It's a balmy 42 degrees at 8:00 a.m. The sky is overcast, there is a fog and mist hanging over the lake and there is virtually no wind. Kind of eerie.
I'm scurrying around making final preparations to leave our house at Leech Lake for potentially many months.
I've got the last load of laundry going, the food I'm giving to the Malays is all packed up and the rest of the food has been thrown out. I'm having a quick bowl of cereal, then I have to unload the dishwasher, lock up the cabin and turn on the security system.
As I look out over the lake, I'm hit with the desire of wanting to go fishing. It would be an interesting morning to be on the water. No wind. Heavy mist and fog. Water temperature dropping. I bet the walleye are feeding fast and furious this morning. But no fishing today.
Tom is going to come by in a few minutes to pick up the food I'm giving them and a bag of garbage. Elaine has an appointment in Bemidji this morning and rather than carry around the food with them, they'll put it away before we leave for town. Same for the garbage.
It's now 9:00 a.m. The cabin is locked and security system is armed. I've got the laundry done, the refrigerator is cleaned out, and the dishes are done. The only thing I've got left to do is turn off the water pump and lock the house and arm the security system. I'll do that on my way out the door.
So from Sucker Bay, so long until my next visit to Leech Lake.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
October 28, 2009 -- At Leech Lake, One Day and Counting
Today is my final full day at Leech Lake for 2009, and I've got a lot of work left to do to close up the house and cabin for the winter.
My first order of business will be to store the boat lift canopy in the garage at the cabin. I had it out drying on the back deck railing at the cabin, but today it's time to put it away.
I would like to power wash the truck before I store it for the winter because it's so dirty. I hope I have time to get to it. I also have to do loads of laundry, go through all of the food in the refrigerators -- freezing what I can, get some of it ready to give to Tom and Elaine, and throwing the rest away -- put the snow plow on the ATV and move it into the attached garage, and a million and one other little chores.
At 11:30 a.m. the temperature is 40 degrees, the sky is gray and overcast (again), every now and then it sprinkles rain, and the winds are calm.
It's now 6:30 p.m. and I'm in the house for the first time since just after noon. I got the boat lift canopy rolled up and stored in the garage, I power-washed the truck, put it in the garage, disconnected the negative battery terminal and hooked up a trickle charger to the battery to keep it fresh throughout the winter.
With those chores complete I came back to the house where I attached the snow plow to the ATV, moved it to the attached garage, shut the gas line on it and ran the rest of the fuel out of the carburetor. Then it was on to leaf blowing.
For 3 straight hours I blew leaves off the lakeside lawn, the two sides of the house, the porches, the yard by our bedroom, the patch of grass in the driveway turnaround, and the entire driveway itself. The only place at the house that I didn't get to was the yard between the wood pile and the gas tank.
The entire time I was outside there was a heavy mist in the air. It wasn't actually raining, but everything was dripping wet. I finally put the leaf blower away when the light was nearly gone because I wanted to have one last walk down our dirt road before it got dark. So I took my final 2-mile walk to Paulsen's and back for 2009.
I'm now inside having some salad and squash hotdish for dinner, before I start in on the rest of my in-the-house chores.
I've now cleaned out the fireplace, vacuumed the house, mopped the kitchen floor, chopped up and froze onions, carrots and celery, did a couple loads of wash, made the bed and did the dishes. My hot shower felt great.
It's now 11:30 p.m. and in just 10 hours I'll be leaving the house and driving with the Malays to the airport in Bemidji. It's been a great year here at Leech Lake. I had a 10-week visit from the end of May to the end of July, and a second six-week visit from mid-September through tomorrow. I hope I have a chance to get back here sometime this winter to do some ice fishing and to enjoy the winter.
Once I'm back in California I'll be posting only occasionally to this blog. I'll recap some of the fishing stats from this year -- how many walleyes boated, size of fish, time caught, etc. -- as well as post various pictures I've taken during my two visits this year. I'll also post any relevant news regarding the water levels on Leech Lake or any other MN DNR and lake news.
Now it's time for bed. Looking back on these visits, I have to admit, I really love fishing Leech Lake.
