September 21, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

The rain approaching from the south; Goose Island in the distance

This morning at 9:00 a.m. the temperature was 62 degrees, the sky was mostly cloudy and the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the south. As the day progressed, the sky continued to darken until 1:15 p.m. when it started to rain.

It rained lightly for about 45 minutes, then absolutely poured for about 20 minutes, before letting up to a light sprinkle for the next couple of hours. The high temperature today didn't get much past 70 degrees.

At 4:00 p.m. my parents arrived at the cabin. They had been at a wedding over the weekend in western Illinois, then spent Sunday night in northern Wisconsin before making their way to Leech Lake today. They'll be here for four days. I hope we get some good weather so we can get out onto the lake to do some fishing and go hiking back in the woods.

I had a number of business calls and other work related activities that took up most of my morning and afternoon, so I didn't get a chance to go fishing before my parents arrived. Then between the on-again off-again rain and cooking dinner, I didn't go fishing this evening either. That's fine, however, because it gave me a chance to visit with my parents.

I have more work to attend to tomorrow morning that should keep me occupied until the early afternoon. If the weather permits, I'll go fishing both tomorrow afternoon and then trolling tomorrow evening. My mother would like a fish fry while she's here at the lake and I'd love to accommodate her.

Until tomorrow...

September 19 and 20, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

WEEKEND EDITION

Saturday -- Z-Man Invitational Walleye Classic

The 7th Annual Z-Man (Glen Zimmerman) Invitational Walleye Classic -- as it was listed on the hand towel Glen gave out -- began on Saturday, September 19 at 7:00 a.m. on Leech Lake. Glen, who lives in the grouping of houses collectively known as The Harbor, puts on this little get-together as part of his birthday celebration. His birthday is September 19, same as Rick's. Happy birthday Rick.

To ensure an early start for the one-day tournament, I met John Newman at his place at 6:15 a.m. for breakfast. I had awakened around 4:00 a.m. this morning and had not been able to go back to sleep. So by the time I got to John's I'd already been up for more than two hours.

We ate a Hearty Angler's Breakfast® consisting of ham, bacon, eggs, home-fried potatoes, and English muffins along with coffee and orange juice. By 7:00 a.m. our bellies were full and we were ready to do some walleye fishing.

We hit the water just after 7:00 a.m. under clear skies and a temperature of 65 degrees, on its way to a high of 80. The winds were light in the morning hours at 5-8 mph out of the SSE, but as the day progressed, so did the winds shifting to the south and increasing to 12-18 mph. The water temperature was 72.4 degrees.

John and I started the morning by trolling Minnow Raps in The Alley in 9-12 feet of water at a ground speed of just over 2 mph. We caught three big northern pike, including one John hooked that was close to, if not, 30 inches. But no walleye.

Around 9:00 a.m. we switched tactics. We both used jigs tipped with fathead minnows. I used an 1/8 oz. Lindy Max Gap jig in chartreuse, and John used a round jig head similar to a Northland Gum Ball jig. We took advantage of the wind, and drifted north from Second Duck Point to past the Malay's cabin in 9-11 feet of water.

After several drifts, numerous perch and a northern pike or two, I finally boated our first walleye of the day, a nice 16" fish that I kept (Although I subsequently let it go because it was just 16" long and fairly skinny. I prefer to keep 16 1/2" to 17 1/2" walleye if they've got some weight to them).

I recorded my catch on my official tournament scorecard, and got back to fishing.

John and I made several more passes between Second Duck and the Malay's, but neither of us caught another walleye; but we did continue to catch perch, and I hooked into at least a couple of pike because twice I lost my jig to a "toothy" biter and had to re-tie.

We decided to motor over to Big Hardwood Point because the word was the walleye were active over there. When we arrived it was obvious we weren't the only ones who had heard about the walleye biting at Big Hardwood because there were at least a dozen other boats in the area.

John and I spent about an hour or more jigging fatheads around the point, but we didn't get so much as a perch bite. Finally we decided to head north to another location I know, which I've dubbed the "Hole." It consists of 15-18 feet of water surrounded by shallower water of 10-12 feet. It's located in front of the old Bay Shore Resort on the north end of Sucker Bay. I've caught walleye there before, so we thought we'd give it a try.

We made numerous passes through the Hole, around it, along side of it, near it, etc., but we only caught a few small perch. At 2:20 p.m. we came ashore for some lunch, to regroup, and map out a plan of action for the final few hours of the tournament.

John and I hit the water again around 3:45 p.m. and fished for another three hours. Our location this time was the only place where we'd seen a walleye today -- the Alley between Second Duck Point and the Malay's cabin in 9-11 feet of water.

