Friday, July 03, 2009
July 3, 2009 -- At Leech Lake; 300th Post
But at its core, this blog is still about fishing on Leech Lake. And today, before I drive down to St. Cloud to visit my mother-in-law Marge, I will make a point to get out on the lake to do some fishing and I will report my experience here in my 300th post on Fishing Leech Lake.
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The temperature this morning at 9:00 a.m. was 63 degrees. The sky was mostly sunny with some large patches of gray clouds. The wind is light at 5-8 mph from the NNE.
The Newmans left early this morning for their home in southern Minnesota, but before leaving, John put his boat in my boat lift in my harbor. I store my boat in the boat lift at the cabin because the water level at the end of the dock next door tends to stay deep enough for my boat to be easily removed from, and put back on, the boat lift.
The current water level in the lake is too low in Newman's harbor for him to get his boat on and off his lift. He was forced to use a winch, and the muscle power of his two sons, to get his boat off the lift and into the water. The water level in my harbor tends to be deeper, so John asked, and I agreed, to let him store his boat here. John plans to return to the lake next Friday.
At 11:30 a.m. I decided to go fishing. Yesterday, I had loaned my chain saw to my neighbor Don Poage so he could cut down a dead tree near his cabin. As a show of his gratitude, he purchased for me a scoop of shiners -- a valuable commodity at this time of year.
With my live well bucket of shiners I set out for 13 feet of water in front of our house and cabin. The water temperature had warmed to 71 degrees. The air temperature had also warmed to 75 degrees. It actually got very hot sitting out under the sun on the lake.
I was marking lots of fish on the Lowrance so I figured I was in a good spot. I put a shiner on my XPS lime green/black jig and dropped it into the water. Within minutes I felt a weight at the end of my line and tried to set the hook. Whatever had had my bait in its mouth was no longer there. I reeled in and discovered that my 3 1/2" shiner had been bitten clean through; only the head remained on the hook. The telltale sign of a walleye bite.
About 30 minutes later, I thought I felt another "weight" on my hook and went to set the hook. Again, nothing was there. As I reeled in my jig to check the status/health of my shiner, a 36" to 40" muskie followed my bait all the way to the side of the boat. I was wearing my polarized sunglasses, so I could easily see the big fish as it chased my shiner to within inches of the water surface. But unfortunately it never took the bait in its mouth and instead made a quick turn and headed deep out of sight.
I did manage to catch a couple of small perch, but that was it. By 1:00 p.m. the wind had all but died down, and so too did the perch bite. I decided it was time to come ashore and get ready for my trip to St. Cloud.
As I was coming up to the house, I noticed that a light breeze had started to blow again, but this time out of the SE at no more than 5 mph. If we get a couple of days of wind out of the south, the fishing should be good again by Sunday or Monday.
It's time to get ready now and head off to St. Cloud. It will be nice to see Kathleen's mom, Kathleen's sister Mary, Tim and Sandy Coyle, the St. Joseph Independence Day parade and A Prairie Home Companion, but it is always tough to leave Leech Lake.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
More On Leech Lake's Great Walleye Fishing
Until then, here's another report on the resurgence of Leech Lake's walleye population.
This is from TwinCities.com, the St. Paul Pioneer Press
Landing a Leech Lake lode
The walleye — and the anglers — are returning to this largely undeveloped north-central Minnesota area, where one guide says the fishing is the best it's been in years.
By Chris Niskanen
WALKER, Minn. — Even after 35 years, Jeff Woodruff hasn't lost the thrill of hooking the Minnesota state fish.
Sure, the walleye isn't a super-charged fighter like a bass, but Woodruff lives on Leech Lake, one of the finest walleye lakes in Minnesota. He may have guided his first clients in the 1970s, but Woodruff still couldn't suppress a giggle Monday when he felt a jolt at the end of his line.
"That fish just hammered that jig," Woodruff, 62, cried out, as he simultaneously reached to grab the landing net.
"He just choked on it. It is one of those good-sized ones, maybe too big to eat," he gushed.
Woodruff has a sweet swing with a landing net, like Joe Mauer belting a double up the middle, and with a flash of the nylon-webbed scooper, Woodruff had the flailing Leech Lake walleye in the boat. With a weather-cracked hand, Woodruff pinned the walleye against a metal ruler and eyeballed a piece of black tape set at 18 inches.
