Unfortunately, I will not be at Leech Lake for this year's walleye opener, which begins at midnight tonight, or as soon as it becomes May 15.
From what I've heard from my neighbors on Sucker Bay, walleyes of varying sizes have been caught the past few weeks (and put back into the lake) during perch fishing sessions. This should bode well for those people targeting walleye.
For a variety of reasons, I will not be making my first visit to Leech Lake in 2010 until mid-June, a full month after opener. This will be the first May since we bought our cabin back in 2001, that I've not been at the lake in May.
Once I arrive at the lake, I will again begin my daily posts about experiences on and off the water. Until then, I'll be making occasion posts with reports from friends and neighbors.
Until June...
Friday, May 14, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Photo/Album: Post 8
It's been more than a couple of months since my last Photo/Album entry, so I thought I better get to it and put up a new post. These past couple of months I've been busy with work, and with getting my amateur radio license. I am now a licensed general class amateur radio operator with the call sign W6LLK (for Leech Lake). Who knows you might hear me on HF some day.
Now on with the Photo/Album portion of the post.
PHOTO
This photo was taken from the lake side of our house on Sucker Bay looking WSW toward Big Hardwood Point. The photo was taken late in the day and late in the season. Most of the snow has melted off the ice, making it easy to get on and off the ice and enabling me to use my 4-wheeler instead of a snowmobile to move about on the frozen lake.
From what I hear from my neighbors on Leech Lake, the temperatures have been in the 40's, the snow is nearly all gone, and spring is just around the corner. Of course it is Northern Minnesota so I would expect that there will be another big snowstorm or two before walleye opener on May 15.
ALBUM
By 1977, I had started to crave new and interesting music, beyond the normal rock 'n' roll of the 1970s. Sure, I still liked the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, etc., but I wanted something new, something I hadn't heard a hundred times. By chance, I stumbled across a Caravan album at Sounds and Diversions, an interesting store in downtown Lansing that sold everything from rolling papers to albums and posters to tie-dyed clothing.
After a month or two, I had purchased a couple of Caravan albums, but to this day, my favorite remains In the Land of Grey and Pink. The music, which has been tagged with the Canterbury Sound moniker, is a blend of jazz, rock, folk, classic and traditional English music.
As always, if you're interested in the sound, and video, of the album I'm featuring, check this out --a very psychedelic English band from 1971. Enjoy.
Now on with the Photo/Album portion of the post.
PHOTO
This photo was taken from the lake side of our house on Sucker Bay looking WSW toward Big Hardwood Point. The photo was taken late in the day and late in the season. Most of the snow has melted off the ice, making it easy to get on and off the ice and enabling me to use my 4-wheeler instead of a snowmobile to move about on the frozen lake.
From what I hear from my neighbors on Leech Lake, the temperatures have been in the 40's, the snow is nearly all gone, and spring is just around the corner. Of course it is Northern Minnesota so I would expect that there will be another big snowstorm or two before walleye opener on May 15.
ALBUM
By 1977, I had started to crave new and interesting music, beyond the normal rock 'n' roll of the 1970s. Sure, I still liked the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, etc., but I wanted something new, something I hadn't heard a hundred times. By chance, I stumbled across a Caravan album at Sounds and Diversions, an interesting store in downtown Lansing that sold everything from rolling papers to albums and posters to tie-dyed clothing.
After a month or two, I had purchased a couple of Caravan albums, but to this day, my favorite remains In the Land of Grey and Pink. The music, which has been tagged with the Canterbury Sound moniker, is a blend of jazz, rock, folk, classic and traditional English music.
As always, if you're interested in the sound, and video, of the album I'm featuring, check this out --a very psychedelic English band from 1971. Enjoy.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Photo/Album: Post 7
Here's the seventh installment of my Photo/Album series. I hope you enjoy seeing some of my archived photos from my stays at Leech Lake, and learning about my favorite albums, as much as I enjoy posting them. More on my next visit to Leech Lake in another post.
PHOTO
This is a photo taken by me looking back at our ice fishing house and John Newman's snow mobile. During this visit in the winter of 2006, I was lucky enough to have the use of one of Tom Malay's extra snow machines. On this day, John and I decided to go ice fishing despite an absolutely powerful blizzard, with temperatures hovering around 5 degrees and winds howling out of the NW at more than 25 mph.
