An Outsider Looking In

Transcription

Contents
MUSKIE magazine is published monthly and is the
Official Publication of Muskies, Inc.
Ellen Wells, Administrative Secretary, 1509 Stahl
Road, Sheboygan, WI 53081. Ph: 1-888-710-8286.
© Copyright 2011 by Muskies, Inc. All rights reserved.
MUSKIE • Vol. 45, No. 6
Departments
2 President’s Message, Jay Zahn
3 About the Cover, Juris Ozols
3 Index of Advertisers
Features
10Stay on top of Late Summer Muskies, Tony Grant
4 MUSKIE News
7 Lunge Log, Jim Bunch
14 Spotlight: Joe Bucher Outdoors
15 Photo Contest, Brad Waldera
16Catchability, Pressure and Hot Lures,
Adam M. Glickman
20Sunscreen for Mid-day Muskies, Patricia Strutz
19 Figure 8, Kevin Richards
24Fishing the Sab, Keith Ogden
23 Spotlight: Big Wood Musky Lures
30Cold Front Cove Muskies, Joe Bucher
39 Chapter News and Views
32An Outsider Looking In, Sean Landsman
48 Photo Guidelines
37Kinkaid Lake, Walt Krause
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www.muskiesinc.org
July 2011.....MUSKIE 1
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
President, Jay Zahn
Phone: 920-660-7655
Email: [email protected]
VP Finance/Treasurer, Jim Shannon
Phone: 763-434-9729
VP Fisheries & Research, Tom Penniston
Phone: 608-558-9657
VP Internal Affairs, Fred Brogle
Phone: 715-479-5873
VP Membership & Marketing, Greg Wells
Phone: 920-457-3720
VP Communications, Ron Teschner
Phone: 701-640-0544
The President’s Message
by Jay Zahn
VP Youth Activities, Kevin Bushnick
Phone: 847-987-3622
Corporate Secretary, Lorin Nevling
Phone: 217-762-8070
Past-President, Dan Narsete
Senior Regional Representatives are also
Executive Committee Members
Regional Representatives
( *denotes Senior )
Region 1
Term Expires
Brian Grote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2011
*Carl Phillips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012
Greg Kvale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013
Region 2
Ron Groeschl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2011
Mark Kornosky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012
*Leo Kofoot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013
Region 3
Vacant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2011
Doug Dible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012
*Joel Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013
Region 4
Kimberly Cates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2011
*Earle Hammond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012
Frank Walter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013
Support
Administrative Secretary, Ellen Wells
1509 Stahl Road, Sheboygan, WI 53081
Phone: 888-710-8286
Executive Accountant, Kathryn Goon
Phone: 419-945-2940
Merchandising Director, Will Schultz
Phone: 616-447-1688
Web Master, Ron Groeschl
Phone: 262-789-1255
2 MUSKIE.....July 2011
Muskies, Inc. President
G
reetings! As I sit here we are a couple of days away from the spring opener in
Northern Wisconsin. I’m sure the excitement of the opener is the same all over the
Muskie belt. The new baits from all the sport shows are in the tackle box and all
the hooks are sharpened. There are few days like the opener that mean more to a fisherman,
let alone the Muskie fisherman. But before we go out to our favorite spots let us take a
moment and say thanks to all the hard work that was done during this off season.
Here in Wisconsin we were able to get a 40-inch minimum passed statewide. To our
members in Minnesota who already have in place a 48-minimum this might not seem like
much, but for a state that just a few years ago turned down a 36-inch minimum this is quite
an accomplishment.
New chapters are being formed; two in Wisconsin and one in Minnesota. They are
taking their first steps as you read this.
Let’s take a moment and talk about 50-inch catches. In the March issue of this magazine there was a bar chart showing the 50-inch catches from the 70s all the way to present.
The data clearly shows we are living in the good old days as far as muskie fishing goes.
Muskies Inc. members should be proud of this. I believe the values which Muskies Inc.
members have toward their sport are the reason for this explosion of 50-inch catches.
Regulations which help protect muskies will ensure this will continue for years to come.
Catch-and-Release was something only a few practiced in the early 70s; look how far we
have come down that road. What’s next? There are stories like this all across our membership and I for one am glad there is a Muskies Inc. and I am proud to be associated with this
organization. Tom Penniston, our VP of Fisheries and Research, and all our other VPs, are
here to help all chapters with muskie related issues that arise in your areas. Please feel free
to contact any of us.
On the weekend of May 21st we had our Spring Board of Directors meeting. I just
want to say that it will be my pleasure working with this board. Everyone is dedicated to
making Muskies Inc. the best it can be and growing our membership. I would like to take
a moment to thank the Capital City Chapter of Madison for hosting the board meeting.
There is a lot of hard work behind the scenes that goes into setting up one of these events
and they handled everything. A big shout goes out to President Lee Bartolini for setting
everything up for us and making sure everyone had a good time. I was able to go fishing
on Friday before the meeting with Cap City member Craig Reukauf. I didn’t catch anything
but was shown a great time and I now have a new fishing buddy from southern Wisconsin.
All in all it was a very productive weekend and one which MI members will be hearing
more about in the months to come. (continued on next page)
Grab em’ by the tail, Jay Zahn v
About the COVER
A beautiful, classic rock island on Lake of the
Woods. You can almost see the muskies in
the cover picture, hanging out a few yards from
shore, waiting to attack the lure you throw at
them.
I threw many lures at that island during the
week I spent photographing George Wahl’s
last trip to Lake of the Woods in 2008. I
didn’t catch any. Indeed, I didn’t even get a
strike. But I saw one. I saw a muskie that took
my breath away. I’ll be back.
For those of you heading to Lake of the Woods
for the 2011 Gil Hamm Chapter Challunge be prepared to find more islands
like this one than you can fish in just one muskie lifetime. There are 14,000
islands to choose from. How will you narrow down your choice of fishing
spots on Lake of the Woods? Get some ideas by reading the 2011 Chapter
Challunge preview article by Keith Ogden.
- Juris v
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
BIG WOOD MUSKY LURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 23
CAVE RUN LAKE / MOREHEAD TOURISM COMMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . 11
DADSON BLADE BAITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
FIRST WISCONSIN ANNUAL TOURNAMENT (CHAPTER 6) . . . . . . . . . . 45
FITTANTE REPLICAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
FRANK SCHNEIDER, JR. MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT (CHAPTER 1) . . . 43
JOE BUCHER OUTDOORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
LAC SEUL FLOATING LODGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
LAKE POMME DE TERRE ANNUAL TOURNAMENT (CHAPTER 5) . . . . . 41
LAKEWOOD PRODUCTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
LURE PARTS ONLINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
MANITOU WEATHER STATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
MUSKIE MAGAZINE - CATCH THE FEVER! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
RED WING LODGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
ST. CROIX RODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC
VERMILION DAM LODGE - ANNUAL FALL MUSKIE OUTING . . . . . . . . . 18
YAKIMA BAITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
YOUNG’S WILDERNESS CAMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
www.muskiesinc.org
MUSKIE Magazine Staff
Editor
Kevin Richards
7618 Sunrise Ridge Road
Henley, MO 65040
Phone: (573) 280-2300
ASSISTANT Editor
Juris Ozols
Phone: (612) 747-0178
PHOTO CONTEST EDITOR
Brad Waldera
Phone: (701) 642-1952
LUNGE LOG EDITOR
Members Only Fishing Contest
Jim Bunch
Phone: (715) 226-0295
ADVERTISING SALES TEAM
Kevin Richards, Advertising Manager
Phone: (573) 280-2300
Terri Fierstine,
Advertising Sales Representative
Phone: (218) 252-0947
Harlan Fierstine,
Advertising Sales Representative
Phone: (218) 255-3461
PRINTING Account Manager
Sunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - Stacey Thielen
Magazine Design
Sunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - John Windschitl
IllustratorS/CartoonistS
Richard Gross, Charles Weiss
FIELD EDITORS
Patricia Strutz, Kevin Pischke, Sean Landsman,
Rick Helm, Adam Glickman, David Cates,
Steve Budnik
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.
Administrative Secretary.
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 material for
publication should contact the Editor.
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.
A B O U T T H E C OV E R ◆ A B O U T T H E C OV E R ◆ I N D E X O F A DV E R T I S E R S ◆ I N D E X O F A DV E R T I S E R S
Getting back to the fishing preparation, I know that by the time this is read we will be
well into the season. Here’s hoping that it will be a season that includes that fish of a lifetime
for you and me so I can replace that picture on the top of the [previous] page with a new one.
I told Kevin and Juris that I promise to take off my sunglasses next time. Be safe and…
MUSKIE NEWS ◆ MUSKIE NEWS ◆ MUSKIE NEWS ◆ MUSKIE NEWS ◆ MUSKIE NEWS
Annual Board Meeting hosted by
Capital City Chapter in Madison, WI
By all accounts, it was a great meeting! Special thanks to Lee
Bartolini, Henry Hempe and all the other folks from Capital City
Chapter for the hospitality and coordination.
The meeting included many positive discussions and decisions.
Make sure you read the next two news items (reports from two of our
new vice presidents). You should also check out this month’s
President’s Message and the revised listing for our Board of Directors,
Executive Committee and Regional Representatives on page 2.
Welcome to all of our new and returning officers.
While there was plenty of business conducted at the meeting our
hosts from Chapter 8
made sure there was
some fun too. On
Friday before the
meeting a number of
chapter members took
visitors out on the
Madison lakes to
experience
some
spring muskie action.
Several muskies were
released and most
boats encountered
multiple fish. That
evening we had a tasty
group dinner which
facilitated considerable pre-meeting discussion.
After dinner we were treated to some
awesome muskie music from the Crandall
brothers - Geoff and Tim. Geoff is a past
president of Chapter 8. Their original lyrics included crowd favorites such as
Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up
and Fish Muskies and 50 Ways to Lose
a Muskie. They are fine musicians and
lots of fun. Thanks guys!
Vice-President Reports
Ron Teschner – VP of Communications
Special thanks to Past-President Dan Narsete for his service to
Muskies Inc. Dan led us through many positive changes but was
kind enough to leave some work behind for our new leader,
President Jay Zahn. Here is a photo of Dan (right) passing the
gavel to Jay (left).
Hello muskie fishermen and women,
My name is Ron Teschner from Fargo-Moorhead (Chapter 2)
and I am your newly
elected
V.P.
of
Communications. I
have been a member
of MI since 1999 and
have been involved
with the national for
the last six years. I
hope to use my education and business
ownership
background to promote
Muskies Inc.
My duties include assisting with all aspects of our major communications projects, including MUSKIE Magazine and the MI
website. I’m excited about working with our outstanding magazine
staff and with all the folks who have been working on our websites
– old and new.
As you read this, Phase 1 of the web site, which was
approved at the Madison Board Meeting, should be up
and running. In addition, we have decided to skip the
November 2011 issue of MUSKIE Magazine to help
fund the new website; this will also give us some flexibility going into next year’s budget cycle.
The Spring Board Meeting, hosted admirably by the
Capital City Chapter in Madison, Wisconsin, went very
well. It started with Mike Keyes founder of Keyes
Outdoors making an insightful presentation for a potential partnership with MI. A committee has been formed
to look further into this potential opportunity.
Congratulations to our new president Jay Zahn!
Good luck Jay as you lead us into the future.
The By-Laws have been updated and approved to
reflect the new regional structure. The By-Law commit-
Fred Brogle – VP of Internal Affairs
Greetings Musky Enthusiasts,
As we get started in our new musky season the corporate duties
of MI seems to somehow get overlooked. On May 21st newly elected
officers have taken the lead in “your” organization, ready to move to
a new era. As your new Vice-President of Internal Affairs I would like
to report to you
from my perspective. My specific
duties will give
supervision to; the
organization’s insurance, Gil Hamm
Chapter Challunge,
our History &
Achieves, Bylaws,
and the Lunge Log.
Under the new job
description, regional operations and communications with the Regional Representatives
are now added. Making our regions work will be a personal ambition.
In an illustrious history of great musky anglers, Muskies Inc. has
served its members in many ways to preserve and improve our favorite sport. In the last decade the attraction of musky fishing has
jumped in leaps and bounds as
more people fish musky than
ever before. Fishing as a youth
in the waters of Northern
Wisconsin, I can recall “maybe”
one out of ten boats fishing for
musky, today half of those
boats, or more, are fishing for
this elusive creature. Fishing
pressure is on the rise and we
need to keep a watchful eye. As
we get better in our sport, the
musky once known as the fish
of 10,000 casts has been
reduced, and the chance to get
that magical 50-plus incher is
improving. This comes primarily from better musky education, and improved stocking
www.muskiesinc.org
programs across this nation. I am happy to say much of this awareness comes from our organization.
In the Muskies Inc. mission, our job is to improve the sport
through the education of our youth, but also our seasoned anglers.
Youth programs are essential to our growth. Working with local and
state DNR personnel has brought better musky fishing through
stocking programs, and improved genetics in musky strains. Striving
through legislation increasing size limits to maximum fish growth
potentials and a strong motto in “Catch & Release” are working to
preserve the sport.
In our society we are learning that although our work to improve
the sport is ongoing, we also must continue to be a part of “the time”.
We at Muskies Inc. are looking to step into a new era with more
modern educational tools. In a recent poll of our demographics, we
are an organization of older people; nearly 75% of our members are
over the age of 45, which is an indication and a sign to make some
changes. In the next few years we will be faced with challenges to
make us better and attracting the younger generation is a major goal.
We do listen to our membership so your input is always welcome.
As a member you can help us… we are on a nationwide membership campaign. Help us seek out new members and get them
involved; regain the interests of members that have left. New members and new chapters are always welcome. The larger we can make
our membership base, the more projects we can unveil. We have a
back-burner with several projects but it can only be brought to life
through a strong membership. Youth members can be our biggest
resource as they are the board members of the future. Attend your
local chapter meetings and take a bigger part in our mission, get
involved. If you have any questions feel free to contact me or any of
your national board members.
Good Luck & Good Fishn’
Fred E. Brogle, V.P. Internal Affairs
Minnesota Regulations Update VETO 2011
For the second year in a row it took a veto by the Minnesota
Governor to halt an ill-conceived Senate bill which would have
impacted a number of the state’s quality pike and muskie fisheries,
including Cass Lake. Just like last year, this included lifting the
(Continued on page 6)
tee did a phenomenal job. It took many long hours, but if you take
the time to read them you will recognize the fine job they did.
We elected MI’s executive committee for the next two years.
Congratulations to the MI officers and thank you for your time and
effort.
Thank you to Capital City for hosting a very productive Spring
Board Meeting. I felt the promise of a bright future for Muskies Inc.
Membership revenue is needed to make this happen faster. We are
growing again, but membership revenue is needed to bring us into
the new age of technology. You can help by signing up a new member or inviting a past member back.
I’m proud to be in a position to assist in making all this happen.
Working together the future of Muskies Inc. is bright. I thank each
of you for this opportunity.
Ron Teschner, V.P. of Communications
MUSKIE NEWS (Continued from page 5)
spearing ban on northern pike at Cass Lake which could also have
serious impacts on that muskie fishery.
On May 27, 2011 Governor Mark Dayton sent a letter to the
MN Senate President which included:
“With this letter, I am vetoing and returning Chapter 111,
Senate File 943, the Game and Fish Bill.”
“. . . I am concerned with two provisions in this bill that relate
to fishing regulations. Specifically, section 57 requires the Department
of Natural Resources to reduce the number of experimental and
special management lakes from 119 to 90 by this fall. Section 72
allows spearing on Cass Lake and prohibits restrictions on spearing
northern pike, which may diminish the quality of the northern pike
fishery. These provisions impact Minnesota’s 1.4 million anglers,
who spend approximately $2.5 billion each year in the state on
angling-related expenditures, and yet, to my knowledge, anglers and
other stakeholders were not consulted on the proposed changes. I
have heard from many individuals and groups who believe they have
not been adequately heard in this discussion, resulting in changes
that don’t reflect constituent desires. I strongly encourage you to
work with all the stakeholders who place tremendous value in our
state’s natural resources to find workable compromise on these
issues.”
“I ask that you . . . find a workable compromise on sections 57
and 72. I am willing to accept this Game and Fish bill in a special
session if you address these concerns.”
By the time you read this, things may have changed again, but
for now it looks like there has been another last-minute reprieve.
Special thanks to John Underhill and to others from the Minnesota
Muskie Alliance and various chapters of Muskies Inc. for raising
awareness to a level which resulted in Governor Dayton’s veto. If you
talk to the Gov, tell him muskie anglers appreciate his concern for
MN fisheries!
Shabbona Muskie Rescues
& New Barrier Fence
(From Duane Landmeier President, Quad County Hawg Hunters,
Chapter 17)
Forty-two dedicated fishermen who love the lake called Shabbona
took part in a muskie rescue below the spillway in Indian Creek on
May 3, 2011. The weather and the water were cold, but when a date
is set to do a rescue it has to be completed.
D o n at i o n S
Special thanks to these members and supporters
for their recent donations to Muskies, Inc:
Russ Warye
Jeff Blanck
Kevin Burr
Michael Ellis
Carl T. Phillips
Pete Barber
Patrick Fields
Tony Sworsky
Neal Tamms
John Cuta
The creek can be a challenge to move about in between the
sticks and unforeseen rocks in your path while carrying a large
muskie net. Many of the volunteers fell down and it did not matter
if you had waders or not. You got wet and very cold. Thanks to all
the people who helped.
The rescue was a success, 51 muskies (24-40 inches) and 24
walleye (14-30 inches) were caught and released back into Shabbona
Lake.
On June 4, 2011 about 30 adults and kids helped on another
the rescue following very heavy rains. They netted 61 muskies (2743 inches) and 3 hybrid striped bass (18-23 inches) and returned
them to the lake. Thanks again to everyone who helped.
About a month before the first rescue, a barrier fence was constructed (at a cost of $15,000) in Indian Creek about 250 yards
downstream from the spillway of Shabbona Lake. This fence was
constructed to keep fish that go over the spillway during high water
periods from going further downstream to disappear or die. It was
incredible to see how well it worked. The fence was made possible
through a Hugh Becker Foundation Grant and by several Muskies
Inc. chapters, other muskie clubs which are members of the Illinois
Muskie Alliance, the Illinois Muskie Tournament Trail, Shabbona
Lakeside Bait Shop, and Shabbona Sportsmen’s Club. Thank you to
all who made this possible. I’m amazed by the dedication of the
sponsors and volunteers and I’m proud to have been a part of these
rescue efforts.
The barrier fence will be a great addition to protect our fishery
if it is maintained and stays intact. Muskie fingerlings cost approximately 12-15 dollars each to purchase and stock. Just imagine the
value of just these 51 larger muskies. Now this will be prevented and
Shabbona will become an even better fishery in the next few years.
New Maryland State Record Muskellunge
Maryland DNR verified a new State Record muskellunge in the
Potomac River. Hoping to catch a few walleye, twelve year old
Kenny Files was fishing the flooded waters of the upper Potomac
with his father when Kenny hooked up with a muskie which weighed
31.75 pounds; 3.75 more than the previous record. v
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
Jim Blaubach
Steve Budnik
Jim Smith
Paul Framsted
Perry Smith
Greg Wells
David Cates
Dan Narsete
by
Ji m b u n
ch
PMTT Winner is
a Lunge Log Entry!
Steve Genson from the Hayward Lakes Chapter won the PMTT
event in April at Cave Run. Steve is from Springbrook, Wisconsin
just west of Hayward. Sometimes the muskie world links the dots
together and things sometimes make the world a little smaller. Steve
spoke at our chapter meeting on April 4th; then he caught this beautiful muskie on April 17th. Steve is a partner with the TV show Keyes
Outdoors. Now we hear that Keyes Outdoors may be hooking up
with Muskies Inc. in a very unique partnership. From what I have
heard this sounds very interesting. More on that later from the Board
of Muskies Inc. Steve is a super muskie fisherman and fishes a lot of
competitive events. At Cave Run he stole the show.
Steve shares his comments about the event. This fish was 49”
long and was my third fish for the Kentucky PMTT at Cave Run
Reservoir which clinched the victory. After spending most of day
one trolling through shad schools with no results, I pulled up shallow
to cast for the last hour of the day and caught a 30” on a Joe Bucher
Rattler. So Day two I went right to the shallows and cast all day. I
caught a 31” at about 8:15 on the same bait. At 8:45 the 49” ate and
I knew when she hit the bag it was a special fish. She came from just
inches of water right tight to shore as the Cave was about 20 feet over
summer pool. Turns out it was the biggest musky caught in the 13
years the PMTT has been holding events there!
Annual Fish Submission Lesson!
Last year there were 1,355 members of Muskies Inc. that entered
muskies in the Lunge Log. I have not kept track of those numbers
over the years but 2010 was a typical percentage of participation.
That would be about one in 4.5 members entered muskies. My
searches show nearly 200 that entered fish in the past that no longer
do so, yet they are still members. The reason for that varies, but in a
lot of cases they have been to the dance, or been to the top and no
longer care to participate. In talking to a number of these members
they however are the members viewing the Lunge Log the most. I
quite often get an email or a comment asking if I was aware of a
certain statistic they found in the Lunge Log. So some critics of the
contest often are some of the heaviest users of our information.
That’s the purpose of the Lunge Log. Gil Hamm said from the beginning we must disseminate information. Yes we are doing so. Do you
realize sometime this summer we will reach 300,000 all-time muskie
entries? Right now when you enter a muskie the fish identification
numbers coming out are over 300,000. However with deletions over
the years we are about 2500 short of the 300,000 milestone. You
must know you can keep track of that. Just go to Lunge Log Inquires,
go to date and enter Jan. 1, 1970 through today’s date.
The Basics!
The Lunge Log and the official membership
list are tied together. When you log in as a member and go to Fish Submission you will notice it
has your name and membership number already
in there with your chapter and address, etc.
Across from your name is the gender option, it
only has two choices being male/female. Please
check that. It typically is preset on male so most
of the mistakes are by our ladies or junior females.
There are many names today that do not tell me
gender so please check that. Now if you want to
enter a muskie for somebody else like a family
member or a friend you can do so simply by putting the cursor on your membership number,
erase it and put in the proper number. Now hit
enter and just like magic all the personal information will change.
Lake or River!
Steve Genson Chapter 13 - 49 inch- April 17, 2011, Cave Run,KY.
