Ode to Boat Lifts

Silver metal skeletons

Standing guard near the lonely the dock

Awaiting removal from the lake

Their green and blue skins are gone

No longer home to the Lunds

Alone in the icy cold water

Soon to be pulled and dragged

From their post in the shallow water

Empty and out of place on land

October 24, 2009 -- The Boat Comes Out of Leech Lake

Boat and trailer await the trip to Corner Sports in Bemidji

At 9:30 a.m. this morning the temperature was 26 degrees, there was a light covering of frost on the ground, the sun was shining through partly cloudy skies and the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SW.

As I pulled the truck from the house to the cabin in preparation of pulling my boat out of the water this morning, I bumped into Duane Paulsen. He was on his old Ford tractor pulling into our woods in search of a tree he said had fallen. He offered to help me take my boat out of the water, but I declined. I figured it was best to let Duane focus his attention on cutting up firewood.

I got the truck into position, backed it up and got it lined up with the boat trailer. I hooked up the trailer to the receiver hitch on the truck, got the cables in place and connected the wiring. I then got to work removing the canopy from the boat lift. If I don't take the canopy off the lift with the boat in the lift, I would have to wait until Shore Brothers got it on shore to remove it. And doing that would run the risk of the lift becoming airborne should we have strong winds.

The canopy came off fairly easily since there was little wind to get it flapping. I pulled the canopy onto the dock, then dragged it up near the cabin. I'll get the power washer out later today and spray off the seagull guano that accumulated during the summer months.

I then backed the trailer down the boat ramp and into the lake. With the water temperature in the low 40s I got my waders on to finish the job. I lowered the boat off the lift, got in the water myself and walked the boat around the dock and lined it up with the trailer.

I snapped the strap onto the front of the boat and slowing began cranking the wench handle thus pulling the boat onto the trailer. With the boat on the trailer and secured, I got into the truck and pulled the boat and trailer up the ramp and parked them next to the garage. Later today I'll go back over the cabin and take everything out of the boat and fully secure it -- with tow straps and transom saver -- for the trip to Corner Sports in Bemidji. I'll take it into town on Monday when I take Kathleen to the airport.

It's not rocket science getting a boat out of the water, but this was the first time I did it without any assistance. I've often had a neighbor or family member standing by should I need help. I guess going it alone is some type of Northwoods rite of passage. I passed.

After lunch I devoted my time to cleaning out all of the gear from the boat -- tackle, rods and reels, life jackets, etc. I also added some air to the tires of the boat trailer; they were each about 10 lbs light.

Just as I started to put the cover on the boat the skies opened up and it started raining hard. I didn't want the boat to get too much water in it before I take it in for winter storage, so I continued to cover the boat in the rain. Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I had the cover completely on the boat the rain stopped and the sun actually peeked out from behind a cloud.

It seems not that long ago that I was putting my boat in the water for the season. Now it's out and ready for winter storage.

Once I take it in to Corner Sports, I'm going to have them repair or replace the driver's side dashboard, which they cracked while installing the networking system for my two Lowrance units. I'm also going to have the repair the bilge outlet cover, which I damaged while pulling into the boat lift. If the water levels wouldn't have been so low, that mishap never would have happened.

I'll also have them do a 350 hour check on the Mercury Verado motor. Three-hundred and fifty hours is the total number of hours the Verado has run since leaving the manufacturer. I'm estimating that I've put on about 250 hours of the total (my boat was a demo so it did have some hours on it before I bought it). All of those nights trolling for walleye over the past three years do add up.

At 2:45 p.m. it's 40 degrees outside, the sky is gray and it looks as if it might rain again, the ground is wet from the previous rain and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the SW.

Kathleen and I went for a walk at 3:40 p.m. I went as far as Paulsen's, while Kathleen went to the Community Center (2 miles and 6 miles respectively).

Once home I cleaned and oiled my four primary fishing reels and stored them for the winter. A Prairie Home Companion came on at 5:00 p.m. and I listened to that while enjoying a Leinenkugel Oktorberfest beer.

