This morning at 10:00 a.m. the wind was calm, the lake was like a mirror reflecting the mostly grey and white sky, and the temperature was 56 degrees. There were a handful of boats clustered together in front of our house in search of walleye or jumbo perch.
I needed a new phone, since I washed mine in the washing machine yesterday (no, not intentionally), so I drove into Bemidji this morning to the Verizon Wireless store. I ended up getting a new Motorola Droid X2. It's a lot like the original Droid but does not have the slide out keyboard, which I rarely used and only added extra weight.
I got home around 3:00 p.m. The temperature at that time was 69 degrees, it was still grey and overcast, and the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the south.
I decided to do a little fishing, so I grabbed the bucket of fatheads and backed the boat off the lift and onto Leech Lake. I motored out to 10 feet of water directly in front of our house and dropped the drift sock into the 66.6 degree water. The wind was out of the ESE at maybe 5-8 mph.
I caught numerous perch, although no jumbos, a rock bass and a northern; no walleye. After an hour on the water it started to sprinkle and because I was not wearing any rain gear I decided to go ashore because I didn't want to get caught on the water in a downpour. As it turns out, all it did was sprinkle for about 30 minutes then stop.
Nature Update: Yesterday the first of the mayfly hatches occurred and with it came the return of the cedar waxwings. Cedar waxwings are one of my favorite northwoods birds and they always arrive in flocks when the mayflies are around to eat. I'm sure with mayfly hatches taking place over the next week or so, the cedar waxwings will be around for awhile too.
This evening at 8:30 p.m. I lowered the boat into the water, fired up the Mercury Verado and started trolling. I pulled a Minnow Rap in 9-12 feet of water, in "the Alley" and out into "Duck Bay," but only had three "hit and misses."
The western sky stayed light until well after 10:00 p.m., which is when I came ashore, and with the moon at 88% waxing, there was a lot of light on the water tonight. The moonlight, coupled with a nice chop on the water due to the 8-12 mph wind from the south, should have made conditions ideal for walleye fishing. And who knows, the conditions might have been perfect. But I was unable to catch a single walleye, or any fish for that matter. I think that's the first time since I've been here that I haven't caught a single fish while out on the water.
Once on shore I read the Sunday paper, listened to music and decided to go to bed early. I'm expecting Peterson Excavating to be here first thing in the morning to continue work on the harbor restoration project. More on that tomorrow.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
June 11, 2011 -- On Leech Lake
This morning at 10:00 a.m. the temperature was 50 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny with some big billowy clouds and there was virtually no wind. The flag is hanging limp and the lake looks like glass.
Within an hour, the wind had picked up and it was blowing about 10-15 mph out of the north. The temperature had also gone up to near 60 degrees. I did some work around the yard and while I was outside Tom Malay pulled his truck into the driveway.
Tom wanted to know if today would be a good day to help him and Ron Newstrand take down one of the dead elm trees on my property. Both Tom and Ron use wood to heat their houses during the winter and I was happy to contribute some wood to their stockpile.
We spent several hours using chain saws to cut the large tree into smaller sections, splitting the wood into even smaller, fireplace-sized pieces and the cleaning up all the smaller limbs and branches; many of which littered the road in front of the cabin. But at last we had the operation at a point where we could call it a day.
Tom went back to his place to stack a full trailer load of firewood, while I decided to go fishing and cool off. I only fished for an hour, and only caught a few perch, but it was nice to be on the water where the 10-mph north wind cooled me off. The water temperature had risen to 67.7 as a result of the air temperature being near 70 all day.
Within an hour, the wind had picked up and it was blowing about 10-15 mph out of the north. The temperature had also gone up to near 60 degrees. I did some work around the yard and while I was outside Tom Malay pulled his truck into the driveway.
Tom wanted to know if today would be a good day to help him and Ron Newstrand take down one of the dead elm trees on my property. Both Tom and Ron use wood to heat their houses during the winter and I was happy to contribute some wood to their stockpile.
We spent several hours using chain saws to cut the large tree into smaller sections, splitting the wood into even smaller, fireplace-sized pieces and the cleaning up all the smaller limbs and branches; many of which littered the road in front of the cabin. But at last we had the operation at a point where we could call it a day.