Bucher JB Rattler. Fish I.D. 300045
www.muskiesinc.org
This is a three part deal. Under State/
Province click on the pull down menu and select
the state/province. You may scroll up or down to
your state or simply type the first letter such as
WI for Wisconsin and it will go right to it. The
Lun g e Log ◆ Lun g e Log ◆ Lunge L og ◆ Lunge L og ◆ Lunge L og ◆ Lun ge Lo g ◆ Lung e Lo g
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Lun g e Log ◆ Lun ge Log ◆ Lunge L og ◆ Lunge L og ◆ Lunge Log ◆ Lun g e Log ◆ Lun g e Log
LUNGE LOG (Continued from page 7)
next thing is the county. In the United States you must have a
county. Same thing here. You may scroll up or down or type the first
several letters of the county and it will go right to it. If it is a
Canadian Province you do not need a county. Matter of fact we do
not list them. In that case just hit the province name again in the
county section. When you pass through both the state and county a
list of lakes in the county will come up for you to select the lake name
from the lake/river section. Same thing for province, it will list every
lake we have in Ontario, etc. Now if you do not find your lake you
must hit “Other” and it will instruct you to type in State, county and
lake name. Keep in mind that when you do this you are telling me
that no member of Muskies Inc. in forty years has caught a muskie
there. I get real suspicious right away. I then search DNR websites
around the country as they have their lakes listed and the species
available in each. So in other words if you cannot find the lake name
maybe you should re-check the county name. However that being
said we do enter a couple dozen new ones each year. In each column
there is a "not specified" option; do not use it.
Lure Type, Lure Name!
This is the biggest can of worms we have. Good way to put it,
eh? This is a two part operation. The Lure Type selection has 9
options to select from. When you choose one it will then show the
list of lure names under that category. First of all a bucktail in the
eyes of the Lunge Log is a lure that has the blade(s) spinning around
the main shaft. A spinnerbait has the blade(s)
off set from the main
body. Yes many will
argue exceptions; however this is the classification by the Lunge Log. A
jerkbait and a glide bait
are the same thing in our
lure database. So select
lure type, then lure name.
Now if you do not find it
please re-check for the
name in another lure
type. If you still do not
find it click “Other” and
a section will open up
for you to type the new
lure name for me to process. This addition causes
me more pain than the
rest of the entire Lunge
Log. It says to enter the
lure type and lure name
in the other section. For
some reason very few
people do. Now I am
sending an email or
guessing which category
to put this in. So for a
new lure for instance
type Bunchareno/sur8 MUSKIE.....July 2011
face. I will be entering the name again so the lure type usually is not
part of the lure name in the end. Every member must read this paragraph ten times this summer.
The Rest of the Story!
From the lure name to the end is pretty self-explanatory. Most
errors are because you don't proof read your handy work. Please do
not enter any muskie under 30 inches. Happens a couple of times a
month. We get a lot of muskies over 3,000 inches because you type
in 35.50 inches and forget the decimal point. Another typical move
is you just entered a 35 incher, now you go back to enter the 36
incher you caught 20 minutes later and you run the two together so
now we have a muskie 3536 inches long. This happens more that you
would think. The date of catch provides some crazy results. Had a
muskie entered today that was caught on July 7th but it is only May
25th. This happens a lot. The year of the catch shows some human
tendencies, when the year caught is like 30 or 40 years ago I will
quite often look up the member’s birth date and the year turns out
to be their birth date year.
Some of the remaining information is not required; however we
would appreciate responding to each one. Near the end it asks for
your “division”. There are 5 options, Men’s Masters (250), Men’s,
Women’s Masters (100), Women’s and Juniors. You must select one.
The last required fields are Released or Kept, you must respond to
one of them. The other one is True Muskellunge or Hybrid. You
must respond to one of them or the system will pop up a reminder.
If you are into release patches or certificates you may request them at
Mens Masters Division.2011. May 25
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Mbr
Ronald S Murdock
Randy Parker
Michael J Sall Sr
Walter Krause
Cliff Honeycutt
Terry Nespeca
David White
Bill Boggess
James E Cook
Todd Yester
Chris Shuck
Tim Wallies
Elmer W Heyob Jr
Phillip Gutmann
Bob D Marshall
Don Hollatz
Ben Modica
Bill Andresky
Adam Andresky
Jason D Schillinger
Steve Ruhmann
Kevin LaRoche
John A Dennis
Robert E Hoce
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Mbr
Matt Aide
Michael K. Davis
Edward T Lawton
Charles R Carpenter
Chipper Bushong
James T Hinshaw
Matthew Gunkel
Bill Allen
Steve Ault
Daniel Haddox
Chester J Snezek
Bill Looney
Rick Swain
Troy Radcliff
Sal Tardi
Mike Sandridge
Russ D Schaller
Tony Crisp
David Van Doorn
Zachary Kirkpatrick
Michael J. Sall Jr
George Weber
Nick Ellis
Tony Enger
Steve E Warner
Chapter
41
41
18
28
41
23
18
9
18
16
19
14
41
39
19
8
39
16
16
26
32
19
19
9
City
Galena
Avon
Martins Ferry
Collinsville
Westerville
Boardman
Moundsville
Vienna
Belle Vernon
Pittsburgh
West Lafayette
Park Ridge
Marysville
Lake In The Hills
Bowerston
Madison
Ingleside
Pittsburgh
Gibsonia
Wisconsin Rapids
South Beloit
Aurora
West Lafayette
Reedsville
State
OH
OH
OH
IL
OH
OH
WV
WV
PA
PA
OH
IL
OH
IL
OH
WI
IL
PA
PA
WI
IL
OH
OH
OH
Rel
26
22
20
16
15
12
9
8
7
5
6
5
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
Points
282
199
183
152
150
139
95
72
67
64
51
43
40
39
36
32
31
29
27
25
24
22
20
20
Ave
36
34
35
35
35
37
36
35
35
38
34
34
36
35
35
34
36
35
34
34
37
36
35
36
Rel
24
16
17
17
11
14
9
13
10
10
8
9
6
10
8
8
7
9
6
6
7
6
8
8
9
Points
291
202
188
172
141
123
123
116
114
95
94
90
90
89
82
81
80
75
74
68
67
65
65
63
62
Ave
38
38
37
36
38
34
39
34
37
35
37
35
40
34
36
35
37
34
37
37
35
36
33
33
32
Rel
2
2
3
1
1
1
Points
18
17
14
12
10
8
Ave
35
34
30
38
36
34
Mens Division for 2011.May 25
Chapt
52
56
9
9
52
27
28
52
41
9
18
9
49
9
39
19
39
41
39
9
18
56
39
8
50
City
Ronceverte
Oregonia
Blacksburg
Harrisville
Morehead
Hudson
Carbondale
Oneida
Hilliard
Harrisville
Martins Ferry
Amma
Upland
Weston
Wonder Lake
Wadsworth
Lindenhurst
Marion
Carpentersville
Marietta
Martins Ferry
Kettering
Lombard
Sun Prairie
Rheems
State
WV
OH
VA
WV
KY
IL
IL
KY
OH
WV
OH
WV
IN
WV
IL
OH
IL
OH
IL
OH
OH
OH
IL
WI
Pa
Womens Division for 2011. May 25
1
2
3
4
5
6
Mbr
Deborah S. Crossley
Jennifer Sacco
Donna Bork
Sandy Petrozzi
Nikki Swain
Debbie Bever
Chapt
19
27
11
18
49
9
City
Coshocton
Peoria
Davenport
Wintersville
Upland
Harrisville
www.muskiesinc.org
State
OH
IL
IA
OH
IN
WV
the end. They will come from your
chapter contest chairperson.
Now you are done, it is time to hit
Submit. When you do look for a six
digit number at the top and/or the bottom of the form. It will be something
like 300179 this summer. On some personal computers you have to scroll up or
down to see this number. Some members do not see this number right away,
get impatient and hit submit again.
Now I have two entries for the same
muskie. Just keep in mind each and
every time you touch that submit button a muskie has been entered. After you
hit submit, if you have more to enter
simply change the information that is
different and submit again. When you
hit submit your entry comes to me in a
separate file so I can look at it to check
for errors that I have mentioned above.
Then I approve it and release it to the
files of the Lunge Log.
Keep a tight line,
Jim Bunch
The Lunge Log
[email protected]
[email protected]
715-226-0295 v
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Lun g e Log ◆ Lun g e Log ◆ Lun ge L og ◆ Lunge L og ◆ Lunge Lo g ◆ Lu ng e L og ◆ Lung e Lo g
Sheet1
Stay on top of
Late Summer
Muskies
… North or
South
by Tony Grant
The author’s client Randy Czeszynski shows off a bluebird sky topwater Wisconsin muskie taken on a TopRaider.
L
ate summer has always been a very exciting time for me. As out at the commotion above. By mid August the daylight hours
fall approaches, the air starts to cool and the leaves begin their have shortened by several minutes. This seems to be the signal that
seasonal change. However for many years this late summer staying on top is the key to constantly catching fish. The water is
to early fall transition seemed to be one of the toughest times to still a bit above the ideal temperatures which spur the pre-winter
consistently boat muskies. With summer ending, fewer daylight feeding frenzy, so while the muskies may be gearing up for this
hours, and water temperatures dropping, finding a pattern that frenzy, they have yet to transition to a typical fall pattern.
would consistently produce fish for my customers seemed hopeless.
During these conditions, I use buzzbaits almost exclusively in
But now many years later my clients and I have enjoyed a simple my topwater presentations, only rarely changing styles or colors. It’s
and very reliable tactic that has brought many quality muskies my belief the bigger bodied baits that work great at other times of
through my Frabill and into the Ranger during this period.
the year just don’t produce as regularly as those with metal blades.
A lure splashing across the
The clicking and clacking that
top of the water is hard for a
the blades on buzzbaits produce
muskie to identify. Muskies
must closely resemble the underTopwater baits can be the most productive
attack topwaters out of hunger,
water sounds that our shad make
curiosity, shear aggressiveness
during this schooling period.
lure in your arsenal for late summer
and probably aggravation. We
Under these conditions, find the
muskies no matter where you fish. At a
all love to catch muskies on topshad and then learn the area, paywaters.
One big common
ing particular attention to the
time when we are eager for the fall feeding
denominator for southern and
formation of the weeds and the
frenzy to begin, this surface bait tactic is
northern muskie waters at this
downed timber. Weed pockets
time of year is the vulnerability
tend to hold the bigger fish.
a great appetizer. Try it out and you will
of muskies to surface baits. Late
Therefore, knowing your cover
ultimately add it to your collection of late
summer may be the most excitcan be the difference between a
ing period to exploit this popusmall fish and a trophy. Spend
summer trophy tactics.
lar presentation no matter where
time observing as many of these
you fish. With just a few variaweed pockets as you can, painting
tions this surface assault can
yourself a mental picture of them.
work in any part of muskie country. Let me break down the differ- This will make the much-needed pinpoint casting easier.
ent scenarios into two regions.
The retrieve angle of your casts at targeted cover can be the
determining factor for success on those days when muskie sightings
are low. During this time of year the weeds have yet to break the
surface, as the drawdown has not yet started in most southern
The drop in temperature causes large schools of shad to move waters. Buzzbaits easily pass over these somewhat hidden weed beds
toward the surface in shallow water creating a tremendous amount and most timber without hang-ups. Targeting downed timber close
of surface activity. Lurking beneath the surface, watching this activ- to shore is also a sure-fire way to get the attention of an active
ity is the muskie. For obvious reasons, this is topwater time. Your muskie awaiting a passing school of shad. Casting close to standing
best choice here may be a bass-style buzzbait. When a noisy buzz- timber can also yield big dividends on less active fish. The closeness
bait passes over the watching muskie, the already excited fish lashes of your bait to the cover can often up the odds in producing, what
Southern Waters
I believe, to be a reaction strike.
My assault on these surface feeders during this period is to work
the shallow water in the back of bays and coves, regardless of the
cover type. This is where the first signs of schooling shad appear,
once they have moved in from the cooler deeper water of hot summer. No need to worry about electronics here, the schools can be
easily spotted in this shallow water. It isn’t unusual for a thirty fivepound fish to be taken in a foot of water at this time. In early
morning and late evening I find the fish on relatively bare banks; fan
cast these areas thoroughly. Casting to the same area multiple times
could be what it takes; curiosity is certainly a factor here. This late
summer method is no secret to anglers on reservoirs down south. In
fact, my largest muskie using this tactic, a 51 incher, was taken while casting a Grim Reaper Wildcat buzzbait
among 8 other boats, most of them
also throwing buzzbaits. When working smaller coves and bays muskies
tend to spook more easily. Try making
eight to ten casts and then return
later. Return to these spots at the first
sign of a significant wind or weather
change.
I mainly rely on only two color
selections, white or chartreuse, which
seem to work under most conditions.
Personally, I believe color is not as
important when fishing buzzbaits as it
is with other type lures. Sound, speed,
and vibration are the factors that make
a buzzbait produce. At times, adding
a rubber trailer behind the bait may be
needed to increase these factors. The
metal blades put off squeaking and
clacking sounds as they rub together.
These trigger instinctive attacks; sometimes it seems the muskies are powerless to resist.
The speed of your retrieve should
be altered periodically, depending on
weather conditions and activity of the
muskies. On calm bright days I slow
my lure speed, leaving just a small
surface wake, during these balmy conditions a fish can easily find your lure.
During low light or choppy water conditions I tend to speed up my retrieve.
This allows my lure to create a major
disturbance while moving across the
surface. When fishing extremely
muddy water I go to a larger size bait
or one with more blades. This will
help the muskies locate your bait.
Also, the more surface activity I find,
the larger my buzzbait choice to ring
the dinner bell for those muskies on
the verge of a feeding frenzy. Mixing
up the speed of your retrieve can also
be productive on days when muskies
seem to be in a slow mode. In situa-
www.muskiesinc.org
tions where you find yourself only producing follows, do things
differently or more frequently. Try popping your lure across the
surface, lightly churning up at little more water. These out of the
ordinary alterations can make the difference on semi-active fish.
Another technique to try is a directional change as the lure
approaches the boat. To do this effectively a long rod is a must.
Halfway back in your retrieve change the position of your rod by a
45-degree angle to move your bait in a different direction. The extra
rod length creates a drastic direction change of your lure, imitating
an escaping baitfish.
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STAY ON TOP OF
LATE SUMMER MUSKIES
Continued from page 11)
Up North
It’s common knowledge that a topwater presentation in
the northern muskie range is very productive from the season opening till ice up, however the late summer period
surface bite is second to none. Probably even more than
down south, the northern water temperatures start to rapidly drop during the last few weeks of August as those cool
nights arrive. Rocky points, mid lake humps and shallow
weeds are loaded with aggressively feeding muskies starting
their fall transition period. Surface lures at this time are
very consistent in landing quality fish and this is an
extremely high percentage time for trophy muskies. My
surface lure selection is quite a bit different up north than
down south and my use of different topwater presentations
is common in my boat when fishing the northern range.
When conditions seem most likely for topwater bites
my favorite method is to have each angler in the boat cast a
different type of surface bait. I like to combine a faster moving single prop style lure followed by a slower moving globe,
creeper or double prop type, the key being to keep your
casts as far apart from each other as possible. Another tech- Southside Musky Hawks’ Sean Kays with a St Croix River Trophy
nique is to offer your lures in several different angles off the taken while fishing with Tony.
structure you are fishing. Many times a
back cast from the rear of the boat has
taken muskies which ignored the same
lure from a different angle a few casts
before.
During this late summer period
low light conditions are favorable but
those bright days can also generate terrific topwater moments. On brighter
days I feel the key is to match the hatch
using more natural pattern baits; on
clear bodies of water I like blue with
silver, gray or chrome. My go to lures
are the TopRaider and the smaller version of the Pacemaker; you’ll find that
under normal conditions these two have
proven themselves over the years.
Fishing the heavy chop can become
common practice during this period as
the big blow begins. This is when your
lure choices will be the biggest factor in
a successful day; selecting baits which
produces the most surface turbulence
and noise will be critical. Here I like
the Pacemaker and Super Humper; both
can create the desired commotion to
overcome the heavy chop.
Under extremely calm conditions
my clients and I have had just moderate
success with most of the above men12 MUSKIE.....July 2011
tioned lures, but a lure change can really make a difference. Over
the past few years I have gained great confidence with the Topper
Stopper by Mouldy Tackle and a smaller creeper-style like Lil
Creeper from Monster Lures.
In the long run, dedication to the surface assault is what pays
off and changing the styles of your topwater presentation can be
helpful.
Topwater baits can be the most productive lure in your arsenal
for late summer muskies no matter where you fish. At a time when
we are eager for the fall feeding frenzy to begin, this surface bait
tactic is a great appetizer. Try it out and you will ultimately add it to
your collection of late summer trophy tactics. v
Techniques and Rods
Let’s take a look at some of the techniques and equipment that
have helped me and my clients get the ultimate results from this special surface period.
As I mentioned, longer rods will definitely
increase your hook set percentage. Try a rod
at least 8 feet or longer, I like the Lamiglas
LGM 86 XH. The long length and fast tip
action generate the right pressure needed for
consistent hook ups. Rod positioning is
equally important to ensure the hooks stay in
the fish. Start with your rod in a somewhat
vertical position keeping your line off the
surface; this is a pet peeve with me. We get
more strikes when our line doesn’t create a
wake in front of the lure. Concentrate on a
good hook set for the quick striking muskie;
rod position at this point of your retrieve
makes it tough to get a quality set without
paying close attention. This initial vertical
rod position helps keep your bait on the surface. Lowering the rod tip slowly as the lure
approaches the boat enables you to give a
quality hook set or enter into a good figure
eight.
When starting my figure eight, I lower
my rod tip six to eight inches into the water
hoping to entice a lazy follower, but if I see a
hot fish close to the surface I keep my figure
eight on the surface. Again, a quick direction
change five feet from the boat can sometimes
be as good as a figure eight on sluggish fish.
Using longer rods will help increase the number of strikes.
Many anglers complain of missed strikes
and harder than usual hook ups on topwaters.
Yet, we must admit that mental error causes
most of our lost fish on surface baits. With
muskies this problem is multiplied because of
the explosion we see as a muskie strikes; pulling the lure away from the fish is the most
common mistake. While guiding, I instruct
clients who have shown an excitement problem to avoid watching their lure until it nears
the boat. A lot of people think that when a
muskie misses a topwater they’re retrieving
the lure too fast. I don’t agree with this theory. In my opinion, if fish are missing the
bait, you should speed it up; after all, how
many fish do you think slow down when
being attacked by a predator?
www.muskiesinc.org
MUSKIE ADVERTISER SPOTLIGHT
J
oe Bucher Outdoors is a valued supporter of Muskies Inc. They
are not only one of our best MUSKIE advertisers, they produce
outstanding fishing tackle! Any Muskies Inc. member who follows our Lunge Log knows that lures made by Joe Bucher Outdoors
account for many, many fine muskie catches every year. Editor Kevin
Richards selected a story involving a Bucher ShallowRaider as his
favorite fish story of 2010 after MI member Ken Omlie landed 46
and 49-inch muskies on a ShallowRaider on the same cast!
In 2008, eight years after giving up the day-to-day reins of running his musky tackle manufacturing business, Joe Bucher joined
forces with long-time friends, the Robinson family, to create a new
company -- Joe Bucher Outdoors. In early 2009 Joe Bucher Outdoors
started advertising on a regular basis in MUSKIE Magazine. In doing
so, they are having a positive impact on the fisheries, research, and
youth programs of Muskies Inc.
The Robinson’s bring three generations of experience in the fishing industry to Joe Bucher Outdoors. The goal of Joe Bucher
Outdoors is to refocus on what brought the company to the table in
the first place -- build the very best possible products, be aggressive
but thorough on researching new ideas, and make sure they are all
available on a timely basis.
The Robinson family has been in the fishing tackle business since
1939 in Genoa City, WI. It began with the late George Robinson,
who opened a live-bait wholesale business. Son Jerry Robinson then
morphed it into a two-pronged operation that featured both live-bait
and a fishing tackle distribution center. The third generation of
Robinson’s -- Ken, Dave, and Mike -- expanded the business even
further to include an extensive fish hatchery division. The fourth
generation members of the Robinson family are now working with
the business, as well.
Joe Bucher Outdoors features some of the best top-selling big
fish lure design concepts in the industry which Joe Bucher has pioneered; products such as the DepthRaider, ShallowRaider, TopRaider,
Buchertail, and Slopmaster. Joe Bucher Outdoors continually adds
new, innovating product lines, lure enhancements, colors, and sizes to
their inventory.
New products to check out for 2011 are the 5-inch ShallowRaider
Chrome, Slopmaster Spoon, Skunk Glow colors, Premium Float
Rigs, Hook Replacement Kits, and Fluorocarbon leaders. Great new
products and expanded color listing for 2012 will be unveiled at the
ICAST show this July. Visit www.joebucheroutdoors.com for the
entire product listing.
MUSKIE Magazine is pleased to have Joe Bucher Outdoors as
one of the fine advertisers who support Muskies Inc. We are also
pleased to have Joe Bucher contributing some of his stories and graphics to MUSKIE Magazine. v
slopmaster series
get tips from joe
on jbo’s facebook page
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for our full line of lures visit your
favorite retailer or visit our website at:
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PROMO CODE: MI2011B
Enter to win
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fill in the information & mail to the address below:
(If you do not wish to cut out this ad from your magazine,
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mail to: Joe Bucher Outdoors, P.O. Box 338, genoa city, wi 53128
The winner will be randomly chosen August 1, 2011 and will be contacted by email or phone immediately
LIMIT ONE ENTRY PER CUSTOMER! OFFER EXPIRES AUGUST 1, 2011
Photo Contest – July
T
by Brad Waldera, Photo Editor • [email protected]
his month’s spotlight photo is of Chapter 56 member Adam
Davis with one of 3 muskies he caught in 2009. He was fishing with his dad on trip to Caesar Lake in southwest Ohio
when he caught 3 muskies in a span of 45 minutes. According to
Adam’s dad Mike, also a member of Chapter 56, they were actually
heading out on the lake that day to fish for crappie when they both
saw a muskie roll on the surface. The muskie was chasing baitfish in
a wooded area and Mike asked Adam if he’d like to stop and try to
catch it. He did, and Adam ended up catching a 37 incher, a 38
incher, and a 40-inch muskie over the next 45 minutes. After catching the third fish Mike said to Adam that to catch 3 fish like that in
such a short time span was pretty special and that many muskie
fishermen don’t ever get an opportunity like that. That’s when Adam
made this face and held his hands open as if saying, “It’s no big deal”
- Mike got the terrific photo. Congratulations Adam and Mike. It is
a great story and a very good photo to capture the memory. Good
luck this year on the water. v
www.muskiesinc.org
Member Photos Needed!
