September 12, 2008 on Leech Lake

Me with the two 17 1/2 walleyes I caught while trolling the night before.


Rick with one of the many nice sized crappie we caught near the Birches; Second Duck Point is visible on the far right.

The temperature today was a very pleasant 70 degrees, the water temperature warmed to 66 degrees, and the winds were calm.

Rick and I started fishing at 2:00 p.m. using shiners and shiner jigs over Snake Pit Flats to the north and east of Goose Island. Unfortunately, we caught nothing. From there we fired up the 150 hp Mercury Verado and made our way to Big Hardwood Point. The there was also slow, but I did hook into a gigantic walleye -- I'm estimating at least 26-28" and roughly 8-9 lbs. I got the fish to the side of the boat, but before Rick could net the fish, it turned and cut clean throught the 6lb. test Fireline Crystal I was using. Big fish, but no pictures.

Our third stop was the Birches. There we switched tactics and again fished for panfish. Above is a picture of Rick holding one of the dozens of crappie we caught. We also boated a good number of perch and bluegill. By 5:45 p.m., we were back on shore.

Back at the cabin, I cleaned the two 17 1/2" walleyes from yesterday's excurtion, as well as the one jumbo perch I kept from yesterday afternoon's trip on Leech Lake. Tonight we treated Rick to a wonderful fish fry, complete with French fries, Cole slaw and warm dinner rolls. There is nothing tastier than a Leech Lake fish fry.

September 11, 2008 on Leech Lake

I picked up our friend Rick at the airport last night at 10:45 p.m. We didn't get to our house on Leech Lake until near midnight. I know Rick was happy to be at the lake again.

After spending the morning and early afternoon on shore, Rick and I decided to some fishing just after lunch. We hit the water at 1:00 p.m. The temperature was 67 degrees, the skies mostly sunny, the winds were 5-10 mph out of the NW. I had told Rick about the recent run of great panfishing, so he asked if we could try that.

I took the boat north on Sucker Bay until we were in about 12 feet of water in front of Schiebe's cabin. I recorded the water temperature of 62 degrees. With a NW wind, this would allow us to drift SE right along the weed line near the Birches where the panfish bite had been great the past couple of weeks.

Rick and I caught several perch, crappie and bluegill. I kept only one of the jumbo perch I hooked, and by 3:30 p.m. we were back on shore.

After dinner, Rick wanted to go trolling for walleye, and he didn't need to ask me twice. We hit the water at 8:00, and by the time we came in at 10:30 p.m., I had boated four walleye. I caught a 14", two 17 1/2" and a 24" walleye. We decided to keep the two 17 1/2" 'eyes for a future fish fry.

Our lures of choice tonight were the Rapala Minnow Raps. Rick used a variety of colors, but caught no fish, I stayed with my favorite color -- hot steel -- and caught four walleye. Rick swears that tomorrow night he's going to use a Minnow Rap with some purple in it.

September 10, 2008

Today was an overcast, drizzly kind of a day. A grey day.

The temperature hit only 62 degrees and the winds were light again at 5 mph out of the SW.

I power-washed the game room deck and the "fish" garage in preparation for painting and staining them.

Our friend Rick, from Brisbane, Australia, arrives tonight at the Bemidji airport. I'll drive into town later to pick him up.

No fishing on Leech Lake today.

September 9, 2008

The winds were light today at 5 mph out of the SW, the temperature was 68 degrees and the skies were partly cloudy. It would have been a good day to go fishing, but I had work to do at the cabin, so I stayed on shore.

I power-washed the cabin and game room in preparation for painting.

NOTE: The water level in the lake is down a full 18 inches from early June. We really need rain.

September 8, 2008

Earlier today we took Joe and our two dogs (Marco and Elsa) to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport so they could fly back to our house in California. After making sure they all got to the gate on time, Kathleen and I made a brief stop at the Mall of America so Kathleen could pick up a couple of books and magazines at the book store there. Then we got back into the truck and started our 5 1/2 hour drive to Leech Lake.

We stopped for groceries Grand Rapids and then made the final hour drive home. We arrived at Leech Lake at 7:45 p.m., and Joe was already home with the dogs. I already miss Joe.

Kathleen and I have joked about it before -- it's always all or nothing with us. In the past two months, our kids Joe, Melissa and Liz were all here at the lake, as was our grand daughter Ashley, several of Kathleen's brothers and sisters, Kathleen's mother, my parents and our friend Rick.

But as we unloaded the groceries from the truck on this late-summer evening, it was just the two of us. It will be nice to spend some quiet time at the lake with just Kathleen. Well, for at least a couple of days anyway. Three days from now our friend Rick arrives from Australia (he arrived with us at the lake way back on May 23 for a 10-day visit), and a week or so later Kathleen's good friend Elizabeth will be paying us visit. So we're going to enjoy a little quiet for the next few days.

