June 7, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

At 9:00 a.m. this morning the guys from WC Peterson Excavating showed up, jackhammer in hand, and began tearing out the old cement walkway around the harbor. The plan is to remove all of the old cement and rebar that makes up the walkway, then put in a tile drain, sewer rock and finally gravel. That way the water from rain and snow melt will be able to drain into the harbor and not cause the walkway and the harbor walls to heave up and move when the water refreezes. It's amazing how much damage ice can do.

The temperature this morning is a cool 59 degrees and the wind is out of the north at 10-15 mph. There are some white caps on the lake, but it is by no means as rough as I've seen it during my stay here. In fact, I wrote about the incredibly strong winds we had a week or so ago, when I was worried that something might happen to the docks or boat lift, and it turns out I did have good cause to worry.

I realized yesterday that a corner section of the dock at our house was missing. After comparing notes with Mark from Shore Brothers, we determined that he and his crew had installed it in early May and that it must have been the storm that tore it free from the rest of the dock. I looked for the missing section along the shoreline from Poage's cabin down Newman's, but it was no where to be found. I'm afraid at this point it is lost somewhere in the lake.

The jackhammering continues as it approaches noon. The temperature has warmed to 65 degrees, and the wind has weakened to 8-12 mph eliminating the white caps that were on the lake earlier. I'd like to go fishing, but I also need to be here as the guys work on the harbor restoration. Maybe if they take a lunch break I can get out onto the lake for a little bit.

At 2:30 p.m. the wind had calmed down to a gentle breeze from the SE, the temperature had climbed to 80 degrees, it was muggy and the sky was hazy. The jackhammering of the harbor walkway continues, and I'd estimate that they aren't even 25% of the way through it. Butch, the lead guy on the project from WC Peterson Excavating, had told me at one point a couple of weeks ago that he thought the entire job would take no more than a day. Well, from the pace they're on, I'd guess it'll take them at least three days to remove the cement. Then they've got to put in a tile drain, straighten out the harbor walls, put in sewer rock and gravel, and rewire the lights. I don't see how this is going to be completed in a week's time.

When 3:30 p.m. rolled around the jackhammering stopped and the two young workers for Peterson Excavating got into their car and left. After taking care of few business issues here at the house, I got out onto the lake at just 4:30 p.m.

I motored out to 10 feet of water in a spot between our house and cabin and let the ENE wind push the boat out away from shore. There was only one other boat on the water at the time, a big sport fishing boat with about 6 guys on board, and to my dismay they shadowed me where ever I went. If I pulled in the drift sock and repositioned the boat, so did they. I don't understand why some fools can't figure out how and where to fish on their own.

The water temperature had cooled slightly to 68 degrees, most likely as a result of the 46 degree temperature we had last night and the rain from the overnight thunderstorm. The wind was at 12-15 mph out of the ENE with gusts up over 20 mph, and the sky was hazy.

I was using an 1/8 ounce Northland Gumball jig tipped with a fathead minnow and drifting. I caught numerous perch, including a couple in the 9-inch range, a northern, and a beautiful 23 1/2-inch walleye. It's so fun to catch a big, sturdy fish like that on 6lb test Fireline Crystal and a 5' 6" St. Croix rod.

As I reeled the big walleye toward the boat I had to fight the fish with one hand while reaching for the net with the other. I use a Frabill net with an extending handle so I had to extend the handle while trying to keep the walleye from coming unhooked. I managed to slip the net under the big fish just as it shook its head and spit the hook. The walleye dropped into the net and I was able to bring it on board to measure it. By most estimates, a 23 1/2 inch walleye weighs somewhere between 4 1/2 and 5 pounds. Like I said, a sturdy fish. I put the slot fish back into the water in the same place where I caught it, in 11 feet of water in a spot directly between the house and cabin.

By 5:30 p.m. I was on shore and having a beer with my neighbors John and Karen Newman. We had a nice chat and then parted ways so we could each make dinner. After I ate, I took and ATV ride around the "loop" and again encountered the local animals, including a painted turtle, ruffed grouse and a white tail deer, not to mention a plethora of native song birds.

