August 16, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

At 9:00 a.m. this morning the sky was mostly cloudy, with some very threatening clouds to the south, the wind was out of the SSW at 10-15 mph, with gusts up over 20 mph, and the temperature was 68 degrees.

The forecast called for thunderstorms throughout the day, so the plan was that I'd go into Cass Lake sometime today to pick up some groceries and other supplies since it was unlikely that we'd be able to go fishing; the waves were simply too big and the water too rough.

I left for Cass Lake at 1:30 p.m. and made several stops -- groceries, hardware, post office, and bait. I got back to the lake around 3:30 p.m., and despite the strong breeze, Joe and I decided to go fishing.

Joe helped hold the boat in place as I lowered the boat lift since the strong 15-20 mph SSW wind created a lot of chop in the water. With the boat in the water safely, I motored us out to Second Duck Point in 11 feet of water, deployed the drift sock, put a fresh, lively fathead minnow on my jig and started fishing for perch and walleye.


The Drift Control drift sock in the waters off Second Duck Point, Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

We caught and released several small- to medium-sized perch, and Joe hooked into something that broke his line.

We made several passes from Second Duck Point to in front of the Malays, but never caught anything big enough to keep. At 5:45 p.m. we got the boat back on the boat lift, and went back to the house.

I brined a chicken for tomorrow night's dinner, then Joe and I went out onto the dock to watch the sunset. While the sunset itself wasn't all that spectacular, the cloud formations made an interesting sky prior to the sun dropping below the horizon.


The sun behind clouds over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

We didn't go trolling tonight because the wind was still fairly strong at 12-15 mph out of the SSW and I didn't feel like battling the heavy chop to troll for walleye. Especially since the past few times we've been out trolling we haven't hooked anything.

Good night from Leech Lake.

August 15, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

At 9:00 a.m. this morning the sky was gray and overcast, the humidity was high at more than 80%, the temperature was 72 degrees and the wind was out of the SE at 5-10 mph. As a result of the overcast sky and the light ripples from the wind, the water looked an odd gray-green color.

I was up for quite some time before Joe finally got up. We had our coffee, ate breakfast, then decided to go bass fishing.

It took us a while to finally get out onto the water, but at 12:30 p.m. we pushed off the boat lift and motored down to the reeds in front of Norm's cabin to begin fishing for largemouth bass. I put the MinnKota electric trolling motor into the water, and began fishing with a spinnerbait. Joe used a 5" Senko rigged Texas style, with no additional weight, on a 3/0 offset hook.

We fished from Norm's all the way north into Bass Bay past the old Hancock place. Joe caught three nice sized largemouth bass and a rock bass, I caught two largemouth but had two more get away. I had one bass all the way to the boat when it leaped into the air and spit the hook. Later, I hooked another bass and it too leaped into the air but this time my line snapped and I not only lost the fish but my spinnerbait as well.


Joe with a nice Leech Lake largemouth bass from Sucker Bay

Two hours after we hit the water we returned home. I got some lunch while Joe did a few things on his own.

By 3:00 p.m. the wind had picked up a bit and was blowing at 8-12 mph out of the SSE. The temperature was 75 degrees and the humidity remained well over 80%. The sky was mostly cloudy with just occasional patches of blue here and there.

I still had a few fatheads left so I decided to go jigging for perch and walleye at 4:45 p.m. Joe elected to stay on shore.

The wind had picked up and was blowing at 10-15 mph out of the SE, but the way we're situated on Sucker Bay, the water at the boat lift was calm, so getting the boat into the water went without a hitch. I motored out toward Second Duck Point in 8 feet of water, deployed the drift sock and let the wind push the boat northward toward our house and outward into deeper water on the bay.

I caught numerous perch, although none big enough to keep, and a small "hammerhandle" sized pike. When I ran out of minnows I came home.

After dinner Joe and I decided to go trolling for walleye, my third time on the water today. We got on the water around 9:00 p.m., about a half an hour after sunset, and began trolling from Second Duck Point southward across Duck Bay.

We watched as the 96% waning moon, just a little less than a full moon, rose in the east and moved up over the lake. We trolled for a full 90 minutes, but other than a couple of "bumps and misses" we were unable to hook any walleye. At last we motored back to the lift and came ashore.