MUSKIE Magazine wants to remind all members that we are in continuous need of high
quality digital photos to be considered for the
Member Photos and Photo Contest pages of
the magazine and for the annual M.I. calendar.
Please send photos to Photo Contest Editor
Brad Waldera at: [email protected]
Remember to follow our photo guidelines
(page 48 of this issue).
Catchability, Pressure, and Hot Lures
by Adam M. Glickman
T
he next hot bite is on the minds of many muskie anglers.
When one is found, it is taken advantage of, and the resource
and the action it provides is thoroughly enjoyed and respected. The respect aspect mostly involves effective catch and release
methods and a widespread catch and release ethic. Because of catch
and release, many are baffled when the hot bite subsides into the
realm of normal muskie action. Inevitably, many try to explain why
the hot bite isn’t so hot anymore and many theories begin to fly
around muskie circles. Some people think catch and release may not
be as effective as most of us believe it is. Others blame the weather.
Fluctuations in forage levels are often suspected as the culprit.
However, I think it is simply a matter of fishing pressure.
Survival of Released Muskies
It is inevitable that there will be some mortality of muskies
which are caught and released. However, if anglers practice careful
catch-and-release methods, it is unlikely that this mortality will have
any noticeable impact on the amount of action anglers experience. I
can say this with confidence due to my own observations, the observations of other dedicated muskie anglers, and most importantly
scientific studies such as Project Noble Beast.
I catch many healthy muskies with hook scars around their
mouth. In fact, if the specimen is a large adult it is more common
than not that I see hooks scars. I have caught the same muskie twice,
just a week apart. I can point to that particular fish because it was
from a small body of water, it was on the same spot, it was the same
length, it had the same back deformity, and it had the same tail scar.
I am sure such recaptures happen more often than we realize. Other
muskie anglers report similar observations.
Of course, there is also Project Noble Beast conducted by Sean
Landsman, the results of which have been updated in MUSKIE.
This study reported excellent survival rates of released muskies
exposed to the air for 90 seconds, an air exposure period thought of
as way too long by most, me included. However, I think it was an
excellent idea to expose them to air for 90 seconds during the study
because it let them evaluate an air exposure period longer than most
serious muskie anglers strive for. If they do that well under 90 seconds of air exposure, they should do much better under shorter
periods of air exposure. (Editor’s note: Let’s strive to keep the air
exposure period minimal.)
Weather Patterns
Weather is often blamed for tough fishing, and rightfully so.
Poor weather can really turn muskies off, but this is only short term.
Cold fronts, sunny calm days, and other poor weather conditions
cannot explain why a lake that produced huge numbers for two or
three years has fallen off in productivity. Certainly there must have
been an average amount of poor weather, and since then there must
have certainly been at least an average amount of good conditions.
Where I fish for example, it is easy to point to a season like 2010 and
say that the summer was lousy with all of the overly hot weather and
severe storms that came through one after the next. Many people
experienced below average action during the summer of 2010, myself
included. However, as summer progressed into fall and the weather
stabilized, I had an awesome fall and I know I was not alone.
The season must be looked at as a whole because nature almost
always evens things out. If summer is poor for muskie predation,
then they will have to feed more in the fall to make up for it. In such
cases, the seasonal bite will most likely be more lopsided. If summer
conditions are ideal
for muskie predation,
then they may not
have to feed quite as
much when fall rolls
around. In such a
scenario, the seasonal
rate of action is probably going to be much
steadier throughout.
I have never had my
seasonal productivity
affected by weather by
more than a minimal
amount; I’d be surprised if many anglers
who fish steadily
throughout the season
would say otherwise.
Most muskie fishing
takes place during the
summer, and it is true
that many muskie
anglers spend less time
on the water during
the fall, so perhaps
these statistics skew Trading the boat for a pair of waders
overall results during allowed the author to catch this twosummers of below or toned muskie from a low pressure
above average action. waterbody.
As an angler who fishes the entire season, I am confident that muskies feed about the same amount each year between spawn and ice up
and that the persistent angler will experience steady action from
season to season regardless of weather.
Forage Fluctuations
Forage fluctuations are another common scapegoat for poor fishing, but probably have little impact on overall muskie action. These
theories are centered around a bumper crop of a certain forage that
either cause muskies to be too glutted to strike a lure or transition
them from their normal haunts to new feeding patterns for which
anglers have more difficulty in patterning consistent tactics.
To think that muskies are too glutted to strike seems fairly silly
to me, as I often fish very fertile lakes that are absolutely full of all
the forage a muskie could want. I receive some of my best action on
these waters. The appeal of modern muskie lures should not be
underestimated. Many lures on the market absolutely pop in terms
of action, and they will trigger strikes amidst an abundance of forage.
I think modern muskie lures
often delves into some very
often provoke more aggression
interesting topics. On that
strikes than people think. In
particular segment, Schramm
any advanced organism, it is
spoke on the topic of catchinnate to show aggression
ability.
He explained,
towards something that doesn’t
“Catchability, or catch rate, is
belong. Often, even if a muskie
the number of fish caught
isn’t hungry it will strike purely
with a specified amount of
out of instinct. Live bait prefishing effort with a particular
sentations are also very producgear, such as per hour of elective amidst an abundance of
trofishing, per 100 yards of
forage. For these reasons, I
gill net fished overnight, or
think slow action is not caused
(for anglers) per hour or per
by muskies being glutted on an
day of fishing. He went on to
abundance of forage.
say that, “There are studies
I can see some validity in
out there that show that
the theories that a booming forcatchability does decline with
age base has changed the loca- Using different tactics from the rest of the field led the author and continued fishing effort.”
tional and predatory habits of a Justin Teske (pictured) to a third place PMTT finish on the lower
As a muskie fisherman I
population of muskies. For St. Croix in 2009.
have experienced reductions
instance, according to the M.I.
in catchability over the years,
Lunge Log, catch rates on southern Green Bay and the lower Fox and I am sure other muskie fishermen have as well. We may not
River have been declining since they peaked in 2006. This could be want to admit that our own efforts cause a decline in action, but it
due to a booming population of whitefish that has occurred in the can be true. There is no reason to get upset or allow denial to spawn
Green Bay in the last few years. A large portion of that muskie alternate theories that in the end have little validity. It is simply a fact
population could be targeting the whitefish more than the gizzard that can be overcome with the ingenuity and perseverance which
shad, thus taking them away from the concentrated areas where muskie fishermen are famous for.
anglers have had the most success in the past. Great Lakes strain
Muskies are creatures of habit, unless there are huge environmuskies are very prone to chasing pelagic forage in vast open water mental changes, chances are they are doing the same things they have
environments far from shore, so a large segment could be doing this always done in the same places they have always done them. One
while another large segment is still using established angling areas. external factor that I have seen have a huge impact on my muskie
Such population division is very possible and would certainly action is fishing pressure. Muskies have always become tougher to
account for changes in fishing.
catch in the face of increasing fishing pressure. Many may not want
In Minnesota, I have a hard time accepting this theory for to admit that it is the tireless efforts of a booming population of
reduced action on lakes containing a population of Leech Lake strain muskie fishermen that have caused tougher fishing, but to me it
muskies. Leech Lake strain muskies as a
makes the most sense. A population
whole relate heavily to shallow structure
booms, the word gets out, it attracts a
In spite of heavy fishing pressure,
most of the time regardless of the lake’s
disproportionate number of anglers,
forage content. They will feed in open
catches at first sky rocket due to
a population of muskies will stay
water on ciscoes or suspended bluegills,
increased angler effort, muskies become
healthy and stable if maintained
but this is usually done in the upper
overly pressured, and action slows
part of the water column adjacent to
down.
by natural reproduction or regular
some type of shallow structure. Of
For example, many of Minnesota’s
stocking efforts and if effective
course, the term shallow is completely
best muskie fisheries had a few or no
catch-and-release is practiced by
relative. On a deep or clear lake the
muskies in them prior to the late
outer weed edge may be 20 feet deep
1980s. In 1987, these waters began to
the majority of anglers.
and still considered shallow. The same
receive regular stockings of Leech Lake
could be said of a 20-foot deep rock
strain muskies. Most of these new
pile. Typically though, shallow structure preferred by Leech Lake muskie lakes received little if any pressure during the first decade of
strain muskies ranges from 2 to 12 feet deep. Exceptions to this rule stocking as most of the muskie population was still young and small
do occur, but I don’t believe a boom of non-structure related forage and therefore went unnoticed by most anglers. After that decade, a
would cause poor season-long action.
few fifties started showing up and anglers began to realize that Leech
Lake strain females, in an appropriate environment, could reach
huge sizes in a short amount of time. Pressure remained light until
the word got out and muskie anglers began to flock to these lakes to
I was relaxing one winter morning and going through my DVR find large muskies that had grown to adulthood without seeing many
recorded fishing shows. The show Fishing Club Journal has a seg- muskie lures. The result was big muskies that showed a minimal
ment at the end of the show called “Doc Talk” hosted by fisheries aversion to striking lures. Early success was great which lured more
biologist Dr. Hal Schramm. I am particularly fond of this segment anglers and increased catches even more. The bonanza was on and
because I am passionate about fisheries biology and Dr. Schramm
Fishing Pressure
www.muskiesinc.org
CATCHABILITY, …
stayed on for nearly another decade. Currently, the muskie populations are in as good a shape as ever, but the catching has slowed a
little. This should have been expected. Nothing that hot lasts forever and nothing has gone wrong to cause the change. In my opinion, the muskies are merely responding to pressure and becoming
tougher to catch. Minnesota’s two leading producers of big muskies,
Lake Vermilion and Lake Mille Lacs, continue to set new highs for
the size of the biggest fish caught almost every year; 2010 saw the
longest muskies ever from each lake.
classic muskie waters alike. Often new lures come along that the
muskies have not seen before. If such a lure has action that pops,
muskies are likely to respond well to it, and the lure will often catch
on in a big way. Just like with a hot lake, the muskie crowd gets
ahold of a hot lure and won’t let go. Many anglers throw the hot lure
and therefore many muskies are caught on it for a period of time.
Eventually the muskies become conditioned to that lure and the
action it produces falls to a more average level. Designers hit the
drawing board again, and the cycle repeats itself. Anglers who are
ahead of the curve think outside the box and look for the next hot
lure before the bottom drops out of the old one.
Dealing with Pressure
Conclusion
I wake up two hours before the sun comes up every morning to
fish my heavily pressured home waters. It seems like each new day
resets the muskies somewhat and my action is much better if I can
show them the first lures of the day. As soon as other anglers show
up, my bite usually slows down. If another angler has hit an area
before me that morning, my chances of moving anything from that
specific location decrease. In my experience, muskies get put down
very easily and become accustomed to widely used lures very quickly.
Often, I can keep my action up simply by throwing something different than the rest of the crowd. If I have to fish pressured waters,
I don’t go at the most popular times. When I have the time and
money, I fish less pressured waters. Both make a huge difference. To
me it has nothing to do with successful release rate, forage fluctuations, or weather; it is a matter of escaping the pressure, or at least
doing something a little different.
What I call hot lure syndrome runs rampant on boom waters and
In spite of heavy fishing pressure, a population of muskies will
stay healthy and stable if maintained by natural reproduction or
regular stocking efforts and if effective catch-and-release is practiced
by the majority of anglers. As long as harvest patterns, habitat and
water quality remain stable muskies will keep on doing their thing
(eating, surviving, and reproducing) with little change in their routines. However, part of surviving is avoiding capture, and we are the
only predators which targets adult muskies. Their instincts don’t tell
them they will probably be released if caught by a muskie angler
Angling pressure has been a serious external force on muskies as long as there have been muskie anglers, and that rings true now
more than ever before. Muskies are responding to us and it isn’t easy
staying ahead of the crowd or the muskies. The only thing the
muskie angler can do is continue to pioneer, innovate, work hard,
and support groups that create additional new muskie fisheries and
improve existing muskie fisheries. v
(Continued from page 17)
Join us for A Great Fall Weekend of Muskie Fishing!
10th Annual Muskie Outing
featuring Larry Ramsell
Larry Ramsell is recognized as one of the top
authorities in the country on muskie fishing.
Join Larry and top Lake Vermilion guides
Luke Ronnestrand, Bob Benson, Bill Rosner
and Dusty Carlson to share information,
stories, and techniques, and to have fun
chasing the giant muskies of Lake Vermilion,
Minnesota
Package includes:
lodging, meals
and docking
$
450
per person
October 13-16, 2011
Prizes: Nightly prizes raffled, including trips and tackle.
Home Cooked Meals: Three great meals per day served
in the lodge and boxed lunches sent out with each boat.
Rental Boats Available: Plenty of docking for your own
boats with electric, or we have a variety of rental boats
to choose from.
Group Discounts: Discounts for groups of 3 participants
or more.
Singles Welcome: Fishermen new to muskie fishing or
fishermen coming alone are welcome.
VERMILION
DAM
LODGE
Reservations call: 1-800-325-5780 or email: [email protected]
Deposit Requirement: $50
Box 1105-B, Cook, MN 55723 • 218-666-5418 • 800-325-5780 • Fax: 218-666-2911 • www.vdl.com
Owners: Ed Tausk & George Wronowski
by Kevin Richards
[email protected]
Still Looking Ahead …
In the months ahead there will be discussions about encouraging
a higher percent of our members to read MUSKIE online via our
new website. We have developed a file format for the magazine
which will offer a much higher quality of the copies of MUSKIE we
post on the new website. When you get a chance to view the new
site please take a look at all issues of MUSKIE for 2011 and let me
know what you think.
Thanks!
Special thanks to MJ Johnson from Chapter 8 for letting me
spend a day in his boat before the May Board meeting. He let me
net my first muskie of the year (for him); I sure missed that muskie
scent all winter! Congrats MJ.
I also wanted to thank Past President Dan Narsete for his service, support, and friendship over the past few years. We made a lot
of headway during Dan’s term and we are set to make a lot more in
the next few years.
After the thrill of catching your next muskie do your best to
carefully release it to fight another day; the future of our muskie
resource will literally be in your hands!
— Kevin v
Deadlines
Please submit chapter reports,
regional reports, news items, ads, and
member photos by the deadlines below.
In general, the deadlines will always be
the 20th of the month about 40 days
prior to the date on the issue. Here are
the deadlines for the upcoming issues
of MUSKIE:
September issue - July 20th deadline
October issue - August 20th deadline
*** No November issue ***
December issue - Oct. 20th deadline
January issue - Nov. 20th deadline
www.muskiesinc.org
◆ FIGURE 8 ◆ FIGURE 8 ◆ FIGURE 8
Last month I mentioned I was looking ahead to our Annual
Board Meeting in Madison. As you will read elsewhere in this issue,
it was a super meeting.
As expected there was considerable discussion about the production schedule for MUSKIE Magazine. The Board decided to skip
the November 2011 issue of MUSKIE to conserve funds for other
projects; discussion of the 2012 magazine schedule will continue
during the 2012 budget process, but we now have a firm schedule
through January 2012.
While I have no crystal ball, I believe the plan for 2012 will boil
down to one of three scenarios. I think we will publish and mail 6,
8, or 10 issues of MUSKIE in 2012. I think each scenario would
include one or two showcase issues similar to this issue. I see pros
and cons of each option. It is obvious that our Board wants to use
the funds we have to best serve the mission of Muskies Inc.
We need to make a serious push to recruit new members while
continuing to serve our long-term members. We need to draw more
young anglers into our organization. The best organizations, just like
the best muskie populations, must have a steady influx of new
recruits to grow and prosper through the years. Our tackle box to
catch new recruits has a number of baits; they include some big baits
like MUSKIE Magazine, our new website, chapter outings, etc. But
might we need to add a couple of special new baits to our tackle box?
Probably. That is why the Board is considering other possibilities.
We must find the best blend of all possible tactics to be successful.
FIGURE 8 ◆ FIGURE 8◆ FIGURE 8 ◆ FIGURE 8 ◆
8 Figure 8 8
Sunscreen for Mid-day Muskies
M
ore than a million cases of
skin cancer are diagnosed
each year in the U.S. That
means 1 in 5 Americans will develop
it. As a fair skinned woman who worships the sun, I’m quite aware of skin
cancer. In fact, I’ll be very surprised if
I don’t get it. What’s this got to do
with muskie fishing? Excessive sun
exposure can cause skin cancer. Folks
like us who spend inordinate amounts
of time chasing muskies around have
increased chances of contracting this
disease. I’d like to share the latest
information on one of the most
important items in your tackle box sunscreen. This tool helps prevent
skin cancer; thereby keeping us healthy
while enjoying the great outdoors.
by Patricia Strutz
Sun Protection
Factor (SPF)
SPF is a number on a scale for
rating the degree of protection provided by sunscreens. This number is
supposed to refer to the product’s
ability to block out the sun’s rays.
The accuracy of a SPF number is
questionable as the testing is done
with much more product than an
average consumer applies. A sunscreen’s effectiveness can not be calculated simply by multiplying the
SPF by the length of time it takes
for the user to suffer a burn without
sunscreen; factors such as time of
Blue eyed, fair skinned anglers like Grandma Betty and day and geographic location play a
her grandson are especially susceptible to sun burn.
huge role in sun exposure.
Photo courtesy of Patricia Strutz
Coppertone relays, “Higher
SPF’s are appropriate for folks out for long periods of time or when
How Sunscreen Works
they are exposed to the sun’s rays for multiple days in a row. Folks with
Ultraviolet light (UV) is radiation energy in the form of invisible
fair skin or who live in the southern part of this country certainly
light waves. The sun emits several types of UV; UV-A and UV-B
should consider a higher SPF.”
damage the skin and can cause skin cancer. Studies show that sunKeenan Glass (sunburnsucks.com) adds, “Many brands lose
screen greatly reduces the risk of skin cancer by absorbing, blocking,
their SPF value the second you step outside. Most manufacturers use
or reflecting sunlight so it doesn’t reach the skin.
ingredients that are not photo stable; they degrade quickly when
exposed to UV light. This is especially true in those that contain
Facts:
* UV rays “bounce” off reflective surfaces--such as water. Fishermen avobenzone, a common ingredient in many popular sunscreens. That
is why almost all manufacturers advise you to reapply every two
are bombarded with UV rays from above and below.
hours.”
* Harmful UV rays penetrate through clouds.
* The peak hours of 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (aka mid-day muskie time)
Fact:
are when the sun’s UVB rays are most intense. The effects are the
*SPF solely measures protection against UVB. UVB rays are
same whether it is 60 or 90 degrees out.
responsible for burns and contribute to skin cancer. UVA, previously
thought to be harmless, is now known to significantly contribute to
skin damage and cancer. Look for sunscreens that protect against
both UVA and UVB rays—known as broad spectrum.
Chemical vs. Physical Sunscreens
Physical sunscreens:
* create a physical barrier;
they actually sit on top of
the skin and block the rays.
* use naturally occurring
minerals, such as zinc oxide
or titanium dioxide, as their
active ingredients.
* begin to work immediately.
* are good choices for folks
with sensitive skin.
* also assist in preventing
windburns.
* are generally not water or
sweatproof.
* are quite often not broad
spectrum; UVA radiation is
usually addressed with
chemical sunscreens.
* can leave a white film on
the skin - remember a lifeguard’s nose? However, new
technology (called nanotechnology) remedies this.
Skin Cancer
To learn more about prevention, warning signs, screenings,
detection, and treatment of different skin cancers (melanoma,
basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma) visit
these websites:
Skin Cancer Foundation www.skincancer.org
American Academy of Dermatology www.aad.org
Center for Disease Control
www.cdc.gov
The Skin Cancer Foundation remarks that none of these chemicals has been shown to cause harm in people. As for causing free
radical damage, Aloe Gator contends, “These are false statements. If
they were true, the chemicals certainly would not be approved by the
Food and Drug Administration.”
Many sunscreens also add antioxidents, such as Vitamin E and
Vitamin C, to fight free radicals caused by UV exposure.
Shelf Life
According to Ocean Potion, as a sunscreen ages its active ingredients lose their efficacy. In general, they state most have a three year
expiration date.
Many folks prefer a non-chemical sunscreen, such as one
based on zinc oxide. New tech- Will Sunscreen Harm Plastic?
nology has addressed some of
“Sunscreen breaks down plastic; it will damage monofilament
zinc’s disadvantages - namely, fishing line and electronics screens.” More urban myths or valid
it now goes on clear (instead of statements? Ocean Potion remarks, “There are properties in sunwhite) and is water resistant.
screens and most hand lotions that can damage a car’s finish. So, as
Photo courtesy Sun & Skin Care with most products that we consumers use, wash your hands and
Research, Inc. clean up your spills. When used as directed, it is very unlikely that
Chemical sunscreens:
* use synthetic active ingredients, such as oxybenzone or avobenzone/Parsol 1789, to absorb UV rays.
* need up to 30 minutes to soak into the skin before they begin
to work.
* can cause chemical irritation. However, sensitive formulas remedy this.
* have the ability to be much more water and sweatproof.
* generally (but not always!) offer broad spectrum protection.
* feel lighter on the skin than most physical sunscreens.
* are widely available in a variety of formulas (oil-free, for babies
or kids, sport, etc.)
Fact: COTZ has addressed some of the disadvantages of using a
physical sunscreen. They offer broad spectrum protection, utilize new
technology to lessen the whitening effect, and are water resistant.
FACE COTZ 40 provides protection up to 80 minutes in water.
Fact: Some chemical sunscreens act more like physical ones.
Coppertone explains, “We design our products to create a film on
the surface. This is especially apparent with our waterproof formulas.
The polymers stay on the surface of the skin; the film layer acts as a
barrier against water. Thus, there is less chemical absorption.”
I’ve Heard Some Sunscreen Ingredients
are Harmful…
“Retinyl palmitate has been linked to skin cancer in laboratory
rats. In animal studies, oxybenzone caused allergies and altered the
hormone system. Oxybenzone, derived from benzophenone, has the
ability to penetrate skin and cause free radical damage….” Are these
statements valid or simply urban myths?
www.muskiesinc.org
sunscreen would damage fishing line or electronics. But, oils can
react adversely with plastics, so be sure to clean up to be on the safe
side.”