My first order of business will be to store the boat lift canopy in the garage at the cabin. I had it out drying on the back deck railing at the cabin, but today it's time to put it away.
I would like to power wash the truck before I store it for the winter because it's so dirty. I hope I have time to get to it. I also have to do loads of laundry, go through all of the food in the refrigerators -- freezing what I can, get some of it ready to give to Tom and Elaine, and throwing the rest away -- put the snow plow on the ATV and move it into the attached garage, and a million and one other little chores.
At 11:30 a.m. the temperature is 40 degrees, the sky is gray and overcast (again), every now and then it sprinkles rain, and the winds are calm.
It's now 6:30 p.m. and I'm in the house for the first time since just after noon. I got the boat lift canopy rolled up and stored in the garage, I power-washed the truck, put it in the garage, disconnected the negative battery terminal and hooked up a trickle charger to the battery to keep it fresh throughout the winter.
With those chores complete I came back to the house where I attached the snow plow to the ATV, moved it to the attached garage, shut the gas line on it and ran the rest of the fuel out of the carburetor. Then it was on to leaf blowing.
For 3 straight hours I blew leaves off the lakeside lawn, the two sides of the house, the porches, the yard by our bedroom, the patch of grass in the driveway turnaround, and the entire driveway itself. The only place at the house that I didn't get to was the yard between the wood pile and the gas tank.
The entire time I was outside there was a heavy mist in the air. It wasn't actually raining, but everything was dripping wet. I finally put the leaf blower away when the light was nearly gone because I wanted to have one last walk down our dirt road before it got dark. So I took my final 2-mile walk to Paulsen's and back for 2009.
I'm now inside having some salad and squash hotdish for dinner, before I start in on the rest of my in-the-house chores.
I've now cleaned out the fireplace, vacuumed the house, mopped the kitchen floor, chopped up and froze onions, carrots and celery, did a couple loads of wash, made the bed and did the dishes. My hot shower felt great.
It's now 11:30 p.m. and in just 10 hours I'll be leaving the house and driving with the Malays to the airport in Bemidji. It's been a great year here at Leech Lake. I had a 10-week visit from the end of May to the end of July, and a second six-week visit from mid-September through tomorrow. I hope I have a chance to get back here sometime this winter to do some ice fishing and to enjoy the winter.
Once I'm back in California I'll be posting only occasionally to this blog. I'll recap some of the fishing stats from this year -- how many walleyes boated, size of fish, time caught, etc. -- as well as post various pictures I've taken during my two visits this year. I'll also post any relevant news regarding the water levels on Leech Lake or any other MN DNR and lake news.
Now it's time for bed. Looking back on these visits, I have to admit, I really love fishing Leech Lake.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
October 27, 2009 -- At Leech Lake, 2 Days and Counting
The dock coming out of the water signals the end of another season on Leech Lake
At 10:00 a.m. this morning the temperature is 39 degrees, the sky is partly cloudy with some sun and blue sky visible and the wind is 12-15 mph out of the WSW creating a few white caps here and there on Leech Lake.
The wind is blowing strong enough to knock most the remaining leaves out of the trees and onto the ground. It is raining yellow leaves this morning. Kathleen loves seeing the leaves fall, but unfortunately she missed seeing it by a day; she left for California yesterday.
I'll be joining Kathleen in San Jose on Thursday, leaving behind our haven on Leech Lake until some time in the future. I'm hoping to get back here during the winter for some ice fishing, but I had the same plan last year and it never materialized.
At 2:00 p.m. the temperature has warmed to the mid 40s, the wind is steady at 12-15 mph out of the WSW, the sky is mostly cloudy, but there is some blue sky visible.
Mark and his crew from Shore Brothers are here removing the boat lift and dock at the cabin, and the dock at the house. It's going pretty quick too. The guys got the dock and lift out at the cabin in about 35-40 minutes, and the dock at the house may go a little quicker because there's no boat lift to remove. My lift in the harbor stays in the water all winter because it's sheltered enough that it doesn't suffer any ice damage during the spring thaw.
