in OT and won the series 4 games to 1. Another disappointing end to the Sharks season. No more hockey for me this year.
I've got a number of business and home related calls and projects to attend to tomorrow, so I'll sign off for now.
sj: 2 pike
rs: 20" walleye
After being up so late the previous night, neither Rick nor I arose early. We pretty much just hung out around the house most of the day, before tackling a few chores later in the afternoon. Rick took a look at some faulty wiring on a trailer of John Newman's. Then we took down two dead trees that were on the Newman's land near our property. Of course we checked with Karen Newman first to make sure she (and John) were OK with us removing the trees. We didn't want a strong wind to bring them down randomly.
At around 7:30 p.m., I got the grill going for the porterhouse steaks Rick bought at the store yesterday. They look like very good cuts of meat and should be tasty.
As the day has moved toward evening the sky has cleared some and there is now some blue to been seen, and the sun is peeking through the clouds. The wind has slowed considerably and is now blowing at 5-8 mph out of the north. The temperature is about 52 degrees.
Tonight is the last night Kathleen will be in St. Cloud visiting her mother. Tomorrow Kathleen flies to San Francisco and will be in our house in San Jose by 7:00 p.m. How weird that someone can go from one environment and setting to another so completely different is such a short amount of time.
At 9:15 p.m. we went fishing. Like last night, I used the bluegill colored Lindy Shadling and Rick used a purpledescent Rapala Minnow Rap. About an hour into our fishing, I had caught two northerns and had to deal with at least two tangles with the Lindy Shadling. The design of the Shadling is such that if you use a locking swivel (which I do to reduce line twist) the action of the lure ends up catching the line in the lead treble hook. On two occasions tonight, and two more last night, my lure got tangled up in the line. Not a great design for a lure that is meant to be used for trolling. After it happened the second time tonight I changed from the Shadling to my old reliable Rapala Minnow Rap, in the Tennessee shad color. No problems with the Minnow Rap. Live and learn.
On our last pass by Second Duck Point on our way back to the cabin, Rick hooked into a nice 20-inch walleye; which was immediately released back into the lake. The wind was still blowing out of the north at about 10 mph, the water temperature was right around 60 degrees, the moon was 50% waning and was scheduled to rise at 1:32 a.m. CDT, and the air temperature was a very cool 40 degrees.
We came ashore around 10:45 p.m. and caught the end of the Sharks vs. Canucks Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. The Canucks won 3-2 in OT and won the series 4 games to 1. Another disappointing end to the Sharks season. No more hockey for me this year.
I've got a number of business and home related calls and projects to attend to tomorrow, so I'll sign off for now.
sj: 2 pike
rs: 20" walleye
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
On Leech Lake, July 6, 2010
Rick with a 23" Leech Lake walleye
This morning was filled with work calls for me, so Rick went over to the cabin and began the process of installing the rain gutters.
There are only three places we need the gutters -- the back side of the cabin facing north (which is a 53-foot run) and then in the two valleys of the dormer over the front porch which are 8-foot runs in one direction and 16-foot runs in the other. So a total of 101 feet of gutter is needed.
In the afternoon Rick and I made another run into Bemidji. We returned some of the "ice and snow" material, as well as some metal flashing, to Pro Build, we returned the nail gun to Acme Tools, and two boxes of unused nail coils to Home Depot. All together, we returned nearly $450 of unused supplies.
After a meal at Brigid's Cross, an English pub in downtown Bemidji, we drove back to Leech Lake for a trip out onto the water.
We went fishing at 9:15 p.m. The water temperature was 76.5 degrees, the wind was at 5-8 mph from the WSW, the moon 34% waning, and the air temperature was in the mid-60s.
We trolled our usual route using Minnow Raps at a ground speed bewteen 2.1 and 2.5 mph. We caught only one fish tonight, not counting the stupid rock bass I snagged, but it was nice 23-inch walleye (pictured above). We came ashore at just after 11:00 p.m. It was another beautiful night on Leech Lake.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
July 28, 2009 -- At Leech Lake
1 Day and Counting...
Tomorrow afternoon at 4:15 p.m. I am scheduled to fly from Bemidji to Minneapolis on the first leg of my journey back to San Jose. While I will miss being at Leech Lake, and everything that I love doing here, I am looking forward to seeing Kathleen, Jayden, the kids and my dogs. I received some very nice photos from Kathleen today reminding me of home and why I'll enjoy being there too. Thanks.
The temperature here at the lake at 9:00 a.m. was 54 degrees. I had left many windows open in the house the past few days because the temperature had climbed into the mid-70s, but this morning I had to scramble to shut them so I could turn on the furnace. Yes, my furnace is running as I type this in an attempt to get the inside of the house warmed to the mid-60s. At 58 degrees, it's currently just a little warmer inside than outside.
The sky is gray and overcast, and once again the wind is blowing hard at 12-18 mph out of the NW, with gusts up over 20 mph. The lake is choppy with good-sized waves and a few white caps. I've not yet seen any boats on Sucker Bay this morning, but I'm sure the FIB's will be out later, if they aren't already.
(NOTE: I heard from Tom Malay that the FIB's are friends of Frank, the owner of Birch Ridge Resort and that they caught 3 walleyes and a number of jumbo perch while fishing in front of Tom's place yesterday.)
Tomorrow afternoon at 4:15 p.m. I am scheduled to fly from Bemidji to Minneapolis on the first leg of my journey back to San Jose. While I will miss being at Leech Lake, and everything that I love doing here, I am looking forward to seeing Kathleen, Jayden, the kids and my dogs. I received some very nice photos from Kathleen today reminding me of home and why I'll enjoy being there too. Thanks.
The temperature here at the lake at 9:00 a.m. was 54 degrees. I had left many windows open in the house the past few days because the temperature had climbed into the mid-70s, but this morning I had to scramble to shut them so I could turn on the furnace. Yes, my furnace is running as I type this in an attempt to get the inside of the house warmed to the mid-60s. At 58 degrees, it's currently just a little warmer inside than outside.
The sky is gray and overcast, and once again the wind is blowing hard at 12-18 mph out of the NW, with gusts up over 20 mph. The lake is choppy with good-sized waves and a few white caps. I've not yet seen any boats on Sucker Bay this morning, but I'm sure the FIB's will be out later, if they aren't already.
(NOTE: I heard from Tom Malay that the FIB's are friends of Frank, the owner of Birch Ridge Resort and that they caught 3 walleyes and a number of jumbo perch while fishing in front of Tom's place yesterday.)
I did many chores around the properties today in preparation for leaving tomorrow. I put away camp chairs we use around the fire pit at the cabin, I collected the garbage (which I'll take to the community center tomorrow), I dusted and vacuumed the living room and many other mundane chores I won't recount here.
At 4:15 p.m., the same time I'm scheduled leave Bemidji tomorrow, I decided to go fishing. The wind was still strong at 12-15 mph out of the WNW, but I figured I won't have a chance to fish on Leech Lake again until this Fall -- early- to mid-September if I'm lucky -- so I better go now.
I motored out to 14 feet of water, which has cooled to 70.2 degrees, deployed the drift sock and dropped my Lindy Max Gap jig tipped with Northland Slurpie Grub in Alabama craw color into the water. During the next hour and 45 minutes I made four drifts from 14 feet of water in front of the Malay's cabin to 8 feet of water. No, I wasn't trying to mimic the FIBs, this is a spot I've marked with a waypoint on my electronics.
During those 105 minutes I caught numerous perch, including several very nice jumbo perch. If I weren't leaving tomorrow I would have kept some of them for a fish fry. As is was, I had a nice jumbo sitting in an aerated bucket back at the cabin which was going to be my dinner tonight.