At 8:45 p.m. the temperature is still a very warm 74 degrees, but I can feel it cooling off. The wind has shifted to the SW and picked up to around 20-25 mph so there are white caps rolling across the lake once again, and the sky remained hazy. I walked over to the cabin to raise the boat in the lift a little more since the waves were large and ran into our local mink neighbor. It was scurrying about near the boat landing and when is saw me it darted into the big rocks along the shoreline.

Oh, and one other update. Before I went over to the Newman's this evening, all three of the Newman men -- John, Johnny and Greg -- were in the lake to cool off. I had mentioned losing the corner section of the dock, so while in the water the Newman's donned face masks and looked for the missing part of the dock. And wouldn't you know it, John found it right underneath a section of our dock; where it was not visible from above the water. I now have the missing section, but will need some hardware and a specially sized board to reattach it. Nonetheless, a great find.

I did not go fishing tonight because the wind picked up so much and was creating white caps. I love fishing, but I don't need to venture out on a night like tonight. Maybe tomorrow...

June 6, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

For the first time since I've been here at Leech Lake I awoke to warm temperatures. This morning at 9:00 a.m. it was 65 degrees, sunny, and just a light breeze out of the south at 5 mph; the lake is nearly flat calm.

It is also one of the few days since I've been here that I am by myself. For the first two days I was here back in May, I was busy getting the boat from Corner Sports, putting it in the water, opening up the house and cabin, etc., so although I was by myself, the time flew by quickly and I didn't even notice the solitude I had.

Then Tim and Jackson were here with me for the weekend of walleye opener. On the day they left Kathleen arrived (and I always welcome any time I can spend with her), and before she went back to St. Cloud Rick arrived from Australia. He just left yesterday so today I'm here by myself.

But I have a lot of work to do around the properties, and the guys from WC Peterson Excavating may be here today or tomorrow to begin restoration work on the harbor, so I'm sure I will have plenty to keep my very busy.

Another quick nature update: After doing some work around the properties today I was hot and decided to cool off with an ATV ride. Along my ride I saw another painted turtle and a couple of ruffed grouse. I've heard that ruffed grouse are fun to hunt and even better to eat. Maybe some day I'll take up grouse hunting; I know that there are a lot of them here on Ottertail Peninsula.

I decided to go fishing at 4:30 p.m., and was only on the water for an hour because I simply got too hot! Imagine that, too hot. The temperature was 80 degrees, the wind was calm, the sky was clear, so out on the water with the sun beating down on me it was just to hot to fish comfortably.

I did catch numerous perch, including some good sized ones, but no walleye. I was using an 1/8 ounce Northland jig tipped with a fathead minnow. The water temperature had risen to 70.7 degrees, up from the mid-60 degree mark just a day earlier. That's what a hot day will do to the water temperature.

At 5:30 p.m. I came ashore, cleaned up, had some dinner and then watched as a huge thunderstorm cloud passed over head. As it did, the wind picked up and shifted from a south wind to a north wind and the temperature dropped several degrees. Although I heard thunder, it never did rain, at least not until well after midnight.

Until tomorrow...

June 5, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

This morning I was up and on the road to Bemidji by 5:30 a.m. The temperature at the time was 44 degrees, the sky was clear and the wind was light at 7-10 mph out of the SW.

As a dim light turned into morning, I drove Rick from our house on Leech Lake to the airport in Bemidji. He was catching a 6:50 a.m. flight to Minneapolis and from there he was flying to Orlando. It was good seeing Rick again and hopefully he enjoyed his visit.

After dropping off Rick, I went to Corner Sports to pick up a couple of spark plugs for my Honda 8hp kicker motor. Corner Sports is closed today, but they were kind enough to leave the spark plugs in a place where I could easily find them; I'll pay for them when I next go into town. I can't imagine that kind of trust and service from a boat shop in San Jose, California. But this is the northwoods and that's the kind of people that live up here.

I ate an early breakfast at Perkin's and by 7:00 a.m. was doing to some grocery shopping at Luekin's Village Foods. At 9:00 a.m. I was back at the lake and had installed the spark plugs in the kicker motor. Since it is day two of the Leech Lake Walleye Tournament there were close to 20 boats in front of the house so rather than test out the kicker motor at the moment, I decided to wait until later in the day.