Tom went back to his place to stack a full trailer load of firewood, while I decided to go fishing and cool off. I only fished for an hour, and only caught a few perch, but it was nice to be on the water where the 10-mph north wind cooled me off. The water temperature had risen to 67.7 as a result of the air temperature being near 70 all day.
The FLW Walleye Tournament ended today with the winner bringing in more than 41 pounds of walleye over the three-day event and winning $63,000. Not a bad weekend's pay.
I came ashore at about 4:45 p.m. to get cleaned up, and accidentially ran my Motorola Droid smartphone through the wash. No amount of air drying could get it to even turn on again, so I'm going to have to go into Bemidji tomorrow to the Verizon Wireless store to get a replacement. Most of the calls I get are on my mobile phone and I can't afford to be without it.
I listened to A Prairire Home Companion, had some dinner, but did not go fishing in the evening. Instead, I stayed in, listened to music and read.
Friday, June 10, 2011
June 10, 2011 -- On Leech Lake
The morning I awoke to the sound of the furnace running. Yep, June 10 and the furnace is required. The temperature this morning was 42 degrees, the sky was mostly cloudy with some blue patches, and the wind was out of the north at 7-12 mph.
There is no work today on the harbor. The plan is that Peterson Excavating will be out on Monday with the big hoe to align the harbor wall. With no jackhammering I was able to enjoy my coffee on the back deck.
After a series of work calls, I decided to go fishing.
The wind on the lake seemed to be swirling. With the drift sock deployed I at first observed the wind to be coming out of west blowing the boat toward shore. Later, the wind came out of the NE and blew me south toward Second Duck Point. And just before I came in the wind was blowing out of the south pushing back toward the cabin. In all cases the wind was light at no more than 5-8 mph, regardless of direction.
The water temperature was 65.8 degrees, and I fished in water ranging from 9-12 feet deep. I used a Gumball jig, 1/8 ounce, tipped with a fathead. I caught numerous perch, a rock bass, a 13-inch walleye and the strangest catch of my current stay at Leech Lake, a 11-inch bullhead. I've only caught maybe 3 or 4 bullhead in the 10 years I've been fishing Leech Lake, so this was a surprise.
Hunger brought me ashore at 3:00 p.m.
Nature Update: For the past 3 or 4 days there has been an ongoing dragonfly hatch. There are literally millions of dragonflies on Ottertail Peninsula. On my regular ATV rides around the peninsula I've been hit in the throat, eye (thank goodness I was wearing sunglasses), shoulder, hand, leg and just about any other body part a flying insect fortress could hit. Now other than there being a million of them, dragonflies are not a nuisance. In fact, not only are they food for many species of birds, they are predators of mosquitoes, which makes them very valuable in my book.
At 8:45 p.m. I went fishing. The wind was 12-15 mph out of the north, creating a good chop to the lake. The moon was 69% waxing, the sun set at 9:14 p.m. the temperature was 48 degrees and the water temperature was a good deal warmer at 65 degrees.
I decided to fish a little bit further south than usual and spent most of my time trolling the flats of "Duck Bay" in 9-11 feet of water. I was using this year's favorite crankbait the Minnow Rap in Tennessee Shad color, fitted with a brand new front treble hook.
While trolling north into the wind at a ground speed at just under 2 mph, I hooked into two nice walleyes, the first 19 inches and the second a sturdy 23-inch, 4 1/2 pound eyeball. After those two fish I decided to head home.
I came ashore at 10:00 p.m. and spent the remainder of my waking hours reading newspapers and listening to music. Another great day at Leech Lake.
There is no work today on the harbor. The plan is that Peterson Excavating will be out on Monday with the big hoe to align the harbor wall. With no jackhammering I was able to enjoy my coffee on the back deck.
After a series of work calls, I decided to go fishing.
The wind on the lake seemed to be swirling. With the drift sock deployed I at first observed the wind to be coming out of west blowing the boat toward shore. Later, the wind came out of the NE and blew me south toward Second Duck Point. And just before I came in the wind was blowing out of the south pushing back toward the cabin. In all cases the wind was light at no more than 5-8 mph, regardless of direction.
