Early in the morning -- and I'm talking about 2:30 a.m. -- on this Memorial Day, there was thunder and rain. By 9:00 a.m. the rain had stopped, but the sky was dark and overcast, the temperature was a cool 48 degrees (I just heard the furnace kick on) and the wind, from what I can tell my the movement of the flags, is a relatively light 5-7 mph out of the north. According to the National Weather Service, the wind is at 16 mph out of the ESE.
As the day wears on, however, the weather is supposed to get real nasty. Here's a quote from the http://www.weather.com/ web site: "Severe thunderstorms with hail, high winds, and tornadoes will rock the Plains and Upper Midwest on Memorial Day." (That includes Leech Lake.)
In fact, I heard on the radio yesterday that we could get winds up to 25 mph today and as high as 33 mph on Tuesday. If that's the case, we will not be fishing for the next couple of days.
At 11:00 a.m., after a pancake breakfast and maple syrup made by Jerry Schiebe from Ottertail Peninsula maples, Rick and I went fishing. The wind was 10-15 mph out of the ENE, which meant that along our shoreline the water was calm for about 50 yards out from the shore.
There were a dozen boats or more in front of the house, so we motored down to the Birches to try for some perch and maybe a walleye. Once there I decided to fire up the Honda 8hp kicker motor and while it would run while idling it stalled out when put into gear. I'll have to have that checked out by either Mark Ashe (the local mechanic from New Leech Lake Campground) or Corner Sports when I take the boat out in October.
We didn't catch much at the Birches, I think I caught a couple of small perch, so we moved back in front of the house. I caught a few more perch, but Rick came up empty.
Once on shore -- at 1:15 p.m. -- I cleaned one of the two walleye we had in the basket and took it to Jerry Schiebe to repay the favor he did us by giving us a jar of homemade maple syrup. In about 45 minutes from now, Rick and I are going next door for a BBQ with the Newman men -- John, John Jr. and Greg. I understand that "danger dogs" will be on the menu.
The weather remains grey, overcast, with a temperature of 44 degrees. The wind is out of the ENE at about 15 mph and everything is wet. It's not raining per se, it's just wet. Not the kind of Memorial Day weather that entices tourists to Leech Lake; which is fine by me.
Rick and I did dine with John and Johnny Newman (Greg had gone to their home in the Twin Cities with his mom and sister on Sunday). And we did indeed have burgers and danger dogs. After dinner Rick and I came back to my place where we got ready to go fishing.
The weather reports were of a tornado watch for our area and expected severe thunderstorms as the evening progressed, but when we hit the water at 8:15 p.m., there was little sun light peaking through the heavy clouds, the wind was at 12-17 mph out of the ENE, and the temperature was about 63 degrees; it actually felt balmy.
We fished in "the Alley," and saw only three other boats, one of which were the Newman's in their rowboat. The water temperature remained at 60 degrees.
We trolled Minnow Raps (I used my Tennessee Shad color while Rick opted for purpledescent) in 9-13 feet of water. Tonight the bite was slow, I caught three northern pike and a 17 3/4-inch walleye. Rick, for the second time today, came up empty.
As we were motoring back to the lift, we could see flashes of lightening across the sky to the southwest and could hear the low rumble of far-off thunder. It's hard to tell if the storm will move in on us or pass us altogether.
Since the reports are calling for "strong thunderstorms" and possible "damaging hail," I decided to move the truck from its usual spot in the driveway at the house into the big garage at the cabin. On my way back from the cabin I could bright flashes of lightening directly overhead. Maybe the storm is getting closer.
A quick report from the Newman's on their fishing tonight. In their little rowboat (the Johnson 6hp clunked out) they rowed into 10 feet of water and used lighted slip-bobber rigged with Northland Gumball jigs and tipped with fatheads. Foth father and son caught 22-inch walleye, while John Sr. also added a nice "eater" walleye and a jumbo perch. Just goes to show you that you don't need a fancy boat or expensive tackle to catch nice Leech Lake walleye.
The web site http://www.weather.com/ predicted the "severe thunderstorms" to hit our area at 11:30 p.m., and right on time, at exactly 11:30 p.m., the rain started pounded the windows of our living room, lightening lit up the sky, thunder rumbled and the wind began to howl.
As I sign off for the night, it is raining and there are still occasional flashes of lightening. Good night.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
May 29, 2011 -- On Leech Lake
Today is the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and at 10:00 a.m. this morning there were 21 boats between Second Duck Point and the Malay's. Someone must be reading this blog! The area I call the "Alley" is obviously producing some fish, or at least someone at one of the resorts is saying it's producing fish, because it is very popular spot on Sucker Bay today. There are other good fishing spots on Sucker Bay including, Hardwood Point, the Flats around Goose Island, the flats between Duck and Second Duck Points, and the tip of Ottertail Peninsula, i.e., Ottertail Point.
Although the sky is grey and looks ominous, there is little wind, maybe 5 mph out of the WNW, and the flags are laying limp against the pole. The temperature at 10:00 a.m. was 50 degrees. The hourly forecast for the day says that there's a 35% chance of showers around noon and then again at 3:00 p.m.
After we finish breakfast and our coffee Rick and I are going to hit the water as well, although I'm not sure where. I really have no desire to pull into the flotilla of FIBs, so maybe we'll head north toward Bass Bay, try the Birches, or maybe make a run south to Ottertail Point. I'll let Rick make the call.
Sometime today we need to contact Jerry Schiebe so we can get in to see Noel's old place. To some degree, Rick is interested in purchasing it and the obvious next step is to get inside and check out the structural integrity of the house.