Coppertone adds, “I’ve heard anecdotal stories on this but have
never seen any studies to prove it. Besides, sunscreens are actually
packaged in plastic. I’m sure the products can interact with various
surfaces but I would think fragrance would be more of a concern for
fishermen.”
Sport: Waterproof and Sweatproof
Sport formulas are formulated to be sweat and water resistant
longer than other product lines. However, after
reading the directions, most sunscreens still dictate re-applying the product after exposure to
water. On hot days, Coppertone Sport works
wonders. While providing an 80-100 SPF, their
“no slip grip” doesn’t allow perspiration or the
lotion to interfere with holding a fishing rod.
However, it does need to be re-applied every few
hours.
Aloe Gator Total Sunblock touts an impressive eight hour waterproof efficiency. Of course, I
Sport formulas are the choice of many
anglers. They are water and sweatproof and
many are dry - that means no slippery lotion
to interfere with gripping your rod.
Photo courtesy Sun & Skin Care Research, Inc.
SUNSCREEN
A sunscreen’s effectiveness
cannot be calculated
simply by multiplying the
SPF by the length of time
it takes for the user to suffer a burn without sunscreen; factors such as time
of day and geographic
location play a huge role
in sun exposure.
had to try this out…and yes, it
worked! I was out fishing in a
mix of rain and sunshine (typical early season weather) and
never re-applied. I didn’t burn
and the lotion had a great feel.
The most effective sport
sunscreen I have tried, however,
is called Blue Sun. Made in
small batches, this medical
grade product was originally
sold only to dermatologists.
Independent dealer Keenan
Glass is now introducing it to the athletic world. “It’s the perfect
sunscreen for folks who are active in hot or wet weather. This product
won’t wash off. You apply it once and you’re good to go for eight
hours. You can go swimming, perspire, fish in the rain…it absorbs
into the skin and is locked in. The high quality ingredients do not
degrade, so, the sun protection stays effective all day.” This scribbler
field tested Blue Sun and did find it amazing. I played tennis on
black courts on a hot day; perspiration was streaming down my face
but the sunscreen never got in my eyes. I fished through heavy rain;
again, the sunscreen stayed put. And, once it absorbs into the skin, it
feels like you aren’t wearing anything. The only drawback is the
price—it’s very expensive. However, one uses
a lot less of this product than other commercially manufactured ones.
Oil-based products can cause breakouts and clogged
pores; oil-free are better alternatives for those folks prone to
these problems. Some oil-free formulas, however, still have
a somewhat slick feel as they have a moisturizing base.
“Dry” formulas, on the other hand, feel dry—almost powdery—after they are absorbed into the skin. Many sport
sunscreens are dry; Ocean Potion’s Sport is very dry to the
touch and fragrance free.
Sensitive Formulas
Originally marketed toward
children, sensitive formulas work
well for folks with photo sensitization. This is an increased sensitivity
to sun exposure—a side effect of
certain medications, such as doxycyclene. Sensitive products are based more on
physical sunscreen ingredients; so, they tend
to be heavy and more moisturizing.
Coppertone’s Sensitive Skin provides 50
SPF and is free of dyes, alcohol, and fragrances. This photostable formula is great for
kids (or active adults) because it is tear-free.
In the event it does run into your eyes, it
won’t sting.
Anglers who take medications that increase sensitivity to sun
exposure should use a photostable sensitive skin product.
Photo courtesy Coppertone
Lip Balm
If you’re like me, one of the first things
to burn is your lips--perhaps because so many
of us forget to add protection there. Chemical
free LIP COTZ provides SPF 45; and, the
zinc oxide/titanium dioxide based balm dries
to a natural tone (no white lips like some zinc
based products in the past!) Chemical based
Aloe Gator lip balm works well, too. With a
SPF 30, it provides broad spectrum protection throughout the day.
Ocean Potion’s Zinc Oxide SPF45 can
be applied to lips, ears, and the rest of your
face. It goes on clear (not white) and is very
water resistant--many zinc based products are
not.
Thanks to the following folks
for sharing their knowledge:
Deb Boucher of Sun & Skin Care Research
(Ocean Potion & No-Ad)
www.sscrinc.com
Cynthia Holladay of Fallene (COTZ )
www.totalblock.com
Keenan Glass of Sport-Sunscreen (Blue Sun
Athletic)
www.SunBurnSucks.com
Nicolle Fischer and Patty Agin of
Coppertone
www.coppertone.com
Dan Dixon of AGS Brands (Aloe Gator)
www.agsbrands.com
Dry vs. Oil-free
Ocean Potion explains the difference,
“These terms refer to the feel of the product
as it is applied. They tend to absorb quickly
when applied and don’t leave residue when
you touch something. In the past, many sunscreens were made with oils as one of the
main ingredients to help the lotion spread
smoothly. Today, there are raw materials
available that do the same thing yet don’t
have the slick, oily feel.”
Sunscreen Rules
v apply 30 minutes before heading
outside
v apply generously
v cover all areas—including lips,
scalp, neck, and ears
v reapply, reapply, reapply
Sun damage in childhood is one of the most
significant causes of skin cancer in adults. Use
a tear-free sensitive formula sunscreen on your
kids (this is the next “blond and her boat” - my
grandniece, Isabella!)
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Tabbert
MUSKIE Field Editor Patricia Strutz is a
fishing guide and outdoor/travel writer. She
may be contacted via email at: [email protected] or by visiting her website: www.pstrutz.com v
MUSKIE ADVERTISER SPOTLIGHT
Big Wood Musky Lures
B
ig Wood Musky Lures was started in
2008 as an online store specifically
geared towards Muskie fishermen. We
are pleased to say they have been regular advertisers in MUSKIE Magazine since early 2009;
they realize their advertising helps to support
the mission of Muskies Inc.
Upon first glance at their website, you can tell that this shop is
a bit different from the rest. The easy to navigate, user friendly website displays full color photos of every product for sale. No more
guessing as to what a bait or specific color looks like. Their entire
inventory is updated daily (sometimes hourly) so that you know
exactly what is available; any out of stock product is labeled as such
and cannot be purchased if it is not on hand to be shipped immediately.
Another thing that becomes evident about Big Wood Musky
Lures is their unique selection of baits (oh yeah, their selection goes
far beyond wood baits). Although many of the mainstream lures are
offered such as Bull Dawgs and Double Cowgirls, Big Wood has an
ever-expanding selection of custom and exclusive baits that you simply can’t find anywhere else. For example, this was where our editor
got his new Shadzilla baits he’s taking to Canada this month.
If you have an opportunity to talk with the owner of Big Wood
Musky Lures, Kyle Knock, you’ll realize he is a guy who is as excited
as about muskie lures as you are. Kyle makes buying baits even more
fun by offering a free Big Wood Musky Lures T-shirt with any order
of 5 or more lures!
Need some baits in a hurry? Nobody ships faster than Big Wood
Musky Lures. Kyle says, “Orders received in the morning or early
afternoon are shipped to customers the same day via Priority Mail
through the U.S. Postal Service.” A flat rate of $6 for any size order
makes shipping easy and affordable. Check out Big Wood today at:
www.bigwoodmuskylures.com and you will find great prices and
great customer service. v
Purposes of
Muskies, Inc.
l To
promote a high quality
muskellunge sport fishery;
l To support selected conservation
practices based on scientific merit
and carried out by authorized
federal and state agencies;
l To promote muskellunge research;
l To establish hatcheries and rearing
ponds and introduce the species
into suitable waters;
l To support the abatement of water
pollution;
l To maintain records of habits,
growth, and range of species;
l To disseminate muskellunge
information;
l To promote good fellowship and
sportsmanship among men,
women and children.
www.muskiesinc.org
Fool any fish.
“Where quality fishing lures are sold for less”
www.bigwoodmuskylures.com
I jumped at the opportunity to write about Sabaskong Bay and Lake of the
Woods when our editor asked for an article to help folks get ready for the 2011
Gil Hamm Chapter Challunge. I was excited to get my pen heated up again
for MUSKIE Magazine and write about this fabulous body of water, my lake
passion.
For this article we will include waters surrounding Sabaskong, including
Burrow Bay, Miles Bay, Painted Rock, and the area around Dawson and
Rubber islands. These waters are very similar to the “Sab” and people who
work or fish these areas usually work them pretty much the same. This holds
true for Stoney Portage Bay and Stevens Bay which extend from the east end of
Sabaskong. Tactics for all of these areas will be very similar.
We asked three noteworthy anglers who spend a fair amount of time fishing
lunge on the Sab to share their knowledge with our readers. Even you Lake of
the Woods veterans will pick up a few tips from these artists.
2011 Chapter Challunge Headquarters!
Over
ies
10,000 Musk
d
se
a
le
e
R
I
began my love affair with Lake of the Woods in 1957. My parents brought the family to the south shore area for a fishingcamping vacation. After a “big water” storm experience my
family retreated to the island area of Morson to give the Woods one
more try as my mom was unhappy with the oceanic part of the lake.
Once we saw this beautiful island laden part of the lake we knew we
had found our home.
When we started chasing muskie in the early sixties there were
only a handful of diehard muskie chasers. Their boats were small and
slow. The muskie fishermen we knew hunted muskie part-time compared with the standards of the avid anglers of today; perhaps a day
of muskie fishing here or there during a week’s vacation.
My dad and I would go early or late in the day, using the middle
of the day for walleye, shore lunch, and family time. “Pressure”
wasn’t in the fishing vocabulary on this huge body of water. There
just wasn’t any. I vividly recall much more weed cover and how I
would steer my small silver-bladed, black fur Mepps around the
weeds. We caught nice pike on every spot, usually on my smaller
baits. It seemed that dad had a Suick on most of the time. The
decrease of our substantial weed growth has affected the pike population and the muskies that hung out in the weedy bays.
The upcoming Challunge on Sabaskong Bay will produce good
numbers of large Esox and offer our group plenty of space on this
gold mine of muskie structure. We will have anglers spread out over
about fifty miles of water. I am excited!
On Sabaskong Bay
Seven-time Muskies, Inc.,
Chapter Challunge Headquarters
1983, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2011
•Ultra-modern one, two, three, or four bedroom cabins
•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:
1 (888) 488-5601 or (807) 488-5601
Red Wing Lodge, Box 1008, Baudette, MN 56623
The convenience of a drive-in camp with the privacy you would expect on an island.
www.redwinglodge.net
Family owned and operated for 40 years
CHECK OUR WEB SITE FOR THE FIRST LIVE CAM IN MORSON!
Casting off the Red Wing dock during the 2004 Chapter
Challunge.
About 200 M.I. members will flock to Lake of the Woods for
this special event. We will have a very positive economic impact on
many resorts and businesses around Morson and Nestor Falls.
The 2011 Chapter Challunge will be hosted by long-time M.I.
supporters Red Wing Lodge. My chapter won Challunge 81 on Lake
of the Woods and chose to return there for Challunge 82. Red Wing
was one of the resorts that filled its cabins with M.I. members. They
laid out the red carpet and welcomed us. Mike, Anne, and Betty
(Mike’s mom) have welcomed thousands of additional M.I. members
over the past thirty years. This year will mark the seventh time that
they have served as headquarters for the Gil Hamm Chapter
Challunge. They have repaid our support with good service, fund
raising, and magazine advertising. Make sure you say thanks to
Mike, Anne, Betty and the kids when you see them by during the Lake of the Woods has 14,000 islands; you’ll find hundreds in
Sabaskong Bay.
Challunge!
On the Nestor Falls end of Sabaskong
lake. It runs seven miles east from the east
Bay is another long-term supporter of
The upcoming Challunge on side of Hay Island. There is good structure
Muskies, Inc. Young’s Wilderness Camp is
and Stony is a good place during times of
Sabaskong Bay will produce strong north, south or east winds.
located on a private five acre island and features eight lake view cabins. Young’s is the
The north finger is Stevens Bay which
good numbers of large Esox
only advertiser which has run an ad in every
also
runs
east to west. It is approximately six
and offer our group plenty
issue of MUSKIE for the past 5 years! Even
miles long. This bay is usually boat quiet, has
of space on this gold mine of good muskie structure, and would be a good
if you are staying someplace else you should
stop by and say hello and thanks to Perry and
north or south wind hideout. Remember to
muskie structure. We will
Carol Anniuk. You should also spend some
Young’s Wilderness Camp while you are
have anglers spread out over visit
fishing time in Stevens Bay.
in the area
about fifty miles of water.
Other camps which have served our
I like to go back in these bays to hide
members over the years include Buena Vista
from traffic in the more open areas of
Resort, Mylie’s Place, Moonlite Bay Camp, Sabaskong Bay Lodge, Sabaskong. Stevens and Stony are great early season areas because
Hanson’s King Island Lodge, and Duck Bay Lodge.
they warm up faster than the rest of the Sab.
For lodging, team registration and other info about the 2011 Gil
Discussing the structure of Sabaskong Bay and surrounding
Hamm Chapter Challunge check out: http://gilhamm.com
areas is very exciting for me. From the clearer moving waters of
Lake of the Woods has 14,000 islands. You’ll find hundreds in Nestor Falls to the black water of Burrow Bay, the diversity is overSabaskong Bay as you travel approximately 23 miles from the west whelming. The deep areas of Rubber Island that offer current to the
end of the bay and head east toward Nestor Falls or Stevens Bay. massive sunken reefs and boulders of Huggins and Pony Islands. The
These islands allow anglers to navigate most winds by island hop- east and west sides of Blueberry Island are awesome and nearby
ping. Of course some stretches won’t be fun when it’s windy, so take Matheson Bay will excite your muskie innards.
your time.
The Sab can be maneuvered quite easily
by remembering some simple facts. The
western third of Sabaskong is the widest with
a maximum width from south to north of
about six miles. The south side is the mainland and noticeably higher ground than the
islands. The north side is the Aulneau
Peninsula and also higher ground.
The eastern third of the Sab is comprised
of three fingers of water running west to east.
I spend quite a bit of time in the one that
runs from Blueberry Island to Nestor Falls.
This finger is simply called Sabaskong Bay
and has clearer water plus some current from
the falls at Nestor. There are lots of neat bays,
nooks and crannies. I like to look for smaller
structure with boulders, reeds and weeds. If
the bigger water has a heavy bloom of algae,
or a strong north or south wind, this is a good
area to head to.
The middle finger is Stony Portage Bay.
On the east end is an old portage to another
www.muskiesinc.org
Fishing the Sab
Where to start is a personal thing. I like the smaller structure as
a starting point. All slightly exposed and sunken reefs are potential
muskie holding pens. Small islands offer muskie points, bays,
sunken structure, or shoreline boulder patches which often continue
out and under water. Weeds are not as abundant as fifteen years ago
but still exist. Look for all weeds and think muskie.
I love to look for “structure off of structure”. When you imagine
the creation of the lake by receding glaciers, think of a rock reef and
how it will usually have other reefs around it. Some of these reefs will
be very dangerous to your motor but excellent muskie spots.
Lake of the Woods maps show most, not all, of these motor eaters; the ones which are three or more feet down will not likely be on
the map. Don’t pull into a fishing area hard; throttle back and watch
your electronics! The Ontario map you will need is #6214. Use your
map to discuss potential spots with other M.I. members; most are
willing to share their knowledge.
A favorite small island of mine has an exposed rock adjacent to
it with an unbelievable saddle of boulders between them. Obviously
most of us would like the looks of this structure. There have been
times when several different large fish were there at one time. We’ve
caught many large fish here and almost all we catch are in the fortyplus inch range. This tells us it is a big fish area and a gold mine for
muskie. On one trip we were leaving this spot, about eighty yards
away I nicked another sunken rock with the motor. After assessing
the damage, which was slight, we threw baits to the structure and
caught a beautiful forty-four!
Many of my earlier writings about the Sab discuss my three
amigos of structure - REEDS, WEEDS, and BOULDERS! Together,
they smell of muskie perfume; separated or paired they still work very
well. Sometimes human-sized boulders will be scattered along a
shoreline for a short distance; often they will continue into deeper
water. Use your electronics and motor carefully around these areas.
Toss in some reeds and weeds and watch out! We’ve got one spot like
this that gave up two fifty inch fish in one visit.
I was given a spot to fish a couple years ago by Project Noble
Beast researcher Sean Landsman. I had shared my maps with Sean
and his dad, Spencer, when they first started working Lake of the
Woods. They had scored a dandy one evening and showed the area to
me. This spot was one I had passed by hundreds of times on my way
to our family walleye honey hole. They found a group of small islands
that had sunken or slightly visible structure off each island. It turned
out to be an awesome area that you could spend a couple of hours
fishing. Oh yes, I have caught a fifty there and several other forties!
There is also a big one at this spot that I have seen several times.
A picture perfect place to fish!
Casting the author’s three amigos of structure – reeds, weeds,
and boulders!
Look for structure off of structure around the rock islands of
Lake of the Woods; in many spots you will find partially
exposed reefs and underwater reefs nearby.
When good anglers like Shawn and Spencer come to a new area
they don’t have a pattern of hot spots. They are willing to explore
like I did my first few years. Be an explorer while you’re on
Sabaskong. We all boat past many big fish as we travel from point A
to point B.
We posed ten questions to three Muskies,
Inc. anglers to give you a cross-section of
opinions on lures, structure, and fishing for
areas of Lake of the Woods. Our three
anglers are Leo Kofoot (Leo), Brad Waldera
(Brad), and Jeff Miller (Jeff). They have
put in their time on the Sab, so read on.
1. Please give our members your thoughts on the structure you
look for on Sabaskong Bay and its surrounding waters?
Leo: My first stops are always boulders with deep water nearby
or a quick dropping bottom next to them. The boulders that I find
ideal are those with sharp edges, those with 6-8 inch cracks in them
or underwater sharp spines. You have to be able to cast right up tight
to the boulders. I mean from 12-18 inches away from dry rock!
Accurate casts can be deadly. These fish can really sit up tight and a
lure brought over their heads is usually effective. If the fish are using
the weeds, try to find some on sand beaches or adjacent to rock
structure
Brad: We usually look
for weeds near rock formations, but have found good
muskies in sandy beachlined bays which have a few
weeds. We don’t fish a lot
of deeper water, but shallow areas close to deep
water are good choices. A
favorite spot for our group
features a large shallow
weed flat between two
islands with rocky shorelines nearby; I would call it and extended saddle area.
Jeff: Sand Bays, usually with some weeds and/or rocks; saddles
between islands; rock/weed combo areas; small pockets along shorelines; any structure close to deep water; small reefs and rocks off of
shore. My favorite spot is a sand bar between two islands; it has
boulders mixed in and normally a wind-generated current.
2. With a hard-blowing wind where will you go to fish?
Leo: If you can get into Sabaskong, there are usually some good
structure spots where you don’t get beat up too badly. I try to fish
the sides/points where the wind is blowing in, but don’t be afraid to
fish the leeward side of the islands. As a rule of thumb, I hardly ever
fish the north sides of islands or land masses unless there is some
current present. When the glaciers pushed over the area most of the
broken stuff was deposited on the south, east and west sides of the
islands.
Brad: With the number of islands there are going to be countless areas to fish, even in windy conditions. Boulders on wind-blown
points can be very good at times.
www.muskiesinc.org
Selected Fishing Regulations for
Lake of the Woods, Ontario
(Source: 2011 Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary)
Ontario offers Sport Fishing Licenses or Conservation Fishing Licenses.
The Conservation Licenses are less expensive and include reduced daily limits.
Non-Residents have special daily and possession limits for walleye.
Species
Regulations
Muskellunge
Length:
Must be greater than 54 inches
Daily Limits:
Sport Fishing License: 1
Conservation License: 0
Northern Pike
Length:
Release between 27.6 inches and
35.4 inches; only 1 may be greater
than 35.4 inches
Daily Limits:
Sport Fishing License: 4
Conservation License: 2
Walleye Length:
Only 1 greater than 18.1 inches
in one day and in possession
Non-Resident Daily Limits:
Sport Fishing License:
Daily limit 2; possession limit 4
Conservation License:
Daily limit 2; possession limit 2
Jeff: I love windy areas but my wife hates it, so we fish areas that
are not being pounded by 3 to 4 foot waves. I will head for Burrow,
Obabikon or the Sunset Channel when the big north winds blow.
During strong south winds I fish east and south - Round, Blueberry,
King Island, Stony and Stevens. Don’t overlook Miles with south
winds; there are some great spots on the way up and the south side
has some great structure.
3. On a hot and dead-calm
day how would you
work Sabaskong?
Leo: I have taken some
really nice fish under these
conditions. In fact my longest
fish, a 53 incher, came under
these conditions at 2:30 one
afternoon. Remember, these
fish like to sun themselves.
Since they are a cold blooded
creature, my theory is they sun themselves to warm up their bodies
to make themselves faster, more efficient predators.
Brad: We would probably fish earlier and faster, concentrating
on areas closer to deep water.
Fishing the Sab
Jeff: I try to find deep weeds and slow roll spinner baits when
it’s hot and calm. When the water temp is up and you have bright
sun the fish are looking for cover. Any shade will hold fish, Tree
bluffs, deep drops things like that.
lems, have eliminated cabbage beds. I have seen bays once solid with
weeds which are now bare or with only scattered lily pads and spaghetti weeds left. I will still fish the sand bays and have found big fish
on no cover or structure, just cruising the sand.
6. If faced with a heavy layer of algae what will you do?
Leo: I’m not good at dealing with a heavy algae bloom. I will
try
to
find a bay such as Burrow where the bloom seldom occurs, or
4. Are your standby spots still producing as well as when you
go
further
west to get out of it if possible.
first found them?
Brad:
Depending on the time of the year, you can usually find
Leo: The standby spots that I have fished over the years are still
a way out of it by moving to a different
producing. The fish may not be on them
part of the lake. I may slow down my
when I visit them but they will be there at
baits and use more topwater lures.
some point in the day or the next day.
There
is
so
much
water
to
Jeff: The algae bloom will determine
Brad: A good spot will almost always
which
direction I go when it gets thick.
fish that I do more exploring
be a good spot every year if you continue to
Wind
moves
it around and makes it easier
be there about the same time of the year.
when the fishing pressure gets
to
avoid.
The
hot, calm days makes it a lot
Jeff: No. Fish have relocated the last 5
harder
to
fish
as the algae can rise and
heavier. It is unreal how you
years due, I believe, to the lack of weed
settle
on
everything.
