MUSKIE Magazine

Transcription

MUSKIE Magazine

Photo Contest – May Winners
by Brad Waldera, Photo Editor • [email protected]
Photo Tip of the Month
Three Qualities of “Keepers”
Three of the main qualities of any good photograph are getting the correct Exposure-the lightness/darkness of the shot, Color-which can be
tough to accurately capture at times, and Sharpnesswhich involves the amount of detail/blurriness in
the photo. All three of these were captured beautifully in the shot here of Emma Lehman with her
first muskie. The details in the fish are easy to see
and not blown out by the sun as was the case with
the Anderson fish in last month’s issue. This photo
is not too light, but not too dark. It’s just right. The
color in this photo is also good, with a correct skin
tone. Lastly you’ll see that the photo is clearly in
focus and sharp. There is good detail, but not too
much sharpness, which can work against you sometimes. A lot of us adjust the sharpness with our
photo editing programs, and many of us are heavyhanded at times. The sharpness here seems just
right. Concentrating on these three areas can really
help you achieve a better ratio of “Keeper” photographs. Give it a try. ❖
▲ Winner #1:
This is a great shot of Emma Lehman with her
first muskie, a fat 45 inch fish. Her brother Max
and dad Rich were featured in last month’s
Member Photos. Emma and Max are 10 year old
twins, and caught their fish within a 30-minute
span. In the Photo Tip paragraph I describe the
technical reasons why this is such a great photo,
but you can tell that by Emma’s smile alone.
Great fish Emma, and a great photo too.
▲
Winner #2
This is a great silhouette shot of Brandon
Posewitz, who is a member of Chapter 20.
This photo was taken on Elkhart Lake in
Sheboygan County.
The sky is very impressive in this shot,
and you have to wonder if his figure 8
paid off. I hope it did.
Thanks to Jack Posewitz
for sending this shot in.
MUSKIE is published monthly and is the Official
Publication of Muskies, Inc. International Office: Ron
Groeschl, International Sec., 14257 Waters Edge
Trail, New Berlin, WI 53151. Ph: 888-710-8286.
© Copyright 2008 by Muskies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Departments
MUSKIE • VOL. 42, NO. 5
Features
IFC Photo Contest,
Brad Waldera
10 Muskies, Inc. Chapter Oral History Videos,
Vince Trotta and Juris Ozols
2 President’s Message,
Dan Narsete
12 Member Profile: Cindy Neurohr,
Patricia Strutz
3 Magazine Notes, Staff
4 International News
15 The Minnesota Muskie Expo (MME),
Brad Waldera
7 Lunge Log, Jim Bunch
8 Index of Advertisers
18 Product Review, Bob Chochola
24 Figure 8, Kevin Richards
29 Chapter News and Views
16 Chasing Falling Tigers,
Mark Wells
20 “A Real Good Wiggle and Shake”,
Eric Borgerding
26 Northern Wisconsin Early Muskie Season
Change, Patricia Strutz
33 Member Photos,
Brad Waldera
Join Muskies, Inc. ...
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as a gift.
Contents
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May 2008.....MUSKIE 1
International
Officers
President, Dan Narsete
Email: [email protected]
Vice President/Fundraising, Jim Shannon
Phone: 612-670-8943
Vice President/Fisheries, Research & Youth,
Dr. Tom Betka, MD
Phone: 920-544-5868
Vice President/Internal Affairs,
Dave Rautmann
Phone: 262-643-9160
Vice President/Membership, Dale Vercauteren
Phone: 920-826-5810
Vice President/Communications, Jay Zahn
Phone: 920-866-9075
Treasurer, Pete Barber
Phone: 847-726-7267
Members Only Fishing Contest, Jim Bunch
Phone: 715-226-0295
Web Master, Ron Groeschl
Phone: 262-271-1002
Int. Administrative Secretary, Ron Groeschl
14257 Waters Edge Trail, New Berlin, WI 53151
Phone: 888-710-8286 or 262-271-1002
At Large Directors
Term Expires
Don Jahnke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008
David Cates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008
Brett Knight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008
Rory Potter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008
Karl Scherer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008
Dick McPike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009
Dan Narsete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009
Diana Mindar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009
Jay Zahn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009
Brad Waldera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009
Fred Brogle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010
Jim Shannon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010
Bob Timme
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010
Vince Weirick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010
2 MUSKIE.....May 2008
The President’s Message
by Dan Narsete
Muskies, Inc. International President
O
nce again we are in pre-season…time to service your reels, change out the fishing
line, de-winterize the boat, sharpen the hooks, and plot out the first spot you are
going to hit. Did I forget anything? Oh yes, downloading “The Boys Are Back In
Town,” and “Who Let The Dogs Out?” off of iTunes… as long as you are not blaring the
Backstreet Boys out your stereo you will probably be okay. Next we probably should have
some friendly wagers on the first, biggest and most, right? Well in any case the good news is
that we have another season in the Golden Age of Muskie Fishing awaiting us!
