MUSKIE Magazine

Transcription

MUSKIE Magazine

Photo Contest – June
by Brad Waldera, Photo Editor • [email protected]
Getting
the Right
Exposure
M
Thanks for the nice photo
Dave and Guy.
Brad ❖
▲ Photo #1 Long-time photo contributor and Chapter 21 member Dave Ledman sent in
this great shot of a 38 incher. I thought Dave was night fishing, but he informed me it was taken
very early in the morning, before sunrise. Dave was fishing Minnesota’s Lake Vermilion, which
is an annual trip. He said the fish hit right at the boat, and his cousin Guy Ledman took this
shot. Getting good results with low light pictures is tough to do, but this one turned out really
well as the exposure is perfect. You can see Dave very clearly, and the photo is nice and sharp.
▲
any times in a photo
such as this one sent
in by Dave (Photo #1), the
subject will be overexposed
and way too bright. On
many of today’s cameras you
can adjust the brightness of
the flash to get the correct
exposure. It may take a practice shot or two to dial in,
but you could get much
better results by doing so.
Try some practice shots
before your buddy is holding
a fish out of the water, especially all of you night fishermen, or guys who like to be
out on the water as early as
Dave was here.
Photo #2 Ok, I know it’s not a
muskie but this is a BIG fish, and this
is how quite a few members of the
Fargo-Moorhead Chapter have been
preparing for the muskie season. For
quite a few years now a group from
Fargo has been heading up to
Baudette around mid-April to battle
with some heavy duty sturgeon. Some
fellow MI members from Alexandria
and Minneapolis have also been
showing up in recent years. In this
photo F-M member Ron Teschner is
pictured with a 62-inch fish caught
from the Rainy River. A few guys have
caught fish approaching 100lbs. Keep
an eye out for more pictures by Ron in
upcoming issues, including some
great muskie shots. I’m sure Ron
would be like to catch a muskie as
long as this sturgeon. Thanks for the
photo Ron, which was taken by fellow
chapter member Steve Voss.
MUSKIE magazine is published monthly and is the
Official Publication of Muskies, Inc. International
Office: Ellen Wells, International Sec., 1509 Stahl
Road, Sheboygan, WI 53081. Ph: 1-888-710-8286.
© Copyright 2009 by Muskies, Inc. All rights reserved.
MUSKIE • VOL. 43, NO. 6
Features
Departments
IFC Photo Contest, Brad Waldera
6 Project Christmas Tree at East Lynn Lake
Jason Wright
2 President’s Message,
Dan Narsete
12 You’ve Gone Too Far! Adam Glickman
3 Magazine Notes, Juris Ozols
12 Youth Turning Leaf Event 2008,
Ellen Wells
3 Index of Advertisers
4 MUSKIE News
19 Backcountry Fishing Trips, Patricia Strutz
7 Figure 8, Kevin Richards
22 Fast-paced vs. Methodical Muskie
Fishing, Larry Murphy
8 Lunge Log, Jim Bunch
15 DVD Review, Mike Moschell
31 Focus on Chapter 39: 15th Annual
Challunge on the Chain Re-cap,
Rich Gallagher
23 Chapter News and Views
33 Member Photos
Join Muskies, Inc. ...
or give a membership
as a gift.
Contents
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www.muskiesinc.org
June 2009.....MUSKIE 1
International
Officers
President, Dan Narsete
Email: [email protected]
Vice President/Fundraising, Jim Shannon
Phone: 612-670-8943
Vice President/Fisheries, Research & Youth,
Dr. Tom Betka, MD
Phone: 920-544-5868
Vice President/Internal Affairs,
Perry Peterson
Phone: 253-850-5889
Vice President/Membership & Marketing,
Dale Vercauteren
Phone: 920-826-5810
The President’s Message
by Dan Narsete
Vice President/Communications, Jay Zahn
Phone: 920-660-7655
Treasurer, Kathy Goon
Phone: 419-945-2940
Members Only Fishing Contest, Jim Bunch
Phone: 715-226-0295
Web Master, Ron Groeschl
Phone: 262-271-1002
Int. Administrative Secretary, Ellen Wells
1509 Stahl Road, Sheboygan, WI 53081
Phone: 888-710-8286
Regional Directors
Region 1
Term Expires
Brad Waldera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fall 2009
Rory Potter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2011
Adam Walsh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2011
Region 2
Bob Timme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fall 2009
Will Schultz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fall 2009
Fred Brogle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2011
Region 3
Joel Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fall 2009
Doug Dibble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fall 2009
Larry Besant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fall 2009
Region 4
Kimberly Cates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fall 2009
Rich Gallagher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fall 2009
Earle Hammond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fall 2009
2 MUSKIE.....June 2009
Muskies, Inc. International President
F
isheries, Research, and Youth . . . three focus areas for Muskies, Inc. I suppose you
are listening to Janet Jackson asking yourself “what has MI done for me lately?” In
short, a lot.
Back in April we cut a check for a graduate study at Carleton University for $10,000.
The student, Sean Landsman, will be doing ground-breaking research on muskie catchand-release. Given our long history of supporting research I think you should be proud of
the fact that your national dues go towards making our fisheries better for all of us to
enjoy.
On the subject of fisheries we have been working very hard to put into place size
limits all over the U.S. At present we are working to get a fifty-four inch minimum placed
on Green Bay muskies so we can protect that resource. The officers who represent you are
really doing a fine job. People like Dr. Tom Betka, Fred Brogle, Will Schultz, Greg Wells,
Jay Zahn, and Dr. Jerry Bucholtz are all actively working on your behalf to improve muskie
fishing. Down south Larry Besant has been working on new minimum size limits for Cave
Run Reservoir. Doug Dible, Joel Johnson, and the Ohio Chapters have been working very
closely with the game and fish departments out east. Lest we forget the hard work of people like Jani Kuper in Washington and Michael Bishop in New Mexico talking and educating trout fisherman on the benefits of muskies in non-traditional waters . . . we are becoming a well-oiled machine! Even I have been writing letters and making phone calls. ☺
Youth are vital to the future of our fine sport and organization. Although the word
usually applies to kids I would like to introduce a youthful person who, at the ripe old age
of twenty-seven, is the current chapter president for the Northwest Tiger Pac out in
Seattle. To my knowledge Buddy Hartman is the youngest chapter president in MI.
Buddy is a Broncos fan (which makes him okay in my book) and a true muskie nut! I
think Buddy is a fine example of how we want our young members to develop into leaders. It is no easy task for any chapter president, but to run a chapter in trout/salmon country thousands of miles from the great lakes is really an accomplishment.
By now you have probably already been on the water. I think we will have another
record-breaking year and I am really excited to hear about it. Before I forget, we are also
building a new website for everyone to enjoy. It should have a number of new features and
give the organization a much needed facelift.
Please be safe out there and get excited about this year! Until we meet again…
Tight lines, Dan ❖
“Summertime, and the livin’
is easy. Fish are jumpin’,
and the river is high…”
The evening sun warms your bare
back. The soft breeze ripples the
water, making gold and yellow
patterns to delight your eye. The
muskies are there, just waiting for
you. And you are by yourself,
doing what you want to do.
Could life be any better?
Lake Independence, June 6, 2007,
8:50 PM.
– Juris ❖
(Quick photography note: Although it’s trivially easy to put brilliant
colors into a picture with Adobe Photoshop, the cover picture is
shown “as taken” with no color diddling. Note also that it was shot
directly into the sun. Don’t be afraid to do that – indeed, look for
photo ops with the sun in the picture, under all kinds of conditions.
You can get some beautifully “backlit” photos.)
MUSKIE Magazine Staff
EDITOR
Kevin Richards
7618 Sunrise Ridge Road
Henley, MO 65040
Phone: (573) 280-2300
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Juris Ozols
Phone: (612) 747-0178
PHOTO CONTEST EDITOR
Brad Waldera
Phone: (701) 642-1952
LUNGE LOG EDITOR
Jim Bunch
Phone: (715) 226-0295
ADVERTISING SALES TEAM
Kevin Richards, Editor / Ad Manager
Phone: (573) 280-2300
Paul Baker, Advertising Sales Representative
Phone: (701) 866-9393
PRINTING ACCOUNT MANAGER
Sunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - Stacey Thielen
MAGAZINE DESIGN
Sunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - John Windschitl
ILLUSTRATORS/CARTOONISTS
Richard Gross, Sherry Hunt, Charles Weiss
FIELD EDITORS
Patricia Strutz, Colby Simms, Sean Landsman,
Adam Glickman, Bob Chochola,Steve Budnik
EMERITUS EDITORS
Rod Ramsell, Keith Ogden, Jim Smith
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
BIG WOOD MUSKY LURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
CENTRAL OHIO CHAPTER CHALLENGE . . . . . . . . . . . 5
JOE BUCHER OUTDOORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
MOREHEAD TOURISM COMMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
MUSKIE is published exclusively for the membership of Muskies, Inc. and subscriptions
come with a paid membership. Muskies, Inc. is
a non-profit organization. Membership classes
and associated annual dues are listed on the
form at the bottom of page one. Copies of
MUSKIE magazine are available at $3.00 each
from the Muskies, Inc. International Office.
Contributors grant rights for M.I. to publish
once in MUSKIE Magazine, both the print and
on-line versions, including archives and on the
M.I. Web site.
MUSKIE MAGAZINE FALL ADVERTISING SPECIAL . . . 34
RED WING LODGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
SIMMS OUTDOORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
ST. CROIX RODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
TAYLOR COUNTY TOURISM COMMISSION . . . . . . . . . 7
USDA - STOP AQUATIC HITCHHIKERS (VHS) . . . . . . . . 20
YAKIMA BAIT COMPANY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
YOUNG'S WILDERNESS CAMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
www.muskiesinc.org
Submissions to
MUSKIE Magazine
Persons interested in submitting articles for
publication are directed to our website
www.muskiesinc.org for a link to MUSKIE
Magazine, where you will find links on the left
side of the page providing information necessary for submissions to MUSKIE Magazine.
Further questions will be answered by Kevin
Richards, Editor. Submissions may be sent to:
7618 Sunrise Ridge Road, Henley, MO 65040
or email: [email protected]. Phone:
(573) 280-2300.
M AG A Z I N E N O T E S ◆ M AG A Z I N E N O T E S ◆ M AG A Z I N E N O T E S ◆ I N D E X O F A DV E R T I S E R S
ABOUT THE COVER
M U S K I E N E WS ◆ M U S K I E N E WS ◆ M U S K I E N E WS ◆ M U S K I E N E WS ◆ M U S K I E N E WS
Learn more about VHS and what
you can do to help:
www.FocusOnFishHealth.org
Wisconsin Early Musky Season Repealed!
On April 21 Research VP Tom Betka received confirmation that
the Governor had signed the Wisconsin Early Musky Season Repeal
into law. Wisconsin residents and muskie anglers owe one huge collective THANK YOU to Fred Brogle and everyone else who worked
so hard to get this done. Dr. Tom Betka also added that he gained
some respect for Dan Meyer, given his willingness to work with Fred
and others to get this legislation reversed. To err is human, but to
acknowledge one’s mistake and work to correct it, defines us.
Green Bay 54-inch Size Limit
Update from Dr. Tom Betka
We applaud previous and current efforts by the WDNR to support and enhance the health of the muskie population of Green Bay.
However we feel that the recent VHS related cessation of stocking,
coupled with the lack of natural reproduction in the system, has
placed the population at some risk. We are helping to fund new
research now being conducted in the system, and we will continue to
work with the DNR to redefine their management strategies for the
population.
Indeed a legitimate goal may very well be the establishment of a
trophy muskellunge fishery, thus transcending the current biologically driven management strategy. In fact this is exactly what Ontario
has done in establishing a 54-inch minimum size limit for muskies
that exist in many of their lakes with trophy muskellunge potential.
Our intention with the 54-inch minimum size limit for Green
Bay is simply to allow the existing population more time to mature
while additional data is gathered to more fully describe the true
potential of this tremendous fishery.
The local fisheries biologist stated that he would support a higher size limit, if in fact a majority of the citizens of Wisconsin voted
for it. As of this writing, this has now happened; therefore we hope
that the full delegation of the Conservation Congress will support
this regulation change. More to come!
Take steps to avoid spreading
VHS fish disease this season!
More from Wisconsin DNR – good advice for all anglers
Anglers can help protect their fishing future by taking steps to
avoid accidentally spreading VHS fish disease and aquatic invasive
species.
“It’s important to take steps to prevent VHS from spreading
every time you’re on the water,” says Karl Scheidegger, the
Department of Natural Resources fish biologist who leads DNR’s
fisheries outreach efforts. “Anglers did a great job last year in taking
precautions, and with their help again this year, we think we can continue to contain the disease.”
VHS fish disease is not a human health threat but can kill 37
different species of fish, including trout, musky, bass and bluegill,
and it caused large fish kills in some Great Lakes waters in 2005 and
2006. The disease was first detected in Wisconsin in 2007 in fish
from the Lake Winnebago system and the Lake Michigan system;
tests since then suggest the disease hasn’t spread beyond those waters.
Anglers inadvertently moving infected live bait is a main way
that VHS fish disease can spread to new waters.
Anglers leaving boat launches with Eurasian water-milfoil and
other plants attached to their boats or trailers, or juvenile zebra mussels in bilge water and live wells, also are at risk of spreading these and
other invasive species to new waters. These and other invaders can
take a toll on fish and fishing.
Many of the same steps that will prevent the spread of VHS also
prevent the spread of other invaders. Those steps are:
• Inspect boats, trailers and equipment and remove visible aquatic plants, animals and mud before leaving the water access.
• Drain water from your boat, motor, bilge, life wells and bait
containers before leaving the water access.
• Don’t move live fish away from a waterbody. Buy minnows from
a Wisconsin bait dealer and use leftover minnows on another
water only if you have not added to the bait container fish or
lake or river water.
VHS rules and more information on the fish disease can be
found online at: http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/vhs
Lists and maps showing which waters have zebra mussels and
other aquatic invasive species can be found online at:
http://dnr.wi.gov/lakes/ais/
Natural Resources Board Approves
New rule on Invasive Species
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Matt
Frank announced on April 22 that the state Natural Resources Board
approved a new framework for classifying invasive species and providing preventive measures to control their spread in the state.
Invasives are able to out-compete native plants and wildlife and can
significantly affect the economy and outdoor traditions.
Wisconsin is the first state in the nation to develop a comprehensive rule of this kind. Drafted over a period of four years with
extensive input from stakeholders, the Wisconsin Council on
Invasive Species and the public, the new rule establishes a sciencebased classification system for legally listing invasive species.