Once out on frozen Leech Lake, I took my sled some distance from the ice house and snapped this picture. If you look very carefully, you might be able to see the horizon, separating the ice for the sky.
After taking this picture I motored back to the warmth of the ice house and within minutes caught a 30+ inch northern pike. The perch fishing wasn't fantastic this day, but it was a lot of fun being out on the lake during white-out conditions.
ALBUM
As a kid, it was just me and my younger sister. Therefore, most of the music I listened to was as a result of recommendations from friends or albums I discovered myself. One day way back in 1973, while in a record store perusing the cassette tape case (in those days cassette tapes were in locked glass cases), the tape Brain Salad Surgery by Emerson, Lake & Palmer caught my eye.
I decided to buy the tape without ever having heard a note from this particular album or from ELP, an English progressive rock band that redefined the genre. The first time I remember really listening to the tape -- start to finish, carefully -- was at my grandparents house in Jackson, Michigan sometime during the winter months. I remember thinking that this was unlike anything I'd ever heard before. It took me several listenings, and actually several years, to really appreciate the brilliance of this album -- which I eventually bought on both vinyl and CD.
I had the opportunity to see ELP at Jenison Field House on the campus of Michigan State University sometime in the mid-1970s (the exact year escapes me), but I do remember that they played Karn Evil 9 in its entirty, which is their magnum opus, not only from the Brain Salad Surgery album, but from their long and storied career as well. To this day, Brain Salad Surgery remains one of my favorite albums.
As always, if you've never heard of Emerson, Lake & Palmer or Brain Salad Surgery, here's a little taste of Karn Evil 9 recorded live. Enjoy.
PHOTO
This is a photo taken by me looking back at our ice fishing house and John Newman's snow mobile. During this visit in the winter of 2006, I was lucky enough to have the use of one of Tom Malay's extra snow machines. On this day, John and I decided to go ice fishing despite an absolutely powerful blizzard, with temperatures hovering around 5 degrees and winds howling out of the NW at more than 25 mph.
Once out on frozen Leech Lake, I took my sled some distance from the ice house and snapped this picture. If you look very carefully, you might be able to see the horizon, separating the ice for the sky.
After taking this picture I motored back to the warmth of the ice house and within minutes caught a 30+ inch northern pike. The perch fishing wasn't fantastic this day, but it was a lot of fun being out on the lake during white-out conditions.
ALBUM
As a kid, it was just me and my younger sister. Therefore, most of the music I listened to was as a result of recommendations from friends or albums I discovered myself. One day way back in 1973, while in a record store perusing the cassette tape case (in those days cassette tapes were in locked glass cases), the tape Brain Salad Surgery by Emerson, Lake & Palmer caught my eye.
I decided to buy the tape without ever having heard a note from this particular album or from ELP, an English progressive rock band that redefined the genre. The first time I remember really listening to the tape -- start to finish, carefully -- was at my grandparents house in Jackson, Michigan sometime during the winter months. I remember thinking that this was unlike anything I'd ever heard before. It took me several listenings, and actually several years, to really appreciate the brilliance of this album -- which I eventually bought on both vinyl and CD.
I had the opportunity to see ELP at Jenison Field House on the campus of Michigan State University sometime in the mid-1970s (the exact year escapes me), but I do remember that they played Karn Evil 9 in its entirty, which is their magnum opus, not only from the Brain Salad Surgery album, but from their long and storied career as well. To this day, Brain Salad Surgery remains one of my favorite albums.
As always, if you've never heard of Emerson, Lake & Palmer or Brain Salad Surgery, here's a little taste of Karn Evil 9 recorded live. Enjoy.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Photo/Album: Post 6
Welcome to the winter solstice 2009. It arrived at 11:47 a.m. CST today at Leech Lake. Therefore, for this installment of the Photo/Album series I thought I'd use a winter photo and an album that the band began recording in December, 1966.
PHOTO
This is a view of Sucker Bay looking north as a mid-winter's storm is brewing. The photo was taken on February 25, 2007 during a trip when my son Joe and I spent some wonderful time on the ice fishing, digging ourselves out of a massive winter blizzard and inside our warm house playing games and listening to music.
The Northwoods is a great place any time of the year, but there's something almost magical being there in the winter. The first thing that I always notice is how peaceful and quiet it is at Leech Lake during the winter months. This photo seems to capture that feeling for me.