Kathleen apparently didn't get enough exercise on her 6-mile run/walk, so once home she got on her bike and rode the 6-mile loop from our house to the Community Center down Ottertail Rd. to 26th and back home again.

By 7:30 p.m. the temperature was down to 30 degrees and it was raining. I got a fire going in the fireplace and Kathleen and I enjoyed a peaceful night in front of the fire playing dominoes and listening to Joe Pass guitar music.

My boat is out of the water so there will be no more open-water fishing this season. But despite no trolling for walleye tonight, it was a wonderful evening at Leech Lake.

October 23, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

This morning at 10:00 a.m. the temperature is 29 degrees, the sky is gray and overcast and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the NNE.

After enjoying our coffee and having some breakfast, Kathleen and I decided to take a walk. As usual, I joined her on the 2-mile round trip walk to Paulsen's house, then I turned back while Kathleen continued on to the Community Center for the full 6 miles.

While Kathleen was on her run/walk, I got out the leaf blower and cleared off the leaves from the lakeside yard at the house. There are still many trees still on the trees, but since I leave for California in a week I wanted to get as many of the leaves cleaned up as possible.

Tom Malay has offered to come down to our house and cabin with his mulching attachment on his John Deere lawn mower to clean up any remaining leaves after they've all come down.

When Kathleen returned from her run she and I took a long leisurely walk in our woods. Many of the leaves have changed to yellow or russet brown, but there are still a good amount of leaves that are green. It's been a crazy autumn. Warm temperatures into early October then almost overnight they dropped to below freezing and there was snow.

The temperature by 4:00 p.m. had climbed to 38 degrees and the wind was blowing at 8-10 mph out of the ENE.

My plan is to pull the boat out of the water tomorrow, so I will definitely get out for one last trolling session tonight. I can't believe it's already time to take the boat out of the lake.

At 6:25 p.m. I lowered the boat into the water, fired up the Mercury Verado and slowly made my way out to 9-10 feet of water in front of the cabin. I turned the boat lights on since the sun had already set, got the landing net ready, put my #9 Rapala Minnow Rap in a bleeding copper flash color into the water and started trolling.

I made my way south past Second Duck Point, turned west out into Sucker Bay and started trolling north toward Malay's. When I was between our cabin and Malay's house, I felt that familar "thud" of a walleye hitting the Minnow Rap.

I quickly put the motor in neutral and began reeling in the fish. I could tell by the way it was fighting that it was a walleye, and I also could tell it was a fairly big fish by the weight on the end of my line.

As I got the fish close to the boat I reached over and grabbed the landing net in order to boat the fish. Once on board, I could tell it was a good-sized fish. I carefully removed the front treble hook from the mouth of the fish and took a quick measurement -- 24 1/4 inches. Any time you can catch a walleye that's over two feet long you've got a big fish. And this fish was fat too. Obviously bulking up for the upcoming winter season.

I caught the fish at 7:00 p.m. The sky was mostly cloudy and almost dark. The water temperature varied between 41.7 and 42.3 degrees. The winds had died down and the lake was nearly calm.

I fished for another hour but didn't catch any other fish. Nonetheless, I did catch a beautiful 24 1/4 inch walleye on my last open-water angling trip of 2009 on Leech Lake.

October 22, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

Tonight's spectacular sunset over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

At 10:00 a.m. the temperature is 30 degrees, the sun is out for the first time in days with just a few clouds hovering over the western shore of Sucker Bay, and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the NNW.

I got a call from Shore Brothers this morning letting me know that they would be out here either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week to pull the docks and boat lift out of the water. This Saturday the weather is supposed to be sunny with light winds out of the east, making it an ideal to get the canopy off my boat lift and the boat out of the water. Tom Malay offered to lend me a hand in both operations. I'll check with him later today to see what time he might be available on Saturday to help me.

Kathleen went to Bemidji this afternoon for a 2:00 p.m. meeting with various people from the Bemidji Hospital regarding physical therapy jobs at the hospital. We've often talked about moving here full-time, and if we do, Kathleen would like to continue working and the only logical place for her to do that would be the hospital in Bemidji.