“Invasive species are a threat to Wisconsin and this new rule sets
up a smart system to help prevent new introductions and further
spread,” Secretary Frank said. “We will continue working with outdoor recreationists, roadside managers, the forestry and landscape
industry as well as the public to develop voluntary guidelines to help
avoid unknowingly spreading invasive species through normal outdoor activities.”
www.muskiesinc.org
ticemia (VHS), chronic wasting disease (CWD) and certain other
fish and wildlife pathogens that are already the subject of specific
control programs are not addressed in the new rule.
Invasive species cause significant environmental damage and
threaten human health. Costs associated with invasive species include
cooling water intakes clogged with zebra mussels, depletion of Great
Lakes fish populations by the sea lamprey, loss of biodiversity, and
impacts of cyanobacteria in our waterways. ❖
M U S K I E N E WS ◆ M U S K I E N E WS ◆ M U S K I E N E WS ◆ M U S K I E N E WS ◆ M U S K I E N E WS
Preventive measures, primarily aimed at aquatic invasive species,
include the removal of aquatic plants and animals from all equipment after exiting a waterbody. The rule prohibits or restricts the
transportation, importation, possession, transfer or introduction of
invasive species classified as either prohibited or restricted and gives
the department authority to order or implement control measures if
necessary for prohibited species. Inspection and enforcement authority in the rule is intended to deal mainly with knowledgeable and
willful introduction of listed invasive species. Viral hemorrhagic sep-
Project Christmas Tree at East Lynn Lake
West Virginia Chapter 9
by Jason Wright
ebruary 25, 2009 found West Virginia Chapter 09 Muskies, we were ready to proceed. Mike Smith of the Corps not only gave
Inc., the US Army Corps of Engineers, the West Virginia permission for the project, he gave us access to a large Corps pontoon
boat and a crew to pilot it. The work boat was
Division of Natural Resources and some
really a huge help, without it we would probably
local anglers gathered at East Lynn Lake. We
were there to improve underwater habitat in the
The trees were tied onto still be out there running trees in our muskie rigs.
The trees were divided into roughly four
lake. East Lynn is a 1005 acre flood control
the
heavy
weights
then
equal
groups and transported to spots on the lake
reservoir located in southern West Virginia near
for
sinking.
Three reefs were created on the main
dropped
into
the
water
Huntington. It opened in 1969 and provides
lake
off
channels
in areas which would have 3 to
drainage for Twelve Pole Creek and surrounding
in close proximity to
5
feet
of
water
over
their tops at summer pool
creeks in Wayne County. Being an older lake,
construct
fairly
large
levels.
The
fourth
location
was near a handithe standing timber and brush has rotted away
capped
fishing
access
area
in
an
upper lake tribuleaving a lot of the lake barren of fish holding
reef areas.
tary
location.
The
trees
were
tied
onto the heavy
structure. East Lynn has been stocked intermitweights
then
dropped
into
the
water
in close
tently with muskies since impoundment, and
proximity
to
construct
through the years has
fairly large reef areas.
received stockings of
The
brushpiles
saugeye, walleye, and
should
be
beneficial
to
hybrid striped bass. East
many
species
of
fish
as
Lynn also has a variety of
well
as
to
anglers
who
black bass, including
pursue them. At the comsmallmouth, plus panfish,
pletion of this project I
shad and other species.
am already trying to head
This all began last
up another drop next year
summer while I was fishof much bigger proporing the lake. I thought
tions, maybe 500 trees or
that maybe with the
more, in hopes of creating
cooperation of the Corps
some really large reefs.
of Engineers and the WV
I would like to thank
DNR, we could help the
all
those
who helped to
lake out a little. With this
make
this
project happen.
in mind, I contacted Zack
WV
DNR
Biologists
Brown, DNR District V
Corps of Engineers pontoon boat full of trees.
and Jeff
Brown
Zack
Fisheries Biologist and
helped
get the
Hansbarger
Mike Smith, USA COE,
project
off
the
ground.
and discussed the possiMike Smith, Corps of
bility of sinking discarded
Engineers, was a great
Christmas Trees into the
help by providing the
lake for habitat. With
boat as well as other
their help and permisCorps volunteers who
sion, the project was
helped in the transport
underway.
and sinking of trees.
Approximately 150
Chapter 09 Members Eric
discarded Christmas trees
Moore, Jim Moore, David
were gathered after the
(Speed)
Jones,
Ray
holidays and hauled to
Hensley
and
my
crew
of
the lake. More trees were
Bevins
local
anglers
Dave
offered but we were
and Jay Jones filled out
unsure as to the scope of
the team.
the project for this first
effort. DNR provided
Mission Complete! ❖
weights and rope for
On the water, preparing trees for sinking.
anchoring the trees and
F
FIGURE
8 Figure 8 8
8
◆
FIGURE
8
◆
FIGURE
8
◆
FIGURE
8
www.muskiesinc.org
FIGURE
I’ve decided to add an “Editor’s Choice”
spot in my column from time to time. In
this spot I will highlight great products,
places, or services which I have personally
tried. If I mention fishing tackle in this column you will find me fishing it. If I mention
a camp or a service I will have visited the
camp or used the service. I will always give
priority to products made or offered by folks
who advertise in MUSKIE Magazine, but
I’ll only mention stuff I have used and
intend to keep using. This is my first installment; I hope you like it.
Back in April I spent some time turkey
hunting and fishing down near Pomme de
Terre Lake in Missouri. I had some great
turkey action several mornings and went
fishing on Pomme de Terre three evenings at
sunset. To be honest, the first night I was
going to try some crappie fishing as April has
never been my best muskie month.
◆
After the thrill of catching your next muskie do your best to
carefully release it to fight another day; the future of our muskie
resource will literally be in your hands!
- Kevin ❖
8
Editor’s Choice –
Great products,
places, and
advertisers!
It was obvious to me that first night that me and the crappies
were not on the same wavelength so I decided to test two brand new
muskie lures I had picked up at the sport shows this past winter.
The first one was very neat, but a topwater which I’ll give a proper
test when the water warms up just a bit.
The second bait was a Stalker which is made by Lundberg
Custom Baits and can be purchased from one of our newest advertisers, Big Wood Musky Lures (see ad on page 19). The Stalker is a
handmade glide/jerk bait with a nice side-to-side action. It is easy to
cast and to fish, runs six to twenty-four inches deep, has a super
tough “Envirotex” finish, and comes in some killer color patterns.
However, my favorite thing (so far) about this bait is that I caught a
muskie on my first-ever cast with a Stalker! I have already ordered a
couple more Stalkers from Big Wood Musky Lures.
FIGURE
Remember last month’s cover of MUSKIE Magazine? Juris and
I weren’t quite sure how members would like the “sideways” cover,
but we loved the painting and the opportunity to use it in a unique
presentation. Well the early responses are in and I guess most members liked that cover as much as we did.
Scott Zoellick is one of my favorite wildlife artists. Fatal
Attraction, owned by my friend Tom Stark, is a wonderful example
of Scott’s work. I’d like to say thanks one more time to Scott and
Tom for allowing us to use “their” painting on the cover of MUSKIE
Magazine.
While this month’s cover is more of a traditional MUSKIE
Magazine cover, it is no less spectacular than last month. I wanted
to highlight the fact that like so many of the super photos we use in
MUSKIE Magazine, the June cover shot was taken by our very own
Juris Ozols.
◆
Fatal Attraction – the jury is in!
8
by Kevin Richards
[email protected]
Lu n g e L o g ◆ Lu n g e L o g ◆ Lu n g e L o g ◆ Lu n g e L o g ◆ Lu n g e L o g ◆ Lu n g e L o g ◆ Lu n g e L o g
g
nge L
u
L
e
o
h
t
by
Ji m B u n c h
30 Day Reporting Period
In some cases members hold their entries until late in the year
and then enter them all at once. I try to keep an eye on this so somebody does not get bumped out of a Lunker of the Month award 6 or
7 months after the fact. We have also had a few occasions where a
member gets bumped out of a division leader list or one of the 10
International awards by someone who entered them way too late.
Some years total entries range from 14,000 to 16,000 and it just gets
to be a nightmare trying to keep track of who is late. So, I have a
game plan to solve this.
Effective July 1, 2009 30 days or else!
The online fish submission is being set up to reject any entry
that is past the 30 day reporting period. This will go into effect on
July 1, 2009. The system would allow the chapter contest chairperson to enter them up to 60 days from date of catch. The reason for
this is that by human nature members will panic and put them in the
hands of the chapter contest chairperson right at the end of the 30
day reporting period. Consequently, in some of our larger chapters,
the contest chairman may get 150 to 200 entries and only two days
to enter them. So, individual members still must have them to their
contest chairman within 30 days (or enter themselves within 30
days) or the chapter contest chairman may have up to 60 days to
enter them. You will then put your contest chairman at your mercy.
If this gets to be a pattern and he does not like it, then please understand his response to you.
This is not a rule change,
just enforcement!
This notice will appear in the June 2009 Muskie Magazine.
That is the one you are reading. This notice will have been sent to
your Chapter President, your Chapter Regional Vice President, and
your Chapter Contest Chairperson by email during the month of
May 2009. Therefore you will have been informed. Please do not
come to us with the idea that you did not know. That will not work.
If this seems kind of tough, please understand that this rule has been
in effect for many years (Rule No. 4). I have had many watch dogs
keeping track of this and I am tired of having to deal with this. I
think this is a fine solution to the problem that really doesn’t affect
many of you. There, I have spoken my piece, thank you very much.
James Roach, Chapter 9, 47.5 Inch, Feb. 18, 2009, Feb. Lunker.
Kentucky River, KY. Shad Rap, Fish I.D. 266644.
2009 Entries
There were 582 entries reported from January 1 through April
26, 2009. The first catch of the year was on New Year’s Day at 11
AM. It was caught by Steve Warner of Rheems, PA and Chapter 50.
It was 34 inches and came from the Susquehanna River in Dauphin
County, Pennsylvania.
The longest muskie of the 73 in January was caught by Reed
Findlan of Franklin, PA and Chapter 31. Reed tells us,
“Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of the 46.5” muskie I caught
on January 2nd. I caught this fish by myself after work only having
a couple of hours to fish before dark. I caught this fish on a Mag
SuperD while casting from shore. By this time in Western PA all the
lakes are usually frozen, but the Allegheny River runs through the
town I live in which usually doesn’t freeze over. This river has a good
population of muskie which my wife and I have been targeting
from shore with great success during the winter months over the
past couple of years. About three days after catching the 46.5” a
bad cold front rolled through freezing over the Allegheny until late
February. I’m 28 years old and have been fishing for muskies since I
caught my first one, a 46” muskie, when I was 9 while on a fishing
trip with my family in Canada.”
The month of February got a little cold for muskie fishing; however there were 60 muskies reported. The longest came out of the
Kentucky River in Estill County Kentucky. It was caught by James
Roach of Beattyville, KY and Chapter 52. It was caught on Feb. 18th
on a Shad Rap. The reporting period for February is over so James
wins the International February Lunker of the Month. James did not
report a girth measurement, no problem, just look at the picture, this
gal has some mass.
March has produced 270 muskie entries so far. The longest
came out of Salt Fork Lake in Guernsey County, Ohio. Chris Shuck
of Chapter 19 (Akron-Canton) was the featured speaker at the annual banquet for Chapter 9 (West Virginia). Chris lives 25 minutes
from Salt Fork and fishes it about 75 times a year. In attendance was
our man Norman Boley of Chapter 9 and Cadwell, WV. Norman
then goes to Salt Fork just two weeks later. He fished it like Chris
Shuck said to. Norman also was there as it was his chapter’s Spring
Mail-In event. Sure enough he caught his personal best at 49 inches
on a figure eight using a small Jones Crank Bait. Norman says,
“Thank you Chris Shuck on how to fish Salt Fork.”
ies
9,000 Musk
Released
On Sabaskong Bay
Six-time Muskies, Inc.,
Chapter Challunge Headquarters
1983, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2003, 2004
Norman Boley, Chapter 9, 49 Inch, 3/28/09, March Lunker.
Salt Fork Lake, OH. Jones Special, Fish I.D. 266849.
Helping in the landing and release were Dean Davis and Debbie
Crossley of the Akron-Canton Chapter. Norman leads the
International March Lunker, but as of this writing there are another
five days of reporting time for it to stand up.
Keep a tight line,
Jim Bunch
The Lunge Log
[email protected]
715 226-0295
www.muskiesinc.org
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Over
The Truth As I Remember It . . .
You’ve Gone Too Far!
by Adam M. Glickman
Recently, one of my co-workers (who enjoys fall walleye fishing)
ast summer, I fell 20 feet out of a tree into the water when a
branch that was holding my lure snapped when I climbed out was thumbing through my 2008 Muskies, Inc. calendar when he
onto it. I was able to retrieve my lure, but I began to wonder came to December and the picture of the diehards launching their
about the whole situation when my friend Ryan (whom I was fishing boat through the deep snow and slush at the landing. His response
with at the time) suggested that I write an article about the extremes was “what the ….?” To which I responded “I thought you liked to
I go to when chasing muskies. I had to pause for a few moments fish in the fall.” This example illustrates perfectly where other fishwhen he suggested this because until he mentioned it, I really didn’t ing stops and muskie fishing begins. Most anglers see such a late fall
landing depiction and say, “Oh no!” For me though, scenes such as
think it had been that big of a deal. Don’t get
this send that exhilaration of anticipation
me wrong, I had reservations about climbing
through my entire body; the possibility of a late
the tree, and it was huge rush when I heard the
season monster, the promise of a better day.
base of the limb snap, but at no time was there
In my mind, all of my
Days like that are what I live for.
any doubt that I would be leaving that area with
Muskie fishermen put a lot of blood,
actions seem logical,
my lure. After all, I had been catching fish on
sweat,
time, and money into getting just one
it.
reasonable, and orderly;
strike. In recent years, I have begun to notice
Since that incident, I have been thinking
but I suppose this is all
that my determination created from musky
about the nature of muskie fishermen as comfishing has spilled over to all aspects of my life.
pared to those who chase other fish - some striksubjective. I think that
Tasks and obstacles that others look at as daunting differences have come to mind. Mostly
in the minds of outsiders, ing or impossible, I say I can complete. People
these aspects boil down to just how far a muskie
look at me and ask, “Really?” And I say, “Sure,
some muskie fishermen
angler will go to put a muskie in the net. In my
eventually.” Anything can be accomplished
mind, all of my actions seem logical, reasonable,
seem to go too far.
with enough time and determination. I love a
and orderly; but I suppose this is all subjective.
long shot. Succeeding in such situations is one
I think that in the minds of outsiders, some
of life’s sweetest rewards. Muskies wouldn’t be
muskie fishermen seem to go too far. However,
to most non-anglers, the pursuits of all fishermen seem ridiculous so great if they were easier to catch.
