August 9, 2008 on Leech Lake

I went fishing twice today. Once in the afternoon by myself, and the second time in the evening with my son Joe.

I left the boat lift at 1:15 p.m. with the temperature right 78 degrees, water temperature at 76 degrees and the winds 5-8 mph out of NW. It was another perfect afternoon to do some drifting along the weed line near the Birches. I stopped the boat in about 10 feet of water straight out from Jerry Schiebe's cabin. From this location I would drift SE directly to the reeds and grass in front of Norm's cabin.

I decided to use a Northland Mimic Minnow Spin lure, which over the past two years has become one of my favorite "confidence" baits. I've caught countless perch and crappie on this bait, and I've also caught a good number of walleyes using it. Today only reinforced my confidence in the Mimic Minnow Spin.

Drifting from Schiebe's toward Norm's, I cast out the Mimic Minnow Spin and let it fall to the bottom. I then reeled in just enough to keep the lure off the bottom. Within seconds I hooked a nice perch. For the next hour I caught perch after perch, and even hooked a nice 14-inch walleye. All fish were released unharmed. By 5:00 p.m. I was back on shore.

That evening at 9:00 p.m., Joe and I launched the boat for some after-dark trolling for walleye. I piloted the boat into 11 feet of water and we let out our Rapala Minnow Raps a good 40 feet behind the boat. Trolling at roughly 2.5 mph, this gets the lure down about 9 or 10 feet, or just off the bottom where the walleye are feeding.

We only made one round-trip pass from our house past Second Duck point back to the Malay's cabin then back to our cabin. During that short 1 hour and 30 minute run we caught one 19-inch walleye, which is in the slot limit so it was immediately released.

Based on my success earlier in the day, I think tomorrow I'll focus my attention on panfish -- specifically crappie, perch and bluegill.

Here's a picture of my Lund 1800 IFS on the boat lift at the cabin.

August 8, 2008

I went fishing this afternoon under sunny skies, a slight breeze of no more than 2 mph out of the south, and an air temperature of 74 degrees. The water temperature was 76 degrees.

I set out at 2:00 p.m. and decided to do some drifting around the Birches in 7-10 feet of water, just off the weed line. The breeze was just strong enough to push the boat along at about 0.5 mph, a perfect speed to bounce a jig off the bottom. My jig was tipped with a 2" Gulp orange grub. I caught several perch using this method, but all fish were released.

Later I motored over to Norm's cabin and switched tactics entirely. I tied on a 4/0 offset hook and Texas rigged a Senko, with no additional weight. I tossed the Senko into the reeds and grass and managed to catch 3 very nice largemouth bass.

At 5:00 p.m. I fired up the Mercury Verado and headed home. Another nice day of multi-species fishing on Leech Lake.

August 7, 2008

Liz and Ashley left today for St. Cloud so they could visit with Grandma Coyle for a day before heading to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport to fly back to CA. Kathleen made the 2 1/2 hour drive to St. Cloud with them in our truck. Joe, Melissa and I stayed behind at the lake. It was a nice visit with Liz and Ashley, but like always, too short.

The temperature today warmed to 82 degrees, but the wind was still blowing fairly strong at 10-12 mph our of the NW, with gusts up to 18 mph. The kids and I decided to hang out on shore today. No fishing.

August 6, 2008

Today was very windy with a steady 12-18 mph wind out of the NW. The stiff wind covered the lake in white caps. It was warmer today, however, with a high near 75 degrees. We decided to stay on shore today. No fishing.

August 5, 2008 on Leech Lake

Today was much cooler than it's been in weeks; the high today was only 68 degrees. Not exactly a hot August day. The winds were 5-10 mph out of the NW and the skies were partly cloudy. The water temperature was still warm at 75.5 degrees.

From 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. I took Liz and Ashley out on the boat to do some panfishing. Ashley and Liz each caught several small perch and a couple of rock bass. I caught numerous perch and one very large bull bluegill. All the fish were released.

Later in the evening, from 8:30 to 10:50 p.m., Liz and I went trolling for walleyes. We fished in 8-12 feet of water and trolled at a speed of roughly 1.7 to 2.2 mph. I caught one small northern pike and two nice walleyes, 22" and 23", all released. Liz caught a 17" walleye, which we kept for a later fish fry.

August 4, 2008 on Leech Lake

We arrived home around 2 p.m. this afternoon after spending the past four days at the Lake Itasca State Park where we had gathered for the Coyle Family Reunion.

After unloading the truck and grabbing a quick bite to eat, I hustled out to the boat to do a little fishing. It had been several days since I'd been on Leech Lake, and I was anxious to get back at it.

I hit the water at 3:30 p.m. under sunny skies, a temperature right around 80 degrees, winds out of the south at 5-8 mph and a water temperature of 77 degrees. I trolled from the Birches past Second Duck Point using a jointed Shad Rap in a perch color, and caught several perch. I kept none of the perch and didn't hook a walleye. I went to shore at 5:30 p.m.

Great to be back on Leech Lake.

August 1/2/3, 2008, Coyle Family Reunion

Beginning Friday afternoon and lasting until Monday afternoon, the Coyle Family Reunion was four days of fun at Lake Itasca State Park located just south of Bemidji. The Coyles are my wife's family, and I like and get along with all of them.

I'm not going to recount the entire reunion weekend here, however, since I only post on this blog activities relating to our house and cabin located on beautiful Leech Lake,

July 31, 2008 on Leech Lake

The preparations for the "Coyle Family Reunion" were now in full swing. Everyone was bustling about, packing, repacking, on the phone with various family members, making sure out-of-town travelers were getting picked up at the airport, etc.

I managed to escape from the fray for just an hour during the hottest part of midday. The temperature had climbed to 85 degrees, the wind was slight at 5-8 mph out of the SW, the sky was clear blue and the water temperature had risen to 77 degrees, the warmest it's been this summer.

Drifting in the light winds I made quick passes at both Second Duck Point and along the weed line at the Birches, but caught nothing. I was rushed, feeling the need to get back to the cabin to help pack up, so my mind was not as focused as usual. Not the way to put Leech Lake walleyes in the boat.

July 30, 2008 on Leech Lake

The temperature was near 80 degrees today, the winds were 5 mph out of the NNW, but with gusts to 15 mph. The water temperature was 75 degrees.

Kathleen's family is holding the "Coyle Family Reunion" at Lake Itasca State Park beginning August 1, so there is much preparation going on at our house. Our entire family has gathered, and we're in the process of pulling together everything from camp-chairs to a Bocce set. Yet, I managed to sneak out for a little fishing nonetheless.

I started by drifting near the Birches using a jig and Gulp Alive! leeches, but caught nothing. I then switched to a perch-colored Rapala Shad Rap and began trolling in 12-feet of water from the Birches to past Second Duck Point. I made two or three passes -- catching several medium-sized perch -- before heading back to shore. I was only on the lake today from 3:15 to 5:00 p.m.