The fish's tail failed to touch the tape.
"Nope, that's a keeper," he said with satisfaction.
The walleye made a loud bonking sound when it hit the inside of the livewell.
PRETTY, UNCROWDED
Woodruff has seen tornadoes suck water out of Leech Lake. He's guided the wealthy and powerful. He has landed a 55-inch muskie. But it has been years since he has seen such good walleye fishing on this north-central Minnesota lake.
"We had no trouble catching a limit on the opener," Woodruff said. "A lot of guys had a limit by 10 o'clock."
With the feds continuing to control the lake's cormorant population and the Department of Natural Resources entering its fifth year of walleye restocking, Leech Lake is getting a helping hand.
I've been following the Leech Lake walleye resurgence for the past three years, so once again I marked my calendar to fish the lake on the Monday after the opener. Last year, on the same day, local bait shop owner Jack Shriver Jr. and I had fabulous walleye fishing, boating dozens of fish, so I wanted to see if I could duplicate our success.
When Woodruff and I sped out of the public landing Monday morning, headed for Star Point, it was no secret the fish were biting. Even on a weekday, more than a dozen boats drifted lazily across Star Point's shallows, with landing nets popping out of their holders with regularity.
Woodruff grew up in nearby Hackensack, the son of a lumberjack. He headed to the Twin Cities to find his fortune, but grew tired of the bustling city life and came back to Leech Lake 20 years ago when he landed a job as a fish-house operator.
Last year, he had 91 guide trips on Leech Lake and enjoyed all of them. In addition to its superior fishing, Leech Lake has another advantage, he said: miles of undeveloped shoreline. The place is just easy on the eyes, he said.
"Just look at this," Woodruff said, waving to an unending stretch of woods and wetlands. "Leech Lake is just a pretty place, with all these undeveloped points. In the fall, you can sit out here and practically watch the leaves change color. The lake's big enough, you don't ever have to sit in a crowd of boats."
HIGHS, LOWS
Woodruff almost didn't live long enough to see the walleye rebound.
A few years ago, he was driving down Woodtick Trail during the muzzleloader deer season when he had a stroke. When he finally made it out of the hospital and into physical therapy, the best he could hope for was to get around with the aid of a walker. Fishing from a boat — much less loading or unloading a trailer — was out of the question.
But there he is today, running his boat up and down the ramp and beating the waves for walleyes. His special gift, he said, is the chance to fish with his 13-year-old grandson, Ian, in a walleye-fishing tournament at the end of this month.
"That's the real bonus," he said.
Ian has learned a lot about his grandpa's fishing life because Woodruff sat down one day and wrote a 30-page book of fishing stories and gave it to the boy. Every so often, the boy calls Woodruff on the phone and asks, "Did that really happen, Grandpa?"
Woodruff has to answer "yes" every time, even to the infamous moment his dangling cigarette burned through the fishing line of a client trying to land an 8-pound walleye.
"Most embarrassing moment of my career," Woodruff said.
FISH R BITING
Possessing a GPS-like mind for Leech Lake's structure, Woodruff wasn't satisfied when things slowed on Star Point. "Let's reel up and try a new spot," he said.
Wind is a critical element of successful walleye fishing on Leech Lake, and a calm day can kill a good bite, so we kept our eyes on the sky, praying a few small storm cells would keep the water frothy and the walleyes biting.
When the walleyes weren't snapping at our rainbow dace minnows and spot-tailed shiners, the perch were hammering our baits. Some were small, but others were 9-inch keepers and a few were nearly a foot long. We were filling the livewell with yellow-flanked perch, in addition to keeper walleyes.
Regulations require anglers to throw back Leech Lake walleyes between 18 and 26 inches, and before long, we both had landed and released several walleyes over 20 inches.
One swam up to the edge of the boat and nailed my minnow as it drifted just below the surface. "Now that's a hungry walleye," Woodruff said.
He said he's satisfied the extra regulations are helping protect the lake's walleyes.
"You're able to keep about half of what you catch, which is good. When you got people paying you to take them fishing, you like to get a meal, too."
Fishing still sustains communities like Walker, even if the resort industry is about one-third the size it used to be. "I remember when there were 74 resorts on the lake, and in the chamber of commerce book this year, there are 23," Woodruff said. "Every year, we seem to lose a few more."