[NOTE: Here's a link to the day one results of the LLWT. Leaders caught six fish for a weight of 13.87 pounds.]

I spent most of the afternoon doing laundry, cleaning, etc., but at 4:30 p.m. I decided to go fishing. Most of the tournament fishermen had left, leaving only 4 or 5 boats in front of the house.

I used the Mercury Verado to motor out to 10 feet of water then I turned off the big motor, put the Honda 8hp kicker motor in the water and fired it up. It started right up, thanks to the new spark plugs, but as soon as I put it in gear it stalled. I tried a second time and this time the Honda not only fired up, but ran when I put it in gear. I spent maybe five minutes or so running the kicker motor just to give it some gas and let it warm up. I guess the new spark plugs did the trick. Then I shut it off and began fishing.

I drifted from 10 feet of water in front of the house to about 14 feet of water in front of Malays and along the way caught numerous perch -- including an 11-inch perch, which by my definition is the start of being a jumbo; a jumbo being 11-14 inches; I defy anyone to show me a 14-inch plus perch out of Leech Lake -- and a northern. I then decided to head to shore at 5:45 p.m.

A brief nature update: Yesterday while riding on the ATV, I saw a female painted turtle laying her eggs along side of Ottertail Point Rd., between Two Points Rd. and 26th Ave. The road graters had been through the day earlier and apparently the soft dirt along the edge of the road was just what the turtle was looking for to lay her eggs. I hope they survive. Then this afternoon while sitting in the living room a small animal caught my eye. I quickly fixed the binoculars on it and discovered it was a mink, sniffing its way from the harbor to the fish house. Then it turned, and ran behind the fish house and I lost sight of it. Again, I continue to be thankful for the opportunity to witness such animals in the wild.

Although the wind was calm, maybe 5-7 mph out of the north, and the temperature in the mid-60s I decided to just stay inside and watch the sunset and not go fishing. As the sun set, the clouds rolled in and it looked like a thunderstorm might follow, but none did.

Getting up at 5:00 a.m. wore me down early tonight, so I am going to call it a night.

June 4, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

At 10:00 a.m. the temperature was 56 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny with half of the sky filled big billowy clouds, and the wind was 10-15 mph out of the west. There were also 38 boats already in front of our house.

It's a little ridiculous when there are so many boats in such a small area, especially on a lake that is 113,000 acres big. However, I can attest that there are walleye in the spot where the boats are fishing, and that's the name of the game. Oh, and I just realized, today is the start of the two-day Leech Lake Walleye Tournament, so of course there are going to be more serious fishermen than usual on the lake today.

We didn't want to join the crowd in front of our house, so instead Rick and I headed down to Bass Bay for some bass fishing. We each threw spinner baits and made our way from the harbor to the old Hancock place. I was able to boat three chunky largemouth bass, and Rick added one of his own.

As the afternoon progressed, the wind began to pick up and by 3:00 p.m. when we came ashore it was blowing at close to 20 mph out of the WNW creating white caps that rolled toward our shore. The temperature was 69 degrees.

Since tonight is Rick's last night at the lake, I was hoping that the weather would permit us one last chance to get out on the water together. And for once, the weather cooperated.

By 8:45 p.m. the wind had slowed to 8-10 mph out of the WNW making conditions perfect for trolling crankbaits. I set the Mercury SmartCraft controls for 550 rpm, which is about 2-2.25 mph ground speed, getting our crankbaits down to 8-10 feet with 50-60 feet of line let out.

I had the rare experience of catching four different fish species while trolling -- perch, northern pike, rock bass and walleye. The walleye was a healthy 16-inch fish which most people probably would have kept, but I put it back into the lake. All other fish also were returned to the lake.

Rick unfortunately caught only one northern, no walleye. We came ashore at 10:00 p.m. since we have to leave the house at 5:20 a.m. tomorrow so Rick can catch his early morning flight out of Bemidji.

Overall, today was a good day on Leech Lake -- largemouth bass in the afternoon, pike and walleye in the evening.

June 3, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

This morning at 10:00 a.m. the sky was overcast and a kind of greyish orange in color, it looks like it could rain or thunderstorm (both of which are forecast) and the temperature was a balmy 64 degress. It feels humid. The wind is light at 10 mph out of the SE.