I love fishing small remote rivers. Getting away from the crowds
and pointless. Even before I ever chased muskies, I can still remember how foolish my mother thought my father and I were for staying is great, plus it makes me feel like an explorer. Working up and down
these waters gets a little sketchy at times. They are usually fast, shalout for hours in poor weather, but we knew better.
There is something magical about fishing that outsiders will low, and full of unknown hazards. Two years ago, I devised a rope
never understand. There is something even more magical about that goes around my waist and attaches to my boat that leaves my
muskie fishing that is even harder for others to wrap their minds hands free to fish so I don’t have to just look at the river while pulling
around. However, for the muskie nut this magic is as tangible as any my boat up shallow runs. It sounds silly, but not being able to throw
solid object in our world. Things are different for the muskie angler. during these times was killing me. To many people, this is ridiculous
Fall fishing takes on a whole new meaning and the term “long shot” bordering on dangerous, but to me it makes perfect sense. Just
another example of subjectivity.
becomes beloved instead of feared.
L
Late last November I was putting my boat in on Lake Harriet in
Minneapolis. When everything else is freezing up, it’s probably the
last open water game in Minnesota. The breeze at the landing was
off shore and coming slightly from the side, and when I pushed my
boat off the trailer, the clip at the end of my rope snapped off my
boat. My boat shot out into the lake without me in it and I can tell
you it was the worst feeling I had ever had at a landing. For a split
second I thought I might go after it, but luckily calmer heads prevailed.
Fortunately the lake is small and round with a walking trail all
the way around. The winds were moderate to strong and it only took
an hour and a half for it to drift in a third of the way down the shoreline. As I walked to meet it, I alerted all the appropriate emergency
services that the situation was in hand and under control and not to
respond to any reports of a boat drifting unoccupied on the cold
lake. I know at least one such call was made by a woman who was
watching my boat well before she saw me. I was a little embarrassed
as it was, I really didn’t need emergency response showing up. That
would have been a mess.
What upset me most about the situation was missing an hour
and a half of prime time and being separated from my boat and gear.
As strange as it sounds, I wanted nothing more than to have my boat
and gear in my possession again. As I waited for my ship to come in,
thoughts of old school maritime laws pertaining to the claiming of
abandoned vessels and cargo bounced around in my head.
Ridiculous right, I know it is crazy but that’s what I was thinking
about. When my boat came in, I pushed out,
hopped in, put my trolling motor down, and started
working the weedline without missing a beat. Of
course, this is more of a story of my own carelessness
than going to far, but I didn’t let it stop me from
fishing.
The musky angler is a different breed all together. Do we go too far? I don’t think so. Do I go too
far? Not as far as I am concerned. I don’t fish in the
middle of electrical storms, or recommend that anybody do anything they are not comfortable doing.
Know your limits, know what you’re capable of, stay
safe, and catch some muskies. ❖
www.muskiesinc.org
Deadline for
Chapter Reports
The deadline to
send chapter reports
to the editor is the 25th
of each month, or about
five (5) weeks before the
magazine is mailed
to members.
– Thanks!
Youth are the future. So how do we go about
insuring our passions go with them into the
future, when everything in our day-to-day
living seems to be going at high speed?
B
etween The Lakes Chapter (BTLC) started
on a mission in 2004 that would prove a theory that it can be done and needs to be done
now. Our weekend of muskie fishing began with
the goal of getting Sheboygan area youth involved
to carry on for us in the future, to entice them into
joining us in our passion for muskies, the love of
the environment, and the preservation of both.
Roy Kalmerton, with the backing of Camp YKoda and BTLC, developed a plan which they
began to execute in 2004, which included the first
outing in October 2004. Due to the amount of effort involved it was
decided once every two years would be enough, we didn’t want to
burn our volunteers out.
In 2006 Roy brought on some new people within the club to
learn the process and it was decided after the 2006 event we needed
to put out the challenge to other chapters. Fox River Valley Chapter
(FRVC) accepted the challenge and last year (2008) we went up with
26 youth from BTLC and FRVC.
We went through a similar gathering process and with the assistance again of Camp Y-Koda a general questionnaire was sent out to
area schools. This questionnaire has been used to draw interested
youth to all of our events; a sample can be
obtained from BTLC at anytime. The questionnaire simply asks about what experiences the youth may have had in the past
and who their guardian would be on such a
trip if chosen. By using parents or guardians
we are not expected to go into all the background checks and details for taking youth
up without parents, as the responsibility
continues to lie with the parent. FRV did a
similar casting call for their chapter and a
total of 26 youth would be active in this
event.
Once we decided who was going we
gathered our boats and guides from our
chapters, with local guides being used as
needed or as back-ups. We gathered all for
two mandatory training sessions. The first session was to review
muskie fishing in general and muskie fishing habitats. We also spent
some time on map reading and electronics. The second session we
began with more hands on approach with some bait casting at a local
pond and a review of lure presentation effects and methods of those
lures, we also reviewed boater safety and equipment.
Itineraries were passed out on the last evening showing items the
youth and parents would need to have with them as well as what
their guides would be providing.
By challenging other
chapters and groups to
join our event and learn
our procedure we have
created a process which
should keep this event
going and growing. We
hope 2010 will involve
at least 4 groups and
more muskie fishing kids.
(Continued on page 14)
TURNING LEAF
(Continued from page 12)
The event began with a 6:30 AM departure on a bus provided
by Heidenreiter Bus Company. Kids and their guardians (parents,
grandparents or aunts or uncles) joined them on the bus for the trip
up to Sunrise Lodge and Resort on Lac Vieux Desert in Land O’
Lakes, WI.
A nice muskie which fell victim to the author's large, double bladed bucktail.
Trevor Bushnick, age 12, from Fox River Valley Chapter holding up a fat 44inch beauty caught while pre-fishing for the 2008 Fall Youth Muskie Hunt on
Lac Vieux Desert, WI. Trevor went on to win 1st place in the event
Once they arrived we allowed them to get familiar with their
accommodations and then it was a quick lunch and off to the boats.
The guides and boats were ready and waiting. The FRV group all
arrived at various times and for cost savings reasons they all traveled
in groups with their guides versus using a bus transport. With everyone ready to hit the water we went to load suckers and go.
BTLC had a 42-inch musky on but it was caught by Greg Wells
who couldn’t convince Maria to take the rod and bring the fish in,
she wanted to catch one all on her own and I also think the size of
this one was a little scary. A slow start to say the least, as only one 25inch tiger muskie was caught by the FRV youth on Friday afternoon.
Dinner and a camp fire “sharing circle” were held on Friday evening
and the kids headed off to catch some sleep before a busy day starting Saturday AM.
We had an early wake-up and 7 AM breakfast before hitting the
water again. The weather was clear but cool with some frost settling
from the night before. The morning session again proved to be a
challenge with no fish boated but a lot seen. Lunch included a fry out
to warm the spirits and to gather some excitement for the final session. It was good and everyone was ready to hit the water for the
final time. With the sun up higher and the weather warming slightly there was little to no activity to start the afternoon, but then it
broke and a window of opportunity opened. The afternoon session
proved productive with FRV kids catching two 38 inchers, one by
Trevor Bushnick and one by Nick Hill, plus a 36 incher caught by
Eddie Foulk; and Blake Austreng from BTLC caught a 31 incher.
After the fishing taking a turn for the better the camp fire “sharing circle” was full of exciting stories and bonding that will stick with
us all for a lifetime. This event truly brings people together and our
hope is we have created bonds that will continue to grow and develop in the years to come. We
also hope we have created more people to take
on the challenge to keep musky fishing going
from generation to generation. It was truly a
blessing to be able to share this with FRV and
our challenge now is to bring two more groups
into the fold in 2010; one new group under
BTLC wings and another under the wings of
FRV. I believe BTLC will work with Titletown
Chapter, so the challenge goes back to FRV to
gather their new group. We will continue to
gather sponsors and more excitement about this
event in the years to come.
By challenging other chapters and groups to
join our event and learn our procedure we have
created a process which should keep this event
going and growing. We hope 2010 will involve
at least 4 groups and more muskie fishing kids.
We challenge all Muskies, Inc. chapters to get
involved in this or similar youth programs. The
youth in our groups represent our future - we
need to mentor them to keep our muskie passions alive in them and through them. ❖
The adults seemed to have as much fun as the kids when a muskie
was landed.
In this event everybody was a winner, but several
of the kids got trophies for catching muskies too!
www.muskiesinc.org
Backcountry
Fishing Trips
Packing Light
and Tight
by Patricia Strutz
A pile of gear that was portaged in to a backcountry
lake/cabin. Notice that everything is either in waterproof dry
bags, rubbermaid containers, or wrapped in garbage bags.
H
oping to find big fish in unpressured waters, many musky
anglers are venturing out to hard-to-reach backcountry
waters. This may mean chartering a bush pilot for part of the
route, or, portaging gear over rocky terrain. Either way, packing lightly and effectively is key.
Last year my fishing buddy
Mary Penny and I planned an
Provided you are
excursion to a remote outpost in
prepared for the
Canada. It wasn’t accessible by boat,
instead we had to portage our gear
wilderness, fly-in
along the side of a waterfall. The
or portage-in
payoff was a slice of heaven, all to
ourselves, for the entire week. With
trips can be
all the amenities now offered, one
adventures of a
could hardly call this a “rough it”
lifetime.
trip. Here are a few items and packing tips I learned from the experience:
Plan Every Detail
Thoroughly peruse your outfitter’s website and literature. Then,
contact them and don’t be afraid to ask plenty of questions. The
more prepared you are, the more efficiently you can pack.
Get the specifics on transportation to the outpost. Will
someone be leading you in and out? Will they help transport
gear? Where will we park our vehicle? How long does it take to
get there and, if portaging gear, how strenuous is the route?
Ask about the accommodations. Just how rustic is the
cabin? How comfortable are the beds, do we need to pack an air
mattress? Should we bring our own linens? How is it lit? Are
lanterns provided? Flashlights? Batteries? How is it heated or
cooled? Is there dry wood and an axe available? A propane cookstove or fireplace? What about refrigeration? Is there any food
plan offered or do we fend for ourselves? Are there pots, pans,
dishes, silverware, and a coffee pot? How about bathrooms?
Showers or running water? Potable water?
Find out about the boat and fishing gear. How big is the
boat and in what shape is it? Is the outboard reliable? What is
the gas and oil situation? Is there a back up motor, paddles, bail
bucket, and PFDs? Is there a trolling motor? How about a net?
Any suggestions for lure type, size and color?
Safety
How do we contact the base
camp in case of an emergency? Any
bear or other wildlife problems noted?
Does the outpost offer a SPOT gps? If
not, consider bringing one; check out:
www.rei.com
Boat and Fishing Gear
Most outpost camps do not offer
electronics. Bring along a lightweight
Fishin Buddy made by Humminbird
(www.humminbird.com). This portable
depthfinder requires no wiring or rigging. The transducer is mounted
inside the shaft and you simply clamp
it onto your craft. Powered by six double-A batteries, we fished two full days
before needing to replace them. The
sonar display clearly shows emergent
weeds, baitfish, and structure.
Humminbird's Fishin Buddy, an
awesome little portable sonar
unit that clamps onto gunwale,
with transducer is in shaft
This nice pike was caught with help from Humminbird's Fishin Buddy.
Most outpost camps do not offer trolling motors either. Personally,
I don’t know how musky fishermen can get along without one. Ask
the outfitter if they’d like to purchase it; then you don’t have to haul
it back out! Minn Kota’s Endura series is a portable transom mounted unit (www.minnkotamotors.com). The worst thing is you’ll need to
tote in a battery and charger, too. A few camps have small generators
with DC outlets; 1,000 watt models can run six hours on a small
amount of gas. Another consideration is a solar charger. River Ridge
sells a unit you can mount directly on your boat while you fish. It
charges .5 amps per hour (www.riverridgecustomcanoes.com).
Two-piece rods are easier to transport than one-piece. I like Pete
Maina’s two-piece 9-footer. Since rod carriers can be cumbersome, I
chose to wrap the rods up in a fishing cradle. It was very easy to tote
the entire package that way and a cradle takes up much less room in
a small camp boat than a Big Kahuna does.
During transport, take the reels off the rods. Wrap them in your
socks. Always try to make an item (like your socks) do double duty
during the trip.
Choose a tackle box that has phenomenal storage capabilities. I’m
sold on the musky boxes made by Lakewood Products. Made with
water resistant fabrics and heavy duty adjustable shoulder straps these
boxes are so durable they can double as a casting platform or a seat
(www.lakewoodproducts.com).
Bring a variety of fishing tackle. This is one place you don’t want
to scrimp. Don’t forget to bring small stuff - little bucktails (like
Mepps Muskie Killers) or little spinners (such as a JAWS spinnerbait
in 1-oz). If you hit major cold front conditions, these tiny offerings
might save the week.
Lanyard your release tools to your belt loop. You don’t want to lose
your only pair of long nose pliers or wire cutters. Back-up all important gear...bring along an extra rod & reel,
fishing line, leaders, hooks, etc.
to your pack. Consider powdered drinks, teas or single coffee packets.
If you plan on preparing fresh fish, don’t forget the filet knife, aluminum foil, spatula, oil, and spices.
For an exceptional treat, contact Bonewerks. This company offers
fully prepared entrees that are quick, easy, and delicious. The finest
quality beef, pork, duck, and lamb are oven roasted and vacuum
packed. Fully cooked, one only has to boil the pouch for 15 minutes
to enjoy an extraordinary meal out in the woods; check out
www.bonewerksculinarte.com
Rubbermaid containers are good to
store food and keep mice and squirrels at
bay. Tightly seal the containers. I’ve seen
mice flatten themselves out like pancakes
to get into the smallest crevice. Put your
garbage in an extra one. Remember, you
probably have to haul your trash out
when you leave.
Water
This is an important one. Many outpost cabins do not have access to potable
water. Luckily, there are great alternatives.
The Exstream bottle purifies water
instantly. Placing a Virustat cartridge (a 3stage filter) inside the bottle removes sedExstream Katadyn Extreme
iment, bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. An water filter, highly useful for
example of the latter is Giardia, a water back-country trips.
borne illness that can cause severe diarrhea, cramping, and nausea. The filter is good for around 26 gallons
Fishing buddy Mary Penny starting to portage gear
up the side of a waterfall to get to a back country
lake and cabin. The tackle boxes she is toting
(Lakewood Tackle) easy to carry and can carry
large amounts of tackle.
Food
If you have to do the cooking plan
according to your heat and refrigeration
sources. Concentrate on dehydrated, lightweight foods. Dried soups, jerky, cereals, pastas,
and vacuum packed meats (salmon, tuna)
don’t take up much room or add much weight
www.muskiesinc.org
BACKCOUNTRY FISHING
Nothing is certain on a fishing trip,
except for the presence of mice at an outpost camp. Here’s an effective (and kinda
fun) way to rid your cabin of varmints.