The water temperature was 65.8 degrees, and I fished in water ranging from 9-12 feet deep. I used a Gumball jig, 1/8 ounce, tipped with a fathead. I caught numerous perch, a rock bass, a 13-inch walleye and the strangest catch of my current stay at Leech Lake, a 11-inch bullhead. I've only caught maybe 3 or 4 bullhead in the 10 years I've been fishing Leech Lake, so this was a surprise.
Hunger brought me ashore at 3:00 p.m.
Nature Update: For the past 3 or 4 days there has been an ongoing dragonfly hatch. There are literally millions of dragonflies on Ottertail Peninsula. On my regular ATV rides around the peninsula I've been hit in the throat, eye (thank goodness I was wearing sunglasses), shoulder, hand, leg and just about any other body part a flying insect fortress could hit. Now other than there being a million of them, dragonflies are not a nuisance. In fact, not only are they food for many species of birds, they are predators of mosquitoes, which makes them very valuable in my book.
At 8:45 p.m. I went fishing. The wind was 12-15 mph out of the north, creating a good chop to the lake. The moon was 69% waxing, the sun set at 9:14 p.m. the temperature was 48 degrees and the water temperature was a good deal warmer at 65 degrees.
I decided to fish a little bit further south than usual and spent most of my time trolling the flats of "Duck Bay" in 9-11 feet of water. I was using this year's favorite crankbait the Minnow Rap in Tennessee Shad color, fitted with a brand new front treble hook.
While trolling north into the wind at a ground speed at just under 2 mph, I hooked into two nice walleyes, the first 19 inches and the second a sturdy 23-inch, 4 1/2 pound eyeball. After those two fish I decided to head home.
I came ashore at 10:00 p.m. and spent the remainder of my waking hours reading newspapers and listening to music. Another great day at Leech Lake.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
June 9, 2011 -- On Leech Lake
It was another cool morning with the temperature of only 42 degees at 8:00 a.m. The sky was mostly cloudy, with only a spot of blue here and there, and a wind of 8-12 mph out of the NW.
Today is the first day of the FLW walleye tournament, but unlike the Leech Lake Walleye Tournament last week, when there were more than 35 boats in front of the house, there was surprisingly only one boat out front today.
The guys from Peterson Excavating showed up at 8:45 a.m. and were done removing the last portion of the walkway by 10:00 a.m. Butch showed up just as they were completing the demolition and after surveying the situation carefully informed me that he's going to need to bring in the big front hoe to pull back the harbor walls and to pound in big metal beams to which the harbor walls will be tied. When we first talked, Butch thought he could simply use cable jacks (known as come-alongs locally), but with all of the walkway removed he doesn't think that approach will be effective.
Butch promises that the project will be minimally invasive -- that is, no trees will be removed or damaged -- but bringing such a big piece of construction machinery to the harbor will leave tracks on the lawn. Of course with rain, the grass growing and being cut, all evidence of the operation should be gone by later in the summer or early fall.
After breakfast and some work, I went fishing for a couple of hours. With the wind out of the NE at 8-15 mph I stopped the boat in front of Malay's in 9 feet of water, deployed the drift sock, and let the wind push me along at 1/2 mph south toward Second Duck Point and out into 12 feet of water. I noted the water temperature to be 65.8 degrees.
Using a 1/8 ounce Northland Gumball jig tipped with fathead minnow I caught several perch, including one nice 10-incher (although that falls an inch short of qualifying for a jumbo by my definition) and a nice 15 1/2-inch walleye, which I put back into the lake. After three drifts I decided to come ashore and take of some work here.
After a light dinner I decided to go fishing again. I hit the water at 7:00 p.m. and drifted from right in front of the house out toward the middle of Sucker Bay being gently pushed along by a 10 mph NE breeze.
The water temperature this evening was slightly lower than this afternoon at 65.4 degrees, the moon was 50% waxing and the sunset was 9:12 p.m. CDT.
During my three drifts I caught several perch and a couple of rock bass using an 1/8 ounce Northland Gumball jig tipped alternately with fatheads and leeches.
At 8:45 p.m. I put turned on the boat lights, stowed my jigging rig and took out my Abu Garcia Ambassador baitcasting reel that I use for trolling crankbaits. As always during this current stay I used the Rapala Minnow Rap in Tennessee Shad color.
