MUSKIE Magazine

Transcription

MUSKIE Magazine

MUSKIE is published monthly and is the Official
Publication of Muskies, Inc. International Office: Ron
Groeschl, International Sec., 14257 Waters Edge
Trail, New Berlin, WI 53151. Ph: 888-710-8286.
© Copyright 2008 by Muskies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Contents
MUSKIE • VOL. 42, NO. 1
Departments
2 President’s Message,
David Cates
3 Magazine Notes, Staff
4 International News
Features
6 Figure 8, Kevin Richards
7 Lunge Log, Jim Bunch
13 From the Muskie Biologists
20 2008 MUSKIE Magazine Themes
21 Photo Contest,
Gordon Campbell
16 Dad’s Rock [ My Secret Spot Series ],
Keith Ogden
19 Sport Show Locator
NEW
23 Sig’s Big Fish,
Thomas Betka, M.D.
with David Cates, M.I. President
27 Member Photos,
Gordon Campbell
29 Chapter News and Views
Join Muskies, Inc. ...
or give a membership
as a gift.
11 Muskie Fishing in the Dead of Winter,
Colby Simms with Ray Simms
Regular Membership: ❑ 1 Year-$35.00 ❑ 2 Years-$65.00 ❑ 3 Years- $95.00
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MAIL TO MUSKIES, INC. 14257 Waters Edge Trail,
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www.muskiesinc.org
January 2008.....MUSKIE 1
International
Officers
President, David Cates
Phone: 574-457-3222
Email: [email protected]
Vice President/Fundraising, Jim Shannon
Phone: 763-434-9729
Vice President/Fisheries, Research & Youth,
Brad Waldera
Phone: 701-642-1952
Vice President/Internal Affairs, Vince Weirick
Phone: 574-834-4445
Vice President/Membership, Dan Narsete
Phone: 720-938-4109
Vice President/Communications [ Open ]
Treasurer, Pete Barber
Phone: 847-726-7267
Members Only Fishing Contest, Jim Bunch
Phone: 715-723-8343 • Fax: 715-723-8354
Web Master, Ron Groeschl
Phone: 262-271-1002
Int. Administrative Secretary, Ron Groeschl
14257 Waters Edge Trail, New Berlin, WI 53151
Phone: 888-710-8286 or 262-271-1002
At Large Directors
Term Expires
Don Jahnke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008
David Cates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008
Brett Knight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008
Rory Potter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008
Karl Scherer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008
Dick McPike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009
Dan Narsete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009
Diana Mindar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009
[ Open ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009
Brad Waldera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009
Fred Brogle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010
Jim Shannon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010
Bob Timme
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010
Vince Weirick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010
2 MUSKIE.....January 2008
The President’s Message
by David Cates
Muskies, Inc. International President • Email: [email protected]
SHOW TIME
Sport Show Season is upon us. Whether you will be attending the Chicago
Muskie Show (January 11-13); the Milwaukee Muskie Expo (February 8-10); the
Ohio Muskie Fishing Show (February 22-24); the Minnesota Muskie Expo (March
7-9); or any one of a myriad of other shows, I am sure that you are looking forward
to the experience. Whether you are looking for the new “hot” bait, enjoy attending seminars, or merely want to renew acquaintances, the shows are the place to be.
I am sure I will find my way to Chicago, Milwaukee and Columbus (Minnesota is
just too big of a hike from my home in northern Indiana). Certainly I will break
my budget, and just as certainly I will enjoy myself immensely. If you happen to
see me at the show, please introduce yourself. I will be more than happy to make
your acquaintance and talk muskies.
WE’VE COME A LONG WAY.
Larry Ramsell, former MI President and Muskie historian extraordinaire
also has what must be a monstrous collection of Muskie related printed material. I
recently acquired from him the 1978 Muskie’s Inc. Annual, which lists the results
of the 1977 Members Only Fishing Contest. Where have we come in 30 years?
Consider the following: in 1977 there were 889 total entries in the MOFC. The
release division champion, Darrell Hoepner, had 39 releases with 303 1/2 points.
Using entries shown in Jim Bunch’s Lunge Log for 2007 (admittedly not yet complete) Mr. Hoepner’s feat would place him third this year among the juniors, fourth
in the women’s division, fourth in the women’s masters, but would not place him
in the top ten of either the men’s or the men’s masters divisions. Please don’t view
this as any attempt to discredit Mr. Hoepner’s efforts or abilities; most members,
including me, still only dream of a year like that. Instead, I see this as the logical
progression of the benefit of MI’s efforts throughout the years in improving and
expanding muskie fisheries. It means more members are now having years as good
as or better than our top angler 30 years ago!
Still curious? Of the 889 total entries in 1977, 125 were kept and 764
released, for a release rate of 85.94% (slightly below 1976’s 86.96% release rate).
The average length of a kept fish was 41.37 inches and weighed 19.73 pounds. The
average length of a released fish was 35.55 inches. Compare those figures to the
average length of fish caught by the release division leaders this year.
Bottom line, the next time someone tells you that MI doesn’t do enough,
tell them to give some consideration to where we were and how far we’ve come.
See you on the water (and at the shows). ❖
EDITOR
Kevin Richards
7618 Sunrise Ridge Road
Henley, MO 65040
Phone: (573) 280-2300
You see a lot of kids at the winter
sports shows. Why is that?
Well, dad might feel guilty about
going to play with grown-up toys by
himself, so he brings the little ones
along. Or maybe it’s to just get
them out of the house while the
blizzards rage.
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Juris Ozols
Phone: (952) 921-6311
PHOTO CONTEST EDITOR
Brad Waldera
Phone: (701) 642-1952
Or maybe, it’s to help plant that
fishing dream in their young heads?
If so, the sports show is the place to
do it, in the winter time. There are
toys, big and small, cheap and
expensive, for both young and old
alike; toys that are fun just by
themselves, but also bring out the
dreams of summer things to come.
LUNGE LOG EDITOR
Jim Bunch
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Jim Beaty
2933 Bridle Lane
Swansea, IL 62226-5993
Office: (618) 235-6370
Fax: (618) 235-6393
The young lassie and lad on the cover were photographed at the Muskie
Expo in Blaine last year. Do you think they were sitting in a boat in an
auditorium? Or, in their minds, were they flying over the water in that
boat, warm wind in their hair and spray in their face, summer sun shining
down on them?
And that other picture, above them - have the youngsters seen something
like that happen when they really are out on a boat with mom and dad?
Gigantic fish, knee-shaking excitement, quiet pride or whoops of joy?
What memories - or dreams - like that go through their heads as they sit
in that boat, no matter where it is?
Take your kids to the sports shows. Plant those dreams. And then follow
up in the summer time, when both your dreams and theirs can come true.
(That background “dream” photo is real! It shows Shawn Earley and
Kathy Sloan of the Fargo Moorhead chapter with 96 inches of muskie read about it in the Lunge Log column.) ❖
Muskies, Inc. Past Presidents
Gil Hamm
Edward T. Peterka
Robert Hill
Robert Shoop
Frank Schneider
Peter Hadley
DuWayne Bakke
Lou Cook
Peter Hadley
Bob Schmidt
Larry Ramsell
Lou Cook
Keith Ogden
Bill Davis
Steve Statland
John Hotle
www.muskiesinc.org
Jim Blaubach
Steve Budnik
Jim Smith
Paul Framsted
Perry Smith
Greg Wells
PUBLICATIONS TECHNICAL MANAGER
Sunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - Brenda Kirchner
25123 22nd Avenue • St. Cloud, MN 56301-9189
Phone: 888-253-8808, ext. 133
MAGAZINE DESIGN
Sunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - John Windschitl
ILLUSTRATOR/CARTOONIST
Richard Gross
FIELD EDITORS
Patricia Strutz, Colby Simms, Bob Chochola,
Vincent P. Trotta, James W. Colgan,
Adam Glickman, Steve Budnik
EMERITUS EDITORS
Rod Ramsell, Keith Ogden, Jim Smith
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.
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 AGA Z I N E N OT E S ◆ M AGA Z I N E N OT E S ◆ M AGA Z I N E N OT E S ◆ M AGA Z I N E N OT E S
MUSKIE Magazine Staff
ABOUT THE COVER
NEWS
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
◆
NEWS
◆
NEWS
Chapter Charters
The Chapter Charter instructions and forms were
sent to all chapter presidents in November. Each
chapter must provide the information about their
officers for the 2008 calendar year.
New Illinois Fisheries Chief
Fellow muskie nut Steve Pallo has been named Acting Chief of
Fisheries for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Steve was
a Fisheries Biologist in the private sector for about 20 years before
joining the IL DNR 12 years ago. Steve is a great choice. He’s dedicated to his job and committed to maintaining great fishing. Steve
is a past chairman of the Esocid Technical Committee – the group
we fondly refer to as “the muskie biologists”. Congratulations, Steve.
Twin Cities Muskie Netting
The Twin Cities Chapter has a very active muskie rearing and
stocking program funded by an annual boat raffle and other fundraising. A small pond near the town of North Branch is used as a
rearing pond with regular stocking and harvesting. Led by Paul
Hartman, a dozen dedicated Muskies Inc. members assembled last
October 13th to net the latest batch of muskies. A total of 37
Forms must be completed and returned to
Ron Groeschl by Feb 15, 2008.
Thanks for your attention to this request.
muskies were gathered in two year classes. The 3 1/2 year-old muskies
were close to 40 inches, and the 1 1/2 year fish were about half that.
In the netting two years ago some 172 fish were gathered averaging
close to 30 inches. Apparently a few must have been missed and
those are now in the upper 30’s.
The fish are turned over to the Minnesota DNR who places
them in Lake Minnetonka, White Bear Lake, or other lakes as appropriate. All of the 172 fish netted in 2005 were released into White
Bear Lake.
Paul Hartman and three of his volunteer team check out some of the 37 netted Muskies in a “holding pen.” The survival rate of the fish that are gathered
has invariably been superb. All of the 172 fish netted in 2005 were released
into White Bear Lake apparently none the worse for the experience.
Dave Rouse (left), John Newman, and another volunteer strain to bring in the
1100 foot long net. In addition to muscle power, a boat and car were also
used to pull the net.
Muskies Inc. Chapter Grants
Due to the recent success of the Best of the Best
Tournament and contributions to the Perry Smith Fund,
Muskies Inc. is financially able to help finance chapter
projects in 2008. We are making $250 grants available, up
to one per chapter, to help fund as many different chapter
projects as possible.
In October, e-mails were sent out to every Chapter
President, Vice President, RVP, and other chapter officers
notifying them of the program. One stipulation of receiving
a grant is that your Chapter Charter (list of your current
officers, contact information, etc.) must be current. Each
chapter is required to update that information yearly, so any
chapter not receiving the grant notification, did not receive
it due to that reason. Chapters must have their chapter
audits up to date.
As of this writing, 7 chapters have applied for and
received checks for projects ranging from youth functions
to water quality studies. Here are the projects Muskies Inc.
is helping to fund so far.
Chapter 52 will be using their grant money to place
muskie species identification signs with photos at boat
ramps. The signs will also list the daily creel limit and size
regulations. This is being done in an effort to curb the illegal taking of muskies, to attract new members to their
chapter, and to make people more aware of their cause.
Chapter 39 will be using their grant money to help
finance their Bartlett Kids Fishing Derby, in which nearly
500 children attend. Chapter 39 is a co-sponsor of that
event. They also put on their Fox River Valley Youth outing. They are planning on taking up to 10 kids to northern Wisconsin, all expenses paid, and providing a guide for
each of the kids. There will also be classes beforehand covering fish species identification, CPR, map reading, and
much more.
ies
7,000 Musk
d
se
ea
el
R
1 (888) 488-5601 or (807) 488-5601
Red Wing Lodge, Box 1008, Baudette, MN 56623
www.redwinglodge.net • www.redwinglodge.on.ca
Family owned and operated for 40 years
NEWS
On Sabaskong Bay
Six-time Muskies, Inc.,
Chapter Challunge Headquarters
1983, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2003, 2004
www.muskiesinc.org
Over
◆
Our President-elect, Dan Narsete is always thinking.