At 11:00 a.m. Rick and I launched the boat and made our way out into Sucker Bay where 23 boats were gathered from our cabin to Second Duck Point. I asked Rick how and where he'd like to fish and he suggested we troll Minnow Raps from our cabin down to the middle of the bay between Duck and Second Duck Points in a little deeper water than usual around 13-14 feet.
The water temperature was right around 60 degrees, the wind was out of the SW at 7 mph and the air temperature was 54 degrees.
I set the SmartCraft control at 580 rpm to achieve a ground speed of roughly 2.25 mph, which is the speed that typically works well with Minnow Raps in that depth of water.
During the troll the only fish we managed to boat was a 20-inch northern, which I immediately released into the lake. We then motored south to Ottertail Point where we used Northland Mimic Minnow spins for walleye. Unfortunately, we caught no walleye.
I then motored the boat around the point into Portage Bay and moved up to a small point just south of Two Points. We again used Mimic Minnows in 18 feet of water drifting toward shore into about 13 feet of water. I caught a decent sized perch and a very nice 17 1/4-walleye, which I put into the livewell for a future meal. Unfortunately continued his fishless streak stretching it to three days now.
We came ashore around 1:30 p.m. I called Jerry Schiebe to see when it might be a good time for him to show us the old Hancock place. He replied, "how about now?"
Rick and I walked down to Schiebe's house and then the three of us made our way to Noel's old house. Jerry found the keys and we spent the next hour or more inspecting the old place. According to Rick, the framing looks good, although that's about the only good thing to say about the structure itself. It will need everthing from the roof down to the floorboards.
The other potential downside is that of the 300 feet of shoreline most of it, maybe as much as 225, are swamp. That leaves little room for lake access via a dock.
Rick is going to contact Jeff Hancock on Memorial Day to discuss the property in more detail.
At 7:00 p.m. the sky was overcast and grey, the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the NW, the temperature was right around 60 degrees. We ate dinner early so we could get out on the water well befor sunset. That is still the plan and we should be departing soon.
We fished from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. When we got out onto the lake to start fishing there were 16 boats clustered between our house and Second Duck Point. Since everyone one else was "zigging," we zagged. I motored the boat to the Birches where we began tossing our Mimic Minnow spins. We fished in 10-12 feet of water, which had a temperature right around 62 degrees. The wind was light, almost nonexistent, at 5 mph out of the NW.
After 40 minutes of fishing the area with no luck, we changed tactics.
I took the boat out to 13-14 feet of water, set the Mercury SmartCraft controls at 580 rpm and we began trolling Minnow Raps. After a pass or two neither Rick nor I caught anything, so he switched colors and began trolling a purpledescent Minnow Rap while I continued to pull my Tennessee Shad colored Rapala.
It turns out the walleye liked the purpledescent color on this night. Rick caught a 13-inch, 16-inch and 16 3/4-inch walleye, the first two went back into the lake. We kept the 16 3/4-inch walleye and it joined my 17 1/4-inch walleye from earlier in the day in the basket. I'll probably fillet one for Jerry Schiebe (since he was kind enough to give us a jar of homemade maple syrup earlier today) and keep the other for us for a meal on Tuesday. I'm really starting to love the beer-batter Shore Lunch on fresh walleye fillets.
All in all, a great day of fishing on Leech Lake.
Although the sky is grey and looks ominous, there is little wind, maybe 5 mph out of the WNW, and the flags are laying limp against the pole. The temperature at 10:00 a.m. was 50 degrees. The hourly forecast for the day says that there's a 35% chance of showers around noon and then again at 3:00 p.m.
After we finish breakfast and our coffee Rick and I are going to hit the water as well, although I'm not sure where. I really have no desire to pull into the flotilla of FIBs, so maybe we'll head north toward Bass Bay, try the Birches, or maybe make a run south to Ottertail Point. I'll let Rick make the call.
Sometime today we need to contact Jerry Schiebe so we can get in to see Noel's old place. To some degree, Rick is interested in purchasing it and the obvious next step is to get inside and check out the structural integrity of the house.
At 11:00 a.m. Rick and I launched the boat and made our way out into Sucker Bay where 23 boats were gathered from our cabin to Second Duck Point. I asked Rick how and where he'd like to fish and he suggested we troll Minnow Raps from our cabin down to the middle of the bay between Duck and Second Duck Points in a little deeper water than usual around 13-14 feet.
The water temperature was right around 60 degrees, the wind was out of the SW at 7 mph and the air temperature was 54 degrees.
I set the SmartCraft control at 580 rpm to achieve a ground speed of roughly 2.25 mph, which is the speed that typically works well with Minnow Raps in that depth of water.
During the troll the only fish we managed to boat was a 20-inch northern, which I immediately released into the lake. We then motored south to Ottertail Point where we used Northland Mimic Minnow spins for walleye. Unfortunately, we caught no walleye.
I then motored the boat around the point into Portage Bay and moved up to a small point just south of Two Points. We again used Mimic Minnows in 18 feet of water drifting toward shore into about 13 feet of water. I caught a decent sized perch and a very nice 17 1/4-walleye, which I put into the livewell for a future meal. Unfortunately continued his fishless streak stretching it to three days now.
We came ashore around 1:30 p.m. I called Jerry Schiebe to see when it might be a good time for him to show us the old Hancock place. He replied, "how about now?"
Rick and I walked down to Schiebe's house and then the three of us made our way to Noel's old house. Jerry found the keys and we spent the next hour or more inspecting the old place. According to Rick, the framing looks good, although that's about the only good thing to say about the structure itself. It will need everthing from the roof down to the floorboards.
The other potential downside is that of the 300 feet of shoreline most of it, maybe as much as 225, are swamp. That leaves little room for lake access via a dock.
Rick is going to contact Jeff Hancock on Memorial Day to discuss the property in more detail.
