This morning the sky was mostly cloudy, the wind was out of the west at 8-15 mph and the temperature was a mere 60 degrees. Mornings are starting to feel like Fall here in the northwoods.
After breakfast and some chores around the house, Joe and I decided to take the entire afternoon and go muskie fishing. Leech Lake has a reputation for being one of the best muskie lakes in Minnesota, if not the entire country, although I've never caught a muskie while targeting them. I did catch a tiger muskie once -- which is a hybrid of a Leech Lake muskie and a northern pike -- while fishing for walleye.
We made sandwiches, packed the cooler with lots of drinks, and set out on our way. The waves and chop on the lake weren't too bad until we cleared Second Duck Point, then the waves got so big that the boat was really getting pounded. I slowed way down, but kept heading south to Ottertail Point, our first stop on our muskie adventure.
Years ago, Joe, my friend Rick and I had fished for muskie off Ottertail Point and Joe had a very large muskie follow his lure all the way to the boat before it turned tail and swam away. Therefore, we thought Ottertail Point would be a good place to start.
We took our time getting to the Point because of the waves, but eventually we made it to our designated destination. I started by throwing a large swim bait while Joe used a inline spinnerbait. After no more than 3 or 4 casts, the braided wire leader I was using snapped during a cast and I lost my swim bait. I'm glad it snapped when it did, because I would have been much more upset if the leader had given out with a muskie on the other end of my line.
I tied on another leader, attached a Bucher top water bait and began fishing again. Joe and I made three passes past the tip of Ottertail Point but didn't get so much as a follow. We decided to switch tactics and locations.
It had been our plan to fish Oak Point/Joe's Landing, which is on the north of the Narrows (and the location that my friend Rick hooked into a 50 1/2-inch muskie several years back) but rather than just motor over there directly, we decided to troll over there since we would be going over a large expanse of 20+ foot water, which has been known to hold a few muskie. I put on a large Rapala Shad Rap while Joe used a jointed Bucher crankbait.
We trolled from Ottertail Point all the way to Goose Island, but never once got a hit.
Once we hit Goose Island we reeled in our lures and I motored over to Oak Point at 25 mph ground speed. We made it to our next destination in a matter of minutes.
The shoreline around Oak Point/Joe's Landing is covered in reeds and wild rice in 6 feet of water and is home to many muskie. Since the weeds are quite thick in this area, the best way to fish them is with a large safety pin style spinnerbait, such as the Northland Tackle Bionic Bucktail Spinnerbait.
We spent nearly an hour meticulously working our way from Oak Point north along the shoreline to Joe's Landing. I had the MinnKota electric trolling motor in the water -- which was set at a slow, constant speed -- and we made cast after cast into the reeds and rice with no luck. When we came to the end of the reeds and wild rice, where the shoreline clears up, I pulled up the electric trolling motor and sped northward to a spot called the Meadows, between Little Hardwood Point and Big Hardwood Point.
As we motored north to the Meadows, both Joe and I kept an eye on the dark clouds that had been moving slowly all afternoon to the northeast, which would eventually put them right over our heads. When we arrived at the Meadows we thought the weather was looking a bit too ominous and decided to move a little closer to home.
I piloted the boat around Big Hardwood Point into Deadhead Bay where Joe continued to throw his spinnerbait while I switched back to my Bucher top water. We made about two dozens casts when I felt that familiar temperature drop that proceeds a storm. I suggested that we high tail it for home ASAP.
We stowed our gear, took our seats and I throttled up the motor and headed across Sucker Bay from Deadhead to Second Duck Point -- a distance of roughly two miles. About half way across Sucker Bay the wind began to pick up significantly and the temperature continued to fall. When we got to the boat lift the waves were quite choppy and getting the boat onto the lift was a bit tricky, but both Joe and I have experience it doing it so we managed to get the boat securely on the lift in short order.
No sooner had we raised the boat out of the water than the rain began to fall. My the time we got on shore and into the house a full-blown storm let loose. The west winds were gusting to nearly 50 mph. The lake was covered in white caps and the waves broke over the end of the dock. Sheets of rain fell from the sky. The temperature was still dropping. We checked the NOAA weather station and found out what we already knew, that a severe thunderstorm was directly over our area. But not to worry, we were safely at home; albeit without a minute to spare.
