Sunday, January 25, 2009
June 16, 17 & 18, 2008
This morning Kathleen and I set out for St. Cloud to spend the next several days with Kathleen's mom. We spent Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and a good chunk of Thursday in St. Cloud. Obviously no fishing on Leech Lake these days.
June 15, 2008 -- Father's Day
The winds were strong today, 15+mph out of the WNW, churning up the water with large waves and whitecaps. The sky was overcast and grey, and the temperature was only 56 degrees.
After a morning cup of coffee and a light breakfast, Kathleen and I decided to go sit on the benches at the end of the dock (see picture below; not taken today obviously). It was exhilerating sitting there with the wind blowing straight into our faces.
At some point, Kathleen looked to our left -- south from our dock -- and asked what that was that had blown onto shore. I looked carefully and recognized it as the Giza's boat lift.
Let me back up for a moment. A few days earlier we had some very bad storms, complete with strong winds and hail (see June 11, 2008 post). The waves on the lake were so big that they lifted the Giza's boat up and off the boat lift and blew it onto the rocks on shore. As it turns out, one of the Giza's sons had come up for a visit that day and discovered the boat being bandied about on the rocks.
With my help, Giza's son was as to get the boat off the rocks and out into the very rough water. It was too difficult to get the boat back onto his boat lift, so we decided to pull the boat into my harbor and onto the empty boat lift there (my boat is on the lift at the cabin).
The next day, Marv Giza and his son took the boat off my harbor lift, and using the boat ramp at my cabin, took his boat out of the water to assess the damage. Their boat was severely damaged, suffering several holes punched into the hull. With the boat securely trailered, Marv took the boat home where he would contact Lund about how to handle repairs.
This meant Marv's boat was no longer on the Giza's boat lift. Any one with any experience with boats and boat lifts will tell you if you don't have the boat sitting on the lift for an extended period of time, you better remove the boat lift canopy. Why? Without the weight of the boat holding the lift in place any strong wind will lift the boat lift right out of the water and blow it where ever the winds take it.
In Marv's haste to get his boat home to repair the damages, it slipped his mind to remove the boat lift canopy and now the winds had blown it to the same exact place where his boat had washed to shore a few days earlier.
I got some extra heavy rope out of the garage and set about securing the Giza's boat lift to some trees on shore in an attempt to minimize any further damage to the lift. I then had the unfortunate task of calling Marv at home to tell him that in addition to his damaged boat he now had to contend with a damaged boat lift.
We discussed options about how to get his boat lift off the rocks and back in place next to his dock. I suggested Marv call Mark at Shore Brothers in Bemidji -- the outfit that puts in and takes out my boat lift and docks. Mark has a pontoon raft equiped with a fork lift that would enable him to get Marv's boat lift off the rocks and back in place. Marv did call Shore Brothers, and within a day or two, Mark had Marv's boat lift standing next to the dock -- minus the canopy this time.
Quite an eventful Father's Day.
Our dock and harbor, looking west.
June 14, 2008
We waited to go fishing until later in the day today. At 9:00 p.m., Kathleen and I went onto the lake with the temperature right around 60 degrees, the water temperature at 63 degrees, winds out of the southwest at 5 mph. There were flashes of lightening off in the distance and thunderstorms on the horizon. We thought we'd get in an hour or so of fishing before the storms would force us to retreat to shore.
We started trolling as soon as we left the boat lift headed toward Second Duck Point. I was using my old-stand by lure, the Rapala Minnow Rap in hot steel color, and Kathleen was using a Cotton Cordell Wally Diver lure in perch color. We trolled past Second Duck Point -- on our way toward Duck Point -- but turned around over the flats between the two points and trolled back to Second Duck Point toward the Malays.
During the return trip toward the Malays I hooked a nice 17" walleye out in front of the Giza's cabin. We kept this fish for a later dinner.