At 7:00 p.m. the sky was overcast and grey, the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the NW, the temperature was right around 60 degrees. We ate dinner early so we could get out on the water well befor sunset. That is still the plan and we should be departing soon.
We fished from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. When we got out onto the lake to start fishing there were 16 boats clustered between our house and Second Duck Point. Since everyone one else was "zigging," we zagged. I motored the boat to the Birches where we began tossing our Mimic Minnow spins. We fished in 10-12 feet of water, which had a temperature right around 62 degrees. The wind was light, almost nonexistent, at 5 mph out of the NW.
After 40 minutes of fishing the area with no luck, we changed tactics.
I took the boat out to 13-14 feet of water, set the Mercury SmartCraft controls at 580 rpm and we began trolling Minnow Raps. After a pass or two neither Rick nor I caught anything, so he switched colors and began trolling a purpledescent Minnow Rap while I continued to pull my Tennessee Shad colored Rapala.
It turns out the walleye liked the purpledescent color on this night. Rick caught a 13-inch, 16-inch and 16 3/4-inch walleye, the first two went back into the lake. We kept the 16 3/4-inch walleye and it joined my 17 1/4-inch walleye from earlier in the day in the basket. I'll probably fillet one for Jerry Schiebe (since he was kind enough to give us a jar of homemade maple syrup earlier today) and keep the other for us for a meal on Tuesday. I'm really starting to love the beer-batter Shore Lunch on fresh walleye fillets.
All in all, a great day of fishing on Leech Lake.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
May 28, 2011 -- At Leech Lake
Today it's a bit warmer, already 60 degrees by mid-morning, but it's also overcast, mostly grey with sun peeking out every so often and the wind is blowing at 15-20 mph out of the SW. The flags (I fly the Australian flag as well as the US flag when Rick is visiting) are straight out from the pole, and there are white caps on the lake.
It rained numerous times throughout the late-morning and all afternoon. Occasionally the storms would subside and the sun would come out for 30 minutes or so, but like clockwork the next front would move in. There was some periods when the rain came down in buckets and the wind blew so hard that the lake was riled with big white caps and was turned a slate grey color.
I hung out inside most of the day, while Rick helped John Newman with a few projects in his garage, such as installing some new light fixtures.
I called Jeff Hancock, my deceased neighbor's son, to inquire about what will be done with Noel's old house. Jeff told me that he and his sister are trying to unload and gave me a quote of $200K for it; which, ironically, was the exact number Rick said he'd be willing to pay for it. Rick and I will probably meet up with Jerry Schiebe in the next day or two to see the inside of the house and garage. Who knows, Rick could a Leech Lake resident by the end of his visit!
I joined Rick in the Newman's garage for a beer, threw some darts and just chatted. After hard rain and strong winds, the storm finally let up as Rick and I made our way home at 6:30 p.m. The temperature was 52 degrees, the wind was out of the WSW at about 15 mph and the sky was filled with clouds, but the sun was shining. Maybe if the weather holds we'll get out to do some trolling for walleye this evening.
I got some brats in a pot of beer and onions in preperation for the grill. After our dinner, I checked the weather the best way I know how, I walked out to the end of our dock at looked. It is very windy, I'm estimating 17-20 mph out of the WSW, and the temperature is 52.
The high winds alone have me nervous about taking the boat out tonight, but there's another obstacle to deal with as well, the crowds of Memorial Day boaters and fishermen. Despite the wind and heavy waves, I counted 16 boats between our house and Second Duck Point. I don't have any desire to try to weave my way through a crowd of FIBs in search of walleye.
Instead of fishing tonight, Rick and I had a fire in the pit over at the cabin. After that we came home and called it a night. Maybe tomorrow conditions will be better for fishing.
It rained numerous times throughout the late-morning and all afternoon. Occasionally the storms would subside and the sun would come out for 30 minutes or so, but like clockwork the next front would move in. There was some periods when the rain came down in buckets and the wind blew so hard that the lake was riled with big white caps and was turned a slate grey color.
I hung out inside most of the day, while Rick helped John Newman with a few projects in his garage, such as installing some new light fixtures.
I called Jeff Hancock, my deceased neighbor's son, to inquire about what will be done with Noel's old house. Jeff told me that he and his sister are trying to unload and gave me a quote of $200K for it; which, ironically, was the exact number Rick said he'd be willing to pay for it. Rick and I will probably meet up with Jerry Schiebe in the next day or two to see the inside of the house and garage. Who knows, Rick could a Leech Lake resident by the end of his visit!
I joined Rick in the Newman's garage for a beer, threw some darts and just chatted. After hard rain and strong winds, the storm finally let up as Rick and I made our way home at 6:30 p.m. The temperature was 52 degrees, the wind was out of the WSW at about 15 mph and the sky was filled with clouds, but the sun was shining. Maybe if the weather holds we'll get out to do some trolling for walleye this evening.
I got some brats in a pot of beer and onions in preperation for the grill. After our dinner, I checked the weather the best way I know how, I walked out to the end of our dock at looked. It is very windy, I'm estimating 17-20 mph out of the WSW, and the temperature is 52.
The high winds alone have me nervous about taking the boat out tonight, but there's another obstacle to deal with as well, the crowds of Memorial Day boaters and fishermen. Despite the wind and heavy waves, I counted 16 boats between our house and Second Duck Point. I don't have any desire to try to weave my way through a crowd of FIBs in search of walleye.
Instead of fishing tonight, Rick and I had a fire in the pit over at the cabin. After that we came home and called it a night. Maybe tomorrow conditions will be better for fishing.
Friday, May 27, 2011
May 27, 2011 -- On Leech Lake
I forgot to check the temperature when I woke this morning, but when I checked it at 10:30 a.m. the thermometer read 44 degrees. The sky was grey and overcast and wind was out of the SE at 10-15 mph.