While Kathleen was in town, I took down the screens from the windows and doors at the cabin and replaced them with storm windows. When I was done with the storm windows I decided to go fishing.

I hit the water at just after 3:00 p.m. under partly sunny skies, light winds at 5-8 mph out of the ENE, a temperature of 40 degrees and a water temperature of 42.7 degrees.

I started fishing at The Birches in 9 feet of water. I used my usual set up of a jig and fathead. The breeze was such that it pushed the boat away from shore and slightly south toward Malay's.

I caught a few perch including one that measured close to a foot long. All fish went back into the water.

At 4:30 p.m. I motored back to the cabin and realized how cold I really was. Kathleen had just gotten home and asked if I could give her a ride on the ATV so she could see the Peninsula.

We went down W. Shores to 26th the south on Ottertail Point Rd. We explored the new housing development at Duck Point, checked out the lots for sale along Ottertail Point Rd. and eventually made it home. When we got home we took a nice walk in the woods.

By the time we got inside I was freezing. I had been outside for several hours and my head in particular was very cold. Despite the cold, we went out onto the dock at 6:15 p.m. to enjoy the amazing sunset over Sucker Bay.

I decided not to go fishing this evening even though I don't have much time left with my boat in the water. I opted to stay inside and hang out with Kathleen. We made dinner, had a fire, and just hung out.

It's supposed to be cloudy and possibly rain tomorrow, but since it may be the last day I have my boat in the water this year, I'm going to try to get to do some fishing on Leech Lake.

October 21, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

This morning we woke up to dark skies and a steady rain. The temperature is 36 degrees at 9:00 a.m. and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the NNE.

Mark and his team from Shore Brothers showed up on the Peninsula by noon and took out Newman's dock and boat lift, Poage's, Malay's and a couple of other folks. I spoke to Mark and he said he'd be back next week to take out our boat lift and two docks and do the same for a couple of other people in the area.

That will enable me to keep my boat in the water until this weekend. I just hope the weather improves a little so I can get out on the water without it raining or snowing.

It rained all afternoon so Kathleen and I stayed inside and had a very slow paced, relaxing day. We even did something we hadn't done in years, maybe decades. We took a nap.

After our nap we took a walk. I went to the Paulsen's and back (2 miles) while Kathleen went all the way to the Community Center and back (6 miles).

It's now 6:20 p.m. The temperature is 37 degrees, there's a light rain falling and the wind is at8-10 mph out of the NNE. I think I'm going to go fishing. The sunset tonight was a minute ago and the moon is 13% waxing.
________

I got the boat off the lift, the lights on, the landing net ready, the rod holders in place and motored out to 9 feet of water in front of the cabin. I positioned the boat so I would travel south, set the SmartCraft controls to 2.50 mph ground speed, and dropped my #9 Minnow Rap into the 43 degree water.

Just 5 minutes after starting my troll, I hooked into a fish. At first I thought it might be a northern given the way it hit, but once I began reeling it to the boat I could tell it was a walleye. I got the landing net ready and landed a beautiful 19-inch walleye.

I carefully removed the front treble from its mouth and put the fish back into the cold, dark waters of Leech Lake.

I made two passes through The Alley, but caught no more fish nor did I have any bites. At 7:45 p.m. I came ashore with a light rain still falling.

I took a quick shower, got a fire going in the fireplace and then made dinner. I made risotto, baked walleye and asparagus. After dinner Kathleen and I sat in the living room watching the fire, listened to music and talked.

The weather today was cold and rainy, but it was another fantastic day at Leech Lake.

October 20, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

This morning at 8:30 a.m. the temperature is 38 degrees, the sky is completely cloudy and gray, the wind is light at 5-7 mph from the NW and the ground is wet from an overnight rain. It is supposed to rain on and off for the next several days.

At 1:15 p.m. Kathleen and I went for a walk. I walked with her as far as the beaver swamp, then turned and walked home (about 2.5 miles) while Kathleen went all the way to the Community Center and back (a 6 mile trip).

On my way back to the house I stopped by Malay's to discover that Tom had pulled his boat out of the water by himself. He thought the water level may have been too low to do it, but he decided to try anyway. Apparently he donned his waders and walked the boat around the dock and onto the trailer, then used the strap and wench to secure his boat onto the trailer. He never even fired up the motor.