Secure an aluminum can in the middle
of a piece of wire. Hang the wire across a
large pail. Put a couple inches of water in
bottom of pail and lean a board against
the top of the pail. The critter will run up
the board, jump on the can (lathered
with peanut butter), and fall into the
water. Better than T.V.
(100 fills) and sells for $50. Filter replacements are
available. Other models, such as backcountry and
endurance series, tout bigger filter capacity
(www.katadyn.us).
The same company offers Micropur
Purification Tablets that are also effective against
giardia, bacteria, and viruses. One tablet purifies
one quart of water. 30 tablets retail for $13.95 and
are a breeze to pack and use.
An alternative is to purchase a SteriPen. This
sterilizing light looks like a mini saber. Ultraviolet
light kill off viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. The
whole process takes less than a minute for a quart
of water. I’ve field tested these tools and they are
awesome. Easy to tote, easy to use, and extremely
effective. The accompanying screened bottle
removes sediment from your water and a LCD
screen signals when the usage approaches its life
limit (www.steripen.com).
Camping Stuff
Lighting
Patricia hauling some gear up the side of the
waterfall, carrying her Humminbird Fishin Buddy
sonar. She wraps a lot of her stuff in socks to protect them while transporting them. She is also
wearing a cap light and carrying gear in a dry bag.
Shaklee’s Basic H (H2) is one of the first
biodegradable cleaners on the market; this stuff has 1,001 uses. It will
disinfect your camp table after cleaning fish. Dilute it to wash your
fruits and veggies. It also makes a great insect repellent
(www.shaklee.com).
Don’t forget the Leatherman or Gerber multi-tool. You’ll need
the screwdriver, file, serrated knife, pliers, and just about every other
accessory they offer.
I use mine to cut PowerPro superbraid line, unhook fish, file my
rough nails, (hey, I’m a gal, remember?!) Some of the models even
sport a fork and spoon.
Always bring duct tape. Handy for holes in window screens (or
boats) and a hundred other things.
By the way, did you ask that dry wood question? Do you need to
pack a couple of days worth of firewood? Be sure to check local regulations on transporting wood into the area. A couple days supply will
allow time to prepare and dry other logs that you pick up in the surrounding area. By the way, clothes dryer lint soaked in lighter fluid
makes a fantastic fire starter.
Insect/Rodent Control
Instead of packing cans of spray and worrying about how you’ll
wash it all off, consider purchasing ThermaCELL’s portable repellent
system. Small enough to
fit into your jacket
pocket, it creates a 15 x
15 foot bug free zone. A
butane cartridge heats a
mat which releases a
natural insecticide. Each
butane cartridge operates the unit for 12
hours. This is a great
device for the cabin or
Rodent Control is always a problem at fly-in
and portage-in camps. Here's a makeshift the boat (www.thermamouse trap that Mary Penny and Patricia cell.com).
used, and it was very effective!
Yes, they look dorky but cap lights
are a MUST at a rough it trip. You
always want to have a flashlight at hand
and this way you’ll never forget it. Battery
free flashlights (shake or crank styles) are a
nice back up, too. For the ultimate flashlight, check out the Compact Night-Ops
Gladius. It fits in your pocket and is as
bright as a spotlight. Housed in a
rugged, waterproof body it is powered by
a 6-volt lithium battery; check it out at:
www.blackhawk.com
Clothing and Toiletries
Instead of applying sticky lotion, wear clothing that provides UV
Protection. Most sport stores now offer shirts and pants with built sun
protection. Wide brimmed hats with neck covers (or “buffs”) also
work.
Under Armour clothing provides not only SPF, but wicks away
moisture too. The heat gear garments keep you cool in the summer;
the cold gear garb provides warmth with only lightweight fabrics
(www.underarmour.com).
If you feel you really must use sunscreen, purchase a
sunscreen/insect repellent combo in a dry formula. This is non-greasy
and will wash off much easier.
Wet wipes for quick clean ups. These are life savers if there are no
showers and the lake water is cold. Dittos on dry powder shampoo.
Nail clippers/emory board. For the ladies, paint your nails prior
to the trip. That way you won’t have to be disgusted at your dirty
nails!
Don’t forget a complete first aid kit and waterless hand sanitizer.
Have fun!
Provided you are prepared for the wilderness, fly-in or portage-in
trips can be adventures of a lifetime. You’ll experience incredible
scenery, serenity, and . . . oh, yeah, awesome fishing! You’ll realize how
much we can “do without.” Forget your pillow? Scrunch up your
jacket. Is there a hole in the floor? Stuff a dirty sock in it. Forget your
camera? No, don’t do that!
Now, if someone would just invent powdered beer or wine . ❖
MUSKIE Field Editor/Author Patricia Strutz is always interested in
interviewing Muskies, Inc. members that wish to share their techniques
specialties. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
t was late June of 2005 and I was fishing with my father and my de Terre in my home state of Missouri. I fished fast, really fast, and
son out of Young’s Wilderness Camp on the Lake of the Woods. I caught muskie! That one fish changed the way I fished for muskie,
Fishing had been slow and we had not boated a muskie yet. Most and I believe has helped me catch even more muskies over the years.
I had officially converted; I was now a “fast” paced
of the fish we saw would follow, but we couldn’t
muskie fisherman.
get them to commit. We had high sun several days
“I’m catching a lot
Through my muskie fishing and guiding, I’ve
in a row, along with light wind and warm temperof muskies fishing
met some great people and have built some lifeatures, so conditions for muskie fishing were not
long friendships. One good friend is Kjelle
fast, but am I flyideal. I was fishing a submerged reef on the eastLundberg, the maker of the Stalker glide bait.
ern edge of Sabaskong Bay. After a couple casts
ing by the larger
Through my relationship with Kjelle, and with
with my 6-inch Grandma we decided to move to
fish as I race down
Lundberg Custom Baits, I had the opportunity to
another spot, so I was reeling up my line as fast as
fish with Bob Mehsikomer from Simply Fishing to
I could. Bang - fish on! I boated my first fish of
the bank?”
film a show that featured the Stalker bait. While
that trip, a nice low 40-inch muskie.
As we idled to the next spot I was thinking about the muskie fishing with Bob, I had the opportunity to discuss (and debate)
that I had just caught. Had I stumbled onto a pattern, or was it just muskie fishing techniques and strategies. When it came to a discusa fluke? The next spot was very similar to the last, so I decided to sion of fast versus slow-paced muskie fishing, Bob said flatly, “Larry,
“burn” my Grandma bait across that reef as well. On my second cast you fish too fast!” I was crushed, and the debate was on.
I firmly believe that, to be a better angler, you need to fish with
I connected with another muskie, this one an upper 30 incher. Now
I knew that we were onto something! After releasing this fish, we people that are better than you. When you get an opportunity like
went back to a spot that we had worked an hour before. At this point this, you “go to school” with the more experienced angler and try to
all three of us had Grandma’s tied on, and all three were reeling and
jerking as fast as we could. On this spot my
son connected on another low 40-inch
muskie, our third in a row. We had figured
out the pattern! In the next 5 days we continued to fish with the same fast paced
retrieve, and we landed over 20 muskies.
Since that trip, my approach to muskie
fishing has changed. I had been fishing for
muskie since the early 1990s. In that time
I was essentially a slow and methodical
muskie fisherman. Fishing fast, covering
water, and “gripping and ripping” was now
my preferred method for chasing muskie.
It didn’t matter if I was using a jerk bait, a
glide bait, or a bucktail. Also, it didn’t matter if I was fishing in Canada or on Pomme
I
www.muskiesinc.org
FAST-PACED VS. METHODICAL
learn everything you can in the time you have together.
There was no debate in my mind that Bob Mehsikomer is a
better angler than me. He’s boated somewhere around 100
muskie over 50 inches and is in the Freshwater Fishing Hall
of Fame. I’ve caught hundreds of muskie, but only one at the
50-inch mark (and it was a squeaker). Bob’s comment about
me “fishing too fast” challenged my experiences and paradigms as a muskie fisherman.
As we talked more, Bob continued to explain his personal philosophy on fast versus slow- paced muskie fishing. Bob
agreed that fishing fast was an effective method for catching
muskie, but added, “What’s the biggest muskie that you’ve
caught while fishing fast?” Thinking back, I think the biggest
was in the low 40s. Of all the fish I caught or saw caught
running this pattern, the average is probably at or below 40
inches. Bob went on to explain that this method of fast
paced fishing was better for small to mid-sized muskies and
did not work well on 50-inch class fish and above. In his experience,
and given all of the fish that he’s caught over 50, his preferred
method for catching these fish was to use a slow and methodical presentation. According to Bob, a muskie over 50 inches just doesn’t
work that hard to feed. They might follow, but they would lose
interest quickly and continue looking for an easier meal. Bob said,
“In order to catch the biggest muskie in your lake, you need to slow
down and work your lure more methodically.” He went on to say,
“Sometimes you have to force-feed a giant muskie, and the only way
to do that is with a slow in-your-face presentation.”
Later that afternoon we were fishing a small bay where we had
seen two 50-inch class muskies the day before. Bob was running a
bucktail right under the surface, and was cranking it just fast enough
to keep the bait out of the weeds. A nice muskie followed his bucktail to the boat and he hooked the giant fish on a figure 8. His slow
and steady presentation worked, and another 50-inch muskie was
added to his resume.
After my fishing trip with Bob, I spent
quite a bit of time thinking about his philosophy versus mine. Could I have been wrong? Is
a slow-paced, methodical retrieve better than
my “grip and rip” method? I’m catching a lot
of muskies fishing fast, but am I flying by the
larger fish as I race down the bank? Good question!
That same year I had the chance to fish
with several of my friends from Sweden. It was
early fall and we were again fishing out of
Young’s Camp on the Lake of the Woods. It
was mid September, and conditions were perfect for muskie fishing. It was cool each day,
overcast with occasional sprinkles, and we had
just enough wind to break up the surface of the
water. I began fishing with my usual fast paced
retrieve, this time using a smallmouth pattern
Stalker. I kept my rod tip low and reeled and
jerked the glide bait quickly with each cast. It
wasn’t long before I had another upper 30-inch
muskie in the boat. My Swedish buddies were
www.muskiesinc.org
Andreas Paulsen from Sweden with a chunky Lake of the Woods muskie.
well equipped with Stalkers as well, and they were fishing fast like me
and were consistently boating upper 30 to 40 inch muskies throughout the day. Muskie fishing was good!
We stopped to eat lunch and take a break from fishing. While
relaxing I brought up my conversation with Bob about slow versus
fast-paced muskie fishing. They told me that, in Sweden, the better
pike that they caught came when fishing slow. When they said
“slow” they meant a jerk every 2 or 3 seconds, really slow. Now the
debate was on again. Given that the muskie fishing had been really
good, we decided to test this theory to see if a slower paced retrieve
would yield bigger or better fish. The results of our experiment were
nothing but amazing!
Being stubborn (OK, pig headed), I kept fishing fast. I alternated between a bucktail and a Stalker, each of which was worked with
FAST-PACED VS. METHODICAL
my usual fast paced retrieve. My boat mates from
Sweden continued fishing their Stalker glide baits, but
now they slowed way down. I was running the boat, so
my lure was usually the first bait through a particular
spot. The next fish that we landed came on the slow
moving Stalker; this one was a 48-inch pig. Over the
course of the next few days the slow paced retrieve produced two 46-inch muskies, another just under 50, and
a huge low 50-inch muskie. Several other giant muskie
were raised or hooked but not landed. Clearly our
“experiment” had supported the theory that the slow
and methodical retrieve caught better quality fish.
Once again, I was crushed!
Since that fishing trip with Bob, and my fall trip
to Canada with my friends from Sweden, I have come
to some new conclusions. First off, there’s no debate,
fishing fast catches muskies. Second, there’s clear evi- An angler from Sweden with a "fast-paced" muskie caught on a Stalker within sight of
dence from my fishing trip with Bob, and my experi- Young's Wilderness Camp on Lake of the Woods.
ence in Canada during the fall of 2008, that a slow and
methodical presentation can yield more quality fish.
So what’s the answer? Which method is better? Then it hit me,
and the answer was clear. It’s not that one method is better than the
There are other days when the muskies want a slower retrieve, or
other; the answer is that there are reasons and situations to try both.
you are in an area where a big fish has been spotted and a more
The question isn’t which retrieve to use, it’s which retrieve is right for
methodical presentation may increase your odds. Working your lure
your day on the lake.
with a slow and steady retrieve has many advantages as well, and needs
to be a part of your muskie fishing routine. When I fish deeper water,
or cooler water in the late or early season, I now slow down and give
As anglers, we don’t usually get to pick our day on the lake. We the muskie more time to find the bait. Slowing down also allows me
get to fish weekends or holidays, or we schedule a muskie fishing trip to fish a spot more thoroughly, and to find the “spot within the spot”
many months in advance. When we get to the lake, we have to that holds the fish. In addition to slowing down my retrieve, I turn
adjust to the conditions that we face. It’s probably not the “perfect my trolling motor down to allow me more time to work an area. I’ve
day” to be on the lake, so we have to make the best of it. In my expe- noticed that working an area slower allows me to fish a likely looking
rience, fast-paced muskie fishing works best when fishing conditions spot from multiple angles. Sometimes changing angles, or turning
are less than ideal. Fishing fast is fishing for a “reaction bite”. A fast around and working back the other way, will produce fish that othermoving bait presents a muskie with the need to make a split second wise you would be missed if you are running quickly down the bank.
decision, feed or pass. The muskie may be in a somewhat negative
A slow and methodical retrieve can work with a variety of
mood, but the need to make a fast decision to feed overrides that baits, but the bait that has worked the best for me is our Lundberg
negative attitude and urges the muskie to strike. There are days when Stalker. There’s something about the slow, side to side action of this
a fast paced retrieve is the only way to get fish in the boat.
bait that triggers furious strikes. The bait also has a subtle side to side
Many times when fishing like this, I get just one hook (the rear wobble as it sinks. In some cases I’ve caught muskies on the fall,
hook) in the fish. It’s like the muskie attacks the bait, but didn’t before I even jerk the lure.
intend to feed. Their killer instinct kicked in and they hit the lure
Another lure that I’ve started using more is a topwater bait
with a swiping blow. I think that muskies can be like big house cats. called the Jackpot. If you’ve ever watched Bob’s Simply Fishing show,
They can’t just lay there and watch a toy mouse run by them. They you’ve no doubt seen Bob fishing a Jackpot. Before I fished with
have no intention of eating the mouse, but can’t just let the mouse Bob, I didn’t use topwater baits very often. After watching Bob work
run by so they attack.
a Jackpot, and discussing his theories on methodical presentations for
There are several other benefits to fast paced muskie fishing. big muskie, I’m now convinced that the Jackpot is a big fish bait. If
Since you are covering more water, you are showing your bait to more you ever get a chance to talk to Bob about fishing for big muskies, I
fish. By doing this you are increasing your odds of finding an active believe that he’ll tell you that the Jackpot’s slow and steady retrieve
fish, or of forcing a reaction bite from a neutral or negative muskie. I has helped him land more 50-inch muskies than any other bait.
tend to use a fast paced retrieve more often in shallow water, and I
So what’s it all mean? Which retrieve is the best one? The
think it works better when the muskie are sitting in or around some answer is simple. Try both and let the muskies decide! ❖
sort of ambush cover (weeds, rocks, reefs, boat docks, etc.) Also, I
think that a fast paced retrieve works better in warm versus cold water. This is Larry Murphy’s first feature in MUSKIE Magazine. Larry is the
For me personally, working fast also helps keep me focused on fishing, U.S. Sales Contact for Lundberg Custom Baits, makers of the Stalker.
and helps me with the mental side of muskie fishing.