Resorts might succumb to the changing whims of vacationers and rising property values, but walleyes are still a draw on Leech Lake. We outraced a storm to the dock, having landed 15 walleyes, and kept a half-dozen "eaters" and a dozen fat perch.
The fishermen are returning, and Woodruff likes what he sees.
"On Sunday, the white spray was coming from all directions as boats headed back to shore and guys headed back to the city. It's good to see it again," he said.
Woodruff can be reached at 218-547-1405. His Web site is fishrbiting.com.
LEECH LAKE FISHERY AT A GLANCE
State and federal officials are taking a multipronged approached to restoring Leech Lake's walleye fishery.
Federal officials are continuing to cull double-crested cormorants from the lake, in hopes of reducing the population to 500 nesting pairs or about 1,000 individuals. This spring, there were 3,000 individual birds. It is the fifth year of such culling. Experts believe the birds eat not only walleyes but also young perch that are the mainstay of walleye diets.
This week, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources again will stock millions of fry into the lake, the fifth consecutive year of the stocking effort. The stocking continues next year, after which the agency will evaluate the effort. Managers want the lake to have self-sustaining walleye populations, as in the past.
DNR regional fisheries manager Henry Drewes said researchers may never know why Leech Lake's walleye population began to plummet in the early 1990s. He said the most important thing is that yellow perch and walleyes are recovering with cormorant numbers under control.
Friday, May 01, 2009
November 5, 2008 on Leech Lake
The temperature today was 56 degrees and the wind was out of the ENE at 5-12 mph. After yesterday's experience, where Tom and I caught lots of fish at the Birches but caught only a couple of fish at Big Hardwood Point, Duck Point and Second Duck Point, we decided to focus exclusively on the Birches today.
We used jigs tipped with live fathead minnows and fished in approximately 10 feet of water along the edge of the weed line. It didn't take us long to start catching fish. Tom and I started fishing at 11:00 a.m. and stayed on the water until 4:45 p.m. During the nearly 6 hours on the water, we caught untold numbers of perch, Tom caught a 14" walleye, I also caught a walleye (a small 11" 'eye) and we each kept 6 jumbo perch.
Together with the perch we had caught on Nov. 2 and Nov. 4, we had a total of 18 beautiful jumbo perch. Tom took it upon himself to clean all 18, and then we split the fillets. This will be more than enough for me and Kathleen to have a wonderful Leech Lake fish fry.
As it turned out, the walleye I caught today would be my last of the season. I caught 87 walleyes throughout the season, and probably more than 500 perch. It's been a great season of fishing on Leech Lake.
I hope I can get out a least a few more times before we have to pull Tom's small boat out of the water. I don't know how long that will be, however, since the temperature at night has been falling below freezing.
November 3, 2008 on Leech Lake
Once again I used an 1/8 oz. Lindy Max Gap jig tipped with live fathead minnows while drifting in 8-10 feet of water from our house to the Birches.
I caught 7 small- to medium-sized perch, but no jumbos or walleye. All fish were released unharmed.
Today marked the 95th day this season I have fished on the open-water of Leech Lake; a new record for me.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
October 7, 2008 on Leech Lake
The sky today was partly cloudy and the temperature was 54 degrees. The water temperature was a bit warmer at 55 degrees.
I used my standard Northland jig, silver spinner blade and Gulp minnow set up. I caught numerous perch, but no real jumbos worth keeping nor any walleyes.
Once back on shore I turned my attention to a 40-foot maple tree that had fallen on our property. I used my Stihl chain saw to cut it into 2-3 foot sections, then used my log splitter to cut it into fire wood. In the Northwoods of Minnesota, a person can never have too much firewood on hand.
Later this evening -- from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. -- I went trolling. Since my favorite hot steel-colored Minnow Rap had been destroyed by a walleye a few nights ago, I had to switch to a purpledescent Minnow Rap; similar in color to the hot steel. I trolled my usual route from Second Duck Point north to the Malay's cabin in 9-12 feet of water. I caught a very hefty 16 1/4" walleye which went into the live well of my Lund Pro-V 1800 IFS. That fish will make a nice dinner for me and Kathleen.
Another fantastic evening on Leech Lake.
October 1, 2008 on Leech Lake
I started in front of the Birches and drifted toward our cabin. I was using an 1/8 oz. Northland Neon-tone Gum-Ball jig tipped with a Gulp Alive 3" leech. The method brought only one perch to the boat, so I switched tactics.