He just set-up a Muskies, Inc. page on
myspace.com! Check it out at:
www.myspace.com/muskiesinc
NEWS
myspace.com
Four qualified members submitted resumes for the six positions
open on the International Board. Therefore Muskies, Inc. will not
need to hold an election. The two remaining positions will be
appointed by President David Cates and approved by the Executive
Committee.
Please congratulate and welcome these new International Board
members:
Adam Walsh, member of Chapter 1, Twin Cities. Adam has
been an active member of MI since 2004. He has had a strong meeting attendance record and has participated in many chapter activities
including the Rearing Fund Raffle, Tournament Committee, Vets
Home Opener, Summer Barbeque, and Winter Awards Banquet.
Adam is also a member of The Frank Schneider Jr. Memorial Muskie
◆
New At Large Directors
(ALDs) for 2008
NEWS
Tournament Committee and has served as chair of the Marketing
Sub-Committee. Adam is a dedicated member driven to expand the
membership, financial resources, efforts and influence of Muskies,
Inc. through fresh marketing strategies.
Fred E. Brogle is a member of Chapter 12, Headwaters, in
Eagle River, WI. Fred joined MI in 2003 and has served as a director in his chapter. He has worked on fund raising, youth programs,
fishing education, and is his chapter’s Email Director and Website
Editor. Fred has also been involved with our Strategic Planning
Committee and has volunteered many hours toward planning and
the reorganization of MI. Fred wishes to serve MI by targeting issues
of the new MI structure, communications and public relations. Fred
retired in Eagle River after serving 33 years with the Union Fire
Department in Illinois. He is a fishing guide.
Brett Knight is a member of Chapter 44, Colorado. Brett served
as President of the Colorado Chapter and has been involved in fishing for many years as an owner of a retail fishing store in Denver and
as Fishing Team Lead with Bass Pro Shops. Brett wishes to serve MI
in the membership arena, “insuring our members are added and subtracted from the membership list, and receive their notices, cards, and
magazines in a timely manner.” Brett also feels that proper record
keeping, productivity and professionalism are essential.
Rory Potter has served on the International Board as an
appointed At Large Director for the past year and was the RVP for
his chapter prior to that. Rory has been an active member of MI for
over 20 years. He is the Secretary of Chapter 46 in Cass Lake,
Minnesota. Rory is an active member of the Minnesota Muskie
Alliance and says that “while spending his summers growing up on
Cass Lake he has seen first hand the results of catch and release as
promoted by Muskies, Inc.”
Submitted by Paul Framsted
Chapter 27 will be using their grant money to purchase artificial
fish attractors to supplement the natural aquatic vegetation in
Evergreen Lake, Illinois. They will purchase 18 Bill Dance Porcupine
attractors, which are held in place on the lake bottom by an anchor,
and known to be very effective. They are also said to be virtually snagfree, and more durable than Christmas tree or pallet configurations.
Chapter 17 will be using their grant money to help cover the
cost of replacement netting for the spillway barrier at Lake Shabbona,
Illinois.
Chapter 55 will be using their grant money to help finance a
study being done by the Lake Of The Woods Water Sustainability
Foundation. They’re conducting a nutrient loading study to determine where the nutrients are coming from that are causing the huge
algae blooms on LOTW, and how to possibly reduce them.
Chapter 09 will be using their grant to help purchase a replica
mount of a fish. The Chapter and DNR will use it at sport shows and
for PR purposes.
Chapter 20 will use their funding toward their Turning Leaf
Weekend Youth Muskie Hunt. This is a youth project in which the
chapter members donate much of their time. The overall cost of this
event to the chapter is around $6000 and their grant money will help
alleviate a little of that expense.
Congratulations to all of these chapters for their efforts in promoting and preserving Muskie fisheries nationwide. We really do
appreciate it.
Would you like to add your chapter to this list? If your chapter
has met the stipulations, and would like to apply for one of these
grants, please e-mail a brief description of your project to me at the
e-mail address listed below. Upon getting approval from the
Executive Committee, your chapter could be receiving the next grant
check. Thanks.
Brad Waldera, Vice President of Fisheries,
Research and Youth (FRY)
[email protected]
• Ultra-modern one, two, three, or four bedroom cabins
• American plan, housekeeping or camping
• Floating docks, electricity for charging batteries, Lund Boats with swivel seats
and depth finders, Honda motors with electric start
• Dining room with food and liquor available for registered guests only
Call or write for data on musky catches:
8
figur e
Hope you also enjoy the feature from Colby Simms and the
update in “From the Muskie Biologists”. Make sure you also read the
Hugh C. Becker Foundation announcement on page 30.
8
Figure 8
by Kevin Richards
[email protected]
8
I love all the features in this issue - thanks to each of the
contributors!
Take a look at “Sig’s Big Fish” – what a neat case history about
the successful release of a huge muskie during a tournament which
employed a judge-boat format. To top it off, the judges in the first
boat on the scene were none other than Tom Betka, M.D. and
Research Director of the Titletown Chapter, and David Cates, M.I.
President and attorney. What a judge team. Tom also has a degree
in aquatic biology. I believe Tom and Dave’s training coupled with
their love of muskie fishing gave this feature a unique perspective.
I must also specifically mention “Dad’s Rock” written by my
friend and former MUSKIE Editor, Keith Ogden. The original version of this story lured me to Lake of the Woods many years ago.
Sharing fishing and family time with the Ogden’s over the years has
been one of the reasons I keep making that 1,000-mile drive north.
Of course other reasons include the awesome scenery, the great fishing, and the possibility of monster muskies.
8
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figur e
8
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figur e
8
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figur e
8
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Baseball and muskies!
Speaking of catching muskies, take a look at this month’s Lunge
Log and our front cover – ah, this is the stuff muskie dreams are
made of!
What about Joe Hardy of Alexandria, MN with 213 muskies at
print time for this issue? Or how about Jerry Sondag of Pelican
Rapids, MN with 132 muskies averaging 45 inches, for a whopping
2593 points!!! These guys are currently the Hank Aarons and Mark
McGwires of the muskie world. Reports from guys like these really
raise our muskie fishing enthusiasm.
I hit a major muskie milestone this year. But, if I stick with the
home run theme, I’m much more like John Mabry than Mark
McGwire.
Who is John Mabry you may ask? John Mabry is a good major
league player. He’s played for MLB teams in 6 states, including 3 different stints with my beloved St. Louis Cardinals. I always hate it
when the Cards trade John, and I like it when he comes back.
John has a lifetime batting average of .263 and has averaged
about 7 homers each year. He’s certainly not Mark McGwire, but he
sticks with the game, year after year. That’s me. My last 2 muskies
of the 2007 season were numbers 200 and 201 - not of my year, of
my life! Believe me, I’m proud of this accomplishment and I think I
remember each muskie, even though it has taken me decades to
accomplish this feat. I catch muskies like John Mabry hits home
runs, about 7 per season. John ranges from 0 to 13 per year; I range
from 0 to 18.
My plans for 2008 include landing at least 20 muskies, which
will be a new record for me. I’m hoping that by writing this column
either Joe Hardy or Jerry Sondag will invite me to fish with them for
a day – heck I might get all 20 of my muskies in just one or two trips!
Another great option would be for some MI member to give this
story to John Mabry. Maybe John would invite me to a ballgame in
whatever city he ends up in 2008. Better yet, maybe he’ll end up
back in St. Louis and would like to join me for a day of muskie fishing at Pomme de Terre!
I hope each of you realize some of your special muskie dreams
in 2008! Kevin ❖
figur e
D O N AT I O N S
NOVEMBER
figur e
8
◆
Richard F. Olenoski
Jim Gallion
Brooks Welch
Wayne Houston
Richard C. Minnick
Charlie Sparks
Wiliam Barker
James F. Redeske
John Sullivan
Jeremy Fusek
Gary Tutaj
Chuck Spletter
On behalf of Muskies, Inc., thank you for adding a bit
extra when you renewed your membership.
– Pete Barber, Treasurer
by
Ji m B u n c h
The Double! One Net – 96 Inches!
Kathy Sloan is a member of the Fargo Moorhead Chapter of
Muskies, Inc. She is also a member of the Moorhead National
Turkey Federation. Somewhere in all of this it was decided to get the
women involved in something called “Women in Outdoors”. So the
National Turkey Federation had 32 women go fishing with members
of the Fargo Moorhead Chapter of Muskies, Inc. It was a pretty neat
deal and a 48-inch muskie and a 42-inch muskie were caught. It did
not set the world on fire, or maybe it did.
Shawn Earley, Kathy Sloan, Fargo Moorhead, 50 and 46, 10/13/2007
Big Detroit, MN, Both Sucker Quick Set, Fish I.D. 248169 and 248162
Kathy Sloan of Moorhead decided that with all this hoopla, she
would like to try this some more. At this event she was talking with
Shawn Earley of the Fargo-Moorhead Chapter. We assume she had
some insight in who she was talking too. Shawn shows 342 muskies
in the Lunge Log including 13 fifty inchers. They go muskie fishing;
oops - two trips and el zippo.
That was the end of this story. Wrong, two stubborn outdoors
people have a way of changing things. The sucker bite was coming
on Big Detroit and they decided to give it a shot. So it is October
13th, a Saturday, off they go. To start that day they went 5 for 8 on
setting the hook on suckers. Kathy got
the first two with a chunky 43 and then
wow, a 51. Shawn followed up with a
47. A few more happened and then
time to go. Wrong. It is now 6 PM and
even though they had mutually agreed
to quit, they were still out there. Then
all hell broke loose. Shawn sees his bobber go down; it runs, trolling motor on
10, struggling to keep up to the running muskie. Close in, it is time, oops,
a strange sound appears, and it is
Kathy’s drag screaming above all other
sounds. Kathy goes nuts she asking
what to do, she is very excited and
Shawn understands as Kathy got a 51
earlier in the day. Cool Hand Luke simply says “hit the free spool as I am over
the top of my fish.” Shawn nets the 46
incher leaves it in the net, spins around
and with the trolling motor on high
heads for Kathy’s muskie.
Cool Hand Luke does not bring
the 46 incher in the boat. He will not
do that because a muskie needs water
around her gills. So he leaves it in the
net in the water. While moving to
Kathy’s muskie she is in true form,
going absolutely nuts. As they close in,
it is time and Shawn says now! Kathy
does a beautiful job on the hook set and
the battle is on. So here is Cool Hand
Luke closing in on a really big muskie
with a 46 in the net.
(Continued on page 8)
www.muskiesinc.org
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
Doug Teney, Unafilliated, Winnepeg, Manitoba, 50 inch, 10/15/2007
Lake Of The Woods, ON. Jake, Trolling, Fish I.D. 249924.
Christian Overmyer, Central Ohio,
14 years old. 51 Inch, 7/29/07.
Lake St. Clair, ON. Tuff Shad, Trolling,
Fish I.D. 242077.
LUNGE LOG
(Continued from page 7)
Now they get the boat to her 50
inch. Shawn who is not the biggest
man in the world made a swoop for her
thrashing 50 inch and missed. Mercy,
now what! Most of you can image how
difficult it is to pull a huge net through
the water to net a fish; now add a 46
incher to that net. With a lot of team
work Kathy pulls this 50 inch up over
the top and together they get this 50
inch into the net along with Cool Hand
Luke’s 46.
Now use your imagination on the
thoughts of this 46 incher. She eats a
really huge sucker, 20 inches plus, gets
yanked into a net and moved across the
lake. Then a 50 inch cousin comes
bouncing into the net with her. We are
not real sure of the mental thought
process of a muskie, but we bet it was
interesting.
So now we got two muskies in the
same net, with a veteran and a rookie.
Nobody is going to believe this. Oops,
get on the cell phone and call Jerry
Sondag, lives here and must be on the
lake. He was and showed up immediately at boat side. Jerry took some great
pictures and started some high fives and
hugs. Have you ever heard of Jerry
Sondag? Just go look at the Men’s
Standings!
Really neat! 96 inches of green mad
muskies in the same net, use your imagination. Kathy Sloan, our newest female
rookie in 3 weekends, got started with a
42, 43, 43, 45, 50, 51, and 51.