After the Shore Brothers crew left I decided to split the several stumps and rounds that both John Newman and Duane Paulsen had left near my wood pile. There were two different trees that came down back in the woods that Duane has been cutting them into stumps and rounds for the past couple of weeks. Since one of the trees was on my property I asked that Duane leave me some of it.
In all there were probably 10 or 11 stumps and rounds that I split into small fireplace sized pieces. It took me the better part of an hour to split all of the wood, and then another half hour or so to stack it. And since I had the splitter out, I split a small pile of kindling wood too. We now have plenty of kindling and firewood in the garage for several fires should we make a wintertime visit to Leech Lake.
After dinner I had a fire in the fireplace, listened to music and thought about all of the fun times I've had at Leech Lake. We're very fortunate indeed.
Monday, October 26, 2009
October 26, 2009 -- Kathleen Leaves for California
As Kathleen did earlier in the day, the sun leaves Leech Lake in the western sky
At 10:00 a.m. this morning the temperature is 36 degrees, the sky is overcast and gray and the wind is out of the WNW at 8-10 mph.
Kathleen and I left the house at 10:35 a.m. to take her to the airport. I had the boat in-tow behind the truck. The truck thermometer read 39 degrees. We had a nice drive into Bemidji, but it was hard dropping off Kathleen at the airport and saying goodbye. I will, however, see her in three days in California. But we would both have preferred to stay here at Leech Lake for several weeks, or months, longer.
After saying goodbye to Kathleen, I drove from the Bemidji airport to Corner Sports to drop off my boat for winter storage. My goodness, how many goodbyes can a guy do in one day? Mike at Corner Sports told me that they would repaired the cracked dash area -- apparently the 2005-06 Lunds had problems with them cracking -- as well as winterize the boat, fix the gas vent cover and do a computer check on the Mercury Verado motor.
I left my wife and boat behind in Bemidji and drove back out to the lake. I got home at 2:15 p.m. under mostly cloudy, gray skies, a SSW wind at 8-10 mph and a temperature of 40 degrees.
At 5:00 p.m. I walked over to the cabin to make the beds and clean out the refrigerator. With those chores complete I took my daily 2-mile walk down to Paulsen's and back.
On my way back I again stopped at the cabin this time to remove the power cord that runs from the electrical outlet on shore out to the end of the dock to power the electric motor for the boat lift. I got that stowed in the garage then gathered up some firewood so I could have a fire in the fireplace tonight.
At 6:10 p.m., under partly cloudy skies and a temperature of 37 degrees, I walked out onto the end of the dock to enjoy the sunset. While I was out there I lowered the US flag for the season. It's in pretty bad shape after two years of Northwoods weather, so next year I'll get a new one and burn this old one in one of our camp fires at the cabin.
I had some salad for dinner, had a fire in the fireplace, listened to music and read the paper before going to bed. I'm trying to enjoy every last minute I have here at Leech Lake.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
October 25, 2009 -- At Leech Lake
At 10:00 a.m. there is a light rain falling, the sky is overcast and gray, the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the NNE and the temperature is 36 degrees.
Today is Kathleen's last full day at Leech Lake. Tomorrow at just after noon she is scheduled to fly from Bemidji to Minneapolis and then onto San Francisco. I will join her in California soon enough; I'm scheduled to leave on that same noon flight out of Bemidji on Thursday, Oct. 29.
Today is Kathleen's last full day at Leech Lake. Tomorrow at just after noon she is scheduled to fly from Bemidji to Minneapolis and then onto San Francisco. I will join her in California soon enough; I'm scheduled to leave on that same noon flight out of Bemidji on Thursday, Oct. 29.
It's almost 3:00 p.m. and it's still raining out. There's been a light, but steady rain all day long. he sky is gray, the wind is light to calm out of the NNW and the temperature is 39 degrees.
Kathleen, for some reason, has decided she wants to do some cleaning around the house this afternoon, so we've stayed inside cleaning and listening to the Vikings lose to the Steelers 27-17 on the radio (since we have no TV here at the lake).