Then right in front of our house, Kathleen called out that she had hooked something. She doesn't fish all that much, and she has rarely gone trolling with me at night, so she was really excited at the fight that the fish was putting up. Kathleen finally reeled in a beautiful 22" walleye. I unhooked the golden 'eye and released it back into the lake in accordance with the Leech Lake slot limit regulations. It was the biggest fish Kathleen had ever caught.
By 10:15 p.m. the thunderstorms had moved in very close and we made a hasty retreat to the boat lift. We unloaded our gear, I put the 17" walleye in the fish basket attached to the end of the dock -- I figured I would clean it the following morning -- and we hustled back to the house just as the storm hit shore. The winds had picked up considerably and the rain pounded down.
What a great night on the water with Kathleen, and now a great night inside watching the lightening storm over the lake from the comfort and safety of our living room.
We started trolling as soon as we left the boat lift headed toward Second Duck Point. I was using my old-stand by lure, the Rapala Minnow Rap in hot steel color, and Kathleen was using a Cotton Cordell Wally Diver lure in perch color. We trolled past Second Duck Point -- on our way toward Duck Point -- but turned around over the flats between the two points and trolled back to Second Duck Point toward the Malays.
During the return trip toward the Malays I hooked a nice 17" walleye out in front of the Giza's cabin. We kept this fish for a later dinner.
Then right in front of our house, Kathleen called out that she had hooked something. She doesn't fish all that much, and she has rarely gone trolling with me at night, so she was really excited at the fight that the fish was putting up. Kathleen finally reeled in a beautiful 22" walleye. I unhooked the golden 'eye and released it back into the lake in accordance with the Leech Lake slot limit regulations. It was the biggest fish Kathleen had ever caught.
By 10:15 p.m. the thunderstorms had moved in very close and we made a hasty retreat to the boat lift. We unloaded our gear, I put the 17" walleye in the fish basket attached to the end of the dock -- I figured I would clean it the following morning -- and we hustled back to the house just as the storm hit shore. The winds had picked up considerably and the rain pounded down.
What a great night on the water with Kathleen, and now a great night inside watching the lightening storm over the lake from the comfort and safety of our living room.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
June 12, 2008
Today I fished from 5:00 to 6:15 p.m. The temperature was 72 degrees and the water temperature was 64 degrees. Under partly cloudy skies, the wind was calm at the start of my trip and picked up only slightly to about 10 mph out of the south by the time I headed in.
I drifted around Second Duck Point using an 1/8 ounce Lindy Max-Gap jig in an emerald shiner color, tipped with a Northland Slurpie Swim'n Grub in a Super Glo Lady Bug color and a Berkely Power Bait grub. No fish this evening.
I drifted around Second Duck Point using an 1/8 ounce Lindy Max-Gap jig in an emerald shiner color, tipped with a Northland Slurpie Swim'n Grub in a Super Glo Lady Bug color and a Berkely Power Bait grub. No fish this evening.
Prayer of Thanks
I've always heard that the Native American people in the Northwoods around Leech Lake -- the Objibwe -- would give thanks to the animals they ate following a hunt, or when fishing. When I selectively harvest fish from the lake, I say the following prayer of thanks before I kill and clean the fish:
Thank you Mother Earth
Thank you Spirit of the Lake
Thank you soul of the walleye
These fish will give their lives so we can have a healthy and delicious meal
Thank you.
I just thought I'd share my little ritual with you.
Thank you Mother Earth
Thank you Spirit of the Lake
Thank you soul of the walleye
These fish will give their lives so we can have a healthy and delicious meal
Thank you.
I just thought I'd share my little ritual with you.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
June 11, 2008
The winds picked up again today and were as strong as 20 mph out the ENE. There were thunderstorm warnings and it rained pretty much all day. Around mid-day, the temperature dropped to 50 degrees and it began to hail -- hard! I've included a couple of pictures of the hail that covered the ground.
Needless to say, I decided to stay on shore and do some work around the properties. No fishing.
Needless to say, I decided to stay on shore and do some work around the properties. No fishing.