ALBUM
I still remember hearing The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for the very first time. I had purchased the album at the record store at the local mall, came home to my parents' house, went into my bedroom, removed the shrink-wrap plastic from the LP and placed it on my turntable. Although I'd been listening to The Beatles since I was in kindergarten, nothing had prepared me for listening to Sgt. Pepper in its entirety. Wow!
There is a very good reason that Rolling Stone magazine named Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band the #1 album of all time -- it's simply incredible. From the method the LP was recorded to the breakthrough artwork on the cover to the stellar music itself, there's nothing lacking in this record.
Recording for the LP started in December, 1966 and the album finally hit record stores in June, 1967. I purchased it years later, but to me it was as fresh and incredible as the day it was released.
In case you need a refresher, here's the first song on the album, the title track. Enjoy.
PHOTO
This is a view of Sucker Bay looking north as a mid-winter's storm is brewing. The photo was taken on February 25, 2007 during a trip when my son Joe and I spent some wonderful time on the ice fishing, digging ourselves out of a massive winter blizzard and inside our warm house playing games and listening to music.
The Northwoods is a great place any time of the year, but there's something almost magical being there in the winter. The first thing that I always notice is how peaceful and quiet it is at Leech Lake during the winter months. This photo seems to capture that feeling for me.
ALBUM
I still remember hearing The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for the very first time. I had purchased the album at the record store at the local mall, came home to my parents' house, went into my bedroom, removed the shrink-wrap plastic from the LP and placed it on my turntable. Although I'd been listening to The Beatles since I was in kindergarten, nothing had prepared me for listening to Sgt. Pepper in its entirety. Wow!
There is a very good reason that Rolling Stone magazine named Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band the #1 album of all time -- it's simply incredible. From the method the LP was recorded to the breakthrough artwork on the cover to the stellar music itself, there's nothing lacking in this record.
Recording for the LP started in December, 1966 and the album finally hit record stores in June, 1967. I purchased it years later, but to me it was as fresh and incredible as the day it was released.
In case you need a refresher, here's the first song on the album, the title track. Enjoy.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Photo/Album: Post 5
For this installment of my Photo/Album series -- where I post a picture from Leech Lake and highlight one of my favorite albums -- I've decided to go back a ways in history for both. The photo comes from a guided muskie trip we took back in 2003, and album goes back to 1965.
PHOTO
This is a picture of my friend Rick, who was visiting Leech Lake from his home in Brisbane, Australia, legendary Leech Lake guide Al Maas, my son Joe's shoulder, and a 50 1/2-inch muskie that was taken on a safety-pin style jig in 3-feet of water at the south end of Sucker Bay.
I had hired Maas to guide us on our hunt for muskie because at the time I was relatively unfamiliar with the lake, had never really fished for muskie in a serious fashion, and because it was Rick's birthday present I wanted to up the odds that he caught a fish. He did, and it remains to this day the biggest fish I've seen come out of Leech Lake.
ALBUM
Back when I was in high school I got a turntable for Christmas one year which finally gave me the ability to switch from cassette tapes to LPs which sound infinitely better, in my opinion.
As I started out compiling my album collection I knew I needed to add some Bob Dylan to the mix. Since I was unfamiliar with any of his albums in detail -- although I knew many of his hit singles -- my selection of his fifth studio album Bringing It All Back Home was made as much by chance as it was design. Boy, did I luck out.
It is not only one of Dylan's most celebrated albums, but one of the greatest rock albums of all time. In the 2003 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, where it listed the Top 500 rock albums of all time (see Photo/Album 4 for the #7 album on that list), Bringing It All Back Home ranked 31st.
Here is the studio version of Subterranean Homesick Blues, the first song on side 1 of the LP, which many people say foreshadowed the invention of rap music some 20 years later.
PHOTO
This is a picture of my friend Rick, who was visiting Leech Lake from his home in Brisbane, Australia, legendary Leech Lake guide Al Maas, my son Joe's shoulder, and a 50 1/2-inch muskie that was taken on a safety-pin style jig in 3-feet of water at the south end of Sucker Bay.
I had hired Maas to guide us on our hunt for muskie because at the time I was relatively unfamiliar with the lake, had never really fished for muskie in a serious fashion, and because it was Rick's birthday present I wanted to up the odds that he caught a fish. He did, and it remains to this day the biggest fish I've seen come out of Leech Lake.
ALBUM
Back when I was in high school I got a turntable for Christmas one year which finally gave me the ability to switch from cassette tapes to LPs which sound infinitely better, in my opinion.