I came ashore just before 6:00 p.m., put many items from the boat into the garage for storage until my return this Fall, then turned my attentions to cleaning the perch.
Using my Leech Lake fillet knife, which was designed and engineered by Don Canney, I made short work of that perch. By the way, I met Don Canney last year during my stay at Leech Lake. I needed to have my knife sharpened by a pro and the folks at Reed's Sporting Goods in Walker, MN suggested I contact the man who made my knife, Mr. Canney, who happens to have a house on Leech Lake near Kabekona Bay.
I took my knife to Canney's house and he took me downstairs to his workshop, sharpened my knife, showed me how to sharpen it properly and then showed me a number of knives he was making. A unique experience, but back to the events of tonight.
In addition to my fried perch, I made some home-fried potatoes and had a big bowl of spinach and vegetable salad. After my great dinner, I cleaned up the kitchen and then went out to the end of the dock to check the weather situation.
During my dinner it had rained a little, but the wind was finally starting to die down, to roughly 8-12 mph out of the WNW. After doing my "over-the-water" weather check, I decided the conditions were suitable for an evening troll. I gathered up something to drink, my flashlight and went next door to the boat.
The moon tonight was 49 percent waxing, or a half moon, the water temperature had dropped even more to 69.8 degrees, and the air temperature was a cool 56 degrees. The low tonight is supposed to drop to 45 degrees; great late-July weather.
I trolled The Alley in 8-10 feet of water using my hot-steel colored #9 Minnow Rap and caught two beautiful "eater" walleyes. The first was 16 1/2" and the second fish was 17 3/4". Again, if I weren't leaving for California tomorrow, one, if not both, of those fish would have ended up in the livewell. As it was, both were returned safely to the waters of Leech Lake.
I caught the second walleye directly in front of our properties in 9 feet of water. It was only 10:15 p.m., but I figured it was time to go ashore for the night. What better way for me to wrap up my final night of trolling (for several weeks anyway) by catching a nice 17 3/4" walleye right between our house and cabin.
I pulled the boat into the boat lift, walked down the dock onto shore, made my way back to the house and completed another fantastic night of walleye fishing on Leech Lake.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
July 26, 2009 -- At Leech Lake
3 Days and Counting...
This morning at 9:00 a.m. it was nearly 70 degrees on its way to a high of 78 degrees, the sky was sunny, but it was windy. The wind was out of the WNW at 12-18 mph creating nice swells on the lake and the occasional white cap.
While I was enjoying my third cup of coffee on the back deck of our house watching the beauty of a Leech Lake morning, Tom Malay stopped by with the Sunday papers from Minneapolis and Bemidji. We spoke for a few minutes, and then he had to leave. He is working at Birch Ridge Resort again today.
After I finished reading the Sunday papers and had had some breakfast I went out onto the lake to do some fishing. I started in 14 feet of water in front of Malay's cabin using a jig tipped with a leech. I had numerous bites, but caught only a couple of small perch.
Once I had exhausted my supply of leeches, I switched to Northland Slurpie Grubs in an Alabama Craw color. Instantly, the number of bites I was getting increased and I started hooking many more fish. I guess plastics really are the future!
From 12:15 p.m. to just before 4:00 p.m. I caught dozens of perch, a few rock bass and a small northern pike. I kept one of the jumbo perch that I caught for a future fish fry. I fly back to California on Wednesday and I'd like one last Leech Lake fish fry before I leave. A walleye, even a 16" fish, is more fish than I can eat in one meal. A nice 12" jumbo perch is the perfect size for my one-person dinner table.
By 8:00 p.m. tonight the wind had died down to completely calm; there was barely a ripple on the lake. I decided that I'd go out early and try jigging with my Northland Slurpie Grub before switching to trolling a crankbait for walleye.
I caught a couple of small perch with the jig and plastic combo, but had no where near the action I had had earlier in the day. At 9:15 p.m. I put away my spinning rod and reel and switched to my baitcasting rig with the #9 Minnow Rap.
I trolled The Alley from 9:15 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. but caught only one northern pike and a couple of rock bass; no walleye. The water temperature tonight varied from 71.6 to 72.3 degrees depending on my location and depth.
With no wind at all on the lake tonight, the big Minnesota mosquitoes were out in full force. Even with my Deet-laden spray I was covered in mosquitoes the entire evening. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful night on Leech Lake.
This morning at 9:00 a.m. it was nearly 70 degrees on its way to a high of 78 degrees, the sky was sunny, but it was windy. The wind was out of the WNW at 12-18 mph creating nice swells on the lake and the occasional white cap.
While I was enjoying my third cup of coffee on the back deck of our house watching the beauty of a Leech Lake morning, Tom Malay stopped by with the Sunday papers from Minneapolis and Bemidji. We spoke for a few minutes, and then he had to leave. He is working at Birch Ridge Resort again today.
After I finished reading the Sunday papers and had had some breakfast I went out onto the lake to do some fishing. I started in 14 feet of water in front of Malay's cabin using a jig tipped with a leech. I had numerous bites, but caught only a couple of small perch.
Once I had exhausted my supply of leeches, I switched to Northland Slurpie Grubs in an Alabama Craw color. Instantly, the number of bites I was getting increased and I started hooking many more fish. I guess plastics really are the future!
From 12:15 p.m. to just before 4:00 p.m. I caught dozens of perch, a few rock bass and a small northern pike. I kept one of the jumbo perch that I caught for a future fish fry. I fly back to California on Wednesday and I'd like one last Leech Lake fish fry before I leave. A walleye, even a 16" fish, is more fish than I can eat in one meal. A nice 12" jumbo perch is the perfect size for my one-person dinner table.
By 8:00 p.m. tonight the wind had died down to completely calm; there was barely a ripple on the lake. I decided that I'd go out early and try jigging with my Northland Slurpie Grub before switching to trolling a crankbait for walleye.
I caught a couple of small perch with the jig and plastic combo, but had no where near the action I had had earlier in the day. At 9:15 p.m. I put away my spinning rod and reel and switched to my baitcasting rig with the #9 Minnow Rap.
I trolled The Alley from 9:15 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. but caught only one northern pike and a couple of rock bass; no walleye. The water temperature tonight varied from 71.6 to 72.3 degrees depending on my location and depth.
With no wind at all on the lake tonight, the big Minnesota mosquitoes were out in full force. Even with my Deet-laden spray I was covered in mosquitoes the entire evening. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful night on Leech Lake.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
July 22, 2009 -- At Leech Lake
The approaching storm at 5:05 p.m.
7 Days and Counting...
One week from today I'll be on a plane jetting my way back to San Jose, California and away from the peace, serenity and beauty of Leech Lake. I have many things that require my attention in California so it is necessary for me to be there, but if given the choice, I'd remain here in the northwoods.
Today we awoke to a day much like yesterday -- sunny, but with a good amount of billowy white clouds in the sky, a light wind of 5-8 mph out of the SSW, and a humid 68 degree temperature. As the day progressed, the cloud cover increased, the rumble of faraway thunder could be heard and the threat of thunderstorms hung in the heavy air.
At 1:00 p.m. I took Ashley for a long ATV ride around the Ottertail Peninsula. While we were south of Moose Lane, we started to get pelted with very large rain drops. I turned the ATV around and headed for home. But within a minute, the rain stopped, the sky cleared, so we decided to continue our tour of the peninsula.
This evening my sister-in-law Sandy and her son Jackson are going to be coming up to the lake for a visit. Sandy has graciously agreed to take Liz and Ashley back to St. Cloud on Friday (thus saving me a 6-hour round trip) so Ashley can catch her flight back to San Jose on Saturday. Liz is going to stay at Grandma Coyle's for another week.
