May 31, 2011 -- At Leech Lake

It is the final day of May. It's amazing how fast each month zips by.

Here at Leech Lake, the temperature at 10:00 a.m. was 60 degrees, the sky was partly cloudy, and the wind is extremely strong at 30-40 mph out of the SW. In fact, I had to go out to the end of the dock and lower the US and Australian flags because I was afraid the with the high winds the flag pole might actually snap! White caps roll across the lake, and with the water level as high as it is, waves are hitting the dock and coming up onto it.

At about 11:00 a.m. Rick and I drove into Bemidji to run a host of errands. I needed to settle up with Norton's Heating for the new furnace they put in back in February, I needed to pick up a few items (such as a cable jack and some chain saw bar oil) and groceries. We also stopped at Froggy's Sports in Cass Lake for fatheads and leeches, as well as J&L Oil for a new gas filter for the gas tank here on the property.

While in Bemidji I picked up a Purple Prince crabapple tree, pictured below, to replace the "junk" tree that currently grows outside our bedroom window.


A purple prince crabapple tree like the one to be planted outside our bedroom window.

At 6:00 p.m. the wind was still blowing very hard -- 20-30 mph -- out of the SW. I've never been here when the wind has blown as hard as it is today. I'm actually kind of nervous about the docks, boat and lift being able to withstand the rough, pounding waves created by this extremely strong wind. The sky remained grey and overcast, rain fell intermittently and the temperature dropped from 48 to just 40 degrees. The lake was a strange greenish-grey color.

As I get ready to sign off for the night the wind has not let up. In fact, it's increased! According to the www.weather.com web site, we've got 32-35 mph winds right now and they're expected to blow this hard until 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

When I get up tomorrow morning I'll take a tour of the property to assess any damage and to pick up what is likely to be a small forest of fallen tree limbs and branches. Until then...

Leech Lake Visit Date Set!

Typical Spring afternoon on Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

I am set to arrive at the Bemidji airport on Tuesday, May 10 for what could be an extended visit to Leech Lake. There are still a number of possible work options in play that may keep my visit short, but if things don't pan out on the work front, then I'll be able to spend a good chunk of time at the lake. Not a bad consolation prize.

As is typical for my first visit of the year, I'll have lots of Spring chores to attend to, including getting the boat prepped and in the water, getting the canopy on the boat lift, opening up the lower vents in the house for good summer ventilation, taking down the storm windows and replacing them with screens, a lot of general property maintenance, getting a fishing license, stocking up on bait, and of course, doing some serious walleye fishing.

My May 10 arrival will put me at the lake a full 3 days before walleye Opener, which commences at midnight on Saturday, May 14. I may start the season by throwing some crankbaits off the dock at midnight, and save my first on-the-water excursion until Saturday morning. But as is always the case when fishing Leech Lake, weather will be a big determining factor on my approach to Op'ner.

I'm really looking forward to my visit to Leech Lake because my last day there was November 1, 2010, which is 6 months and 10 days between visits. Too long. Way too long.

I may have a post or two here before my arrival, but if not, look for fishing reports to start as soon as I arrive at Leech Lake. I may get out on the lake for some perch and crappie fishing prior to walleye opener. Stay tuned...

At Leech Lake -- October 19, 2010 (Happy Birthday Kathleen)

Today is my wife Kathleen's birthday. Happy birthday honey. You're more beautiful today than the day I first met you (and you were pretty cute back then too!). I hope you have a wonderful day and an even better year. I only wish you could be here at Leech Lake with me. I know how much you enjoy the lake, especially in the autumn.

The temperature for most of the day was in the high 40s and low 50s. It was windy all day long, with winds in excess of 15 mph out of the WNW sending white caps rolling across Sucker Bay toward our shore. As a result, Tim and I did not go fishing, but rather turned our attention to the many chores of getting the property ready for the winter.

We took down the tire swing at the cabin, so it would not fill with snow. I cleaned out the gutters at the house, which took me close to three hours to complete. I crawled underneath the house in the cramped crawlspace to put up insulation in the vents, which in the spring and summer provide much needed ventilation to keep moisture and mildew from building up under the house, but in the winter would let in cold Arctic air making the floor of the house even colder than it usually is.

And at about 5:00 p.m. I started dinner. I made oven-fried chicken, stuffing and green beans. It was a tasty and hearty meal after a long day of working outside.

I am by no means done with the winterization chores, however. I still have to blow more leaves off the yard here at the house and at the cabin, put up storm windows at the cabin, and sometime over the weekend or on Monday, take the canopy off the boatlift, pull the boat out of the water and take it into Bemidji to be winterized and stored until next spring.

After dinner I called Kathleen to wish her a happy birthday. She was enjoying dinner with Melissa, Joe, Ashley and Jayden. Apparently, the chocalate cake was a big hit with everyone, but especially Jayden. Kathleen, we'll have to celebrate your birthday in a special way when I get back to California.

Until then, good night from Leech Lake.

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.

June 30, 2009 -- Eight Years at Leech Lake

The temperature this morning at 9:00 a.m. was 48 degrees. The wind was strong again today at 20 mph out of the NW, and the sky was overcast and gray. The only thing that suggests it's summer is that the leaves on the trees are green. By all other indications, it could be early October.

The weather, however, is not that much different than it was eight years ago -- on the last day of June 2001. That was the day that Kathleen and I signed the papers at the title company in Walker, Minnesota and became the official owners of our house on Leech Lake.

That evening, Kathleen and I sat in lawn chairs out by the lake, bundled up in sweatshirts and coats trying to stay warm against the strong wind as we watched our first sunset over Leech Lake. It was a wonderful evening and the start of many happy years for us at Leech Lake.

Since I can't go fishing, at least safely, I decided to go into Bemidji. I had to run a number of errands including picking up my newly repaired boat trailer from Corner Sports. They replaced the coupling with new style that provides visual confirmation that the trailer is secured on the hitch, as well as new safety cables and brake cable. I had no problems with it driving back to the lake. Of course the real test will come in the Fall when I take my boat back to Corner Sports for winterizing and storage.

I mentioned the problem I had with my Verado motor sputtering and then stalling, and one of the mechanics said he's had to replace the fuel float on a couple of Verados this year. I made arrangements to have a new float installed next winter.

At 4:30 p.m. the sky is still overcast and gray, the wind is blowing at 20 mph out of the NNW and the temperature is 58 degrees.

After dinner I went over to the cabin and got a fire going in the fire pit. A short time later, John, Johnny and Greg Newman stopped by. We sat around the camp fire and talked for more than two hours. When the Newmans left I stayed at the fire for another half hour or so, and finally doused the fire with a pail of lake water and came home.

Although it was too windy to fish again tonight, we all had a very nice time on the shores of Leech Lake.