At 4:00 p.m. Kathleen and I took a walk in the woods. A light rain continued to fall, but it didn't bother us as we walked on many of the trails that wind their way through the 60-acre woods shared by us, the Newmans and Norm Hansen.
Once we emerged from the woods, we walked to Paulsen's house where I turned back to go home, while Kathleen continued on for the full 6-mile run/walk.
When I came into the house, I prepped our salmon for dinner. The recipe is incredibly easy, but very tasty. Simply mix together one tablespoon of stone ground mustard, one tablespoon of brown sugar and one teaspoon of dill weed and then spread over the salmon fillets. Let the mixture sit on the salmon for at least an hour or two (4-5 hours is optimal), bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees and voila!, a salmon dinner as good as any you'd pay for in a high-quality restaurant. Serve with risotto and salad to complete the meal.
After dinner we had a fire in the fireplace and then we watched a DVD. It was a short visit for Kathleen, but I hope she enjoyed her time here at Leech Lake.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Ode to Boat Lifts
Silver metal skeletons
Standing guard near the lonely the dock
Awaiting removal from the lake
Their green and blue skins are gone
No longer home to the Lunds
Alone in the icy cold water
Soon to be pulled and dragged
From their post in the shallow water
Empty and out of place on land
October 24, 2009 -- The Boat Comes Out of Leech Lake
Boat and trailer await the trip to Corner Sports in Bemidji
At 9:30 a.m. this morning the temperature was 26 degrees, there was a light covering of frost on the ground, the sun was shining through partly cloudy skies and the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SW.
As I pulled the truck from the house to the cabin in preparation of pulling my boat out of the water this morning, I bumped into Duane Paulsen. He was on his old Ford tractor pulling into our woods in search of a tree he said had fallen. He offered to help me take my boat out of the water, but I declined. I figured it was best to let Duane focus his attention on cutting up firewood.
I got the truck into position, backed it up and got it lined up with the boat trailer. I hooked up the trailer to the receiver hitch on the truck, got the cables in place and connected the wiring. I then got to work removing the canopy from the boat lift. If I don't take the canopy off the lift with the boat in the lift, I would have to wait until Shore Brothers got it on shore to remove it. And doing that would run the risk of the lift becoming airborne should we have strong winds.
The canopy came off fairly easily since there was little wind to get it flapping. I pulled the canopy onto the dock, then dragged it up near the cabin. I'll get the power washer out later today and spray off the seagull guano that accumulated during the summer months.
I then backed the trailer down the boat ramp and into the lake. With the water temperature in the low 40s I got my waders on to finish the job. I lowered the boat off the lift, got in the water myself and walked the boat around the dock and lined it up with the trailer.
I snapped the strap onto the front of the boat and slowing began cranking the wench handle thus pulling the boat onto the trailer. With the boat on the trailer and secured, I got into the truck and pulled the boat and trailer up the ramp and parked them next to the garage. Later today I'll go back over the cabin and take everything out of the boat and fully secure it -- with tow straps and transom saver -- for the trip to Corner Sports in Bemidji. I'll take it into town on Monday when I take Kathleen to the airport.
It's not rocket science getting a boat out of the water, but this was the first time I did it without any assistance. I've often had a neighbor or family member standing by should I need help. I guess going it alone is some type of Northwoods rite of passage. I passed.
After lunch I devoted my time to cleaning out all of the gear from the boat -- tackle, rods and reels, life jackets, etc. I also added some air to the tires of the boat trailer; they were each about 10 lbs light.
Just as I started to put the cover on the boat the skies opened up and it started raining hard. I didn't want the boat to get too much water in it before I take it in for winter storage, so I continued to cover the boat in the rain. Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I had the cover completely on the boat the rain stopped and the sun actually peeked out from behind a cloud.
It seems not that long ago that I was putting my boat in the water for the season. Now it's out and ready for winter storage.
Once I take it in to Corner Sports, I'm going to have them repair or replace the driver's side dashboard, which they cracked while installing the networking system for my two Lowrance units. I'm also going to have the repair the bilge outlet cover, which I damaged while pulling into the boat lift. If the water levels wouldn't have been so low, that mishap never would have happened.