I knew there is "a-storm-a-brewin'", but I thought it might be fun for Liz, Ashley and I to go fishing for a little while before the storm actually hit. So at 3:30 p.m. we all got in the boat and made our way out to 12 feet of water straight out in front of our house.
With the slight breeze blowing our boat was pushed north toward Malay's. We all were using jigs tipped with leeches. We caught a couple of small perch, but that was all. Since Liz wanted to go for a run, and Ashley was having a hard day and wanted to go back to the house, we cut our stay on the water short, and headed in at 4:30 p.m.
After dropping off the girls on shore, I went back out onto the lake to do a little more fishing. I was only out there for 20 minutes or so when I could tell the storm was getting close. The temperature began to drop, the wind began to pick up, and I saw some bolts of lightening.
I came ashore at 5:00 p.m., and within 15 minutes the storm was upon us. The wind blew like crazy, the rain came down hard, and lightening and thunder abounded. Then just as fast as the storm came up, it passed. By 5:45 p.m. the sky was clearing, the wind had died down, and it looked as if it will be a beautiful evening.
My sister-in-law Sandy and her son Jackson arrived at the lake at 8:15 p.m. After getting their car unloaded and some brief conversation, I took Ashley and Jackson out fishing.
As usual, we trolled The Alley in 8-10 feet of water using #9 Minnow Raps. We caught a couple of perch and rock bass, and then I caught two walleye. The first was only 14” and immediately went back into the lake. The second walleye, however, was 17” and perfect eating size so I kept it. If we catch one more walleye tomorrow, or a couple of nice-sized perch, we’ll have enough for a fish-fry dinner.
The weather tonight couldn't have been nicer. The temperature was 64 degrees (sweatshirt weather), the wind was slight at 5-8 mph out of the SSW, the water temperature was 68.8 degrees and the moon was 1 percent waxing, or basically still a new moon.
The kids and I came ashore at just before 11:00 p.m. after another wonderful night of walleye fishing on Leech Lake.
Friday, July 17, 2009
July 17, 2009 -- At Leech Lake
It's another beautiful mid-summer day here at Leech Lake. At 10:00 a.m. the temperature is 50 degrees, the sky is gray, overcast and spitting rain, and the wind is 12-20 mph out of the NNW churning up the lake and covering it with white caps.
It is the wrong week to be at the lake if you were looking to do some swimming, tubing, water skiing, or any other activity that is enhanced by warm sunny weather.
The hour-by-hour weather report calls for the wind to die down -- to around 8 mph out of the NW -- by 9:00 p.m this evening. If that is indeed the case, then I will have the opportunity to go out trolling for walleye.
Update: It's now 2:00 p.m. and the wind is still strong at 15+ mph from the NW, the sky is still gray with occasional light rain, and the temperature is 52 degrees.
I saw two boats out on the water earlier, both from Birch Ridge Resort. They were probably vacationers and today is their last day at the resort so they were determined to go fishing regardless of the conditions. The guys in the boat were bundled up in warm rain gear and from the little I watched them through the binoculars, no one watching catching any fish. I do admire their determination, however.
About 5:00 p.m. I was coming back from taking the garbage to the waste bins at the community center when I saw Don Poage and his son-in-law Marty. They asked if I wanted to join them on the lake for some fishing. I said sure, grabbed my rod/reel, some extra jigs (which would come in handy), and a cooler with some drinks.
We left Poage's boat lift at 5:20 p.m. and motored out to 14 feet of water. The water temperature according to Poage's electronics had dropped to 63.4 degrees. The wind was still out of the NW at 8-15 mph and the air temperature was 56 degrees.
I was using a Fire-Ball jig tipped with a leech. I caught a few perch and rock bass, and then something big hit my line. It was one of those fishing moments when you know something big is on the other end of your line, but almost as fast as you recognize it’s there, it’s bitten through the line and is gone.
I retied with a Bass Pro Shops 1/8 oz. XPS Walleye Angler jig in red/black (one of the spare jigs I had brought with me), put on a new leech and went back to fishing. I caught a few more perch, but no walleye. By this time Don Poage was ready to go ashore so we headed back to his boat lift.
It’s now 8:30 p.m. and the wind is still blowing at 15+ mph out of the north. If it dies down a little I may go out trolling tonight. For now, it’s wait and see.
I decided to go fishing at 9:20 p.m. even though the wind was still blowing at 10-15 mph out of the north. The air temperature was 52 degrees and the water temperature was between 62.4 and 63.0 degrees depending on my location and depth. The sun set tonight at 9:10 p.m., and the moon was 25 percent waning.
I trolled The Alley in 8-10 feet of water using my #9 hot-steel colored Minnow Rap. Right at 10:00 p.m., I hooked a fish and I could tell it was a big fish because it had, as they say, shoulders. As I got it up to the boat I could see it was a good-sized walleye. I netted it and then measured the fish. It was a full 23”. A good fish for this time of year.
I made one more pass but caught no more fish. At 10:45 p.m. I came ashore. By the time I was making my way to the boat lift, the wind had died down to a gentle breeze out of the north at maybe 5 mph. It turned out to be a very nice night on Leech Lake.
It is the wrong week to be at the lake if you were looking to do some swimming, tubing, water skiing, or any other activity that is enhanced by warm sunny weather.
The hour-by-hour weather report calls for the wind to die down -- to around 8 mph out of the NW -- by 9:00 p.m this evening. If that is indeed the case, then I will have the opportunity to go out trolling for walleye.
Update: It's now 2:00 p.m. and the wind is still strong at 15+ mph from the NW, the sky is still gray with occasional light rain, and the temperature is 52 degrees.
I saw two boats out on the water earlier, both from Birch Ridge Resort. They were probably vacationers and today is their last day at the resort so they were determined to go fishing regardless of the conditions. The guys in the boat were bundled up in warm rain gear and from the little I watched them through the binoculars, no one watching catching any fish. I do admire their determination, however.
About 5:00 p.m. I was coming back from taking the garbage to the waste bins at the community center when I saw Don Poage and his son-in-law Marty. They asked if I wanted to join them on the lake for some fishing. I said sure, grabbed my rod/reel, some extra jigs (which would come in handy), and a cooler with some drinks.
We left Poage's boat lift at 5:20 p.m. and motored out to 14 feet of water. The water temperature according to Poage's electronics had dropped to 63.4 degrees. The wind was still out of the NW at 8-15 mph and the air temperature was 56 degrees.
I was using a Fire-Ball jig tipped with a leech. I caught a few perch and rock bass, and then something big hit my line. It was one of those fishing moments when you know something big is on the other end of your line, but almost as fast as you recognize it’s there, it’s bitten through the line and is gone.
I retied with a Bass Pro Shops 1/8 oz. XPS Walleye Angler jig in red/black (one of the spare jigs I had brought with me), put on a new leech and went back to fishing. I caught a few more perch, but no walleye. By this time Don Poage was ready to go ashore so we headed back to his boat lift.
It’s now 8:30 p.m. and the wind is still blowing at 15+ mph out of the north. If it dies down a little I may go out trolling tonight. For now, it’s wait and see.
I decided to go fishing at 9:20 p.m. even though the wind was still blowing at 10-15 mph out of the north. The air temperature was 52 degrees and the water temperature was between 62.4 and 63.0 degrees depending on my location and depth. The sun set tonight at 9:10 p.m., and the moon was 25 percent waning.
I trolled The Alley in 8-10 feet of water using my #9 hot-steel colored Minnow Rap. Right at 10:00 p.m., I hooked a fish and I could tell it was a big fish because it had, as they say, shoulders. As I got it up to the boat I could see it was a good-sized walleye. I netted it and then measured the fish. It was a full 23”. A good fish for this time of year.
