July 24, 2011 -- At Leech Lake

Again I woke up early this morning, but not to storms, but to the sound of the furnace running. That's right the furnace. While most of the country -- including here a Leech Lake for the past week -- has suffered unbearable heat, the furnace was actually running.

I immediately turned it off since I wasn't about to close all the windows. The temperature outside was 55 degrees, and the temperature in the house was at 68 degrees, which is where the furnace is set to kick on.

It had obviously rained during the night because everything outside was wet. The sky was clear with only a few high billowy clouds and the wind was out of the WNW at 8-12 mph. It appeared to be a beautiful day, if not a bit chilly.

By 9:00 a.m. the temperature had warmed only slightly to 56 degrees and all other conditions remained consistent as earlier.

I grabbed a quick breakfast, loaded some things into the truck and was ready to set off for St. Cloud by just after 10:30 a.m.

I won't be back to Leech Lake until sometime on Tuesday, July 26, so there will be no post tomorrow.

Until my arrival back at Leech Lake, so long...

July 23, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

"Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning."

For the second time in recent days I'm reminded of that old mariner's adage. I had trouble sleeping last night and for some reason awoke at 5:30 a.m. to the sound of a strong wind. I took a look outside, and the sky to the east was bright red. As I stood marveling at the sky a flash of lightening appeared over head and within seconds was followed with a loud clap of thunder. Take warning indeed.

The thunderstorm brought wind, rain, lightening and thunder. At 8:30 a.m. the sky was gray and overcast, the wind was variable -- 8-15 mph swinging from the north to the ENE -- and the temperature was a cool 60 degrees. The humidity, most likely because of the rain, was at 70%.

Today I had planned to apply waterproofing to the wood stairs that are on either side of the harbor, but if it's going to rain all day I'll have to wait.

The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the north-central part of Minnesota, including Leech Lake, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

I wasn't going to go fishing today, in part because I didn't have a drift sock and in part because it was supposed to storm, but at Kathleen's urging -- "go fishing whenever you can..." -- I hit the water at around 3:30 p.m. The wind was out of the east at 10-12 mph, and without a drift sock, it meant that the boat would be pushed rather quickly from our shoreline out into Sucker Bay. The further out into the bay I got, the stronger the wind and the faster the boat was propelled.

Given that scenario, I started relatively close to shore in 8 1/2 feet of water and let the wind move me out into deeper water. The wind also moved the boat slightly south as it moved out into the bay so I could start in front of the cabin and by the time I got out into the middle of the bay I had moved a south enough to where I was in front of the house.

As usual when drifting, I used a jig tipped with a leech. I caught a few rock bass, including some good sized ones, and a small perch but no walleye. On two occasions, I did feel that familiar "walleye tap" and when I checked my bait the leech had been bitten in half; meaning something with teeth, either a walleye or a pike, was checking out my lure. At 4:30 p.m. I went ashore to listen to A Prairie Home Companion, and later get dinner started.

The storm which had been predicted never showed up. Instead, the sky actually started to show a little blue. The sunset was of the type where the sun was a big orange ball, which looked amazing, but once it dropped below the horizon there was virtually no color of any sort which made for a rather unspectacular sunset.

I ate dinner, watched a movie, and talked with Kathleen and Joe on the phone. Tomorrow morning I'm driving to St. Cloud and will see Kathleen's mom and sister. Then on Monday morning I'll pick Joe up from where the shuttle from the Minneapolis airport will drop him off in St. Cloud. We'll spend Monday in St. Cloud visiting family before making our way up to Leech Lake on Tuesday.

Good night from Leech Lake.

July 22, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

This morning was a perfect summer morning. Bright blue sky, a light breeze that barely rippled the flag or lake, a temperature of 72 degrees and the humidity at 70%. Absolutely perfect.

After taking care of various chores around the house and properties, I decided to go fishing at 12:30 p.m. There was only a slight breeze and it was the hottest part of the day, not exactly ideal fishing conditions, but what the heck.