We both caught numerous perch, in fact John keep several of them, but no walleyes saw the inside of the boat. At 6:45 p.m. we made our way back to the boat lift and eventually to Glen's cabin at the Harbor for the tournament wrap up and dinner.

The winner of this year's Z-Man Invitational Walleye Classic did so with a total of 83 1/2 inches for four fish, a nice group of fish indeed. Lainee Malay and Lenette Gabrielson made the dinner of shredded beef sandwiches, beans, pasta salad, etc. After dinner, door prizes were handed out and by 8:30 p.m. John and I were on our way back to our respective houses.

We had been on the water for the better part of the day, and even though we only caught one walleye between us, we had another great day on Leech Lake.

Sunday

Today was cooler than yesterday with a temperature of 77 degrees as a high and the mid 50s for a low. The sky was filled with big billowy clouds early in day that darkened by noon, but eventually gave way to a clear night sky filled with stars. Even the Milky Way was visible overhead in a north-south arc. The wind varied from 10-12 mph early in the day to more than 20 mph midday, with gusts up over 30 mph, before calming to 8-12 mph after dark.

The moon was 5 percent waxing and sunset was at 7:19 p.m. The water temperature was 71.2 degrees.

I made it out onto the water for the first time today around 11:45 a.m. I went south toward Second Duck Point but pulled up in front of Giza's cabin in 9 feet of water. I deployed the drift sock, put a fathead minnow on my Lindy Max Gap jig and started drifting north. I made only two passes before the wind started to really kick up, so by 1:00 p.m. I was back on shore. I had caught no fish.

John Newman invited me over for dinner, and we dined on brined then oven-roasted chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes and corn. Sure, the meal lacked any green leafy vegatables, but is sure was tasty.

At 7:15 p.m. John and I went onto the water for an evening trolling session. We trolled The Alley in 9-12 feet of water pulling Rapala Minnow Raps. I caught a small pike and a 22" walleye. Those were the only fish we caught, however, and by 9:30 p.m. we were back on shore.

It was a beautiful autumn day in northern Minnesota and I feel blessed to have spent it on Leech Lake.

September 18, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

I awoke to a beautiful Fall morning in the Northwoods. The temperature was in mid-60s, the sky was blue and the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SSE.

I did some work until noon, then decided to go fishing. John Newman was just coming off the lake as I was getting ready to go, so I went over to his harbor to see how he'd done. He said he caught a few small perch, but that was about it.

I asked if he wanted to join me on the water, and even though he was coming ashore, he said sure.

We left my boat lift around 12:45 p.m. and headed for West Goose Flats, which is just west of Goose Island. John had heard that the walleye were biting at that location. Obviously other people had heard the same thing because when we arrived there were about 10 boats in the area. We fished West Gull Flats for about 45 minutes, but we caught nothing.

We relocated to Ottertail Point, and were again joined by several other boats. I caught several small perch, but neither John nor I hooked a walleye.

At last, we headed north to The Birches where I caught a dozen or small to medium perch and a tiny hammer handle pike, but again, neither of us hooked a walleye.

The Zimmerman Walleye Classic is tomorrow, and thus far I've not hooked a walleye since I arrived on Monday. I hope that changes quickly and that tomorrow John and I both boat a number of good sized walleyes.

John and I, and possibly Tom Malay, are going to go down to The Harbor at 5:00 p.m. to register for the Zimmerman tournament. Then later this evening, John and I plan on doing some trolling for walleye. If the past is any indication, that's when we'll hook into some nice fish.

Unfortunately, the Zimmerman tournament ends at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, which is just a half hour or so before sunset. Most of the walleye I catch during my evening trolling sessions come about an hour after sunset, too late for this tournament.

John and I went trolling tonight at 7:20 p.m., just before sunset. The air temperature had cooled to just around 60 degrees, the water temperature was still a warm 72.5 degrees, and the wind was out of the SSE at 10-12 mph.

We used Minnow Raps and trolled in 9-11 feet of water in the Alley, between Malay's to just south of Second Duck Point. I hooked into a fish, but after 4 or 5 turns of the reel, the fish came off. A short time later John hooked into a very nice 22 1/2" walleye, which was released safely back into the lake.

Since we're meeting at 6:15 a.m. tomorrow morning for a pre-tournament breakfast at John's, we decided to come ashore just before 9:00 p.m. It was a wonderful, new moon night, on Leech Lake.

September 17, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

The sunset this evening over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

This morning the temperature at 8:00 a.m. was 63 degrees on it's way to a high of 80 degrees later in the day. The sky was foggy early, but by 9:00 a.m. the sun was out and the sky was clear. The wind today was light, maybe 5-8 mph out of the SSE.