I made one more pass but caught no more fish. At 10:45 p.m. I came ashore. By the time I was making my way to the boat lift, the wind had died down to a gentle breeze out of the north at maybe 5 mph. It turned out to be a very nice night on Leech Lake.
Monday, July 13, 2009
July 13, 2009 -- At Leech Lake
The temperature at 9:00 a.m. was 66 degrees on a way to a high of 74 degrees. The water temperature had warmed to 72 degrees. The wind initially was out of the north at 8-12 mph, but shifted just after noon to the south at 5-8 mph. The skies fluctuated throughout the day from sunny to cloudy to hazy back to sunny.
At 2:00 p.m. I went out fishing with John Newman. We tried a few spots he knew of -- where earlier in the day he had caught three keeper-sized perch and a 17 3/4" walleye -- but we only caught some small perch.
We moved to a couple of spots I knew of, but again, caught only some small perch. I was using a Fire-Ball jig tipped with Leech Lake minnows (which John had caught while seining at the bottom of my boat ramp) and John was using a "beetle spin" like jig with no minnow. Neither approach seemed to be very effective today.
At 4:00 p.m. we had to come ashore because John was expecting a visit from an excavating company from Federal Dam which was coming out to assess some work John is contemplating for his harbor.
Tonight I went to the Ottertail Peninsula Community Center at 7:00 p.m. to speak to the Ottertail Peninsula Township board about the issue of water level in Leech Lake and the Army Corps of Engineers' plan to lower it. I stated my case and asked the board to join forces with the Leech Lake Association (LLA) and other area township boards in opposition to the Army Corps of Engineers plan. They agreed to do so.
The next steps are that I am going to contact the LLA (which has more "clout" that our township board, according to our township board) to determine its position on the issue and what, if anything, they plan to do about the Corps' plan.
If the LLA is opposed to the proposed drop in the water level in Leech Lake, which I know they will be, I will inform them that the Ottertail Peninsula Township will join them in their opposition, including any formal documentation or communication that would be sent to the St. Paul and Washington D.C. offices of the Army Corps of Engineers.
After performing my civic duty for the day, I came home and got ready for a night of trolling for walleye.
I pushed off my boat lift at 9:15 p.m. and made my way to 10 feet of water to begin trolling my hot steel colored #9 Minnow Rap. The wind this evening was slight, at 5 mph out of the south. The water temperature was 73 degrees, and the air temperature had dropped to the high 50s. The mosquitoes were out in full force.
There was an interesting sunset tonight. To the south of the setting sun the sky was slate gray. To the north of the sun the sky was bright pink. As the sun sank lower into the western sky, the sky over the lake split in two -- the southern half gray the northern half pink. Which reminded me of one of my favorite albums In The Land of Grey and Pink by Caravan.
Just before 10:00 p.m. I caught a beautiful 23" walleye, and it put up quite a fight. That would turn out to be the only walleye I would catch tonight, although I did catch a tiny rock bass (that was for you Rick).
I came ashore at 11:00 p.m. It was another peaceful night on Leech Lake.
At 2:00 p.m. I went out fishing with John Newman. We tried a few spots he knew of -- where earlier in the day he had caught three keeper-sized perch and a 17 3/4" walleye -- but we only caught some small perch.
We moved to a couple of spots I knew of, but again, caught only some small perch. I was using a Fire-Ball jig tipped with Leech Lake minnows (which John had caught while seining at the bottom of my boat ramp) and John was using a "beetle spin" like jig with no minnow. Neither approach seemed to be very effective today.
At 4:00 p.m. we had to come ashore because John was expecting a visit from an excavating company from Federal Dam which was coming out to assess some work John is contemplating for his harbor.
Tonight I went to the Ottertail Peninsula Community Center at 7:00 p.m. to speak to the Ottertail Peninsula Township board about the issue of water level in Leech Lake and the Army Corps of Engineers' plan to lower it. I stated my case and asked the board to join forces with the Leech Lake Association (LLA) and other area township boards in opposition to the Army Corps of Engineers plan. They agreed to do so.
The next steps are that I am going to contact the LLA (which has more "clout" that our township board, according to our township board) to determine its position on the issue and what, if anything, they plan to do about the Corps' plan.
If the LLA is opposed to the proposed drop in the water level in Leech Lake, which I know they will be, I will inform them that the Ottertail Peninsula Township will join them in their opposition, including any formal documentation or communication that would be sent to the St. Paul and Washington D.C. offices of the Army Corps of Engineers.
After performing my civic duty for the day, I came home and got ready for a night of trolling for walleye.
I pushed off my boat lift at 9:15 p.m. and made my way to 10 feet of water to begin trolling my hot steel colored #9 Minnow Rap. The wind this evening was slight, at 5 mph out of the south. The water temperature was 73 degrees, and the air temperature had dropped to the high 50s. The mosquitoes were out in full force.
There was an interesting sunset tonight. To the south of the setting sun the sky was slate gray. To the north of the sun the sky was bright pink. As the sun sank lower into the western sky, the sky over the lake split in two -- the southern half gray the northern half pink. Which reminded me of one of my favorite albums In The Land of Grey and Pink by Caravan.
Just before 10:00 p.m. I caught a beautiful 23" walleye, and it put up quite a fight. That would turn out to be the only walleye I would catch tonight, although I did catch a tiny rock bass (that was for you Rick).
I came ashore at 11:00 p.m. It was another peaceful night on Leech Lake.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
July 11, 2009 -- At Leech Lake
I woke up early this morning and heard the furnace running. I got out of bed, checked the thermostat and found out the temperature in the house was around 60 degrees. I checked the thermometer outside and the temperature was just under 50 degrees. I shut the windows, turned down the thermostat and went back to bed.
When I got up for good this morning, the wind was blowing hard from the west at 15-20 mph, the sky was sunny and the temperature was 60 degrees on its way to a high of only 66 degrees. So much for a hot mid-July day.
Today was the big "White Goods Trash" day on Otter Tail Peninsula where area residents can bring out any old trash they may have -- from old washing machines to TVs to PCs to sofas -- and throw them out in large metal waste bins.
Some old-timers on the peninsula refer to today's event as the "Swap Meet," because of the old guys show up at the community center with empty trailers hoping to haul home some newly discovered treasure.
I went down to the community center to check out the scene, but no one was there dropping anything off, and only Ron Geppert and Ron Newstrand were there, waiting to help people unload their trash.
I came home, and found a message from my neighbor John Newman inviting me over for lunch. He was also hosting Clarence T., the man from whom Kathleen and I bought our house. Clarence, or Clancy as he is better known, John and I sat in John's driveway, drank beer, chatted, ate some lunch, and then we helped John fix his garage door.
I came home around 5:00 p.m. and did something I'd done very little since being here at the lake -- I laid in the hammock. Usually the mosquitoes would eat me alive if I tried laying in the hammock, but because of the strong wind today, the mosquitoes on the lake-side of the house were no where to be seen. I have to say, laying in the hammock with a nice wind blowing off the lake with the sun warming your body is a very relaxing way to spend a half an hour or so.
At 9:15 p.m. this evening John Newman stopped by and we decided to go out trolling for walleye. We each were using a #9 Minnow Rap, me in a hot steel color and John was using a firetiger color. We trolled "The Alley" in 8-12 feet of water, but the shallower water seemed to be producing better tonight.
The water temperature was 70 degrees, the air temperature was 52 degrees, the wind was light out of the west at 5-8 mph. At 11:00 p.m., the clouds started to roll in, but until then the sky was clear and the stars were visible, as was the Milky Way.