After a frustrating experience dealing with CitiMortgage which I won't go into here, other than to say I was on the phone with them for nearly an hour and didn't get my situation taken care of, Rick and I decided to go fishing.
I put three 6-gallon containers of gas in the boat since I noticed the tank was around 20 percent of capacity last night when we were trolling. Once the boat was gassed up, we launched and made our way to the "perch hole" near Norm's cabin. Both Rick and I were using Northland Tackle Mimic Minnow Spins.
We didn't catch anything in about 15 minutes of fishing, so we moved to "Bass Bay." During about an hour of drifting across the bay I caught maybe 10 perch, no jumbos, while Rick kept his fishless streak alive.
It was very windy in Bass Bay and with the temperature hovering just near 50 degrees, it was quite cool on the water. I had been keeping an eye on the storm that was predicted to hit mid-afternoon and from my perspective from Bass Bay it looked as if it were raining south of us near Goose Island, so I decided to get us back to shore since neither Rick nor I were wearing our rain gear.
Just as we came ashore it started to rain, but only very briefly. Within 15 minutes or so the rain had stopped, but we decided to stay warm and inside just the same.
Around 5:00 p.m. Rick and I went over to the Newman's and hung out in his garage, drank a beer or two and worked on his small boat trailer. It was raining the entire time we were at the Newman's, it rained while Rick and I ate our dinner of beer-battered walleye and it rained right up to the time we went to bed. We had a good deal of rain today.
As a result of the 40 degree temperature and the constant rain, we did not go fishing on Leech Lake this evening. Maybe tomorrow.
After a frustrating experience dealing with CitiMortgage which I won't go into here, other than to say I was on the phone with them for nearly an hour and didn't get my situation taken care of, Rick and I decided to go fishing.
I put three 6-gallon containers of gas in the boat since I noticed the tank was around 20 percent of capacity last night when we were trolling. Once the boat was gassed up, we launched and made our way to the "perch hole" near Norm's cabin. Both Rick and I were using Northland Tackle Mimic Minnow Spins.
We didn't catch anything in about 15 minutes of fishing, so we moved to "Bass Bay." During about an hour of drifting across the bay I caught maybe 10 perch, no jumbos, while Rick kept his fishless streak alive.
It was very windy in Bass Bay and with the temperature hovering just near 50 degrees, it was quite cool on the water. I had been keeping an eye on the storm that was predicted to hit mid-afternoon and from my perspective from Bass Bay it looked as if it were raining south of us near Goose Island, so I decided to get us back to shore since neither Rick nor I were wearing our rain gear.
Just as we came ashore it started to rain, but only very briefly. Within 15 minutes or so the rain had stopped, but we decided to stay warm and inside just the same.
Around 5:00 p.m. Rick and I went over to the Newman's and hung out in his garage, drank a beer or two and worked on his small boat trailer. It was raining the entire time we were at the Newman's, it rained while Rick and I ate our dinner of beer-battered walleye and it rained right up to the time we went to bed. We had a good deal of rain today.
As a result of the 40 degree temperature and the constant rain, we did not go fishing on Leech Lake this evening. Maybe tomorrow.
Water Level Update
Periodically I post the water level of Leech Lake measured by my highly unscientific method of seeing how many cement pilings of my boat ramp are under water.
On Friday, May 27, 2011, seven (7) of the pilings were completely covered with water with the waves lapping up on piling number eight.
The highest I've seen the water level on Leech Lake was nine (9) pilings covered. The lowest I've seen is none of the pilings in the water. Based on the high and low of what I've seen in the past six years or so, the water level is above average on this date.
On Friday, May 27, 2011, seven (7) of the pilings were completely covered with water with the waves lapping up on piling number eight.
The highest I've seen the water level on Leech Lake was nine (9) pilings covered. The lowest I've seen is none of the pilings in the water. Based on the high and low of what I've seen in the past six years or so, the water level is above average on this date.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
May 26, 2011 -- On Leech Lake
The weather at 8:00 a.m. at Leech Lake was as follows -- the temperature was a cool 38 degrees (yes, it's the end of May, but it's northern Minnesota), the sky was clear and blue, and the wind was variable with a breeze of about 7-10 mph out of the SSE, which meant the lake in front of our house/cabin was calm.
I have a business call I must take today at 9:30 a.m., so I'll be on shore and in the house until roughly 10:30 a.m. or so. But after that, I'm hoping that Rick and I can get out onto the lake to do some fishing. Maybe we'll zip down to "Bass Bay" and try our hand at some panfish or crappie.
After my call and some breakfast, Rick and I went fishing. The weather was very nice, if not a bit cool. The temperature was 46 degrees, the sky was clear and blue, the wind was out of the SSE at 8-12 mph and the water temperature was hovering around 62 degrees.
We started fishing in 11 feet of water off Second Duck Point using jigs tipped with shiners. We had a few bites, and something nipped the entire body of my shiner off the jig leaving just the head, but we caught no fish.
I moved the boat to 12 feet of water straight out in front of our house, but we didn't have a lot of luck there either. I caught a few small perch and Rick didn't hook into anything. So, once again I moved us. This time I position us in front of Norm's cabin allowing the wind to push us north toward Schiebe's in about 9 feet of water. For this drift I changed up and went with a Mimic Minnow Spin from Northland Tackle.
I my very first cast I caught a nice perch; not quite a jumbo, but still a nice fish. I proceeded to catch at least a half of a dozen to 10 perch during that drift with the Mimic Minnow, but Rick, who was using a jig and shiner, caught nothing.