The point standings and longest
releases here in this magazine are those
Troy Trebesch, Chapter 21
55 X 27 = 50.11 pounds, 10/27/07
Mille Lacs, MN
Bull Dawg Jerk
Fish I.D. 25024
entries received for the Lunge Log by noon on
November 25, 2007. We have 13,717 entries so far in
2007. From that list there are 472 muskies at 50 inches
or longer. Keep a tight line. For a daily update go to our
web site, log in as a member, select “Contests” in the left
column. Please keep in mind it takes a month to produce the magazine; so the printed Lunge Log will be
behind what is on the web site.
Thanks a bunch
Jim
715 226-0295
[email protected]
www.muskiesinc.org
MUSKIE FISHING IN
THE DEAD OF WINTER
by Colby Simms with Ray Simms
Photos by the Simms Outdoors Team
M
uskie anglers can get a real case of the blues around this
time of year. When the weather turns sour and air temperatures plummet, muskie lakes in the northern United
States and Canada freeze solid and muskie anglers become afflicted
with a terrible illness, an illness that some die-hards call cabin fever.
Many years ago, there was no cure for this dreaded sickness that
caused more than a few muskie nuts to go a little crazy. Many a northern muskie angler traveled south to places like Texas in search of bass
or Florida in search of saltwater species. This was the only reprieve.
Otherwise, it meant red noses and frozen toes, jerkin’ panfish or
walleyes through thick ice. Luckily, devoted muskie anglers have
another option, a chance to shake off the effects of the fever and get
on open water to target their favorite quarry, the greatest of all freshwater sport fish, the almighty muskie!
Quality southern muskie fisheries have provided anglers with a
big game winter time fishing option in the lower Midwest for decades.
Locals have known that these great toothy predators are susceptible to
angling during the winter months for a long time, and many northern muskie and pike anglers are beginning to realize this fact as well.
Many trophy muskie waters exist throughout the south, where anglers
can expect great action during much of the year. Numerous states
such as Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky for example, have bodies of
water that get little or no ice during the winter period. We’ve guided
anglers for winter muskies on southern Illinois’ Kinkaid Lake for years
www.muskiesinc.org
now – most of the time we don’t even have to break ice to get on the
lake.
Winter muskie fishing in the south can be phenomenal. Anglers
have had many days in December, January and February in which the
muskie action rivaled any other time of year, but more times than not,
anglers must work hard for the fish they catch. They must also be
willing to invest some time. While muskies have adapted well to
southern waters they stress more in the summer than most native
species, but they do slow down in the winter months just like other
fish in this part of the world. Cold weather means a slower metabolism and less feeding. Muskies are simply not nearly as active as they
are in the spring and fall months. What this boils down to is that
anglers must be willing to put forth the effort, and of course, change
their tactics. The good news is that muskies can be caught throughout most of the winter. While the weather can get downright nasty,
DEAD OF WINTER
Presentation
In the early winter period when the water temperatures are still
in the forties, a moderate or even a fast retrieve can take active
muskies. Like in the fall, some of these fish will still be feeding heavily, in a last ditch attempt to pack on some additional weight before
winter really sets in. As the water temperatures drop into the thirties,
Location
In the late fall and early winter period in the south when the a muskie’s activity level will drop considerably and will remain low
water temperatures fall into the upper to mid-forties, many muskies until the waters warm up again. When the water is in the thirties, a
will begin to migrate from shallow coves, bays and upper creek and very slow approach is definitely the way to go most of the time. Often
in the winter, when anglers think that they’re fishing slowly, they’re
river arms to deeper main lake type areas, where they will
really not fishing slowly enough. Muskies will still feed
spend the next few months. They will typically hold in
during this time period, but they usually don’t want to
The
good
news
these types of areas until the waters begin to warm again
have to expend a lot of energy chasing down a meal.
and late winter turns into early spring, moving the fish
much of the southern winter includes days when you don’t need a coat
or even a heavy shirt. It’s just too much to pass up when cabin fever
takes hold. Let’s talk about how to get the muskies.
again toward shallower areas, typically on the north side
of the lake where most will eventually spawn.
Structure
is that muskies
can be caught
throughout
most of the
winter.
In winter, southern muskies often position along
steep sloping structural elements with deep water close
by. Primary points, humps, bluff walls and irregular
breaklines near shoreline shelves and on the edge of flats
are all prime places to locate these fish. The real key is that muskies
can slide up and down the structure to change their depth in the water
column with minimal effort. If a winter time southern muskie wants
to slide up into shallower water to feed or take advantage of the sun,
it doesn’t want to have to travel a long distance and waste a lot of valuable energy to drop back down into the security of deeper water if a
cold front rolls through. Hard bottom structures are usually best,
those consisting of rock or of rock and a dense soil such as hard clay.
Cover
Cover is also an important factor in the location equation.
Vegetation isn’t usually much of a factor at this time of year, as it’s not
growing and not producing oxygen. We find most of the fish in areas
with rock and wood cover. Boulders, shelves and large chunk rock provide good cover for winter ‘skies. Standing timber, large stumps, logs
and brush piles are all excellent forms of cover for these fish. The best
areas by far, are those that contain both rock and wood cover. A combination of several different types of cover makes a spot more attractive
to the muskies, and the more different cover options there are in a
small area, the more likely it is that the area will hold numerous fish.
Baitfish
The presence of baitfish is the last ingredient needed to ice the
cake when it comes to winter muskie location. Shad are the dominant
forage species on most mid-size and large southern muskie waters, and
the best winter
time muskie fishing spots on
these waters will
have shad schools
somewhere in
the
vicinity.
Once good structures with adequate cover are
located in the
right areas of a
lake,
finding
baitfish means
that muskies will
probably be there
Another fine winter muskie.
too.
Lure options
Several lure options work well during this time. Big
muskie jigs like the Esox Cobra Magnum from Bait Rigs
(www.baitrigs.com) are effective when paired with large
soft plastics like paddle tail shad baits in the 6 inch to 9
inch range or big curly tail grubs from about 6 inches to
10 inches long. Dragging and hopping these jigs
through cover can be deadly in winter. Large, long arm spinnerbaits
with multiple metallic blades are top options. Original and Monster
Simms School N Shads in 4 or 5 willow leaf blade models, and
Hatchet Shads in 3 hatchet blade models from Simms Sport Fishing
Tackle (www.simmsoutdoors.com) produce a lot of our winter
muskies. Big flashy spoons are overlooked and underused bait options
that produce well in the winter. We use the 1oz and 2oz Simms
Rattlin Scale Spoons for cold water muskies. Deep diving crankbaits
like the Bucher Depth Raiders from Roberts Outdoors (www.robertsoutdoors.com) are good options for skis in cold weather too. One last
lure to mention is the gliding style jerkbait. These lures require a lot
of patience to fish slowly in the winter, but can sometimes produce
some action as well.
Weather
Weather affects muskie activity even more in the winter months
than at other times of the year. Even when the water temperatures have
been in the thirties for a while, a few days of warmer than usual weather can get the muskies in the mood to bite, especially if there’s plenty
of sunshine to warm the water a few degrees. Sometimes, a rise of just
a couple of degrees is enough to trigger activity. On the other hand,
when a cold front rolls through, it can quickly shut the action down.
Equipment
Frigid temperatures can be tough on equipment. Rods are
broken much easier in the winter than at any other time. Glass or
glass graphite composite rods like Ugly Stik Freshwater Rods or Ugly
Stik Lite Graphite Muskie Rods stand up well to big fish in freezing
temperatures (www.shakespeare-fishing.com). Braided lines don’t
seem to perform as well in freezing weather as other lines, especially
braids that retain more water. High quality monofilament or fluorocarbon lines with low stretch and high abrasion resistance like
Supreme Super Tough or Cajun Red Lightnin are best in about twenty to forty pound tests.
Get Out There
Whether you live in the south or the north, don’t let winter get
you down. There are periods of mild weather to enjoy and muskies to
be caught in the south. Make sure that you give it a try. Good luck! ❖
Colby Simms
www.simmsoutdoors.com
618-521-0526 or 573-358-5948
FROM
From the
Muskie Biologists
THE
Lots of news from Tim Simonson,
Wisconsin DNR Musky Team
BIOLOGISTS
The Wisconsin legislature inserted a provision in the recent
budget bill directing the DNR to establish an early catch-and-release
only season for muskellunge during what had been the closed season
(May). This season will be restricted to artificial lures with barbless
hooks. It will go into effect in 2009. ❖
THE
New early catch-and release season
FROM
◆
FROM
THE
BIOLOGISTS
www.muskiesinc.org
that people would notice; it’s also important to note that other states
have reported signs that the main VHS impact is on young fish, and
fish kills of these smaller fish are not as easy to detect.
Muskies, walleye, bluegill, freshwater drum, and yellow perch
are all very susceptible to VHS – they are all in the federal government’s “Tier 1” category of species that have been documented to
have suffered fish kills. Muskies are one of the species that have suffered major fish kills in the lower Great Lakes as a result of VHS,
according to Tim Simonson, head of DNR’s musky team. In spring
2006, large die-offs of musky in the Detroit River and St. Lawrence
River were related to VHS. There are signs now that the musky population in the St. Lawrence River in New York is dropping as a result
of VHS, which has already killed thousands of fish in the river.
More information about VHS and about the steps that all
anglers and boaters statewide are required to take to help prevent the
spread of this disease is available on the WI DNR Web site.
◆
Because of statewide restrictions now in place to prevent the
spread of a deadly fish disease, anglers who use suckers for fall musky
fishing are encouraged to buy only the amount of these bait fish they
need for each outing before heading out onto the water. The same
holds true for other anglers using live minnows or other bait fish.
Under emergency rules aimed at preventing the spread of viral
hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS for short, that took effect statewide
on Nov. 2, anglers are prohibited from taking live fish away from any
water in Wisconsin, including leftover bait minnows, suckers and
other fish.
These requirements reflect concerns that bait fish could possibly
be exposed to the fish disease while anglers are fishing if the anglers
change the water in which the minnows are kept. Using leftover bait
on other waters could potentially spread VHS, says Mike Staggs,
fisheries director for the Department of Natural Resources.
“If we knew exactly where VHS was in the state, we could tell
anglers where it was safe to take home bait minnows,” he says. “But
with 15,000 lakes and 44,000 miles of flowing rivers, we can’t test
every water for VHS so an angler doesn’t know whether the water
they are fishing has VHS or not.
“It’s important for anglers to keep in mind why they should
never move suckers or minnows to new waters. We’re trying to prevent transferring potentially infected water or fish to a new water,”
he says. “The best advice we can give anglers is to buy only the bait
fish you need and carry commercially processed minnows in
reserve.” The new rules do not apply to other kinds of bait such as
leeches or nightcrawlers.
Minnows distributed by licensed wild bait
harvesters, raised by fish farmers, or imported
from other states must meet Department of
Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer
Protection fish health inspection and testing
standards, but after the minnows leave the a
licensed bait dealer, there is no way to track
their fish health status.
VHS has demonstrated in other countries
and Great Lakes states the potential to cause
large fish kills, long-term reductions in wild
fish populations, and severe economic losses
for aquaculture operations, Staggs says.
While Wisconsin hasn’t had any large fish
kills to date due to VHS, the disease is very
new here, having been detected for the first
time in May 2007. Fish appear to be most vulnerable to VHS in the spring, when water temperatures are cold and fish immune systems are
stressed from the rigors of spawning. So the
spring could hold the potential for fish kills
BIOLOGISTS
Bait Restrictions
www.muskiesinc.org
Dad’s Rock
by Keith Ogden
Lester Lunge’s perspective
This looked like a good home for Lester Lunge, a three summer,
two pound muskie. After his long half day journey, Lester was looking
over a beautiful new home site. Excellent structure housed abundant
perch, sucker, and whitefish for a hungry muskie. “Hey, there’s one of
the guys”, Lester bubbled aloud, “good thing he’s not any larger.”
The seven summer ‘lunge slid by Lester in search of food.
Extremely large muskies are at the top of Lester’s PREDITORS TO
WATCH FOR list. Even at twenty-two plus inches Lester is a prime
target for twelve summer plus muskies.
Lester was now looking over the sharp drop to thirty-feet. It lay
west of an exposed bald rock which seemed to be the foundation of
the area. Here, Lester found school after school of “tasty” suckers and
whitefish. A flash of a huge red tail ahead made Lester instinctively
“U” turn and head the opposite direction. His heart began pounding
loudly. A flashback reminded Lester of how he got the scars on his
sides. Five months ago a fourteen summer ‘lunge grabbed Lester sideways, held him at bay for several seconds, and then let him go.