It's Friday of the week after Memorial Day, so all of those tourists that came up for the holiday week are all taking advantage of the good fishing and calm water. There are roughly 20 boats in front of our house in search of walleye.

Despite the crowd, Rick and I went fishing from 1:00 p.m. to roughly 3:00 p.m. We fished in front of the house and cabin, as well as at the Birches. Rick used a slip bobber with a fathead or leech, while I used a Northland jig with a fathead. We caught a few perch, some rock bass and a northern or two.

After dinner we went fishing again. By this time the temperature had cooled slightly from a high today of 76 degrees (and very humid) down to 66 degrees which was very comfortable. There was practically no wind, and what little breeze did blow was from the SW. The water temperature had risen to 61.7 degrees. The sky was clear and there was just a tiny sliver a moon that set just after sunset.

Using Minnow Raps we trolled from Malay's to the north to a spot between Second Duck and Duck Points. Since there was virtually no wind to contend with, I could set the Mercury SmartCraft controls to 550 rpm, the lowest speed, which kept the boat moving at a ground speed of roughly 2.15 mph.

We fished from 8:45 p.m. until 10:45 p.m., and in addition to catching a few northerns and rock bass, Rick caught a 16-inch and a 19-inch walleye. I boated a very nice 23-inch walleye. When we came ashore there were still four other boats out on Sucker Bay.

June 2, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

The sky this morning was grey and overcast with a threatening look to it, but no rain present. The temperature was 52 on its way to a high of around 63 degrees. The wind was strong at between 20 and 25 mph, but it was out of the ESE so the water along our shoreline was relatively calm. But about 200 yards off shore the waves started and you could really feel the strength of the wind.

After some calls and a late breakfast, Rick and I decided to go fishing. We didn't have to go far. I pulled the boat in front of our house in 9 feet of water, dropped in the drift sock and then started fishing.

To start, both Rick and I were using slip bobber rigs with small hooks tipped with leeches. This was the method that Rick used last evening when he boated three walleye. Unfortunately, this method did not prove effective and we had to switch gears.

I moved to a small 1/8 ounce Northland Gumball jig in a chartreuse/green color tipped with a fathead. Almost immediately I caught a perch.

We made several drifts from about 9 feet of water outward toward the center of Sucker Bay where the deepest water we fished was 14 feet. Most of our action came in 10-12 feet of water.

During the next two hours I caught numerous perch, including some pretty big ones (although not jumbos), as well as a 13-inch and a 21-inch walleye. As is often the case, when one guy has the hot stick the other guy in the boat often struggles. Last night Rick hooked three walleye while I was catching nothing but rock bass. Today I was catching perch and walleye, and Rick could only hook into a couple of small perch. That's fishing.

We came ashore at 3:00 p.m. because a mechanic from New Leech Lake Campground, Mark Ashe, was supposed to come by to work on my Honda 8hp kicker motor, which isn't running right. As of 4:30 p.m., he had not shown up.

Mark did show up at 5:00 p.m. and determined that I needed new spark plugs. I'll go into town sometime early next week and pick up a couple of new plugs and according to Mark, that should get my motor running great again. I'll report back on it.

Rick and I went out again at 7:15 p.m. and fished for about an hour, but the only fish we caught were the few perch I boated. No walleye.

We ate dinner late, after 9:00 p.m., as the rain was falling. As of 10:30 p.m. there is only a very light rain and winds at 20 mph out of the SE. Until tomorrow...

June 1, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

Last night, or more precisely, early this morning, I awoke to howling winds and a beeping noise. The 35-45 mph winds had obviously blown down a power line because we were without electricity and the carbon monoxide sensors I have plugged into the wall were beeping to alert me that the power was out and the batteries were low. Great.

So at 3:05 a.m. I was up pulling batteries out of shreiking sensors. Welcome to June.

At 9:00 a.m., the temperature was a chilly 44 degrees, the wind was out of the west at 17-25 mph, the sky was mostly sunny and the lake was rolling with white caps.

As a result of the fairly strong wind for most of the day, Rick and I took care of many chores on land. While I was on a business call, Rick took out a small "junk" tree that was growing outside my bedroom window and while he was off doing other chores I planted the new flowering crabapple tree that I picked up in town yesterday.