At about 1:45 p.m. we came ashore, had some lunch, then launched into some chores. I planted the other two Colorado blue spruce trees at the cabin, while Rick started tearing about the old smoker that Clancy (the previous owner of our house) had left behind the Bunkhouse and which has been an eye sore for the entire 10 years we've owned the property.
After I had planted the trees, I went over to the house and helped Rick finish tearing up the smoker. It was made of mostly sheet metal and heavy wood so it was not an easy thing to demonlish. But at last we had it torn down to the point we could load it into the back of my truck.
Paulsen's, who live down the road from us, have has some roof work done to their place and as a result have a large, industrial-sized dumpster sitting in their driveway. When I stopped by to chat with Duane this morning I noticed that there was barely anything inside the dumpster and asked if I could throw the old smoker in it. Duane was fine with it as long as American Disposal, the owner of the dumpster, OK'd it. I called AD to check, and got the go ahead.
So at about 4:30 p.m. Rick and I threw the old smoker materials into the dumpster, cleaned up and came home. Once home I swept up the driveway where we loaded the materials into my truck, swept out the back of the truck, and generally cleaned up. Rick, meanwhile, checked out the roof on the cabin (which had replaced last year) just to make sure everything still looked good; and it did.
While sitting inside the house listening to music and waiting for dinner to cook, I looked out toward the lake and right where our dock meets the shore were a mated pair of Canadian geese and 5 yellow-tinted goslings. For the longest time the 5 little geese preened themselves, rested in the warm evening sun and snacked on just hatched birch flies, while the two adults stood on guard, one looking north the other south. Instinctively these geese parents protected their offspring and held the family together. The geese stayed near our dock for nearly 25 minutes before moving toward the water and wading away. I watched them move north toward the cabin before they disappeared behind the trees.
After dinner I walked out into the living room and looked outside only to see the that the Canadian geese and their 5 goslings had returned. Three of the little geese were bundled together sleeping while the other two goslings and the adults ate birch flies and grass. This is one of the many pleasures of the northwoods, being close to nature. When I'm here at Leech Lake I see eagles nesting, Canadian geese with their goslings, families of beaver, deer and their fawns, turtles laying eggs and on and on. At Leech Lake I'm connected to nature in a way that I'm not able to achieve aware else. I have to say, it's good for my soul.
We went fishing at 8:15 p.m., about 45 minutes before sunset. As usual, we trolled from Malay's cabin to the north and between Second Duck and Duck Points to the south in 9-12 feet of water pulling Minnow Raps at a ground speed of between 1.75 and 2.45 mph depending on if we were going with or against the wind. The wind was blowing at 12-17 mph out of the SSE, the water temperature was 62 degrees, and the air temperature was 42.
During the two hours we were on the water I caught a 13-inch, a 15-inch and a 16-inch walleye -- all of which went back into the lake -- as well as a northern pike. As was the case earlier in the day, Rick was skunked.
Good night from Leech Lake.
I have a business call I must take today at 9:30 a.m., so I'll be on shore and in the house until roughly 10:30 a.m. or so. But after that, I'm hoping that Rick and I can get out onto the lake to do some fishing. Maybe we'll zip down to "Bass Bay" and try our hand at some panfish or crappie.
After my call and some breakfast, Rick and I went fishing. The weather was very nice, if not a bit cool. The temperature was 46 degrees, the sky was clear and blue, the wind was out of the SSE at 8-12 mph and the water temperature was hovering around 62 degrees.
We started fishing in 11 feet of water off Second Duck Point using jigs tipped with shiners. We had a few bites, and something nipped the entire body of my shiner off the jig leaving just the head, but we caught no fish.
I moved the boat to 12 feet of water straight out in front of our house, but we didn't have a lot of luck there either. I caught a few small perch and Rick didn't hook into anything. So, once again I moved us. This time I position us in front of Norm's cabin allowing the wind to push us north toward Schiebe's in about 9 feet of water. For this drift I changed up and went with a Mimic Minnow Spin from Northland Tackle.
I my very first cast I caught a nice perch; not quite a jumbo, but still a nice fish. I proceeded to catch at least a half of a dozen to 10 perch during that drift with the Mimic Minnow, but Rick, who was using a jig and shiner, caught nothing.
At about 1:45 p.m. we came ashore, had some lunch, then launched into some chores. I planted the other two Colorado blue spruce trees at the cabin, while Rick started tearing about the old smoker that Clancy (the previous owner of our house) had left behind the Bunkhouse and which has been an eye sore for the entire 10 years we've owned the property.
After I had planted the trees, I went over to the house and helped Rick finish tearing up the smoker. It was made of mostly sheet metal and heavy wood so it was not an easy thing to demonlish. But at last we had it torn down to the point we could load it into the back of my truck.
Paulsen's, who live down the road from us, have has some roof work done to their place and as a result have a large, industrial-sized dumpster sitting in their driveway. When I stopped by to chat with Duane this morning I noticed that there was barely anything inside the dumpster and asked if I could throw the old smoker in it. Duane was fine with it as long as American Disposal, the owner of the dumpster, OK'd it. I called AD to check, and got the go ahead.
So at about 4:30 p.m. Rick and I threw the old smoker materials into the dumpster, cleaned up and came home. Once home I swept up the driveway where we loaded the materials into my truck, swept out the back of the truck, and generally cleaned up. Rick, meanwhile, checked out the roof on the cabin (which had replaced last year) just to make sure everything still looked good; and it did.
While sitting inside the house listening to music and waiting for dinner to cook, I looked out toward the lake and right where our dock meets the shore were a mated pair of Canadian geese and 5 yellow-tinted goslings. For the longest time the 5 little geese preened themselves, rested in the warm evening sun and snacked on just hatched birch flies, while the two adults stood on guard, one looking north the other south. Instinctively these geese parents protected their offspring and held the family together. The geese stayed near our dock for nearly 25 minutes before moving toward the water and wading away. I watched them move north toward the cabin before they disappeared behind the trees.