Whatever the giants’ reasoning was Lester didn’t care. He just wanted
to hide and heal.
Lester decided to head back toward the bald rock to see what its
edges had to offer. He found several small sunken islands on one side,
with a beautiful bed of junk weeds in between. A boulder covered reef
to one of the remaining sides delighted Lester as he began trying out
crevice after crevice for size. He was collecting great sun rays when a
fifteen summer ‘lunge cruised by over head. It was time for Lester to
leave. When he reached the end of the boulder reef a twenty summer
grandma began following him and Lester knew it
was time to BLOW OFF SOME MOSS.
Without letting up on his five knot per hour
cruise speed Lester soon found himself in a fine bay
with lots of cover. The best part about this bay was
seeing other muskies his size. They were darting
about after fat little perch. “Look at that two summer lunge”, Lester thought, “I’ll give him a little
scare and he’ll get the hint to get out of this big boy’s
territory.”
Lester grew six inches that summer and four the
following year. The sixth spring of his life Lester
made his first trip with the big females to the ritual
grounds. He found out why his body had been strangely quivering for
weeks. Lester realized that he was important to the females. Upon his
return he veered south and struck a course toward FLAMINGO
ROCK. Would he fit in? It wasn’t a case of wealth as a prerequisite for
membership here, it was size. Things had changed as Lester glided by
an idol fifteen summer ‘lunge. Lester’s presence didn’t even cause a
twitch from the old timers eyeballs. “Ha! Look at that, thought Lester
as he broke water for joy. I’m home free!” He began familiarizing himself with this mansion again.
Flamingo Rock became Lester’s home and with the exception of
an occasional mile or so trip he stayed fairly close to these grounds.
The yearly ritual trip in the spring took him out about two miles from
“Dad” with his first trophy - a 28-pounder
caught at the Rock in 1967
his home range. He especially enjoyed this time of the year as the big
females wanted him around. During the spring he didn’t have to look
over his shoulder for the hungry lunkers. Lester’s heart would only
jump occasionally from now on. An old great grandma in the channel would spark it, but only for as long as it took Lester to leave the
area. He wondered how anything that large could
even give chase.
Lester was a forty inch, nearly full grown male,
with all the colors of the rainbow. He considered
himself smaller than average compared to the other
muskies inhabiting Flamingo Rock. Approximately
thirty-five ‘lunge roamed this ten-hectare area of
rocks, weed lines, boulders, and sunken islands.
They were coming and going all the time.
It seemed to Lester that you rarely saw more
than three other muskies hanging out near the main
rock at one time. The largest grandma Lester would
see was about twenty-five summers old and weighed
fifty-six pounds. One other muskie was forty-seven pounds and three
more would tip the scales at thirty-five or better. Six would fall
between thirty and thirty-five and the remaining twenty-five would
range between thirteen and twenty-nine pounds. It took larger quantities of forage fish to feed these huge muskies and Lester attributed
this to why Flamingo Rock was such a large and concentrated muskie
haven. The best areas will be occupied by the bigger fish. The larger
the choice area and the greater amount of forage the more muskies
will likely be held.
One sunny September afternoon Lester was resting off of
Flamingo Rock after a good snack of whitefish; a silver sparkle caught
his eye and he immediately rose to the occasion. As he grabbed the
hairy flasher he felt a dull sting in his lower jaw. He swam toward deep
Of the fifty-one
muskies caught
on Dad’s Rock,
only six were
less than forty
inches!
with a particular lake one can usually obtain good information by properly asking around; businesses and
tackle shops are good starters. Better
yet, hire a guide until your confidence is built up on getting around
that lake.
Once on the lake consideration
should be given to what action
you’ve had over various spots and if
the areas haven’t produced for you,
but someone else, consider this also.
A record kept of what, when, and
where helps you look these patterns
over. Casters will keep track of all
strikes, follows, fish that could possibly have been caught, and boated
fish. Trollers will want to keep track
of all strikes and boated fish. Don’t
forget those graphs and depth finders.
As Lester ‘Lunge described, the
number one factor in an area being
a hotspot is the nearby structure and
cover. In our case with Dad’s Rock it
would be the combination of the
Keith with his first wall-hanger nearby deep channel or drop off for
a 38-pounder from Dad’s Rock in 1977
forage and the area’s cover. These
drop-offs hold large number or concentrations of baitfish and forage.
The adequate cover to assist an area in being a hotspot could be in the
shape of boulder reefs, weed-beds, logs, brush, rushes, rock overhangs,
sandbars, and grass embankments. It is necessary to have this strucThe above was mainly fiction, but Lester is very real. I caught this ture nearby. Much of the above is elementary, but most of our fishing
beauty last fall (1980). As I was releasing Lester he briefly filled me
in on his life and home. I called it fiction only because I had to fill in
a few vague areas.
The rest of the this story will attempt to back up some home
range theories and how to watch for these bonus areas that house large
numbers of Esox. Many of us muskie anglers may be passing over
some of these hot spots or just not spending enough time on them to
reap the full benefit.
These hot spots can be bays, reefs, small or sunken islands, river
areas, or in this case a rock pile. We named our hot rock after its
founder, my dad, and it will be referred to from here on as “Dad’s
Rock.”
In 1967 dad scored his first trophy, a beautiful forty-eight incher, off this rock. It was his dream come true as his two hundred plus
hours for a trophy ‘lunge was beginning to wear. Little did he know
that what he discovered, properly worked, would render over five
hundred inches of ‘lunge in two seasons. Better yet, these ‘lunge
would average forty-four inches!
We didn’t visit Dad’s Rock or its surrounding areas for a few years
after dad made his trip to the happy muskie grounds in 1969.
However, after realizing the love of the lake was something he wanted to leave us, not something to give up, we got back to where he left
off…total MUSKIE MADNESS!
Dad’s Rock is located on Lake of the Woods, in Ontario waters.
Its description could be of hundreds of bald rocks, so I’m not worried
about giving our hot spot away.
In finding your hot spot to catch your first or twelfth muskie the
potential of the lake must be number one. Second, is the area of the
Keith’s step-dad, Bernie, and mom, Peg,
lake known to produce quality and quantity? If you are unfamiliar
water but couldn’t understand why
it took so much effort to make
headway. Several times he would
pause to rest and found himself
being dragged toward the shallow
water. Each time he went toward
deeper water he would need to rest
more often.
He saw a large white object and
three odd shaped creatures dancing
up and down inside of it. Out of the
water Lester felt himself go. Seconds
later he heard several clicks and then
back into the water. Ah! His jaw
ached a bit and he laid in the water
stunned. A click of his tail and he
was out of sight of that horrid white
object with the crazy yelling animals
in it.
It was a good lesson for Lester
but only short term if he encounters
properly presented artificial baits.
He would lay in the deep water for
over a week without eating and it
would be nearly two weeks before
Lester would cruise Flamingo
Rock’s outskirts.
Lester called this area Flamingo
Rock but I’ve got a different name for it.
Keith’s perspective – 1981
www.muskiesinc.org
with a 32-pounder from Dad’s Rock in 1980
DAD’S ROCK
is just keeping the basics in perspective.
Several of the spots we work within a half mile of Dad’s Rock
have produced more than one fish (some up to fifty inches) but not
near the numbers. It is definitely the ideal structure so let’s take a look
at it from above.
Note the twenty-five foot water within 300 feet. Many of you
trollers are drooling over that area, and yes, we are looking forward to
catching our first whopper trolling that area. However, looking at the
diagram you’ll see depicted by the fish (and where they came from)
that most of our ‘lunge came from five foot of water or less. In fact,
to troll the areas where most of our fish came out of, you would have
to dislike your propeller somewhat (an out-dated 1981 theory).
We took twelve Esox off of Dad’s Rock in the last two seasons
(1979 and 1980). Two of these fish were less than forty inches (thirty-six and thirty-eight) with over half of them between forty-four and
fifty-one inches. This does say something for the congregation of
muskies in an ideally structured area. It can safely be said that these
muskies also tend to congregate according to their size, with compatibility as to numbers that the area can hold. I think Lester told the
story quite well.
Keeping in mind all the theories and what makes sense to you,
lets look at the most important reason a rock like Dad’s is so hot. Of
the fourteen fish taken in three seasons only three were kept and
eleven were released! Granted, a few of these fish could easily have
been caught twice but that’s the smile-part of being a Muskies, Inc.
“Release-prone” fisherman. I may add that even though a nearly 80%
release ratio isn’t quite up to snuff with our national figures, it is excellent considering the size of these fish. The three kept fish have made
beautiful wall hangers for three proud fishermen.
Keith’s perspective – 2007
Our editor, Kevin Richards, asked me to do a summary of the
twenty-five years of fishing Dad’s Rock since the original article was
published in August 1981. Since that time we have maintained and
increased our success on catching and releasing big fish on Dad’s
Rock. The diagram pinpoints where muskies have been caught, but
due to the lack of space on the map, only about half the fish are
shown! Note the fish that were placed further away from the structure;
they were caught trolling. Our trolling method is quite simple; backoff your summer structure and concentrate on ten to fourteen feet of
water; however, this does not mean we didn’t catch fish in six feet of
water. The shallower fish will come off of the points and humps making some exceptions for catching fish in the shallows.
Let’s talk about where these fish were found. Casting, they were
normally found shallow. Simply, toss the bait shallow and work the
fish out. Seventy percent of my time spent at Dad’s Rock was casting;
however, thirty percent were caught from October 10th until freeze
up. Turnover! The turnover is key! Here is the eye opener, 60% of the
muskies were caught trolling. This shows what a dynamic piece of
structure this is for late fall trolling!
Knowing now (after twenty-five years of trolling the “late fall”),
we are catching muskies three to one (trolling that phase of the year)
versus casting. Like any small rock pile, small island, large island, and
sunken reef, one needs to get to know it intimately. The points, outside humps, reefs and sunken islands are key.
Cool Stories
In 1990 trolling the humps, to the north, with the rod in the rod
holder, my four year old daughter, Katie, caught a forty-five incher
(she was forty-four inches tall at the time). She caught her first muskie
- while being video-taped - all by herself!
One particular lunge I spotted on the first day of a July vacation
came out of a unique crack. The muskie followed a perch Suick and
figure-eighted with the lure one time. She wouldn’t look at another
lure that day. However, at exactly 2:10 PM the next day I repeated the
scenario and she did exactly the same. It happened on Wednesday,
Thursday, and Friday. On Saturday she smashed the same Suick, same
crack, and a forty-nine and a half incher was released!
Epilogue
EVENT NAME/
WEBSITE
LOCATION
CITY
STATE PHONE
Palatine
IL
847-328-6200
Feb. 8-10
Milwaukee Muskie Expo/
www.muskieexpo.com
Wisconsin State Fair Park
West Allis
WI
800-844-3247
Feb. 22-24
Ohio Muskie Fishing Show/
www.ohiomuskieshow.com
The Buckeye Hall of Fame
Café
Columbus
OH
513-600-3457
Feb. 22-24
Madison Fishing Show/
www.madfishexpo.com
Exhibition Hall at the
Alliant Center
Madison
WI
608-245-1040
Feb. 29 Mar. 2
Northern IL Rockford Fishing &
Outdoor Expo/
www.showtimeproduction.net
Indoor Sports Center
Rockford
IL
815-877-8043
Mar. 7-9
National Sport Center
Minnesota Muskie Expo/
www.minnesotamuskieexpo.com
MN
763-588-9107
www.muskiesinc.org
Blaine
LOCATOR
Harper College
SHOw
Chicago Muskie Show/
www.chicagomuskieshow.com
SPORT
Jan. 11-13
◆
DATES
LOCATOR
Calendar of upcoming events in 2008
SHOW
SPORT SHOW LOCATOR
SPORT
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Jim Beaty • 2933 Bridle Lane • Swansea, IL 62226-5993
Office: (618) 235-6370 • Fax: (618) 235-6393
◆
I read “Dad’s Rock” in 1981 just before my first trip to Lake of
the Woods to participate in my first Chapter Challunge. The number
and size of muskies being caught was awesome, especially when you
consider that from 1957 through the early 1980s the minimum
length limit for muskies at Lake of the Woods was 28 inches! I took
the article with me to the lake and searched my topo map looking for
the area. I knew if I could find this “secret spot” I could catch my first
Canadian muskie.