Is there such a thing as muskie fishing and controversy? You bet! We could make a comparison between the Vikings versus the Packers… a controversy I am going to avoid because
I could get strung up by my feet for siding with either one! It would be safer to make the
analogy of fried cheese curds and beer; they go hand in hand.
On a more serious note there have been some recent reports from Wisconsin of a mandate to implement an early catch-and-release season for muskie fishing without following the
normal regulatory process – not good. In addition, there still seems to be some hesitation to
implementing a 54-inch minimum length limit on Green Bay. There are probably just a
handful of fisheries that currently have the potential of producing a world record muskie and
Green Bay is one of them. The growth rates for these fish are extraordinary and the environment is very conducive to growing monster muskies. Every year 40-plus pound muskies are
caught and unfortunately quite a few are kept. It is apparent that there is a trophy fishery in
Green Bay and that it needs to be protected. Former President Greg Wells and MI supporters like Pete Maina have been working on getting measures passed to get the fishery protected. But we need to do more. How about creating a catch-and-release fishery only in Green
Bay instead an unnecessary early C&R season across all of northern Wisconsin?
On the note of the early season fishing former President Cates has asked for more
research to ascertain the potential impact of this measure. Thanks to the efforts of our own
Fred Brogle, efforts are underway to get the word out on this issue. As this develops you will
hear more about it.
As the new President of this fine organization I feel it is our duty to take action and protect the fisheries we love. Anything that threatens to hurt or destroy our fisheries should be
something we should stand against. We have strength in our numbers and do make a difference. Therefore I want to ask each and everyone you know to write a letter, send an e-mail,
or call Governor Jim Doyle and ask for our fisheries to be protected. Please do not be rude,
obnoxious, or do anything crazy. We do not want to create additional problems; we want to
be constructive, professional, and work together.
Phew! Enough politics…back to fishing. What is the first spot you will hit? Do you have
plans for a big muskie outing this summer? Where is the next world record? Can I catch and
release it? Drop me an e-mail and let me know. ☺
‘Till then keep a tight line and I’ll see you out on the water!
– Dan ❖
MUSKIE Magazine Staff
EDITOR
Kevin Richards
7618 Sunrise Ridge Road
Henley, MO 65040
Phone: (573) 280-2300
It’s certainly not Wisconsin or
Minnesota, is it? As it happens, the
cover shot by Bryon Krehbiel this month
just may be the first time we’ve ever
featured a picture from the West Coast
of the country. You see Mark Wells of
Muskies, Inc. Chapter 57, NW Tiger
Pac, chasing tiger muskies on Lake
Tapps, Washington, half way between
Seattle and Mt. Rainier (see map).
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Juris Ozols
Phone: (952) 921-6311
PHOTO CONTEST EDITOR
Brad Waldera
Phone: (701) 642-1952
LUNGE LOG EDITOR
Jim Bunch
Phone: (715) 226-0295
Puget Power Electric created the lake
in 1911. By building 2.5 miles of
earthen dams, the water level was
raised 35 feet to connect 4 natural
lakes and create a very irregularly
shaped lake with 6 large islands, 2566
surface acres and 45 miles of shoreline.
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Jim Beaty
2933 Bridle Lane
Swansea, IL 62226-5993
Office: (618) 235-6370
Fax: (618) 235-6393
The water is semi clear, coming down
from a diversion dam on the White River
which is fed by the Emmons Glacier on
Mt. Rainier, with visibility at about 8 feet.