I took the boat out to 10 feet of water off Second Duck Point and began jigging. At that spot on the lake the wind, which was coming out of the SE was strong enough to where I had to deploy the drift sock to keep the boat from turning in the wind. The wind gently pushed the boat out into the bay at about .35 mph ground speed.

I had a few bites, but could never hook into anything. After about an hour or so I decided to relocate to a deeper hole I know over by the old Bay Shore Resort at the north end of Sucker Bay. I figured that the warm water, which was now at 81 degrees, may have forced the fish to go a little deeper than they've been the past few weeks.

Once at the spot marked by a waypoint I dropped in the drift sock, put a fresh leech onto the jig and began fishing. After about 30 minutes or so, the wind died down completely and the heat from the overhead midday sun was really baking me, so I decided to call it quits.

I stowed my jigging rod in the rod locker, got the boat ready to go then applied the throttle to get me home. I immediately experienced a drag on the boat and wondered what was up. I put the boat in neutral and everything seemed to be OK so once again I throttled up and got the boat moving quickly. That's when I felt the drag again, followed by a loud snap. Again I backed off on the throttle and quickly checked the motor to see if I had snapped a linkage or cable.

That, fortunately, wasn't the problem. What was the issue was that I had left the drift sock in the water, and that the rope snapped when I accelerated. My drift sock was now slowly sinking some 25 yards behind the boat. I quickly turned the boat around and went after my slowly descending drift sock. But by the time I got there it was out of sight; gone beneath the algae bloom of Leech Lake.

I wasn't about to give up that easily, so I got out my trolling rod and made several passes over the spot hoping to snag the drift sock with my lure and reuse it. Unfortunately, after numerous passes over the location where I last saw the sock, I had come up empty. My drift sock was gone.

The wind had died down and as a result I had completely forgotten that the sock was still in the water. It's particularly disappointing for me because that drift sock had been a Father's Day present from my son Joe several years back. I liked it so much that when it tore earlier this season rather than get a new one I had this one repaired. Now it was lurking somewhere in the depths of north Sucker Bay. Now I'll have to get a new one at Scheel's when I'm in St. Cloud on Sunday.

Since it was Friday night, I had pizza. Lately, when I've been getting pizza here at the lake, I've been picking up an unbaked pie from Great River Pizzeria in Cass Lake. Yesterday when I was driving home from Bemidji I stopped in and picked up a pizza in anticipation of "Friday night pizza," a tradition that goes back more than two decades in our family. I know for sure that those of my family in California will be ordering pizza tonight.

After my pizza dinner, I read some Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes, and then watched a 1962 Hammer Production movie starring Peter Cushing, Night Creatures.

I could tell that the wind had picked up a little by the sound of it blowing through the trees. Tonight there's a good chance of thunderstorm, and tomorrow there's a 50% chance of thunderstorms all day long.

I guess it's probably because I'm still fretting over the loss of my drift sock earlier today, but I decided against going fishing until I've got the boat outfitted with a new drift sock. So no fishing tonight.

Good night from Leech Lake.

July 21, 2011 -- At Leech Lake

For the first time in more than a week I awoke to weather that wasn't hot, humid and stifling. The humidity was at 70%, and that's 20% lower than it's been many days this past week. The temperature was 68 degrees and the wind was at 8-15 mph out of the WSW. I could actually wear pants, shoes and socks when I went into town and I wasn't too hot.

Of course I spoke too soon. Once in Bemidji, I dropped my truck off for service at Dondelinger GM and walked about 2 miles to the Perkin's for breakfast. It wasn't yet noon and the temperature in Bemidji was 85 degrees, and while I have no idea what the humidity was, it was significant enough to where I was definitely hot when I arrived at the restaurant.