I pulled out my baitcasting reel, on which is tied a #9 Minnow Rap in hot steel color. My trusty trolling set up. I trolled from Malay's cabin to Second Duck Point and again caught only one perch. With touch up painting needed on the cabin, game room and garage, I decided to call it a day.
Only fair fishing today on Leech Lake. But even fair fishing beats the best day possible stuck inside an office.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
September 24, 2008 on Leech Lake
With our mission fully outlined, Rick and I fished from 8:15 to 10:00 p.m. this evening. The high temperature today was 63 degrees, the wind was out of the SW at 5-10 mph and the water temperature was 62.5 degrees.
We trolled Rapala Minnow Raps in 8-12 feet of water from Second Duck Point to the Malay's cabin. Rick caught a 23" walleye and I caught a 16 1/2" walleye which we kept. Not the best day of fishing success on Leech Lake, but we did catch the one eater-sized walleye that we had targeted.
September 23, 2008 on Leech Lake
A view of Second Duck Point from the water.
September 22, 2008 on Leech Lake: Autumn Equinox
Rick and I took to the boat into the rough water at 1:00 p.m. and started in 10 feet of water near Second Duck Point. We put the drift sock in the water to slow the speed of the boat and to keep it from spinning in the wind. Using 1/8 oz. Northland Neon-tone Gum-Ball jigs tipped with a variety of Gulp and Gulp Alive! baits we drifted for about an hour with no success.
We changed our strategy and decided to troll using Minnow Raps. With this new tactic, we caught numerous perch and we each caught a walleye. Mine walleye was 19" and Rick's measured 20 1/2". Both walleyes and all perch were released.
Later in the evening we went trolling again -- from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. -- but we caught nothing. Not even a perch. This is the first time I can remember when we were completely skunked while trolling Leech Lake.
Friday, April 24, 2009
September 17, 2008 on Leech Lake
At 2:30 p.m., Rick and I took a break from painting the cabin and went fishing. I had purchased some spottail shiners the other day, so we used those on the end of shiner jigs. We also used 3" Gulp Alive! minnows in smelt color.
We caught a numerous perch (including a few nice jumbos), crappie, bluegill and rock bass. We kept one of the big jumbo perch to go along with the walleye from last night.
Rick and I made it back to shore by 5:15 p.m., where we painted the cabin for another 2 hours.
Kathleen's friend Beth arrived for a few day visit. After we all cleaned up from painting, we had dinner, and then sat around a roaring fire in the fire pit at the cabin.
Another fantastic day at Leech Lake.
September 16, 2008 on Leech Lake
The temperature today was 66 degrees, the wind was generally calm and the water temperature was 62 degrees. Rick and I fished from 7:45 to 10:00 p.m.
As has been our pattern, we trolled #9 Minnow Raps in 8-12 of water along the shore of the Otter Tail Peninsula from south of Second Duck Point to just north of the Malay's cabin.
Tonight I caught a northern pike right at sunset, and then walleyes measuring 17 1/2", 19", 20 1/2", and two at 22". Rick caught 18", 19", 20", 23", 25" and 26" walleyes. All told, we caught another eleven walleyes. All were released unharmed, with the exception of the 17 1/2" 'eye, which we decided to keep for a future fish fry.
Another great evening of walleye fishing on Leech Lake.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
September 13, 2008 on Leech Lake
We stayed inside during the day, but this evening Rick and I decided to go trolling for walleye despite the rain. I pulled the boat off the lift at 7:45 p.m., and under a moon that was 97% waxing (although we couldn't see it) I maneuvered the boat into 9-11 feet of water. We let out our lines and began trolling. Rick again used a variety of colors of the #9 Minnow Rap, while I stuck to my favorite, the hot steel color.
I trolled from south of Second Duck Point to north of Malay's cabin, but not as far as Norm's cabin. I stayed in 9-12 feet of water and kept my Mercury Verado steady at 580 rpm thanks to the SmartCraft controls.
During the next 2 hours and 15 minutes, Rick and I caught eight walleyes between us. I caught 2 15" and one 18" walleye, and Rick caught walleyes of 14", 17", 18", 23" and 24". All fish were released back into Leech Lake unharmed.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
September 12, 2008 on Leech Lake
Me with the two 17 1/2 walleyes I caught while trolling the night before.