After dinner I walked out into the living room and looked outside only to see the that the Canadian geese and their 5 goslings had returned. Three of the little geese were bundled together sleeping while the other two goslings and the adults ate birch flies and grass. This is one of the many pleasures of the northwoods, being close to nature. When I'm here at Leech Lake I see eagles nesting, Canadian geese with their goslings, families of beaver, deer and their fawns, turtles laying eggs and on and on. At Leech Lake I'm connected to nature in a way that I'm not able to achieve aware else. I have to say, it's good for my soul.
We went fishing at 8:15 p.m., about 45 minutes before sunset. As usual, we trolled from Malay's cabin to the north and between Second Duck and Duck Points to the south in 9-12 feet of water pulling Minnow Raps at a ground speed of between 1.75 and 2.45 mph depending on if we were going with or against the wind. The wind was blowing at 12-17 mph out of the SSE, the water temperature was 62 degrees, and the air temperature was 42.
During the two hours we were on the water I caught a 13-inch, a 15-inch and a 16-inch walleye -- all of which went back into the lake -- as well as a northern pike. As was the case earlier in the day, Rick was skunked.
Good night from Leech Lake.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
May 25, 2011 -- At Leech Lake
This morning at 9:00 a.m. the temperature was a cool 44 degrees, the sky was mostly clear with just a view high wispy clouds and a stiff wind out of the north at 15-18 mph. There are few white caps rolling across the lake, making it a morning we'll stay on shore.
I spent a good chunk of the morning dealing with Delta Airlines trying to change the date of my flight from Bemidji back to San Jose. As is always the case when dealing with any airline, I spent long periods of time on hold, spent considerable time with an agent trying to change the flight, only to be redirected to another agent because the first one couldn't help. Of course, another long period on hold was encountered between speaking with agents. This really shouldn't be so hard.
After going around and around on dates, times and charges, I finally settled on a new date for my return to California. Total time on the phone with Delta was 1 hour, 7 minutes and 14 seconds. I still have another flight to change, but I'll do that on a different day. They simply wore me down by constantly putting me on hold, playing crappy hold music, and charging outlandish change fees. I sure with Southwest Airlines flew to Bemidji!!
After my lengthy call with Delta, I made a call to a friend of mine regarding a business opportunity. But alas, we traded voice mails, so nothing accomplished, yet.
T&K Outdoors showed up at the house/cabin at around 11:15 a.m. to cut the lawn. It's the first time they've been out this year, and it's good they're here, the grass is nearly a foot tall in many spots. If I lived here year 'round I'd make the investment in a good riding mower and tackle the chore myself, which I actually kind of enjoy doing. But since there are periods throughout the spring and summer when I'm not here to mow the lawn, it makes sense to have T&K take on that responsibility.
When T&K was finished with the yard, Rick and I went on a bike ride. We rode down Ottertail Point Road to Duck Point Woods and rode back to where you can see the eagle's nest. The eagle -- I couldn't tell if it was a male or female since both have the white head -- was in the nest guarding either the eggs or eaglets. It's not everyday you get a chance to see a bald eagle nesting in the wild.
Once back at the house/cabin, I planted one of the three colorado blue spruce trees that I bought in town the other day. I still haven't decided on where I want to plant the other two. Since it's supposed to get down to as low as 30 degrees tonight, I moved the two potted trees into the garage to keep the roots from freezing.
While I was planting the tree, Rick took down the old antenna that was out by the lake at the house. It has been there for years and has never been operational since we bought the house back in 2001. All that remains is a 10 foot high metal pole and a small cement slab. I'll have both of those removed when WC Excavating comes to work on the harbor walls, most likely sometime in early June.
The wind never let up today. It was blowing at 17-22 mph out of the north, with gust even higher. There have been white caps on the lake all day, and only a few hearty (or foolish) boaters were out on the lake.
For dinner I barbecued a brined chicken, cooking it beer-can style, where a 3/4 can of beer is placed inside the chicken for barbecuing. We'll finish off the potato salad I made a few days back as the side.
No fishing today. The wind was simply too strong all day to make it worthwhile. I'm not a pro walleye fisherman that has to go out fishing regardless of the conditions. Instead, I'm here to enjoy the lake and post updates about what's working to catch walleyes and where they're biting. I'll leave the unpleasant weather conditions to those who get paid to fish. Until tomorrow...
I spent a good chunk of the morning dealing with Delta Airlines trying to change the date of my flight from Bemidji back to San Jose. As is always the case when dealing with any airline, I spent long periods of time on hold, spent considerable time with an agent trying to change the flight, only to be redirected to another agent because the first one couldn't help. Of course, another long period on hold was encountered between speaking with agents. This really shouldn't be so hard.
After going around and around on dates, times and charges, I finally settled on a new date for my return to California. Total time on the phone with Delta was 1 hour, 7 minutes and 14 seconds. I still have another flight to change, but I'll do that on a different day. They simply wore me down by constantly putting me on hold, playing crappy hold music, and charging outlandish change fees. I sure with Southwest Airlines flew to Bemidji!!
After my lengthy call with Delta, I made a call to a friend of mine regarding a business opportunity. But alas, we traded voice mails, so nothing accomplished, yet.
T&K Outdoors showed up at the house/cabin at around 11:15 a.m. to cut the lawn. It's the first time they've been out this year, and it's good they're here, the grass is nearly a foot tall in many spots. If I lived here year 'round I'd make the investment in a good riding mower and tackle the chore myself, which I actually kind of enjoy doing. But since there are periods throughout the spring and summer when I'm not here to mow the lawn, it makes sense to have T&K take on that responsibility.