As I started out compiling my album collection I knew I needed to add some Bob Dylan to the mix. Since I was unfamiliar with any of his albums in detail -- although I knew many of his hit singles -- my selection of his fifth studio album Bringing It All Back Home was made as much by chance as it was design. Boy, did I luck out.
It is not only one of Dylan's most celebrated albums, but one of the greatest rock albums of all time. In the 2003 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, where it listed the Top 500 rock albums of all time (see Photo/Album 4 for the #7 album on that list), Bringing It All Back Home ranked 31st.
Here is the studio version of Subterranean Homesick Blues, the first song on side 1 of the LP, which many people say foreshadowed the invention of rap music some 20 years later.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Photo/Album: Post 4
This is installment 4 of my Photo/Album series. I again selected a photo from my most recent stay at Leech Lake. For the album, I selected what is generally considered to be one of the greatest rock 'n' roll albums of all time. Enjoy.
PHOTO
October, 2009 was the fourth coldest October on record, and for Minnesota that's impressive. It was also one of the wettest and snowiest months on record in Minnesota. This photo was taken from the dock looking back at our harbor and house. You can see that most of the leaves on the trees haven't even fully changed color, yet there is snow on the ground. It would snow at least a few more times before it finally warmed up at the very end of the month and into November.
ALBUM
Soon after graduating from high school I moved into an old house in downtown Lansing, Michigan located just a couple of blocks from the state capital building. One of the guys that lived with me in the house -- Marcus Cafagna -- turned me onto, among many other things, the Rolling Stones album Exile on Main Street.
I was, of course, very familiar with the Rolling Stones at the time, but for some reason I had not yet discovered this particular album. It was released in 1972, and was the first 2-LP studio release from the Stones. Every song on this album is a gem and I never tire of listening to it.
Some years back, Rolling Stone magazine put out a special issue listing the Top 500 albums of the 'classic' rock 'n' roll era -- from 1964 through 1983. Topping the list was the Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, while the Stones' Exile came in at number 7.
If you're unfamiliar with Exile on Main Street, check out this studio version of Sweet Virginia -- it might surprise you.
PHOTO
October, 2009 was the fourth coldest October on record, and for Minnesota that's impressive. It was also one of the wettest and snowiest months on record in Minnesota. This photo was taken from the dock looking back at our harbor and house. You can see that most of the leaves on the trees haven't even fully changed color, yet there is snow on the ground. It would snow at least a few more times before it finally warmed up at the very end of the month and into November.
ALBUM
Soon after graduating from high school I moved into an old house in downtown Lansing, Michigan located just a couple of blocks from the state capital building. One of the guys that lived with me in the house -- Marcus Cafagna -- turned me onto, among many other things, the Rolling Stones album Exile on Main Street.
I was, of course, very familiar with the Rolling Stones at the time, but for some reason I had not yet discovered this particular album. It was released in 1972, and was the first 2-LP studio release from the Stones. Every song on this album is a gem and I never tire of listening to it.
Some years back, Rolling Stone magazine put out a special issue listing the Top 500 albums of the 'classic' rock 'n' roll era -- from 1964 through 1983. Topping the list was the Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, while the Stones' Exile came in at number 7.
If you're unfamiliar with Exile on Main Street, check out this studio version of Sweet Virginia -- it might surprise you.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Photo/Album: Post 3
I went back to a photo from this past June for today's installment of my Photo/Album series, and went all the way back to 1959 for my album selection. Enjoy.
PHOTO
I don't recall the first time I heard landmark LP Kind of Blue, but I do know that during my college days at Cal Poly I must have listened to this album hundreds of times with my friend Vince alone. John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley provide the dual saxophones on the set and are joined by Detroit native Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly split the session on piano.
Many music critics consider Kind of Blue not only one Miles Davis's best, and not just one of the best jazz albums ever produced, but one of the greatest albums ever recorded. If you've never heard this album, start hear with the album version of the unbelievable tune, So What.
PHOTO
This is a photo of Sucker Bay on the afternoon of June 19, 2009. You can read more about my fishing success that day by visiting this link. I will tell you that I caught one walleye during an afternoon trip on the water, and two more that night while trolling. I also witnessed an incredible sunset during my evening trip onto Leech Lake.