I briefly met Keith that year. We became friends during the first
Muskie Symposium in 1984 and started fishing together later that
year. I almost fell out of the boat several years later when we were
leaving one of Keith’s regular spots and he finally told me it was Dad’s
Rock.
Until further notice please direct all advertising
inquiries to Jim Beaty, Advertising Manager. Please
be further advised that effective with the January
2008 issue MUSKIE Magazine changed their rates.
A new rate card can be sent electronically via the
Internet or mailed to interested advertisers with our
media kit. Our rate sheet is also available on our
website www.muskiesinc.org see Magazine tab at
top of opening page, then click on Advertising
Opportunities on the left.
LOCATOR
Notice Re: Advertising in MUSKIE Magazine
SHOW
I’ve caught some nice muskies at Dad’s since then. My average is
a very respectable 42.5 inches. In July 2007 I raised a 50-plus incher
from the “unique crack” two days in a row. What a place!
Even though Keith’s dad passed away in 1969, family and friends
know he still enjoys watching the action at good ol’ Dad’s Rock.
Thanks to Keith for sharing and updating this story for us all.
This is the perfect story to kick-off the new MUSKIE Magazine feature, “My Secret Spot”. – Kevin ❖
SPORT
A good friend released a big muskie with me one year and mentioned that he’d really love for his dad to get one. A few years later
we took his dad out to Dad’s Rock where he landed an awesome 51
incher!
One summer day I had so many fish moving I got out of the boat
and worked Dad’s Rock from shore. The end result was two forty inch
fish and two more lost on hook-set.
Of the fifty-one muskies we have caught on Dad’s Rock, only six
were less than forty inches! Six were fifty-plus inches and one fifty and
a half incher went for thirty eight pounds. The biggest muskie that has
been seen at Dad’s rock was a 55 inch fish; she was unfortunately there
for only one season.
Many small rock islands on Lake of the Woods resemble Dad’s
Rock. Hopefully each of you will find your own SECRET SPOT!
Love a Muskie. Release ‘em! – Keith ❖
JANUARY
Main Sport Show Edition
New year, new products, new ideas,
new destinations
FEBRUARY
Gotta Love Those Muskies!
Special destinations, special muskie
teams, catch-and-release
MARCH
M.I. Fisheries, Research, & Youth
Get ready for the year ahead, highlight
FRY projects and outstanding
workers/volunteers
APRIL
Southern and early-season muskies
Destinations and techniques for
early spring
MAY
Preview of Northern muskie openers
Special highlight of WI, MN, & MI;
highlight the ladies of Muskies, Inc.
JUNE
National Fishing Week/Casting for
New Anglers!
Youth, new anglers and
National Fishing Week;
highlight dads fishing with kids
JULY
Northern Lights
Highlight Ontario muskie fishing
AUGUST
Plan your Fall Muskie Hunt!
Big Muskie Fall Preview; MI Comm.
Lure; Highlight “eastern” muskies (St.
Clair, St. Lawrence, NY, PA, OH, etc.)
SEPTEMBER
Fall Casting Special
Focus on fall casting and destinations
OCTOBER
Fall Trolling Special
Focus on fall trolling and destinations
NOVEMBER
M.I. Fisheries, Research, and Youth
Updates on FRY projects, results, and
accomplishments; late season tactics
DECEMBER
Early Sport Show Edition
Sport shows and gift ideas
Do you have a great story or ad for MUSKIE in 2008?
➤
Perhaps this list of monthly themes will help you figure out
➤ what month, or months, your ideas would be the best for you
➤
and for our readers. Remember to coordinate your ads or
➤ articles as early as possible. Preliminary ideas for articles should
➤ be sent to the Editor at least two months in advance. Thanks!
Rockford Illinois Explodes
with Fishing Excitement
What visitors and exhibitors are calling the hottest new fishing
show of the 2007 season returns Feb. 29 through March 2. The
Northern Illinois Fishing and Outdoor Expo will be held at the
Indoor Sports Center/Expo Complex.
The Expo features FISHING - how, what and where along with
lure demos in the Hawg Trough. A highlight of the show will be the
many tackle booths set up by manufacturers and retailers. In addition, you can book your next trip with fishing and hunting camps,
resorts, guides, fishing charters and more. The “Fishing Expo” will
be packed with FREE SEMINARS by some of the best pros in the
business; many topics will be exclusive to the Rockford show.
Three day pass available at door. Call 815-877-8043 for more
info; check out the website at www.showtimeproduction.net.
Photo Contest – January Winners
by Gordon Campbell
Photo Tip of the Month
Get Organized
Now that the season is over for most muskie
anglers, it’s a good time to take stock of your 2007 photos. Review your images and consider a nice 8x10 print
of your best shots. Put all of your photos that pass
muster in a small album. Next assess whether you took
advantage of the various opportunities that presented
themselves for candid, scenic and action shots in addition to the standard posed pictures. How were your
shots over all? Were they focused, framed and well
composed? Take a look at your “throw aways” and
think about what techniques might have improved
them. This simple exercise will help you showcase your
best shots and most memorable moments while thinking about how to improve your techniques for next season. There’s nothing like being ready when that whopper is finally in the net!
Finally, did you submit a photo to MUSKIE
Magazine in 2007? If not perhaps that could be one of
your goals for 2008.
Good luck and regards - Gordon Campbell
▲ Winner #2: 13 year old Blake Thompsom hoisting his best, a
47” Minnesota muskie taken 11-17-07. Congrats on a real
memorable catch & well composed photo.
Special thanks – MUSKIE Magazine
staff and the members of Muskies, Inc.
want to offer a special thanks to Gordon
for 14 months of volunteer service.
Coordinating the monthly member photos and the annual photo contest is a big
task and Gordon has done a fine job with
it. Gordon, may you be rewarded with a
monster muskie in 2008 and don’t forget
to submit a photo!
Welcome Brad – we are happy to
welcome Brad Waldera as our new Photo
Contest Editor. Brad is not only a photography enthusiast; he currently serves as
our M.I. Vice President for Fisheries,
Research, and Youth.
Please email your photos to Brad at:
[email protected]
▲ Winner #1: Dave Swenson saying good bye to a 54x26” monster
released in October. The clear nighttime shot & the Muskie’s obvious
bulk make this shot a winner.
www.muskiesinc.org
A
s muskie fishing goes, it isn’t often that we get to see a fish of
enormous proportions up-close for any length of time. In
fact, most of us could probably count on both hands the
number of times this has happened during our entire lives. So when
a person finally gets to see a gigantic fish alive in the net, it is really
something quite special. This is exactly what happened to us during
the “Best of the Best” Tournament in Green Bay on the weekend of
October 13, 2007. After seeing one such magnificent fish, we
thought it was worth sharing, as there are several lessons to be learned
from that experience.
It was a cold morning for the opening of the tournament; 34
degrees at the marina with a solid frost coating on most dock and
ramp surfaces. The surface water temperature was about 56 degrees.
It’s amazing that no one sustained any serious injuries, as there were
several falls while trying to get everyone underway. (Lesson #1: Don’t
run down the ramp on a cold morning until you have verified that there
is enough traction to stop at
the end of the dock.)
Dave and I were in
one of the twelve judge
boats and were deployed
into the bay itself. The
“Judge Boat” format was
favorably received and
approved by the Wisconsin
DNR. Release times were
not significantly extended
because of the judge boat
system and each fish caught
swam away strongly after
being released. For the first
several hours there was very
little action requiring our
One of the boat judges assisting to attention. However we
safely lift the monster muskie.
both knew it would be just
www.muskiesinc.org
a matter of time, as the graph looked like it was stuck in demo mode
at the dealer’s counter—filled with bait fish and large arcs representing predators on the hunt. For the first few hours several anglers
boated muskies, mostly in the 36 to 40 inch range. A walleye angler
not participating in the tournament hooked and landed a 48.75 inch
muskie; he was assisted by one of our judge boats, as he did not have
the necessary equipment to safely handle the fish. But for Dave and
me, it was an uneventful morning as judges. Little did we know how
our activity would pick up once the morning passed.
By noon on that first day there were at least 15 to 20 boats
between the mouth of the Fox River and Grassy Island, located just
over a mile offshore. One of those boats belonged to Sig and Mary
Kaminski from Park Falls, Wisconsin. Sig didn’t have much luck that
first morning, but that changed just after noon. While trolling a
shad-colored crank bait in the shipping channel, the big fish annihilated his lure and the fight was on. The story of the catch is an
impressive one, and in the end he successfully netted the fish and
promptly called the first judge boat he found on the list…us.
As we approached I could see that the fish was quite large.
However, when we finally came alongside Sig’s boat the enormous
size of this muskie became apparent. It filled the net, and then some!
Sig was working to untangle the net from the hooks in the fish’s jaw,
and when he pulled the head out of the water, the fish rolled onto
her side and both Dave and I were in awe of her! It quickly became
apparent that we had a problem - there was no easy way to free a fish
of that magnitude from a non-rubberized net full of hooks. (Lesson
#2: Nets with knotless treated mesh bags are much less likely to hold hook
barbs, and thus will shorten release times. They are also less disruptive to
the fish’s protective slime layer.)
One of the most effective ways to improve the success of a
release is to shorten the time it takes to free the fish. It is widely
acknowledged that quickly and efficiently cutting hook shanks significantly reduces this time, and reduces the potential for injury to
both the fish and the angler. The value of a quality pair of bolt
SIG’S BIG FISH
cutters cannot be overstated for this purpose. In addition to the potential for physical damage to an angler-caught muskie, a
study published in 1980 showed that fish
also undergo numerous biochemical
changes in response to capture via angling,
perhaps the most significant of which is
acidosis (1). Blood sugar levels increase in
response to stress; a study with other
species has shown this can lead to increased
susceptibility to bacterial disease and thus
increased odds of delayed mortality (2). So
while it is unlikely that angling can ever be entirely
non-stressful to muskellunge, we can certainly take
steps to minimize the stress imposed upon the fish
during the release process.
At this point a second judge boat arrived on
scene, and there were soon three of us working with
the fish. This proved to be a real benefit, as the fish
was so large that it was difficult for one person to handle alone. But in accordance with the tournament
rules, all fish had to be measured by the angler on the
bump boards provided by the judge boats. But for a
fish of this size, this meant removing the fish from the
water. A few years ago there was a very informative
article published in Esox Angler by Minnesota biolo-
Sig's 53.75 inch muskie!
”. . . when we
finally came
alongside Sig’s
boat the enormous
size of this muskie
became apparent”
gist and MUSKIE Magazine Emeritus
Editor Rod Ramsell, describing the physical damage likely to occur to the vertebral
column of a large fish when it is lifted or
supported in a vertical position (3) so we
knew that how we lifted the big fish was
very important.
As we grow older we must not overlook our own physical limitations when it
comes to safely removing a large fish from
the water. With modern boats we may
find ourselves as high as 24 inches above
the level of the fish in the net. This may
result in a tendency is to pull the fish out
of the water in a vertical position. This is
potentially dangerous, both to the fish and to the
angler. In this case, another judge assisted the angler to
safely lift the fish from the water and into the cradle of
the bump board. It measured 53.25 inches! Pictures
were then taken quickly, and it was then returned to
the water after no more than about 60 seconds. (Lesson
#3: To maximize the likelihood of a successful release,
consideration should be given to leaving a large fish in the
landing net for as long as possible; even to the point of
never removing them and simply releasing them directly
from the net. Some advocate avoiding a net altogether,
and simply unhooking the fish in the water; an angler
needs to be comfortable with this approach before trying
it and leather gloves are highly recommended.)
Another point worth mentioning is that
we should learn to recognize when an angled
fish is becoming stressed. As fish must
extract oxygen from the water via their gills;
they cannot respire with their head out of
the water. The oxygen level in their blood
decreases and they become hypoxemic. As
hypoxia is not a normal physiological condition, they will begin to struggle to reverse
the situation if their head is held out of the
water for any length of time. It’s not much
different from holding a person’s head
underwater; that person will struggle violently to regain the ability to breathe. In this
case, it was amazing to see how quickly the
fish calmed when its head was again placed
underwater. (Lesson #4: Slow down while trying to release a fish. Fully submerge the fish and
allow it to have several rest periods while trying
to remove the hooks. If you find yourself breathing hard, imagine how the fish feels.)