As I began to troll I noticed the wind was shifting from the NE to the SE and was increasing in speed to roughly 10-15 mph, creating a nice chop to the lake. I trolled in the usual "Alley" location in 9-11 feet of water.
I didn't even have a "hit and miss" for the first 45 minutes of trolling. Then at 9:30 p.m., just south of Second Duck Point on my way north, I had a good hit. I could tell it was a decent sized fish. When I got it close to the boat I slipped the net underneath it and hauled in a very sturdy 23-inch walleye that had to weigh close to 5 pounds. I quickly removed the lure from the fish and put it back into the water.
No sooner had I started trolling again, letting about about 60 feet of line, when I felt that familiar "thud" of a big fish. Right away I could tell that this fish was even bigger than the 23-incher that I just boated. I took my time bringing the fish to the boat, and just as it got close, it turned and headed to the bottom of the lake. I let the fish take out line, but continued to apply pressure so the fish wouldn't come unbuttoned.
The next time I got the fish to the surface I was able to slip the net under it and bring it into the boat. I could see this was a big fish. Unlike the first walleye of the night, this one had all three barbs of the front treble hook in its mouth. Rather than risk injuring the fish, I took out my wire cutters and snipped off all three barbs which enabled me to easily remove the hook. I did a quick measurement and found this big walleye to be every bit of 24 inches, a full two feet of fish. I didn't weigh the walleye but I've got to believe it was more than 5 1/2 pounds. I slowly released the big fish into the water to make sure it was in good condition. It got into the water, flipped its tail a couple of times and was quickly out of sight. Wow, what a fun fish to catch!
At that point my Minnow Rap needed a new front treble hook and I didn't feel like switching lures, so I decided to come ashore. After all, I had just caught 47-inches and 10 pounds of walleye with two fish in the span of maybe seven minutes.
Tomorrow should be another great day of fishing on Leech Lake. I'm going to try to get out onto the lake at least twice. Until then...
Today is the first day of the FLW walleye tournament, but unlike the Leech Lake Walleye Tournament last week, when there were more than 35 boats in front of the house, there was surprisingly only one boat out front today.
The guys from Peterson Excavating showed up at 8:45 a.m. and were done removing the last portion of the walkway by 10:00 a.m. Butch showed up just as they were completing the demolition and after surveying the situation carefully informed me that he's going to need to bring in the big front hoe to pull back the harbor walls and to pound in big metal beams to which the harbor walls will be tied. When we first talked, Butch thought he could simply use cable jacks (known as come-alongs locally), but with all of the walkway removed he doesn't think that approach will be effective.
Butch promises that the project will be minimally invasive -- that is, no trees will be removed or damaged -- but bringing such a big piece of construction machinery to the harbor will leave tracks on the lawn. Of course with rain, the grass growing and being cut, all evidence of the operation should be gone by later in the summer or early fall.
After breakfast and some work, I went fishing for a couple of hours. With the wind out of the NE at 8-15 mph I stopped the boat in front of Malay's in 9 feet of water, deployed the drift sock, and let the wind push me along at 1/2 mph south toward Second Duck Point and out into 12 feet of water. I noted the water temperature to be 65.8 degrees.
Using a 1/8 ounce Northland Gumball jig tipped with fathead minnow I caught several perch, including one nice 10-incher (although that falls an inch short of qualifying for a jumbo by my definition) and a nice 15 1/2-inch walleye, which I put back into the lake. After three drifts I decided to come ashore and take of some work here.
After a light dinner I decided to go fishing again. I hit the water at 7:00 p.m. and drifted from right in front of the house out toward the middle of Sucker Bay being gently pushed along by a 10 mph NE breeze.
The water temperature this evening was slightly lower than this afternoon at 65.4 degrees, the moon was 50% waxing and the sunset was 9:12 p.m. CDT.
During my three drifts I caught several perch and a couple of rock bass using an 1/8 ounce Northland Gumball jig tipped alternately with fatheads and leeches.
At 8:45 p.m. I put turned on the boat lights, stowed my jigging rig and took out my Abu Garcia Ambassador baitcasting reel that I use for trolling crankbaits. As always during this current stay I used the Rapala Minnow Rap in Tennessee Shad color.
