June 26, 2008, Our 27th Wedding Anniversary

It's hard to believe, but it's been 27 years that Kathleen and I have been married.

Today was a beautiful sunny day with the temperature around 72 degrees. The winds were out of the SSW at about 8 mph. Kathleen and I decided that today we would take a drive to the Itasca State Park, which is the oldest state park in Minnesota, and the headwaters of the Mississippi River. It also happens to be one of the places that Kathleen and I stayed right after our wedding. We thought it fitting to return on our anniversary. Plus, we actually had another reason to visit Itasca, to check out the park facilities and cabins we were going to be using in August when we all gather at the park for the Coyle Family Reunion.

We drove from our place on Hwy. 2 through Cass Lake toward Bemidji and then went south on Hwy. 71. We made our way to Itasca and arrived right around lunch time. We decided to have lunch in the historic Douglas Lodge, located on the shores of Lake Itasca. After ordering our lunch -- I had their famous buffalo burger -- we met with the event planner at the park to discuss arrangements for the Coyle reunion. We discussed a variety of issues with the guy, but then our lunch arrived and we decided to pick up the conversation after Kathleen and I ate.

After completing our wonderful lunch we again met with the event planner, scouted out dining areas and our cabins. With our business finished, we took a leisurely drive back to Bemidji, picked up some groceries and other supplies, then drove back to Leech Lake.

We had a wonderful dinner of salmon, risotto, and asparagus. After dinner Kathleen and I went out onto the dock to watch another spectacular Leech Lake sunset. We had a fantastic time together on our 27th anniversary.

Oh, by the way, no fishing today.

June 25, 2008

Today I switched back to my strategy of fishing right at sunset and after dark, so I hit the water at 8:30 p.m. My preferred method of fishing at this time of day is trolling, so as usual, I used a Rapala Minnow Rap, although tonight I used the "purpledescent" color.

Since the fishing has been very good right out in front of our house and cabin -- to the north to the Malays and to the south between Second Duck Point and Duck point -- I confined my fishing there. I trolled in around 9-feet of water at a speed of around 1.5 to 2.0 mph. This type of speed control is very easy using the SmartCraft feature on my Mercury Verado motor.

The temperature tonight hovered right around 70 degrees, and the water temp was a little warmer at 71.2 degrees. The winds this evening were out of the SW at 3-5 mph.

I caught one small northern pike just before sunset -- which is typical. I find that the northern bite just before the sun sets and the walleye bite picks up just after sunset. And that's exactly what happened. About 30 minutes after sunset I hooked my first walleye, a nice strong 14-incher. Many people would keep such a fish, especially those who stay at the resort, but I released it. A little while later I hooked a very stout 24-inch walleye. What a beautiful fish. Of course being 24" meant it was in the slot and by MN DNR law had to be released on Leech Lake.

I motored into shore just before 11 p.m. after yet another fantastic night on the lake.

June 24, 2008

Today was even warmer than yesterday. Temps hit 82 degrees and the humidity was still very high.

I hit the water around 1 p.m. and started at Second Duck Point using the same rig with which I caught a 16" walleye yesterday -- an 1/8 ounce Bass Pro Shops XPS Walleye Angler jig but in lime/black hologram color, rather than the lime/green color I used yesterday. Today, rather than using a Gulp Alive! 3" black leech, I tipped my jig with a live night crawler. Using this set up I caught several nice jumbo perch and a 14" walleye. I released all of the fish I caught.

After an hour and a half of fishing this way, I put away my spinning rod and reel and switched to my baitcaster which I use for trolling. Today I used a Rapala Minnow Rap, no surprise there, but rather than my favorite hot steel color, or the bleeding shiner I used yesterday, I tied on a perch colored Minnow Rap. I trolled from Second Duck Point to the "Birches" in 8-10" of water and caught numerous perch, 3 decent-sized northern pike and a 12" walleye. After numerous passes along this path I changed up tactics yet again.