One other danger to angled fish is that
of an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia)
in response to hypoxemia. As the stress level
increases in an angled fish, its oxygen
requirements increase as well. The heart is an
organ that must have a constant supply of
oxygen to function properly. In fact a
human can have heart attack when a portion
of the heart is denied oxygen for any significant length of time. While this may not
seem as likely in fish, another danger of hypoxemia that has been
documented in fish is that of arrhythmia (4). The increased stress of
the angling process results in a condition where the fish’s heart is
being required to work harder, even as the angler may be inducing
hypoxemia by their release methodology. The end result is often an
increase in cardiac stress and related mortality, which can be immediate but is more likely delayed.
In the case of this particular fish, once returned to the water
there wasn’t much any of us could do to hold it back; with one big
sweep of the tail we couldn’t restrain it any longer. It swam upright
on the surface for 30 to 45 seconds before diving away, never listing
once. Watching it go, I remember feeling very gratified that our concerted release efforts seemed successful. Unfortunately, we never got Estimated girth 27-28 inches; this big muskie would approach the
the chance to formally girth the fish so we can only speculate on a 50-pound mark.
weight estimate. But once back at the marina for the evening, the
general consensus of those who saw the fish in the net, a DNR biolmore successful if the angler receives assistance during the release. If
ogist present for the outing and a couple of experienced taxidermists,
you are fishing with a partner, formulate a basic release plan before a
was that the girth was in the range of 27 to 28 inches. Given that the
fish is caught. For starters, keeping a clean and tidy boat is one way
bump-board measures 10.5 inches along the inside of the cradle and
to minimize risk of injury to both the angler and the fish, especially
that the fish’s belly hung over the side by an inch or two, the girth
if the fish is to be brought aboard during the release process. But as
estimate seems reasonable. Thus by the various weight estimation
mentioned, consideration should be given to simply photographing
formulas the fish may have been approaching the 50-pound mark.
the fish and releasing it directly from the net—or not using a net at
BIG FISH!
all. If possible, a fish should not be removed from the water until all
So in summary, several important lessons can be learned from
hooks have been safely removed. Too many anglers have learned this
the capture and successful release of this magnificent fish. First, as
lesson the hard way! And to that end, using barbless hooks is an
conscientious anglers, we should always be prepared to catch the
excellent way to facilitate a more rapid release process, although there
biggest fish in the lake. Large landing nets with knotless or rubbermay be a species-dependent reduction in catch rate with their use (6).
ized mesh have been shown to reduce physical trauma to the fish (5),
It is widely agreed that the practice of catch and release can
and can also ease hook removal. In addition, having good release
secure the future of the sport of muskie fishing. But as catch and
tools including hook-outs, long needle-nosed pliers and a good set of
release anglers, our tendency is to continue to work intently to free
hook cutters is an absolute necessity. Also, while the process of actuthe fish in as short a time as possible. While this may be ideal in some
ally catching the fish may cause physical injury, the process of the
cases, we have attempted to show that this may in fact be counterrelease can impose additional stress. At a time of high oxygen
productive if it prolongs hypoxemia, as it can result in an unnecesdemand, we are restricting the availability of oxygen by removing the
sary level of stress at a time when the fish is least able to tolerate it.
fish from the water to unhook and photograph it. If the fish becomes
Congrats to Sig on this awesome muskie; it was great to be part
agitated when removed from the water, it may simply be trying to
of the team that worked together for a very successful release! ❖
respond to its oxygen needs. Don’t be afraid to allow the fish some
extra time in the net to recover during the release process. There is
no race to release the fish during cool water periods; careful handling References:
is as important as speed of release. Of course during the summer Beggs GL, Holeton GF, Crossman EJ. Some physiological consequences of angling stress in muskellunge, Esox masquinongy.
months when the water surface temperatures can reach 80 degrees,
Journal of Fish Biology 17 (6), 649-659.
release time might be an issue; but anglers should seriously consider
not fishing for muskies at all during Evans, JJ, et al. Effects of Sublethal Dissolved Oxygen Stress on
Blood Glucose and Susceptibility to Steptococcus agalactiae in
those periods.
Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. Journal of Aquatic Health 15:
The final point is that we
202-208, 2003.
should not be afraid to ask for help
if it’s available. In this case, we were Rod Ramsell. Handling Techniques and Survival of Released
Muskellunge. In Esox Angler/The Next Bite Magazine, Fall
successful because there was more
2004.
than one person working to release
this big muskie. The release of this Cooke SJ, et al. The influence of terminal tackle on injury, handling
time, and cardiac disturbance of rock bass. North American
fish was a concerted effort between
Journal of Fisheries Management 21: 333-342.
all involved, and no one person
tried to do everything by himself. Barthel BL, et al. Effects of landing net mesh type on injury and
mortality in a freshwater recreational fishery. Fisheries Research,
All too often one angler in the boat
63: 275-282. 2003.
works to release a fish, while another in the boat continues fishing. Schaeffer JS and Hoffman EM. Performance of Barbed and Barbless
Hooks in a Marine Recreational Fishery. North American
With a smaller fish this may be perAway she goes - a successful fectly acceptable; however our expeJournal of Fisheries Management. 2002; 22: 229-235.
release!
rience in this case suggests that the
release of a larger fish will likely be
www.muskiesinc.org
Looking for gifts for your special
fishing friends? Get them...
2008
Muskies, Inc.
Calendars
Order today and send
your order with a check
for $12.95* for each
calendar ordered to:
Mu sk ies, I n c.
14257 Waters Edge Trail
New Berlin, WI 53151
*Includes shipping & handling
Name: _________________________
Address: _______________________
City: __________________________
State: _______ Zip: _____________
‘Wow!’- Adam Hilbert & Dad Brent posing with a MN 48” boated via a team
effort. Adam had hoped to hold up his
first Muskie till he saw this biggie at
boatside.
‘Unusual’- Paul Dickson checked in
with this rare report- 2 nice smallies
that clobbered his Bomber while out
for muskies.
‘Great Start’- 9 year old Brandon Wilary & his 1st
muskie, a 45” Deer Lake beauty.
‘Nice’... Renee Johnson of Ch. 28 posing
with her 2nd muskie; caught & released
on Lake Kinkaid. This one fell for a
Believer resulting in a nice photo for
Renee
‘Muskie Tom’- Tom Wehler joined friend
and 2006 photo contest winner Jim
Rorig for an end of the season trip.
They both scored & here’s Tommy with
a 4-footer from Lake Vermillion.
‘Score!’- Craig Moser & his first, another fish
hailing from the North country.
‘Great Composition’- Teresa
Thompson captured husband
Lynn casting before a golden
sunrise over Lake Wisota up in
the Chippewa Falls area.
‘Over 50’- Michelle King with a 51” from the Chain-OLakes in Northern Michigan. Michelle has 3
muskies over 30 pounds in the last 2 seasons!
’Not Too Cold’- Todd Lorenz with one of many fish submitted recently from Mille Lacs. He braved some late ‘What Scenery...’- Mike Lincolnhol with a 45” Murray
Lake muskie caught under a blazing Sunset.
November weather & got rewarded with this colorful 43’
☞
Proper Muskie
Holding Techniques
for MUSKIE Magazine Photos including Covers, Article Support, Photo
Contest Entries
& Member Photos
www.muskiesinc.org
Fig Rig Rods for the
“Fish of a Lifetime”
Joe Kiritschenko caught this 55 inch long, 27.5 inch girth, 50 lb.
“Fish of a Lifetime” on Mille Lacs Lake with an 8’ Heavy
Fig Rig Tooth Tamer.
www.figrigrods.com
ATTENTION
CHAPTER
CONTACTS:
Special Events
2008
April 3, 4, 5
2008 Spring board meeting
Hosted by Titletown Muskies, Inc.,
Chapter #4
Radisson Hotel & Conference
Center,
2040 Airport Drive, Green Bay, WI
Telephone: 800-333-3333
Contact Jay Zahn:
[email protected]
September 24-25-26
2008 Gil Hamm Chapter Challunge
Hosted by First WI Chapter of
Muskies Inc., Chapter 06
Break on the Lake Resort, Cass
Lake Minnesota will be our
headquarters.
Contact Jon Olstadt:
715-579-1300
[email protected]
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.
www.muskiesinc.org
No. Chapter, Address
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!
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 ...............................715-726-8896
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, 29957 La Plant Rd., Grand Rapids, MN 55744...................218-326-4958
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, 5611 Alber, Parma, OH 44129........................................................440-221-5760
24.....Brainerd Lakes, 9143 Lone Pine Road, Brainerd, MN 56401..........................218-821-3669
26.....Central Wisconsin, PO Box 263, Medford, WI 54451 ......................................715-748-2630
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, 603 Bennettwoods Ct., Cincinnati, OH 45320 ...........................513-231-1961
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, 11551 Misty Meadows Rd, Bemidji, MN 56601................218-759-0098
47.....Michigan Muskie Alliance, PO Box 512, Caledonia, MI 49316 ........................616-447-1688
48.....Arrowhead, PO Box 82, Virginia, MN 55792....................................................218-482-5217
49.....Webster Lake Musky Club, PO Box 670, No. Webster, IN 46555 ...................574-834-1669
50.....Penn-Jersey, 372 Kingwood Rd., King of Prussia, PA 19406 ..........................610-962-0632
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
55.....Mid Iowa Muskies, 2940 SW Meadow Ridge, Ankeny IA 50023 .....................515-289-1583
57.....NW TigerPac, 10517 SE 214th Place, Kent, WA 98031 ..................................253-850-5889
CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS ◆ CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS ◆ CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS
Chapter News and Views
01
414 Division St.
Excelsior, MN 55331
952-380-1218
www.twincitiesmuskiesinc.org
Twin Cities
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.
ANNOUNCEMENT Hugh C. Becker Trust/Foundation Awards
Initial Requisition Criteria for disbursing funds,
subject to future amendments.
All requests are to be received between 1
December and 28 February of the following year.
Address all requests to Hugh C. Becker Committee
of Twin Cities Chapter of Muskies, Inc., c/o George
Selcke, 13004 Shady Dale Road, Minnetonka, MN
55343-4904.
Requests are not to be more than five (5) legibly
typed pages, to include all the following criteria:
1) Name and address of the group, and a history of
group’s accomplished projects to date, if applicable.
2) Demonstrate need- how will this project benefit
the Muskellunge program(s) in area, region, or
range (Canada included)
3) What is the project and what is purpose of project?
4) Where is this project taking place?
5) What is the duration of this project/start and finish
dates?
6) What are the cost breakouts? Itemize equipment
and labor, and provide quotes.
7) Who will be involved: the project team, project
manager/coordinator, and applicable means of
contact (phone numbers)
8) Submit “milestones” dates for progress reports
and accountability.
9) Can the requesting group match funds from
another source? Please list.
Other Considerations:
– Cap on any individual grant/fund will be $10,000;
incrementally within year or over the course of
years
– Credit to the Hugh C. Becker Trust Foundation will
be incurred in funding
– The Hugh C. Becker has priority rights to all press
releases and publications
– If this project fails to reach its purpose, through
false reporting, deceit, and/or other unprofessional acts, the requesting group may be responsible
for restitution (committee determination)
Addendum:
Like projects/activities that may qualify per the
wishes and conditions of Hugh C. Becker include,
but are not limited to:
– Muskie propagation by the Twin Cities Chapter
#1, in their own ponds (?) with their own equipment
– Stocking, by either raising Muskie fingerlings or
purchasing fingerlings/ yearlings/adults for public
use in designated waters
– Habitat protection and improvement
– Clean water (quality) protection and improvement
– Professional research by qualified personnel (not
limited to Minnesota, but must include accountable data)
– Expansion of the present muskellunge range
(special consideration for the Missouri river system in North/South Dakota)
The Twin Cities Chapter #1 Committee will consider projects based on their respective merits per
Criteria above, and awards will be published in
MUSKIE Magazine.