As the rain fell, Joe and I listened to A Prairie Home Companion on Minnesota Public Radio and just enjoyed being in our dry, warm house. Within an hour the storm had passed and the sun came out. The wind was initially light at 5-8 mph out of the south, but swirled and picked up to 8-15 mph out of the NW.
Around 8:00 p.m., I got the grill going while Joe made some hamburger patties. Then Joe went over the cabin and grilled the burgers while I got the onion rings, baked beans, Cole slaw and condiments out. We had a very tasty dinner and then stayed inside playing poker before watching a movie on DVD.
Although we didn't catch a muskie, it was wonderful spending the day on Leech Lake with Joe. We both love being at the lake so much that it's going to be very hard for both of us to transition back to the hectic pace of San Jose -- which I must do in six days, Joe in just three. I hope we can handle it.
Good night from Leech Lake.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
August 19, 2011 -- On Leech Lake (One Week Left)
I was up at 7:15 a.m. this morning in preparation of the window repair guy stopping by at 8:00 a.m. The temperature was 59 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny and the wind was blowing hard at 17-25 mph out of the NW. White caps and big waves rolled across the lake.
One week from today I leave "our oasis on Leech Lake" and make the journey back to San Jose. I hate to leave here, but I must. I have much to do in the Bay Area and my first week back will be a busy one. Joe leaves next Tuesday, from Minneapolis, so I will be driving him down to St. Cloud on Monday so he can see his Grandma Coyle one more time before going back to California. Then on Tuesday I'll drop him off at the airport, drive back to Leech Lake and begin preparations for my own departure.
Henry from Anderson Windows showed up at 8:10 a.m., fixed part of the problem, but in doing so discovered that other parts had worn out and that they needed to be replaced. Unfortunately, he didn't have the parts with him and it'll take him 10 days or more to get them. By then I'll be in California. I told him to go ahead and order the parts, then when I've got my Fall trip to Leech Lake planned I'll give him a call and schedule a time for him to finish the job.
No sooner had Henry left than Dave stopped by. Dave is a local carpenter who is doing some major remodel work at the Malay's and I asked him to stop by because I noticed a sag in the kitchen floor. Dave took a look at it and determined that when the previous owners of our house remodeled the kitchen, and put in the island, the floor was never reinforced. Over time, the weight of the island has caused the floor to sag. It must be repaired before the weight does some serious damaged. Dave said he could do the work over the winter and we agreed to stay in touch to schedule that work. It's always something.
In the early afternoon Joe and I took a bike ride to the community center and back, a nice 6-mile ride. Then we spent the afternoon just hanging out doing our own thing. Since it was Friday I went into Cass Lake to the Great River Pizzeria to get the Mission Road pizza, which is basically a taco on a pizza -- Mexican flavored taco meat, onions, black olives, jalapeno peppers, and lots of cheese. Then after it's baked we add fresh chopped lettuce, sour cream and salsa. It is unlike any pizza we've ever had and it tastes great!
Nature Update: On my way back from Cass Lake while driving down Sucker Bay Road to our house I counted five small maple trees that had changed into their Fall colors of pinkish red, orange, golden yellow and red. I've noticed that the smaller, younger maple trees change earlier than their more mature relatives. I think there's a children's story book that might come from that observation.
After our pizza, Joe and I decided to go fishing. The wind had calmed down to about 8-12 mph out of the NW, the sky was clear and the temperature was a cool 62 degrees. We motored out to 10 feet of water in front of Giza's cabin and started trolling our Minnow Raps. During our first pass south into Duck Bay I hooked into a fish as we passed Second Duck Point. I reeled it in and found it to be a good-sized fish that measured a full 21 inches; a Leech Lake slot fish. I immediately released it back into the water.
We made several more passes from Second Duck Point into Duck Bay, but neither Joe nor I could hook another fish. We came ashore at 10:30 p.m., watched a movie on DVD (Albert Brook's Mother) then called it a night.
Tomorrow if the weather permits, we're going to try to get in some muskie fishing. Good night from Leech Lake.
One week from today I leave "our oasis on Leech Lake" and make the journey back to San Jose. I hate to leave here, but I must. I have much to do in the Bay Area and my first week back will be a busy one. Joe leaves next Tuesday, from Minneapolis, so I will be driving him down to St. Cloud on Monday so he can see his Grandma Coyle one more time before going back to California. Then on Tuesday I'll drop him off at the airport, drive back to Leech Lake and begin preparations for my own departure.