After my stop at Malay's I went to the cabin where I retrieved the walleye from the wire basket, cleaned it, and got it ready for our dinner tonight. I am going to make baked walleye, risotto and asparagus.

I brought a load of firewood into the garage and cleaned out the fireplace in case Kathleen and I decide to have a fire tonight.

The temperature at 3:45 p.m. is 38 degrees, the sky is gray and overcast, there is a light rain falling and the wind is light at 5-8 mph out of the NW.

At 5:00 p.m. I went fishing. There was still a light rain falling, the temperature was 39 degrees, the wind had shifted and was blowing at 5-8 mph out of the NNE and the water temperature was 43.7 degrees.

The way the wind was blowing enabled me to start at The Birches in 9-10 feet of water and drift in that same depth all the way back to my boat lift. I used an 1/8 oz. pink jig tipped with a fathead minnow. I caught one nice jumbo perch, which I put back into the lake, but caught no other fish, and didn't have any other bites.

I came ashore around 6:15 p.m. I was planning to cook the walleye I had cleaned earlier in the day, but Kathleen and I decided to eat light, opting instead for some hors d'ouvres and salad. We'll have the walleye and risotto tomorrow night.

We listened to music, watched the fire in the fireplace and eventually watched a movie. Once again we went to bed late. Oh well, that's what you do when you're at Leech Lake.

October 19, 2009 -- Kathleen's Birthday

Happy Birthday Kathleen! I love you.

I'm so glad Kathleen can be here at Leech Lake to celebrate her birthday. She loves it here in the Northwoods, as do I, and there is no place better to enjoy your birthday than here at the lake.

At 10:00 a.m. the temperature is 45 degrees, the sky is cloudy and the wind is fairly strong at 15-18 mph out of the NW. I was hoping to pull my boat out of the water today, but it's a little too windy now to do that easily and safely.

Tom Malay was going to pull his boat out of the water today as well, at my boat ramp, but now we're thinking we'll do it tomorrow. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be rainy, but the forecast is for light winds at no more than 5-7 mph out of the ENE. I don't mind getting wet if I there are calm waters in which to pull my boat out of the lake.

By mid-afternoon the temperature climbed close to 50 degrees and there was a little sun peeking through the clouds. Kathleen and I took a walk through our woods then down to Paulsen's house. That's where I turned back and came home, while Kathleen started her run. She did the entire loop -- down 26th to Ottertail Peninsula Rd. to the end near Two Points onward to the Community Center and then down W. Shores Rd. back to our house. About a 6-mile trip.

When Kathleen got home she asked if we could take a boat ride. The wind had died down to about 5-8 mph from the NW, so I said sure. I got the boat off the lift and we made a leisurely trip down to The Birches. Kathleen enjoyed seeing the color of the trees from the water and the beauty of the lake in general.

I took the opportunity to put a minnow on a jig and drop it into the water. I fished for no more than 10 minutes in the 44.3 degree water and didn't get a bite. But technically, I did get some fishing in today.

When we got home I received a call from Tom Malay. He had heard from Shore Brothers -- the outfit that takes out my dock and boat lift -- and apparently they are going to have to make two separate trips out to Ottertail Peninsula, so the guy told Tom that I could leave my boat in the water until the week of October 26. So instead of pulling my boat out of the water tomorrow, I'll have an extra week to fish.

Tom is thinking he may still pull his boat out of the water, and I'd be happy to help him as we had originally planned. I also would be happy to take Tom fishing once his boat is out of the lake.

After Kathleen and I got cleaned up, I made her a shrimp pasta dinner for her birthday meal. We then retired to the living room for a fire in the fireplace and competitive game of Scrabble, of which Kathleen won.

We had another wonderful day at Leech Lake.

October 18, 2009 -- On Leech Lake

Today was a beautiful day right from the start. The sun was out, the wind was light at 8-12 mph out of the south and the temperature hit a high of 50 degrees. A spectacular autumn day in northern Minnesota.