As I began to troll I noticed the wind was shifting from the NE to the SE and was increasing in speed to roughly 10-15 mph, creating a nice chop to the lake. I trolled in the usual "Alley" location in 9-11 feet of water.
I didn't even have a "hit and miss" for the first 45 minutes of trolling. Then at 9:30 p.m., just south of Second Duck Point on my way north, I had a good hit. I could tell it was a decent sized fish. When I got it close to the boat I slipped the net underneath it and hauled in a very sturdy 23-inch walleye that had to weigh close to 5 pounds. I quickly removed the lure from the fish and put it back into the water.
No sooner had I started trolling again, letting about about 60 feet of line, when I felt that familiar "thud" of a big fish. Right away I could tell that this fish was even bigger than the 23-incher that I just boated. I took my time bringing the fish to the boat, and just as it got close, it turned and headed to the bottom of the lake. I let the fish take out line, but continued to apply pressure so the fish wouldn't come unbuttoned.
The next time I got the fish to the surface I was able to slip the net under it and bring it into the boat. I could see this was a big fish. Unlike the first walleye of the night, this one had all three barbs of the front treble hook in its mouth. Rather than risk injuring the fish, I took out my wire cutters and snipped off all three barbs which enabled me to easily remove the hook. I did a quick measurement and found this big walleye to be every bit of 24 inches, a full two feet of fish. I didn't weigh the walleye but I've got to believe it was more than 5 1/2 pounds. I slowly released the big fish into the water to make sure it was in good condition. It got into the water, flipped its tail a couple of times and was quickly out of sight. Wow, what a fun fish to catch!
At that point my Minnow Rap needed a new front treble hook and I didn't feel like switching lures, so I decided to come ashore. After all, I had just caught 47-inches and 10 pounds of walleye with two fish in the span of maybe seven minutes.
Tomorrow should be another great day of fishing on Leech Lake. I'm going to try to get out onto the lake at least twice. Until then...
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
June 8, 2011 -- At Leech Lake
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday it was hot, muggy and sunny. Today at 7:15 a.m. the temperature was 48 degrees, the sky was grey and overcast and it was very windy, 15-20 mph out of the west, creating white caps on the lake.
At 8:00 a.m. the two kids from WC Peterson Excavating showed up and immediately fired up the jackhammer and cement saw. Maybe with the cooler weather today, and the experience of working on the walkway yesterday, they'll be able accomplish more of the demolition today than they did yesterday. It would be nice if they could wrap up the demolition today and move on to repairs during the balance of the week.
The FLW walleye tournament starts tomorrow on Leech Lake and runs through Saturday. That means I'll most likely awake tomorrow to dozens, if not more, boats in front of the house. I'm sure many of the pro fishermen are on the lake today pre-fishing in an attempt to identify good fishing spots. Despite the high winds and white caps, I see a couple of boats in front of the house now at 8:15 a.m.
Despite the wind and cool temperatures I decided to go for a little bike ride. My intention was to do the entire "loop" but no sooner than I turned onto Ottertail Point Drive off of 26th than it started to sprinkle. Not wanting to get caught in a rain storm miles from the house, I turned around and rode home. The rain didn't come as I expected, but it did mist heavily for a half hour or more.
Right after I got home T&K Outdoors arrived to mow the lawns at the house and cabin. In addition to the jackhammer and cement saw, the loud roar of the riding lawn mower added to the din. Normally it's so very quiet at the lake, with the exception of the chirping of the many song birds, that today's noise is made that much more obvious.
At 1:15 p.m., Butch, the lead guy on the harbor project, showed up to check the progress the two kids were making. With Butch's help, they chipped away at the concrete almost to the end of the walkway and should be able to have all of the cement removed today. I don't know if they'll get to any other aspect of the project yet, but there is still a lot of daylight left.
I decided to run into Cass Lake for a couple of grocery items and to pick up a fresh scoop of fatheads from Froggy's. When I got back at 4:30 p.m., the guys from Peterson Excavating were gone, and the job of removing the cement walkway was not complete. I would estimate that there is another hour or two of jackhammering still to be done.