Rick with one of the many nice sized crappie we caught near the Birches; Second Duck Point is visible on the far right.
The temperature today was a very pleasant 70 degrees, the water temperature warmed to 66 degrees, and the winds were calm.
Rick and I started fishing at 2:00 p.m. using shiners and shiner jigs over Snake Pit Flats to the north and east of Goose Island. Unfortunately, we caught nothing. From there we fired up the 150 hp Mercury Verado and made our way to Big Hardwood Point. The there was also slow, but I did hook into a gigantic walleye -- I'm estimating at least 26-28" and roughly 8-9 lbs. I got the fish to the side of the boat, but before Rick could net the fish, it turned and cut clean throught the 6lb. test Fireline Crystal I was using. Big fish, but no pictures.
Our third stop was the Birches. There we switched tactics and again fished for panfish. Above is a picture of Rick holding one of the dozens of crappie we caught. We also boated a good number of perch and bluegill. By 5:45 p.m., we were back on shore.
Back at the cabin, I cleaned the two 17 1/2" walleyes from yesterday's excurtion, as well as the one jumbo perch I kept from yesterday afternoon's trip on Leech Lake. Tonight we treated Rick to a wonderful fish fry, complete with French fries, Cole slaw and warm dinner rolls. There is nothing tastier than a Leech Lake fish fry.Monday, April 20, 2009
September 6, 2008 on Leech Lake
With the temperature a cool 61 degrees and winds varible from calm to 15 mph and swirling in all directions -- SE then NE and finally out of the west -- Joe and I hit the water at 1:00 p.m. The water temperature was 67 degrees.
While we were in town yesterday, I decided to pick up a couple of scoops of spottail shiners. For more than 95% of my fishing this summer I've relied on artificial baits -- Gulp biodegradables, Northland plastic Slurpies and a variety of crankbaits and spinner baits. But I decided that Joe and I would fish with live bait at least once before he left.
We positioned the boat in 10 feet of water off the Birches and started fishing using Northland Tackle shiner jigs tipped with our spottail shiners. We caught a good number of perch, a few pike, a handful of rock bass, and Joe caught a small walleye. I'm glad he hooked a walleye on his last day on the lake in 2008.
We kept one of the jumbo perch Joe caught, and with the perch we had caught on previous trips on the water, we had enough for a fantastic fish fry.
We headed to shore at 3:45 p.m.
I cleaned the jumbo perch, and the prepped them for dinner. And were they ever delicious! As usual, we served the fish with French Fries, Cole slaw and warm dinner rolls. Malt vinegar, ketchup and tartar sauce joined our table as tasty condiments.
Joe leaves for California tomorrow and I'm really going to miss him. I really love having Joe here with me and Kathleen at Leech Lake.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
September 3, 2008 on Leech Lake
Along with Joe and my mother, we hit the water at 2:30 p.m. The water temperature matched the air temp at 70 degrees. The air and water are starting to cool. Autumn is just around the corner.
We all used similar rigs -- 1/16- or 1/8-oz. Northland Neon-tone Gum-Ball jigs tipped with 3" Gulp minnows in smelt color. We caught dozens of perch, crappie and bluegills, but kept only 4 jumbo perch. Together with the perch I caught a couple of days ago, these four are inching us closer to having enough fresh fish for a fish fry.
My mother was a trooper and stayed out on the water for 3 hours, but at 5:30 p.m. we headed to shore. Primarily because my father was beginning to worry that we had been out on the lake long enough! We'll try again tomorrow.
Three generations of Jursa's -- Ron, Joe and me (Steve) on the lake-front deck of our Leech Lake house.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
August 30, 2008 on Leech Lake
The temperature was 85+ degrees and the wind out of the south was 8-12 mph went we left the boat lift. We headed to the front of Norm's cabin in 10 feet of water, with a water temperature of 72 degrees, lined up the boat along the weed line, and then let the wind push us north toward the Birches.
We were both using Northland Neon-tone Gum-Ball jigs with silver Colorado blade spinners tipped with Gulp 3" minnows in smelt color. Together we caught numerous perch, bluegills, crappie and a few rock bass. A another good day of panfishing on Leech Lake.