Methodical Muskie Fishing
Fast-paced Muskie Fishing
ATTENTION
CHAPTER
CONTACTS:
Please make sure
your chapter address
and phone number
is correct on this page
AND on the M.I. website.
Whenever you update
chapter information on
the website, please send an
email to the Editor so we can
keep this page current. Thanks!
No. Chapter, Address
Phone #
01.....Twin Cities, 414 Division St., Excelsior, MN 55331..........................................952-380-1218
02.....Fargo-Moorhead, Box 2021, Fargo ND, 58107................................................701-298-9032
03.....Chicagoland Muskie Hunters, 7600 Kilbourn Ave, Skokie, IL 60076 ...............847-677-0017
04.....Titletown Muskies, Inc., 3097 Inverness Lane, New Franken, WI 54229 .......920-866-9705
05.....Pomme De Terre, PO Box 5, Hermitage, MO 65668 .......................................417-993-0035
06.....First Wisconsin, PO Box 122, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 ...............................715-864-2269
07.....South Side Muskie Hawks, 5211 S. Narragansett Ave., Chicago, IL 60638......773-581-8650
08.....Capital City, PO Box 8862, Madison, WI 53708...............................................608-669-5046
09.....West Virginia, 1270 Federal Road, Little Hocking, OH 45742 .........................740-667-3571
10.....Heartland, 239 8th St SE, Mason City IA 50401 ..............................................641-424-0827
11 .....Mississippi Valley, 5301 11th Ave “C”, Moline, IL 61265 ..................................309-797-1803
12.....Headwaters, PO Box 652, Eagle River, WI 54521...........................................715-477-2913
13.....Hayward Lakes, PO Box 609, Hayward, WI 54843 .........................................715-634-4543
14.....South of the Border, 28926 W. Big Hollow Rd, McHenry, IL 60050.................815-385-9026
15.....Star of the North, 16774 West Bay Drive, Pengilly, MN 55775........................218-885-1677
16.....Three Rivers, 119 Bus Lane, Renfrew, PA15136 .............................................724-789-7866
17.....Quad County, PO Box 185, Plano, IL 60545....................................................815-695-1494
18.....Hopedale, 15 Township Rd 125, Dillonvale, OH 43917 ...................................740-769-7269
19.....Akron-Canton Muskie Maniacs, 10957 Northwood Ave NE, Bolivar OH 44612.330-874-2773
20.....Between the Lakes, PO Box 61, Sheboygan, WI 53085-0061 ........................920-564-3226
21.....North Metro, PO Box 41216, Plymouth, MN 55441 .........................................952-469-2155
22.....New Jersey, http://www.mi22.com/ ..................................................................................TBD
23.....Cleveland, 5608 Brave Chief Lane, Ravenna, OH 44266 ...............................330-296-2398
24.....Brainerd Lakes, 18031 Heritage Road, Brainerd, MN 56401 ..........................218-838-5509
26.....Central Wisconsin, PO Box 263, Medford, WI 54451 ......................................715-748-4874
27.....Central Illinois, 1191 Sandra Lane, Monticello, IL 61856 .................................309-264-3730
28.....Shawnee Muskie Hunters, 61 W. Jennings, Wood River, IL 62095.................618-610-5003
29.....Upper Great Plains, 1788 Hwy 4, Estherville, IA 51334...................................712-362-2501
30.....God’s Country, PO Box 1461, LaCrosse, WI 54601 ........................................608-786-4062
31.....Penn-Ohio, 309 Spring St, Jamestown, PA 16134...........................................724-932-5815
32.....Flatlanders, 5776 Vesper Drive, South Beloit, IL 61080 ..................................815-389-4622
33.....Lake Superior, 2031 Hwy. 33 S., Cloquet, MN 55720......................................218-879-2712
35.....Milwaukee, PO Box 28842, Greenfield, WI 53220...........................................262-442-6260
37.....St. Cloud, 312 18th Avenue N., Sartell, MN 56377 ..........................................320-656-1160
38.....Vikingland, 2909 Wicken Lane NW, Alexandria, MN 56308.............................320-846-7975
39.....Fox River Valley, 1253 Cobblers Crossing, Elgin, IL 60123.............................847-741-9771
41.....Central Ohio, 870 County Road 9, Fremont OH 43420 ...................................419-992-4504
42.....Hoosier Muskie Hunters, PO Box 501371, Indianapolis, IN 46250 .................317-577-8050
44.....Colorado, 3739 Sawgrass Trail, Castle Rock, CO 80109 ................................303-668-4089
45.....Kentucky, 212 Linden Ave., Southgate, KY 41071...........................................859-441-1666
46.....Bemidji/Cass Lake, 16256 Andrusia Rd NE, Cass Lake, MN 56633...............218-335-8597
47.....Michigan Muskie Alliance, PO Box 512, Caledonia, MI 49316 ........................616-447-1688
48.....Arrowhead, PO Box 603, Tower, MN 55790 ....................................................218-753-2612
49.....Webster Lake Musky Club, PO Box 670, No. Webster, IN 46555 ...................574-834-1669
50.....Penn-Jersey, 510 Bryton Ave., Pottstown PA 19465.........................................484-459-5940
52.....Daniel Boone, 813 US 62, Maysville, KY 41056 ..............................................606-759-7610
53.....Huskerland Muskie Hunters, PO Box 394, Valentine, NE 69201.....................402-376-2743
54.....Southern Crossroads, 1524 Country Club Rd, Albert Lea MN 56007 .............507-373-1818
56.....SW Ohio Muskie Ass’n, 524 Sterling Meadows Place, Brookville, OH 45309 ..937-833-1833
57.....NW TigerPac, 10517 SE 214th Place, Kent, WA 98031 ..................................253-850-5889
58.....Lake St. Clair, 22206 Kramer, St. Clair Shores, MI 48080...............................586-778-9136
59.....Muskies, Inc. of New Mexico, P.O. Box 448, Rowe, NM 87562 ......................505-757-2213
www.muskiesinc.org
Special Events
2009
June 6-7
1st Annual Lake St. Clair
Chapter #58 Muskie Madness
Spring Tournament.
(Contact Mark Kornosky @
586-596-4481 for details)
June 28
2nd Annual LSC Chapter #58
Kid’s Fishing Day, Metropolitan
Beach Park, Harrison Twp, MI
(www.lscmi.com for more info)
August 8
Chapter 16 Kids Fishing Day
September 12
Chapter 57 will hold their Annual
Open Tournament on Lake Tapps to
avoid conflict with the Mayfield Lake
Open Tiger Musky Tournament.
For details check out:
www.nwtigermuskies.org
October 2-4
35th Annual Pomme de Terre
Muskie Tournament
Special events listings are provided at
no charge to Muskies, Inc chapters.
To list your chapter's event, email to:
[email protected]
or by ground mail: Kevin Richards, 7618
Sunrise Ridge Road,
Henley, MO 65040
Please send announcements
at least 2 months in advance.
CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS ◆ CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS ◆ CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS
Chapter News and Views
01
Twin Cities
414 Division St. • Excelsior, MN 55331
952-380-1218
www.twincitiesmuskiesinc.org
Meets 2nd Tuesday 7:00 PM, Knights of Columbus, 1114 W79th St Bloomington,
MN, near the SE corner of the intersection of I-494 and I-35W.
The Vet’s Home Opener, Nearly Lost
The Vet’s Home Opener activity is an event that the Chapter
has cosponsored long enough to call it a Chapter tradition. The
Opener is held at the Minnesota Veterans Home near Minnehaha
Falls in Minneapolis.
Historically, Veteran’s organizations have provided significant
funding for the event, while the Chapter provided food and labor for
the event. Facilities for the opener include a tented trout pond with
a fishing/viewing area, as well as, food preparation equipment.
The Veterans Home residents supply the shore lunch main
course by catching trout. Chapter volunteers clean and cook the
fish and serve it with the other meal items to all who are present.
It is a very special meal for the deserving participants.
Nearly lost? At first, it appeared that the economy was about
to take its toll on the Opener. Fund raising was sluggish. Then,
the longtime major sponsor, the Mendota VFW Post #6670, and
other veteran groups joined with the Twin Cities Chapter to assure
that adequate funding was available.
Opener attendance is often an emotional experience for the
Home residents and the volunteers. It is agreed that the Home
Opener tradition must be perpetuated.
Thank you, Chairman Terry Hagstrom and the other volunteers! A very special thank you to the Veterans!
Vince Trotta
02
Fargo-Moorhead
Box 2021 • Fargo, ND 58107
701-298-9032 – Brett Wade Waldera
[email protected]
Meets 4th Monday 7:00 PM, VFW in West Fargo.
The Fargo-Moorhead Muskies, Inc. Chapter meets on the 4th
Monday of each month. The meetings are held at the West Fargo
VFW, and begin at 7pm. Here is what we talked about on April 27th.
President Brian Grote began the meeting by having John
Skarie give us a Chapter Challunge update. If you are attending
NOTE TO CHAPTERS: We hope you like the new look
of Chapter News and Views. We would like to see an
increase in the number of chapters sharing news each
month. We are also offering you a chance to submit 5
to 10 photos of chapter activities so we can feature
your chapter on the banner above.
the Chapter Challunge you will need to pay a $50.00 deposit at the
May meeting, or send a check for that amount to Rick by that time
to reserve your spot. Brett and Jerry will be gathering more prizes
to add to what we already have.
Brian talked about the annual Sturgeon Trip, stating it went
very well. The largest fish a member of our group landed was a
64.5 incher, but a couple of guys may have lost fish even larger
than that. The club would like to send out a special Thank You to
Steve Voss for providing breakfast every day. It was fantastic.
Thanks a bunch Steve.
Brett spoke about our Wednesday Night League, stating that
the rules and cost will be the same as last year. It will be $5.00 per
member/guest per outing, with Junior members paying $1.00.
Fishing hours are from 6-9pm., and you can find the dates on the
bottom of this page.
The Minnesota DNR was looking for 3 Muskies, Inc. Chapters
in our area to donate funds for the purchase of a microscope that
costs around $1,100.00. Mark Stenger made a motion that our
chapter donate $400.00 towards this project, and it was passed.
Paul Haug mentioned that the date for next year’s Anglers
Night banquet was not set and gave us some options. After some
discussion the chapter decided to hold next year’s event on a
Friday instead of Thursday as it has been in the past. It will be held
next year on Friday, February 5th at the Doublewood Inn in Fargo.
Paul also recently attended the North Dakota Sportfishing
Congress Banquet. The event went very well and they were able
to raise more funds than usual. Due to the snow/rains, more new
lakes may be created in North Dakota.
Ron Teschner attended a Muskies, Inc. Regional meeting held
in Minneapolis. He mentioned that the Fall Regional meeting will
be held in October and will probably take place by teleconference.
Ron asks that anyone who has ideas they’d like to present at the
regional meeting to contact him and he will pass on the info.
Brett would like to remind all of our members that we will be
making leaders at the May meeting. These leaders are as good or
better than what you’ll find in stores, and are much cheaper to buy
at this meeting. We may also be able to make some fluorocarbon
ones. Don’t forget that Mike Ruff will also be bringing Rad Dog
spinnerbaits to the May meeting. Bring your wallets.
Wednesday Night League Dates
June 17 Lake Sallie
June 24 Pelican Lake
June 10- Detroit Lake
July 8 Detroit Lake
July 29 Pelican Lake August 5 Detroit Lake
August 12 Pelican Lake Sept. 9 Detroit Lake
Sept. 19 Finale’
You may fish Detroit, Pelican, or Sallie on the final day with the
angling hours from 8am-2pm. We will meet afterwards at a location to be determined later. Good luck to all fishing League this
season.
Brad Waldera
7600 Kilbourn Ave. • Skokie, IL 60076
847-677-0017 – Dean Rosset
[email protected]
Meets 1st Tuesday 7:30 PM, Park Ridge VFW 10 West Higgins Ave., Park
Ridge, IL.
Greetings Thrillseekers,
Chicagoland Muskie Hunters had another great meeting in
April, 2009 with our annual Awards Night. Great turnout with some
of the winners taking time to talk about their success.
Congratulations go out to all who entered fish in 2008. We had
one of our best years and it is due in part to the knowledge that is
shared at every meeting between members and our guest speakers.
Mark Podobinski won the Men’s Master Division.
Joe Pavilonis won first place in the Men’s Release Division.
John Bilka won second place in the Men’s Release Division.
Dan Peters won third place in the Men’s Release Division.
John Ryan won the Illinois Big Fish with a 46” from Kinkaid in
December (also the last contest entry of the year).
Olivia Peters, Mike Tryczynski and Sean McDermott won in the
Junior Release Division.
Mark Podobinski won the Largest Release with a 56.5” from Lac
Seul, Canada.
Dan Peters joined the Century Club with his 100th muskie
while Mark Podobinski and Paul Hortestine received stars for their
most recent 100th muskie since they have already achieved
Century Club level.
Dean and Leah Rosset with Leah’s 300th Muskie Award.
Leah Rosset of the amazing Team Rosset was awarded a
Personal Award for her 300th muskie by none other than Dean
Rosset.
Dean Rosset moderated the evening’s ceremony and filled it
with facts, funny stories and in-depth questions to all of the award
recipients. Good Job Dean!
The trophies were really beautiful. Dean brought a few
awards which he and Leah had earned in the 1980’s and 1990’s
and all I can say is we have come a long way baby.
2009 has started out pretty strong with Chicagoland Muskie
Hunters winning the Travelling Award from the Webster Lake Ice
Out Challenge in Indiana. Outings Director Mark McDermott
helped win the Ice Out Challenge with a 34” muskie. Members are
out fishing as evident by the entries we are receiving.
www.muskiesinc.org
Joe Pavilonis, Winner of 2008 Chicagoland Muskie Hunter Men’s
Release with President Zach Arnold.