John caught two walleyes tonight, both measuring 20 1/2". I caught three walleyes, one measuring 18 1/2", the second was 19" and the third was 17 1/2". I kept the 17 1/2" fish and John and I plan to have a walleye fish fry tomorrow evening.
We came in at 11:30 p.m. after another wonderful night of fishing for walleye on Leech Lake.
When I got up for good this morning, the wind was blowing hard from the west at 15-20 mph, the sky was sunny and the temperature was 60 degrees on its way to a high of only 66 degrees. So much for a hot mid-July day.
Today was the big "White Goods Trash" day on Otter Tail Peninsula where area residents can bring out any old trash they may have -- from old washing machines to TVs to PCs to sofas -- and throw them out in large metal waste bins.
Some old-timers on the peninsula refer to today's event as the "Swap Meet," because of the old guys show up at the community center with empty trailers hoping to haul home some newly discovered treasure.
I went down to the community center to check out the scene, but no one was there dropping anything off, and only Ron Geppert and Ron Newstrand were there, waiting to help people unload their trash.
I came home, and found a message from my neighbor John Newman inviting me over for lunch. He was also hosting Clarence T., the man from whom Kathleen and I bought our house. Clarence, or Clancy as he is better known, John and I sat in John's driveway, drank beer, chatted, ate some lunch, and then we helped John fix his garage door.
I came home around 5:00 p.m. and did something I'd done very little since being here at the lake -- I laid in the hammock. Usually the mosquitoes would eat me alive if I tried laying in the hammock, but because of the strong wind today, the mosquitoes on the lake-side of the house were no where to be seen. I have to say, laying in the hammock with a nice wind blowing off the lake with the sun warming your body is a very relaxing way to spend a half an hour or so.
At 9:15 p.m. this evening John Newman stopped by and we decided to go out trolling for walleye. We each were using a #9 Minnow Rap, me in a hot steel color and John was using a firetiger color. We trolled "The Alley" in 8-12 feet of water, but the shallower water seemed to be producing better tonight.
The water temperature was 70 degrees, the air temperature was 52 degrees, the wind was light out of the west at 5-8 mph. At 11:00 p.m., the clouds started to roll in, but until then the sky was clear and the stars were visible, as was the Milky Way.
John caught two walleyes tonight, both measuring 20 1/2". I caught three walleyes, one measuring 18 1/2", the second was 19" and the third was 17 1/2". I kept the 17 1/2" fish and John and I plan to have a walleye fish fry tomorrow evening.
We came in at 11:30 p.m. after another wonderful night of fishing for walleye on Leech Lake.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
July 9, 2009 -- At Leech Lake
The edge of the storm that made its way up the western shore of Otter Tail Peninsula
The temperature this morning at 9:00 a.m. was 63 degrees. The sky was gray and a light rain was falling off and on. The wind was at 8-12 mph out of the WSW. The forecast for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon is a chance of thunderstorms, possibly severe, with heavy rain and hail.
By 1:00 p.m. the temperature had warmed to 68 degrees, the wind had picked up slightly, the sky was still overcast, but it hadn't rained much, and there certainly were no thunderstorms.
At 4:45 p.m., with still no thunderstorms in the area, I decided to go out fishing. The wind was blowing at 12-15 mph from the SSW and there were 2-3 foot waves on the lake, but no white caps. I thought it looked like a good "walleye chop." The water temperature was 71 degrees, having cooled due the lower air temperature and the wind.
I motored my Lund Pro-V 1800 into 12 feet of water in front of Giza's cabin, just north of Second Duck Point, and tossed out the drift sock. The wind pushed my boat along at .75 mph in a northerly direction.
I was using a Fireball jig in parakeet color tipped with fathead minnow. I caught a few perch, but the overall fishing was poor. The thunderstorms may not have materialized, but the cold front was real enough, and that shut down the fishing. After two passes I came ashore at 6:15 p.m.
By 7:00 p.m. the wind had slowed significantly and was out of the WSW at 5-8 mph. The sky was mostly overcast with just a spot or two of blue sky peeking through the clouds. If these conditions hold, I'll probably go out trolling this evening at 9:15 p.m., which is the time the sun sets on this date.
For now, I'll retire to the living room to continue working my way through Part 2 of William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. I have to say, Faulkner's stream-of-consciousness style of writing makes the book difficult to read, if not impossible to follow in certain sections.
At 9:00 p.m. the wind had actually picked up a bit and I could see a storm moving north. However, it appeared that the western edge of the storm would move over Portage Bay and miss Sucker Bay, making it safe, by my estimation, to go out trolling.
I left the boat lift at 9:15 p.m., as I had planned earlier, and moved out into 10 feet of water. After securing the stern light, putting in my rod holder and getting the landing net ready, I dropped my #9 Minnow Rap into the water and began trolling.
When I was headed in a southerly direction I had to set the Mercury SmartCraft control for 630 rpm to compensate for the wind. At 630 rpm the boat was moving at roughly 2 mph ground speed. With the wind at my back, I could adjust the controls down to 570 rpm and the boat would still be moving at ground speed of 2.5 mph or greater.
The cold front that kept the fishing slow this afternoon made this evening's bite tough as well. I caught one 3-4 lb. northern pike, but no walleye. At 10:30 p.m. I came ashore. Despite the wind, the mosquitoes were particularly voracious tonight.
Tomorrow the wind is supposed to shift and come out of the west at 10 mph. If that is indeed the case, then the bait fish, such and minnows and shiners, should be blown toward my boat ramp making them perfect targets for my seining net. I may be donning the waders tomorrow in pursuit of Leech Lake minnows.
Until tomorrow...
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
June 24, 2009 -- At Leech Lake
I was originally scheduled to fly back to California today. But plans changed and instead I'm still here at Leech Lake; and for that I am truly grateful.
I spent most of today cleaning -- specifically, I cleaned all of the bathrooms. Not a fun job to say the least, but one that must be done regularly. At about 3:30 p.m. I decided I had cleaned enough for one day and decided to go fishing.
The temperature today was in the mid-80s, the sky was mostly sunny, the air was humid and the wind was out of the WSW at 10-15 mph. The water temperature this afternoon was between 74.5 and 74.9 degrees.
I started fishing from in front of Newman's cabin and let the wind push me north toward Malay's. I was in 10 feet of water using an XPS jig in lime green/black tipped with fathead minnows. I caught numerous perch, but no jumbos or walleyes.
At 5:15 p.m. Lainey Malay called me on my cell phone and invited me over for a beer. Since the fishing was slow, I packed up my gear and took the boat back to the boat lift. The lift, by the way, seems to be working much better since Shore Brothers came out today and replaced the clutch plate.
I had a nice time chatting with Tom and Elaine Malay and finally made my way home around 7:00 p.m. After a quick dinner I decided I'd go out trolling.
I hit the water at 9:15 p.m. just as the sun was getting ready to set. The wind was still blowing out of the WSW but had slowed a bit to 8-12 mph. The sky was clear and the water temperature varied from 73.9 to 74.7 degrees depending on my location and depth.
I trolled from south of Second Duck Point to north of Malay's cabin using my #9 Minnow Rap in hot steel in 8-11 feet of water. I caught one small northern pike, 3 stupid rock bass and a very nice 21 3/4" walleye. Catching the walleye made battling the bugs on the lake worth the trip.
As I was getting ready to come ashore, I watched as the sliver of the 6 percent waxing moon set in the western sky. The sky still had some orange, pale green, blue, and purple color to it and the bright white of the moon really stood out in the darkening sky. In the east and overhead stars were becoming visible.