I'll also have them do a 350 hour check on the Mercury Verado motor. Three-hundred and fifty hours is the total number of hours the Verado has run since leaving the manufacturer. I'm estimating that I've put on about 250 hours of the total (my boat was a demo so it did have some hours on it before I bought it). All of those nights trolling for walleye over the past three years do add up.
At 2:45 p.m. it's 40 degrees outside, the sky is gray and it looks as if it might rain again, the ground is wet from the previous rain and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the SW.
As I pulled the truck from the house to the cabin in preparation of pulling my boat out of the water this morning, I bumped into Duane Paulsen. He was on his old Ford tractor pulling into our woods in search of a tree he said had fallen. He offered to help me take my boat out of the water, but I declined. I figured it was best to let Duane focus his attention on cutting up firewood.
I got the truck into position, backed it up and got it lined up with the boat trailer. I hooked up the trailer to the receiver hitch on the truck, got the cables in place and connected the wiring. I then got to work removing the canopy from the boat lift. If I don't take the canopy off the lift with the boat in the lift, I would have to wait until Shore Brothers got it on shore to remove it. And doing that would run the risk of the lift becoming airborne should we have strong winds.
The canopy came off fairly easily since there was little wind to get it flapping. I pulled the canopy onto the dock, then dragged it up near the cabin. I'll get the power washer out later today and spray off the seagull guano that accumulated during the summer months.
I then backed the trailer down the boat ramp and into the lake. With the water temperature in the low 40s I got my waders on to finish the job. I lowered the boat off the lift, got in the water myself and walked the boat around the dock and lined it up with the trailer.
I snapped the strap onto the front of the boat and slowing began cranking the wench handle thus pulling the boat onto the trailer. With the boat on the trailer and secured, I got into the truck and pulled the boat and trailer up the ramp and parked them next to the garage. Later today I'll go back over the cabin and take everything out of the boat and fully secure it -- with tow straps and transom saver -- for the trip to Corner Sports in Bemidji. I'll take it into town on Monday when I take Kathleen to the airport.
It's not rocket science getting a boat out of the water, but this was the first time I did it without any assistance. I've often had a neighbor or family member standing by should I need help. I guess going it alone is some type of Northwoods rite of passage. I passed.
After lunch I devoted my time to cleaning out all of the gear from the boat -- tackle, rods and reels, life jackets, etc. I also added some air to the tires of the boat trailer; they were each about 10 lbs light.
Just as I started to put the cover on the boat the skies opened up and it started raining hard. I didn't want the boat to get too much water in it before I take it in for winter storage, so I continued to cover the boat in the rain. Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I had the cover completely on the boat the rain stopped and the sun actually peeked out from behind a cloud.
It seems not that long ago that I was putting my boat in the water for the season. Now it's out and ready for winter storage.
Once I take it in to Corner Sports, I'm going to have them repair or replace the driver's side dashboard, which they cracked while installing the networking system for my two Lowrance units. I'm also going to have the repair the bilge outlet cover, which I damaged while pulling into the boat lift. If the water levels wouldn't have been so low, that mishap never would have happened.
I'll also have them do a 350 hour check on the Mercury Verado motor. Three-hundred and fifty hours is the total number of hours the Verado has run since leaving the manufacturer. I'm estimating that I've put on about 250 hours of the total (my boat was a demo so it did have some hours on it before I bought it). All of those nights trolling for walleye over the past three years do add up.
At 2:45 p.m. it's 40 degrees outside, the sky is gray and it looks as if it might rain again, the ground is wet from the previous rain and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the SW.
Kathleen and I went for a walk at 3:40 p.m. I went as far as Paulsen's, while Kathleen went to the Community Center (2 miles and 6 miles respectively).
Once home I cleaned and oiled my four primary fishing reels and stored them for the winter. A Prairie Home Companion came on at 5:00 p.m. and I listened to that while enjoying a Leinenkugel Oktorberfest beer.
Kathleen apparently didn't get enough exercise on her 6-mile run/walk, so once home she got on her bike and rode the 6-mile loop from our house to the Community Center down Ottertail Rd. to 26th and back home again.