I was pretty tired, so soon after coming in from fishing I called it a night. Tomorrow the forecast is calling for stiff winds and thunderstorms throughout the day. We probably won't go fishing tomorrow, but our plan is to go on an all-day muskie fishing adventure on Wednesday. Until tomorrow...

August 14, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

At 9:30 a.m. this morning the temperature was just under 70 degrees, the sky was mostly clear and blue and the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SSW.

I walked out to the end of the dock and that brief walk across the lawn got my sandals completely wet. Last night the humidity was 88% because the dew point was at 54 degrees and the low temperature overnight was 58 degrees. Thus, the dew on the grass this morning was very heavy.

I counted eight boats in our general vicinity including one boat directly in front of our cabin where the two guys were throwing muskie lures. Figuring it would be a great day to spend some serious time on the water, I got out my two 6-gallon gas cans, filled them up, lugged them down to the boat, and gassed up the boat, just in case we decided to do any long runs on the water. I also plugged in the onboard battery charger to make sure the MinnKota electric trolling motor had full power should we work the reeds for bass.

With my boat maintenance complete, I went inside, washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. When Joe got up he wanted to make buckwheat pancakes and bacon for breakfast, and I wasn't about to dissuade him. The maple syrup we used on our pancakes was made by our neighbor Jerry Schiebe from maple trees right here on Ottertail Peninsula. There's no syrup that's better than locally made maple syrup.

When we were done with breakfast, Joe and I decided to go fishing. We planned to be on the water for some time, so we packed a number of cold drinks, sandwiches and chips for lunch on the water. We started fishing right off Second Duck Point using jigs and fatheads. Joe had the hot stick and caught numerous perch, although no jumbos.

From Second Duck Point we moved south around Ottertail Point and up into Portage Bay where we stopped at Ivan's Bay. A few months ago Rick and I fished Ivan's Bay and I caught several nice sized perch and a keeper 17" walleye, so I figured Joe and I would give it a try. We jigged fathead minnows for about 30 minutes but didn't get so much as a bite.

Joe had been asking to go exploring in other parts of Leech Lake for several days now, and since the weather was good, the wind relatively light at 5-8 mph out of the SSW, we decided to motor up Portage Bay to the mouth of the Leech Lake River, and then into the river itself to the end where boats have to stop because of the dam at Federal Dam.

With three-quarters of a tank of gas in my Lund ProV 1800 Tournament boat we had more than enough fuel to make such a run, so we decided to do it. I throttled up the 150hp Mercury Verado, got the boat on plane and made the 20 minute ride to the mouth of the Leech Lake River.

The river is clearly marked with buoys -- green on the starboard side as you enter the river and red on the port side. The buoys are also numbered starting with 45 and counting down to 1 when you reach the end of the navigable portion of the river about mile later at Federal Dam.

The Leech Lake River is flanked by reeds and wild rice and varies in depth from 3 feet to as deep as 13 feet in some holes. In fact, during a recent professional walleye tournament on Leech Lake the winner -- who took home $65,000 -- caught all of his fish in a 10-foot deep hole on the river.

Joe and I took our time motoring toward Federal Dam since we had never been on the river before. We encountered several boats coming the other way on the river as well as heading toward the dam. There are two boat landings at the river at Federal Dam and apparently it's a popular place for people to launch their boats and pontoons.


The dam at Federal Dam, the end of the Leech Lake River from Leech Lake

Once we reached marker buoy #1, we took a few pictures and then turned around and headed back to the lake. It took us about 40 minutes to go from the mouth of the river to the dam and back again, but we were going slow and enjoying the beauty of the Leech Lake River.

At last we entered Portage Bay again and I throttled up and took us south to Two Points, which is on the east side of Ottertail Peninsula. Once there, Joe and I tipped our jigs with fatheads and did a little fishing. Unfortunately, all we caught were some rock bass.


A small rocky island off Two Points, Portage Bay, Leech Lake

After leaving Two Points we continued south to the tip of the peninsula, Ottertail Point. We again tried jigging minnows for perch and walleye, but again came up empty. I then took us north into Sucker Bay up to Duck Point where we slowed down and began trolling for walleye with Minnow Raps.

We made a long, slow trip across Duck Bay but didn't catch anything. We finally got back to the boat lift around 6:00 p.m., after more than 5 hours on the water. I figured it was more than a 20 mile trip from our house to Federal Dam, one way. I estimated that we traveled close to 50 miles on lake today; probably the most we've done in the 10+ years we've been fishing Leech Lake.