Tip of the Month: Shared Knowledge - We talked about a
boatload of things throughout the Awards evening which include:
• 90% of the muskies caught by one guide using the Double
Cowgirl bucktails were when performing “figure 8’s” at the boat.
• Longer rods (9’+) make it easier to perform the figure 8’s.
• We will need U.S. Passports to re-enter the U.S. from Canada
so order yours now even if you are not sure you are going this
year as they have a backlog of applicants that is growing as
summer comes.
• Canada now requires all non-residents of Canada to carry a
Sportsman Card in addition to the fishing license. You can
only order by phone at this time: 800-667-1940 and it is
strongly recommended you order before going to Canada.
Cost is just under $10 and it is good for three years.
• Laminating your favorite muskie lake charts so they don’t disintegrate in the rain. (They do however sink faster when they
blow out of the boat going 60mph!)
• Checking out the Muskie Inc. website (www.muskieinc.org) to
find out more about the hottest lakes, best lures, optimum
seasons, preferred depths, methods and times to fish specific
lakes… You can also find out who has been successful and
attempt to track them down for additional guidance.
• Guys were sharing their knowledge on “sleeper lakes”.
• One our newest member, Mike Farmer rattled off about ten
lakes that he has been successful on and offered to mark
charts. Mike was already fishing Southern Illinois lakes in
March of this year and has been doing quite well.
We are pleased to report that the chapter is in sound financial
shape due to membership participation in our fund raising events.
Interesting to note that the Indoor Fishing Flea Market held at
Rolling Meadows High School was a very successful event for
those selling, buying and for the chapter as a whole. Thank you to
all who participated. A shout out also goes to John “Sarge” Bilka
for accepting the post of chapter Regional Vice President. We are
looking for a new Secretary and someone to head the 2010 Raffle
sales position. New board members are always appreciated.
Chauncey Niziol will be discussing muskie fishing on Illinois
Lakes at the May 5th, 2009 meeting. Chauncey is the host of
Chauncey’s Great Outdoors on ESPN Radio Chicago AM-1000.
On June 2nd, Corey DeBoome will share the success of Project
GreenGene. Corey’s presentation is usually very insightful as to
the seasonal behavior of muskies and has helped many understand our quarry better.
03
Chicagoland Muskie Hunters
CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS (Continued from page 25)
Want to be part of something special? Chicagoland Muskie
Hunters started as the Muskie Hunters in 1978 and was lead by
Emmett Brown, who was a teenager at the time. Emmitt is the
Director of Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward,
Wisconsin. The club became the 3rd chapter of Muskies Inc. in
1975. The chapter’s main goal then as well as now is the preservation and establishment of the Muskellunge in Illinois. The Illinois
Department of Conservation opposed the chapter initially claiming
that Muskellunge would not spawn nor could it survive in Illinois
wasters. Subsequent to negotiations with the State and various
fund-raisers, the stocking program was finally initiated. This chapter currently has more than 200 members from several states and
Canada. Welcome to some of our newest members: John Ewert,
David Nelson, Patty and Michael Egan, Bill Hojnacki, John
Galluzzi, John W. Risius Jr. and Bob Sheehan.
Chicagoland Muskie Hunter meetings are the first Tuesday
of the month at the Park Ridge VFW located at 10 W. Higgins
Road, Park Ridge, Illinois at 7:30pm with free pizza being served
about 8:00pm.
There will be two meetings during the summer months which
will be “on the water” and always enjoyable by combining building
friendships with fishing. We also have a Canadian trip in the planning as in recent years. It does not get better than that. Keep the
calls coming with questions about coming to a meeting or joining
Chicagoland Muskie Hunters. As always, feel free to contact
Dean Rosset at 847-677-0017 or [email protected] or me at
847-434-1400x100 or [email protected]
Take care, Kevin M. Lynch
05
Pomme de Terre
P.O. Box 5 • Hermitage, MO 65668
314-878-7732 – Wayne Humphrey
www.missourimuskies.org
Meets: Various days-Call for schedule
Some months we have so much to report that it is hard to cut
it down to a manageable size and other months there is so little you
wonder what to report. April is a slow month for muskie fishing in
Missouri. The fish spawned during the first of the month and are
hard to catch for a period after that. We will however be giving it
our best shot on the first weekend in May when we have our annual Muskie Mayhem event where new members are paired up with
existing member for a day’s fishing. A different format this year will
allow time for a shore lunch and a chance to exchange information
on what may or may not be working. This is always a well attended event and the first time many of the anglers have had a chance
to get out in the year.
We are revising the format for the annual Fall Tournament
to include muskie only. There will be no bass division. If you have
not received a flier for the tournament, please check our website:
www.missourimuskies.org or give me a call.
Wayne Humphrey,
314-878-7732,[email protected]
06
First Wisconsin
P.O. Box 122, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
715-864-2269
1-888-726-6733
firstwi.muskiesinc.org
Meetings 1st Monday, 5:30 PM, Rod and Gun Club, Lake Wissota.
Calendar of Events:
June 1, 2009 – General Meeting – Rod and Gun Club on Lake
Wissota
June 5, 6, 2009-Skeeter Boat Center-Share Ride event. Rod &
Gun Club
June 13, 2009 – Top Water Challenge on Lake Holcombe.
June 19, 20, 21, 2009 Larry Kleeba, Wis Chapter Challenge, Eagle
Chain, Vilas County
July 8-12, 2009 – Alliance boat raffle at the Northern Wisconsin
State Fair.
August 1, 2009 – Brat Stand at Wissota Meat Market.
August 22 thru 29, 2009. Gil Hamm Chapter Challenge, Leech
Lake, MN
September 18-20, 2009 -Tournament, multiple waters in Chippewa
and Rusk Counties
October 17, 2009 – Fall Meltdown on Lake Holcombe.
The First Wisconsin Chapter now has a volunteer for Youth
Director - Tom Smetana from Rice Lake. Our chapter web site will
be receiving an overhaul. Our chapter’s news letter which is “The
Follow Up” will be condensed a bit by combining the May / June
issue and the July / August issue. Also we will delete the November
issue.
The big Fall Annual Tournament that our chapter sponsors will
be September 18-20, 2009. By mistake it was put in the Muskies,
Inc. calendar as September 11-13, 2009. The 11-13 dates are
wrong, so please disregard that. Our chapter members should pay
attention to the share ride thing on June 5th and 6th at the Rod &
Gun Club on Lake Wissota. The Skeeter Boat Center wants to take
people out in there boats for a ride as kind of an introduction to
there business as they are fairly new. In return our chapter of
Muskies Inc will receive some funding for each ride they give. So
each and every member should participate for a brief boat ride as
it will assist our chapter.
General Meetings are the first Monday of each month except
September and January. October through April they are held at the
Fill Inn Station at 104 W. Columbia Street in Chippewa Falls, WI.
May through August meetings are held on Lake Wissota at the Rod
and Gun Club. The summer meetings start with lunch, then a short
meeting, then fishing until dark or whenever.
Wednesday Night League-2009. This starts May 27th and runs
for 15 weeks. Mid summer break is July 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th.
This is a very neat weekly event. Rules are quite simple; you have
to fish with somebody different each week. Points are recorded for
released muskies and points for netting a partner’s muskie. You do
not have to fish every week. Fishing starts at 5 PM or whenever
those two members arrange to get there. Contact Jason Smith to
sign up.
Thanks, Da Bunchman
08
Capital City
P.O. Box 8862, Madison, WI 53708
608-669-5046 – Gerard Hellenbrand
www.capitalcitymuskiesinc.org
Meets second Monday at the Coliseum Bar, 232 E. Olin Ave, Madison, WI
June is upon is. One month of the new muskie season is
behind us, and club members are already putting impressive numbers of muskies in the net. As summer begins, club activities slow
down to allow more time for being on the water. Before reviewing
upcoming events, however, we want to report that our annual
spring muskie seminar on April 16th was a huge success. Jim
Saric, the featured speaker for the evening, did an outstanding job.
Tons of fishing equipment, including rods and reels, many, many
lures, tackle boxes, including a beauty made by club member John
Eversoll, and other muskie fishing equipment were raffled off.
Thanks to all who helped make this event the success that it was.
Also noteworthy about the seminar was the presence of Bill
Wood, a founder of the Capital City Chapter. As many of you know,
Bill had heart surgery late last summer and has had somewhat of
a hard time since then. Bill, it was really great to see you. We
09
West Virginia
1270 Federal Road • Little Hocking, OH 45742
740-667-3571
http://westvirginiamuskiesinc.org
Meets: No definite schedule-call
Many thanks to Chris Shuck, one of the most experienced and
successful Salt Fork Lake (OH) anglers who was the featured
speaker at our 2009 Banquet. He lives 25 minutes from the lake
and fishes there about 75 times each year. He started muskie fishing in 1976 and over the years has caught hundreds at Salt Fork
with several over four feet. Chris believes that Salt Fork muskie
movements are based upon water temperatures and baitfish,
mostly shad, but sometimes crappie.
Salt Fork Lake is stocked annually by Ohio DNR with about
3,000 muskies. Chris recommends casting during the early Spring
after ice out until mid-May. During this time most muskies are
caught in the shallow fingers of the lake throughout the entire system. The past decade has seen increasing weed growth in Salt
www.muskiesinc.org
Fork. These weedbeds hold fish, especially early in the year.
Chris believes there is not a bad place on the lake during early season so long as it is shallow.
Good numbers of 50” class fish are caught at Salt Fork each
year. They are heavy for their length with most 40” fish weighing
20 to 22 pounds.
When trolling, Chris often uses 5” crankbaits such as Tuff
Shads and Cranes in shad-like colors about 35 feet back at speeds
of 3.5 to 4.2 mph. Morning Glory and Kimbolten boat ramps are
good places to access the lake. We should begin trolling immediately after launching the boat. By the time we have our June
Outing, Chris suggests trolling the dam and cabin areas.
Fortunately for Norman Boley, he didn’t wait until June to apply
some of this information. Two weeks after Chris Shucks’ presentation, Norman won our Spring Mail-In casting the uplake shallows
of Salt Fork. He triggered a giant 49”, his personal best, on a
Figure 8 using a small Jones Crankbait. A couple of Muskie
Maniacs from the Akron Canton Chapter (19) witnessed the catch.
At one point during the battle they told Norman to turn off his
trolling motor not realizing that the big fish was towing Norman’s little johnboat. Take a look at this month’s Lunge Log for a photo!
One other fish was registered in the Spring Mail-In
Tournament, a 31” by Debbie Bever. Her fish was taken from North
Bend Lake, fast becoming one of her favorite bodies of water.
Thanks to all who registered to fish, 35 members signed up to
make this a very successful outing.
John Kaltenecker, Secretary
12
Headwaters
P.O. Box 652 • Eagle River, WI 54521
715-477-2913 – Paul Hansen
www.headwatersmuskies.com
Meets 1st Wednesday 7:00 PM
The Headwaters Chapter 12 had a busy and active March and
April schedule. On March 28th, 2009 committee chairmen Joe and
Micki Koschnik and Bill and Sandi Jacobs ran a very successful 31
annual awards banquet. During these tough economic times we
had a great turn out with 178 attendees. A lot of hard work was
done by the banquet committee and all the helpers. We had a
great time with great door prizes, silent and live auctions.
Congratulations went out to all the contestant winners. Additional
information and photos can be found on our website www.headwatersmuskies.com
On Wednesday April1st, 2009 Headwaters Chapter 12 of
Muskies Inc. hosted the Fish Biologist seminar at the Eagle River
Inn. The event was well attended by 50 plus people made up of
area guides and local fishermen as well as the executive board and
members of Chapter 12.
Mike Vogelsang Fisheries Supervisor introduced his staff that
gave a report on what was happening in there County for the coming year. For the Three Lakes Chain, DNR Biologist John
Kubinsiak recommends a change in bag and size limit which is 3
walleye per day with one over 14 inches. It will be a question on
the 2010 annual April DNR public meeting. Steve Gilbert who presides in Vilas County and over the Eagle River Chain stated it will
remain the same and keep the 14-18 inch slot size. He supports
the 50 inch minimum size limit for Muskies on Long, Big Sand and
Kentuck Lakes. Steve Newman who presides at the Escanaba
Lake research project stated that in its 5th year of monitoring more
walleyes in the fry nets in the 18 to 22 inch size but not many over
28 inch the legal size to be able to keep.
A light buffet was offered at break time and in the 2nd half a
question and answer period fill out the evening. The Wisconsin
members of the DNR who volunteered there time for this annual
event are:
wish you well and we expect to see you at many more events. (Bill
is organizing the 26th consecutive annual outing to Lake Winter on
June 27th. See details below.)
The June monthly meeting is “on-the-water.” No guest speakers are scheduled. Instead, the club has an outing on Lake
Waubesa in Madison. Members may fish or choose not to fish, but
everyone enjoys a cookout along the shoreline. Many members
bring other family members. It is a time to relax and renew old
acquaintances. No meeting is scheduled for July, a time when
many members are on family vacations or taking fishing trips to
special places. The August meeting is also on-the-water, with
another cookout and planned family fun.
The 5th Annual “Iowa Hawg Hunt” outing on April 18 at the
Pleasant Creek State Recreation Area near Cedar Rapids and the
Madison Chain Outing on May 16 on lakes Waubesa and Monona
are over. Both outings, as always, were fun-filled events. Over 25
persons attended the Iowa outing. Three muskies at or above 40”
were caught and released. Over 30 bass were caught and over 50
muskies were spotted. Matt Hill took home the trophy and certificate for largest fish caught for the outing. Congratulations, Matt.
Good food and treats were provided by Peg and Greg Goltz, Kelly
and Lisa Halverson, and Jeanne Crandall.
In the meantime, the details of special club-sponsored fishing
trips are being finalized as their scheduled dates approach. The
26th consecutive annual Lake Winter Outing on June 27th is just
around the corner. This event includes a friendly contest for the
longest muskie, the second longest muskie, and the most total
inches. As suggested by the name of this event, it is held on Lake
Winter in northern Wisconsin. Bill Wood is organizing this event
(608-849-7659).
August 22 through August 29 is the week of the 2009 Gil
Hamm Chapter Challunge on Leech Lake in Minnesota. The host
for this event is the 2008 winner, the Fargo-Moorhead Chapter.
The host resort will be the Grand Vu Lodge located on Pine Point
on Leech Lake in Walker, Minnesota. More information is available
at www.capitalcitymuskiesinc.org.
The 2009 Eagle Lake Outing, another big event, is scheduled
for the week of August 30th through September 5th, 2009. This outing is held at Andy Myers Lodge on Eagle Lake in Canada. Steve
Herbeck, the owner, is again offering our club a great deal. This is
“big fish” water, and members frequently catch their personal best
muskies on this trip. You do not need to be a Capital City Chapter
member to go on this trip. Contact Cory Painter at 608-213-7747
or by email at [email protected].