Henry from Anderson Windows showed up at 8:10 a.m., fixed part of the problem, but in doing so discovered that other parts had worn out and that they needed to be replaced. Unfortunately, he didn't have the parts with him and it'll take him 10 days or more to get them. By then I'll be in California. I told him to go ahead and order the parts, then when I've got my Fall trip to Leech Lake planned I'll give him a call and schedule a time for him to finish the job.
No sooner had Henry left than Dave stopped by. Dave is a local carpenter who is doing some major remodel work at the Malay's and I asked him to stop by because I noticed a sag in the kitchen floor. Dave took a look at it and determined that when the previous owners of our house remodeled the kitchen, and put in the island, the floor was never reinforced. Over time, the weight of the island has caused the floor to sag. It must be repaired before the weight does some serious damaged. Dave said he could do the work over the winter and we agreed to stay in touch to schedule that work. It's always something.
In the early afternoon Joe and I took a bike ride to the community center and back, a nice 6-mile ride. Then we spent the afternoon just hanging out doing our own thing. Since it was Friday I went into Cass Lake to the Great River Pizzeria to get the Mission Road pizza, which is basically a taco on a pizza -- Mexican flavored taco meat, onions, black olives, jalapeno peppers, and lots of cheese. Then after it's baked we add fresh chopped lettuce, sour cream and salsa. It is unlike any pizza we've ever had and it tastes great!
Nature Update: On my way back from Cass Lake while driving down Sucker Bay Road to our house I counted five small maple trees that had changed into their Fall colors of pinkish red, orange, golden yellow and red. I've noticed that the smaller, younger maple trees change earlier than their more mature relatives. I think there's a children's story book that might come from that observation.
After our pizza, Joe and I decided to go fishing. The wind had calmed down to about 8-12 mph out of the NW, the sky was clear and the temperature was a cool 62 degrees. We motored out to 10 feet of water in front of Giza's cabin and started trolling our Minnow Raps. During our first pass south into Duck Bay I hooked into a fish as we passed Second Duck Point. I reeled it in and found it to be a good-sized fish that measured a full 21 inches; a Leech Lake slot fish. I immediately released it back into the water.
We made several more passes from Second Duck Point into Duck Bay, but neither Joe nor I could hook another fish. We came ashore at 10:30 p.m., watched a movie on DVD (Albert Brook's Mother) then called it a night.
Tomorrow if the weather permits, we're going to try to get in some muskie fishing. Good night from Leech Lake.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
August 18, 2011 -- On Leech Lake
This morning at 8:00 a.m. the temperature was a chilly 54 degrees, the wind was out of the SSW at 8-12 mph, and the sky was perfectly clear, not a cloud in sight.
I ate breakfast and waited for the electrician to show up. During a recent storm some lightning that flashed directly overhead had played havoc with one of our circuit breakers rendering our back porch lights inoperative and also destroying the GFI switch in the bathroom. I also wanted to switch out the circuit breaker on the security system because it was had a GFI component to it and throughout the winter it has a habit of tripping the circuit off which requires my neighbor Tom Malay to drop by and reset the switch. With a non-GFI breaker in place that problem should be eliminated.
At 10:30 a.m., Brian from Todavich Electric showed up. At first, he thought he would have to climb into the attic to fix the problem, but he discovered a faulty circuit breaker was the culprit and was able to fix it at the electrical panel in the kitchen. He then quickly replaced the damaged GFI outlet in the bathroom, before moving next door to the cabin. Once there, it took him only 10 minutes or so to swap out the GFI circuit breaker with one that didn't have the GFI switch. By 11:30 a.m. he was on his way.
Joe and I were hungry, and so we made a classic northwoods breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns and coffee. And for good measure, Joe had a couple of buckwheat pancakes to boot!
Despite a fairly stiff 12-17 mph WSW wind, Joe and I decided to try to go muskie fishing. The plan was to motor south to Oak Point/Joe's Landing then head north along the western shore of Sucker Bay to Star Point, Little Hardwood Point, Big Hardwood Point and end up in Deadhead Bay. We got about half way between Second Duck Point and Big Hardwood point on our way south, but the waves kept getting bigger and bigger. I had to motor the boat down to just about 7 mph ground speed to keep from bashing the boat in the large swells. At that point Joe suggested we abandon our muskie fishing plans and instead use the wind to drift and jig for perch and walleye.
