October 13, 2011 -- At Leech Lake -- Happy Birthday Melissa!!

I can't believe that my little girl Melissa turned 30 years old today! I remember so well that crisp, cool, clear Autumn morning in Monterey, California when my beautiful wife Kathleen gave birth to our tiny, feisty redhead. What a wonderful day that was. And how quickly 30 years have passed. Happy birthday Melissa!!

This morning at 9:30 a.m. on the shores of Leech Lake the sky was overcast and grey, a light mist was falling, the wind was strong at 18-22 mph out of the WNW and the temperature was 42 degrees. The furnace ran off and on all day today, and is running now as I write this post.

There have been no posts to this blog the past two days because I spent them in St. Cloud visiting Kathleen's mom, Marge. At 87 years old Marge is doing relatively well health wise, but the Alzheimer's disease leaves her confused and with significant short-term memory loss. Nonetheless, we had a very nice visit and I was glad I could see her.

It's good to be back at the lake, despite the cool temperatures and high winds. I was hoping to get out fishing today, but with the lake riled and covered in white caps due to the strong winds, I stayed inside and spent most of the day doing my consulting work for Allison & Partners. I put in about four good hours of work before I stopped for a break and went for a walk down West Shores Rd. for about 2 miles.


West Shores Rd., NW on Ottertail Peninsula, Leech Lake, MN

After my walk I did a few small chores around the house then did another hour of consulting. The wind continued to howl at about 15-20 mph out of the NW. The temperature never got as high as 50 degrees today, but the sun did come out briefly later in the afternoon, as can be seen in the picture I took during my walk.

This evening was restful spent listening to music after dinner. No fishing today, but a good day at Leech Lake regardless.

October 10, 2011 -- At Leech Lake

This morning at 8:30 a.m. the sky was overcast and grey, the wind was out of the SE at 8-12 mph and the temperature was 47 degrees. From the time I arose to sometime after 1:00 p.m. I was doing work for my California job, consulting with a global PR firm called Allison & Partners.

After a quick sandwich for lunch, I went across the street and took a long walk in our woods. The wind was rustling through the trees and every so often it would rain yellow leaves. I love our woods in the Fall. The smells, the beautiful colors, the entire thing. I only wish Kathleen could be here with me because she loves the Fall even more than I do.

When I emerged from the woods I walked down the dirt road to our cabin and began the chore of putting up the storm windows. I took my time and enjoyed the entire process. Just as I had put the last storm window in place and was folding up the ladder the rain came. There had been a forecast of rain throughout the day, but at 2:45 p.m. it really opened up.

Back inside my warm and dry house, I cleaned up and prepared for dinner at the Newman's cabin tonight. John and Karen invited me, as well as Tom and Elaine Malay over for dinner prior to us moving down to the Malay's house to watch Monday Night Football on ESPN. Malays have the Dish Network and get ESPN, where the Newmans don't get it with their basic plan, and we have no TV at all at our house.

I made a salad to bring, while John and Karen provided the Italian meatball sandwiches, chips and veggies. After dinner we cleaned up and then made our way down to the Malays. It was the first time the Detroit Lions had been on MNF in more than a decade, and tonight they were hosting their division rivals the Chicago Bears.

It wasn't a well-played game, but the Lions did manage to win 24-13 to improve to 5-0. It's the first time that Detroit has won five straight games to start a season since 1956, a bit before my time.

I left the Malays just after 11:00 p.m. and came home. The temperature was still a very nice 55 degrees and the sky was clear allowing the light from the 99% waxing moon to bathe the entire peninsula in its soft, white light.

Tomorrow I'm planning to drive down to St. Cloud to see Kathleen's mother, Marge. If all goes well I'll spend some time with her at St. Benedict's and then take her out to dinner. I hope to see my brother- and sister-in-law Tim and Sandy, but Tim said Sandy isn't feeling well and he may have to work tomorrow. I guess I'll have to play it by ear.

I'm planning to be back to the lake sometime later in the day on Wednesday. At that point my only other ventures from Leech Lake will be to go into town to buy groceries.

My next post to this blog will likely be on Thursday, Oct. 13, my beautiful daughter Melissa's 30th birthday. Until then...

October 9, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

This morning at 8:30 a.m. the temperature was a cool 45 degrees, the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the NW and the sky was slate grey and looked cold. I could only see one boat out in front of our house, where yesterday there was more than a half dozen. Today looked and felt like a Fall morning in the northwoods.

Duck hunting season opened in late September, so on this quiet Sunday morning I could hear the distant "pop, pop" of shotgun blasts as hunters along the shoreline and in flat-bottom duck boats shot at their prey. Last night at the OPA Pot Luck dinner/meeting, one of the attendees, the son of a OPA member, told me he'd been out duck hunting earlier in the day and had bagged several ducks. As much as I'd like to try cooking and eating a wild duck, I've never hunted for them. Nor have I hunted for grouse, pheasant, or whitetail deer. I am strictly a fisherman, at least so far.

