The temperature when I checked this morning at 8:30 a.m. was 38 degrees. The winds were light at 8 mph out of the SSW and the sky was sunny. As the morning went on, the temperature rose quickly to 46 and then 50 degrees. The wind stayed at 8-10 mph. It was under these conditions that I decided to take a break from work and do some fishing.
I got out on the water around 11:00 a.m. and found the water temperature to be 56 degrees. Using the drift sock, I drifted from 7 1/2 feet of water in front of Giza's cabin out to 10-11 feet of water in front of our cabin. During that pass northward, I caught several decent sized perch, but put them all back into the lake.
I saw John Newman on the water. He was in his little 12-foot Lone Star row boat. I asked if he'd like to join me in my Lund, and he agreed. After leaving his boat on shore, I picked him up at the end of my dock and then repositioned my boat in front of Giza's cabin for another drift.
John and I caught several more perch and we kept seven of them. John wants to take some fish home on Sunday morning so he can have a fish fry with his family on Sunday evening.
By 12:15 p.m. we came ashore since both John and I had work to do. We agreed to meet up after our respective conference calls for more fishing. My call ended early, so by 4:45 p.m. John and I were back on the lake.
Our plan was to do several drifts from Giza's to my cabin using 1/8-ounce jigs tipped with fathead minnows. Then, right after sunset, we would shift gears and start trolling Minnow Raps.
For an hour an forty-five minutes, John and I made several drifts. We each caught a few nice perch, which we kept. In addition, I caught a 17-inch walleye, which I kept, and a 22-inch eelpout. Yes, an eelpout. Usually eelpout are caught only through the ice in January and February when they spawn in the cold water. Catching one in open water, with water temperatures in the mid-50s is not common.
The sunset lake at Leech Lake at 6:31 p.m. CDT today, and by 6:35 p.m. John and I had stowed our jigging rods and switched to our trolling rigs. We trolled in 7-10 feet of water from Malay's cabin to just south of Second Duck Point. On a pass just between Giza's and Newman's, I hooked a very solid 21-inch walleye, which had to immediately go back into the lake because it fell into the 18-26" slot limit.
Unfortunately, as the fish thrased about in the net, it twisted the line around the two treble hooks of my Minnow Rap. Rather than cut the lure off and do a quick re-tie, John suggested we head to shore and start dinner.
We dined on a delicious grilled pork loin, accompanied with baked potatoes and a Caesar salad. Tasty indeed. We then retired to the fire pit for some malted beverages and conversation.
The sky was covered with stars; the way it is when you're deep enough into the woods so there is little ambient light.
I gave John the walleye I caught the other night, my contribution to his family's fish fry, and kept the one I caught tonight, which will become dinner on Sunday when my brother-in-law visits Leech Lake.
The forecast for Saturday is very windy, with gusts up over 25 mph, so I might not get out onto the water. If not, I'll write here again the next time I'm out fishing.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
On Leech Lake -- October 13, 2010 (Melissa's Birthday)
Let me start by wishing my daughter Melissa a very happy birthday!
I arrived at Leech Lake yesterday, and today was my first full day at the lake since late July, when I was here with my friend Rick putting a new roof on the cabin.
I started the day doing work work, but then switched midday to doing work around the property. It is going to take me a week or more to do all of the maintenance necessary to prepare the house and cabin for the harsh Minnesota winter.
The day started cool with temps hovering around 42 degrees until it warmed to the mid-50s by 3 p.m. Likewise, the wind started light, at about 7-10 mph out of the WNW, but by noon had picked up to 15+ mph out of the NW. It wasn't until 5:00 p.m. that the wind slowed to 8-10 mph making ideal "walleye chop" on the water.
At 5:30 p.m. John Newman and I hit the water. I got my boat fired up and onto the lake for the first time in nearly 10 weeks. The Mercury Verado started up with the first turn of the key and performed perfectly throughout the night.
The water temperature was 59 degrees and there was a half moon.