I pulled onto the boat lift and was met by swarms of mayflies and a host of other flying insects. It seems as if every night now some new insect is hatching in the water and making its way to the surface. I guess that's a sign that Leech Lake is alive and healthy.
Tomorrow I'm driving down to St. Cloud to visit Kathleen's mom. I may be able to report from there, but if not, I'll post again here on Friday night. Until then...
I spent most of today cleaning -- specifically, I cleaned all of the bathrooms. Not a fun job to say the least, but one that must be done regularly. At about 3:30 p.m. I decided I had cleaned enough for one day and decided to go fishing.
The temperature today was in the mid-80s, the sky was mostly sunny, the air was humid and the wind was out of the WSW at 10-15 mph. The water temperature this afternoon was between 74.5 and 74.9 degrees.
I started fishing from in front of Newman's cabin and let the wind push me north toward Malay's. I was in 10 feet of water using an XPS jig in lime green/black tipped with fathead minnows. I caught numerous perch, but no jumbos or walleyes.
At 5:15 p.m. Lainey Malay called me on my cell phone and invited me over for a beer. Since the fishing was slow, I packed up my gear and took the boat back to the boat lift. The lift, by the way, seems to be working much better since Shore Brothers came out today and replaced the clutch plate.
I had a nice time chatting with Tom and Elaine Malay and finally made my way home around 7:00 p.m. After a quick dinner I decided I'd go out trolling.
I hit the water at 9:15 p.m. just as the sun was getting ready to set. The wind was still blowing out of the WSW but had slowed a bit to 8-12 mph. The sky was clear and the water temperature varied from 73.9 to 74.7 degrees depending on my location and depth.
I trolled from south of Second Duck Point to north of Malay's cabin using my #9 Minnow Rap in hot steel in 8-11 feet of water. I caught one small northern pike, 3 stupid rock bass and a very nice 21 3/4" walleye. Catching the walleye made battling the bugs on the lake worth the trip.
As I was getting ready to come ashore, I watched as the sliver of the 6 percent waxing moon set in the western sky. The sky still had some orange, pale green, blue, and purple color to it and the bright white of the moon really stood out in the darkening sky. In the east and overhead stars were becoming visible.
I pulled onto the boat lift and was met by swarms of mayflies and a host of other flying insects. It seems as if every night now some new insect is hatching in the water and making its way to the surface. I guess that's a sign that Leech Lake is alive and healthy.
Tomorrow I'm driving down to St. Cloud to visit Kathleen's mom. I may be able to report from there, but if not, I'll post again here on Friday night. Until then...
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
June 23, 2009 -- At Leech Lake
The torential rain during the early-afternoon thunderstorm
It was near 80 degrees and the sun was shining at 9:00 a.m. this morning, but as the morning progressed it kept getting darker, and cooler. By noon, the sky was gray, overcast and was actually as dark as it is typically around 9:30 p.m. The temperature had dropped to 70 degrees.
I did a quick check of the weather on the NOAA marine station on my Uniden Atlantis 250 two-way VHF marine radio, and discovered that the National Weather Service had issued severe thunderstorm warning 497 for this part of northern Minnesota.
By 12:40 p.m. it started to rain, the wind out of the SW picked up to more than 20 mph, with gusts exceeding 30 mph according to the NOAA station. The storm was upon us. I could hear the near constant rumbling of thunder over the lake.
A large blue heron flew by with purpose, possibly on her way back to the nest to check on the safety of her chicks. The trees contorted in the wind and the white caps lashed at the rocky shoreline. Another Northwoods thunderstorm was here.
By 2:00 p.m. the sky had cleared, a gentle 8-12 mph wind was blowing from the SW and the temperature had once again warmed to 80 degrees. I heard that in the southern part of Minnesota the temperatures were in the 90s and in some parts of the state the heat index (which is the opposite of wind chill) was 115 degrees. Heat advisories had been issued in many cities in southern Minnesota.
At 3:30 p.m I decided to go fishing. I started in a spot between Duck and Second Duck Points in 8-11 feet of water. I used a jig and a fathead minnow, but caught only a couple of small perch. I relocated to Second Duck Point, but again caught only a couple of small perch.
I ended up in front of our house, and while more and bigger perch were biting, I still didn't hook any jumbos or walleyes. At 5:00 p.m. I came ashore to get dinner started.
Evening Fishing Data:
Time -- 9:15 - 10:45 p.m.
Temperature -- 70 degrees
Wind -- 8-15 mph WSW
Water temperature -- 72.9 -73.1 degrees
Locations -- Malay's to south of Second Duck Point
Water depth -- 8-10 feet
Lure -- #9 Rapala Minnow Rap
Ground speed -- 2.15 - 2.55 mph
RPM --570 - 600
Fish caught -- four rock bass, one perch, 15" walleye
Good night from Leech Lake.
Monday, June 22, 2009
June 22, 2009 -- At Leech Lake
Today was hot and humid. Temperature at mid-day was near 80 degrees and the humidity was probably close to 90 percent. There was little to no wind, and the sky was mostly sunny with some big white billowy clouds.
Due to a variety of circumstances, my stay at Leech Lake has been extended. Instead of leaving on Wednesday, June 24, I will now be staying at the lake until the end of July -- very welcome news from my perspective. I only wish Kathleen could join me. But she will be busy with work back in California. I miss her and can't wait until we can be together here at the lake; maybe this Fall.
Since I had planned on leaving in two days, most of my day was spent cleaning the house. I vacuumed throughout the house, did laundry, changed the bed linens, etc., before learning that I would be able to stay longer. As a result of doing my chores, I did not go fishing this afternoon. I may go out trolling later tonight however.
Tom and Lainey Malay invited me to stop by to have a beer this evening, so I did. Ron and Sandy Neustrand were there as well, and the five us had a nice chat.
This evening at 9:15 p.m. I did go fishing. The air was heavy with 95 percent humidity, there was no wind and the temperature was a muggy 69 degrees. The bugs were out in full force led by swarms of mosquitoes. The water temperature varied from 72.7 to 73 degrees.
I was joined on the water by four other boats. Two were camped out in front of our house and the other two were using their electric trolling motors to maneuver between our cabin and Newman's cabin. I opted to troll The Alley at 570 rpm, or roughly 2.35 mph ground speed, in 8-9.5 feet of water. I was using my favorite #9 Minnow Rap in hot steel.
At 9:45 p.m. I caught a 3-4 lb. northern pike, which I immediately released. Then between 10:05 and 10:30 p.m. I caught an 18 1/2" walleye and a 21" walleye. Even if they hadn't been in the slot I would have released them. I had a nice walleye dinner last night and I'm not a FIB meat-hunter who keeps every fish he catches.
I made one last pass from Second Duck Point to our house with no fish on. At that point I'd had enough of the mosquitoes and other flying and biting bugs so I decided to come ashore.
I had a very nice day at Leech Lake, and best of all, I learned I will be able to stay here a little longer.
Due to a variety of circumstances, my stay at Leech Lake has been extended. Instead of leaving on Wednesday, June 24, I will now be staying at the lake until the end of July -- very welcome news from my perspective. I only wish Kathleen could join me. But she will be busy with work back in California. I miss her and can't wait until we can be together here at the lake; maybe this Fall.
Since I had planned on leaving in two days, most of my day was spent cleaning the house. I vacuumed throughout the house, did laundry, changed the bed linens, etc., before learning that I would be able to stay longer. As a result of doing my chores, I did not go fishing this afternoon. I may go out trolling later tonight however.
Tom and Lainey Malay invited me to stop by to have a beer this evening, so I did. Ron and Sandy Neustrand were there as well, and the five us had a nice chat.