By 7:30 p.m. the temperature was down to 30 degrees and it was raining. I got a fire going in the fireplace and Kathleen and I enjoyed a peaceful night in front of the fire playing dominoes and listening to Joe Pass guitar music.
My boat is out of the water so there will be no more open-water fishing this season. But despite no trolling for walleye tonight, it was a wonderful evening at Leech Lake.
Friday, October 23, 2009
October 23, 2009 -- On Leech Lake
This morning at 10:00 a.m. the temperature is 29 degrees, the sky is gray and overcast and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the NNE.
After enjoying our coffee and having some breakfast, Kathleen and I decided to take a walk. As usual, I joined her on the 2-mile round trip walk to Paulsen's house, then I turned back while Kathleen continued on to the Community Center for the full 6 miles.
While Kathleen was on her run/walk, I got out the leaf blower and cleared off the leaves from the lakeside yard at the house. There are still many trees still on the trees, but since I leave for California in a week I wanted to get as many of the leaves cleaned up as possible.
Tom Malay has offered to come down to our house and cabin with his mulching attachment on his John Deere lawn mower to clean up any remaining leaves after they've all come down.
When Kathleen returned from her run she and I took a long leisurely walk in our woods. Many of the leaves have changed to yellow or russet brown, but there are still a good amount of leaves that are green. It's been a crazy autumn. Warm temperatures into early October then almost overnight they dropped to below freezing and there was snow.
The temperature by 4:00 p.m. had climbed to 38 degrees and the wind was blowing at 8-10 mph out of the ENE.
My plan is to pull the boat out of the water tomorrow, so I will definitely get out for one last trolling session tonight. I can't believe it's already time to take the boat out of the lake.
At 6:25 p.m. I lowered the boat into the water, fired up the Mercury Verado and slowly made my way out to 9-10 feet of water in front of the cabin. I turned the boat lights on since the sun had already set, got the landing net ready, put my #9 Rapala Minnow Rap in a bleeding copper flash color into the water and started trolling.
I made my way south past Second Duck Point, turned west out into Sucker Bay and started trolling north toward Malay's. When I was between our cabin and Malay's house, I felt that familar "thud" of a walleye hitting the Minnow Rap.
I quickly put the motor in neutral and began reeling in the fish. I could tell by the way it was fighting that it was a walleye, and I also could tell it was a fairly big fish by the weight on the end of my line.
As I got the fish close to the boat I reached over and grabbed the landing net in order to boat the fish. Once on board, I could tell it was a good-sized fish. I carefully removed the front treble hook from the mouth of the fish and took a quick measurement -- 24 1/4 inches. Any time you can catch a walleye that's over two feet long you've got a big fish. And this fish was fat too. Obviously bulking up for the upcoming winter season.
I caught the fish at 7:00 p.m. The sky was mostly cloudy and almost dark. The water temperature varied between 41.7 and 42.3 degrees. The winds had died down and the lake was nearly calm.
I fished for another hour but didn't catch any other fish. Nonetheless, I did catch a beautiful 24 1/4 inch walleye on my last open-water angling trip of 2009 on Leech Lake.
After enjoying our coffee and having some breakfast, Kathleen and I decided to take a walk. As usual, I joined her on the 2-mile round trip walk to Paulsen's house, then I turned back while Kathleen continued on to the Community Center for the full 6 miles.
While Kathleen was on her run/walk, I got out the leaf blower and cleared off the leaves from the lakeside yard at the house. There are still many trees still on the trees, but since I leave for California in a week I wanted to get as many of the leaves cleaned up as possible.
Tom Malay has offered to come down to our house and cabin with his mulching attachment on his John Deere lawn mower to clean up any remaining leaves after they've all come down.
When Kathleen returned from her run she and I took a long leisurely walk in our woods. Many of the leaves have changed to yellow or russet brown, but there are still a good amount of leaves that are green. It's been a crazy autumn. Warm temperatures into early October then almost overnight they dropped to below freezing and there was snow.
