October 5, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

The trees starting to change color along Sucker Bay Road

Today the wind was lighter than it's been the past few days at just 8-12 mph out of the north. But it was a cold breeze. The temperature all day long was a consistent 40 degrees. The sky was gray and it looked like rain, but none fell.

I had business calls to attend to until early afternoon, then had to go into Cass Lake to pick up a few groceries as well as a new scoop of fathead minnows from Froggy's.

On my way into town, on Sucker Bay Road, I saw a number of bald eagles eating some sort of carrion on the side of the road and as I drove past them, they took to the air and flew along side my truck on either side. One mature bald eagle and one immature eagle flying right next to my truck window on either side. What a sight! They are big when you get up close to one. Eventually they banked off to the woods, and I'm sure back to their meal.

Once I was home and got the groceries put away I decided to go fishing. At 4:00 p.m. I motored out to 12 feet of water in front of the Malay's cabin and let the light wind push my boat south toward Second Duck Point. The water temperature was now at 52.6 degrees.

I used a VMC jig in orange and yellow color tipped with a fathead. I caught a couple of small perch, but that was it. I saw Tom Malay on the water. He was trolling, which is his usual method of fishing during all times of day throughout the open-water season. Tom said he hadn't even had a bite.

I repositioned to The Birches, and again caught only a few small perch.

While I was fishing by The Birches I saw another mature bald eagle. This one took flight from a tree at the edge of the water, flew out over the bay, before I lost sight of it. A minute or two later it returned, and it may have had a fish in its talons. When it got close to its tree, I heard the screeches of young eagles in a nest. Obviously the mature eagle was returning to the tree to feed its young.

It certainly was a day for eagles.

At 6:00 p.m., I returned home. Two hours on the lake with wet hands, a north wind and a temperature of 40 degrees had my hands near frozen. I looked forward to warming them up.

After dinner I had a fire in the fireplace, read the newspaper and listened to music. No trolling tonight on Leech Lake.

October 3 and 4, 2009 -- Weekend Edition, On the Road

Saturday

I left Leech Lake this morning at 10:3o a.m. bound for St. Cloud and a visit with Kathleen's mother, Marge. The weather as I pulled out of my driveway was rainy, with dark skies, windy, roughly 12-15 mph out of the NE and cool, the temperature was 44 degrees.

I stopped in Walker on my way south to meet with Terry Holly, owner of the Walker Ace Hardware and Radio Shack store and long-time advocate for the protection of Leech Lake. For the better part of the past five years, Holly has worked hard to bring back walleye fishing to Leech Lake, by working with local business owners, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and various politicians.

Every step of the way Holly and his supporters were opposed by corrupt MN DNR officials and the wealthy Brainerd lakes business owners who provide financial backing. Holly is still working tireless to ensure that the DNR stocks the lake to the levels mandated by the MN state government.

Another issue Holly is involved in is the ever-dropping water levels in Leech Lake. Although the Army Corps of Engineers is technically responsible for the operation of the dam at Federal Dam, one has to wonder who wants the water levels in Leech Lake lowered and for what purpose. Someone, somewhere (probably in the Brainerd Lakes area again) stands to benefit financially if Leech Lake suffers.

I have committed to working with Holly, and others, to find out why Leech Lake is not being preserved and maintained to the same levels as lakes such as Gull Lake, Big Sandy or even Cass Lake.

Eventually I made my way to St. Cloud and was greeted with my mother-in-law's road completely torn up and two new roads in its place. Across the street from Marge's house used to stand a beautiful woods, complete with gravel pit, pond, nesting eagles, and wildlife galore. Today there isn't a tree left standing, the gravel pit is filled in and in its place is going to be a Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. The entire environment ripped to sheds and replaced by big-box junk stores.

My theory is that St. Cloud is trying to lure revenue away from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Brainerd, to the north of St. Cloud is being negatively effected by the expansion of St. Cloud so it in turn must battle to keep revenue from locals and tourists in the Brainerd Lakes area. Thus a new Wal-Mart going in in St. Cloud has ramifications for what happens in Brainerd and ultimately Leech Lake. It's all connected, and not in a good way.

After surveying the devastation of the woods across the street from Marge's house, she and I ran some errands. I took her to the grocery store and we got some dinner.

I watched a little football on TV, since we do not have TV at our house at Leech Lake, and was happy to see Michigan State beat Michigan 26-20 in overtime.

Time for bed. More tomorrow.

Sunday

This morning I made a bacon and egg breakfast for me and Marge before we went to church at Christ Church, Newman Center. That is the same church where Kathleen and I were married more than 28 years ago.