June 10, 2008
It's been overcast and rainy the past several days, but at least today the winds have died down some. With a breeze of roughly 10 mph out of the NNE and temperatures in the mid-50s, a 15 degree drop from yesterday, I decided to go out onto the lake around 3:30 p.m.
Last winter I decided come open-water season that I'd fish as much as possible with artificial bait and I've stuck to that for the most part. Today I used a 1/4 ounce Fin-tech original Nuckle Ball jig in a green/chartreuse color, tipped with Gulp Alive! 3" leeches. I was drifting off Second Duck Point and caught 3 nice perch, which all went back into the lake.
Around 5:30 p.m., I decided to change tactics and started trolling with the hot steel-colored Rapala Minnow Rap. I love this lure and it always produces for me. Trolling back and forth from Second Duck Point to our cabin I caught a small northern pike, a 21-inch walleye (released) and a beautiful 17" walleye which I kept for a later dinner. I pulled onto the boat lift around 7:00 p.m.
There are many ways to use a Minnow Rap, casting, trolling, using it with a planer board, or even on the end of lead-core line. My preferred method is to tie a Berkley Cross-Lok snap swivel, which can be purchased at Cabela's, onto the end of Berkley 14-pound test Fireline Crystal line. I've found that even when I catch a bigger fish, such as a tiger muskie or a big northern, the 14-pound test is more than strong enough to haul them up to the boat.
I've also done my own testing and have found the Fireline Crystal to be much harder to see in the water than the regular Fireline (in either smoke or flame green). How the walleye actually see it is anybody's guess, but it seems to work for me.
Now I know a lot of guys like tying their lure directly to the line without a swivel, but I've found that with a swivel I virtually eliminate any line twist. Plus, the Cross-Lok snap swivels are much stronger than the safety-pin varieties of swivels. Again, these are my personal preferences, and they work well for me.
It's still early in the season, but I've already replaced the two original treble hooks on my Minnow Rap with new Gamakatsu red round-bend treble hooks. Keeping sharp hooks on your lures is a must.
Last winter I decided come open-water season that I'd fish as much as possible with artificial bait and I've stuck to that for the most part. Today I used a 1/4 ounce Fin-tech original Nuckle Ball jig in a green/chartreuse color, tipped with Gulp Alive! 3" leeches. I was drifting off Second Duck Point and caught 3 nice perch, which all went back into the lake.
Around 5:30 p.m., I decided to change tactics and started trolling with the hot steel-colored Rapala Minnow Rap. I love this lure and it always produces for me. Trolling back and forth from Second Duck Point to our cabin I caught a small northern pike, a 21-inch walleye (released) and a beautiful 17" walleye which I kept for a later dinner. I pulled onto the boat lift around 7:00 p.m.
There are many ways to use a Minnow Rap, casting, trolling, using it with a planer board, or even on the end of lead-core line. My preferred method is to tie a Berkley Cross-Lok snap swivel, which can be purchased at Cabela's, onto the end of Berkley 14-pound test Fireline Crystal line. I've found that even when I catch a bigger fish, such as a tiger muskie or a big northern, the 14-pound test is more than strong enough to haul them up to the boat.
I've also done my own testing and have found the Fireline Crystal to be much harder to see in the water than the regular Fireline (in either smoke or flame green). How the walleye actually see it is anybody's guess, but it seems to work for me.
Now I know a lot of guys like tying their lure directly to the line without a swivel, but I've found that with a swivel I virtually eliminate any line twist. Plus, the Cross-Lok snap swivels are much stronger than the safety-pin varieties of swivels. Again, these are my personal preferences, and they work well for me.
It's still early in the season, but I've already replaced the two original treble hooks on my Minnow Rap with new Gamakatsu red round-bend treble hooks. Keeping sharp hooks on your lures is a must.
June 9, 2008
The winds today were strong, 15-20 mph, out of the southwest, with gusts nearing 30 mph. Rain fell most of the day and the temps hovered around 70 degrees. As the day progressed, the winds shifted to the west, but were no less strong.
I did not go fishing today.
I did not go fishing today.
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