I went into Walker this morning to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to volunteer at the MN DNR Fisheries office. Twice per year, the department puts out gill nets in various locations on Leech Lake to trap (and kill) a variety of fish. The fish are measured, recorded, and a variety of samples are taken from the fish.

For instance, all fish have two little "stones" (otoliths) at the base of their brains the fish depend on for balance in the water. These stones calcify, and much like rings in a tree trunk, provide DNR fish biologists with information about the age and health of the fish.

Stocked fish, when they are only days old fry, are put into a vat of a special chemical that marks their "stones" enabling biologists to tell the difference between stocked fish and native fish. This process is only one of several that the MN DNR biologists were doing today while I was there.

My job was to pull the dead fish out of the gill nets and stack them according to the size of the net mesh in which they were trapped. For example, the bigger fish such as walleye and northern pike were trapped in 2" mesh, while smaller fish such as tulibee and perch were trapped in the 1" mesh.

It was an interesting experience and one I'd consider doing next year if I'm at the lake during the gill netting process.

After taking care of a little business in Walker I came home.

At 3:15 p.m. I went out on the lake to do some fishing. The temperature had risen all the way to 80 degrees by this point and sky was clear blue. Needless to say, it was hot out on the lake. The water temperature had warmed as well to 74.4 degrees.

I used a VMC jig head with a Northland Tackle Slurpie Swin'N Grub in a silver color. On my third cast of the day I hooked a 24" northern pike. Unfortunately that was the only fish I caught using the jig. I decided to change tactics and troll with a Cotton Cordell Grappler Shad in a glory green color.

I trolled from The Birches south past Second Duck Point in 9-11 feet of water, but caught nothing. At 5:30 p.m. I motored back to the boat lift. The Mercury Verado motor, by the way, seems to be working fine after the new fuel switch was installed.

I went down to the Malays to say hi to them for about an hour or so, then headed back to the house.

John Newman arrived tonight and I'm sure he and I will find a way to go fishing tomorrow in preparation of the annual Zimmerman Walleye Classic tournament that we're going to fish on Saturday. I hope by then I've figured out where the walleye are hiding.

September 16, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

Yes, on Leech Lake, not at Leech Lake. Today I got my boat repaired and was able to make it out onto the lake to fish for the first time since the end of July.

I awoke this morning to temperatures of 59 degrees at 7:00 a.m. under heavy cloudy skies and a slight wind of 8-12 mph from the east. After a quick breakfast, I took my boat to Corner Sports in Bemidji for repairs. I arrived at the shop at 8:35 a.m., and by 8:45 a.m. my boat was in the shop hooked up to the computer for a complete diagnostic.

As suspected, the problem with my Mercury Verado motor was a faulty fuel switch. The mechanic at Corner Sports told me that he's fixed maybe three or four fuel switches in Verados this year and about the same number last year. He added that the new switches are much better and I shouldn't have any problems with the motor getting enough fuel again.

My motor was under warranty so the repairs didn't cost me anything, but the privilege of being moved the front of the line during a particularly busy time of season cost me a case of beer. I offered to buy the service guys any beer they wanted, and they selected Busch Light. Go figure.

The boat was out of the shop by 11:00 a.m. and just shortly after noon, my boat was once again perched proudly upon the boat lift at the cabin.

I took care of a few chores around the house and then at 2:15 p.m. I set out for my first day of fishing during this trip. The air temperature had risen to just around 80 degrees, the wind had increased to 12-15 mph out of the east and the water temperature varied from 72.5 to 73.9 degrees depending on the depth and location I was fishing.

I started out in 9-13 feet of water off Second Duck Point using a Northland Slurpie jig head and a Gulp Alive minnow. I caught nothing. I moved to in front of our house, but still was unable to hook into any fish.

I finally switched to a VMC jig head with a Northland Swim'N Grub and moved to the Birches and that's when I started to catch fish. I caught numerous perch, a rock bass, and I hooked into something big but was unable to land it. On my subsequent cast, I caught a medium sized perch and as I reeled it back to the boat a small muskie, no bigger than 30-32 inches, followed the perch right to the side of the boat.

Although I didn't catch any walleyes today it was still a great day on Leech Lake.

Tomorrow I'm going into Walker to volunteer with the MN DNR to help count fish from the organization's netting program. A couple of times each season the Department of Natural Resources does a survey of the fish in Leech Lake by placing nets at various locations around the lake. By counting the fish netted, the DNR can extrapolate the number, and size, of fish species in Leech Lake. I look forward to participating in this season's netting program.

More tomorrow.