I decided to head down to Norm's house -- in the reeds and grass in about 4-6" of water -- and tossed a white/chartreuse spinner bait with two gold colored willow blades. Using this rig I caught a fat 16" largemouth bass and a 24" pike.

At roughly 6:00 p.m. I headed home, in front of an approaching rain storm, and relished my very successful day of multi-species fishing on Leech Lake.

June 23, 2008

Today, rather than fishing in the evening and after sunset, I decided to fish from noon to 5:00 p.m. The winds were calm and the sky was bright and sunny. Temps in the high 70s and it was very humid. A classic, thick-aired hot summer Minnesota day.

I started in Bass Bay where the water temperature was 72 degrees. I was throwing a spinner bait as I made my way from the "harbor" around to Paulsen's house. It was great time, but I only put one small largemouth bass in the boat.

Switching tactics and locations, I moved to Second Duck Point and tied on an 1/8 ounce Bass Pro Shops XPS Walleye Angler jig in lime/green hologram color tipped with a 3" Gulp Alive! black leech. I drifted in the slow current from the south to the north along the point, and hooked a nice 16" walleye. After making another pass with no fish, I switched tactics yet again.

This time I went to my tried-and-true method of trolling with a Rapala Minnow Rap. Although this time I went with a "bleeding shiner" color rather than my typical favorite, hot steel. Out in front of our house in roughly 9' of water I caught a very healthy 20" walleye. I admired its golden color before releasing it back into the lake.

Another great day on Leech Lake.

June 22, 2008

Tonight I started fishing at 8:30 p.m., with the sun still in the sky. Sunset wasn't until 9:18 p.m. with the moon waning at 85%. The air temperature had dropped to a relatively cool 60 degrees, while the water temperature stayed a warm 70 degrees.

I made my usual trolling run from just south of Second Duck Point to just past the Malays cabin. I made several runs through this prime spot in about 8-10 feet of water. I used my favorite lure -- a Rapala Minnow Rap in hot steel. I caught one northern pike pushing 30", another pike just over 20", two nice 16" walleyes and a 22" walleye. I decided to release all fish back into the lake.

I really enjoyed a quiet and beautiful night out on Leech Lake. I watched the sun set, caught a few fish, and around 11:00 p.m. made my way back to shore.

I love fishing on Leech Lake.

Remembering the Summer of '08

I've been making my way through the journal I kept this past summer by posting here my experiences during my six-month stay at Leech Lake. While I'm remembering the summer of '08 it is actually the winter of '09 as I make these posts. Since it's winter, I thought I'd post a picture of our Leech Lake house during a winter snow storm a few years back.

June 21, 2008 "First Day of Summer"

Another very windy day today, with winds 20-25 mph from the west once again covering the lake with white caps and very large swells. The temperature was 77 degrees, making it a very warm first day of summer. But with the strong winds pushing large waves up against the shore, I stayed off the water today. No fishing.

June 20, 2008, "Windy Mittens"

The temperature was 76 degrees today, one of the warmest days since we arrived at Leech Lake just about a month ago. It was, however, extremely windy -- winds at 20-25 mph out of the west, making the lake churn with white caps. I stayed on shore today and planted two small white spruce trees at the cabin (unfortunately, these two trees would not take and would be dead by late August).

June 19, 2008

We didn't leave St. Cloud until after 4 p.m. today, which meant by the time we got home to Leech Lake it was roughly 7 p.m.

Kathleen and I unloaded the truck, put away the groceries and then had a bite to eat.

Since the winds were calm and the temperature was a very comfortable 70 degrees, I decided to do a little evening trolling.

I hit the 69 degree water at 8:30 p.m. and trolled from Second Duck Point to the Malays several times. As usual, I was using a hot-steel colored Rapala Minnow Rap. With clouds of mosquitoes constantly buzzing around my head I patiently trolled back and forth with little success. I was able to hook one 25" northern pike before calling it quits after two hours of battling the swarms of very pesky mosquitoes.