We started the evening drifting in the 10 mph WSW wind from 10 feet of water to near shore in front of our house. John and I each caught a couple of decent sized perch, but we through them back into the water. I hooked into something larger, it felt like a walleye, but it came off before I could get it to the boat. Just before sunset, I hooked into a 22" northern pike, which also went back into the lake.
John and I switched gears as the sun dropped below the horizon and started trolling Rapala Minnow Raps. On our first pass, in 9 feet of water, I hooked a 16 1/2 inch walleye in front of Giza's cabin. It was a perfect size for the frying pan, so I put it in the live well. We made several passes in "The Alley" between Second Duck Point and the Malay's, but that one walleye was the only fish we hooked.
We made back on shore at just before 8:00 p.m. and it was already completely dark. The forecast for tomorrow is a high of 60 degrees by 3:00 p.m., but with strong winds from the NNW at 15-20 mph. It might be too breezy to do any fishing tomorrow, but a good day to blow the mountains of leaves off the lawn.
Goodnight from Leech Lake.
I arrived at Leech Lake yesterday, and today was my first full day at the lake since late July, when I was here with my friend Rick putting a new roof on the cabin.
I started the day doing work work, but then switched midday to doing work around the property. It is going to take me a week or more to do all of the maintenance necessary to prepare the house and cabin for the harsh Minnesota winter.
The day started cool with temps hovering around 42 degrees until it warmed to the mid-50s by 3 p.m. Likewise, the wind started light, at about 7-10 mph out of the WNW, but by noon had picked up to 15+ mph out of the NW. It wasn't until 5:00 p.m. that the wind slowed to 8-10 mph making ideal "walleye chop" on the water.
At 5:30 p.m. John Newman and I hit the water. I got my boat fired up and onto the lake for the first time in nearly 10 weeks. The Mercury Verado started up with the first turn of the key and performed perfectly throughout the night.
The water temperature was 59 degrees and there was a half moon.
We started the evening drifting in the 10 mph WSW wind from 10 feet of water to near shore in front of our house. John and I each caught a couple of decent sized perch, but we through them back into the water. I hooked into something larger, it felt like a walleye, but it came off before I could get it to the boat. Just before sunset, I hooked into a 22" northern pike, which also went back into the lake.
John and I switched gears as the sun dropped below the horizon and started trolling Rapala Minnow Raps. On our first pass, in 9 feet of water, I hooked a 16 1/2 inch walleye in front of Giza's cabin. It was a perfect size for the frying pan, so I put it in the live well. We made several passes in "The Alley" between Second Duck Point and the Malay's, but that one walleye was the only fish we hooked.
We made back on shore at just before 8:00 p.m. and it was already completely dark. The forecast for tomorrow is a high of 60 degrees by 3:00 p.m., but with strong winds from the NNW at 15-20 mph. It might be too breezy to do any fishing tomorrow, but a good day to blow the mountains of leaves off the lawn.
Goodnight from Leech Lake.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
On Leech Lake, July 6, 2010
Rick with a 23" Leech Lake walleye
This morning was filled with work calls for me, so Rick went over to the cabin and began the process of installing the rain gutters.
There are only three places we need the gutters -- the back side of the cabin facing north (which is a 53-foot run) and then in the two valleys of the dormer over the front porch which are 8-foot runs in one direction and 16-foot runs in the other. So a total of 101 feet of gutter is needed.
In the afternoon Rick and I made another run into Bemidji. We returned some of the "ice and snow" material, as well as some metal flashing, to Pro Build, we returned the nail gun to Acme Tools, and two boxes of unused nail coils to Home Depot. All together, we returned nearly $450 of unused supplies.
After a meal at Brigid's Cross, an English pub in downtown Bemidji, we drove back to Leech Lake for a trip out onto the water.
We went fishing at 9:15 p.m. The water temperature was 76.5 degrees, the wind was at 5-8 mph from the WSW, the moon 34% waning, and the air temperature was in the mid-60s.