The temperature by 4:00 p.m. had climbed to 38 degrees and the wind was blowing at 8-10 mph out of the ENE.
My plan is to pull the boat out of the water tomorrow, so I will definitely get out for one last trolling session tonight. I can't believe it's already time to take the boat out of the lake.
At 6:25 p.m. I lowered the boat into the water, fired up the Mercury Verado and slowly made my way out to 9-10 feet of water in front of the cabin. I turned the boat lights on since the sun had already set, got the landing net ready, put my #9 Rapala Minnow Rap in a bleeding copper flash color into the water and started trolling.
I made my way south past Second Duck Point, turned west out into Sucker Bay and started trolling north toward Malay's. When I was between our cabin and Malay's house, I felt that familar "thud" of a walleye hitting the Minnow Rap.
I quickly put the motor in neutral and began reeling in the fish. I could tell by the way it was fighting that it was a walleye, and I also could tell it was a fairly big fish by the weight on the end of my line.
As I got the fish close to the boat I reached over and grabbed the landing net in order to boat the fish. Once on board, I could tell it was a good-sized fish. I carefully removed the front treble hook from the mouth of the fish and took a quick measurement -- 24 1/4 inches. Any time you can catch a walleye that's over two feet long you've got a big fish. And this fish was fat too. Obviously bulking up for the upcoming winter season.
I caught the fish at 7:00 p.m. The sky was mostly cloudy and almost dark. The water temperature varied between 41.7 and 42.3 degrees. The winds had died down and the lake was nearly calm.
I fished for another hour but didn't catch any other fish. Nonetheless, I did catch a beautiful 24 1/4 inch walleye on my last open-water angling trip of 2009 on Leech Lake.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
October 22, 2009 -- On Leech Lake
Tonight's spectacular sunset over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake
At 10:00 a.m. the temperature is 30 degrees, the sun is out for the first time in days with just a few clouds hovering over the western shore of Sucker Bay, and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the NNW.
I got a call from Shore Brothers this morning letting me know that they would be out here either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week to pull the docks and boat lift out of the water. This Saturday the weather is supposed to be sunny with light winds out of the east, making it an ideal to get the canopy off my boat lift and the boat out of the water. Tom Malay offered to lend me a hand in both operations. I'll check with him later today to see what time he might be available on Saturday to help me.
Kathleen went to Bemidji this afternoon for a 2:00 p.m. meeting with various people from the Bemidji Hospital regarding physical therapy jobs at the hospital. We've often talked about moving here full-time, and if we do, Kathleen would like to continue working and the only logical place for her to do that would be the hospital in Bemidji.
While Kathleen was in town, I took down the screens from the windows and doors at the cabin and replaced them with storm windows. When I was done with the storm windows I decided to go fishing.
I hit the water at just after 3:00 p.m. under partly sunny skies, light winds at 5-8 mph out of the ENE, a temperature of 40 degrees and a water temperature of 42.7 degrees.
I started fishing at The Birches in 9 feet of water. I used my usual set up of a jig and fathead. The breeze was such that it pushed the boat away from shore and slightly south toward Malay's.
I caught a few perch including one that measured close to a foot long. All fish went back into the water.
At 4:30 p.m. I motored back to the cabin and realized how cold I really was. Kathleen had just gotten home and asked if I could give her a ride on the ATV so she could see the Peninsula.
We went down W. Shores to 26th the south on Ottertail Point Rd. We explored the new housing development at Duck Point, checked out the lots for sale along Ottertail Point Rd. and eventually made it home. When we got home we took a nice walk in the woods.
By the time we got inside I was freezing. I had been outside for several hours and my head in particular was very cold. Despite the cold, we went out onto the dock at 6:15 p.m. to enjoy the amazing sunset over Sucker Bay.
I decided not to go fishing this evening even though I don't have much time left with my boat in the water. I opted to stay inside and hang out with Kathleen. We made dinner, had a fire, and just hung out.
It's supposed to be cloudy and possibly rain tomorrow, but since it may be the last day I have my boat in the water this year, I'm going to try to get to do some fishing on Leech Lake.
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