Joe and I spent a lot of time on the water today so we didn't go trolling for walleye this evening, instead we enjoyed watching the sunset, had dinner, and then watched a movie on DVD.

It was a wonderful day of fishing and exploring the big water of Leech Lake. Good night.

August 13, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

This morning was another beautiful day at Leech Lake. The temperature was in the low 70s, the wind was out of the NNW at 8-12 mph, and the sky was mostly cloudy, but with enough open sky to let the sun shine through.

Joe and I drank our coffee on the back porch and took in the beauty of Leech Lake. I never, ever get tired of looking at it. After a light breakfast Joe and I decided to go on a bike ride. Went over the cabin garage, got the bikes, then took off down West Shores Road.

Joe wanted to ride to the end of Ottertail Peninsula, so we turned off at 26th Ave. then took a quick right onto Ottertail Point Drive and began the long part of our ride. When we reached the new Duck Point Woods development we turned in, rode to the end of the road and then rode out onto the wooden boardwalk and took that all the way to the end, where the developers have several floating dock slips.

When we exited Duck Point Woods we went to the end of Ottertail Point Road, turned around and rode back. The temperature, which was still in the low 70s, was perfect for riding, and unlike the last time Kathleen and I rode this route, there were no deer flies harassing us.

After we put the bikes away in the garage, I went for a brief ATV ride while Joe did yoga and took a swim in the lake. When I got back from the ride on the ATV I grabbed a couple of cold drinks, the fathead minnows and went fishing.

With the wind out of the NNW I motored out in front of Malay's cabin into 12 feet of water, deployed the drift sock and let the wind push the boat to a spot right in front of our house in 8-9 feet of water. I caught several small perch and hooked into something big that I fought for a few seconds before it snapped my line and took my jig. I figured it was a northern pike by the way it battled.

I tied on a new jig, tipped it with another fathead, and got back to fishing. I made a total of three drifts, and while I was catching small perch, I couldn't land another jumbo to go with the one in the basket back at the dock. I finally gave up, fired up the motor and got the boat back on the lift.

Once ashore, I cleaned the jumbo perch I'd caught the other day and got the fillets into the refrigerator. I'm hoping that Joe and I can catch another jumbo perch, or maybe a 16-inch walleye to go with this one lone jumbo.

Joe grilled burgers for dinner, but for some reason both he and I got hit with some heartburn before we could even begin eating, which delayed our dinner by an hour or so while we waited for the unease to pass.

After dinner we decided not to go fishing since it was already 10:00 p.m., so instead we stayed inside and watched a movie on DVD.

According to the weather forecast, the next three or four should be beautiful here at Leech Lake, so we're planning to get out on the water as much as possible. Good night from Leech Lake.

August 12, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

I slept well last night and didn't get up until 9:00 a.m. this morning. The temperature at that time was 59 degrees, there was virtually no wind, the sky was gray and overcast and a light rain was falling.

For most of the morning and into early afternoon the rain continued to fall. But by 1:00 p.m. the rain had stopped, although the sky was still overcast and gray and looked like it could rain again any time soon. Joe and I decided to take advantage of the break in the rain to go fishing. Joe especially wanted to do some bass fishing.

As is our usual plan for bass fishing, we start at the edge of the reeds in front of Norm's cabin and then work our way north using the MinnKota trolling motor until we reach Schiebe's place. On this outing Joe was throwing a 5" Senko rigged Texas style on a 3/0 offset hook with a spinning reel and rod. I was using a classic spinnerbait rigged on baitcasting rod and reel.

Within the first few minutes of fishing, Joe caught the usual "welcome bass" at Norm's. It was a nice sized fish about 15 inches long. About 20 minutes later I caught a similar sized fish at the halfway point in our journey. And just before we reached the end of the long expanse of reeds Joe hooked another nice bass. This one fought particularly hard, which Joe enjoys.

When we'd reached the end of the reeds, we stowed our bass fishing gear and took a boat ride to the end of Ottertail Point. Joe hadn't been that far down Sucker Bay yet, so he wanted to check it out.

On our way back north to our house, we slowed way down, got out the trolling rods and reels, and began trolling for walleye in Duck Bay, very near Duck Point.

I set the Mercury SmartCraft controls for 570 rpm because there was only a slight SE breeze at 5 mph. The lower rpms meant we could troll at a ground speed of just more than 2.0 mph. I noted that the water temperature was 75 degrees.