One consolation is
cover.
drive by spots for years that
that it is usually only in the upper foot of
never seemed to look that
water, but it really makes it messy and
5. What do you think is happening
hard to see follows.
good and then you finally try
with the weed cover and how do you
deal with some of the weedless areas
them and… WHAM…
7. Are there as many fifty inchers in
now?
Lake of the Woods now as you saw years
there’s a muskie!
Leo: The non-native rusty crawfish
ago?
has decimated a lot of good weed beds.
Leo: I believe there are more 50s now
–
Jeff
Miller
When I get to one of these formerly good
than
there were 20 years ago because of
weed bed spots, I will look for rock close by
the
length
limit change and the catch-andor I’ll fish the breakline where the weed
release
philosophy.
I
don’t
think
there
is less muskie fishing pressure
edge used to be when it dropped into deep water. I don’t think they
on
Lake
of
the
Woods
than
20
years
ago;
some anglers have switched
have completely left those areas.
to
new
lakes
but
new
anglers
keep
filling
the void
Brad: There are still many weedy areas and fish can always be
Brad:
There
seems
to
be
fewer
fifty-inch
class fish, but the
caught off sandy beaches and bare rock. This hasn’t been an issue for
numbers
of
quality
fish
still
make
it
my
lake
of
choice.
us.
Jeff: I think there are more large fish than years ago, but accordJeff: I think years of high and low water, plus the crayfish probing to fishing reports they are all at the Northwest Angle - this is fine
with me as it takes more pressure off of Sabaskong Bay! I think the
Minnesota lakes have also relieved some of the muskie fishing pressure on Lake of the Woods.
8. Using Morson as the center of a twenty mile circle, what
direction would you chose to go and why?
Leo: If there is a concentration of muskie fisherman in
Sabaskong, I have a tendency to go west or northwest to get away
from any congestion. I would fish spots in the Basil Channel or west
and north of the Painted Rock Channel, all the way up to Sabaskosing
Bay. If most of the anglers are going west, I will make my milk runs
in Sabaskong.
Brad: Probably northwest. There is lots of good structure and
it is very scenic.
Jeff: I would start by going east, fishing Horseshoe, Round,
Hay, and Blueberry islands. I’d try to establish a pattern and would
check out the sandy bays, saddles, rock points and small reefs.
Katie Ogden has been in MUSKIE many times holding some
Sabaskong beauties; this time we also thank her for providing
technical assistance to her dad for this story.
9. What are your favorite baits for Lake of the Woods and if
you only get three baits for the day, what would they be?
Leo: Favorites: black/silver Double Cowgirl; Super TopRaider;
orange/black Double Cowgirl; black/silver Showgirl; chartreuse/
black Showgirl; jailbird Suick; orange/black Slopmaster; sucker
Squirko; red/black Wades Wobbler. If I only get to fish three baits
Star of the North Chapter (#15) and
Tri-Esox Productions are proud to sponsor
the
2011 Gil Hamm Chapter Challunge
Painted Rock Channel
for a day I would choose a Double Cowgirl, a Super TopRaider and
a Showgirl.
Brad: Favorites: topwater baits like Thunderheads, LowRiders,
and Hawg Wobblers; Rad Dog spinnerbaits; and double-bladed
bucktails like Cowgirls. If I only get three I’d choose a Heavy Rad
Dog (black/orange with flame blade), a black Thunderhead, and a
bronze Glittertail.
Jeff: Favorites: Believer; TopRaider; Mag Tinsel Buchertail (Elvis
pattern); Hellhound; Fudally Candy Spin; Big Fish Sandcat (sixinch); Chaos Medusa; Musky LowRider. My top three would be a
10-inch straight Believer (walleye, black with gold scales), a
TopRaider (blackbird or black firetail), and a Bucher Mag Tinsel
Buchertail (Elvis).
10. How will you deal with the fishing pressure of the Challunge
on this lake?
Leo: I don’t like to fish the community spots unless I am the first
one there in the morning. If I see a lot of boats working general areas
in Sabaskong, I may pack up and head out west or northwest.
Brad: Fish the way you would normally fish. Just try to have
fun out there. A picture is not required to register a fish in the
Challunge and pressure won’t be much of a factor out there.
Jeff: There is so much water to fish that I do more exploring
when the fishing pressure gets heavier. It is unreal how you drive by
spots for years that never seemed to look that good and then you
finally try them and . . . WHAM . . . there’s a muskie!
N
There are so many variables when you have a body of water of
this magnitude. I enjoyed reading the responses to the questions
and I hope you did too. Don’t forget some of the bright colored
jerkbaits, as well as the old standby, black, on cloudy days. Silverbladed dark fur bucktails are always great choices and gold blades
are great too. Hope to see all of you at the 2011 Gil Hamm Chapter
Challunge! v
Thanks to all who provided input, photos, and graphics for this
article, especially Leo Kofoot, Brad Waldera, Jeff Miller, Richard
Gross, Juris Ozols, Katie Ogden, Brett Waldera, Kevin Richards,
and Patrick Richards.
www.muskiesinc.org
on beautiful Sabaskong Bay of
Lake of the Woods.
Join us!
Fred Brogle, VP Internal Affairs
On behalf of the Star of the North Chapter (reigning
Chapter Challunge champs) and Tri-Esox Productions (producers of the Chicago Muskie Show) I would like to invite all
MI members to attend the 2011 Gil Hamm Chapter Challenge.
This is the only national fishing outing that is supported
through Muskies Inc. This year’s Challunge is located on one
of the best muskie waters in North America - Lake of the
Woods. The headquarters location will be Red Wing Lodge in
Morson, Ontario. There will be additional lodging at many of
the surrounding resorts.
Many MI anglers will take a full week for fishing, so mark
your calendar from Sunday August 21st to Saturday August
27th. The actual Challunge will be Wednesday the 24th through
Friday the 26th. As I said, many folks will arrive early to prefish.
Our host is working on several events; I can share a few
details at this time. Registration will start Tuesday night at 6
PM; fishing teams are arranged by chapters with 6 anglers per
team. Challunge hours are Wednesday and Thursday from 6
AM to 6 PM and Friday from 6 AM till noon. Dinners will be
provided Wednesday and Thursday nights after fish registration. Friday lunch will be provided by our Chapter 15 hosts
during the noon presentation of the prestigious Lunge Bucket.
As always, the 2011 winning chapter will get to host the 2012
Challunge and pick the location. There will also be a Muskies
Inc. trivia quiz, a casting contest, and a fish slide show.
New for this year - we are asking attendees to bring digital
and video cameras in their boats. Many anglers make amateur
fishing video clips and we want to compile one huge video of
the Challunge - so please BRING YOUR CAMERAS AND
VIDEOS - shoot your own action and we will put them all
together. The best cameras for this project are those which use
HD mini-cassette tapes. Details will be explained at registration. In addition, we want to publish as many of the muskie
photos as possible in MUSKIE Magazine, like we did for
Challunge 2010.
For more info please visit the Chapter Challunge website:
www.gilhamm.com
S
ome cold fronts are sure to pack more wind than usual. When
Throwing a topwater lure over such a spot with plummeting
that happens, typically winds will be gusty out of the W/NW water temps seemed like a real stretch at this point, since water
at 20 to 25 mph or more. Usually, a straight westerly wind temps were in the high 70s to low 80s the week before, but now
flow packs far more wind than one that abruptly switches to the dove downward into the mid-60s. I am not sure that’s what I was
northwest. A quick front flips the wind to the NW and the skies thinking when I launched an extra long cast with my trusty surface
clear to dry and bluebird in short order. Extended fronts tend to bait way back into the calm backside of this particular tiny cabbagepoint the wind in a due-west direction
studded cove, but I did it anyway.
with a lot more wind velocity. This spells
Perhaps it was more so a desire to simply
Under tough conditions the
BIG WAVES and potentially dangerous
get a few minutes of relief. In any case,
travel. But, as the age old fishing poem
what unfolded next has me rethinking
challenge is to still leave the
says, “When the wind is out of the west,
how I fish high wind cold fronts.
dock with a positive attitude,
the fish bite the best”.
I vaguely remember struggling to
The only problem is west winds usuhear the signature gurgle of the TopRaider
fish as hard and as efficiently
ally bring too much wind and big waves.
above the noise of rustling tree tops as I
as possible, and eventually put
Now, I am not saying I don’t like wind
simultaneously touched my boot to the
a cast over the one that’s still
and waves. On the contrary, I actually
foot control button on the trolling motor
enjoy a good chop and feel invigorated by
to correct our boat position. Suddenly a
willing to bite.
a brisk breeze. I can work a trolling motor
noticeable wake appeared behind the
into whopper waves with the best of ‘em.
bait. Before it even registered what was
I also know how such conditions can turn on a rock bite for big really happening, a gaping mouth roared up and engulfed the whole
muskies. However, sometimes a big blow shuts down the rock bite. bait.
When this occurs, the best approach is to check nearby quiet coves.
A terrific battle ensued, with powerful line stripping runs, tarThis is precisely how I bagged a big one on a recent trip.
pon like jumps and violent head thrashes. Thankfully, the beheAfter countless attempts at casting rock points and reefs out in moth musky was well hooked and I landed it successfully. Victory
the open with big white-capped waves smashing into them, I is always sweet in the musky fishing world, but needless to say it is
reverted to east facing sections of the lake that were far more pro- even sweeter when it occurs at the end of a tough and otherwise
tected from the “big blow”. These spots had a much more fishable fishless day during a cold front with high winds. This fish turned
chop; sometimes an almost calm cove area. Little did I know that out to be the biggest musky I caught last season. Ironically, it came
one of these small calm coves would be the only spot to produce.
from a calm cove on a day with roaring wind, big waves, and cold
After nearly six hours of torturous pounding waves, I decided rain.
I wanted a break and slipped my way towards a small section of
It’s fish like this one, and incidents like this, that drive every
quiet water. Nothing in my experiences that day suggested a visit to musky hunter on the water to keep casting no matter what the cona small quiet bay out-of-the-wind would be anything more than ditions look like. This big musky was a classic in this regard. It hit
another fruitless casting exercise, but it certainly would give me a when it wasn’t supposed to.
break from the big waves.
No matter how much one might try to plan trips around sea30 MUSKIE.....July 2011
sonal moon peaks and good weather, sometimes circumstances there’s always a fish or two out there on any given day that doesn’t
simply don’t work in your favor. In this instance, I had nearly every- read the book. Under tough conditions the challenge is to still leave
thing working against me the dock with a positive attihigh winds, big waves, droptude, fish as hard and as effiping water temperatures and a
ciently as possible, and evenpoor moon peak just to name
tually put a cast over the one
a few. I didn’t even mention
that’s still willing to bite. The
that the boat was low on batbig one I just caught on this
tery power due to both the
awful day is all the evidence I
high demand I put on it while
need to keep trying time and
trying to fight the big waves as
time again, no matter what
well as a faulty on-board charthe book says.
ger.
The wild outdoors always
When I was still a full
provides unpredictable chaltime guide, I used to cheer on
lenges - even on those days
my customers on a day like
with mild weather conditions.
this with the challenge, “Let’s
Fishing in strong wind with
go find a fish that doesn’t read
big waves is a challenge in
the book”. In other words,
itself. Travel between spots is
most of us so called experts
actually the most daunting
who write fishing articles, me
task and can even get downincluded, talk about recognizright dangerous. Don’t even
ing optimum conditions and
attempt such a trip without a
planning trips accordingly.
seaworthy boat. Even then,
These are high percentage
be extra careful.
situations when fish are supFinally, let this big fish be
posed to bite.
a lesson to every angler that a
However, it’s tough to
lunker isn’t always out there
reschedule something that’s
on a big windblown reef in the
planned a year in advance.
middle of the lake. It could
Mother Nature rarely cooper- Sometimes a big blow shuts down the rock bite. When this occurs, just as easily be tuckered up
ates with plans anyway. check nearby quiet coves. This is how the author bagged a big one inside a nice quiet cove. v
Experience has taught me that on a recent trip.
Lake Profiles Requested From Chapters
MUSKIE would like to feature upcoming articles that share fishing info on a
specific lake in each chapter’s area. One paragraph should describe a bit about
the chapter itself; the rest of the article would provide details about the lake.
What does it look like? What are the go-to lures and techniques? Are there any
muskie friendly businesses to recommend? Insider tips? We aren’t asking you
to “give up your hot spot” - just share your wealth of information with fellow
Muskies, Inc. members.
Please send ideas to MUSKIE Editor Kevin Richards (muskiemag@yahoo.
com). Those who wish to pen the pieces themselves can do so. Chapters
requesting help in the writing process should also copy Field Editor Patricia
Strutz ([email protected]). She is happy to interview members
and put together an article for the chapter.
www.muskiesinc.org
An Outsider
Looking In
One American’s
Perspective on
Canadian Muskie
Fisheries
by Sean Landsman
Project Noble Beast researcher Sean Landsman was
able to marry his love for science with his love for
fishing.
N
ever in my wildest imaginations did I think that someday
someone would pay me to fish for muskies, much less in
Canada. It simply wasn’t in the cards, but as my father says,
“Life is what happens after you make plans.” As life would have it,
I figured out a way to marry my love for science with my love for
fishing. When I pitched my line to Dr. Steven Cooke of Carleton
University about Project Noble Beast (the muskie catch-and-release
study), he bit! When I entered Canada in 2009 as an international
student, I hadn’t the faintest clue what to expect. “They’re paying me
to fish and study muskies; what could be so bad about that?”
Fortunately, my experiences as a student seeking a Master’s degree
have been nothing short of amazing. Oh, and the fishing was pretty
good too. As I write this, I am preparing to return to the U.S. and
accept a job. It is with a sad heart that I must leave such a wonderful
place. Nevertheless, I now have the opportunity to sit down and
write about my immersion into Canadian muskie culture, a process
that has spanned almost two years.
A few disclaimers before I proceed. I should emphasize that
much of what is presented here are generalizations and I recognize
there are exceptions. I’m sure there may be some who disagree with
portions of my commentary, but certainly none of it was meant to
instigate argument or to “stir-the-pot.” I will add that I have not
fished all of the water bodies mentioned in this article, but many of
my musings stem from direct conversations with some of the best
anglers in the country, most of whom fly well below the angling
community’s radar (and shall remain there in this article). I present
to you a unique viewpoint as an American who lived for two years
in Canada and surrounded himself with a close group of angling
friends, mostly passionate muskie anglers. Last, it is my goal to
cram two years of observations into 2,500 words without missing
anything!
Tactics and Methods: Trolling
Despite a one rod per person regulation, trolling is a large part
of Canadian muskie fishing, particularly in eastern Canada where trolling isn’t relegated to a fall-only tactic.
From my observations this is largely
due to the types of fisheries present.
Large, unfertile bodies of water like
Georgian Bay, Lake Nipissing, and
the St. Lawrence River simply are not
conducive for casting. Low populations of naturally reproducing fish
spread over hundreds of square miles
of water makes finding muskies a
daunting task. The most plausible
option, therefore, is to cover water
and keep baits in the strike-zone via
trolling.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are water bodies such as the
Kawartha Lakes chain, the Rideau
River in eastern Ontario, and portions of the Ottawa
River. These fisheries offer anglers miles and miles of
lush, green weed lines. Most of us are acutely aware of
the magnetic qualities weed lines seem to have on muskies. Finding a weed bed and keying on its weed line is
one of the best ways to contact fish. When a water body
is essentially one great big weed bed, approaching these
huge weed lines – similar to the vast rock shoals of the
St. Lawrence River – requires trolling methods. The
flats themselves are often so thick that it is nearly impossible to work lures through the vegetation. What do you
do? Get on a weed line, drop the throttle, and go.
Obviously, that’s an oversimplification of the tactic, but
driving down a weed line washing a few lures can not
only quickly lead to a fish in the net, but will greatly
shorten the learning curve needed to isolate key fishholding areas.
Overall, trolling baits don’t differ too much from
those found in the arsenals of most American anglers.
The average size of trolling lures, however, tends to be much larger
than what I have personally seen most anglers using in the States.
Most Canadian muskie fisheries rely on successful natural reproduction to sustain populations while the success of U.S. stocking programs has made it possible for managers to
establish trophy fisheries south of the border.
For example, Legend Plows are to many Canadian anglers as 10 and
even 14-inch Jakes are to American anglers. At Canada’s only dedicated muskie exhibition show, the Muskie
Odyssey, a quick look around the room
showed about a 50/50 ratio between baitmakers producing 12-inch plus crankbaits
and other lures. At the major U.S. muskie
shows you simply won’t find as many booths
with these highly specialized giant crankbaits. Other trolling baits born out of necessity, and largely localized to eastern Ontario,
are heavy-duty safety-pin style spinnerbaits
such as River Rats and Beaver Lures. These
baits have beefy components and the specialized trolling versions may weigh anywhere
from 3 or 4 ounces up to 20 ounces (for the
largest Beaver Lures).
Muskies Canada Inc. is a very similar organization to Muskies
Inc. and operates on many of the same principles such as
promotion of the sport and support of research and management initiatives.
Although all major lure categories are present, the biggest difference I have noticed is a lack of variety, which may be due to the
limited access Canadian anglers have to a lot of baits manufactured
in the U.S.
I have been privy to horror stories of shipping and handling fees,
in addition to customs charges, accounting for as much or more of a
purchase than the actual order. Many use eBay or the buy-sell-trade
forums on Internet muskie sites to circumvent this issue. Recently,
Ryan Marlowe has opened a new shop, Figure 8 Baits, in Kenora,
Tactics and Methods: Casting
To be honest, I didn’t observe a huge
difference in casting tactics. Though perhaps slower to catch on among some groups
of anglers, Cowgirls and other large doublebladed bucktails are now a staple of nearly
every Canadian muskie angler. Bucktails,
large plastics, topwaters, and gliding and
dive/rise jerkbaits are also well represented
in the tackle boxes of Canadian anglers.
East, west, north, or south - everyone loves topwater baits. Apparently this muskie
likes them, too!
www.muskiesinc.org
AN OUTSIDER LOOKING IN
Advertiser Testimonial –
Manitou
Weather Station
Fishing Lodge
We ran an ad for Manitou Weather Station
and a couple of related stories in the October
2010 issue of MUSKIE. In December, camp
owner Donna Cridland called MUSKIE editor
Kevin Richards and relayed this story.
In November, Donna’s brother Duane was
on a business trip and passing through the
Minneapolis airport. He was wearing a shirt
with a small Manitou Weather Station logo on
it. A fellow approached him and asked if he
was from the Manitou. Duane responded that
his family owned Manitou Weather Station.
The fellow said that he recognized the logo
from MUSKIE Magazine! When Donna relayed
this story to Kevin she said, "Now that's good
marketing, that's what advertisers love to hear!"
Oh yeah, she also renewed her ad for our
March & July 2011 showcase issues!
Members, never forget how important it is
to thank our advertisers for their support. Let
them know you saw and appreciated their ads
in MUSKIE.
Ontario. I suspect his shop will garner a fair amount of business
from Canadian anglers unwilling to pay large shipping and customs
fees as well as Americans searching for hard-to-find Canadian-made
baits, particularly since the shop will soon have a website.
Night fishing, casting in particular, is something I have not
heard many Canadian anglers discuss. Certainly, the first and last
hours of daylight and perhaps the first hour of darkness are commonly fished time periods, but the night fishing that occurs on
waters such as Lake Vermilion or Mille Lacs is not a commonality in
Canada. That said, I am aware of a handful of anglers that exploit
night fishing on some water bodies with excellent success, but its
pervasiveness is not the same as it is in the States. Night trolling,
particularly in the fall, is perhaps a tad more prevalent in Canada
than it is in the States. This seems to be highly variable among individuals, but is also likely due to the characteristics of specific waters
where clarity is extremely high and the fish tend to stay deep.
Management
Perhaps the greatest difference between Canadian and U.S.
muskie management is the lack of stocking in Canada. In Ontario,
between 1970 and 1990 muskies were stocked in over 260 water
bodies, resulting in the establishment of 76 populations of muskies1.
Since 1990, however, stocking has ceased with the closing of the
Deer Lake Fish Hatchery1. Today, the only water body in Canada to
receive hatchery-reared muskies is the Spanish River, a tributary of
Georgian Bay, where the goal is to re-establish a once-thriving population. Canadian muskie fisheries, particularly those in Ontario, are
managed for sustainability and trophy potential on the basis of naturally reproducing, self-sustaining populations1.
Ontario’s fisheries management philosophy has recently shifted
to a landscape level approach within Fisheries Management Zones
(FMZ). FMZ councils have been established to gather the opinions,
insights, and ideas on management issues from a variety of stakeholders for a given zone. In Québec, two of Canada’s most prominent
muskie guides, Mike Lazarus and Marc Thorpe, have teamed up with
fisheries managers to tag muskies they
catch. The quality of data these two men
are generating will be a tremendous benefit to muskie management within their
regions and beyond.
Muskies Canada Inc. (MCI) is an
organization very similar to Muskies Inc.
Currently their membership consists of a
little over 500 members and thirteen
chapters spanning the muskie range in
Canada: 11 in Ontario, one in Québec,
and one in New Brunswick. Their high
level of interaction in both management
decision-making processes and research
demonstrates the organization’s stature
and reputation with Canadian fisheries
managers. You will find many MCI
members sitting on FMZ councils and
being directly involved in the establishment of management plans for Ontario’s
fisheries, including those with and with-
out muskies. Ian Young, president of MCI, recently
outlined many of the research initiatives and management programs MCI is involved with (see the March
2011 issue of MUSKIE). One highlight includes
MCI’s placement of hundreds of Know the Difference
signs in Ontario and Québec. These signs are designed
to show the public how to properly identify muskies
and pike in an effort to reduce accidental harvest. Also,
MCI has been an essential supporter of Project Noble
Beast in general but particularly the muskie catch-andrelease study (see the March 2011 issue of MUSKIE for
more details). Their largest undertaking is the Lake
Simcoe Muskellunge Restoration Project in partnership
with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
(OMNR) and Sir Sanford Fleming College; the project
is attempting to reintroduce muskies following a population crash in the mid-1900s. Additionally, a team of
volunteers is assisting OMNR staff in developing ways
to control or remove northern pike from the Kawartha
Lakes chain. The invasion of northern pike into the
Fishing pressure on Canadian waters is typically less than
Kawartha Lakes poses a threat to existing muskie populations which most U.S. waters. Despite this lake’s proximity to a large
have not evolved to co-exist with pike, which cause competition for Canadian city (“Little Italy” is in the background), and the presspawning habitat and food sources. Like Muskies Inc., MCI’s hands- ence of big fish, according to Muskies Canada angler diaries no
on involvement in muskie management is a defining characteristic of other boat logged angling hours on this water body in 2010.
the organization.