After breakfast I walked back to the shop to pick up my truck. The service guy met me and had a troubled look about him. He started to apologize for the "little problem" that they caused and I started to worry. He then went on to tell me that after the truck was fully serviced (which cost all of $42) they washed my truck and accidently left the de-greaser on too long which caused some streaking. I told him it was no big deal, but he insisted that the next time I come into town that I leave the truck with them for 2-3 hours and they'll do a complete wax job on my truck and buff out all of the marks -- for free. This is the type of small-town, Northwoods service you never get in a big city such as San Jose.

I ordered some paint at Sherwin Williams -- so Joe and I can paint the out buildings when he's here -- got some groceries, and then drove back to the lake.

When I arrived it was still very windy with the wind out of the SW at 12-20 mph. There were white caps rolling across the lake. The temperature was 80 degrees and the humidity varied for the rest of the day between 64-70%. The lower humidity made it very comfortable, and the wind kept the deer flies and mosquitoes at bay, so I was actually able to lay in the hammock for about an hour. What a wonderful gift; not just the hammock (which Kathleen did get me for a gift) but for the time to be able to lay in it.

As the evening moved toward sunset the wind slowed a little, but not enough to where I felt like taking the boat out fishing, so I spent the evening reading the newspapers I bought in town, and working the various puzzles (Sudoku and crosswords), while listening to music. I only wish Kathleen could have been here with me. That would have made it a perfect night.

Tomorrow I have various chores to attend to around the property. I hope the lower humidity holds. Until then...

July 20, 2011 -- At Leech Lake

This morning it was once again hot and humid; gone was the cool air from last evening.

At 8:30 a.m. the temperature was 75 degrees, the humidity was at 92% and the wind was at 8-12 mph out of the SSE. There was a mist emanating from the ground as if the wet grass was creating its own low-level cloud.

Just an hour and a half later, at 10:00 a.m., the temperature had climbed to 80 degrees and the humidity hadn't backed off a bit, still registering at 90%. It was already uncomfortable and it was still two hours shy of noon.

The guy from T&K was out this morning, in the sweltering heat and humidity, to mow the lawns at the house and cabin. For the first time since the harbor work was completed back in late June, the grass was mowed in the section that had been torn up by the heavy machinery that was necessary for the harbor restoration. While there are still some spots where the grass hasn't grown in thick quite yet, overall the lawn is coming back nicely.

I know I'm obsessing about the humidity, but here's a snippet from a CNN news story on the heat wave that's enveloping much of the US:

"Minneapolis, Minnesota, recorded its highest dew point ever, 82 degrees, on Tuesday. The dew point temperature is a measure of atmospheric moisture."

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I ran out of leeches last night on the water so I took the ATV for a spin up to Birch Ridge. I took the ATV rather than the truck since the ATV provides an open-air, and thus cooler, ride. Ann, the wife half of the husband and wife team that runs the resort, was behind the counter in the bar/office/lounge and told me A.J., the dock hand, was down in the live bait area of the fish-cleaning house and could help me.

I picked up two containers, two dozen, leeches, paid Ann and then rode back to the cabin to get the leeches into some fresh water. I decided to check on the jumbo perch that I caught last evening (and which was on the menu for today's dinner) and I'm glad I did. The combination of being in captivity and in warm water had the fish looking rather "fatigued." Immediately I set about filleting the 12-inch jumbo perch and got the fresh fillets into the refrigerator. A beer-batter coating will be the perfect compliment to the pure white meat of the perch.

After filleting the perch, and cleaning up, I was hot and covered in sweat (or was it just the air?). Not wasting any time, I gathered up the bottle of Dr. Bronner's soap and took a refreshing camp bath in the relatively cool waters of Leech Lake.

At about 5:30 p.m. I took the ATV down to the Malays to say hi to their son Sean who is visiting from Colorado. Sean, and my son Joe, have become friends over the years, and I've gotten to like Sean and have spent several hours with him in the boat fishing. It was good to see him again.

While sitting at the Malays the wind began to pick up, and by the time I left it was blowing at 17-25 mph out of the WSW. The wind blew hard for most of the rest of the night. And maybe it was the wind, or the cold front that followed it in from Montana, but the humidity dropped to 64%. It was the first time in nearly a week that the humidity has dipped below 80%. Although the temperature at midnight was 70 degrees, it felt cool and sleep should come easily tonight.

