October 8, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

This morning at 9:30 a.m. the temperature was 52 degrees, the sky was grey and overcast and the wind was variable at 10-20 mph out of the SW.

By 10:30 a.m. there were a half dozen boats in front of the house fishing in what I'd estimate to be 8 feet of water. According to my neighbor John Newman, who went fishing yesterday and was again on the water this morning, there are walleye out there. John caught 16-inch walleye yesterday, which he kept, and he released a huge walleye, which he estimated to be close to 28-inches.

After having a leisurely breakfast, and enjoying a couple of cups of coffee, I decided to go fishing. I took two spinning rod and reel combinations to the boat, and also brought along my baitcasting rod and reel rigged for trolling. Since I hadn't used my boat since my last visit in August, I also had to put my tackle box and other items into the boat. The last thing I brought aboard was the fathead minnows.

I lowered the boat into the water, noticing that the water level was down several inches since August, fired up the Mercury Verado (which started up first try) and slowly motored out to a spot in front of Giza's cabin in 10 feet of water. The water temperature was 60.5 degrees.

There were already eight boats in the area, so I picked a spot where I would be clear of all of them during my drift northward toward the Malay's cabin. I deployed the drift sock, tipped my lime-green colored jig with a fathead and started fishing.

My first pass I had several bites, and lost three or four minnows, but couldn't hook anything. My lack of time on the water during the past seven weeks has me rusty. During my second pass from Giza's to Malay's I caught a few small perch, which went back into the water. I also caught a small 13-inch walleye, which of course went back into the lake as well.

On my third pass I located a school of good-sized perch. I hooked two 10-inch perch, and although they weren't technically jumbos, I kept them anyway because they were stout fish.

My next pass proved even better. Directly in front of our house I caught another 10-inch perch, which I kept, followed by a 13-inch+ perch that definitely qualified as a jumbo. It was during my fight with the 13-incher that I realized I hadn't loaded the landing net in the boat. No problem, however, I was able to hoist the big boy into the boat and deposit him into the live well. Four perch in the box.


Looking from the boat toward shore on Sucker Bay, Leech Lake. Directly in front of our house.

At 3:15 p.m. I went ashore for a little lunch, prior to getting ready for the OPA Pot Luck. Once on shore I stopped by to see John Newman and to give him two of the four perch I had caught -- although I kept the big jumbo for my Sunday night dinner.

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There were 49 people in attendance at tonight's Ottertail Peninsula Association pot luck dinner/meeting and 30 door prizes to be given away after the meeting. Pretty good odds of winning something, but I managed to beat the odds and come up empty. It's just as well since I haven't donated anything for the past two years.

The wind has died down and the lake is almost calm, the temperature at 7:30 p.m. was 62 degrees, and the sky is partly cloudy.

I wasn't feeling 100% tonight so after getting home from the pot luck I did a little reading, listened to some classical music on KCRB out of Bemidji and went to bed early. Hopefully I'll wake up feeling better tomorrow. I don't want to waste one second of my time at Leech Lake not feeling well. Until tomorrow...

What a Week!!

The marvel of modern travel, and the hectic schedules people keep as a result of it, never ceases to amaze me. Take my week for instance.

On Monday, October 3, I had a meeting in San Francisco with a company for which I'm doing some consulting. They are located in the Transamercia Pyramid complex on Sansome Street. Two days later, on Wednesday, I had a meeting in Palo Alto, directly across the street from Stanford University and the football stadium where the #4 nationally-ranked Cardinal play. And on Friday, October 7, I was on the shores of Leech Lake enjoying the earthy smell of Fall leaves on the ground and the fresh, clean and unique smell of the lake.


Monday, Oct. 3 I was at the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco


On Wednesday, Oct. 5 I was at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA


On Friday, Oct. 7 I was on the shores of Leech Lake, MN

Over the course of just five days my location and situation couldn't have been more different. Talking about business development strategy at the start of the week and closing it out by discussing just where and how deep the walleye are biting.

We live in an age of marvelous technological innovation, as we were reminded during the past few days as Silicon Valley and world mourned the loss of Apple founder Steve Jobs. But lost among the discussion of iPhones, iPads and Pixar were other more critical inventions that shape our lives daily, such as indoor plumbing, electrified houses, and air travel. It is the later that made my widely diverse week possible.