We trolled our usual route using Minnow Raps at a ground speed bewteen 2.1 and 2.5 mph. We caught only one fish tonight, not counting the stupid rock bass I snagged, but it was nice 23-inch walleye (pictured above). We came ashore at just after 11:00 p.m. It was another beautiful night on Leech Lake.
Monday, July 05, 2010
At Leech Lake -- July 5, 2010, The Roof is Done (sort of)
The completed roof at the cabin.
After more than two weeks worth of hard labor, but easy to figure out work (according to Rick), the roof at the cabin is complete; sort of. The caveat is that there is some stone masonry work to be done on the chimney and I'm going to have to have Mark from Shore Brothers come out and take care of that. Once that's complete, the flashing needs to go in around the chimney and after that, the final shingles.
The temperature today was no more than 80 degrees, but the humidity was very high making working conditions on the roof unbearable during the middle part of the day. We got a little work in during the morning, and then did the final sprint to the finish from 4:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. Whew!
I have to say, the gods definitely smiled on us throughout the project because there was only a little rot on the roof to repair, no one got hurt, and most amazingly, there were literally NO mosquitoes. I saw no mosquitoes, not a one. I can't ever remember being at Leech Lake and getting no mosquito bites. That's simple unheard of. But somehow it happened, and I ain't complaining.
Since we worked late into the evening, and then had a late dinner, we didn't go out fishing tonight. Instead, we stayed inside, listened to some old vinyl on the turntable and relaxed. More tomorrow.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
At Leech Lake, July 4, 2010 -- Independence Day
Happy 4th of July!! American is 234 years old, which is actually quite young when compared to any country in Europe.
Guess how Rick and I celebrated Independence Day? That's right, up on the roof of the cabin laying shingles. We got most of the roof complete and with any luck we should be able to wrap up the shingling part of the operation tomorrow.
After cleaning up and eating brats for dinner, we went fishing. We used our usual method of trolling between the cabin and the middle of the bay between Second Duck Point and Duck Point in 9-12 feet of water.
The water temperature tonight was 75.4 degrees, the air temperature was 72 degrees, there was no wind to speak of so the lake was almost still, and the moon was just past half at 49% waning.
Just after sunset we started seeing multiple fireworks display, with the biggest, most impressive and longest lasting coming from Walker, where fireworks filled the night sky for more than an hour.
Throughout the night we caught a few rock bass, but also managed to boat two smallish walleyes. I caught a 16-inch walleye and Rick caught a 14-incher. Both fish were quickly released back into Leech Lake.
We came ashore around 11:00 p.m. and mentally prepared for the final push on the roof the next day. Although it is technically a national holiday, we'll be pounding nails and trying to finish off the roofing project (at least the major part of it). Until tomorrow.
Guess how Rick and I celebrated Independence Day? That's right, up on the roof of the cabin laying shingles. We got most of the roof complete and with any luck we should be able to wrap up the shingling part of the operation tomorrow.
After cleaning up and eating brats for dinner, we went fishing. We used our usual method of trolling between the cabin and the middle of the bay between Second Duck Point and Duck Point in 9-12 feet of water.
The water temperature tonight was 75.4 degrees, the air temperature was 72 degrees, there was no wind to speak of so the lake was almost still, and the moon was just past half at 49% waning.
Just after sunset we started seeing multiple fireworks display, with the biggest, most impressive and longest lasting coming from Walker, where fireworks filled the night sky for more than an hour.
Throughout the night we caught a few rock bass, but also managed to boat two smallish walleyes. I caught a 16-inch walleye and Rick caught a 14-incher. Both fish were quickly released back into Leech Lake.
We came ashore around 11:00 p.m. and mentally prepared for the final push on the roof the next day. Although it is technically a national holiday, we'll be pounding nails and trying to finish off the roofing project (at least the major part of it). Until tomorrow.
On Leech Lake, June 28 -- July 3, 2010
This past week has been extremely busy. Rick and I worked on the roof every day, went into Bemidji on a couple of occasions to get roofing and other supplies, and I had to take care of my "real" work too.