This evening at 9:15 p.m. I did go fishing. The air was heavy with 95 percent humidity, there was no wind and the temperature was a muggy 69 degrees. The bugs were out in full force led by swarms of mosquitoes. The water temperature varied from 72.7 to 73 degrees.
I was joined on the water by four other boats. Two were camped out in front of our house and the other two were using their electric trolling motors to maneuver between our cabin and Newman's cabin. I opted to troll The Alley at 570 rpm, or roughly 2.35 mph ground speed, in 8-9.5 feet of water. I was using my favorite #9 Minnow Rap in hot steel.
At 9:45 p.m. I caught a 3-4 lb. northern pike, which I immediately released. Then between 10:05 and 10:30 p.m. I caught an 18 1/2" walleye and a 21" walleye. Even if they hadn't been in the slot I would have released them. I had a nice walleye dinner last night and I'm not a FIB meat-hunter who keeps every fish he catches.
I made one last pass from Second Duck Point to our house with no fish on. At that point I'd had enough of the mosquitoes and other flying and biting bugs so I decided to come ashore.
I had a very nice day at Leech Lake, and best of all, I learned I will be able to stay here a little longer.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
June 16, 2009 -- At Leech Lake
The gang's all here, l-r, Tom M., Duane P., John N. Clarence T. and Jerry S.
This morning at 9:00 a.m. the temperature was 60 degrees, the wind was calm and the sky was grey and overcast with a steady rain falling. By 1:00 p.m. the rain was still falling, and had not let up a bit. We need the rain in Northern Minnesota to fill the lakes and ease the drought, and I'm happy because it will provide much needed moisture for the trees and bushes I planted a couple of days ago.
Mark from Shore Brothers stopped by at 11:00 a.m. to discuss the problem with my boat lift. Mark's son Ben was here yesterday looking at the boat lift motor and gear mechanism and determined that the clutch plate was probably wearing out. Mark concurred with his son's assessment and said he would order a new one for me. Mark said he'd come out in the next week or so to install the new clutch plate.
I received word today that some business meetings that have been discussed for the past several weeks are indeed happening during the final week of June in California. That means that I will be flying back to San Jose on Wednesday, June 24. I can't believe that in 8 days from now I'll be back in California. What a dramatic, and not altogether pleasant, thought.
I really love being at Leech Lake, and the transition back to city life is always a hard one to make. I'm not sure when I'll be back to our cabin in the Northwoods, but I'm hoping it will be around Labor Day (if not sooner). If I can swing it, I'd like to stay six or seven weeks -- from Labor Day to the third week in October.
If that indeed happens, I would be here for the great walleye fishing in September and October, as well as the Otter Tail Peninsula potluck dinner in mid-October. That's also the time I'd pull my boat out of the water. Here it is not even officially summer yet and I'm already planning the time to pull my boat out of the water. That's what going back to "civilization" does to me; it makes me plan months into the future rather than loving and experiencing the moment.
At 3:00 p.m. this afternoon I'm going to my neighbor John Newman's cabin for an early BBQ with a bunch of guys from the Peninsula. In addition to John, others who have said they'd be in attendance include Clancy (the man from whom we bought our Leech Lake house), Jerry Schiebe (the current OPA president), Tom Malay (my long-time friend, neighbor and VP of the OPA), Noel Hancock and possibly Norm Hansen (unofficial Peninsula historian and past OPA president). It should be an entertaining time with such an august assembly.
Despite the steady rain, I decided to go fishing at 2:10 p.m. this afternoon. I donned my Cabela's GORE-TEX Guidewear jacket and bib overalls, grabbed the bucket of shiners and took the boat to 9 feet of water off Second Duck Point. I caught a number of small- to medium-sized perch, but no walleye. At 3:00 p.m. I headed for shore so I could get over to Newman's for the BBQ.
When I arrived at John's cabin Jerry Schiebe, Duane Paulsen, Clancy T., and Tom Malay were already there. (Noel and Norm were no-shows). We hung out for about an hour drinking beer and sharing tall tales while John grilled up some brats and burgers. While we ate, Clancy continued to entertain us with an endless stream of stories about Otter Tail Peninsula and the characters long ago who inhabited this part of Leech Lake.
After dinner, and a little more chat, the party broke up and we all headed home. When I got home, I decided to feed my last 5 shiners to the perch and walleye. At 6:40 p.m. I went out onto the lake. The water temperature was 64.5 degrees, the air temperature was 61 degrees, the wind was slight at maybe 3-5 mph from the NE and the sky was overcast, grey and drizzly. The steady rain had stopped, but the air was still heavy with moisture and it felt like it could start raining again at any minute.
I started fishing in 9-12 feet of water off Second Duck Point, but quickly moved to directly in front of our house in 9 feet of water. At the latter location I caught a few perch and a 13" walleye. All fish went back into the lake.
Around 7:40 p.m. the last of my shiners was picked off my Bass Pro Shops XPS Walleye Angler jig, so I decided to go home. John had mentioned that he'd like to go out trolling for walleye tonight, and if he doesn't mind sitting in the rain, I'll be happy to take him out. He leaves for Mahtomedi sometime tomorrow late morning, and since I leave in a week, this may be the last time we get to fish together for months.
As I sit at my computer writing this blog entry I can look out onto Leech Lake (a wonderful sight). It's 8:20 p.m. and I just saw John Newman pull out onto the lake in his boat. I don't know if he's planning to come back to do some trolling or not. Regardless, I'm going out fishing at 9:00 p.m.
I did indeed go out fishing at 9:00 p.m. I trolled a hot steel colored #9 Minnow Rap in 8-10 feet of 64.2 degree water in The Alley. Just as the light was leaving the overcast sky, I caught two rock bass (aka Charlie Brown fish, Indiana walleye, Iowa wall-hangers).
During a slow turn out into the lake off Second Duck Point I hooked a very sturdy 15" walleye. Then on my next pass through The Alley I hooked a beefy 21 1/2" walleye. I made another pass, but caught no more fish. At 11:15 p.m. I came ashore.
I went fishing three different times today. I plan to go fishing as many times each day as possible during my remaining week here. I love being here at Leech Lake and plan to enjoy each and every moment.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
June 14, 2009 -- Flag Day At Leech Lake
Old Glory at Leech Lake -- Flag Day 2009
Today is Flag Day, and as always, I have the American flag flying on the flag pole at the end of our dock. Although today the flag is hanging limp because the wind is calm with maybe a slight breeze from the south. The temperature at noon was 70 degrees. A perfect day at Leech Lake.
This morning at 10 a.m. I counted 18 boats directly in front of our house. The word is definitely out that this is a good place to fish for walleye and good-sized perch. I may go fishing later this afternoon, but before I do I want to plant the Colorado blue spruce trees and lilac bushes I bought when I was in Bemidji yesterday. I also want to fill in the nail holes of the door frame in the game room in preparation for painting.
I spent most of the afternoon planting trees and bushes, and transplanting ferns, but finished up in time to do some late-afternoon fishing. I got on the water just after 4:00 p.m. and stayed out until just before 6:00 p.m. The temperature had climbed to the mid- or even high-70s, and with little to no wind, it was hot on the lake. The water temperature had warmed too, and was 66.6 degrees while I was out this afternoon.
I started in 9 feet of water and let the gentle south breeze push the boat to 12 feet of water off Second Duck Point. I made this drift 3 or 4 times, and although I caught numerous perch, I was unable to boat a walleye.
I am now going to go prep for dinner. I may go out fishing tonight, but it'll really depend on when I finish eating.