Other notable Canadian muskie management issues include the ingly high number of fish over 50 inches. Ultimately, the decision to
establishment of harmonized regulations for the Ottawa River, which stock or not stock depends on the management goal of a given fishrepresents the border between Ontario and Québec. In addition, a ery and is often dictated by a region’s constituents. However, if you
new fishery located in the St. John River, New Brunswick (see the value naturally reproducing fish then Canadian fisheries are hard to
May/June issue of Musky Hunter for more info) has established itself, beat. I encourage you to try to experience a Canadian muskie fishery
perhaps much to the chagrin of resource managers there. Muskies in at least once in your life (much more if you can).
New Brunswick are considered invasives and a threat to the valuable
Atlantic salmon fishery. Anglers may harvest fish at the ripe length
Angling Pressure
of 4 inches and can take as many as 5 individuals per day1.
Binoculars. The only time I have seen more binoculars (“bins”
The most unique characteristic of Canadian muskie fisheries is,
in my opinion, their ability to sustain naturally reproducing popula- for short) in one place, outside of an outdoors store, is among a
tions of some of the largest fish in North America. While I consider group of bird watchers. Yet bins are an important component of the
the establishment of fisheries such as Green Bay, Lake Vermilion, and tackle boxes that many of my Canadian friends tote around. They’re
Mille Lacs to be three of
used to identify the other
the most important muskboats in an area. When I
ie management success
first saw a volunteer grab
stories in recent history,
his bins and glass a nearthe resiliency of Canadian
by boat I was puzzled. I
fisheries, the determinaasked him, “What are
tion of anglers to promote
you doing?” He replied,
catch-and-release, and the
“Checking out whose
ability of Canadian
boat that is. We’re seeing
resource managers to help
increasing pressure in
sustain such unique fishthis area.” I did a full
eries without the aid of
360-degree turn and
stocking are unparalleled.
counted two boats. I
Establishing trophy fishlooked at him and
eries is often accomplished
laughed (politely, of
by supplementing existing
course), explaining that
naturally reproducing
if he wanted to see presfisheries with hatcherysure he should spend a
reared individuals, particweekend in July night
ularly in the U.S.; the
fishing the reefs in Lake
results are fisheries like This muskie was found cruising the inside turn of a weed line. It was cap- Vermilion’s eastern basin.
Mille Lacs and Lake tured during electrofishing operations for Project Noble Beast. (from left: Close your eyes and you
Vermilion with a seem- Sarah Larocque, Keith Stamplecoskie, and the author).
www.muskiesinc.org
AN OUTSIDER LOOKING IN
might mistake that balmy summer night for Christmas Eve, what
with all the jingling emanating from nearly every boat as Cowgirls
and Supermodels are cast into the black abyss.
American anglers that have fished Canadian waters know the
peace and solitude these relatively pressure-free systems bring. Still,
one must be cautious of increased pressure. It’s my opinion that the
ability of Canadian fisheries to maintain naturally reproducing populations without the aid of stocking is partly due to the lack of pressure on the resource. Increased pressure in the form of harvest
(perhaps not an issue for this audience) could have detrimental
impacts on the sustainability of the fishery. Nevertheless, I believe it
would take a very significant increase in pressure before we need to
start worrying about this issue.
West vs. East
Suffice it to say, there seems to be a clear difference between
western and eastern Canadian muskie anglers and fisheries. There
appears to be an American influence in the west, while eastern
anglers remain faithful to the methods developed in those areas. I
consider east to be anything east of Sault Ste. Marie.
In western Ontario, trolling seems to be relegated to fall periods
with little occurring during the summer when casting reigns supreme.
In eastern Ontario, trolling occurs all year, including during the summer. One likely explanation for this is simply the make-up of these
systems. Northwest Ontario is a caster’s utopia. The homogenous
composition of many eastern Canadian water bodies equates to less
visually appealing structure and cover to cast to; trolling is used
purely to contact active fish.
I had the opportunity to make the 24-hour drive from Ottawa
to Morson, Ontario to fish Lake of the Woods in the fall of 2010. I
was tagging along with two friends that are familiar with eastern
Ontario trolling methods. In a nutshell, these methods typically
consist of dragging Believers, Jakes, Legend Perchbaits, and Legend
Plows over deep water and banging bottom in some cases. Humps
are a favorite target, no matter the size. Also in our group of four
boats was a guide out of Wiley Point, Keith Davison, who knows
western trolling methods very well. Our boat ran deeper trolling
runs while Keith’s boat hugged the shorelines. Although we got a few
more fish than the other boats, the thought process was clear: east
went deep, west went shallow.
Conclusion
American muskie fisheries are, without a doubt, prime examples
of how proper management and angler attitudes can drive up the
quality of a fishery. The collective voice of anglers in Wisconsin and
Minnesota calling for increased size limits and greater stocking
efforts, for example, has created the foundation for some of the most
outstanding fisheries in North America. Equally as captivating, in
my opinion, are the naturally reproducing, relatively pressure-free
Canadian fisheries. Resilient ecosystems, proper management, and
angler determination to promote catch-and-release have made
Canadian fisheries what they are today.
Our comrades to the north are really no different than we are.
We all fish basically the same, own many of the same baits, and unite
under one common goal: to promote the betterment of muskie fishing throughout North America. If you have the opportunity to fish
muskies in Canada, you must. If you have the opportunity to spend
time with Canadian muskie anglers, you must. If you do these two
things, hopefully you will foster the same appreciation for Canadian
muskie culture and fisheries as I have.
Reference
Kerr, S.J. 2011. Distribution and management of muskellunge in
North America: An overview. Fisheries Policy Section,
Biodiversity Branch. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
Peterborough, Ontario. v
1
C
hapter 28 was named the Shawnee Muskie Hunters by the summer months. A fish barrier was installed over the spillway to
founding fathers and the first president Chad Cain. Kinkaid prevent losing fish over it during high water situations.
Lake is located in Southern Illinois in the Shawnee National
The lake has largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, black
Forest; it has become the home of the Chapter 28. This beautiful crappie, white crappie, white bass, bluegill, sunfish, channel catfish,
2500-acre lake is as pristine as any lake in the country. Because it sits flathead catfish, carp and muskies. The muskies do not reproduce in
in the National Forest, there is no development
the lake; they are stocked at a rate of 2000
on the lake. There are 3 boat ramps and one full
to 2500 muskies per year. The main forage
Kinkaid Lake is located
service marina.
is gizzard and threadfin shad.
This lake has loads of structure and 90 miles
This lake has a very good population of
in Southern Illinois in
of shoreline. It has large weed beds, timbered
muskies. The minimum size for a keeper on
the Shawnee National
coves, rock bluffs, sunken humps and road beds.
the lake is 48 inches. The average size is 37
It has depths of 70 feet and only about 15 percent
inches. Multiple fish days are not uncomForest; it has become the
of the lake is less than 10 feet. The water clarity is
mon on this lake. Colby Simms and I
home of the Chapter 28.
about five feet at the dam to one foot or less at the
caught 18 in one day fishing out of my boat
Northwest corner or Ava end.
in early June. There are 50-inch fish in the
The lake has a dam and a spillway. Water levels do not fluctuate lake but they are very hard to come by. Due to the hot water in the
more than 1.5 feet. The spillway causes the lake to stratify in the summer, muskies can get stressed and die from handling them; this
summer. A thermocline starts to set up in mid-May and lasts until is why we do not pursue them from mid-June through August.
the turnover in mid-November. The thermocline sets up anywhere
Some of the interesting things that have separated this lake from
from 18 to12 feet depending on the heat of summer. Water tem- other muskie lakes are the lures used to catch the muskies. Our
peratures can get to 94 degrees in July and August. The oxygen levels release chairman has put together a pie chart of the top lures for
below the thermocline in the summer are so low that all species are catching our muskies; the top 10 lures used on Kinkaid are quite
confined to the upper 18 feet of the water column throughout the
www.muskiesinc.org
KINKAID LAKE
week period. Folks do catch a muskie on them here and there at
other times, but they are not as productive as crankbaits. I know that
I will get a lot of flak about bucktails, but these are the facts.
different than most other lakes or than the MI top 10.
Bull Dawgs and other jerk and pull baits will catch fish. I throw
Seventy-five percent of the muskies are caught on crankbaits on
Kinkaid. A few of the top crankbaits which were developed on and everything just to keep the muskie honest; the pile of baits at the
for Kinkaid are the SS Shad, Krusher, Krisco, Krave and Krave Jr. front of my boat at the end of each day will tell the story. However,
Other top producers are baby ShallowRaiders, ShallowRaiders, to be consistent on Kinkaid crankbaits should be your first choice.
Colors are a personal choice but white in any combination (all
Crane baits, Grandmas, Jakes, Believers, SwimWhizz, DepthRaiders,
baby DepthRaiders, Lil Ernies, Ernies and an upcoming lure, the white, white/blue, white/green, white/black) is always a good choice.
Bright colors in clown
Czars. What it boils down
and firetiger work
to is if it is crankbait, you
very well along with
can catch a muskie on it
combinations of black
on Kinkaid.
and orange.
The other 25 percent
The Shawnee
of the lures, in order, are
Muskies
Hunters
Glide baits such as
have 104 members as
Hellhounds, Phantoms
of this writing. About
and Mantas; spinnerbaits,
seventy-five percent
with Simms Schoolin
of our members are
Shads (developed for
from the St. Louis
Kinkaid) leading the way
area, which is about
and other good spinner100 miles north of
baits such as the Llungen
the lake. We have
Nut Buster (developed for
members
from
Kinkaid) and Walt’s Baits
Canada,
Indiana,
Spinnerbait (developed
Missouri and Illinois.
for Kinkaid). The surprise
We are members of
is that buck tails and surthe Illinois Musky
face lures are very low on
Alliance. Our club
the list. That does not
works very closely
mean bucktails are not
with the Illinois DNR
productive, they are, but
and funds we raise are
primarily for a small two
Colby Simms admires a pretty Kinkaid muskie.
geared to the muskie
program and Kinkaid Lake.
We sponsor a lake clean up on
Kinkaid every year. We hold a Kids’
Fishing Day on Lake Murphysboro
with the help of area businesses like
Top of the Hill Bait Shop, Kinkaid
Marina, and the Reeds Creek
Conservatory District. We hold two
Guide for the Day programs on the
lake plus our Take a Veteran Fishing
day in November. We hold food
drives at our tournaments for the
area food banks. These are just a few
of our programs and I am very
proud of our members and accomplishments. v
Walt Krause is Chapter 28 RVP and
Chapter News & Views Reporter; he
contributes to almost every issue of
MUSKIE. Walt guides for muskie,
bass, walleye, and crappie on
Kinkaid Lake.
Kinkaid Lake produces some fine bass and crappie too!
ATTENTION
CHAPTER
CONTACTS:
Please make sure
your chapter address
and phone number
is correct on this page
AND on the M.I. website.
Whenever you update
chapter information on
the website, please send an
email to the Editor so we can
keep this page current. Thanks!
Special Events
2011
August 24-26, 2011
2011 Gil Hamm Chapter Challunge
Lake of the Woods, ON
Headquarters: Red Wing Lodge
September 9, 10, 11, 2011
Frank Schneider, Jr., Memorial Muskie
Tournament - 22 lakes in the Bemidji,
Cass Lake, Walker, Longville area of
northern Minnesota
www.twincitiesmuskiesinc.org
Contact: Denise Olson, [email protected]
September 22-25, 2011
Youth Muskie Hunt on Moose Lake
Hayward, WI – Ages 9-17
Contact: Kevin Bushnick,
M.I. National Youth Fishing Director:
[email protected]
September 30, October 1-2, 2011
Hayward Lakes Chapter 34th Annual
Fall Tournament on 17 area lakes
For more information, visit our webite:
www.muskiesinchayward.org
October 22-23, 2011
Shawnee Muskie Hunters-Chapter 28
Tournaments - Kinkaid Lake, IL
www.shawneemuskiehunters.org
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
Phone #
01.....Twin Cities, 6311 Steller Circle, Excelsior, MN 55331.......................................952-474-5967
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/Packerland, 3097 Inverness Lane, New Franken, WI 54229 ............920-866-9705
05.....Pomme De Terre, PO Box 5, Hermitage, MO 65668.........................................417-993-0035
06.....First Wisconsin, PO Box 122, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729.................................715-864-2269
07.....South Side Muskie Hawks, 5211 S. Narragansett Ave., Chicago, IL 60638.......773-581-8650
08.....Capital City, PO Box 8862, Madison, WI 53708................................................608-669-5046
09.....West Virginia, 1270 Federal Road, Little Hocking, OH 45742...........................740-667-3571
10.....Heartland, 239 8th St SE, Mason City IA 50401................................................641-424-0827
11......Mississippi Valley, 5301 11th Ave “C”, Moline, IL 61265....................................309-797-1803
12.....Headwaters, PO Box 652, Eagle River, WI 54521............................................715-891-5574
13.....Hayward Lakes, PO Box 609, Hayward, WI 54843...........................................715-634-4543
14.....South of the Border, 28926 W. Big Hollow Rd, McHenry, IL 60050..................815-385-9026
15.....Star of the North, 16774 West Bay Drive, Pengilly, MN 55775.........................218-885-1677
16.....Three Rivers, 119 Bus Lane, Renfrew, PA15136..............................................724-789-7866
17.....Quad County, PO Box 185, Plano, IL 60545.....................................................815-695-1494
18.....Hopedale, 15 Township Rd 125, Dillonvale, OH 43917.....................................740-769-7269
19.....Akron-Canton Muskie Maniacs, 10957 Northwood Ave NE, Bolivar OH 44612..330-874-2773
20.....Between the Lakes, PO Box 61, Sheboygan Falls, 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, 5007 Starr St., Newton Falls, OH 44444.........................................330-219-7964
24.....Brainerd Lakes, 18031 Heritage Road, Brainerd, MN 56401............................218-838-5509
26.....Central Wisconsin, PO Box 263, Medford, WI 54451........................................715-748-4874
28.....Shawnee Muskie Hunters, 923 Reiss Rd, O’Fallon, IL 62269...........................618-628-4205
29.....Upper Great Plains, 1788 Hwy 4, Estherville, IA 51334....................................712-362-2501
30.....God’s Country, PO Box 1461, LaCrosse, WI 54602..........................................608-792-7722
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 53228............................................262-442-6260
37.....St. Cloud, 312 18th Avenue N., Sartell, MN 56377...........................................320-656-1160
38.....Alexandria-Vikingland, 106 Main Ave, P.O. Box 102, Carlos, MN 56319..........612-554-8170
39.....Fox River Valley, 1253 Cobblers Crossing, Elgin, IL 60123..............................847-741-9771
41.....Central Ohio, 2716 Red Robin Way, Delaware, OH 43015...............................740-225-1152
42.....Hoosier Muskie Hunters, PO Box 501371, Indianapolis, IN 46250................... 317-372-0111
45.....Kentucky, 212 Linden Ave., Southgate, KY 41071............................................859-441-1666
46.....Bemidji/Cass Lake, 16256 Andrusia Rd NE, Cass Lake, MN 56633................218-335-8597
47.....Michigan Muskie Alliance, PO Box 512, Caledonia, MI 49316..........................616-447-1688
49.....Webster Lake Musky Club, PO Box 670, No. Webster, IN 46555.....................574-834-1669
50.....Penn-Jersey, 510 Bryton Ave., Pottstown PA 19465..........................................484-459-5940
52.....Daniel Boone, 813 US 62, Maysville, KY 41056...............................................606-759-7610
53.....Huskerland Muskie Hunters, 15706 Hamilton St, Omaha, NE 68118................ 402-498-8959
54.....Southern Crossroads, 1524 Country Club Rd, Albert Lea MN 56007...............507-373-1818
56.....SW Ohio Muskie Assoc., 524 Sterling Meadows Place, Brookville, OH 45309.. 937-833-1833
57.....NW Tiger Pac, P.O. Box 5515, Kent, WA 98064............................................253-850-5889
58.....Lake St. Clair Muskies, Inc., P.O. Box 805915, St. Clair Shores, MI 48080.....586-873-5781
59.....New Mexico Muskies, Inc., P.O. Box 65575, Albuquerque, NM 87193.............505-264-2999
60.....Mountain Muskies, 37720 N. Sheets Road, Elk, WA. 99009............................509-999-0717
C H A P T E R N E WS & V I E WS ◆ C H A P T E R N E WS & V I E WS ◆ C H A P T E R N E WS & V I E WS
Chapter News and Views
CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS ◆ CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS ◆ CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS
01
Twin Cities
6311 StellerCircle • Excelsior, MN 55331
952-474-5967
Meets 2nd Tuesday 7:00 PM, Knights of Columbus, 1114 W79th St Bloomington,
MN, near the SE corner of the intersection of I-494 and I-35W.
The speaker at our May meeting was local guide and lure
tinkerer Bob Turgeon. Bob always seems to be on fish and readily communicates his very positive attitude towards catching fish.
He has that same curiosity that his friend, Larry Dahlberg, takes
out onto the lake and home onto the workbench. He approaches
problems we face fishing and looks for ways to overcome those
obstacles. That is why he is a frequent and very effective guest
speaker. He talked about where he thinks fish will be on opener as
a result of the weather. When he approaches lures, he always
asks, “What do I want it to do?” and then modifies the construction
to fit the needs. He said clients note that he is constantly adjusting
lures. He finished up his presentation with an explanation of the
no-knot leader system he uses. Even though I have used that
system on my fly rods for years, it never occurred to me to use it
on muskie rods. I guess that I was out of the loop…pun intended.
Our lure project of giving a lure at each general meeting to
every kid under the age of 18 is successfully continuing. This is a
great recycling of our inactive lures and helps kids build up a full
tackle box without investing a lot of money. The two additional side
benefits are: 1. we are increasing the attendance of youth at our
meetings, and 2. those of us who are long in the tooth have a
positive reinforcement of our working toward the future in Muskies
Inc. We have received enough
lures, so we are making complimentary lure packs to give to all
kids, who are participating in our
military family fishing day on
Lake Minnetonka this June.
On May 7, we hosted our
16th annual Vet’s Home Opener
that was co-sponsored with two
VFW posts. We provided a fishing experience at a trout pond,
served a shore lunch, and provided several hundred veterans
with a cap to commemorate the
experience.
These veterans
have great memories of openers
when they were
younger or were
more physically
able, so we try to
recreate
an
authentic experience. We cleaned
and cooked hundreds of pounds
of fresh caught
trout along with
120 pounds of potatoes and 80 pounds of baked beans. These
veterans honorably served our country and we are honored to
serve them. The looks on the faces of the veterans and their
families let us know the importance of this work. Thanks to our
Chapter members for their work with this.
I encourage all Muskies Inc. members, who sit on the sidelines
and just fish, to get involved with one project this year. Your officers do not want you to burn out, so pick something simple. You
will be amazed how this will deepen your affiliation with the muskie
community and how much it will do for muskies!
Respectfully submitted, Tom Keith
05
Pomme de Terre
P.O. Box 5 • Hermitage, MO 65668
314-878-7732 – Wayne Humphrey
www.missourimuskies.org
Meets: Various days-Call for schedule
Thought it would be good to share some great advice from
Walt and our friends in Chapter 28, the Shawnee Muskie Hunters.
Now we are headed into the hot part of summer. Our water
temperatures will be above 80 degrees if we have a normal
summer. Targeting muskies should come to a halt until
September and we will have to practice on the bass, walleye,
and white bass to stay in shape. We do not target muskies at
this time but if you happen to catch one, remember a couple
of things to avoid stressing out the fish so that it can fight
another day:
1. Do not bring the muskie into the boat for any reason. That
includes taking pictures.
2. Remove the hooks with the fish in the water with needle nose
pliers. Avoid handling the fish.
3. When using a big net, let the fish settle down and let it swim out
of the net. You can lay a floating rule alongside to get a rough
measurement. Accurate, exact measurement is not necessary; survival of the fish is the most important thing to remember this time of the year.
06
First Wisconsin
P.O. Box 122, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
Jason Smith - 715-726-9912 • 1-888-726-6733
www.firstwi.muskiesinc.org
Meetings 1st Monday, 5:30 PM, at Rod and Gun Club, Lake Wissota from May to
September and at the Fill Inn Station, 104 W. Columbia St., Chippewa Falls from
October to April.
Calendar of Events
July 4 - No Meeting
July 11- 6:00pm Combined General Meeting and Board Meeting
Rod and Gun Club
July 13-17 Northern Wisconsin State Fair, Chapter display, boat
raffle, etc.
Aug 1 - 5:30pm General Meeting Rod and Gun Club
Aug 15- 6:00pm Board Meeting Rod and Gun Club
Sept 6 - 6:00pm Board Meeting, Tournament Planning Rod and
Gun Club
Sept 16-17-18 Chapter Tournament, Multiple waters in Chippewa
and Rusk County.
Wednesday Night League
July break - no league fishing July 13, 20, 27or Aug 3. The 2nd
half of league starts up again on Aug 10. If you did not fish the first
half of league you may join us for the 2nd half. Fish as many
Wednesday’s as you choose. League starts as 5:00pm and is on
Wissota or Old Abe.
Fisheries
Our annual stocking of Leech lake strain muskies has hit a
snag. The number of yearlings available is less than last year and
potentially at a higher price. Len Rubesch is working this issue.
More to come.
Annual Chapter Tournament
September 16-18 is our annual tournament; it is our major
fund raiser of the year. Each and every member of this chapter
should make an effort to participate in this event. Complete details
are on our chapter’s web site at www.firstwimuskiesinc.org
Please make a special effort this year to participate in our
chapters major fund raiser.
Thanks, Jim Bunch
09
West Virginia
1270 Federal Road • Little Hocking, OH 45742
740-667-3571
http://westvirginiamuskiesinc.org
Meets: No definite schedule-call
Mary Beth Held, Marketing and Activities Director for
Mountwood State Park, spoke to our 2011 Annual Membership
Meeting. She explained their Fishing Scholarship Program which
helps 15 to 18 year olds and low income single parents get their
WV fishing license. After completing a class conducted by DNR,
they are awarded their license and a fishing outfit.