After a brunch with Kathleen, her mother Marge, Mike, Barb and Sean, we all decided to go for a walk in the woods.

We took a leisurely stroll through the woods and it was absolutely beautiful. Most of the leaves on the trees in the woods are still green, despite several days of sub-freezing temperatures and shorter daylight hours. But there was enough color -- mostly yellows -- to remind everyone that it was mid-October.

Once we were all back home, Sean and I got ready to go fishing. Last year when Sean visited Leech Lake during MEA weekend he took home a nice 17" walleye. I was hoping he could repeat that performance this year.

We pulled the boat off the lift with light winds from the south at 8-10 mph, under partly sunny skies and a temperature of 50 degrees. The water temperature was 43.3 degrees.

I motored the boat to The Birches and Sean and I started fishing, using jigs and minnows. We fished for nearly two hours but just as it was on Saturday, we had no bites and caught no fish.

We came ashore around 4:00 p.m., and I was surprised at how cold it had been on the water. During the past week I'd been on the lake with the temperatures in the 30s and low 40s and thought it was cold so I figured with the temperature being 50 today it wouldn't be as cold so I didn't wear my Gore Tex bib overalls and parka opting instead for just a couple of sweatshirts. In hindsight, my insulated parka might have been a better choice.

Around 5:30 p.m. Mike, Barb, Sean and Marge got into the Coyle's minivan and left for points in southern Minnesota. Kathleen and I went for a walk, and then she went for a run.

This evening Kathleen and I had a wonderful time playing cribbage by the fire in the fireplace before getting to bed way too late again -- I wanted to stay up to wish her a happy birthday.

Another in a series of great times at Leech Lake.

October 17, 2009 -- OPA Potluck Saturday

We woke up late again this morning because we didn't get to bed until after 2:00 a.m. Kathleen's brother Mike, his wife Barb, their son Sean and Kathleen's mom Marge arrived at our house just before 11:00 p.m. on Friday night, so we stayed up talking and listening to music.

When I did roll out of bed at 10:00 a.m., the temperature was 32 degrees, the sky was overcast and the wind was about 8-10 mph out of the SSW and there was a heavy fog so thick that I couldn't see the shoreline across the lake.

As the day wore on, and more and more of the people on our compound got out of bed, the fog burned off, although the sky remained gray.

By mid-afternoon, Sean was ready to go fishing and I asked John Newman if he'd like to join us. Since he was heading south on Sunday morning, and his boat was already out of the water, he jumped at the chance to go fishing. As he said, this might be the last time he holds a fishing rod in his hands until ice fishing season.

We bundled up in warm clothes, got into the boat and backed off the lift onto Leech Lake. We started fishing at The Birches; where John and I had caught numerous fish earlier in the week. We all used variations of a jig and minnow set up, but none of us were getting any bites.

I had a northern hit my jig and bite right through the line forcing me to retie another jig onto my line. A few minutes later I caught a small perch, which turned out to be the only fish any of us caught all day.

We moved to two other locations, but no one caught any fish. While we were out on the water the wind picked up to 18-22 mph out of the SSW which created large swells and white caps on the lake.

We came ashore around 3:45 p.m. and it took all three of us to battle the waves to get the boat securely onto the boat lift.

Once I was back in the house I got ready for the Ottertail Peninsula Association annual potluck dinner at the Community Center. I can't believe this will be my ninth straight potluck. Time sure flies (we bought our place in July, 2001).

Turnout at the potluck was light this year compared to years past, with somewhere between 30-40 people in attendance. There have been some years where there have been more than 70 people at the potluck.

It was nice to chat with my friends and neighbors, but I left right as the event was winding down so I could come home and help get dinner ready for Kathleen and her family.

We had a nice dinner with Kathleen's mom, brother and his family, and we topped things off with a birthday cake for Kathleen; her birthday is Monday, Oct. 19.

After dinner we decided to get to bed early since we had had two late nights in a row. So by 11:30 p.m. or midnight, everyone was in bed. Hey, when you consider we'd gotten to bed after 2:00 a.m. the previous two nights, midnight is early.

It was another wonderful day at Leech Lake.