At 9:45 a.m. a light rain started to fall, but it lasted only a few minutes; just a sprinkle really. I saw that John and Karen Newman were out fishing and had staged their attack in front of our cabin, letting the light NW wind push them south toward their cabin and Second Duck Point. It was in this location that I caught my four "keeper" perch yesterday.

As was the case yesterday, a cluster of five or six boats eventually gathered in very close proximity to one another as they fished in 10 feet of water in a spot between Giza's cabin and Second Duck Point. I get the fact that walleye often congregate in one location, but do people really need to be right on top of each other to fish? With so much water on Sucker Bay alone, there's plenty of room to -- as Moe of the Three Stooges used to say -- "spread out."

I made a hearty Sunday breakfast of eggs over medium, hash browns, bacon and toast with a big glass of orange juice. I don't eat like that every day, but on Sunday I'll occasionally splurge and have a big breakfast. As I cleaned up after breakfast I noticed that the light rain continued to fall. I stepped out onto the back porch and felt the icy cold rain fall in the 51 degree air temperature. It wasn't raining hard, just enough to make everything wet. The Newmans, as well as the other half dozen boats, remained on the water.

Right around 11:00 a.m., I happened to look out the window and saw that the Newmans were coming in off the water. They'd been out for a couple of hours in the light, cold rain so I figured they needed to come ashore, dry off and warm up.

I surprised somewhat to get a call from John Newman just before noon asking if I wanted to go out for some early afternoon angling with him. At this point the light rain had stopped, not that that would have kept me off the water, and so I agreed to meet him at my boat lift in 15 minutes. By 12:15 p.m. we were on the 60.7 degree water tipping our jigs with fatheads and slowly drifting from Poage's cabin southward in 10 feet of water.

During the next two hours I caught more than a dozen perch, including 4 big jumbos that went into the live well and later into John's bucket. He was trying to get enough fish for a fish fry for his entire family of five, so I was more than happy to chip in with my four big perch.

I also caught a medium-sized northern, which went back into the lake, as well as a 14-inch and a 16-inch walleye, both of which went back into the lake. The larger of the two fish got off on its own. I had hooked the walleye and had gotten it to the side of the boat, but rather than ask John to get the landing net and secure the fish I decided to reach over the side of the boat and land it by hand. Well, the fish turned abruptly and bit through the line and set itself free, with my jig still in the side of its mouth.

At 2:15 p.m. we came ashore so John could take his wife Karen out for some afternoon fishing. I used the time to clean up the house and eat some lunch.

Then just before 4:00 p.m. I decided to go fishing by myself. I could see John and Karen on the lake and I also spotted Tom Malay in his boat out trolling. Three of the five houses on our little stretch of Ottertail Peninsula had boats on the water at the same time. Not an entirely unusual experience, but with only five boats in sight on Sucker Bay, we represented 60% of them.

Again I used a 1/8-ounce lime-green and silver colored Bass Pro Shops XPS walleye jig tipped with big fathead minnows. I made several passes from in front of Poage's cabin southward toward Second Duck Point. During the next two hours and 15 minutes I caught a dozen or more perch, including one big jumbo, and three walleyes that measured 14-, 15- and 16-inches. Since I had two big perch in the basket at home for Sunday night dinner, all fish went back into the lake.

At 5:15 p.m. the sun came out and for the first time all day the entire area was basked in the late-Fall light of the Autumn sun. The shoreline looked particularly spectacular with the yellows, golds, oranges and reds of the leaves shimmering in the sunlight with the blue-green water in the foreground. Not that I needed it, but the beauty of Ottertail Peninsula at that particular moment, especially at Second Duck Point, reminded me of why this is where I'd rather be than any place else I've ever visited on the planet.

When 6:15 p.m. rolled around I made my way back to the boat lift and onto shore. Once the boat was secure on the lift and the minnows in the garage with aeration, I made my way to the fish cleaning house to clean the two jumbo perch which were destined to be my dinner. I was waylayed, however, when Karen Newman called to me to come over to their place and meet their new 15-week old dog, Bernard; a lab and springer spaniel mix.

I ended up spending an hour chatting with the Newmans and playing with dog before making my way back to my house to clean the perch. Eventually the perch were cleaned and I could start my dinner preperations.

In addition to beer-batterd perch (using Shore Lunch and Leinenkugel Classic Amber) I made a baked potato and steamed green beans. A tasty and relatively simple dinner.

After dinner I checked some football scores -- the 49ers won big over the Bucs 48-3, the Raiders won in Houston 25-20, and unfortunately the Packers won to go to 5-0 which means the Lions will need to beat the Bears on Monday night to keep pace -- listened to some classical music then went to bed fairly early for me, before midnight.

It was a great day fishing on Leech Lake -- two separate trips -- with two dozen perch caught in addition to five walleye. After some concentrated work time tomorrow, I hope to get out for more fishing, if the weather permits. Until then, good night from Leech Lake.

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...