After church we drove home in the light rain, under gray skies and a temperature of 48 degrees. Late last week I cleaned a walleye that I had caught while trolling, and had brought the fillets with me to St. Cloud. As a late lunch, or early dinner, I fried up the walleye fillets, made some French fries and Cole slaw and Marge and I had a nice mid-afternoon meal before it was time for me to drive back to the lake.

I returned to the lake around 7:15 p.m. with a temperature of 44 degrees. The sky was covered in clouds, and although it looked like it could rain, there was none coming down.

I've got a lot of business work to do on Monday, and I also have to make a run into Cass Lake for a few items. It should be a busy week between work, chores around the property, and battling the DNR, Army Corps of Engineers and others who wish to do harm to Leech Lake.

October 2, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

Tomorrow I'm planning on driving down to St. Cloud to see Kathleen's mom. I'll clean the walleye I caught a couple of days ago and take the fillets down with me. After church on Sunday I'll cook us up a little Minnesota fish fry. I'm sure Marge will enjoy that.

It is once again gray and wet this morning, although the wind has calmed down a little. Under very cloudy, dark skies, the temperature is 40 degrees and the wind is out of the NE at 12-15 mph. It looks as if it could rain at any time.

I got out on the water at 12:3o p.m. today in less than ideal conditions. The wind was strong at 15-20 mph out of the NNE, the lake was covered in white caps, the temperature was a chilly 44 degrees and the dark sky spit a stinging rain on and off. I made only one pass from Malay's south past Second Duck Point before calling it quits. It was cold, wet, difficult to maneuver the boat, and worse still, I got no bites.

I spent most of the afternoon on business calls and doing work online before having and early dinner. I watched a movie and went to bed around 11:30 p.m. The temperature at that time was 40 degrees, and the wind was still howling at 20 mph from the NE. A cold night on the shores of Leech Lake.

October 1, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

Welcome to October in the Northwoods. It's a gray, rainy morning with the sky completely covered in rain clouds, the ground is wet from a recent shower, and the temperature at 10:00 a.m. is barely 40 degrees.

Noel Hancock and I were supposed to go back into the woods today to cut some firewood from dead, fallen trees, but I think I'll call him and reschedule. I don't mind being back in the woods if it's cold, because the hard work warms you up. But I don't like being back there in the rain. Using a wet chain saw is not the best idea.

Despite a stiff 20 mph ENE wind, spitting cold rain and 44 degree temperatures I decided to go fishing at 2:15 p.m. It wasn't unsafe on the water, just uncomfortable. I was on the water for only 90 minutes and caught a handful of small- to medium-sized perch and a small hammerhandle.

There must be something to the old adage about "the fishing is the least when the wind is from the east," because the fish just weren't biting. Of course, my adage is "you can't catch fish from your living room couch," so even though it was cold, windy and wet, I was on the water. There will be plenty of time for sitting comfortably on the couch when I'm back in California.

The water temperature had dropped to 57. 8 degrees. The sunset was at 6:57 p.m.

This evening after dinner I had a fire in the fireplace. The rain started up again and the temperature at 11:00 p.m. was back down to 40 degrees.

I'll try to get out onto Leech Lake for some more fishing tomorrow; despite reports of more cold and rain.

September 30, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

I can't believe it's already the end of September. From a weather standpoint, it's definitely Fall here in the Northwoods. The temperature this morning at 9:00 a.m. at Leech Lake was 40 degrees. The sky is sunny and the wind is out of the ESE at 10-15 mph, and is expected to increase to more than 20-25 mph as the day goes on.

The cool temperatures of the past few days have had an effect on the trees changing colors. For most of the two weeks I've been here, the leaves have been green and only a few trees have showed signs of changing color. But just in the past couple of days the leaves have begun to change to yellow, orange and red. I'd say that the color is no more than 20 percent, but the change is definitely starting.

At 1:30 p.m. I decided to go fishing. I motored the boat out to a spot in 10-12 feet of water in front of our house, tipped my VMC jig with a fathead and started fishing. The wind had shifted and was now blowing from the ENE at close to 18 mph. As I drifted out into Sucker Bay, the waves picked up and turned to white caps and it was cold.

I stayed on the lake for about 90 minutes and caught numerous perch, but no jumbos or walleye.
Once on shore I stopped by Noel Hancock’s place for a quick visit. Weather permitting we’re going to go back into the woods tomorrow and cut up some dead trees for firewood.

I contemplated going out trolling this evening, but the wind was still blowing hard – 18-25 mph – from the ENE, and as the old fishing adage goes, “When the wind’s from the east, the fishing is the least. When the wind’s from the west, the fishing is the best.” I could attest that the fishing earlier in the day had been poor, so with a strong easterly wind blowing I stayed on shore.