Until next time, have fun on the water, and catch a big one!
Lee Bartolini, VP
Mike Vogelsang – Fisheries Supervisor
John Kubisiak – Oneida County Fisheries Biologist
Steve Gilbert – Vials County Fisheries Biologist
Dave Seibel – Lincoln County Fisheries Biologist
Steve Newman-Escanba Lakes Research Center Biologist
Tim Price – Conservation Warden Vilas County
Lawrence Eslinger – Graduate Student UWGB
During our meeting Art Anderson was presented with the
2008 Bob James Award by Roger Sabota. This award was presented to Art who has displayed dedication to musky fishing, honesty, integrity, loyalty and youth involvement since
1968.Congtradulations Art.
On April 3rd 2009 our newly founded scholarship committee
consisting of John Schmidt, Paul Hanson, and Louis Dreger
attended the University of Wisconsin College of Natural Resources
Scholarship Awards Program. Headwaters Chapter 12 had the
honor of presenting the Stephen J. Bassler Memorial Scholarship
to Brad Shucha of Arbor Vitae, WI. Brad is in the Fisheries program. Mr. Bassler was a lifelong resident of Chicago ’s North
Shore.
Stephen was a contributing and active member of the
Headwaters Muskies Inc. Chapter almost from its inception. He
was a staunch supporter of the protection, proliferation and the
“Catch and Release” program of the “Muskies” as well as all fish
species. Stephen was a member of the century club catching and
releasing over 100 muskies. His friendly manner and dedication
to the sport will be long remembered.
Respectively Yours, Glenn Matula, Secretary
13
Hayward Lakes
P.O. Box 609
Hayward, WI 54843
715-634-4543
Our 32nd Annual Fall Tournament is on track with our usual
array of prizes and activities. It will be the first week end of October,
as usual the 2nd, 3rd and 4th this year. Bryan at Hayward Power
Sports worked hard to get us our boat, motors and trailer in a year
when most companies are cutting back. The major prize will again
be a Lund 1725 Pro Guide with a Mercury 50 on a Shorelander
Trailer awarded by drawing from all entered in the Tournament.
There will again be a 25 HP Mercury for the first place fisherman
and a 15HP Mercury for second place. There will again be prizes
and trophies for the top ten finishers, a Ron Lax replica for the
biggest fish and a plaque for everyone who enters a fish.
Remember Hayward Power Sports if you’re looking for watercraft,
an ATV or snowmobile. By supporting them you’ll be supporting us.
The speaker at our June meeting will be local guide Dave
Dorazio. Dave grew up on the Chippewa Flowage and has guided
all his life. Dave’s presentation will be, “Fishing Flowages For
Muskies”. Our meeting will be at the “Dick-Sy Road House” on
Tuesday June 2nd at 7:30 pm. The restaurant is eleven miles east
of Hayward on highway 77east.
To register fish for our members contest please try to do it
electronically through the Muskies Inc. website. If you need help
call Mike at 715-634-4543. We will however still accept the paper
forms.
Good Fishing, Mike Persson
16
Three Rivers
119 Bus Lane, Renfrew, PA 15136
724-789-7866 – James P. Buss
http://threerivers.muskiesinc.org
Meets 2nd Monday 7:30 PM, Northside Sportsmans Club, Wexford, PA.
Hello Three Rivers members, it’s great to finally be in the
month of June, and we hope you are all well and catching a lot of
muskies. If you were unable to attend last month’s member meeting, we had a round table discussion on Pymatuning in advance of
our upcoming Andy Luchovick Memorial Tournament, which was
held on May 16th. The round table included local lure maker Dale
Wiley, Adam Andresky, Kevin Whipkey, and Mike Yerman. They
discussed tactics and techniques, as well as most productive lures
for the early spring bite on Pymatuning. Look for tournament
results in the July issue of this column.
At this month’s member meeting on Monday evening June 8th,
we will have a special guest with us. Local lure maker Rich
Newman will be here discussing lure making, and on which waters
his plugs are most effective. In addition to this seminar, we plan to
have a short round table discussion on Woodcock and Tamarack
lakes.
Just to touch on a few other subjects, we have NEW t-shirts,
hooded sweatshirts, and the new long sleeve t-shirts available
now. The new design is pretty awesome and we have received
overwhelming response for them. We want to thank Merchandise
Director Fred Kahrer for spearheading this endeavor, and we hope
to have more merchandise coming out in the near future. Please
see Fred at our monthly meetings to purchase, or special order
merchandise. Congratulations are in order to Stanley Behon, Stan
won the “Musky Madness” table raffle at our April meeting. The
table was worth over $1000 in merchandise and we are already
beginning to restock for the next winner. Don’t forget, the only way
you can get a chance at these great prizes is to attend our monthly meetings, the second Monday evening of every month, at
Northside Sportsman’s Club in Warrendale. For more information
go to: www.threeriversmuskiesinc.org or contact President, Dave
Huemmrich at [email protected]
Dave Huemmrich, President
20
Between the Lakes
P.O. Box 61 • Sheboygan, WI 53085-0061
920-564-3226 – Ted Scharl, Pres.
[email protected]
Meets 3rd Thursday 7:00 PM, The Millersville House, SE Corner of Hwys. JJ & 32,
Howards Grove, WI.
Between The Lakes Chapter of Muskies Inc along with help
from John Nelson WDNR recently stocked 300 Great Lakes Strain
fingerlings into Elkhart Lake as part of the Green Bay brood stock
program. The fish were from Ontario Canada, and all PIT tagged
so they will be able to separate them from the current strain that
resides in the lake. Good luck to everyone for the upcoming fishing season.
Matthew Abraham, [email protected]
22
New Jersey
http://www.mi22.com/
The March 31st chapter meeting took place at Lake Arrowhead
Club House in Denville, New Jersey.
Musky School is our major fund raiser for the year. As of April
11th fourteen boats to guide for the day are booked with a goal of
twenty. Musky School will take place May 17th on Greenwood
Lake. Lunch will be served from Chuck’s party barge somewhere
24
Brainerd Lakes
18031 Heritage Road • Brainerd, MN 56401
218-838-5509 – Donny Hines
www.brainerdmuskies.com
Meets 2nd Tuesday 7:00 PM, Water Fall Inn, Hwy 371 north of Brainerd by
Brainerd International Raceway.
Due to a winter storm, our March meeting was delayed until
St. Patrick’s day. This was a great excuse for our chapter members to sample the GREEN BEER! During our meeting, we had a
guest speaker and chapter member Harlan Fierstine from the
Walker Area MN DNR present information about this summer’s
muskie genetics study on Leech Lake. Our members were
informed that we can contribute to their study by providing them the
following information when we catch a Leech Lake muskie this
summer: the date and time of the catch; approximate location on
the lake; and a scale sample. For more information about this,
please contact the Walker Area MN DNR office at (218) 547-1683.
Our meeting continued with our annual lure swap. Our members
brought their selected lures for sale and for trade. It’s amazing to
see how one member’s mediocre lure is another member’s treasured lure favorite! It was a good turn out of members, considering
the meeting was a week later. The meeting concluded with raffles.
On March 22, we headed out for a panfish/perch outing on
Jones’ Bay on Pelican Lake. We had 14 chapter members attend
this event. Our younger members, Jay Young and Adam Schulke,
managed to out fish our seasoned veterans catching an array of
sunfish and bass. President Donny Hines and Secretary Jody
Young lead the charge coordinating a great little potluck lunch on
the ice! The event concluded later that afternoon.
Upcoming events include our membership drive on May 12th
and the Big Pike Rally located on Upper Red Lake on May 16th.
Please visit our website at www.brainerdmuskies.com
Jeff Young
www.muskiesinc.org
26
Central Wisconsin
P.O. Box 263 • Medford, WI 54451
715-748-4874 – Jim Jacobs
www.centralwis.co.nr
Meets 2nd Thursday of the month at Happy Joe’s on Hwy. 13 in Medford, WI
- 7:00 PM.
There has been a major winter fish kill on the Big Eau Pleine
which was estimated to be 60-80% by the DNR. This along with the
fish kills that was not initially recognized by the DNR last spring
and another last fall has seriously hurt the walleye and muskie Big
Eau Pleine fishery. Clearly the Big Eau Pleine can grow Big
Muskies since three 49 to 51 inch muskies were found dead last
spring and a number in the mid to upper 40s were found dead this
spring. This casts doubt on the survival of the Muskie fingerlings
we stocked in a cooperative effort with the Consolidated Musky
Club a few years ago. Future stocking should not be considered
until the problem is fixed.
The following outings are planned:
Spirit Lake - Sat. June 6th; Willow Flowage (if it has adequate water
level) - Sat. July
11th; and Holcombe for golfing and muskie fishing Friday Aug. 14.
Further details will follow and check the website.
Don’t forget about our joint outing on the WI River on Saturday
May 9th. We would really like to see more involvement with this
so come down and bring a friend. Cost is $8.00 which includes
drawings trophy for big fish, and pizza/refreshments. Fish all day
and meet at Anchor Bay bar and grill on Biron Flowage at 6 PM.
See you there!!!
Gerald Bucholtz
28
Shawnee Muskie Hunters
61 W. Jennings • Wood River, IL 62095
618-610-5003 – Manuel Santa Cruz
[email protected]
www.shawneemuskiehunters.org
Check out our website: shawneemuskiehunters.org for lots of
good information. Thanks to Jerry and Cheryl Ford for taking over
our website and adding new items such as: Hot News, members
looking for fishing partners, and much much more!
When you read this, it will be the June issue. Our waters in
Southern Illinois will be hitting the 80 degree mark by mid month.
Like all southern lakes, fishing for muskie in the hot summer
months puts a lot of stress on the muskie. I know that muskies can
and will be caught in the hot months mostly by accident by walleye
and bass anglers. I have lost a lot of bass and walleye lures in
muskies with bite offs in the summer months. I have also caught a
lot on the same small bass plugs. There are things we can do to
keep the stress level to a minim. 1) Do not handle the fish if at all
possible. If you can, use long needle nose pliers to unhook the fish
at boat side. 2) If you net the fish, unhook the fish in the net/water
and let him/her settle down. 3) Use a measuring stick through the
net if you want to get a measurement other wise try to avoid stressing the fish any more. Do not force a measurement if it will not
allow you to measure it. 4) I know this last statement might disappoint a lot of you but do not take the fish out of the net/water for a
picture. I do not allow my clients that catch a muskie in the summer to take a picture of the fish out of the net/water. If they want a
picture it will be as the fish swims out of the net or in the net before
releasing. It is our responsibility to protect these wonderful fish to
grow to the 50+ inch size. You cannot get a 50 if that 35 is dead
because of a picture. I have not had a client protest the picture taking rule in my boat even if it was their first muskie after explaining
the reason for the rule.
on the lake. Please see chapter website for additional information.
Chapter 22 will be making a donation to the Hackettstown
Hatchery towards the purchase of fathead minnows to feed “our
children”. We also have a goal to set the protection netting over
the rearing ponds at the hatchery by mid-summer.
Andy gave a presentation on Musky Hunting. He stressed
time on the water, basic approaches, conditions, location, and
structure, all need to be blended with individual skill levels and confidence in order to be successful. Focus on the “art of angling”.
Have you prepared for the body of water you are going to hit? How
much time do you have to work the water and what is your plan of
attack? Do you have back up plans to cover fishing pressure or
other unexpected situations? Are you willing to think outside the
box and be willing to step outside your comfort zone? We all need
to visit the basics gentlemen, no mater how good we think we are.
Congratulations to Pat Marshall for his August 08 Lunker of
the month and to Steve Scornavacca for his December 08 Lunker
of the month. Well done gentlemen!
New Jersey Fish and Wildlife open house was held at the
Pequest Hatchery on April 4th and 5th. Thousands attended the
open house. We had good traffic at out chapter booth and over
one hundred people attend our two seminars on musky hunting
which covered equipment, tactics and proper release practices.
Remember that our spring tournament is May 30 th on
Greenwood Lake.
Good hunting! Cal Huntzinger
Our officers of chapter 28 have come up with an exciting
schedule of events for 2009. I want all of you to come out and meet
other members that have the same passion as you. You may even
learn some tricks on catching the mighty muskie.
Upcoming 2009 Events:
June 6th Prairie Lake Outing. Jim Beaty has reserved two cabins; contact him for more information.
June 30th Kids Fishing Day on Lake Murphysboro
July 16th Picnic below the dam at Lake Shelbyville
August 23rd to 30th Gil Hamm Chapter Challenge, Leach Lake
Remember I’m in the other Lund, Walt Krause
Webster Lake
49
P.O. Box 670
No. Webster, IN 46555
574-834-1669
Hello members,
Well the year is off to a good start, I hope that May was good
to you. I do want to take this time and thank everyone again, for
helping out with all the outings this year. From the sport shows, to
the ice-out, to guide for a day - we could not have done it with out
you. Thanks again.
The first cash tournament will be on Tippecanoe Lake on
June 6th from 6am to 3pm. For more information check out our
club website at: www.websterlakemuskyclub.net or you can call
me or call Chae Dolsen at: 260-385-0623.
The 2009 Iron Man event will be from 5pm on June 19th to
4 pm on June 20th. You can fish any lake you desire during that
period. Hope to see everyone there. Good luck and be safe.
William Bennett
219-201-6123 or 574-457-3879
[email protected]
Penn Jersey
50
Sebastian Musumeci, President
510 Bryton Ave., Pottstown, PA 19465
484-459-5940 • Website: www.mi50.com
Meets at 7pm on 1st Wed. at Casey’s Bar on Corner of
Cherry and California Rds, Quakerstown, PA.
The fishing season is upon us and most of the waters in the
Chapter 50 area are viable for muskies right about now. Fish are
in prespawn, spawn and some are even in post spawn mode so
there are some catchable fish out there. MI50 has registered 24
legal fish so far this year. Master class angler Ben Farrell leads
the charge with 6 releases and seems to get a fish every time he
goes out! One of our newest members, Ron Rutan, has a few
releases including a very nice 45.5 X 23” beauty. He has not only
figured out how to catch the fish but he’s catching them in a place
that no one in our chapter has ever caught one! Way to go, Ron!
Our “holdover” stocking of Marsh Creek lake was a success
and about 550 six to ten inch pures were released into the lake with
the aid of float stocking. The lake will be a premier lake in this
area for us and we are excited about its potential. MI50 also participated in a lake clean-up at Marsh and several members were
there to help the local BASS clubs remove various types of debris
from the banks and shorelines. One such angler was Cory
D’Antonio who helped clean the lake and was repayed by the
musky Gods for his good deed with his first legal sized musky that
very day! Cory was very excited and so are the rest of us for him.
Hopefully this is the first of many for Cory. Congrats go out to him.