Since I had planned to focus our angling efforts on muskie I'd left the minnows back at the boat lift. After a brief stop to pick up the fatheads we were once again motoring -- slowly -- back to Second Duck Point. The wind was still blowing at 12-17 mph, with gusts, which came at fairly regular intervals, up over 25 mph. The temperature was 72 degrees and the sky was nearly devoid of all cloud cover. We could just see a few clouds in the extreme northwest. The water temperature was 74.5 degrees.
I deployed the drift sock and took up position in the bow of the boat. Joe took a seat in the stern and we dropped in our jigs tipped with fathead minnows. Joe hooked into something very early into our first pass and whatever it was snapped his line and took his jig. After retying a new jig onto his line Joe got back to fishing.
We caught several small to medium sized perch and I caught a small walleye, that couldn't have measured more than 10- or 11-inches. Joe hooked into something that gave him a bit of battle and when he got it into the boat I saw that he'd caught a nice 12-inch black crappie. Crappie are a very tasty fish, so we put it in the live well and planned to eat it with the jumbo perch that we were going to cook tonight as part of our "man feast."
We made a total of four passes from Duck Bay north toward Malay's. Then we came ashore, with just the one crappie.
Once on shore I cleaned the crappie and got it ready for the beer-batter coating I used it and the jumbo perch. In addition to the fish, we had slow-cooked oven-baked pork spare ribs (with my own dry rub recipe), Cole slaw, and French fries. It was simply delicious!
The wind continued to howl all evening so we didn't go out fishing. Plus, I need to get up early on Friday morning because the Anderson Window repair guy is coming out to fix the latches and cranking mechanism on a couple of the windows in our living room. I called it an early night.
Today was another great day on Leech Lake.
I ate breakfast and waited for the electrician to show up. During a recent storm some lightning that flashed directly overhead had played havoc with one of our circuit breakers rendering our back porch lights inoperative and also destroying the GFI switch in the bathroom. I also wanted to switch out the circuit breaker on the security system because it was had a GFI component to it and throughout the winter it has a habit of tripping the circuit off which requires my neighbor Tom Malay to drop by and reset the switch. With a non-GFI breaker in place that problem should be eliminated.
At 10:30 a.m., Brian from Todavich Electric showed up. At first, he thought he would have to climb into the attic to fix the problem, but he discovered a faulty circuit breaker was the culprit and was able to fix it at the electrical panel in the kitchen. He then quickly replaced the damaged GFI outlet in the bathroom, before moving next door to the cabin. Once there, it took him only 10 minutes or so to swap out the GFI circuit breaker with one that didn't have the GFI switch. By 11:30 a.m. he was on his way.
Joe and I were hungry, and so we made a classic northwoods breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns and coffee. And for good measure, Joe had a couple of buckwheat pancakes to boot!
Despite a fairly stiff 12-17 mph WSW wind, Joe and I decided to try to go muskie fishing. The plan was to motor south to Oak Point/Joe's Landing then head north along the western shore of Sucker Bay to Star Point, Little Hardwood Point, Big Hardwood Point and end up in Deadhead Bay. We got about half way between Second Duck Point and Big Hardwood point on our way south, but the waves kept getting bigger and bigger. I had to motor the boat down to just about 7 mph ground speed to keep from bashing the boat in the large swells. At that point Joe suggested we abandon our muskie fishing plans and instead use the wind to drift and jig for perch and walleye.
Since I had planned to focus our angling efforts on muskie I'd left the minnows back at the boat lift. After a brief stop to pick up the fatheads we were once again motoring -- slowly -- back to Second Duck Point. The wind was still blowing at 12-17 mph, with gusts, which came at fairly regular intervals, up over 25 mph. The temperature was 72 degrees and the sky was nearly devoid of all cloud cover. We could just see a few clouds in the extreme northwest. The water temperature was 74.5 degrees.
I deployed the drift sock and took up position in the bow of the boat. Joe took a seat in the stern and we dropped in our jigs tipped with fathead minnows. Joe hooked into something very early into our first pass and whatever it was snapped his line and took his jig. After retying a new jig onto his line Joe got back to fishing.
We caught several small to medium sized perch and I caught a small walleye, that couldn't have measured more than 10- or 11-inches. Joe hooked into something that gave him a bit of battle and when he got it into the boat I saw that he'd caught a nice 12-inch black crappie. Crappie are a very tasty fish, so we put it in the live well and planned to eat it with the jumbo perch that we were going to cook tonight as part of our "man feast."