Mary Beth was inspired to start this program after noticing a
youngster watching others fish at the June Mountwood Fishing
Derby but not fishing himself. She asked him why he was only
watching and he answered that he couldn’t afford his license. Our
chapter donated $216.00 which covered the cost of 9 licenses in
2010 and again for 2011.
Junior Member Raymond Rector reported on his Eagle Scout
Project to stock muskies into Deegan Lake, a 15 to 20 acre body
of water owned by the city of Bridgeport, WV. After obtaining
approval from appropriate authorities, he sunk artificial structure
into the lake and arranged for muskie stocking by DNR. Chapter
member Ken Squires built a kiosk to display information at the lake.
We congratulate Raymond on his Eagle Scout status, a rank
achieved by only one in a thousand scouts.
Chris O’Bara, DNR Warmwater Hatcheries Manager, updated
us on their muskie rearing program. 2010 was not a good year for
hatchery muskies. There were plenty of small muskies to start but
when the ponds were drained the harvest was less than expected.
Chris attributed this partly to very cold weather in May 2010 which
affected their forage.
DNR is placing more emphasis on advanced fingerlings. They
have learned that producing them is less costly than originally estimated. Most are raised at Palestine with additional production at
Falls Mills, Bee Run and Bowden. Brood stock for native muskies
is collected from Middle Island Creek and North Bend Lake. Nonnative brood stock comes from below Kanawha Falls. Chris is
looking forward to the project to run electricity to Palestine rearing
September 30th, October 1st & 2nd
Lake Pomme De Terre Missouri
37th Annual
OPEN TEAM MUSKIE TOURNAMENT
Over $3000 Cash & Prizes Awarded for Top Three Teams
Commemorative Jacket Awarded for Most Muskies Released Over the 3 Days
Friday Prize Pool is Separate from the Saturday/Sunday Pool
30 Inch and Larger Released Muskies Will Be Scored
Fishing All 3 Days is Not Mandatory
Over 200 Muskies Released During the Past 4 Tournaments
Tournament Contacts
George Donner 816-678-1623 [email protected]
Wayne Humphries 314-440-2173 [email protected]
www.missourimuskies.org
www.muskiesinc.org
Oct 3 - 7:00pm General Meeting Fill Inn Station
Oct 17- 6:30pm Board Meeting VFW Starr Ave Eau Claire
chapter news & views (Continued from page 41)
ponds for aeration which will improve fish survival rates especially
during hot summers.
Despite a record 52 entries into our Annual Odie Cutlip
Memorial Team Tournament at Stonewall Jackson Lake, only one
qualifying fish was captured. Chris Squires’ 35” enabled the father
and son team of Ken and Chris Squires to successfully defend the
championship they won last year. Chris has the magic touch on
Stonewall during this tournament. Last year he trolled up two in
twenty minutes. This year he caught his fish casting a Little
Ernie.
A few big bass and several sublegal muskies were also
caught. Thanks to Kevin and Darlene Kelley who served as chairpersons.
John Kaltenecker, Secretary
13
Hayward Lakes
P.O. Box 609
Hayward, WI 54843
715-634-4543
The guest speaker for our May meeting was well known
guide Ty Sennett. Ty discussed spring muskie fishing and covered a variety of other topics which included a number of ideas
that were new and unique to most of us. We thank Ty for donating his time. If you’d like to fish with him his phone number is
715-462-9403.
Our club has a number of events planned for the summer and
fall which are shown below. The biggest event is our Fall
Tournament which will celebrate its 34TH year this year. Last year
we had 535 participants catch a record breaking 101 fish! The
major prize will again be a 17 foot Lund boat with a 50 HP Mercury
motor on a Shorelander trailer which we get with the help of
Hayward Power Sports. For more information see our website
www.muskiesinc-hayward.org or call Hayward Power Sports at
715-462-3674.
During the summer our club members get together every
other Wednesday evening for a fishing outing. This is an informal
get together that starts at 4pm (or any time that works for you)
and we quit about dark and meet at a local bar for drinks and
laughs. The schedule is as follows: June 1, Moose Lake,
launch and meet later at Louie’s Landing. June 15, Lostland
Lake, launch at Lostland Lake Lodge and meet afterwards at
Dow’s Corner Bar. June 29, Spider Lake, launch at state launch
off Murphy Blvd. meet later at The Dick-Sy Road House. July 13,
Sand Lake, use launch off county E, meet later at Anglers Haven.
July 27, LCO, meet at state launch off K, meet later at Anglers
Haven on LCO. August 10, Big Sississabagama, use public
launch at west side of lake, meet later at Black Bear Bar in Stone
Lake. Aug 24, Chippewa Flowage, launch and meet at Ciscoes
Resort on county CC. Sept. 7, Grindstone, meet at state launch
off county K, meet later at Anglers Haven on LCO. September
14, Chippewa Flowage, launch and meet at Ciscoes off CC. If
you’d like to join us we try to match up boats and fishermen call
Al Hoeft at 715-865-2232.
July 24 - Fishing Outing and Picnic – Fish during the day if you
like and meet at 5 p.m. at Fish Hatchery Park (NOTE NEW
LOCATION) for beer brats and fun provided by our club.
Bring family, friends or prospective club members! RSVP –
Ivan Uttech – 715-462-3478.
August 7 - Sunday - 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. - Annual Kids Fishing
Day. Club members guide youngsters on Tiger Cat Flowage.
Shore lunch at noon with prizes for kids. All club members
and friends are encouraged to act as guides and cooks. Event
to be held at the Dick-Sy Roadhouse. Fishing will be on Upper
Twin and other nearby lakes. For more information call Mike
Persson - 715-634-4543.
September 6 - Tuesday - 6:00 p.m. - Business Meeting - to
prepare for tournament - 7:00 p.m. - General Meeting -with
guest speaker Tanner Wildes. Tanner has been guiding the
Hayward area for 11 years and will speak about fishing for
Flowage Muskies. Meeting is the Dick-Sy Roadhouse*.
September 30 – October 1, 2- Friday - Sunday - 34th Annual
Fall Tournament. Saturday night raffle, Sunday
awards ceremony at the Flat Creek Inn - Hwy. 27 – ½ mile south
of Hayward. For more information call Mike Persson - 715634-4543.
November 8 - Tuesday - 7:00 p.m. - General Meeting - with election of officers and LURE SWAP. Bring your old lures or
extras to buy, sell, trade or other fishing miscellaneous items.
Meet to be held at Dow’s Corner located on Hwy 77 East and
Cty. Rd A - 13 miles east of Hayward.
December - Annual Christmas Party - Date to be announced.
January 3 , 2012 - 7 p.m. - Business Meeting - To plan year 2012
projects, activities and budget. All board members are asked
to attend. All interested members are welcome. The meeting
will be held at Dow’s Corners.
NOTE: Meetings are non-smoking. For more information call Mike
Persson - 715-634-4543. *Dick-Sy Roadhouse is 11 miles East of
Hayward on Highway 77 East. Reminder: Register your muskie catches with Hayward Lakes Chapter of Muskies Inc. and be
a part of the musky fishing spirit and a possible award winner!
Register your release forms on line at the Muskies Inc. website (www.muskiesinc.org) or send paper forms to Hayward
Lakes Muskies Inc. P. O. Box 609 Hayward, WI 54843.
16
Three Rivers
119 Bus Lane, Renfrew, PA 15136
724-789-7866 – James P. Buss
http://threerivers.muskiesinc.org
Meets 2nd Monday 7:30 PM, Northside Sportsmans Club, Wexford, PA.
Dear Chapter 16, Three Rivers Musky Members,
We are now continuing to enjoy the summer weather, and
hopefully some great musky fishing. At a recent meeting we had
the honor to have the Executive Director of the PFBC, Mr. John
Arway, who was accompanied by Misters Larry Hines and Al
Womer, also of the PFBC. Mr. Arway gave a brief presentation
and update from the PFBC and encourages all Pennsylvania
Sports Enthusiast to review the commissions web site and his
“Straight Talk” section for current issues and concerns, which he
hopes all will find informative and enlightening. Mr. Arway was
also in attendance to accept our Clubs $500.00 grant, which was
from the Hugh C. Becker Grant Committee, which our club petitioned for under Muskies Inc. This grant was worked by Joe
Houck our Vice President, under the direction of the clubs officers
and President Jim Burr. The grant money is earmarked for the
Pymatuning PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) Tag Program,
which will allow the PFBC to continue to collect valuable data on
the raising of Muskies at the Lionsville Hatchery. Mr. Arway also
informed us at the meeting that in 1997 till 2000 the State of Ohio
released fin clipped fish into Pymatuning, and today the PFBC is
still collecting data from these fish in their nets. It is the goal that
the PIT Tag program will continue to support our sport for many
years to come.
At our May meeting the club also voted to continue to support
our sport of musky fishing by donating $500 to the CHIP Volunteer
Scale Lake Habitat Project. This money will be for the construction
of Two 40 ton rock rubble placements in Lake Arthur. These structures are proven to hold muskies, so again, we are supporting our
To note also are the various awards for 2010 and they are:
Century patches for first 100 releases; Sam R Butler = 127
releases, Susan Marfin = 103 releases.
Century stars for subsequent multiple 100 releases; Adam
Andresky 613 releases, 1 star, Ed Fetzko 215 releases, 1 star,
John Ryhal 209 releases 1 star, Lyn Yerman 229 releases 1
star, Mike Yerman 314 releases 1 star.
First fish release Patch; David Palo, Greg Peters, David Kriley,
Jim Patterson.
50” release patch and or star; Frank Alcorn 1 star, Bill Andresky
1 star, David Kriley 1 patch, Joel Morrow 1 patch, Nick Pflum
1 patch and 1 star, John Ryhal 1 patch and 2 stars, Tom Simon
1patch and 1 star, Kevin Whipkey 1 patch and 1 star, Dale
Wiley 1 star, Mike Yerman 1 star.
Good Fishing, Jim Patterson
17
Quad County
P.O. Box 185, Plano, IL 60545
(815) 695-1494 – Dana Smith
[email protected] • [email protected]
Meets 2nd Thursday, 7:30pm. Plano American Legion
Hello fellow Hawg Hunters! How’s the fishing been? Due to
the cold spring reports have been spotty at best, but there’s still a
lot of time between now and freeze up to turn it around. One thing
is certain: you’ll never catch ‘em from the couch!
Our first musky rescue after the installation of the new fish barrier at Shabonna Lake drew 42 participants. 51 muskies, up to just
over 40”, were put back into the lake and an additional 24 walleyes,
up to 30.5”, were rescued. Stay tuned for future rescues.
The 25th Annual Pewaukee outing with the Milwaukee chapter
was held on May 7th and 8th. The traveling trophy returned to the
Milwaukee chapter despite the best efforts of 19 of our members.
Thanks to the Milwaukee chapter for being gracious winners, and
providing the food for the cookout.
Bob Taylor of Elusive Dreams Guide Service was the speaker
at our May meeting, and freely shared his insights on Evergreen,
McMaster and Storey Lakes. Bob donated a guide trip that was
auctioned off previously, with the proceeds going to our stocking
fund. Thanks Bob!
Soon, members will be off to destinations all over musky country. Whether it’s the Chippewa Flowage or Plantagenet, the
Madison Chain or Lac Seul, Lake of the Woods or Big Detroit, stay
safe on your trips and use good judgment when dealing with
stormy weather. And if you don’t normally register your fish with
the club, think about it this year. We’d love to see what you put in
the boat!
Tyler Kennedy, Secretary
MUSKIES INC.’S OLDEST TOURNAMENT
, 2011
, 2011
SEPTEMBER
9-10-11
AT THE
SEPTEMBER
9-10-11
JOIN US JOIN US
44th ANNUAL FRANK SCHNEIDER, JR.
MEMORIAL MUSKIE TOURNAMENT
FISH 22 LAKES IN
NORTHERN MN
• LEECH LAKE • BABY LAKE
• MAN LAKE • WOMAN LAKE
• GIRL LAKE • LAKE WABEDO
• LITTLE BOY LAKE • RICE LAKE
• BOY RIVER • BOY LAKE
• SWIFT LAKE • LAKE INGUADONA
• LAKE ANDRUSIA • KITCHIE LAKE
• WOLF LAKE • BUCK LAKE
• CASS LAKE • PIKE BAY
• BIG LAKE • LAKE BEMIDJI
• LAKE PLANTAGENET
• LAKE WINNIBIGOSHISH
PRIZES AWARDED THROUGH 10th PLACE
PLUS PRIZES FOR TOP JUNIOR ANGLERS & NORTHERN PIKE
CANADIAN & US RESORT STAYS – FIRST PLACE WINS TRIP TO RED WING
LODGE, LAKE OF THE WOODS, SITE OF 2011 CHAPTER CHALLUNGE
MUSKIE RODS & REELS • MUSKIE TACKLE • GUIDE TRIPS • DOOR PRIZES
$95 ADULTS • $30 JUNIORS • $175 FAMILY
INCLUDES FRIDAY & SATURDAY FEEDS
SUNDAY AWARDS PROGRAM & FEED
E
PRIHZ
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CONT
REGISTER ONLINE THROUGH LABOR DAY AT:
OR REGISTER THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 AT:
REED’S FAMILY OUTDOOR OUTFITTERS • Walker
ONE STOP • Longville
www.muskiesinc.org
$
S
BO$ NU$ 100
0
0
2
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50 CERTIFICATES
GIFT 3 FISH CAUGHTEL
RE
TOP
GARCIA
ON ABU-
JUST
BIG
KIES
MUSN
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WITH
JR TO
JUNIOR MUSKIE
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$ 50 LONGHE
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
DENISE OLSON 612-804-4687
goal to enhance our sport for today and future generations of
musky fishermen.
Our officers have started to work on plans for next year’s banquet to once again create a great evening to be shared by our
fellow membership. You need to mark your calendars, our Awards
Banquet next year will be on March 17, 2012, again at the
Cranberry Elks Club on Route 19.
Of note, there is now a toll free HOT LINE for reporting water
pollution, and it is: 1-855-FISHKIL.
Remember our upcoming tournaments, Chautauqua July 23rd
and 24th, Kids Lake Arthur August 13th, and the final tournament will
be on October 15th and 16thagain at Lake Arthur.
In September we are planning to hold a dog and corn cookout
at the club. Hope to see you at our meetings which are held as you
know the second Monday of the month.
My fellow members, for now travel safe, be well, enjoy our
sport of musky fishing, and share it with someone, especially our
youth.
Akron-Canton
19
10957 Northwood Ave. NE • Bolivar, OH 44612
Gordon Selden - 330-874-2773
http://[email protected]
Meets 3rd Tuesday at 7:00 PM, North Canton FOE, 6979 Sunset Strip NW,
Canton, OH.
On May 14th and 15th, Central Ohio’s Chapter 41 hosted the
Chapter Challenge at Salt Fork Lake. There were 72 anglers that
fished the event with 11 legal fish that were caught. Mike Ellis Sr.
won the challenge for Chapter 19 by catching two fish of 36” and
35”. Way to go Mike! Mike just barely beat out Robert Smart who
caught the biggest fish of the event with a 44.75” fish. It came
down to the wire to the end. Bob did take home with him the big
fish pool of $310. Way to go Bob! We had a lot of rain and storms
during the event that played a part in the low amount of fish that
were caught. We did manage to have good weather for our shore
lunch that was on Saturday. Thanks go out to Central Ohio for
hosting the event and to the chef’s and all who helped out during
the event! We also want to thank Chapters 16, 18, 19, 23 and 41
which attended the event and hope to even have more chapters to
attend next year!
Our next club tournament will be June 11th and 12th at Leesville
Lake. Registration will be at Petersburg Landing. I will give the
results of the tournament in our next issue. Our next event after
this will be our Memorial Tournament at West Branch on July 16th
and 17th.
Kevin Proffitt
23
Cleveland
5007 Starr St. • Newton Falls, OH 44444
330-219-7964 • [email protected]
Meets 2nd Monday of each month, 7:30 PM
at RC Sports Lounge, 2422 South Canal St., Newton Falls, OH, except June-August
when meetings are at the East Boat Ramp Pavilion in West Branch.
We had our last meeting at RCs Lounge until September. We
will have our next three meetings at the pavilion at the East boat
ramp at West Branch. There were about 20 people there and we
got all the plans set for the upcoming tournament at West Branch
and also the Cindy Dean Memorial kids’ derby at Lake Milton June
4 starting at 11:00 am to 1:00pm. We are planning for 100 to 120
kids to fish and have a good time then they will have hot dogs chips
and cool aid. After everyone eats there will be a drawing for prizes
of fishing poles bait boxes and two bicycles.
May 14-15 eight members of our club went to Salt Fork for the
chapter challenge. It was a Rainey weekend with high and muddy
water. There were 72 people fishing and only 11 fish caught.
Frank Smith of our group caught a nice fat 42.5” fish on Sunday.
Nice going Frank.
I would like to thank you all for coming out to the Tom Bishop
Sr. Memorial Tournament at West Branch this past weekend. With
a great turnout of 29 people fishing there were 8 fish caught over
30” and 5 subs.
Chuck Land took first place with 2 fish: a 41.5” and a 31.5”.
Chuck also won the big fish pool. Chuck Harmon took second
place with a 38.5”. Chad Harmon won third with a fat 38” while
casting. Other fish caught were by Crag Champlin 30.5”and a 30”,
John Rivera 31.5”, and Sherman Champlin 31.5”.
We had to work through some challenges this year with the
high water. The water was stained and a lot of debris floating. Also
the boat docks have not been put in yet this year so boaters had
to go to the campground to put their boats in. Thanks again for
making our first tournament of the year a big success!
Our next tournament will be at Pymatuning June 25-26. The
check in will be at the Duck & Drake bate store at 7:00 to 8:00am
Saturday June 25.
Tom Morris
24
Brainerd Lakes
18031 Heritage Road • Brainerd, MN 56401
218-838-5509 – Donny Hines
www.brainerdmuskies.com
Meets 2nd Tuesday 7:00 PM, Water Fall Inn, Hwy 371 north of Brainerd by
Brainerd International Raceway.
During our May monthly meeting, we had our annual lure making and membership drive. We also offered 15% off on all BLC
apparel, which was well received. President Jeff Young welcomed
members and promptly started the meeting at 7pm. New business
included discussions about potential lake stocking, reviewing the
pros and cons of our annual banquet, release form requirements,
and largest fish replica eligibility requirements.
Many BLC members took advantage of helping out with the
MN DNR Fisheries Department muskie survey. The survey took
place on Women Lake in Cass County and Cedar Lake in Aitkin
County. All though muskie numbers were down (contributed by
weather we think), members still enjoyed seeing some nice muskies as well as many other species of fish. If you have not taken an
opportunity to take part in a muskie survey, we encourage you to
do so as it is really a neat experience (especially for you die hard
fisherman!!!).
BLC member, Ryan Severson, presented how he is making
his own muskie baits from melted plastics. Jeff Young then talked
about and illustrated how to build a bucktail and the members
began gathering parts, commencing with building their own custom
bucktails. Upcoming events include June Clash on Cedar Lake on
6/19; Member Meeting featuring Gregg Thomas on 7/12; and
Summer Slam on Baby and Mann Lake on 7/17. For more information, please visit our website at www.brainerdmuskies.com
Damien Williams
28
Shawnee Muskie Hunters
923 Reiss Rd, O'Fallon, IL 62269
618-628-4205 – Jerry Ford
[email protected]
www.shawneemuskiehunters.org
Check out our website (shawneemuskiehunters.org) for lots of
good information. Thanks to Cheryl Ford for taking over our website and adding new items such as: Hot News, Members looking
for fishing partners, and much much more.
Now we are headed into the hot part of summer. Our water
temperatures will be above 80 degrees if we have a normal summer. But this has not been a normal year. Targeting muskies will
come to a halt until September and we will have to practice on the
bass, walleye, white bass and stripers to stay in shape. Our club
activities will slow down until after the challenge and by the time of
the Chapter Challenge, our two teams will be fired up and ready to
catch some muskies.
This has been a very difficult spring for catching muskies on
Kinkaid. Water temperatures start to climb then fall anywhere
from 6 to 12 degrees at a time. Rain and storms have riddled our
area. At one point we had over 20 inches of rain within a two
week time span. The entire lake was muddy and high. We had
over 2 feet of water flowing over the fish barrier and we lost some
fish over the top.
In the two muskie tournaments held on the lake this spring,
a total of 11 fish were caught. Our normal total for the two tournaments in a normal year would have been 65 to 70 fish. Cold
fronts, high winds and muddy water are not your friend in the
spring.
29
1. Do not bring the muskie into the boat for any reason. That
includes taking pictures.
2. Remove the hooks with the fish in the water with needle nose
pliers. Avoid handling the fish.
3. When using a big net, let the fish settle down and let it swim
out of the net. You can lay a floating rule alongside to get a
rough measurement. Accurate, exact measurement is not
necessary; survival of the fish is the most important thing to
remember this time of the year.
If you fish in any waters that have muskies, the chances of
you hooking into one are always a possibility. There is not a lure
or bait made that a muskie will not hit from time to time. I have
been fishing for muskies for over 50 years and I have seen muskies caught on everything from hot dogs and stink bait for catfish to
night crawler, leaches and minnow rigs for walleyes. It is our
responsibility to do everything possible to see that it lives to fight
another day.
Our officers have again put together a fun and busy schedule
for 2011. More information of our upcoming events will be posted
in our newsletter, on our website and in later club news in the MI
magazine.
I am looking forward in seeing you on the water and at our
events:
July 16th - Family Outing at Eagle Lake (New Athens, IL)
August 20th to the 27th - Chapter Challenge on the Lake of
the Woods
Remember I’m in the other Lund, Walt Krause
Upper Great Plains
1788 Hwy 4, Estherville, IA 51334
712-362-2501
http://www.muskieclub.com/
Meets 3rd Thursday , Legion Club, 1709 Okoboji Ave., Milford, IA.