Tomorrow I'm going into Bemidji to get the truck serviced, to pick up paint so I can paint the out-buildings at the house and run several other errands. If the weather permits, upon my return I'll try to get out fishing. Tonight it was simply to windy to go out onto the water. I love fishing, but I'm not going to battle 3-foot waves and white caps to do so.

Until tomorrow...

July 19, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

I happened to wake up at 5:30 a.m. this morning and look outside to see what the weather was like, and was surprised to see the entire sky a cantaloupe orange color. The wind was calm and the temperature was 70 degrees. The humidity, which has been very high the past few days, was already at 87%.

As I lay back in bed I could hear rumbling thunder in the distance, and soon the rain started to fall. "Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in the morn, sailors take warn." As the old saying goes. With the sky the color it was I wasn't surprised that we had a storm.

By 10:00 a.m. the storm had passed for the most part, with just occasional rumbles of thunder, the wind was 6-10 mph out of the ESE, the temperature in the house registered 77 degrees while outside the thermometer read barely 70 degrees, and the sky was mostly cloudy and still retained a slight glow of red and orange.

Just before noon, the wind shifted and started blowing from the north at 15-20 mph. I always find it interesting to watch the lake when the wind shifts. For hours the wind was blowing out of the ESE so the water in the lake was moving in one direction. Then when the wind shifted to a different direction, and picked up in intensity, the water in the lake, for a short period of time, maybe 10 minutes, was going in all directions at once as it caught the new wind.

At this same time the sky darkened, and actually required me turning on the lights in the house to see. The temperature held steady at 70 degrees as did the humidity, which stood at 90%. But it sure looked and felt like a storm was coming.

Finally at 12:50 p.m. the rain came. A hard, steady rain fell for about 30 minutes. There were a few flashes of lightening directly over head followed by loud claps of thunder. The storm was directly on top of the house. But within an hour the storm passed, although the sky remained overcast and gray.

As the day went on I did some work and some various chores around the house, but the humidity made it unpleasant even if the temperature wasn't all that hot.

By 4:45 p.m., the wind had shifted to the ESE again and was blowing at about 8-15 mph. The wind blew most of the clouds away and the sky was partly sunny. So, I decided that with the temperature not as hot and the water near our shore fairly calm, that I would go fishing.

I motored out to spot not too far from shore right in front of the boat lift because I knew the wind would blow me out into the middle of Sucker Bay. I deployed the drift sock, tipped my jig with a leech and began fishing. The water temperature was 75.8 degrees.

I caught a few rock bass, including one that was actually quite big. Twice I had something pull hard on my line and bite right through the 8-lb test Fireline Crystal, taking my jig and bait. I figured it might have been a pike, but I've seen several boats in the past week fishing for muskie in this location so I wouldn't rule out that a muskie is what took my jig.

With yet another jig tied on and with another leech hooked just below its "sucker," I continued to fish. I hooked into what I thought was either another big rock bass or maybe a small walleye. When I got it to the boat I saw that it was a jumbo perch; and truly a jumbo.

I've often said that in my opinion a jumbo perch is one that is between 11-14 inches. Over 14" a perch becomes a monster and is approaching record size. I decided to keep this 12-inch jumbo perch because I thought it would be the perfect size for a meal for one. A 17-inch or even a 16-inch walleye once filleted is a perfect amount of meat for a meal for two, but for one person there is just too much there. I think a 12-inch perch will provide the right amount of fish for my dinner tomorrow evening.

I finally came ashore around 7:00 p.m., not because the fish stopped biting (they hadn't) or because the bugs were bad (they weren't) but because I ran out of leeches. I fished with a Mimic Minnow for awhile and then a Northland Slurpie Grub, but the fish seemed to be active on live bait, specifically leeches. Tomorrow I'll run up to Birch Ridge Resort and pick up a couple of dozen leeches, if they still have them. Sometimes as the summer progresses leeches are a hard bait to find.