We also tried to get out onto the lake in the evening to fish as often as possible. Since so much was going on this past week I was unable to post to the blog on a daily basis, therefore, I'm going to condense this past week into this one post.
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June 28, 2010
The "boom truck" unloads pallets of shingles onto the cabin roof
Rick, Sean Malay and I worked on the roof for a good part of the day. I had to bow out a couple of times for work calls, but still put in a good number of hours on the roof.
Rick and I went trolling after 9:00 p.m. There was no wind, the water temperature was 72 degrees, and the moon was 95% waning. I caught two small walleyes -- 13 and 14 inches -- and Rick caught a nice 20 1/2" walleye. All fish went back into the lake
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June 29, 2010
A Sucker Bay sunset at the end of a long day of working on the cabin roof
We worked on the roof all day today. We didn't go out fishing in the evening because we were roofing until after 8:30 p.m. The temperature is starting to climb and is supposed to be near 90 degrees later this week.
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June 30, 2010
More work on the roof today. We're making progress, but there's still a lot to do. This evening we went fishing. The wind was out of the south at 12-15 mph, the water temperature was 71 degrees, and as usual we trolled Minnow Raps. Also as usual, we caught fish. I caught a couple of rock bass and a pike. Rick caught only one fish but it was a perfect 17" eater walleye that we kept.
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July 1, 2010
We started laying shingles on the roof over the front porch
More roofing work today. We started laying shingles and I think they look great. The color of the shingles really compliments the color of the cabin, and it blends in well with the whole Northwoods motif.
As predicted it was very hot and humid today. The temperature was 89 degrees and the humidity had to be close to that as well. Luckily, there was a nice 15 mph south wind blowing most of the day which helped cool it off a little.
This evening, after a tasty walleye dinner, Rick and I again went trolling on Sucker Bay. All I caught was a stupid rock, while Rick boated 18" and 13" walleyes. All fish went back into Leech Lake.
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July 2, 2010 -- Happy Birthday Mom!
Several courses of shingles on the north side of the cabin
I didn't have any work calls today so Rick and I were able to lay down a lot of shingles as the result of many hours of us working as a team.
After calling it quits for the day, we got cleaned up and had dinner. I tried to call my Mom to wish her a Happy Birthday, but no one answered. Maybe they went out to dinner to celebrate.
Tonight Rick and I went fishing, but all we boated was one small pike that I caught right after we got on the water. The water temperature has warmed to 74 degrees, the wind tonight was out of the south at 10-12 mph, and the air temperature was a very pleasant 70 degrees.
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July 3, 2010
The dormer over the front porch is completely shingled! Looks good.
Today we decided to focus the entire day on roofing; no fishing. We started in the morning around 8:00 a.m. and by 11:00 a.m. we had to take a break because it was simply too hot and humid to be on the roof. The temperature hit 91 degrees today.
During our morning break we drove into Bemidji, bought roofing supplies at Pro Build, had breakfast at Perkins, did some more supply shopping at Home Depot before we bought groceries and beer and drove back to Leech Lake.
About 4:00 p.m. it cooled off enough to where the 10-20 mph SSW wind made it bearable to climb onto the roof for more work.
We laid down a lot of shingles, figured out how to complete the valleys over the dormer, and got things prepped for the final run. I'm guessing we have about two to three more full days of work before we'll be done shingling. There is some damage to the stone chimney that is in need of repair, but I'll have Mark from Shore Brothers tackle that since stone masonry is out of our league.
We worked until 9:00 p.m., came back to the house for dinner and then watched as a powerful thunderstorm rolled in. Rick and I went out onto the dock to watch the darkened sky light up with powerful bolts of lightening. Once it started to rain hard, however, we retreated to the house.
No fishing today, but another nice day on the shores of Leech Lake.