When T&K was finished with the yard, Rick and I went on a bike ride. We rode down Ottertail Point Road to Duck Point Woods and rode back to where you can see the eagle's nest. The eagle -- I couldn't tell if it was a male or female since both have the white head -- was in the nest guarding either the eggs or eaglets. It's not everyday you get a chance to see a bald eagle nesting in the wild.
Once back at the house/cabin, I planted one of the three colorado blue spruce trees that I bought in town the other day. I still haven't decided on where I want to plant the other two. Since it's supposed to get down to as low as 30 degrees tonight, I moved the two potted trees into the garage to keep the roots from freezing.
While I was planting the tree, Rick took down the old antenna that was out by the lake at the house. It has been there for years and has never been operational since we bought the house back in 2001. All that remains is a 10 foot high metal pole and a small cement slab. I'll have both of those removed when WC Excavating comes to work on the harbor walls, most likely sometime in early June.
The wind never let up today. It was blowing at 17-22 mph out of the north, with gust even higher. There have been white caps on the lake all day, and only a few hearty (or foolish) boaters were out on the lake.
For dinner I barbecued a brined chicken, cooking it beer-can style, where a 3/4 can of beer is placed inside the chicken for barbecuing. We'll finish off the potato salad I made a few days back as the side.
No fishing today. The wind was simply too strong all day to make it worthwhile. I'm not a pro walleye fisherman that has to go out fishing regardless of the conditions. Instead, I'm here to enjoy the lake and post updates about what's working to catch walleyes and where they're biting. I'll leave the unpleasant weather conditions to those who get paid to fish. Until tomorrow...
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
May 24, 2011 -- On Leech Lake
Today the sky was grey and overcast all day long. At mid-morning the temperature was only 46 degrees and it didn't get past 60 throughout the day. The wind remained pretty steady all day at 12-15 mph out of the north.
After being up so late the previous night, neither Rick nor I arose early. We pretty much just hung out around the house most of the day, before tackling a few chores later in the afternoon. Rick took a look at some faulty wiring on a trailer of John Newman's. Then we took down two dead trees that were on the Newman's land near our property. Of course we checked with Karen Newman first to make sure she (and John) were OK with us removing the trees. We didn't want a strong wind to bring them down randomly.
At around 7:30 p.m., I got the grill going for the porterhouse steaks Rick bought at the store yesterday. They look like very good cuts of meat and should be tasty.
As the day has moved toward evening the sky has cleared some and there is now some blue to been seen, and the sun is peeking through the clouds. The wind has slowed considerably and is now blowing at 5-8 mph out of the north. The temperature is about 52 degrees.
Tonight is the last night Kathleen will be in St. Cloud visiting her mother. Tomorrow Kathleen flies to San Francisco and will be in our house in San Jose by 7:00 p.m. How weird that someone can go from one environment and setting to another so completely different is such a short amount of time.
At 9:15 p.m. we went fishing. Like last night, I used the bluegill colored Lindy Shadling and Rick used a purpledescent Rapala Minnow Rap. About an hour into our fishing, I had caught two northerns and had to deal with at least two tangles with the Lindy Shadling. The design of the Shadling is such that if you use a locking swivel (which I do to reduce line twist) the action of the lure ends up catching the line in the lead treble hook. On two occasions tonight, and two more last night, my lure got tangled up in the line. Not a great design for a lure that is meant to be used for trolling. After it happened the second time tonight I changed from the Shadling to my old reliable Rapala Minnow Rap, in the Tennessee shad color. No problems with the Minnow Rap. Live and learn.
On our last pass by Second Duck Point on our way back to the cabin, Rick hooked into a nice 20-inch walleye; which was immediately released back into the lake. The wind was still blowing out of the north at about 10 mph, the water temperature was right around 60 degrees, the moon was 50% waning and was scheduled to rise at 1:32 a.m. CDT, and the air temperature was a very cool 40 degrees.
We came ashore around 10:45 p.m. and caught the end of the Sharks vs. Canucks Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. The Canucks won 3-2 in OT and won the series 4 games to 1. Another disappointing end to the Sharks season. No more hockey for me this year.
I've got a number of business and home related calls and projects to attend to tomorrow, so I'll sign off for now.
sj: 2 pike
rs: 20" walleye
After being up so late the previous night, neither Rick nor I arose early. We pretty much just hung out around the house most of the day, before tackling a few chores later in the afternoon. Rick took a look at some faulty wiring on a trailer of John Newman's. Then we took down two dead trees that were on the Newman's land near our property. Of course we checked with Karen Newman first to make sure she (and John) were OK with us removing the trees. We didn't want a strong wind to bring them down randomly.
At around 7:30 p.m., I got the grill going for the porterhouse steaks Rick bought at the store yesterday. They look like very good cuts of meat and should be tasty.
As the day has moved toward evening the sky has cleared some and there is now some blue to been seen, and the sun is peeking through the clouds. The wind has slowed considerably and is now blowing at 5-8 mph out of the north. The temperature is about 52 degrees.
Tonight is the last night Kathleen will be in St. Cloud visiting her mother. Tomorrow Kathleen flies to San Francisco and will be in our house in San Jose by 7:00 p.m. How weird that someone can go from one environment and setting to another so completely different is such a short amount of time.
At 9:15 p.m. we went fishing. Like last night, I used the bluegill colored Lindy Shadling and Rick used a purpledescent Rapala Minnow Rap. About an hour into our fishing, I had caught two northerns and had to deal with at least two tangles with the Lindy Shadling. The design of the Shadling is such that if you use a locking swivel (which I do to reduce line twist) the action of the lure ends up catching the line in the lead treble hook. On two occasions tonight, and two more last night, my lure got tangled up in the line. Not a great design for a lure that is meant to be used for trolling. After it happened the second time tonight I changed from the Shadling to my old reliable Rapala Minnow Rap, in the Tennessee shad color. No problems with the Minnow Rap. Live and learn.