We trolled in 10 feet of water across Duck Bay and about halfway across the bay I hooked into a fish. I could tell it was a walleye because of the fish's lack of a fight. Sure enough, we got it into the boat and found it to be a nice 15-inch walleye. Now a lot of folks up here would have kept that fish, but to me, it was just a little too small. I'll keep a walleye between 16-18 inches, but below 16", it goes back into the lake. Any walleye between 18-26 inches has to go back into Leech Lake per Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources regulations.

Once the walleye was back into the lake, Joe and I again set out our Minnow Raps and began trolling. About 15 minutes later I again hooked a fish. When I got it to the boat I found it to be an even smaller walleye, about 13 inches. Again, it went back into the water.

We set out trolling yet again and before we got to Second Duck Point Joe hooked into something big. It was fighting hard and pulling line off Joe's reel. Joe played it perfectly and eventually brought a very good sized northern pike to the boat. I estimated the fish to be 26" at least. I unhooked the pike over the side of the boat, to keep the slime and smell of the northern out of the boat, and then released it back into the lake.

I piloted the boat back toward our house and Joe and I trolled from Second Duck Point to our house, but didn't boat another fish. I did have a fish hooked, but it came unbuttoned on the way to the boat; probably a walleye that was just barely hooked.

We came ashore at 3:45 p.m. and ate lunch.

Tonight is Friday night, so naturally it's pizza night. I left our house at 4:15 p.m. and drove into Cass Lake where I ordered an unbaked large pizza from Great River Pizzeria, ran some other "in town" errands and got home at 6:30 p.m.

After dinner we checked the weather and while there were storm clouds in every direction, the lake was calm, it wasn't raining nor storming, so we decided to go fishing.

I took the boat out into 10 feet of water, Joe and I put our Minnow Raps into the watr and we started troling in the 75 degree water under a full moon.

We made one long pass heading south across Duck Bay toward Duck Point, turned, and then headed north toward our house. The entire time we saw lightning all around us, with the most concentrated in the south and west. But we heard no thunder which led me to believe that the storms were a long way off.

On the northern pass of our trolling session, Joe hooked into a fish. He reeled up to the boat and I scooped it out with the landing net. I was a stout walleye that measured 21 inches long. The was in the Leech Lake slot limit which meant it had to go back into the lake; which it did.

We finished trolling back to our house and then came ashore. We watched a movie on DVD and then went to bed.

We had a great day of multi-species angling on Leech Lake.

August 11, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

Despite going to bed after 2:00 a.m. last night I awoke at 6:30 a.m. this morning and was unable to go back to sleep. I got out of bed 15 minutes later, got dressed and then went fishing.

The wind was coming out of the SW at 10-15 mph which created a strong chop on the lake including some white caps. The temperature was 59 degrees, although it felt muggy, and sky was clear.

When I got out onto the water the sun was just rising above the tree line so I watched it climb into the sky from the lake. I always like watching the sun rise from the water.

I took the boat out in front of Giza's cabin in 11 feet of water, put the drift sock in the lake, tipped my jig with a fathead and started fishing. I made three passes from Giza's to Malay's during the 70 minutes I was on the water during which time I caught several perch, including one 11-inch jumbo that went into the livewell, a couple of rock bass and I had a hit from something that bit clean through my minnow leaving just the head; most likely a northern, but it could have been a walleye.

By 8:20 a.m. I was on shore and feeling tired from the little sleep I'd had. I tried laying in bed and resting, but to no avail. I finally got up and got on with the day.

At noon the temperature had risen to the low 70s and wind had calmed a bit and was blowing out of the SW at 7-10 mph.

From 1:00 p.m. until just before 2:00 p.m., Joe and I went on a bike ride. We rode down to the Ottertail Peninsula Community Center then decided to keep going and did the "loop." We rode down Sucker Bay Road to Ottertail Peninsula Drive and then on to 26th Ave and finally back onto West Shores Road and home; a total round trip of just under 8 miles.

After our bike ride both Joe and I were hungry so we had some lunch. Then I went out fishing while Joe stayed on shore and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

With the wind coming out of the SSW at 8-12 mph I was able to motor the boat down to Giza's cabin in 10 feet of water, deploy the drift sock and the drift at 2/3 mph parallel to the shoreline. From 2:30 p.m. to 3:40 p.m. I made three passess from Giza's to Malay's in 12 feet of water, 10 feet of water and in 9 feet. I caught numerous small perch and a small northern pike, but no walleye or jumbos.