ALBUM
I don't recall the first time I heard landmark LP Kind of Blue, but I do know that during my college days at Cal Poly I must have listened to this album hundreds of times with my friend Vince alone. John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley provide the dual saxophones on the set and are joined by Detroit native Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly split the session on piano.
Many music critics consider Kind of Blue not only one Miles Davis's best, and not just one of the best jazz albums ever produced, but one of the greatest albums ever recorded. If you've never heard this album, start hear with the album version of the unbelievable tune, So What.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Photo/Album: Post 2
Here is the second installment of my Photo/Album series -- where I post a photo from Leech Lake and an album that I find particularly important to the history of music (in my life).
As will be the case in all such posts, let's start with a photo from Leech Lake.
PHOTO
This was taken the on the Saturday afternoon five days before I left Minnesota for California in the Fall of 2009. It's taken from the end of my dock looking south on Sucker Bay toward Goose Island. This was a typical mid-afternoon, late-Autumn day on Leech Lake.
ALBUM
From the first time I heard Frank Zappa's music in 1974, he has been one of my favorite musicians. As I dug deeper into his extremely vast catalog of music (I now own all 80+ titles from Mr. Zappa) I found myself listening to his album Hot Rats more than any other. The cut Peaches en Regalia from the album is generally considered one of the greatest jazz-fusion tunes ever recorded.
It has been covered by numerous musicians ranging from the Dixie Dregs to Phish to Frank's son Dweezil, whose version of the song with former Zappa alumni Steve Vai and Napoleon Murphy Brock won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 2009. Check out this clip for the version of Peaches en Regalia from the Baby Snakes video, or this clip for a live version of the song.
As will be the case in all such posts, let's start with a photo from Leech Lake.
PHOTO
This was taken the on the Saturday afternoon five days before I left Minnesota for California in the Fall of 2009. It's taken from the end of my dock looking south on Sucker Bay toward Goose Island. This was a typical mid-afternoon, late-Autumn day on Leech Lake.
ALBUM
From the first time I heard Frank Zappa's music in 1974, he has been one of my favorite musicians. As I dug deeper into his extremely vast catalog of music (I now own all 80+ titles from Mr. Zappa) I found myself listening to his album Hot Rats more than any other. The cut Peaches en Regalia from the album is generally considered one of the greatest jazz-fusion tunes ever recorded.
It has been covered by numerous musicians ranging from the Dixie Dregs to Phish to Frank's son Dweezil, whose version of the song with former Zappa alumni Steve Vai and Napoleon Murphy Brock won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 2009. Check out this clip for the version of Peaches en Regalia from the Baby Snakes video, or this clip for a live version of the song.
Photo/Album: Post 1
Most of my posts to this site happen while I'm actually at Leech Lake. Now that I'm in California, I'm only able to reminisce about being on the water (open or hard) and enjoy the many photos I've taken while at Leech Lake.
Until I make my next visit to Minnesota's third biggest lake I thought I'd occasionally post photos from past visits. In addition, I'm going to post an album that I'm particularly fond of, just 'cause.
So here's the first of my "photo/album" posts.
PHOTO
Here's a photo of our dock, boat lift and boat as seen from the dock at our house. Countless times each open-water season I make my way next door to our cabin, walk down the dock, climb into the boat, lower it into the water and go fishing. Since it's an activity that plays a predominate role in my life while I'm at Leech Lake, it's the first photo in this series.
ALBUM
The Grateful Dead album American Beauty is one of my all-time favorite albums. It contains some of Jerry Garcia's finest songwriting, singing and guitar playing, and it holds a special place in my heart and soul. If you haven't listened to this album, start with this live version of Ripple and move on from there -- "a ripple in still water."
Until I make my next visit to Minnesota's third biggest lake I thought I'd occasionally post photos from past visits. In addition, I'm going to post an album that I'm particularly fond of, just 'cause.
So here's the first of my "photo/album" posts.
PHOTO
Here's a photo of our dock, boat lift and boat as seen from the dock at our house. Countless times each open-water season I make my way next door to our cabin, walk down the dock, climb into the boat, lower it into the water and go fishing. Since it's an activity that plays a predominate role in my life while I'm at Leech Lake, it's the first photo in this series.
ALBUM
The Grateful Dead album American Beauty is one of my all-time favorite albums. It contains some of Jerry Garcia's finest songwriting, singing and guitar playing, and it holds a special place in my heart and soul. If you haven't listened to this album, start with this live version of Ripple and move on from there -- "a ripple in still water."
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