Friday, April 17, 2009
August 25, 2008 on Leech Lake
The sky was sunny, the temperature was 72 degrees, the winds were 5-12 mph out of the SSW. I hit the water at 1:30 p.m. to do some drifting for panfish -- I was curious if the great panfish bite from a week ago was still on.
I drifted from our house north to the Birches in 8-10 feet of water along the weed line. I used a 1/16 oz. firetiger colored Northland Neon-tone Gum-Ball jig tipped with Gulp 2 1/2" minnows. For a little added flash, I attached a #3 silver Colorado blade spinner to the jig.
By 4:45 p.m., I had caught numerous rock bass, bluegills, perch and crappie, but none of them the size of the fish I was catching a week ago. Nonetheless, it was a great day of fishing on Leech Lake.
August 20, 2008 on Leech Lake
The weather today was almost identical to yesterday -- a temperature of 85 degrees, winds varying from calm to 8-10 mph out of the NW, mostly sunny skies and a water temperature of 77 degrees.
With the weather identical to yesterday, and since yesterday was one of the best days I've had on Leech Lake fishing for panfish, I decided to employ the same tactics in the same location. And once again it paid off.
I started fishing in 12" of water in front of Schiebe's cabin and drifted SE along the weed line toward our cabin. I used the same 1/16 oz. yellow Northland Neon-tone Gum-Ball jig tipped with a variety of 2" lime-green Gulp grubs, 2 1/2" Gulp minnows in smelt or shiner color, and 3" Gulp Alive! minnows in an emerald shiner color.
I caught dozens upon dozens of perch, including numerous jumbos, lots of pound-plus sized crappies and a few big bluegill. I kept only what I needed for a nice dinner for five -- 3 jumbo perch. Along with the two jumbos and the walleye from yesterday, I had just enough for a fish fry.
At 4:45 p.m., with my mission accomplished, I headed for shore. One small note: upon reviewing the size of the 5 perch in my basket, I decided to let one of them go. The four jumbo perch and 16 1/2" walleye would be more than enough food for the five of us. No sense wasting fish.
Here's an example of the jumbo perch I was catching.
August 19, 2008 on Leech Lake
I left the cabin at 12:30 p.m. under mostly sunny skies, variable winds from near calm to 8-10 mph out of the NW, a temperature of 85 degrees or warmer and a water temperature of 77 degrees.
I again started my fishing in 12 feet of water in front of Schiebe's cabin and drifted SE toward our cabin along the weed line, a distance of roughly 3/4 of a mile.
Like yesterday, I used the 1/16 oz. yellow Northland Gum-Ball jig, tipped with either lime-green 2" Gulp grubs, 2 1/2" Gulp minnows in smelt or shiner color, or 3" Gulp Alive! minnows in the emerald shiner color.
I caught one nice eater-sized walleye (about 16 1/2 inches), more perch than I can count, upwards of 75, including several large jumbos, lots of bluegill, and a number of pound-plus slab crappies. The panfish bite has been outstanding for the past 7-10 days, but today was by far the best action of the lot. I decided to keep the walleye and two of the jumbo perch for a later fish fry.
I finally headed home at 5:00 p.m., even though I would have sworn it couldn't have been later than 2:30 p.m. Another fantastic day of fishing on Leech Lake.
Upon my arrival at the cabin, I found that Kathleen's mother and Kathleen's sister, Margaret, had arrived. I knew they were coming for visit, but figured they wouldn't arrive until later that evening. It was nice to see both of them again, and I promised them a fish dinner with the walleye and perch I caught today. Although I thought to myself that we'll need a few more jumbo perch or a nice walleye to ensure we have enough fish for all of us (I guess I'll have to fishing again tomorrow). Everyone loves a fresh fish fry when visiting Leech Lake.
August 18, 2008 on Leech Lake
My fishing location today was in 8-11 feet of water from in front of Schiebe's cabin drifting SE toward our cabin along the weed line.
Despite the wind, I decided to try a smaller jig than I've used for the past several days. Today I tied on a 1/16 oz. yellow Northland Gum-Ball jig, and tipped it with either lime-green 2" Gulp grubs or 3" Gulp Alive! minnows in smelt color. I caught numerous perch, including some nice jumbos, a number of beautiful slab black crappie and a few nice bluegills.
Around 5:00 p.m. I headed back to shore. On my way I noticed a boat with an Illinois license and saw they had a bag full of fish off the back. Typical FIB meat hunters.