Later in the day we stopped by Jerry Schiebe's to see the Bobcat and John Deere tractor that are part of the Hancock estate. Both are old and neither are worth much. Rick spoke to Noel's son Jeff today and the ball is just starting to roll regarding Rick's interest in buying the old place. Both parties have some homework to do before they talk again.

By 4:30 p.m. the wind had calmed to around 15 mph out of the NW and it is supposed to weaken even more as the afternoon melts into evening. That should provide us with waters safe enough to do some after-dinner trolling for walleye.

For dinner I filleted the walleye I caught the other night and then fried it up in a Shore Lunch beer batter, along with French fries (with malt vinegar of course) and salad. It was, as always, a very tasty affair.

By the time we finished dinner the wind had died down to near calm. What breeze there was came out of the NW at maybe 3-5 mph. The sky was clear and the temperature was a pleasant 62 degrees. The water temperature has warmed just slightly to 60.7 degrees.

We started fishing directly in front of our house using my MinnKota electric trolling motor. I was using an 1/8 ounce chartreuse Northland jig, while Rick was using a much heavier 1/2 ounce shiner jig in a pink color. We both tipped the jigs with leeeches.

After a few minutes Rick decided to add a classic red and white snap bobber to his line to keep the jig about a foot off the bottom. I continued to use the standard jigging method with no float.

Well, apparently the bobber was the preferred method because Rick caught walleyes of 14-, 18-, and 20-inches; all were returned to the lake. I wasn't skunked, I managed to catch a northern pike and six, count them six, rock bass. Not exactly my favorite fish.

At 9:30 p.m., under clear skies, falling temperatures to about 54 degrees, and a breeze that was starting to pick up to about 7-10 mph out of the NW, we put away our jigging rigs and decided to troll "the Alley."

As usual we both were pulling Minnow Raps (Rick used one in purpledescent, while I used a Tennessee shad color) about 50-60 feet behind the boat at a ground speed of 2.25 mph in 9-11 feet of water.

Trolling seemed to work better for me than jigging this night, because in addition to a northern pike I caught two 15 1/2-inch walleye, both were put back into the lake. Rick didn't catch anything while trolling. At 10:30 p.m. we came ashore.

The final tally was 5 walleye boated in about 2 1/2 hours. Not a bad night of fishing on Leech Lake.

May 31, 2011 -- At Leech Lake

It is the final day of May. It's amazing how fast each month zips by.

Here at Leech Lake, the temperature at 10:00 a.m. was 60 degrees, the sky was partly cloudy, and the wind is extremely strong at 30-40 mph out of the SW. In fact, I had to go out to the end of the dock and lower the US and Australian flags because I was afraid the with the high winds the flag pole might actually snap! White caps roll across the lake, and with the water level as high as it is, waves are hitting the dock and coming up onto it.

At about 11:00 a.m. Rick and I drove into Bemidji to run a host of errands. I needed to settle up with Norton's Heating for the new furnace they put in back in February, I needed to pick up a few items (such as a cable jack and some chain saw bar oil) and groceries. We also stopped at Froggy's Sports in Cass Lake for fatheads and leeches, as well as J&L Oil for a new gas filter for the gas tank here on the property.

While in Bemidji I picked up a Purple Prince crabapple tree, pictured below, to replace the "junk" tree that currently grows outside our bedroom window.


A purple prince crabapple tree like the one to be planted outside our bedroom window.

At 6:00 p.m. the wind was still blowing very hard -- 20-30 mph -- out of the SW. I've never been here when the wind has blown as hard as it is today. I'm actually kind of nervous about the docks, boat and lift being able to withstand the rough, pounding waves created by this extremely strong wind. The sky remained grey and overcast, rain fell intermittently and the temperature dropped from 48 to just 40 degrees. The lake was a strange greenish-grey color.

As I get ready to sign off for the night the wind has not let up. In fact, it's increased! According to the www.weather.com web site, we've got 32-35 mph winds right now and they're expected to blow this hard until 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

When I get up tomorrow morning I'll take a tour of the property to assess any damage and to pick up what is likely to be a small forest of fallen tree limbs and branches. Until then...

May 30, 2011 -- Memorial Day On Leech Lake

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.