George Selcke
04
3097 Inverness Lane
New Franken, WI 54229
920-866-9705
Titletown
The October 13-14, 2007 Best of the Best
Muskie Tournament took place with a full field of 100
competitors registered as 50 team boats. This second year of the event was another absolute success
for tournament entrants and for the benefit of the
area fisheries.
Sixty-four muskies were taken and released in the
event, with multiple muskies released and registered by a select number of those teams. Five
teams were rewarded with cash prize payouts for
the event. Congratulations to all who successfully
caught and released fish!
Based on length, the point system awards indicated the winning teams to be the following:
5th: Will Revolinsky /Kevin Gille - Green Bay - 3 fish
- 50 points - $300
4th: Brett Jolly - Green Bay/Luke Molepske – Weston
- 3 fish - 52 points - $400
3rd: Roger Watters – Appleton/Shane Mason –
Townsend - 3 fish - 53 points - $800
2nd: Nick and Kathy Cammarata - Cary, Illinois - 4
fish - 62 points - $1,500
1st: Bob Arvey/Jeremy Fusek – Green Bay – 6 fish –
85 points - $5,000
The largest fish that was taken and released in
the two day, 17-hour tournament was caught on
Saturday by the team of Sig and Mary Kaminski of
Park Falls, Wisconsin. This fish measured 53.25
inches length, with an estimated 28-inch girth and
was believed to weigh at least 50 pounds. (Using the
weight calculator on the MI International site, I came
up with a figure of nearly 52 pounds!) Sig handled
the fish and Mary commanded the net, so it definitely was a TEAM EFFORT! See the related article in
this issue of MUSKIE.
Last year’s event netted 15 teams with 47
muskies released. The largest muskie released of
that event was caught by Bob Volm, was 47 1/2
inches in length, and earned a REPLICA mount by
Rick Lax Reproductions that was awarded at this
year’s event. The Kaminski fish will also be rewarded with a replica mount provided by Rick Lax.
The Titletown Chapter would like to thank all tournament participants, volunteers, sponsors (list provided through URL shown), supporting services
groups, and the WDNR for supporting the fundraising efforts of the group. We would also like to thank
and recognize the tournament site hosts, the Green
Bay Yacht Club, at the edge of the bay and the
mouth of the Fox River. Monies from the event will
be used in the Gil Hamm, Kermit Benson, and Perry
Smith Memorial Funds of Muskies, Inc. and also for
continuing support of the Spotted Muskie Program
through the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources.
More information regarding both events can be
obtained through the site with URL: http://www.titletownmuskiesinc.org/ .
Respectfully Submitted,
Don Swanson, Acting Newsletter Editor
P.O. Box 5
Hermitage, MO 65668
417-745-2381 – Carl Marks
www.missourimuskies.org
Meets: Various days-Call for schedule
Pomme de Terre
05
Chapter meetings for the year have been
wrapped up and it has been a busy year. We are
very happy to have Gary Neely back at the helm of
the chapter for next year after spending a large portion of 2007 in ill health.
At the December meeting we decided to commit
$3,500 to help pay for a new handicap accessible
dock on Lake Pomme de Terre. This money will be
donated to the Missouri Department of Conservation
if all of the rest of the funding is lined up. In addition
we agreed to help place structure under the dock to
attract fish. We have asked the national organization for a minimum $250 grant to help finance this
portion of the plan.
A very interesting seminar was held after the
meeting with Mike Webb and Steve Boillot from Bass
Pro Shops leading the discussion about electronics
on your boat. Some of it you already knew but there
were a lot of “ah-ha” moments when you learned
something you didn’t know that explained problems
or situations that you have found yourself in. This
was a good session that will keep some folks from
making mistakes when purchasing or mounting
Christmas presents.
Our second Guide for a Day outing for the year
was very well attended thanks to a mention in the St.
Louis Post Dispatch. Between the two dates we had
a good year and raised a lot of money for the chapter. Thanks to Earle Hammond for all his work on
those events. Earle also keeps up our website
(recently re-designed) and is our RVP; we appreciate all he and his wife Mary do for the chapter.
We are working Sports Shows in Columbia,
Kansas City and St Louis in the next couple of
months along with events in Cape Girardeau,
Springfield and probably other locations. That will
keep us busy up to the time for our Chapter
Challenge with the Shawnee Muskie Hunters in
March.
P.O. Box 8862, Madison, WI 53708
608-669-5046 – Gerard Hellenbrand
www.capitalcitymuskiesinc.org
Meets: 2nd Monday 7:00 PM Park Ponderosa
McFarland, WI
08
Capital City
Several of our club members have caught their
personal best as the air and water temperatures
have plummeted with the approaching winter. Our
President, Steve Reinstra, and board member Tom
Pennison caught their first 50+ inch fish on a trip to
Michigan/Ontario Lake St Clair the second weekend
in November. A group of our club members fished
Minnesota’s Mille Lacs the same weekend with great
success. Adam Oberfoell caught a 52 inch by 27
inch girth for his first 50+ lb fish. Matt Fritstan caught
a whopper 54.75 inch with a 27.5 inch girth. It
appears that magnum bull dawgs were the magic
lure on this trip.
Our November meeting was held at the East Side
Club in Madison. The feature speaker was Mike
Cookas a guide from the Hayward Wisconsin area.
Mike was instrumental in helping establish our chapter some twenty five years ago. After some reminiscing, Mike proceeded to talked about the various lures
he has had success with (and had pictures to prove
it) in different fishing conditions throughout northern
Wisconsin and Minnesota as well as Canada. Mike
left us with the following advice. If you think about
doing something – do it (sharpening hooks, changing lures, moving to a different spot, etc.). The highlight of his presentation was a showing of probably
the first muskie catching video made. It was from the
mid-1940s. Most of us gasped at the way muskies
were caught and kept before the days of enlightenment (catch and release).
Now that the muskie season is drawing to a close,
the club is beginning to plan for the off-season activities that include our banquet, the muskie school,
and the spring seminar to keep us busy until the
opener in 2008.
Gary Hoffman
The WV Chapter of Muskies, Inc. is proud to have
been chosen by the WV Division of Natural
Resources for the 2007 WV Sportsmen Organization
Award for making the most Outstanding Contribution
to Wildlife Conservation. All outdoor organizations
are considered for this award, not just Hunting and
Fishing Clubs. This recognition is testimony to the
relationship developed by President Jim Moore over
the years and the hard work and efforts of chapter
members to help DNR improve the WV fishery.
In September and October, we assisted DNR in
the recovery of advanced fingerling muskies from
Bee Run, Bowden and Falls Mill rearing ponds.
Volunteers helping with this project included Gary
Cooper, Roger Lindsay, Jeff Hanshaw, David
Kaltenecker, John Kaltenecker, Robert Eddy, Shane
Eakle, Frank McDonald, Kevin Fisher, Bill and
Sharon Crane, Kevin Custer, Ed Metheny, Kevin
Kelley and Jim Moore. Special thanks to Ken
Squires who worked each site which are all more
than 100 miles from his home.
2007 Advanced Fingerling Stocking:
Burnsville Reservoir – 686; East Lynn Reservoir –
378; Coal River – 200; Monongahela River – 249;
Fishing Creek – 100; Mason Lake – 17; Kanawha
River - 308; Curtisville Lake – 30; Gauley River –
100; Huey Run Lake – 20; Teter Creek Lake – 30;
New River – 197; Mountwood Lake – 50; Stonewall
Jackson Lake - 1,623; Woodrum Lake – 189;
Stonecoal Reservoir – 199; Upper Mud Lake – 191;
North Bend Lake - 197
This was the most advanced muskie fingerlings
ever stocked by WV DNR. The fingerlings included
a whopping 20 incher plus several others from 14 to
16 inches.
No fish were registered at our September North
Bend Lake Outing or our Fall Mail-In. We thank
Darlene Kelley and Karen Shepherd who served as
chairpersons.
WV DNR reported that a giant Stonewall Jackson
Lake muskie became entangled in a net intended to
sample other fish species and tragically died. At 53
7/8” it would have been a new WV length record if
caught on sporting tackle. She weighed 46 pounds
and illustrates the trophy potential of Stonewall
Jackson which we recommend be designated
Trophy Muskie Water with a 50” minimum length
limit.
Scheduling conflicts have forced us to have our
Annual Business Meeting and Awards Dinner a little
later than usual next year. It will be held at the
Vienna (WV) Community Building on Saturday
March 1, 2008.
John Kaltenecker, Secretary
P.O. Box 652
Eagle River, WI 54521
715-477-2913 – Paul Hansen
www.headwatersmuskies.com
Meets 1st Wednesday 7:00 PM
Headwaters
12
Where has the season gone? As secretary of
Headwaters Chapter 12 Here it is the middle of
November, Some skim ice on Eagle river and a light
snow cover; I know there are only a few days left. As
I look back the last month Our Headwaters Chapter
12 has been extremely busy with events and projects.
On the last Saturday of October Paul Hansen and
Bill Jacobs coordinated our Claim To Fame Enduro.
The Enduro drew a record turnout of 90 club members attending dinner and 62 hardy people out fishing the Eagle River Chain. There were 8 fish caught.
Congratulations to John Schmidt for doubling with a
www.muskiesinc.org
41 1/2 and a 32; Paul Brandon 43, Jerry Hollnagel 38,
Dan Hulloff 36 1/2, Jim Rechiltz 36, Steve Anderson
36, and Bob Jacobs 35. Everyone who fished knows
how the Enduro got its name with gale force winds
and cold weather.
Headwaters Chapter 12 on October 25th, under
the Directions of Jeff Miller, club members including
junior members used their labor to make 7 concrete
boat landing pads to be used in the surrounding area
where needed. The cost for the material was
$1800.00 which our club funded. The labor and
assistance came from Jeff Miller, Bill Jacobs, Jim
Gall, Joe Koschnik, Bill Pabst, Harvey Sadler, Pat
and Shannon Tynan, Bobby Buchanan, Jim Heinitz,
Jim Rechlitz and Glenn Matula. Last years project
had the pads placed at the Buckatabon Landing and
the Braywood Landing.
As our season winds down we presently exceeded 1000 fish entries, be sure to register your fish
ASAP. We are looking at breaking our fish registration record. Also mark your calendar for our
Christmas party to be held January 5th at the Oneida
Village located in Three Lakes, WI.
Last but not least a very big congratulations to
club members Dick Heckel and Bill Jacobs for boating two muskies and winning the Professional Musky
Tournament Trail (PMTT) world championship in
Oct. 2007. The tournament was held in Cave Run
Lake in eastern Kentucky. Our winning team captured the big fish award both days with 40 and 48inch muskies. Congratulations again for a job well
done.
Good Luck and Good Fishing
Glenn Matula, Secretary
13
P.O. Box 609
Hayward, WI 54843
715-634-4543
Hayward Lakes
The November club meeting was mainly a business meeting, we reviewed the tournament results
and elected officers and board members for 2008.
The president for next year will again be Mike
Persson, vice president will Emmett Brown, treasurer will be Jim Breen and Ivan Uttech will continue on
as secretary. We want to thank Vickie Palya, who is
stepping down as treasurer after many years of service. Our treasurer has a big job because of the additional responsibilities the tournament creates. Vickie
took on all additional work without complaint and did
it well.
At the November meeting we also had a “lure
swap” which was fun so we’ll have a swap again
next year.
The current standings in our members contest:
Women – Terra Blankenship – 2 fish-12pts.
Men – Dave Kreuziger – 1 fish-7.5pts; Clint
Blankenship – 1 fish-8pts; Jim O’Leary – 2 fish10pts; J.B. Ellis – 2 fish-11.5pts; Jim Nyberg – 1
fish-19pts; Allen Hoeft – 2 fish-20.5pts; Roger
Williamson – 8 fish-116.5pts; Emmett Brown – 20
fish-186pts; Mike Persson – 18 – fish-261pts
(includes a 50” from LOTW).
Senior Masters – Dick Minnick – 18 fish-165pts.
The January meeting for the Hayward Lakes
Chapter will be Tuesday the 8th at 7pm. We will
meet at Dow’s Corner Bar which is on Highway 77
east, 13 miles east of Hayward at County A. This
will be our budget and planning meeting for 2008
activities, board members are asked to attend
and all interested members are welcome. At this
time no meeting is planned for February but our
annual awards banquet is expected to be Saturday
March 1, 2008.