Out on the lake the wind felt good and kept me cool. But once back on shore even in shorts and short-sleeved shirt it felt hot. Even after midnight the temperature was 72 degrees and the humidity was 84%. But if the weather service forecasts are correct, then tomorrow should be the last day of this prolonged heat wave.

Until tomorrow, good night from Leech Lake.

July 18, 2011 -- In Leech Lake

Another beautiful sunset over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

For the third day in a row now I awoke to find myself inside a cloud. Heavy fog and mist extended from the ground up into the grayish-white of the sky. At 8:30 a.m. the wind was blowing out of the north at 8-12 mph, the temperature was 72 degrees and the humidity registered at 95%, but I don't see how any more water could be infused into the air since I can actually see water in the air.

Nature Update: I've talked a lot about the humidity the past few days but I'd like to give a couple of concrete examples of just how humid it is. Last night I made popcorn. Knowing how humid it was I put most of it in a plastic bag and sealed it up. I left a small bowl of popcorn out for me to eat. Within two hours of me making it, the popcorn was soggy and chewy, not exactly the characteristics of good popcorn. Then this morning when I got up, I looked at the big metal mixing bowl I used to put the popcorn in when it comes out of the pan. The bowl was empty (since the popcorn was in a bag) but what was in the bowl was water. Not a ton, but a significant amount. Apparently the dew point was so high last night that dew actually formed in the bowl and then collected at the bottom of it. That's how doggone wet the air has been the past few days.

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Here's a Heat Warning from the National Weather Service issued for the North Central part of Minnesota (home to Leech Lake):

Mon, Jul 18, 2011, 9:00 AM CDT

... EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CDT WEDNESDAY... ... DENSE FOG ADVISORY IS CANCELLED...

* HEAT INDEX VALUES: A PROLONGED PERIOD OF HEAT INDICES FROM 95 TO NEAR 110 DEGREES OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS HAS PROMPTED THIS WARNING.

* IMPACTS: DEHYDRATION... MUSCLE CRAMPS... SEVERE HEADACHES AND HEAT EXHAUSTION ARE POSSIBLE WITH PROLONGED EXPOSURE AND OR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. THERE IS EVEN A THREAT OF HEAT STROKE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING MEANS THAT A PROLONGED PERIOD OF DANGEROUSLY HOT TEMPERATURES WILL OCCUR. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A DANGEROUS SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE LIKELY.

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It's days like these that make me wish we had air conditioning here at the lake. But when the temperature is sub zero for so many months, air conditioning seems like such an extravagant waste.

But today, air conditioning would be most welcome. By 11:30 a.m. the temperature was at 80 degrees, and the forecast called for the mercury to hit 91. The humidity hadn't backed off any, so simple movements inside or out, led to immediate sweat and exhaustion. I'm sure glad I'm not out tarring a road or re-roofing the cabin, like I was doing last year. Wind was blowing lazily out of the NNE at 5-8 mph and the sky was mostly sunny and blue.

Nature Update Two: I took a ride on the ATV to cool off and as I rounded a bend on West Shores Road I spotted an auburn-colored doe standing in the road. I slowed to a stop and watched her. She stood motionless for a few seconds then turned her head and looked back toward the woods. A small fawn, no bigger than a large dog, stepped out onto the road behind its mother. Then the two of the trotted gracefully across the road and immediately disappeared into the woods. Its amazing how quickly whitetail deer can blend into a forest.

Midday I couldn't take the humidity any longer and jumped into the lake. Its cool waters were refreshing, although the deer flies buzzing around my head weren't making the experience all that enjoyable. I remained cool for all of about 15 minutes.

By 5:00 p.m. the temperature was at 82 degrees and the humidity had actually dropped to 84%. Still, it felt very hot, and sitting still was about the only activity that didn't raise a sweat.