The temperature at 11:00 p.m. is 42 degrees. It just might get down to freezing tonight at Leech Lake.

September 29, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

Last year on this date the high temperature was only 56 degrees. I did not record the low temperature from a year ago, but I would bet it was as cold as it is currently. Today should be a lot like last year. The high is projected to hit 55 degrees, and currently at 9:00 a.m., the temperature is only 37 degrees. I don't know if it dropped to freezing over night or not, but it sure is cold this morning.

By noon the temperature had warmed to the low 50s, and by 1:30 p.m. it was 55 degrees and I decided to go fishing. Today was the first time in three days that the wind was not blowing at 20+ mph. In fact, when I hit the water, the wind was slight at 5-8 mph out of the ENE. The sky was mostly sunny, and I actually felt warm standing in the boat.

I started by fishing in front of our house in 9-12 feet of water. I used a VMC jig tipped with a fathead. I drifted slowly out into the bay and south toward Second Duck Point. I caught a few small perch, but nothing worth keeping.

I moved toward the Birches and fished there in 8-10 feet of water for a while, but again boated only small perch.

I moved to the spot between Schiebe’s cabin and the government cabins and caught more small to medium perch. I also hooked into something that bit through my 6 lb. Fireline Crystal, forcing me to tie on a new jig. Probably a northern pike.

I came ashore around 3:30 p.m. After some work around the house, some business on the computer and a light dinner, I again went fishing. I was on the water at 6:20 p.m.

The wind had died down completely and the lake was still. The water temperature had cooled considerably in the past few days and was now between 61 and 62 degrees depending on the depth and location I was fishing.

I again started in front of our house in 10 feet of water throwing a VMC jig, this time tipped with a Northland Tackle Slurpie Swim’N Grub, in an orange color. I threw this set up for about 20 minutes, but had no bites.

I switched to my trolling tackle, using an olive colored #9 Minnow Rap. I trolled from Malay’s cabin south to a spot between Duck and Second Duck Points, then curled out into the Bay and fished deeper at 12-13 feet.

I made several passes without getting a bite. As the sky darkened, the 85% waxing moon rose and cast its light over Sucker Bay. At one point a loon surfaced near my boat and was directly in line with the shimmering moon light in the water. It looked like something out of a Les Kouba painting. Beautiful.

I was getting ready to make one last pass when I hooked a nice little 13” walleye just south of Second Duck Point in 12 feet of water. I decided to make another pass between Second Duck and a spot about half way to Duck Point.

On my way north, I again hooked a fish and could tell it was a little bigger. I got it to the boat and into the landing net. I hoisted it into the boat and saw it was a beautiful “eater” walleye; 16 ½” long. I put it in the live well for a future dinner.

At 9:35 p.m. I decided to call it a night and come ashore. I got the walleye from the boat into a wire basket at the end of the dock and made my way back to the house. As I walked from the boat lift to the house I noticed I could see my breath. I knew it was cold, but didn’t realize just how cold.

The thermometer on the back deck at the house read 40 degrees. I heard that it could get down below freezing tonight after midnight. I also heard that the wind is again going to be blowing between 20-30 mph tomorrow. I’m glad I got out onto Leech Lake to do some walleye fishing while I had the chance. And I caught walleyes too!

September 28, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

At 9:00 a.m. this morning the weather outside looked as if it hadn't changed one little bit since last evening. The wind was still very strong at 22-25 mph out of the NW, the lake was covered in rolling waves and white caps, the sky was gray and completely covered in clouds, it was spitting rain and the temperature was 46 degrees. As was the case yesterday, I can see no boats on the water.

I did a quick of the weather online and learned that the forecast for tonight was more wind and cold. In fact, the temperature is supposed to dip to 29 degrees.

Realizing that freezing temps could cause a problem with anything water related left outside, I decided to drain the pump we use to draw water from the lake to water the yard and plants, store the garden hoses and put the power washer back inside the cabin. I don't know if it will actually freeze tonight, but I'm not taking any chances.

After taking care of the pump, etc., I gathered up all the garbage and recycling and took it down to the community center where we dump our garbage and recycling. From there I went on into Cass Lake to pick up a few grocery items, but is always the case, I forget the main thing I went into town for -- Half & Half. I like having that for my morning coffee, but will have to use 2% milk or drink it black.

It is still very windy, with the wind at 25+mph out of the north with gusts up over 30 mph. the water is very rough and covered with whitecaps. Unless something dramatic happens, i.e., the wind stops blowing so hard, I won't be able to get out on the lake for the second straight day.