Daily Nature Update: Today was juvenile day. While on my daily ATV ride around the peninsula I came across an adult bald eagle and two juvenile eagles flying directly above me, no more than 25 feet up. They must have tracked me for 100 yards or more giving me a great look at these marvelous raptors on a family hunt. Later, on the same ride, I came across a female whitetail deer and her young offspring. It was no longer a fawn with the white spots, but a small deer with the same coloring as the adult. And later, after I was home looking out at the rough waters of Leech Lake, I spotted the Common Merganser pair that have been hanging around our harbor and dock for weeks, but they were now accompanied by 10 little ducklings. The young Mergansers couldn't be more than a week old, if that. I'm guessing their nest must have been on our property between the house and cabin somewhere. Again, another wonderful glimpse into the wildlife of Northern Minnesota.
By 9:00 p.m. the wind had calmed some to maybe 15 mph out of the north, but the lake was still very choppy with some white caps. The temperature was 44 degrees and the sky was dark and overcast. It wasn't a night I felt like venturing out onto the lake, so instead I stayed inside, listened to classical radio KCRB and read Thoreau.
At 8:00 a.m. the two kids from WC Peterson Excavating showed up and immediately fired up the jackhammer and cement saw. Maybe with the cooler weather today, and the experience of working on the walkway yesterday, they'll be able accomplish more of the demolition today than they did yesterday. It would be nice if they could wrap up the demolition today and move on to repairs during the balance of the week.
The FLW walleye tournament starts tomorrow on Leech Lake and runs through Saturday. That means I'll most likely awake tomorrow to dozens, if not more, boats in front of the house. I'm sure many of the pro fishermen are on the lake today pre-fishing in an attempt to identify good fishing spots. Despite the high winds and white caps, I see a couple of boats in front of the house now at 8:15 a.m.
Despite the wind and cool temperatures I decided to go for a little bike ride. My intention was to do the entire "loop" but no sooner than I turned onto Ottertail Point Drive off of 26th than it started to sprinkle. Not wanting to get caught in a rain storm miles from the house, I turned around and rode home. The rain didn't come as I expected, but it did mist heavily for a half hour or more.
Right after I got home T&K Outdoors arrived to mow the lawns at the house and cabin. In addition to the jackhammer and cement saw, the loud roar of the riding lawn mower added to the din. Normally it's so very quiet at the lake, with the exception of the chirping of the many song birds, that today's noise is made that much more obvious.
At 1:15 p.m., Butch, the lead guy on the harbor project, showed up to check the progress the two kids were making. With Butch's help, they chipped away at the concrete almost to the end of the walkway and should be able to have all of the cement removed today. I don't know if they'll get to any other aspect of the project yet, but there is still a lot of daylight left.
I decided to run into Cass Lake for a couple of grocery items and to pick up a fresh scoop of fatheads from Froggy's. When I got back at 4:30 p.m., the guys from Peterson Excavating were gone, and the job of removing the cement walkway was not complete. I would estimate that there is another hour or two of jackhammering still to be done.
Daily Nature Update: Today was juvenile day. While on my daily ATV ride around the peninsula I came across an adult bald eagle and two juvenile eagles flying directly above me, no more than 25 feet up. They must have tracked me for 100 yards or more giving me a great look at these marvelous raptors on a family hunt. Later, on the same ride, I came across a female whitetail deer and her young offspring. It was no longer a fawn with the white spots, but a small deer with the same coloring as the adult. And later, after I was home looking out at the rough waters of Leech Lake, I spotted the Common Merganser pair that have been hanging around our harbor and dock for weeks, but they were now accompanied by 10 little ducklings. The young Mergansers couldn't be more than a week old, if that. I'm guessing their nest must have been on our property between the house and cabin somewhere. Again, another wonderful glimpse into the wildlife of Northern Minnesota.
By 9:00 p.m. the wind had calmed some to maybe 15 mph out of the north, but the lake was still very choppy with some white caps. The temperature was 44 degrees and the sky was dark and overcast. It wasn't a night I felt like venturing out onto the lake, so instead I stayed inside, listened to classical radio KCRB and read Thoreau.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
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...
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...
Monday, June 06, 2011
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...
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...
Sunday, June 05, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, June 04, 2011
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.
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.
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