Good Fishing,
Mike Persson
19
10957 Northwood Ave. NE
Bolivar, OH 44612
Gordon Selden - 330-874-2773
http://[email protected]
Akron-Canton
Meets 3rd Monday 7:00 PM, Belgrade Gardens,
3476 Massillon Road, Akron, OH.
The weather is starting to turn cold and putting our
boats away for the winter is around the corner. Some
of our guys have had a good month of November
catching some nice fish. Hopefully, the month of
December will cooperate as well. We will be electing
our officers for our 2008 season at our December
meeting and are currently working on the schedule
of events for 2008. Our first two events I can tell you
about are our Annual Lure Auction on Feb 18th and
our Annual Awards Banquet on March 8th. We will
have our complete schedule after the first of the
year. I will update you with these events as they get
closer. Until then, hope everyone had a good
Christmas and New Year!
Kevin Proffitt
P.O. Box 41216
Plymouth, MN 55441
763-537-0781
Meets 3rd Tuesday, Knights of Columbus,
Fridley (6831 NE Hwy 65)
21
North Metro
The November meeting was held at Cabela’s in
Rogers. Brad Hoppe from Musky Mayhem Tackle
LLC provided tips on connecting with open water
muskies. Although he claims to be just learning
about it, he put a lot of big fish in the boat in 2007
using these tactics.
Preparations are under way for our 2008 North
Metro Banquet that will be held February 23, 2008.
Pete Mania will be our speaker, the grand prize
drawing for purchasing a ticket will be a two day
guide trip with Jason Hammernick including lodging;
there will be thousands of dollars in raffle and silent
auction items; all you can eat fish fry; additional
guide trips and many more items. The banquet is
open to everyone. Tickets are $25 and must be purchased in advance by contacting Bob Anderson at
[email protected] or calling him at 763-441-3108.
Only 240 tickets will be sold. You can find more information at www.northmetromuskies.com
North Metro meets the 3rd Tuesday of every
month, 7:00 PM, North Air Banquet Hall (KC Hall) in
Fridley.
Ross Fischer, Secretary
www.northmetromuskies.com
22
New Jersey
http://www.mi22.com/
It is sport show season and we will have several
members participating in an educational and informational table at the Raritan Sports Show at the
Chapter 22 booth from Jan 11-13 (contact Kevin at
201-563-2554 for more info; Kevin is also your new
member contact he can help with website access
and member privileges).
We will be selling raffle tickets as a fundraiser, a
few prizes are an underwater camera and a seat in
the 2008 Musky School. Members are encouraged
to sell as well as purchase raffle tickets. A 7’ 6”
heavy action Esox musky rod has been donated by
a new club sponsor and will be awarded to the member who sells the most tickets. We are busy planning
a good series of speakers for our monthly meetings.
Rumors are a few well known regional musky
hunters are on the top of the list.
1270 Federal Road
Little Hocking, OH 45742
740-667-3571
http://westvirginiamuskiesinc.org
Meets: No definite schedule-call
09
West Virginia
Our ad for 2008 Musky School is set and will be
in the new NJ fishing compendium. The event is
set for Lake Hopatcong May 17 and 18 and will
include group demonstrations on trolling, basic
equipment and gear, how to handle and release
muskies, and lure presentations. There will be 3 to
4 hours of on the water with personal instruction.
We will begin the day with group demonstrations
and review spots to fish by going over the lake map.
Lunch is included in the $250 donation as is an
afternoon group seminar. The day will end with an
hour or two of fishing.
A main priority this year will be completing the
installation of the anti-predation nets purchased for
the hatchery ponds in Hackettstown. I would like to
say a big thanks to everyone on behalf of the outgoing executive committee for putting together another great holiday party and a fine season. We are
looking forward to another fine year and a fresh
start with new officers: Pat Marshall - President;
Jeff Young - Vice President; Kevin Johnson - RVP;
and Jed Chingery - Treasurer.
OUTING DATES 2008
A Spring Fling general outing April 20 at Monksville
Reservoir
Musky School on Lake Hopatcong on May 17 -18
Spring Tourney- June 15
Fall outing on Greenwood Lake - Sept. 28
Raritan Sports Show- Jan. 11-13
Butler Fishing Show - Feb. 9-10 (FYI)
Pequest Open House- tba, 1st weekend in April
MEETINGS at Lake Arrowhead Lodge 2008:
January 29; February 26; March 25; April 29;
May 27.
Kevin Johnson, RVP Chapter 22
P.O. Box 263
Medford, WI 54451
715-748-2630 – Jim Jacobs
[email protected]
Central Wisconsin
26
Meets 1st Monday, 7:00 PM, Happy Joe’s, Hwy.
13, Medford, WI
At the Nov. 12 meeting we planned a banquet, a
gun raffle, four outings, a canal dredging and a donation for an outhouse. We also discussed the proposed restructuring of Muskies Inc. into 4 regions
and the elimination of RVPs at the single Board of
Directors meeting. It was opposed because small
Chapters such as ours would no longer have a direct
voice at the Board meeting. Art Klempke and I are
looking into having the April 26, 2008 Banquet open
to the public and having more raffle prizes including
not only fishing tackle but also two guns. It will be at
the same location Molitors on old Hwy 29 in
Abbotsford 6:00 pm cocktails 7:00 PM dinner.
We stocked about 40 10-14” muskies in Spirit
Lake along with the Wisconsin DNR’s 76 muskies
and stocked 84 muskies in the Eau Pleine. The latter
muskie stocking was a 50/50 joint effort with the
Consolidated Musky Club and the DNR tagged the
muskies with a fluorescent pink dye under the jaw.
The dye is activated with an ultra violet light and is
suppose to stay there for the life of the muskie. We
are planning to have our first annual joint early season outing with the Consolidated Musky Club Sat
May 10 on the Wisconsin River system south of Hwy
10. Afterward a get together is planned at the Anchor
Bay Bar and Grill on the Biron Flowage. Other
planned 2008 outings are Lake Holcombe June 3,
Rib Lake July 8, and Spirit Lake August 5. I am going
to apply for a Muskies Inc. grant towards the canal
dredging between Big and Little Spirit Lake. We have
donated up to $100 for the operation and maintenance of the portable restroom at the Spirit Lake
boat landing.
Gerald Bucholtz, RVP
61 W. Jennings
Wood River, IL 62095
618-610-5003 – Manuel Santa Cruz
[email protected]
Shawnee Muskie Hunters
28
www.shawneemuskiehunters.org
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
October 20th and 21st we had our “Guide Fore the
Day” event. We had eighteen club members turn out
to help with the guiding for clients.
Forty boats participated in the Fall Brawl in
October at Kinkaid Lake. There were 24 fish caught
Saturday and 16 on Sunday. The winner was Carisle
Guinnip who was fishing by himself and landed 5
fish. Second place went to the team of Beasley and
Hodge with 3 fish. Third place went to the team of
Ryder and Collions with 3 fish. Fourth place went to
the team of Artrip and Artrip with 2 fish. Fifth place
went to the team of Ledgerwood and Hutchison with
2 fish.
First annual Take a Veteran Fishing Day results:
We had 9 Veterans show up with two of the veterans
bringing their sons for an even more enjoyable time.
Ten boats from the Shawnee Muskie Hunters, plus
Kinkaid guide Chad Cain, volunteered for a very
memorable day on the water for all. A great meal
was prepared and served by Cheryl and Gregory
Ford after a fine day of fishing with the Veterans.
Jerry Ford and Manuel Santa Cruz invited the Vets
for the day. This was a very rewarding event; we are
looking forward to doing it again next year.
Upcoming Events in 2008:
March 8: Pomme de Terre/Shawnee Muskie Hunter
Chapter Challenge @ Kinkaid Lake
Muskies, Inc. Joins
Good Search...
spread the word!
What if Muskies, Inc. earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Well
now we can!
All you have to do is click on this link www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=830274 and
start searching the internet as you normally would! You can save this link as one of
your favorites. Each search raises a penny for Muskies, Inc.
You can also go to the main website for GoodSearch at www.goodsearch.com; then
where it says “enter your charity here...”, under the box labeled “Who do you search
for?”, just move your cursor inside the box and type Muskies or Muskies Inc, then
click verify. MUSKIES INC (BARRINGTON IL) will appear. That way you know MI will
get the credit.
Help us spread the word!
March 29: Shawnee Muskie Hunters Awards
Banquet
April 12: Annual Kinkaid Lake Cleanup
April 25-26-27: Muskie University-Southern Style,
Kinkaid Lake
May 3-4: 11th Annual Spring Warm-Up Muskie
Tournament, Kinkaid Lake
May 17-18: Guide for Day, Kinkaid Lake
June 7: Annual Kids’ Fishing Day, Murphysboro Lake
October 18-19: Guide for Day, Kinkaid Lake
October 25-26: 8th Annual Fall Brawl Muskie
Tournament, Kinkaid Lake
September 13: Patriot Day Celebration at Jones’
Park in East St. Louis
November 8: take a veteran fishing
Muskie Gal!
Shannon Beaty-Dingus
[email protected]
Fox River Valley
39
1253 Cobblers Crossing, Elgin, IL 601230
847-741-9771 – Rich Gallagher
www.frvmuskie.com
Meets: 2nd Wed (Exc June/July) Poplar Creek Country
Club, 1400 Poplar Creek Drive, Hoffman Estates, IL.
Here we go! A New Year and another season on
the horizon. Now is the perfect time to break down
and check your gear. Get reels cleaned, spool new
line, check rods for nicks and dings, sharpen hooks
and make leaders. These things not only break up
the monotony of “cabin fever” but when the ice
thaws, you and your gear are “Good To Go!”
We have another full calendar of events, outings,
top notch speakers, stocking of area lakes and family fun planned for 2008.
Kicking the year off will be our January “Pre
Show” meeting with featured speaker, Mr. Jim Saric.
His “In House” seminar will be 10 Tips for Canadian
Muskies. This is a presentation for our club and
WILL NOT be part of his Chicago Muskie Show
presentation. Circle this date and join us for one of
the Premiere Musky Hunters in the business. Note,
this meeting will be on THURSDAY, January 10th.
While you are at it pencil in the February meeting
when our speaker will be Mr. Tony Grant. Two meetings with two of the best “Sticks” in the business - if
that doesn’t get you itching for the season to start
then I suppose nothing will.
The Award Banquet where we recognize the
achievements of our club members is in the near
future. Jimmie “Z” Ziebka has put together a full
schedule of outings for the year, including the Spring
and Fall “Challunge on the Chain”, the ever popular
Kids Fishing Derby, and a new jewel in our crown, a
youth outing to Lac Vieux Desert. Watch here, the
newsletter and the web site for the dates and further
info on these events.
We ask you our members if you have any
thoughts, comments or ideas on the club meetings,
outings and events that take place to please take a
moment and get on the web site to let us know. This
is YOUR club. The members of the Fox River Valley
Chapter are what this is all about. Let us know what
you like, what you don’t like, ideas for outings, etc.
Anything you have to say will be considered at the
Board Meetings. We appreciate and look forward to
your input.
Our regular club meeting dates are the second
Wednesday of the month at the Poplar Creek
Country Club. They offer a buffet style dinner starting
at six p.m. before the 7:30 p.m. meeting. The week
before the meeting the web site will have the buffet
menu and cost.
Until Later, return ‘em to the water healthy and
JT
remember our troops.
You CAN have your fish and release it, too!
FITTANTE REPLICAS
Serving discriminating sportsmen for over 36 years
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are available upon request and phone orders are welcome. Serving quality minded
sportsmen across the nation is our specialty.
“The #1 reason I choose Joe Fittante is his artistry. He
is the only taxidermist I have found who can accurately
reproduce the true colors and markings of a living
musky. His painting technique separates him
from the rest. That is why I use him exclusively, and
prefer his work above all others.”
– Joe Bucher,
Hall of Fame Angler
Capture the moment
www.fittantereplicas.com • email: [email protected]
3 miles north of Antigo on Hwy. 45 • N4598 Hwy. 45, Antigo, WI 54409
(715) 627-7662 • 1-800-261-2327

MUSKIE Magazine

Transcription

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