The weather today: temperature 62 degrees; winds out of the SSW at 10 mph; skies mostly sunny.

Here's Joe and Kathleen sitting on Paul Bunyan's lap at a rest stop near Brainerd, MN. He sure looks like Al Lindner to me.

September 7, 2008

My parents left early this morning, and then Kathleen and I spent time helping Joe pack his things. We'll leave for Minneapolis around 3 p.m., spend the night near the airport, then take Joe, and our two dogs (Marco and Elsa) to the airport around 9 a.m. tomorrow.

The temperature was 62 degrees today, and while it was breezy, I didn't record the wind speed or direction today.

Here are a few pictures of Joe, Kathleen and I on Joe's last day at the lake. In some of the pictures, Marco (brown) and Elsa (white) make an appearance.

September 6, 2008 on Leech Lake

Today is Joe's last full day at the lake. He arrived at Leech Lake on July 1, and I can't believe how quickly the past two months have flown by. Since it's Joe's last day at the lake, we had to spend some time on the water fishing, and then have a fish fry for dinner.

With the temperature a cool 61 degrees and winds varible from calm to 15 mph and swirling in all directions -- SE then NE and finally out of the west -- Joe and I hit the water at 1:00 p.m. The water temperature was 67 degrees.

While we were in town yesterday, I decided to pick up a couple of scoops of spottail shiners. For more than 95% of my fishing this summer I've relied on artificial baits -- Gulp biodegradables, Northland plastic Slurpies and a variety of crankbaits and spinner baits. But I decided that Joe and I would fish with live bait at least once before he left.

We positioned the boat in 10 feet of water off the Birches and started fishing using Northland Tackle shiner jigs tipped with our spottail shiners. We caught a good number of perch, a few pike, a handful of rock bass, and Joe caught a small walleye. I'm glad he hooked a walleye on his last day on the lake in 2008.

We kept one of the jumbo perch Joe caught, and with the perch we had caught on previous trips on the water, we had enough for a fantastic fish fry.

We headed to shore at 3:45 p.m.

I cleaned the jumbo perch, and the prepped them for dinner. And were they ever delicious! As usual, we served the fish with French Fries, Cole slaw and warm dinner rolls. Malt vinegar, ketchup and tartar sauce joined our table as tasty condiments.

Joe leaves for California tomorrow and I'm really going to miss him. I really love having Joe here with me and Kathleen at Leech Lake.

September 5, 2008

The sky today was grey, it rained on and off all day, the temperature was only 62 degrees, although the winds were light at 5-8 mph out of the west.

We needed groceries and Kathleen wanted to go to the Farmer's Market, so rather than go fishing today, we all piled into my dad's roomy Ford Crown Victoria and drove into Bemidji.

No fishing on Leech Lake today.

September 4, 2008 on Leech Lake

Today Joe and I went fishing on two separate occasions. The first time we were on the lake from 1:30 p.m to 5:00 p.m. The temperature was a cool 66 degrees, the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the east and the water temperature was 69 degrees -- the first time the water had dropped below 70 degrees since mid-June.

Since the wind was coming from the east, that meant it would blow the boat from the shoreline toward the middle of the lake. With that in mind, Joe and I positioned the boat in only 6 feet of water in front of the Birches with the knowledge that the wind would push the boat into deeper water, right over the weeds, and hopefully, right into the schooling perch, crappie and bluegill.

Joe and each caught a few perch, crappie and bluegill, but nothing significant. We did, however, keep the one jumbo perch that we managed to boat. Since the panfishing action wasn't all that hot, we decided to switch tactics and troll in 10-12 feet of water along the weed line for walleye. We used our customary Rapala Minnow Raps and got down to business.

We boated a couple of nice sized northern pike, which are fun to catch, but not a fish we elect to keep. I know many people who say they love the taste northern pike, but in my opinion, perch and walleye are a far superior tasting fish.

Later that evening, Joe and I again went trolling for walleye. We were on the water from 8:00 p.m. to 10:20 p.m., and made several passes from south of Second Duck Point to past the Malay's cabin in 9-12 feet of water. Again, we were using Minnow Raps -- Joe used one in a purpledescent color, while I used my favorite color, hot steal.

The winds had shifted throughout the day, and were now blowing at 8-12 mph out of the SE. The slight increase in wind created a perfect "walleye chop" on the lake, and it proved effective. Joe caught three nice walleyes -- 18", 21" and 21 1/2". I was came up empty, but that was fine with me. Joe, unfortunately, will be flying back to California in just a few days, and I was happy he had a chance to boat some beautiful Leech Lake walleye before departing.