To further test its potential MI50 will be holding a small head to
head tournament for Chapter 50 members on Marsh Creek lake.
It will be on May 3, 2009. This tourney should prove to be fun for
all and there should be some decent fish caught as well.
Another announcement is in order for the first of 2 musky
schools hosted by Chapter 50. It will be May 23, 2009 at Marsh
Creek Lake in Chester County. The school will consist of both fishing the lake with experienced club members and seminar time to
discuss tactics, proper release methods and lure demonstrations.
Lunch will be provided. For complete details, please contact our
president or email us at www.mi50.com.
Our Youth Day is fast approaching. To reiterate, it will be held
on June 14, 2009 at Nockamixon State Park, and is being sponsored by MI50, at no cost to the entrants. Andy Desko from the
Smart Angling Program, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania
Fishing and Boating Commission will be on hand to give a presentation to the kids about proper fishing techniques and fishing etiquette. We will also have the Water Conservation Officer on hand
to give a brief talk about safety, the laws and law enforcement with
the kids. This should prove to be a great opportunity for the children to obtain some education as well as a chance to enjoy a fun
day of fishing.
That’s it for now.... I gotta get out there before the next cold
front hits....see you later! Tight lines and sharp hooks from MI50.
David Christinzio
Southwest Musky Maniacs
59
P.O. Box 448, Rowe, New Mexico 87562
(505) 757-2213
www.swmuskymaniacs.com
(website is under construction)
Hey Everyone,
Our tiger musky fishing has started to pick up! On recent trips
to Quemado lake, some of our members have had superb days on
the water. Bluewater lake will also start to fish well in a few weeks
from now. One of our new members, Steve Bowen, had suffered
a major heart attack and members of chapter #59 were quick to
respond. Steve tells us that he also got a phone call from Dan
Narsete, which really picked up his spirit. Thank you Dan!!! Steve
is eagerly awaiting to tie into his first-ever tiger musky this year.
During the month of April, the chapter president conducted a
presentation for the local chapter of Trout Unlimited, “New Mexico
Trout”. There were 3 areas that we’re addressed in the presentation: Who/what is Muskies Inc., chapter #59 of MI and tiger
muskies. The information was very well received by the 100+
Trout Unlimited members. Some of them have also joined chapter #59 as members of Muskies Inc. now! As it was so clearly
shown, other game fish like trout are making a huge comeback in
the lakes where tiger muskies have been stocked.
We are also happy to report that our NM Game and Fish dept.
are now successfully raising tiger muskies at the hatchery near the
town of Santa Rosa. Our biologists report that they will receive
tiger musky eggs from Pennsylvania this year and will stock tigers
that will be approximately 10-14 inches in length. At this time, we
are in the infant stages of organizing a petition to stock tiger
muskies into Morphy Lake. This lake is infested with goldfish.
Anglers who love to chase trout in Morphy Lake often lament at
catching nothing but goldfish.
By the time you read this message, we will have had our 1st
major fundraising campaign. The well-known Barry Reynolds
(www.barryreynoldsflyfishing.com) is making is way down to our
neck of the woods to conduct an open-house presentation at
Sandia Prep High School on fly fishing for tiger muskies. The following day, Barry will conduct an on-the-water clinic at Bluewater Lake.
There’s lot of things happening down here in the “land of
enchantment”. Thanks goes out to all of you for your kind and
encouraging e-mails!
Tight lines, Michael Bishop, President
Focus on Chapter 39
15th ANNUAL CHALLUNGE
ON THE CHAIN RE-CAP
184 anglers in 92 boats squared off on Saturday April 24th on the
Fox Chain O’Lakes for the 15th Annual “Challunge on the Chain”
Catch & Release Musky Tournament; hosted by the Fox River Valley
Chapter of Muskies, Inc. Anglers began launching their boats, getting registered and obtaining their tournament bags with rules and
release forms at 5:00 AM at the “big top tent”, located at the Thirsty
Turtle on the south end of Channel Lake. Weather forecasts at game
time called for sunny skies, winds S-SW at 15-25MPH with possible
storms approaching later in the afternoon. Said FRV President Rich
Gallagher, “we hope that the great weather forecast will add additional “walk-in” teams to our current registered field of 70 boats. We’d
like to see an additional 10-15 “walk-ins” register this morning.
Hopefully we’ll get this one in before the weather comes in and shuts
the fishing down on us”.
Little did Gallagher know, that when the tournament field began
its departure in numerical procession down the piers, that the final
tally of tournament participants would include 92 teams, a record
number of walk-in’s, which has not been seen in its 15 years running.
“It’s great to see this kind of attendance at this year’s tournament” said
Gallagher. “It’s a fantastic one-day event that many anglers look forward to participating in each year. We have a lot of repeat teams who
fish this event year after year. It’s so much fun that once you fish it,
it’s a guarantee that you’ll be back the following year” he said.
Participation continues to increase every year for this Spring event, as
anglers from all over the Chicago metro area and southern Wisconsin
join forces to fish for the elusive musky. The tournament rules meeting was conducted at 6:45AM by FRV VP, Dan Koniewicz; who went
over many of the rules and waterway regulations with all tournament
teams. Boats departed in numerical order at 7:00 AM sharp.
Wind conditions worsened throughout the morning with winds
building significantly until the 1st thunderstorm arrived at 11:00
AM. The 1st front contained 30 MPH wind gusts, cloud to ground
lightening, thunder and hail. 2 tournament anglers fishing on
Dunn’s lake were nearly hit by lightening shortly after their musky
rods began humming like light sabers from Star Wars. Lightening
struck a tree on shore not far from where their boat was positioned!
The 1st storm front lasted nearly an hour
driving some tournament anglers to seek
comfort & shelter on land. Shortly after
12:30PM, air temperatures dropped from
72 degrees to 50 degrees, as winds switched
from the SW to NE.
Anglers scrambled to exchange jeans
for shorts, fleece tops were put over t-shirts
and windbreakers were layered under light
www.muskiesinc.org
rain gear as the main focus turned from catching fish to staying warm
& dry! Many anglers were caught by surprise with the dramatic
weather changes; as this was not predicted by our wonderful weather
forecasters!
Once the 1st storm had passed, there was nearly an hour of flat
calm followed by a light misty rain. 2 additional muskies were
caught during this timeframe. Storm front #2 arrived around 2:00
PM with additional thunder, lightening and sporadic downpours.
95% of the tournament field fished through the inclement weather
with only a handful of teams deciding to “trailer out” before the 4:00
PM deadline.
Tournament teams gathered under the heated big top tent at
4:00PM to dry out and share fish stories over a few cold beers. A buffet of pulled pork and chicken breasts was served to everyone while
M.C. Chauncey Niziol of Chauncey’s Great Outdoors on ESPN
Radio AM 1000; presented trophies and checks to the wining teams.
FRV Merchandise Director Tony Hardin took care of making sure
that raffle prizes were plentiful and varied.
“We start buying merchandise for our annual spring tournament in
January. Our prize selection includes musky lures, musky prints,
nets, rods, reels, tackle boxes, batteries, motor oil, coolers, bait
boxes, lure boards, bump boards and just about anything else you
could think of that relates to the outdoors and fishing” said Hardin.
“I love to see the faces of the teams filing into the tent when they
see everything we have on hand for the prize raffles, they’re like kids
on Christmas morning” he said. The prizes are a big draw along
with the payouts for 1st-12th place, but most of all anglers participate for the love of the sport and the camaraderie the musky community embraces.
This year the FRV Chapter decided to have “video boats” on several lakes to capture angling action as it took place. Tournament
teams had phone numbers and marine radio channels to contact the
video boats, should they be lucky enough to hook a fish. “FRV video
boats capture the fun and excitement of the whole catch & release
process” said FRV videographer Mark Lamont. “Todd Minor and I
spent the day on Petite Lake looking to capture tournament teams
catching some fish. We did manage to get a 38 incher caught by
Gordy Linde and his partner Rick Miscinski on film. In between the
action we fished for Bass and Musky to pass the time. I ended up with
a 40 inch musky in the boat, but unfortunately I was ineligible to fish
the tournament” Lamont said. Too bad for Mark, as that 40 incher
would have put him in 3rd place, just one inch shy of the big fish pool
as well.
Congrats to the following teams who caught 7 fish total amongst
184 anglers (see table below). That’s less than 5% of the field catching fish, which is a really low number. A good rule of thumb for a
musky tournament is to have at least 10% of the field catching &
releasing fish. “To say that the bite was tough is an understatement”
said Challunge angler Dave VanDoorn. “The fish are right in the
middle of their spawning process which really makes the fishing diffi-
CHALLUNGE ON THE CHAIN (Continued from page 31)
cult” he said. VanDoorn and partner Andrew Golden from
MuskyFirst.com decided to spend the day trolling on Pistakee Lake.
“With the bite being so slow due to the spawn, A.J. and I decided to
fish less pressured water. We also wanted to cover lots of water and
trolling was the way for us to do this” stated VanDoorn. VanDoorn
and Golden were not alone with their trolling strategy as many teams
opted for this method; cover water in search of active fish. The 4th
place team of Scott Urquhart and Nick Cammarata scored their 4th
place, 36.75” musky trolling Lake Catherine on a swim whizz. As the
morning gave way to the early afternoon casters turned to trolling
hoping to find that one active fish that would put them in the money.
The 1st place team of Russ & Chris Schaller doubled up with a
36” and a 32” fish. This Father and Son team grew up fishing together for muskies on the Fox Chain, and are perennial Challunge winners. In addition to winning several Challunge events they are also
“trail team” winners, comprising the most total points for fishing both
the Spring & Fall events. “Chris began fishing for muskies with me
when he was about 4 years old” the elder Schaller said. “He was a natural at it and he really enjoyed it. We’ve spent a lot of time fishing
together over the years (Chris is now in his 20’s) and it’s really made
us close. I’m really proud of Chris” said Russ. Their strategy was to
target active fish by casting the shallows with glide baits and small
bucktails. “We had our two fish in the boat before the 11 AM storm
rolled in and had one other one in the low 30’s that took a swing at
Chris’ bait and missed it” Schaller said. “I’m glad we got these fish
early cause I just knew that the storms were going to really shut the
fishing down once they blew through” said Russ.
Schaller was right, as most of the fish that were boated came
before the severe weather. Only one fish was caught mid-afternoon
about an hour before the tournament ended.
First Place Winners Russ & Chris Schaller
The second place team of Vince & Tom Stillo also won Big Fish
honors netting him an additional $800.00! “I want to thank my wife
and 3 daughters for letting me fish this tournament today. This is my
1st time fishing the Chain, it’s my first musky caught on the Chain
and my 1st musky over 40 inches” stated a jubilant Vince. Their fish
was caught on a bucktail casting on the north end on Lake Catherine.
Third Place Winners Gordy Linde and Rick Miscinski
As the last of the prizes were raffled off and the final glass of beer
consumed; anglers filed out of the tent tired, wet and sore, but satisfied; some with a slew of goodies won during the door prize raffles.
“Can’t wait till the Fall Challunge” yelled one of the participants. “See
you in October. You guys relly put on one helluva tournament” he
smiled. “It’s responses like that; that really make all the hard work
worthwhile” said FRV President Rich Gallagher. “Our tournament
committee works really hard putting this event together. It takes a lot
of people to pull this off, and we couldn’t do it without the help of all
our board and club members. Many of us are operating on 2-3 hours
of sleep and some of us have been here since 3:30 AM; present company included” Gallagher chuckled. “It’s good to see how far catch &
release has come, and that it’s really become the norm rather than the
exception” said Gallagher. I hope it continues!
The Fox River Valley Chapter would like to thank the following
companies for their support and generous contributions to this function for without their support this would not be possible: Angle
Outpost Resort, Musky Tales, Okuma, Frabill, Kloss Distributing,
Lax Taxidermy, Cabela’s, Phantom Lures, Musky Mayhem, Hi-Fin,
Shack Attack Lures, Drifter tackle, Llungen Lures, Red October Baits,
Battery Service Corporation, Musky Innovations, Umlauf Art Studio,
Flambeau Outdoors, Outdoor Notebook, Sherrie Tails, TM Tails and
many others.
The Fox River Valley Chapter meets on the 2nd Wednesday of
every month at Poplar Creek Country Club in Hoffman Estates, IL.
Meetings begin at 7:30PM. Meetings are open to the public, you
don’t have to be an MI member to attend. Come on out for an
evening and see what
we are all about or
visit our website at
www.frvmuskie.com
Rick Miscinski’s
38-inch Petitie Lake
Muskie
Second Place and Big Fish Winners Vince & Tom Stillo
Here is a shot of Chapter 24 member Chad Davis
in a battle with a muskie on the Winnipeg River.
This fish measured 44.5 inches, and provided a
nice action shot.
Chapter 29 member Clayton Will took this cool
shot at Minnesota’s Lake of the Woods. Clayton
said he really liked the way the sun was resting
behind the cloud. Note the loon to the right.
Nice shot Clayton.
Here is another shot that Clayton Will took, this one at 30
mph. In the shot are three generations, left to right,
Brandon Will, Clayton, and then Chris Will, who are all
members of Chapter 29. Looks like you guys were having a
great day on LOTW. Thanks for sending these in Clayton.
Here is another photo of the fish Chad Davis was
battling, taken right before releasing it to fight again.
Nice fish Chad.
Fortunate muskie fishermen get to see this particular
sign in person. Pictured here are long time FargoMoorhead Chapter members Ron Teschner (left)
and Steve Voss at the famous Rowan Lake Lodge.
Here is another nice shot sent in and taken by
Chapter 21 member Dave Ledman. He sure seems
to get out on the water at the best times. I really like
this one Dave, thanks a bunch.
This is a really nice release shot sent in by Central
Wisconsin Chapter member Jason Schillinger.
Here is a group photo of the participants in the 2008 Youth Muskie Hunt that Chapter 39 hosts. The
Illinois Fox River Valley & Wisconsin Between the Lakes Chapters served up the experience of a
lifetime for 26 kids and their parents. This is Muskies, Inc. at its BEST! Check out the article about
this event by Ellen Wells in this issue.
Here is Chapter 39 RVP Dave VanDoorn releasing
a nice Canadian muskie while being supervised by
his partner Sophie. Dave caught this fish on the
opener, and says that he and Sophie both are into
C&R. Nice job, and a good photo.
☞
Proper Muskie
Holding Techniques
for MUSKIE Magazine Photos
including Covers, Article Support,
Photo Contest Entries
& Member Photos
www.muskiesinc.org
MUSKIES, INC.
1509 Stahl Road
Sheboygan, WI 53081
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Fall Advertising Special
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paid ads from
August* thru
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2009 and get
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Please contact:
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OR
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* The ad deadline for the August 2009 issue of MUSKIE is June 25, 2009.

MUSKIE Magazine

Transcription

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