We also tried to get out onto the lake in the evening to fish as often as possible. Since so much was going on this past week I was unable to post to the blog on a daily basis, therefore, I'm going to condense this past week into this one post.
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June 28, 2010
The "boom truck" unloads pallets of shingles onto the cabin roof
Rick, Sean Malay and I worked on the roof for a good part of the day. I had to bow out a couple of times for work calls, but still put in a good number of hours on the roof.
Rick and I went trolling after 9:00 p.m. There was no wind, the water temperature was 72 degrees, and the moon was 95% waning. I caught two small walleyes -- 13 and 14 inches -- and Rick caught a nice 20 1/2" walleye. All fish went back into the lake
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June 29, 2010
A Sucker Bay sunset at the end of a long day of working on the cabin roof
We worked on the roof all day today. We didn't go out fishing in the evening because we were roofing until after 8:30 p.m. The temperature is starting to climb and is supposed to be near 90 degrees later this week.
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June 30, 2010
More work on the roof today. We're making progress, but there's still a lot to do. This evening we went fishing. The wind was out of the south at 12-15 mph, the water temperature was 71 degrees, and as usual we trolled Minnow Raps. Also as usual, we caught fish. I caught a couple of rock bass and a pike. Rick caught only one fish but it was a perfect 17" eater walleye that we kept.
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July 1, 2010
We started laying shingles on the roof over the front porch
More roofing work today. We started laying shingles and I think they look great. The color of the shingles really compliments the color of the cabin, and it blends in well with the whole Northwoods motif.
As predicted it was very hot and humid today. The temperature was 89 degrees and the humidity had to be close to that as well. Luckily, there was a nice 15 mph south wind blowing most of the day which helped cool it off a little.
This evening, after a tasty walleye dinner, Rick and I again went trolling on Sucker Bay. All I caught was a stupid rock, while Rick boated 18" and 13" walleyes. All fish went back into Leech Lake.
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July 2, 2010 -- Happy Birthday Mom!
Several courses of shingles on the north side of the cabin
I didn't have any work calls today so Rick and I were able to lay down a lot of shingles as the result of many hours of us working as a team.
After calling it quits for the day, we got cleaned up and had dinner. I tried to call my Mom to wish her a Happy Birthday, but no one answered. Maybe they went out to dinner to celebrate.
Tonight Rick and I went fishing, but all we boated was one small pike that I caught right after we got on the water. The water temperature has warmed to 74 degrees, the wind tonight was out of the south at 10-12 mph, and the air temperature was a very pleasant 70 degrees.
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July 3, 2010
The dormer over the front porch is completely shingled! Looks good.
Today we decided to focus the entire day on roofing; no fishing. We started in the morning around 8:00 a.m. and by 11:00 a.m. we had to take a break because it was simply too hot and humid to be on the roof. The temperature hit 91 degrees today.
During our morning break we drove into Bemidji, bought roofing supplies at Pro Build, had breakfast at Perkins, did some more supply shopping at Home Depot before we bought groceries and beer and drove back to Leech Lake.
About 4:00 p.m. it cooled off enough to where the 10-20 mph SSW wind made it bearable to climb onto the roof for more work.
We laid down a lot of shingles, figured out how to complete the valleys over the dormer, and got things prepped for the final run. I'm guessing we have about two to three more full days of work before we'll be done shingling. There is some damage to the stone chimney that is in need of repair, but I'll have Mark from Shore Brothers tackle that since stone masonry is out of our league.
We worked until 9:00 p.m., came back to the house for dinner and then watched as a powerful thunderstorm rolled in. Rick and I went out onto the dock to watch the darkened sky light up with powerful bolts of lightening. Once it started to rain hard, however, we retreated to the house.
No fishing today, but another nice day on the shores of Leech Lake.
Monday, June 28, 2010
On Leech Lake, June 26, 2010 -- Our 29th Wedding Anniversary
This past weekend was very busy with roofing work, that I did not have a chance to write to this blog. So I'm going to try to recapture the events of Saturday and Sunday in posts made today, Monday, June 28.