On our last pass by Second Duck Point on our way back to the cabin, Rick hooked into a nice 20-inch walleye; which was immediately released back into the lake. The wind was still blowing out of the north at about 10 mph, the water temperature was right around 60 degrees, the moon was 50% waning and was scheduled to rise at 1:32 a.m. CDT, and the air temperature was a very cool 40 degrees.
We came ashore around 10:45 p.m. and caught the end of the Sharks vs. Canucks Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. The Canucks won 3-2 in OT and won the series 4 games to 1. Another disappointing end to the Sharks season. No more hockey for me this year.
I've got a number of business and home related calls and projects to attend to tomorrow, so I'll sign off for now.
sj: 2 pike
rs: 20" walleye
Monday, May 23, 2011
May 23, 2011 -- On Leech Lake
This morning at 9:00 a.m. the sky was grey and overcast, the wind was out of the north at around 15 mph and the temperature was 50 degrees.
At 10:00 a.m. Rick and I went into Bemidji for breakfast and to run a series of errands. I picked up 3 colorado blue spruce trees to plant at the cabin between our place and the Poage's. I also bought a new battery for the ATV, and other odds and ends that were needed around the house and cabin.
Once home, Rick rebuilt the little bridge that spans a small gully between my property and Newman's. I planted the new blueberry bush that arrived, and positioned the pines trees where I want to plant them near our property line with Poage's.
At 5:30 p.m. the temperature was 65 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny and the wind was fairly strong at 12-15 mph out of the north. I went down the end of the dock, took out the jumbo perch and walleye, took them up to the cabin and cleaned them. The perch look like it has some type of small parasite in the meat -- little black dots and some bigger orange marks -- so I decided we wouldn't be eating it.
Instead of my normal method of frying the walleye fillets I decided to do a beer-batter coating and I have say, they fillets tasted much better than ususal. I think I'll try a beer batter the next time we eat walleye.
By 9:15 p.m. the wind had died down to around 5-8 mph out of the north, so Rick and I decided to go fishing. I was trying out a new lure, a Lindy Shadling, in the bluegill color, and Rick used a magnum X-Rap from Rapala before switching to a Rapala Minnow Rap in a purpledescent color.
I caught the first fish, a nice 17 1/2-inch walleye, which we put in the livewell. I caught it while making a turn out toward the lake just past Second Duck Point in 11 feet of water with my Mercury Smartcraft trolling speed set at 570 rpm. The water temperature was hovering around 60 degrees, there was a half moon, and the wind had all but died down completely.
We were joined in "the Alley" by 4 other boats, although I didn't see them catching anything.
Rick caught a northern pike, about 22 inches long, and later a 21 1/2-inch walleye, which had some new cuts, or bites, on its side. After looking at the fish's wounds, and contemplated the size of the monster fish that would have hit such a big walleye, we put the wounded, but spirited, fish back into the lake.
We came ashore around 11:00 p.m. and then proceeded to stay up way too late listening to music and debating the problems of the world; none of which we solved by the way.
I'm still trying to decided if I should clean the walleye in the basket and trade it with Jerry Schiebe for a mason jar of his homemade maple syrup or eat the walleye fillets with Rick using my newly found beer batter. Decision, decisions...
At 10:00 a.m. Rick and I went into Bemidji for breakfast and to run a series of errands. I picked up 3 colorado blue spruce trees to plant at the cabin between our place and the Poage's. I also bought a new battery for the ATV, and other odds and ends that were needed around the house and cabin.
Once home, Rick rebuilt the little bridge that spans a small gully between my property and Newman's. I planted the new blueberry bush that arrived, and positioned the pines trees where I want to plant them near our property line with Poage's.
At 5:30 p.m. the temperature was 65 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny and the wind was fairly strong at 12-15 mph out of the north. I went down the end of the dock, took out the jumbo perch and walleye, took them up to the cabin and cleaned them. The perch look like it has some type of small parasite in the meat -- little black dots and some bigger orange marks -- so I decided we wouldn't be eating it.
Instead of my normal method of frying the walleye fillets I decided to do a beer-batter coating and I have say, they fillets tasted much better than ususal. I think I'll try a beer batter the next time we eat walleye.
By 9:15 p.m. the wind had died down to around 5-8 mph out of the north, so Rick and I decided to go fishing. I was trying out a new lure, a Lindy Shadling, in the bluegill color, and Rick used a magnum X-Rap from Rapala before switching to a Rapala Minnow Rap in a purpledescent color.
I caught the first fish, a nice 17 1/2-inch walleye, which we put in the livewell. I caught it while making a turn out toward the lake just past Second Duck Point in 11 feet of water with my Mercury Smartcraft trolling speed set at 570 rpm. The water temperature was hovering around 60 degrees, there was a half moon, and the wind had all but died down completely.
We were joined in "the Alley" by 4 other boats, although I didn't see them catching anything.
Rick caught a northern pike, about 22 inches long, and later a 21 1/2-inch walleye, which had some new cuts, or bites, on its side. After looking at the fish's wounds, and contemplated the size of the monster fish that would have hit such a big walleye, we put the wounded, but spirited, fish back into the lake.
We came ashore around 11:00 p.m. and then proceeded to stay up way too late listening to music and debating the problems of the world; none of which we solved by the way.
I'm still trying to decided if I should clean the walleye in the basket and trade it with Jerry Schiebe for a mason jar of his homemade maple syrup or eat the walleye fillets with Rick using my newly found beer batter. Decision, decisions...
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