Now it's time to simplifiy. I'm going to take my cup of coffee, sit in chair and stare at the awesome beauty of Leech Lake.

October 7, 2011 -- Return to Leech Lake

I'm baaaack...

I arrived at the Bemidji airport at 10:15 p.m. last night and made it out to our house on Leech Lake an hour or so later. I couldn't believe how warm it was -- 70 degrees -- at that time of night. When I left San Jose around noon Pacific Time the temperature was barely 60 degrees. Go figure.

This morning when I woke up the temperature was again near 70 degrees, the sky was grey and overcast with occasional patches of blue sky, and the wind was out of the SSE at 20 mph; but because the peninsula blocks the wind from that direction, the lake in front of the house was relatively calm, with just small waves.

Since I got in late last night I didn't have a chance to do any grocery shopping so I went into Bemidji this afternoon to buy groceries and pick up a pie at Perkin's for the OPA Pot Luck tomorrow evening.

On my drive into town the thermometer in the truck read 76 degrees. Talk about an Indian Summer! But it was extremely windy with gusts up to 50 mph. After my shopping and various errands I drove back to Leech Lake.

Rain fell intermittently during the drive, and at times came down in buckets forcing me to set my windshield wipers to full speed. But by the time I got to the house the rain had stopped and there were brief moments of sunshine. That didn't last long.

At 6:30 p.m. a storm began approaching from the south, and with it, more wind and the rumbling of thunder. The sky darkened and the whitecaps on the lake picked up. The temperature, however, remained warm at 75 degrees.


A storm approaches from the south on Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

With the groceries all stored away, I went out onto the dock to watch the storm approach. But the light left the sky by 7:00 p.m., so I went back into the house.

John Newman invited me over to his cabin for dinner tonight, so I've got to make a salad in preparation for dinner. For dinner, John had brined some chicken breasts, marinated them in a chipotle sauce then grilled them. We had them on large-sized hamburger buns with potato chips and salad. Great dinner.

After dinner the rain had finally stopped so we moved the party to the driveway where John had set up his portable fireplace. With the temperature still in the mid -60s, sitting outside was very enjoyable. And by 10:00 p.m., the wind had blown the clouds away and we could see the stars above us.

Finally around midnight I wondered home. The wind today, especially when it shifted from the SSE to the SW, made the lake too rough to go fishing. But even though I didn't get out onto the water, it was great to be back at Leech Lake.

Next Visit Set

A beautiful pink and purple sunset over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

I'm looking forward to seeing sunsets like this one on August 19, 2011 when I visit Leech Lake on October 6. I'll be spending two weeks on the Ottertail Peninsula to pull the boat out of water, winterize the house and cabin and blow tons of leaves off the yards.

I'll be very busy during my stay but will definitely take the time to post as often as possible to this blog. My first post will likely be Friday, Oct. 7. Until then...

The Golden Path

A beautiful golden path is formed as the sun sinks into the western sky over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake. This picture was taken on July 18, 2011.

Autumnal Equinox

This morning at 4:05 a.m. CDT the Autumnal equinox arrived at Leech Lake. Unfortunately I was not there to greet it. I was in San Jose, California where the high temperature today was 91 degrees; hardly Fall weather.

I hope to be in northern Minnesota in early- to mid-October for my next visit to Leech Lake. I have to return to winterize the house and cabin, to pull the boat out of the water, and to clear the leaves off the lawns. It's a lot of work and it doesn't happen by itself.

I will definitely report from Leech Lake on fishing conditions, weather and other activities once there. Until then...

Blaze Red

Sunset over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

It's hard to capture the spectacular beauty of the sunsets over Leech Lake, but here's one attempt. This photo was taken on July 18, 2011.

Mid-July Sunset at Leech Lake

Here's a photo of the sunset on July 15, 2011 looking west over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake.

Steve and Kathleen at Itasca State Park

During Kathleen's visit to Leech Lake in late-June and early-July, we took a day trip out to Lake Itasca State Park, one of the places where we had stayed during our honeymoon 30 years prior.

In this picture Kathleen and I are standing at the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The water this day was deeper, colder and swifter moving than when we've visited in the past.

We had a wonderful day at the beautiful Minnesota State Park, just days before it closed for two weeks due to the government shut down in the state.