At 8:30 p.m. I was done eating my very tasty steak dinner and had already talked to my neighbor John Newman about doing some night trolling for walleye. By 9:10 p.m. we were on the lake with our Minnow Raps in the water. I was using an orange colored Minnow Rap, having lost my favorite Tennessee Shad colored lure to the mystery lunker from last night. John was using the same Tennessee Shad color.
The wind was still calm, the temperature a very pleasant 65 degrees and the water temperature was still 66.6 degrees. Within a half an hour I had a very big hit, and something -- a big pike, or possibly a walleye -- bit through my Fireline taking my lure. That's the second Minnow Rap I've lost in as many days. I went the entire season last year without losing a single crankbait, and now this.
I tied on a new #9 Minnow Rap, this one in hot steel color, and got back to the business at hand -- catching walleye. We made several passes in The Alley before we started to catch fish.
On our fourth pass through The Alley, I hooked an 18" and a 20" walleye and John had an 18" and a 20 1/2" walleye. Almost identical fish.
The two 20-inchers were a doubleheader. John said he had a fish on, so I began to rapidly reel in my lure so I could get the net ready to land John's fish. But as I was speedily retrieving my lure, a walleye hit it. We now had two fish on at the same time. John was able to reach over the side of the boat and use his hand to pull his fish into the boat, while I used the net to land my fish on the other side of the boat. It's always fun to boat two fish at the same time.
As we walked up the dock to shore at 11:15 p.m., we could hear the lonesome cry of the loons on the lake and the croaking of the frogs on shore. Wonderful sounds to hear at the end of a great night of walleye fishing on Leech Lake.
Friday, June 12, 2009
June 12, 2009 -- At Leech Lake
At 10 a.m. today the sun was shining, but the sky was a bit hazy, the wind was out of the SW at 8-12 mph and the temperature was 62 degrees. I heard on the radio last night that the high temperature today was going to be 72 degrees. If that were the case, today would be the warmest it's been in more than two weeks. Maybe summer is finally arriving in the Northwoods.
Today is Rick's last full day at Leech Lake. Tomorrow I take him to the airport where he flies from Bemidji to Minneapolis to Washington D.C. After his conference ends in D.C., he's flying to Colorado to visit his sister before making the long trip home to Brisbane, Australia. I hope it's been a good visit/vacation for him.
After the pot of coffee was brewed the morning, I poured a cup and made my way out onto the dock to survey the lake. I was greeted by a flotilla of 24 fishing boats. Apparently the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tournament is being held on Leech Lake from June 10-13 and a number of the professional anglers decided that the stretch in front of my cabin is productive water (which of course it is).
I see that the leader of the tournament, a Chevy pro from Wisconsin, has a two-day weight of more than 34 lbs. for his 10 fish. That's not a bad weight at all for 10 fish. The tournament runs through Saturday afternoon, so I'm sure I'll have a number of boats in front of my house again tomorrow morning.
At 1:20 p.m. Rick and I took the boat out into 12-18 mph SW winds that created a decent chop on the lake. We started in 9-11 feet of water off Second Duck Point using jigs and shiners. Both Rick and I were using 1/4 oz. Bass Pro Shops XPS Walleye Angler Jig Heads in lime green and lime green/black tipped with spot-tail shiners (which we purchased at Froggy's Sports in Cass Lake and at Birch Ridge Resort on Leech Lake's Sucker Bay).
During the next two hours, and at least three different bouts with rain, we caught 8 small walleye between us ranging from 10" to 15", and numerous perch. All fish were released. With yet another storm front moving toward us, and this one showing some lightening and thunder, we headed to shore.
In about 30 minutes I'm going to go over to the cabin to clean the 17" walleye that's been in the basket for the past several days. I'm going to make pan-fried walleye for Rick's last dinner at Leech Lake during this visit.
As of 5:00 p.m., the wind has calmed somewhat to maybe 10 mph out of the SW and the temperature is 70 degrees. The water temperature was 62 degrees.
After our walleye dinner, Rick and I went out for one last troll for walleye before Rick leaves for Washington D.C. We got on the water around 8:45 p.m. and watched a beautiful sunset. The wind picked up during the next hour or so, and ended up at about 15 mph out of the SW. The water temperature had warmed just slightly to 62.5 degrees and the air temperature was 60 degrees.
In the north there was a very large thunderstorm system that kept us entertained all evening with spectacular lightening shows. There was a smaller thunderstorm system to the west that was also producing lightening. But directly overhead the sky was clear and stars were visible.
Unfortunately, the fishing wasn't nearly as entertaining as the lightening. We trolled #9 Minnow Raps in 8-10 feet of water from Malay's to Second Duck Point (newly dubbed "The Alley") but caught only 3 rock bass and one 16 3/4" walleye that hit Rick's purpledescent lure. At 10:45 p.m. we called it a night.
Despite the lack of walleye action, it was another beautiful night on Leech Lake.
Today is Rick's last full day at Leech Lake. Tomorrow I take him to the airport where he flies from Bemidji to Minneapolis to Washington D.C. After his conference ends in D.C., he's flying to Colorado to visit his sister before making the long trip home to Brisbane, Australia. I hope it's been a good visit/vacation for him.
After the pot of coffee was brewed the morning, I poured a cup and made my way out onto the dock to survey the lake. I was greeted by a flotilla of 24 fishing boats. Apparently the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tournament is being held on Leech Lake from June 10-13 and a number of the professional anglers decided that the stretch in front of my cabin is productive water (which of course it is).
I see that the leader of the tournament, a Chevy pro from Wisconsin, has a two-day weight of more than 34 lbs. for his 10 fish. That's not a bad weight at all for 10 fish. The tournament runs through Saturday afternoon, so I'm sure I'll have a number of boats in front of my house again tomorrow morning.
At 1:20 p.m. Rick and I took the boat out into 12-18 mph SW winds that created a decent chop on the lake. We started in 9-11 feet of water off Second Duck Point using jigs and shiners. Both Rick and I were using 1/4 oz. Bass Pro Shops XPS Walleye Angler Jig Heads in lime green and lime green/black tipped with spot-tail shiners (which we purchased at Froggy's Sports in Cass Lake and at Birch Ridge Resort on Leech Lake's Sucker Bay).
During the next two hours, and at least three different bouts with rain, we caught 8 small walleye between us ranging from 10" to 15", and numerous perch. All fish were released. With yet another storm front moving toward us, and this one showing some lightening and thunder, we headed to shore.
In about 30 minutes I'm going to go over to the cabin to clean the 17" walleye that's been in the basket for the past several days. I'm going to make pan-fried walleye for Rick's last dinner at Leech Lake during this visit.
As of 5:00 p.m., the wind has calmed somewhat to maybe 10 mph out of the SW and the temperature is 70 degrees. The water temperature was 62 degrees.
After our walleye dinner, Rick and I went out for one last troll for walleye before Rick leaves for Washington D.C. We got on the water around 8:45 p.m. and watched a beautiful sunset. The wind picked up during the next hour or so, and ended up at about 15 mph out of the SW. The water temperature had warmed just slightly to 62.5 degrees and the air temperature was 60 degrees.
In the north there was a very large thunderstorm system that kept us entertained all evening with spectacular lightening shows. There was a smaller thunderstorm system to the west that was also producing lightening. But directly overhead the sky was clear and stars were visible.
Unfortunately, the fishing wasn't nearly as entertaining as the lightening. We trolled #9 Minnow Raps in 8-10 feet of water from Malay's to Second Duck Point (newly dubbed "The Alley") but caught only 3 rock bass and one 16 3/4" walleye that hit Rick's purpledescent lure. At 10:45 p.m. we called it a night.
Despite the lack of walleye action, it was another beautiful night on Leech Lake.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