September 15, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

Today was a beautiful summer day. The temperature was 80 degrees, the sky was cloudless and blue and there was very little wind. What light breeze there was, was maybe 3-5 mph out of the south.

After finishing up some business calls, I set out to clean my boat. I washed the gunwales, the dashboard, and the motors, I cleaned the windshield and then vacuumed the entire boat. Once the boat was thoroughly cleaned, I loaded it with my fishing rods and reels, tackle boxes, life jackets, landing net, and a variety of other essential items. I was ready to go fishing.

I lowered the boat into the still water and started the Mercury Verado motored and slowly pulled away from the boat lift. I decided to go slowly and let the motor warm up. After several minutes of putzing around the lake, I decided to give the motor some gas and get it running at cruising speed.

When I throttled up, however, the motor coughed and chugged. I immediately put the motor in neutral, but the motor continued to wheeze and eventually stopped altogether. Earlier in the summer I had the same problem and the mechanics at Corner Sports told me that the Verados had had some troubles with the fuel float. I suspected that was the problem I was experiencing.

I got the boat back to the boat lift using my Honda 8 hp kicker motor and got the boat out of the water. I let the motor sit for a while then lowered the boat into the water and tried starting the motor. Again, it coughed and rumbled and ran very rough. I decided to pull the boat out of the water, put it on the trailer and get in it to Corner Sports in the morning.

I called Corner Sports and not only could they see me first thing in the morning, right after they open at 8:30 a.m., but they said they have a fuel float for my motor in stock; if that is indeed the problem. They'll have to hook the motor up to the computer to do a complete diagnostic on it.

Needless to say, I was disappointed about not being able to get out onto Leech Lake to do some fishing today. I'm just hoping the mechanics at Corner Sports can quickly identify the problem with my Verado and fix it while I wait in Bemidji. I'd really like to avoid making multiple trips into town if possible.

I'll post updates on the motor situation tomorrow, and hopefully I'll be able to post a fishing report as well.

I'm back!! At Leech Lake -- September 14, 2009

The sunset on my first evening back at Leech Lake since July

As predicted, I arrived at Leech Lake at 6:30 p.m. this evening. After unpacking groceries, turning on the well pump, checking to make sure all was right with the house, I opened a cold Leinenkugel Honey Weiss beer and walked out to the end of the dock. I enjoyed my malted beverage as the sun was sinking into the western sky; just before 7:30 p.m.

After the sunset, I went inside the house, got cleaned up, ate some dinner, then relaxed after a long day of traveling.

Tomorrow I have some business calls in the morning, but those should end around 1:30 p.m. or so. Once my business is complete, I'm going to go next door and clean out my boat. During my six week absence the birds decided to use my boat as a target. Even though I have a canopy on my boat lift, the birds managed to fly under it and make quite a mess. Once I get my boat cleaned up, I'll go out and do a little fishing.

I'll have actual "On Leech Lake" fishing reports beginning tomorrow. Until then it's great to be back!

Arrival Imminent

If all goes as planned, one week from today I will arrive at Leech Lake. I get into the Bemidji airport at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, September 14, and after quick stops to get gas, groceries and a few other supplies, I will drive out to our cabin. I should arrive between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

I may not have a chance to fish on Monday evening, but I will be prepared to do a little fishing come Tuesday. Once I'm "On Leech Lake," I'll begin my daily posts.

So until then...

Equipment: Combo 3, jigging for walleye

Before sunset, I spend more time on Leech Lake jigging for walleye than all other types of fishing combined. Of course, after sunset I spend my time trolling for walleye, but the equipment I use for that method of fishing was covered in an earlier post.

For this entry about the equipment I use while Fishing Leech Lake, I'll focus on my combo for jigging for walleye; and jumbo perch.

The heart and soul of my jigging set up is the Shimano Stella 3000 FB reel, quite simply the best spinning reel on the market today. My wife Kathleen gave me the Stella reel for our 25th anniversary a few years ago and it is by far the best reel I've ever used. The "FB" model has recently been updated to the "FD", but in essence this is the same outstanding reel.

The first thing I noticed when using the Stella is how smooth the gears are. It's as if the bail is floating in the air. Reeling in line is virtually effortless. Yet don't let the easy retrieve of this reel fool you, this is one tough reel -- tough enough to do battle with a 30" walleye or an 10 lb. northern.

The Stella is also balanced in such a way that when it's seated on the rod, it fits comfortably in my hand, and feels as if it becomes weightless. Of course, this type of quality and performance do come at a cost. The Shimano Stella is among the highest priced reels, if not the most expensive, on the market. But as the old adage goes, you get what you pay for. And with the Stella you get the best reel for jigging walleye bar none.