No fishing tonight. Instead I stayed inside and tried to stay cool. More tomorrow.

July 17, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

A family of merganser ducks slices its way through the fog on Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

Much like yesterday, this morning was hot, humid and foggy. At 8:30 a.m. the temperature was 76 degrees, the humidity was more than 90%, the air was still, wet and heavy and there hung a dense fog over everything. It was as if I had awoke inside a cloud.

I spotted a pelican casually swimming off the end of the dock around 9:15 a.m., and an occasional boat motored by, but for the most part the lake was quiet and enveloped in fog.

I took a quick walk over to the cabin to give the leeches some fresh water, and in just that little distance I was sweating and wet from the humidity. Plus with absolutely no wind, or even a slight breeze, the deer flies were out in full force and were instantly buzzing around my head, landing on me and biting. Normally here at the lake I could step outside to cool off, but not today. Quite the opposite -- step outside and things heat up.

By 2:00 p.m. the temperature stopped rising at 80 degrees, the fog, which I thought would have lifted by now, clung stubbornly to the sky making it look like it might storm. There was a whisper of breeze every now and then, but not enough to clear the air of the 90% humidity that dampened everything. The lonely call of the loon echoed across the afternoon stillness, competing occasionally with the clatter of a 2-stroke motor from some determined fisherman.

By 3:00 p.m. the temperature had cooled a little to 76 degrees, the sky was getting a little darker and thunder rumbled across the horizon. The humidity was still up over 90%, however, so I took a refreshing camp bath in the lake. It cooled me off while I was in the water, but as soon as I got back up to the house I was hot again. Maybe a storm will show itself and with it cleanse the air of this infernal dampness.

Just before 4:00 p.m. the slight breeze that had occasionally made its presence felt out of the south, shifted to the north and actually started to blow. Lightening bolts were now visible across the bay and the lake began to rile. By 4:15 p.m. there were white caps on the lake behind the force of 15-20 mph north winds. Thinking that a storm would descend upon the lake at any minute, I raced outside to fold up the lounge chairs and lay them flat on the dock. I then came inside and began shutting windows so the rain wouldn't soak the floors.

I then sat back in my chair in the living room, book in hand (Truman Capote's In Cold Blood) and watched for the storm. For more than 45 minutes the wind howled, the lake rolled with waves, but little rain fell. A few sprinkles freckled the back porch and windows, but no humidity-relieving rain fell. As the wind blew hard from the north the sky actually started to clear and get brighter. The dark, ominous clouds blew by and a cantaloupe-colored sky appeared on the horizon.

Every now and again a lightening bolt would show itself over Sucker Bay, and the rumble of thunder would follow, but no storm appeared. At 5:30 p.m. rain fell for a short time before disapearing. The wind, too, had left the area and once again the flag hung limp against the pole. The storm blew by without really unleashing any of its fury.

The humidity, however, had dipped to below 90% for the first time in two days, and at 84% actually felt cool. The wind, I noticed, had shifted again, and was now blowing lightly at 5-8 mph from the south. I thought about going fishing, but everything was wet and damp and I just didn't feel like slipping on rain gear in this hot, humid weather. So rather, I stayed inside, tried to stay cool, and read.

By 9:00 p.m. the humidity had started to rise again, even though the temperature hovered around 75 degrees. The wind was out of the north at 6-10 mph and the sky was mostly cloudy. It was in these fairly favorable conditions that I decided to go fishing.

I got the boat off the lift, motored out to 9 feet of water, got the lights on, and the dropped my Rapala Minnow Rap (in Tennessee Shad color) into the water. I trolled south past Second Duck Point well into Duck Bay and then headed north toward our house.

In addition to the swarms of big, hungry mosquitoes I was forced to battle out on the water, I encountered another foe that eventually drove me back on shore -- weeds.

For years I've known that as I troll north of the Malays the weeds get very thick thus making it difficult to pull a lure through the lake without getting snagged. But in the past year or two, the weed seem to be migrating south, and are now common in fairly large patches all the way to Second Duck Point. While the weeds make for great habitat for rock bass, they make trolling for walleye very difficult.