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June 26, 2010
Happy 29th wedding anniversary Kathleen. I love you. I can't believe it's been that many years already. Time sure flies when you're having fun!
Rick and I worked on the roof today and then in the evening went fishing. The wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SW, the water temperature was just under 72 degrees and the air temperature was in the high 60s.
Using our usual technique of trolling Minnow Raps at roughly 2.25 mph ground speed in 8-11 feet of water, we boated several fish. Rick had a particularly good night catching walleyes of 24", 18", 16 3/4" and 13". He also caught two pike and a rock bass. I caught only one fish, but it was a very nice 24" walleye. All fish went back into Leech Lake.
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June 27, 2010
I did my real work during most of the day, but did manage to find several hours to help Rick on the roof. We did not go fishing this evening.
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June 26, 2010
Happy 29th wedding anniversary Kathleen. I love you. I can't believe it's been that many years already. Time sure flies when you're having fun!
Rick and I worked on the roof today and then in the evening went fishing. The wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SW, the water temperature was just under 72 degrees and the air temperature was in the high 60s.
Using our usual technique of trolling Minnow Raps at roughly 2.25 mph ground speed in 8-11 feet of water, we boated several fish. Rick had a particularly good night catching walleyes of 24", 18", 16 3/4" and 13". He also caught two pike and a rock bass. I caught only one fish, but it was a very nice 24" walleye. All fish went back into Leech Lake.
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June 27, 2010
I did my real work during most of the day, but did manage to find several hours to help Rick on the roof. We did not go fishing this evening.
Friday, June 25, 2010
On Leech Lake, June 24 and 25, 2010
We've been so busy working on the roof at the cabin during the day, and then fishing at night, that I've not had time to keep up with my blog posts. Some of these are going to have to be retroactive, so I may miss a detail or two.
Yesterday, after we worked on the roof and ate dinner, Rick and I went trolling at 9:10 p.m. The air temperature had cooled to 70 degrees, but the water temperautre had warmed over the past couple of days to 73 degrees. The wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SW and the moon was 99% waxing; Friday would be the full moon.
Despite our best efforts, the only fish we caught tonight was the 17 3/4" walleye that I boated. Although it is technically a legal fish, one we could have kept and eaten, we decided to toss it back into the lake since we had just dined on fresh walleye the night before. I mean after all, we're not FIB's.
Friday, June 25, 2010
After another long day of stripping shingles of the cabin roof and applying Certainteed ice and snow Winterguard, we went trolling in the evening.
The weather earlier today was overcast, but no rain. By the evening the clouds and drifted away and the sky was mostly clear. The temperature when we got on the water was in the 62 degrees, the was no wind to speak of, the water temperature was again at 73 degrees, and the moon was full.
We trolled our usual spot using Minnow Raps. Rick caught a 20 1/2" walleye, while I boated a 16 1/4" walleye. Rick's fish was in the slot and had to go back into the lake by Minnesota law, and my legal fish went back into the lake as well as we decided not to have another walleye dinner until next week.
It was a beautiful night on Leech Lake.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
At Leech Lake, June 23, 2010
We didn't make it out onto Leech Lake to do any fishing today, but we did make some headway on re-roofing the cabin.
The wind was too strong today, roughly 20-25 mph out of the NNW, to get out onto the lake, so Rick and I spent the day working on the roof. We replaced some rotted wood long the edge of the roof with new boards that we had to have specially milled at Johnson Lumber. We then put up the fascia board and metal edging.
Even though the wind was strong today, the temperature was a very nice 78 degrees, making it a fine day to work on the roof. Of course by the end of a long day on the roof, we were tired, dirty and in need of a shower.
After we cleaned up the work site, I cleaned the walleye Rick caught last night and we had it for dinner. We might not have made it out onto Leech Lake today, but we did enjoy it's bounty.
Rick standing on the dumpster while attaching a new fascia board
A new first board on the roof's edge, and a new fascia board
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