At 3:40 p.m. I saw that the storm cloud I'd been following was getting very close. I could feel the temperature drop, the wind pick up and I could sense that the storm was very close. I quickly got the drift sock in the boat and motored back to the boat lift.

On my way to the boat lift the rain started to fall. By the time I got on shore it was raining pretty hard, and in a matter of 15 minutes the rain was coming down in sheets. For the next two hours it rained, there was flashes of lightning and loud claps of thunder, some sounded like they were directly overhead.

By 5:30 p.m., the wind had died down so the flag hung limp and the water was without a ripple. The rain had stopped, but the sky dark and stormy and the lake was an eerie light green color. The temperature was 64 degrees. The forecast called for more thunderstorms until midnight. But we'll see. Joe and I plan to go trolling tonight, weather permitting.

At 6:15 p.m. the wind started to pick up and another storm blew in. We had more lightning and thunder and lots of rain. The rain and poor weather continued right up to sunset, so Joe and I made the decision not to trolling tonight.

Instead, we had an early dinner (for us at the lake it was early anyway) and watched a DVD. I was exhausted having had only 4 hours of sleep last night, and after a bike ride and the fresh air from being out fishing I was ready for bed earlier than usual. We closed things down for the night shortly after 10:00 p.m.

Good night from Leech Lake.

Three Months at Leech Lake

On the evening of May 10, I arrived at Leech Lake. I still remember that initial rush of joy when I first walked into our lake front house and smelled that familiar smell of the lake. There's nothing like it.

Today is August 10, meaning that I've been at the lake for three months now. It doesn't seem like I've been here three weeks, let alone three months. I've been fortunate enough to have many visitors here this summer. Kathleen has made two visits, once in late May/early June and again in late June/early July. My parents have been here, as have Tim and Sandy Coyle and their boys on two occasions. My friend Rick visited from Australia for several weeks in June. My granddaugther Ashley was here with Kathleen and I for nearly a week. And right now my son Joe is here at the lake with me.

I've also made three trips down to St. Cloud, each for several days. So my time at the lake has simply flown by.

During my stay the harbor restoration work was started and completed. All three of the out buildings at the house were painted. And too many other various maintenance chores and projects were done to even recall them all.

Of course some serious fishing was done as well. Numerous walleye were caught, most of which were released back into the lake, but several also graced our dinner table. Bass, northern pike, perch, rock bass and even a bullhead were hooked.

I visited with many of my neighbors, although most of my time with other "Leech Lakers" was spent with the Malays and Newmans.

I've taken many rides on the ATV all over Ottertail Peninsula, including one long ride up to Birch Ridge Resort to buy bait.

I've been blessed to encounter much of the wildlife that surrounds Leech Lake. I've seen eagles, loons, merganser ducks, mallards, Canadian geese, pelicans, herons, kingfishers, cormorants, orioles, finches, redwing black birds, hummingbirds, numerous types of woodpeckers, cedar waxwings, and dozens of other types of birds. I've seen mink, otters, squirrels, woodchucks, and deer. I've seen turtles, frogs, toads and snakes. The variety of wild flowers I've had the pleasure to see are too numerous to name. And of course the back drop for all of it is Leech Lake. The life source for all of the wild life in the area.

Now I'm just two weeks from returning to San Jose, a city of a million people in a region that is home to nearly 15 million. Here at Leech Lake, it's a 30 minute drive into Cass Lake, a small town of barely 800 people. It's just under an hour's drive to Bemidji, the closest "city" to Leech Lake, with it's 12,000 residents, many of which are college students at Bemidji State University.

The contrast from the remote, peaceful and relatively uninhabited area of Leech Lake to the megatropolis of the San Francisco Bay Area will be shocking. But that's one of the reasons all visitors to our "oasis on Leech Lake" love it here so much -- it's so quiet, so peaceful, so sparsely populated that one can literally go days without seeing or hearing another person. When people are here they are able to put the rest of the "real world" behind them, to let go and find an inner peace that is hard to attain when in the midst of a city. That is the true beauty of Leech Lake.

I've been very fortunate, blessed really, to have had the opportunity to be at Leech Lake for three months now. I try very hard not to take a minute of my time here for granted, or to fail to recognize the beauty that surrounds me. It will be hard to leave here, but I will forever be grateful for my time at Leech Lake.