Ever since its introduction seven or eight years ago, the #9 Rapala Minnow Rap has been one of my "go-to" baits, a confidence lure. In addition to flat out attracting and catching walleye, the lure has a very distinctive action in the water than enables me to "feel" if it's running true. If the bait is clean and running properly I feel a consistent "tap, tap, tap, tap" in the tip of the rod. But if it hooks a weed, even a 1/2 inch ribbon-sized piece of cabbage, the action of the Minnow Rap changes completely and feels as if it's "dead;" no wobble or tapping.

Tonight, I felt the Minnow Rap hook onto a weed nearly every time I dropped in the water and let it out behind the boat. In more than a half dozen cases I thought I'd actually hooked a fish only to reel in a two-pound, football-sized clump of weeds. After "catching" two such balls of weeds I decided to go ashore in frustration. It didn't help that I was fighting off hundreds of mosquitoes while trying to clean the weeds from my lure.

Needless to say, it was not my best outing on Leech Lake this year. In fact, it's one of the few times on the water in the past couple of months where I was completely skunked; not a pike nor a rock bass. I came ashore at 10:30 p.m. and sat up and read for a couple of hours before deciding it was time to call it a night.

I did hear from Kathleen and Joe earlier in the evening that Joe was able to get an airline ticket to come to Minnesota and that he'll be arriving in Minneapolis next Monday morning. I'll have to figure out if I'll meet him in Minneapolis at the airport or if I'll meet up with him in St. Cloud should he decide to take the shuttle. Either way, we'll be able to spend some time together at the lake -- just father and son. We haven't been able to do that in more than three years. I'm looking forward to it.

Good night from Leech Lake.

July 16, 2011 -- In Leech Lake

Heavy morning fog on Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

This morning at 8:30 a.m. the fog was very heavy over the bay, the temperature was 72 degrees, the air was still and the entire sky -- from horizon to directly overhead -- was a grayish-white color. The humidity was over 90% and there were no boats on the lake; I'm hoping because visibility is so low.

Many fishermen, however, have been kept off the lake the past two weeks because the Minnesota state government shutdown has prevented them from purchasing fishing licenses and the DNR has stated that it will ticket any fisherman without a licence, despite the shutdown.

The National Weather Service has issued heat and humidity warnings for most of Minnesota, but apparently Cass County, home of Leech Lake, is not among those areas under the warning. It will be hot today, in the high 80s to low 90s, and the humidity will be at or above 90%, but I guess that's not as bad as it's going to be elsewhere around the state.

By 11:15 a.m. the temperature had risen to 74 degrees, it was still densely humid, the wind was at 5-8 mph out of the SSW and the fog had begun to burn off a bit. Within a couple of hours it is supposed to be sunny.

Just past 12:30 p.m. I got so hot I couldn't take it any more so I took a plunge in the lake. I'm guessing the water temperature to be around 75 degrees, so it's much cooler than the air temp and as a result it felt really refreshing. I swam around a bit before getting out and walking up to the house. I'm sure I'll have to do it again later today if the heat and humidity persist.

Nature Update: This evening I noticed a female merganser duck with five little chicks swimming near the mouth of our harbor. I don't know if this duck bred late or if this may be a second brood for her. Either way, it was nice to see the little ducklings swimming around.

By 4:45 p.m., before I listened to A Prairie Home Companion on Minnesota Public Radio, I had jumped in the lake an additional three times; making four total so far. The temperature is 83 degrees and the humidity has climbed to 92%, which makes cooling off the lake very refreshing.

Nature Update Two: I saw two bald eagles perched in a tree just behind the fish-cleaning house on our property. Seeing bald eagles so close, so up and personal is a blessing.

The evening didn't cool off much but it did sap my energy. Rather than stay up late and fight the heat and humidity I decided to call it a night early and go to bed. The state-wide heat advisory is to continue for the next four days.