The temperature at 11:30 p.m. was 46 degrees, the wind was still blowing like crazy, and for the second day in a row I didn't make out fishing on Leech Lake.

September 27, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

The roiling water of Leech Lake about an hour before the wind shifted and the rain came

This morning at 9:30 a.m. the temperature was a chilly 58 degrees, the wind was strong at 15-18 mph out of the NNW, with gusts up near 25 mph, and the sky was partly sunny. The lake was wild and covered in white caps. Since we're on the eastern side of Sucker Bay, a westerly wind makes this side of the bay very rough.

As I looked out onto the back deck of the house to check the temperature, I noticed a dead ruffed grouse by the floor-to-ceiling windows of our living room. It had obviously crashed into the window knocking itself out, and eventually died. I removed the bird from the deck and placed it in the woods where I'm sure some animal will find it and eat it. Grouse are great eating birds for humans too, and many people up here at Leech Lake hunt them, but I was not about to eat a dead bird.

The wind continued to blow hard throughout the morning and into early afternoon, picking up to 18-25 mph out of the WNW. The lake is now covered in white caps, and there are no boats in sight.

It's now 5:00 p.m. and the wind has actually gotten stronger! It's blowing a continuous 22-28 mph out of the WNW with gusts to 35-38 mph. The lake is angry and boiling with high waves and white caps. I went out onto the end of the dock to take a couple of pictures of the lake, and was nearly blown into the water. It was as if the wind was blowing back to the house. "Go inside. Stay warm, " the wind seemed to be saying.

At 6:00 p.m., the wind suddenly shifted and began blowing out of the north; although it didn’t lessen in strength at all. With the shift in wind direction came the rain. It wasn’t a hard rain, but with the force of the wind, it pelted the house, the windows and anything that happened to be in its way.

The sun set tonight shortly after 7:00 p.m., but it was nearly dark even earlier because of the dark clouds and rain. It's still raining now after 11:00 p.m., the temperature has dropped to 48 degrees and the wind has yet to let up.

I didn't get out on the lake today to do any fishing, and I have no idea if I'll have a chance to get out tomorrow or not. I've got various business calls that should keep me occupied until early afternoon. If the weather permits, I will get out sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening to fish for walleye and perch on Leech Lake.

September 26, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

This morning at 9:00 a.m. the temperature was 54 degrees, the sky was dark and completely covered in heavy clouds and the wind was brisk at 12-15 mph out of the SW. It looked as if it might rain at any moment. Finally a normal Fall day at Leech Lake.

As the morning worn on, however, it didn't rain and the sky gradually began to clear. After I had finished washing the linens and putting them back on the beds at the cabin, the sun finally broke through the clouds casting shadows everywhere. I decided it was a perfect time to go for a walk.

I walked down to Paulsen's house and back -- about a 2 mile round trip. When I got back to the house it was mostly sunny, and the temperature had climbed to 68 degrees although it was still fairly windy. A great time to paint the deck at the cabin I decided.

I changed into my painting clothes, got the paint, tray, roller and other supplies out of the garage and set to work. By 3:30 p.m. I had repainted the back deck at the cabin, and I was hungry.

I had a quick sandwich then figured I'd hit the water for an hour so. I wanted to be back home by 5:00 p.m. to listen to the season opener of A Prairie Home Companion on public radio.

The wind was still 15 mph out of the SW so there was a good chop on the lake, with occasional white caps. I motored the boat out to 10 feet of water in front of our house, put in the drift sock, tipped my VMC jig with a fathead and started fishing.

Almost immediately I hooked into a small northern. That was followed by several small perch, but none big enough to keep, and no walleye.

I got back to the house a little later than I'd hoped to, around 5:15 p.m., but I was still into time to catch Guy Noir and the News from Lake Wobegon. I had my dinner of BBQ ribs, French Fries and salad, and was finished eating at 7:30 p.m., about 20 minutes after sunset.

I looked outside as the light was fading from the western sky and made the decision to go trolling. "No one ever caught a walleye sitting on the couch," I thought to myself. I grabbed my flashlight, some water and a sweatshirt and hustled over to the boat lift.

I was on the water by 7:45 p.m. The wind was still 12-15 mph from the SW, the water temperature was 68.6 degrees, and the moon was 55 percent waxing (basically a half moon).

I trolled The Alley in 9-12 feet of water using my Rapala Minnow Rap, but tonight I didn't get even a hit and miss. Nothing. No fish. Not even a stupid rock bass. Skunked.

I came ashore around 9:15 p.m. I spent the rest of the evening quietly reading as the wind blew through the trees outside. A nice way to cap off a beautiful Fall day at Leech Lake.