I pair the Stella with a 5-foot 9-inch St. Croix Avid AVS59MXF medium-power, extra-fast action spinning rod. The extra-fast tip enables me to feel the slightest tick from a finicky walleye, while the medium-power gives this rod more than enough backbone to load up on a huge Leech Lake sander vitreus.

I like the shorter 5-foot 9-inch rod as opposed to many of the 6-foot 6-inch or even 7-foot spinning rods I have in my arsenal. The sub-six foot rod gives this combo an almost ultra-light feel to it, while being sturdy enough for the job of landing big fish.

For the past two walleye seasons, I've spooled the Stella with 6 lb. test Berkley Fireline Crystal superline. This line is more than 50% thinner than 6 lb. monofilament, but it does not stretch as mono line does. The Fireline is so sensitive that it transmits the slightest tick or bump from walleye which enables me to catch more fish since I know that they're down there touching my jig.

The Fireline Crystal has another feature that I think is important in walleye fishing, it's transparent in the water. Berkley/Pure Fishing scientists developed the Fireline Crystal to appear white when out of the water, but in the water it completely vanishes. Walleye are skitish fish by nature, and having a line that they can't see gives me another advantage when jigging the flats and weed lines in Leech Lake.

I use a number of different jigs. From Northland I use the classic neon-tone Gum-Ball jig and the relatively new Slurp! jig, which is ideal for use with Gulp Alive minnow baits (more on attractants in a minute).

Other favorite jigs of mine are the Lindy Max Gap jig and the classic Fuzz-E-Grub.

With the Northland jigs and the Lindy Max Gap I usually add some type of attractant or bait. Early in the walleye season, say for the first month, and then again after Labor Day, I often add a live shiner to my jig. If shiners aren't available, or if the bait shop is asking too much money for them, I'll downsize slightly and go with a traditional live fathead minnow.

When the water heats up, usually above 70 degrees, I'll switch to a plastic attractant. A Lindy Fuzz-E-Grub is perfect for this task because it comes with a little plastic body and feather tail already attached. But if I'm using a Northland jig or a Lindy Max Gap jig, I need to add a plastic attractant to the jig.

My favorite plastics to add to jigs include the Northland Tackle 3-inch Slurpies Swim'N Grubs "Pro Series" in an Alabama craw color, or the original 3-inch Slurpies Swim'N Grub tails in firetiger cutworm color or Super-Glo ladybug. I also use a lot of 3-inch Berkley Power Grubs in a variety of colors from chartreuse to pumpkinseed to white.

A few years ago the folks at Berkley came up with a biodegradable bait called Gulp Alive that actually dissolves in the water over time. Not only are these baits good for the environment, but they really catch fish. I often pair the Gulp Alive minnow baits with the Slurp! jig when jigging for walleye on Leech Lake.

When I'm jig fishing for walleye with this combo I do so in a couple of different ways. If there's a good breeze blowing, which there often is on Leech Lake, I'll deploy my drift sock and set up controlled drift along a particular contour in the lake bottom or along a weed line.

When fishing in this manner I'll simply drop the jig over the side of the boat, let it drop to the bottom, then adjust the line length so that as the boat drifts the jig moves along at an inch or so above the bottom. This method works particularly well when I'm fishing with live shiners, fatheads or Gulp Alive minnows.

Another of my favorite ways to jig for walleye is to cast the jig out as far as I can, let it sink to the bottom, then reel the jig back to the boat at varying speeds. I rarely retrieve the jig at a single speed. Fish don't swim at a uniform speed or direction, so your bait shouldn't either.

Another way I retrieve a jig after a long cast is to lift up the rod tip pulling the jig toward the boat, then let it sink back to the bottom. I then reel in the slack line and repeat the process all the way back to the boat. This is a very effective way to fish for walleye.

I find that when fishing by lifting my rod tip and retrieving the slack line that I catch 75 percent of the fish when the jig is falling back to the bottom. That's why having a sensitive rod and sensitive line is so important. I want to "feel" as the walleye takes the jig into its mouth ever so gently.

There are numerous other ways to fish jigs successfully -- vertically jigging over the side of the boat, snap jigging, etc. -- but I catch most of my fish either drifting or casting a jig.

As for tying my jig to the line, I use a Palomar knot exclusively. As I've discussed on this blog before, the Palomar knot is not only easy to tie, but it is far and away the strongest knot you can use for tying on a jig or other lure for that matter.

Using this exact rod and reel combo, with Fireline Crystal line and a variety of jigs, live bait and plastics, I have caught hundreds of beautful walleye and jumbo perch while fishing on Leech Lake.