End Of May

Today is May 31st and where did the month go. I am about three weeks behind in writing. The Walleye fishing has been just great in my area of the lake. I look out to the Goose Island, Big and Little Hardwoods, Pine Point areas and all have been reporting good success most of the month. My favorite is to use a jig and minnow off the dock from about 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM. Many a limit have been caught this way. The good people at Oak Point Resort have reported that their guest are have good catches of both Walleyes and Northerns.

During the Memorial Day weekend we had a large fish fry for all the family and relatives that were up this way. We caught and fried about 35 Walleyes and they were just great.

Spring is here in the Oak Point area. We are finding lots of Wild Leeks in the woods, they are like a mild green onion. We have used them in dips, sandwiches, and in baked goods as a substitute for onions. We are also spotting Yellow Ladyslippers in the woods, we will find the Showy Ladyslippers in about another three weeks. We have two pairs of Bald Eagles nesting within a mile of where we live, but we are careful not to disturb them.

Fishing Opener

Fishing "Opener" on Leech Lake was successfull for many friends and neighbors on Oak Point. We stopped at Oak Point Resort yesterday and spoke to the owner who was real pleased, they were full with fishermen with good fishing reports, including one Walleye that was caught and released that measured 31.5 inches. My neighbor and I fished off my dock and kept a limit of fish to send back with him to the cities. On Sunday morning there was a string of boats from Goose Island to Star Point, just north of my neighborhood, that must have been 80 to 100 strong. I heard similar number of boats off from Pine and Stoney Points. It was chilly, I don't think it got out of the 40 on Saturday. Had to come in and warm my hands.

We inked an agreement to sell another lot at Oak Point Estates, closing to be in early June if all goes well. That will make four lots sold. Go to www.oakpointestatesmn.com to check out the lot. The big common dock at Oak Point Estates has been installed.

Their are leaves to pickup and new grass to start thinking about cutting. The Wild Leeks are up and soon my wife and I need to go picking. Wild Leeks are a great addition to a sandwich.

Great Weekend

The first weekend of May was just great in the Oak Point Area of Leech Lake. Great tempratures, beautiful blue skies and plenty of visitors. Some of the seasonal residents and weekend crews were putting in dock, lifts and boats getting ready for the "opener" which will be next Saturday the 9th.

We saw our first wild flowers of the season called Anemone, white with a yellow center, poking through some dead leaves in the woods. Some trees along the roadways are starting to have green shoots poking through. My wife and I saw a porcupine high in a birch tree eating away on the tender shoots. Sure sign of spring was the finding of my first "Tick" while walking in the woods on some of our lots.

There will be plenty of families planning their first outting for next weekend which should be considered Minnesota Fishing Holiday. Traffic will be heavy, bait shope full of stories and suggested "hot spots". Great family get together.

ICE OUT - ALMOST !

The forces of nature were at work today on Leech Lake. We awoke with the lake ice pushed to the north from my vantage point, which is the "Big Lake" looking east towards Goose Island. This afternoon after the rain began the wind switched to the north and is now pushing the ice back to the south. Now at dusk on Sunday April 26 I see no ice between my home and Goose Island. I also heard my first loon of the season this afternoon. It will still be a couple of days before the officials will declare "ice out" because Walker Bay is always later with it's deep cool waters. It's always a special day when you can see open water. This is about two weeks earlier than it was last year.

In addition to the first loon we continue to see the migration north of many birds. It is surprising how the birds know when ice out happens, or is about to happen. The geese are pairing off to begin their spring duties. The first greens of spring grass continue to sprout along the roadway and in ditches. If we have some rains and a few warm days this week we will continue to see things green up. The tops of the birch, poplar and aspen trees along the road are beginning to show green. The trees along the lake will be a week or so later because of the temperature difference.

Two weeks until "Fishing Opener" when the north country will really begin to come to life. Have to remember to buy my fishing license for this year. I have a lot of outdoor work to do before I can seriously think about fishing.

Closer To Spring

95% or more of our snow has disappeared in the last week or so. We have had incredible weather with highs in the 60 and lows in the 40’s My prediction of ice out by May 1st needs to be revised to earlier. Today is April 20th and all I see is rotting ice as far as I can see on the main lake. I now predict by this weekend, say the 28th or 29th. We no longer see any ice fisherman venturing out very far with ATV’s, or snowmobiles on the main lake.

I opened up the road into Oak Point Estates this past weekend. The gravel road is in great shape with no mud holes to get your car dirty on. Seeing more deer out by the roadways with shoots of green grasses attracting some attention. We are also seeing more birds coming north. One more sure sign of spring is the filling of potholes by the public works crews. The rumor is that the Oak Point Road will receive an overlay of new bituminous this year. Yea, Yea.

On the flora front we are seeing tulips and snow drops starting to pop up. During the next two weeks we will have more activity on this front. We will have plenty of wildflowers that will start shortly to beautify the forest lands.

Happy Easter

Easter is coming this Sunday. We have put together three days in the high 30 and mid 40’s. Our snow is melting once again. Our Aprils fools joke came a day early in the form of 12 to 14 inches of snow. Our road that we live on called Chippewa Beach Road is filled with muddy ruts once again. We have more signs of spring with wild life sightings. Duck, geese and other waterfowl can be see where they can find open water, like the Steamboat River Lake by the bridge on Highway 371. We see plenty of Bald Eagles over the lake with them occasionally resting in trees along the lake shore look for a quick meal.
Our weather forecast is for a warm Easter weekend. This should help to dry out our road at Oak Point Estates. We are hoping to get that road reasonably dry before we have traffic. There have been signs of walking traffic looking at the lots.
It’s hard to believe that in only one month we will have open season for Walleye fishing once again on Leech Lake. The old timers in the neighborhood think we will still have lake ice until May 1st. The old-timers include me. The earliest ever recorded ice out on Leech Lake was April 9, 1945. The latest May 23, 1950. I myself can recall a few years when we were not totally ice free for the opening of walleye season. My favorite fishing spot for Walleyes is evening fishing off my dock. I have caught many limits of fish with a jig and minnow off my dock in shallow water. We have excellent fishing using this technique that will last until the mosquitoes drive me inside. Believe me nothing is better then catching a few fresh fish and have them in the frying pay the next evening for dinner.