Upper Great Plains Chapter 29 has been working on a number
of activities for 2011. Remaining 2011 scheduled activities
include:
July 21=Chapter 29 board meeting;
August 4=Fall Release Tournament Mailing Night (@ Dale
Witt’s home, Spencer, Iowa);
August 18=Chapter 29 board meeting;
September 10=Chapter 29 outing at McIntosh Woods at
Clear Lake;
September 15=Chapter 29 board meeting;
September 16, 17, 18=Upper Great Plains 31st Annual Muskie
Release Tournament (headquarters at Spirit Lake
Community Building/Expo Center, Spirit Lake, Iowa);
October 1=23rd Annual Idso Muskie Fest (headquarters at
McKeen’s, Spirit Lake, Iowa);
October 8=Fall Regional Board Meeting;
October 20=Chapter 29 board meeting;
November 17=Chapter 29 board meeting/2012 board election.
Additional events will be added to the Chapter 29 website
http://www.muskieclub.com/ as they are scheduled.
Monthly board meetings are held at the Perkins Restaurant in
Milford, Iowa. Meetings start at 7:00 pm. All chapter members and
the public are encouraged to attend.
Club members checked all boat ramps on the Iowa Great
Lakes for presence of muskie regulation signs. Signs missing at
Minnewashta, Mini-Wakan, and Triboji accesses were replaced.
1st Wisconsin Muskies Inc.
Annual Tournament
September 16-17-18, 2011
Fees: Single $50.00 before 9-1-11 $55.00 after
Husband/Wife: $65.00 - $75.00
Juniors: $20.00
For more information visit:
www.firstwimuskiesinc.org
www.muskiesinc.org
We do not target muskies at this time but if you happen to
catch one, remember a couple of things to avoid stressing out the
fish so that it can fight another day:
Chapter 29 assisted the
Okoboji Middle School to deliver
the Fish Iowa curriculum.
Chapter members presented
information on rods, reels, lines,
and baits on May 4 and assisted
with the on-the-water sessions
at The Grade on Big Spirit Lake
on May 12 and 13. Approximately
70 7th grade students participated in the program.
The Chapter 29 website is operational again. Recent changes
will enable the site to be updated on a more frequent basis. New
features are being planned. Keep your eyes open for the changes.
Chapter 29 has scheduled a fall outing at McIntosh Woods on
Clear Lake on September 10. Additional details will be provided on
the chapter website and newsletter.
Chapter 29 will donate $500 to the reconstruction fund for the
shelter house at Mini-Wakan State Park on Big Spirit Lake.
Chapter 29 will be installing fishing line recycling stations at
numerous public accesses and launch ramps around the Iowa
Great Lakes. These recycling stations will help maintain the
appearance of public areas by providing anglers with convenient
receptacles into which they can deposit used fishing line.
Steve Horswell
35
Milwaukee
P.O. Box 28842 • Greenfield, WI 53228
Craig Ader – 920-379-0927
www.milwaukeemuskiesinc.com
Meets 4 Tuesday Jan. thru May, Sept. & Oct. Meets 3rd Tuesday in Nov. only: 6:00PM Board,
7:30 PM General, Waukesha Elks Lodge #400, 2301 Springdale Rd, Waukesha, WI 53186.
th
Board meeting was held May 24th. Following the board meeting, our very own Bill Schwartz of Slammer Tackle presented on
“Spring Muskies.” Bill discussed sucker strategy in spring versus
fall, targeting males vs. females, water temps against presentation
speed, lures, and technique, the food chain, green weeds, locations, trolling versus casting, and more.
Collection of the muskies in the Amron pond occurred on April
30th. The weather cooperated, and we were able to successfully
harvest 98 of the 102 muskies from the pond in two passes with
the seine net. We had nearly two dozen chapter members assist
with the collection effort along with our Waukesha County fisheries
biologist Ben Heussner, Rick, and Gus from the WI DNR. The
muskies went into the pond in September 2010 with right ventral
fin clips and averaging thirteen inches. At the pond, the muskies
were tagged and measured. The longest muskie collected measured 15.7 inches. The muskies were transported to Pewaukee
Lake where Smokey’s Muskie Shop had their “Mistake by the
Lake” event going on. Andy Rosenau coordinated with Smokey’s
for us to use two pontoon boats to distribute the muskies around
the lake. Since the fall transfer was undoubtedly a success, it was
decided at the May board meeting to proceed working with Ben
Heussner on a repeat effort. Many thanks to those who helped
maintain the pond, collect muskies, and supported the chapter.
One additional note of thanks goes to Mark Mickleson who helped
Mike Phelps with validation of the Amron effort against past experience gained from the Delafield pond and his civil engineering
background.
Darrel Mack coordinated the southern WI muskie opener
event with our friends from the Quad County chapter. Mike Danko
provided a report that will be or has been posted on our website.
Thanks to Darrel for running this event for 25 years and Quad
County for traveling north for it.
The Pewaukee Classic was held on May 14th, and the weather
challenged the participants. With just over 100 participants, 5
muskies were caught, logged, and released. Sig Kaminski took
first, Mary Pokora took second, and Nick Gosh took third. Every
junior angler received a rod and reel combo. We’d like to thank
Bryan Blanke for taking lead on this fundraiser, the volunteers for
their help, and to the entrants for making the event the best possible given the economic challenges.
Darrel Mack gave his resignation to the board after serving the
chapter with thirty years of his time and talents. Darrel is headed to
his Rhinelander retreat full time when he can get his Waukesha
affairs completed. Craig Niermann made a short presentation with
the help of Ron Groeschl highlighting those years from the chapter’s beginning forward. Thanks Darrel and we wish you the best.
As of May 28th, four muskies have been registered for the
Members Only Fishing Contest.
Tom Arvoy (262-364-8650 / [email protected]) is still looking
for more volunteers for the Veterans outing Saturday September
10th. Please contact Tom if you can help those who have helped
our country.
The Gil Hamm Chapter Challunge info: Registration: Tuesday,
August 23rd, fishing dates August 24th–26th, 2011, fishing times:
Wednesday 6am–6pm, Thursday 6am–6pm and Friday 6am–
noon. Food will be provided after fishing hours each day at Red
Wing Lodge.
We’ve been presented with an opportunity for a one-time
group deal to visit Lost Bay Resort and Outpost with a minimum of
ten people. Contact Craig Ader at 262-250-6444 if interested or for
39
Fox River Valley
1253 Cobblers Crossing, Elgin, IL 601230
847-741-9771 – Rich Gallagher
www.frvmuskie.com
Meetings and banquets: Chandlers Chop House at the Schaumburg Golf Club, 401
N. Roselle Rd. Schaumburg, IL 60194. Dinner will be available starting at 6PM.
FRV won’t hold a regular chapter meeting in July… but there’s
lots going on over the next couple months.
A large group of club members are heading up for the annual
outing to Angle Outpost on Lake of The Woods from July 9 – 16th.
The weather should be nice and fishing should be hot! We’re looking forward to hearing how they all do.
FRV will be hosting/staffing the Bartlett Fishing Derby on
Beaver Pond off Stearns Road (just east of Rt. 59) in Bartlett on
Saturday, August 6th. We can ALWAYS use volunteers if you’re
interested in helping to judge/register fish and hand out prizes.
The event runs from 8 to 12 and is being coordinated by FRV Youth
Director Mike Zaborowski. Please give him a call at 630- 458-1861
(or email him at [email protected]) if you think you can help
out.
We resume our regular monthly chapter meetings on
Wednesday, Aug. 10th. We’re back at Chandler’s in Schaumburg
and our speaker will be Aaron Sands. Aaron pretty much grew up
fishing Lake Shabbona in northern Illinois so that’s what he’ll be
focusing on. With the new barrier fence recently installed beyond
the dam that FRV helped fund, we’re hoping to hear a lot more
good things about this lake in the next few years.
Fox River Valley is really excited about our Youth Muskie
Outing on the Indian Chain of Lakes in NW Ontario! The outing is
headquartered at Indian Lake Lodge from Aug 17 – 20th! This area
is well known as a good “numbers” lake, but it also provides ample
opportunities for multi-species fishing. After all of our hard work to
plan and host this outing, Chapter 39 really thinks this will be a very
special trip for the 10 lucky young adults who registered. There will
be plenty of stories and pictures available on our web-page after
the event, so stay tuned!
Please visit our website at www.frvmuskie.com for more information about our meetings, the tournament, and all other outings
and events. We hope all anglers and outdoor enthusiasts are having a safe and fun summer!
Regards, Mark Lamont
Penn Jersey
50
Sebastian Musumeci, President
510 Bryton Ave., Pottstown, PA 19465
484-459-5940 • Website: www.mi50.com
Meets at 7pm on 1st Wed. at Casey’s Bar on Corner of
Cherry and California Rds, Quakerstown, PA.
With the fishing season underway members have been out
pounding the water. Some fish are being caught and seen but high
water and weather has been a hindrance and numbers are not
quite where they were last year at this time. Hopefully, by the time
you read this, numbers will be back to usual and members will be
boating fish left and right.
Our annual auction has just wrapped up and more money was
raised this year than in any year past. Many great lures were
donated by members and lure makers as well. We would like to
thank everyone for their time and generous donations to further our
stocking efforts to create a world class fishery here in
Pennsylvania.
www.muskiesinc.org
Our 4th annual kids day will be held at Nockamixon state park
on Sunday June 26, 2011, we will be limiting it to 50 kids, and are
well on our way to meeting that total. All paperwork is completed,
and submitted. Mike Skurecki from the State will again be presenting the SMART Angling program for the kids.
Next month we will be having some guests at our monthly
meeting. Dave Arnold from the State, as well as Bruce Faire from
Cabela’s, will be present to field questions and give information
regarding our stocking efforts, and Cabela’s involvement.
Cabela’s, the State and we at MI50 have come together to
raise fish and stock them in local waters. In July, when the State
delivers our babies to Cabela’s, about 4000 (2” fish), they will stay
there for 1 year, and be fed pellets, whereby they project about
3000-3500 survival, which will then be stocked at our discretion
wherever we decide as a club. The fish should average 12 to 14
inches. The aquarium will have a plaque acknowledging Cabela’s,
and the State for this initiative. Possible small mention of MI 50’s
efforts, and will have a poster with regulations and size limits
attached.
Lately reports were received of muskies being seen and
caught in the East Branch of the Brandywine creek. A few members have taken it upon themselves to go rescue fish out of the
creek and as of writing this 4 fish over 35 inches have been
returned to Marsh Creek Lake. We would like to thank Officer
Bonnie of the Pennsylvania Fish Commission for helping us rescue
the fish and bringing them back to Marsh Creek. Hopefully we can
continue to return these fish to Marsh Creek before they are caught
and possibly harmed or killed by those fishing the creek.
Our musky schools this year have been booked full and will be
held on June 5th at Marsh Creek state park. As with last year students will meet in the morning for a seminar and then hit the water
until lunchtime. At lunch we will meet for food and to talk about
what is being seen or caught and then head back out for the rest
of the day. Last year we saw lots of success with a multiple attendees catching their first muskies and lots of fish being seen.
Good luck to all hitting the water and remember to be safe and
put some fish in the boat.
Cory D’Antonio
60
Mountain Muskies
Website: www.mountainmuskies.com
509-999-0717
Meets every 4th Tuesday at 6:30pm @ Five Mile Pizza, 6409 North Maple,
Spokane, WA.
In May Mountain Muskies participated in the Spokane Youth
Fishing Day organized by the Washington Dept. of Fish and
Wildlife and assisted by numerous local fishing organizations. You
think keeping 2 or 3 youth in your boat untangled and entertained
is a challenge? Try nearly 1,000 youngsters in shifts lined up along
shorelines and on the dock scrambling to get at a fish. Bobbers
flying through the air everywhere, getting snagged on net ropes,
broken lines, “I need another worm”! Combat fishing in Alaska
doesn’t hold a candle to that scene. But the rewards were great.
A little 5-year old guy couldn’t hook a trout. His big brother had
showed him up with a limit of three. I finally helped him set the
hook just before the time limit, and would you believe it. The fish
gods were looking out for him. He tied into one of the few 18”
brood trout they had spiked into the fish population. He fought the
trout back and forth with everyone cheering for him to land it. I
embellished the excitement by yelling to him that I would save him
from being pulled into the lake by holding onto his jacket! He ran
backwards pulling the flopping prize onto the sandy beach amid
the cheers of 100 plus people followed by pictures and hi-fives.
more information.
A reminder that the chapter will not host a board or general
meeting in July, and there will only be an August board meeting.
General meetings will resume September 27th.
Mike Phelps
Right there is why we encourage everyone to get involved in these
youth events. The rewards are there for youth and adult alike and
another fisherman may have been created for life. Rather exhausted, Doug Wood and I recuperated in the afternoon by fishing
nearby Silver Lake for the real thing. We were rewarded with four
Tiger follows but, unfortunately, no hookups. But that was sufficient to energize us for the upcoming season.
By this publication we have completed our first two tournaments at Curlew Lake May 21 and Newman Lake June 16. Since
Photo Guidelines for MUSKIE Magazine
Muskies, Inc. promotes the philosophy of catch-and-release. Muskies
Inc. reserves the right to use submitted photos in MUSKIE Magazine,
the calendar, and/or the M.I. website. Muskies, Inc. reserves the right
to refuse to publish any photo (or artwork) which does not support the
mission and best interest of our organization. These guidelines are not
all encompassing. The editorial staff of MUSKIE Magazine will make
the final decision regarding the publication of photos. Photos for
MUSKIE Magazine should be of high quality and resolution.
Photos for the Photo Contest and Member Photos sections of MUSKIE
must be submitted in digital format and sent via email to the Photo
Contest Editor at: [email protected]
Guidelines:
1.Photos must have been taken by, or of, a member of Muskies, Inc.
2.In photos featuring released muskies, the fish must be in the water or
properly supported with two hands in a non-vertical position (the
closer to full horizontal the better; see illustration).
3.Members are encouraged to minimize the amount of time fish are out
of the water for photographs. Photos of released muskies which
appear overly stressed in the judgment of the editorial staff will not
be published (this includes photos which indicate significant bleeding).
4.Photo submissions must include the following:
• Name of the photographer and names of other key individuals in
the photo. In the case of chapter or group photos please identify
the group. If the photographer is not the person submitting the
photo you must provide the name, address, and telephone number
of the photographer.
• A brief description of the photo.
• If the photo features a muskie, the length of the fish and the date
of the catch are required. The name body of water and the name
of the lure are requested, but not mandatory. In most cases the
photo should feature the angler who caught the muskie, although
another person may hold the muskie in the case of children or
members unable to hold the muskie by themselves.
• Please include any other special information, such as: first muskie
caught, personal best, event winner, or special circumstances.
5.The majority of muskie photos which are published within MUSKIE
Magazine should serve to reinforce the catch-and-release philosophy
of Muskies, Inc. However, MUSKIE Magazine will consider occasional
publication of photos of large muskies which were legally harvested
by Muskies, Inc. members and which were submitted to the Lunge
Log, or are of historic significance.
6.Photos which include fish will only be considered for the cover of
MUSKIE Magazine if they show muskies which have been successfully released and are good examples of current catch-and-release
handling practices.
MUSKIE Magazine will not publish artwork which displays muskies in
conditions or positions which are not compatible with these photo
guidelines or which depict scenes that may present a detrimental public
image of muskies or of Muskies, Inc.
(Adopted 1/09)
today is May 13, I can’t tell you how we did. I can only tell you to
get ready for the Silver Lake tournament July 16. Maybe those
four lazy May Tigers will be revved up and ready to go. So get
sharpened up and signed up for a really good time, good excitement, and fellowship on the water. It’s an open tournament so
remember to encourage your new member prospects to join us for
fun and instructions on how to enjoy catching the best game fish of
all! And remember to keep copies of our chapter 60 flyers in your
boat and get them out to prospective muskie fishermen.
Enjoy Tiger Time, Chuck Gades, VP
57
NW TigeR Pac
P.O. Box 5515, Kent, WA 98064
www.nwtigermuskies.org
email: [email protected]
Hot line: (253) 850-5889 • Brett Olson, President
This month has been very busy with plenty of things to get the
cabin fever out of everyone within Chapter #57. The anticipation to
finally get out on the water has certainly began to show on some,
as Spring is finally here, but first the Chapter had to get in one more
show at Wholesale Sports and Outdoors in Federal Way before the
blast off to the fishing holes could begin. During the show, Brett did
a special presentation and Power Point seminar with some special
guests in attendance for the very first time (His Mom and Dad)
which Brett was Thrilled about and of course helped add a little
more excitement to the show. Way to Go Brett, the presentation and
seminar was Phenomenal and very entertaining!
Chapter #57 is also proud to announce that the NW TIGER
PAC celebrated the 4 year anniversary on 19 May 2011!!! Thanks
to everyone who has had any involvement in this organization and
for making it such a great Chapter to be a part of!!! A Special
Thanks goes out to Jani and
Perry for everything they
have done thru the years to
help start this Chapter and
keep it growing over the past
4 years! Also the Chapter
would like to honor Jani and
Perry as they have decided it
is time to step down from the
Board (due to medical reasons) and just relax and
enjoy being members. Here’s
a great shot of Jani assisting
with Tiger stocking.
THANKS SO MUCH Jani and Perry, You both have made this
Chapter what it is today!!! Being that the Chapter will be out a
Merchandise Director and a Secretary we are asking that if anyone
has any interest in filling either of these positions or would like
further details on becoming a board member to contact Norm
Dillon (President) at: [email protected]
Just a reminder, don’t forget to bring your families out to enjoy
Muskie Days at Mossyrock featuring the Jack Tipping Tiger Muskie
Classic on July 16th and 17th, 2011 at Mayfield Lake, it will certainly be a great time for everyone with plenty of games, prizes and
events, plus a parade of boats and silent auction to go along with
the festivities. There is also FREE primitive camping that will be
available for those interested in attending this event and also some
great food put together by Viking Burger. Remember the $300 Gift
Card for the very 1st Chapter #57 Tiger Muskie caught over 50
inches in a Tournament is still up for grabs, and with that will also
be a free LAX fiberglass mount made for the first Tiger of 50 inches
or more caught. Hope
The new Chapter website is currently under construction but
is in the final stages and will hopefully be coming out very soon;
stay tuned.
59
New Mexico Muskies, Inc.
P.O. Box 65575, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87193
(505) 264-2999 • Matt Pelletier
[email protected]
www.newmexicomuskiesinc.org
The New Mexico lakes are warming up, and reports of multiple
fish days have been coming in regularly. While only two fish over
30” have been reported to the Lunge Log, there have been others
caught, including a number of smaller fish that are the future of the
fishery, so handle them carefully so somebody else can catch them
in a few years. Fishing should stay good through early summer,
when the lakes typical get severe algae blooms and fishing slows
down a bit until fall. Also, with the current drought, the lakes are
low and getting lower, so call to check ramp conditions and be
careful when launching a boat.
We are also discussing putting together a video or similar
multimedia production covering the importance of, and correct
techniques for, catch and release. The goal of this effort is to help
educate NM anglers about why that “fish of a lifetime” should be
released, and ensure a future for our fisheries. If you are interested in helping, please contact one of the chapter officers.
By the time this appears in the magazine, we will have held a
tiger muskie fishing seminar at a local tackle shop on May 28, and
a youth fishing clinic in Grants, NM on June 4. Even though these
events haven’t happened yet when I write this, there has already
been a lot of work put in to them; thanks to everybody who has
helped out. Looking forward, we have a camping trip and pick-3
outing at Quemado Lake planned for July 23-24, and will once
again have a booth at the NM Outdoors Expo on August 20-21.
We’d love to see good member turnout for these two events, and
hopefully some more and bigger fish caught as we get through the
middle of summer.
Chris Nordquist
Jani from Chapter 57 forwarded these two great photos from Chapter 59 to MUSKIE. She wrote, "The head shot of the tiger is
one of the clearest, most beautiful I have ever seen. We are good friends and supporters of Chapter 59 and the photos
were sent to us by their president, Matt Pelletier. Matt caught the fish on Quemado Lake, NM in August of 2010. The photos
were taken by Chapter 59 member Nick Miera". Thanks Jani and surprise to Matt. We agree this is a beautiful muskie and
Nick's headshot is extra special.
www.muskiesinc.org
The Cub Scout Fishing Day on Saturday May 8, 2011 at
Bradley Lake Park in Puyallup went GREAT and was a Huge
Success for the Chapter and Cub Scout Pack 478 Den 5!!! All the
boys were thrilled to get a chance to fish and we were even able to
introduce a couple of new anglers to the sport of fishing!!! That
made it all worthwhile and such a treat for us to help introduce fishing to the next generation of anglers, Awesome Job Chapter #57!!!
A HUGE Thanks goes out to the many volunteers who helped
make this possible, Miles McDonald, Pete Jensen, Joe French and
his Son Jesse, Jani K, Mike & Dan Fuller, Blake Purdum, Darryl
Wegter and last but certainly not least Norm Dillon and the Support
of Chapter 57 NW TIGER PAC Muskie’s Inc. To all those that
helped in sponsoring our event such as
Wholesale Sports and Outdoors, Musky
Hunter Magazine, and the Seattle CGEA,
Chapter #57 would also personally like to put
out a BIG THANK YOU for helping us with
making this such a GREAT Event! You all
ROCK!!! Nate Granlund and Chapter #57 are
so proud to have had the opportunity to work
with all of you to make this such a memorable day for Cub Scout Pack 478 Den 5!!!
Chapter #57 held the first Tournament of
the Year on Saturday May 14th at Mayfield
Lake and we were even able to have the
pleasure of introducing a few brand new
members to Tiger Muskies which was
GREAT!!! The weather was even a bonus with lots of sun and
plenty of warm weather. The fishing for the most part was certainly
a challenge for everyone, a few nice size Tigers were brought to the
surface by some, they just were not very hungry yet!!! I guess we
will just have to wait till July for the Mossyrock Muskie Days featuring the Jack Tipping Tiger Muskie Classic at Mayfield!!! Look forward to seeing everyone for Round 2 on Mayfield. For future tournament information along with registration and rules and regulations
please email Doug Porter (Tournament Director) at sparky1doug@
yahoo.com or Nate Granlund (Public Relations Director) c57wwpr@
nwtigermuskies.org
Muskies, Inc.
1509 Stahl Road
Sheboygan, WI 53081
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
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in MU SKIE Magazine?
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Your ad will have HIGH visibility in MUSKIE!
Please contact a member of
our Advertising Sales Team:
Kevin Richards, Editor / Ad Manager
Phone: (573) 280-2300
Terri Fierstine, Advertising Sales Representative
Phone: (218) 252-0947
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Phone: (218) 255-3461
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Catch the Fever!!

An Outsider Looking In

Transcription

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