August 10, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

Your host motoring the boat back to the boat lift after muskie fishing on Leech Lake

This morning was much warmer than yesterday. The temperature at 10:00 a.m. 68 degrees, the humidity was 70% (so it felt warmer than 68), the sky was mostly cloudy with some sun and blue sky visible, and the wind was 8-15 mph out of the SW. The lake had some occasional white caps, but it is no where near as rough as it was yesterday.

Joe and I had a slow morning, and then just after noon took a bike ride down to the Ottertail Peninsula Community Center, a 6-mile round trip. I hadn't taken a bike ride in several weeks so it felt great to be out peddling on West Shores Road, one of the prettiest roads anywhere in the country.

Once home, Joe wanted to do yoga and just hang out, so I took a brief ride on the ATV and then went fishing. Joe said he didn't want to go fishing since I was going to be doing some drifting and jigging and that's not a fishing method he particularly enjoys.

I took the boat out between the house and cabin in 13 feet of water, deployed the drift sock and let the west wind push the boat toward shore and into shallower water. The water temperature was 76 degrees.

As usual I tipped my jig with a fathead minnow and got to work. I caught a few small perch, a rock bass and then a smallish northern pike. When I reached down to pick up the pike and remove the jig, it thrashed hard in the water and bit through the line taking my jig with it.

I retied a new jig on and was ready to fish, but the dark cloud that I'd been eyeing for the past 30 minutes was moving closer and I could see it was about to rain, and hard. I quickly stowed my rod and reel, put away the other gear on the deck of the boat, pulled in the drift sock and then motored back to shore. No sooner than I stepped onto the dock than it started raining. I ran back to the house to avoid getting drenched in what was a hard rain, although it lasted only 10 minutes or so.

Once the brief rain storm had passed, the sun came out, the wind died down a bit to around 5-10 mph, although it seemed to be swirling, coming out of the SW one moment and then out of the NW the next.

Joe had been wanted to try some muskie fishing so we thought we give it a try this afternoon. During the past several weeks I've seen numerous boats with muskie fishermen in them throwing heavy lures. Those boats have been positioned from in front of our house and as far north as Schiebe's cabin. With the wind periodically blowing from the SW, I thought we could start by fishing in front of the cabin and letting the wind blow us north toward Schiebe's place.

I took the boat out to 10-12 feet of water and positioned us over an expansive weed bed and stretches the entire length from our house to Schiebe's. Both Joe and I threw inline spinner baits. We fished for more than an hour and didn't get so much as a follow. Pretty typical for muskie fishing, even here on Leech Lake.

We came ashore just before 6:00 p.m. and we got dinner going. I had been slow cooking ribs all day so all we had to make is the grilled corn and Cole slaw. We took our time both preparing the meal and eating it, so were weren't done with dinner until sunset.

We watched the sun sink into the western horizon and the beautiful glow it left behind, then went inside where is played dominoes, listened to music and then finally watched a DVD. No fishing tonight for us.

Before I knew it it was already 2:00 a.m. and I hurried off to bed. Another wonderful day at Leech Lake.

August 9, 2011 -- At Leech Lake (Painting Complete)

I woke up at just before 7:00 a.m. this morning and the house was actually cold. The temperature outside was 55 degrees and the wind was howling at more than 20 mph out of the north. The sky was mostly cloudy, with just a few patches of blue sky here and there. The temperature in the house was a cool 66 degrees. After all of the hot and humid weather of the past month, it felt good to have to put on a sweatshirt.

As the morning approached noon the wind continued to blow at more than 20 mph out of the NNW and white caps rolled across the lake. I went to the boat lift and raised the boat up a little higher because the waves were hitting the bottom of the hull. The flag is standing straight out and the flag pole is bending against the wind.

The forecast called for a thunderstorm this afternoon but it actually cleared as the day moved on. As a result of the weather, it turned out to be a perfect day for me and Joe to complete the painting of the fish-cleaning house and then to the green trim on all three buildings.

The "ATV garage" with new paint

The "bunkhouse" with its new paint job

The "fish-cleaning house" with its new paint

After we were done painting, Joe and I cleaned up, grilled chicken wings for dinner and then just hung out at home. The wind had died down a bit, but was still blowing at 12-17 mph out of the NNW making it too rough to go out trolling tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

A good day's work at Leech Lake.