We made a total of four passes from Duck Bay north toward Malay's. Then we came ashore, with just the one crappie.
Once on shore I cleaned the crappie and got it ready for the beer-batter coating I used it and the jumbo perch. In addition to the fish, we had slow-cooked oven-baked pork spare ribs (with my own dry rub recipe), Cole slaw, and French fries. It was simply delicious!
The wind continued to howl all evening so we didn't go out fishing. Plus, I need to get up early on Friday morning because the Anderson Window repair guy is coming out to fix the latches and cranking mechanism on a couple of the windows in our living room. I called it an early night.
Today was another great day on Leech Lake.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
August 17, 2011 -- At Leech Lake
This morning at 8:30 a.m. the temperature was 64 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny with just a few clouds, but it was very windy. The wind was out of the west at 12-17 mph with gusts up over 25 mph. The lake was roiled with white caps and large swells. The flag stood straight out from the flag pole.
I made Joe and I omelets for breakfast and they were very tasty. After we cleaned up, Joe and I went out onto the dock and marveled at how strong the wind was blowing. White caps continued to roll across the lake as a result of the 17-25 mph west wind.
Unable to go out onto the lake to fish, Joe and I instead went on a bike ride. We did the loop, going down West Shores Road to 26th Ave., then left on Ottertail Point Drive, then left onto the unpaved part of Sucker Bay Road up to the community center and then left again onto West Shores Road and home. It's about an 8 mile round trip.
Joe went for a swim/camp bath in the lake when we got back from our bike ride, while I took a more traditional shower later in the day.
Nature Update: I noticed during the bike ride that nearly all of the ferns along side the road have turned yellow and brown. The ferns are usually one of the first plants to burst onto the scene in the Spring, and one of the first to end their season, thus signally the earliest onset of Autumn. We may be more than a month away from the official coming of Fall, but here in the northwoods, that transitional season comes sooner than in other parts of the country.
As the day progressed, the wind continued to blow at more than 20 mph, so we looked for other activities on shore. We read. Took turns resting in the hammock. I got a fire started in the fire pit at the cabin. We played ping pong. I put fresh linens on the beds at the cabin. Those type of activites.
An afternoon campfire at the cabin on Leech Lake
I also got the grill going for a beer-can chicken. I had brined a chicken over night in my own mixture of spices and herbs. Then once the grill was ready, I put a can of beer inside the chicken, put the chicken on the grill, and the result was a golden brown taste treat. Mashed potatoes and salad completed the meal.
The wind continued to blow hard after dark as well, so there was no trolling for walleye tonight.
I made Joe and I omelets for breakfast and they were very tasty. After we cleaned up, Joe and I went out onto the dock and marveled at how strong the wind was blowing. White caps continued to roll across the lake as a result of the 17-25 mph west wind.
Unable to go out onto the lake to fish, Joe and I instead went on a bike ride. We did the loop, going down West Shores Road to 26th Ave., then left on Ottertail Point Drive, then left onto the unpaved part of Sucker Bay Road up to the community center and then left again onto West Shores Road and home. It's about an 8 mile round trip.
Joe went for a swim/camp bath in the lake when we got back from our bike ride, while I took a more traditional shower later in the day.
Nature Update: I noticed during the bike ride that nearly all of the ferns along side the road have turned yellow and brown. The ferns are usually one of the first plants to burst onto the scene in the Spring, and one of the first to end their season, thus signally the earliest onset of Autumn. We may be more than a month away from the official coming of Fall, but here in the northwoods, that transitional season comes sooner than in other parts of the country.
As the day progressed, the wind continued to blow at more than 20 mph, so we looked for other activities on shore. We read. Took turns resting in the hammock. I got a fire started in the fire pit at the cabin. We played ping pong. I put fresh linens on the beds at the cabin. Those type of activites.
An afternoon campfire at the cabin on Leech Lake
I also got the grill going for a beer-can chicken. I had brined a chicken over night in my own mixture of spices and herbs. Then once the grill was ready, I put a can of beer inside the chicken, put the chicken on the grill, and the result was a golden brown taste treat. Mashed potatoes and salad completed the meal.
The wind continued to blow hard after dark as well, so there was no trolling for walleye tonight.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, August 15, 2011
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...
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...
Sunday, August 14, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, August 12, 2011
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