Few weed beds, lots of standing timber,
but mainly a structure lake which makes
fishing the lake very challenging.
PUBLICATIONS TECHNICAL MANAGER
Sunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - Dawn Larson
25123 22nd Avenue • St. Cloud, MN 56301-9189
Phone: 888-253-8808, ext. 154
MAGAZINE DESIGN
Sunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - John Windschitl
ILLUSTRATORS/CARTOONISTS
Richard Gross, Charles Weiss
The fishery? Well, Lake Tapps has
rainbow trout, bass, and Tiger Muskies.
It was first stocked in 2000 and muskies
to 48 inches have been caught. This year
Mark hopes to get a 50 incher; if he does
we’ll have a picture for you of our first
West Coast 50 inch muskie! ❖
FIELD EDITORS
Patricia Strutz, Colby Simms, Bob Chochola,
Vincent P. Trotta, James W. Colgan,
Adam Glickman, Steve Budnik
EMERITUS EDITORS
Rod Ramsell, Keith Ogden, Jim Smith
MUSKIE is published exclusively for the membership of Muskies, Inc. and subscriptions
come with a paid membership. Muskies, Inc. is
a non-profit organization. Membership classes
and associated annual dues are listed on the
form at the bottom of page one. Copies of
MUSKIE magazine are available at $3.00 each
from the Muskies, Inc. International Office.
Contributors grant rights for M.I. to publish
once in MUSKIE Magazine, both the print and
on-line versions, including archives and on the
M.I. Web site.
Submissions to
MUSKIE Magazine
Outgoing M.I. President David Cates speaks
with incoming President Dan Narsete at the
Spring Board Meeting
www.muskiesinc.org
Here's a great shot of Past-President
David Cates. He's already spending
more time on the water and even
wearing shorts!
Persons interested in submitting articles for
publication are directed to our website
www.muskiesinc.org for a link to MUSKIE
Magazine, where you will find links on the left
side of the page providing information necessary for submissions to MUSKIE Magazine.
Further questions will be answered by Kevin
Richards, Editor. Submissions may be sent to:
7618 Sunrise Ridge Road, Henley, MO 65040
or email: [email protected]. Phone:
(573) 280-2300.
M AGA Z I N E N OT E S ◆ M AGA Z I N E N OT E S ◆ M AGA Z I N E N OT E S ◆ M AGA Z I N E N OT E S
ABOUT THE COVER
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
NEWS
◆
NEWS
◆
NEWS
Leech Lake Area Watershed Foundation. Partial funding for equipment needed to successfully accomplish land conservation projects
and distribution of educational materials on land conservation
options to the property owners on Leech, Woman, Wabedo,
Inguadano, Baby, Kid, Kerr, Mann, and Cass Lakes.
April, 2008……..$ 3,000.00
Hugh C. Becker Foundation
2008 Grants Awarded
The Twin Cities Chapter Hugh C. Becker Grant Committee is
pleased to announce the recipients of grants for 2008. In order of
funding dates, with amounts, they are:
Cleithrum Research Project by Dr. Casselman at Queen’s University
in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. This ongoing project involves the collection of muskellunge cleithrum bones in order to determine the age
of muskellunge from various bodies of water; thus being beneficial for
muskellunge management.
March, 2008….. $ 5,000.00
Brainerd Lakes Chapter Endowment Fund. The Foundation is partially granting to the endowment /scholarship fund at Central Lakes
College in Brainerd , MN. This is a scholarship program for two (2)
scholarships awarded one each to a second year student in the Natural
Resource and Natural Resource Law Enforcement programs.
May, 2008……. $1,000.00
First Wisconsin Chapter of Muskies, Inc., Lake Wissota stocking
program. This grant is to assist the Chapter in their efforts to stock
the Leech Lake strain of muskellunge in Lake Wissota.
September, 2008…… $ 5,500.00
Southern Crossroads Chapter of Muskies, Inc., French Lake
Stocking Program. This grant is to assist the Chapter, with the cooperation and approval of the Minnesota DNR, in purchasing and
stocking adult muskellunge in French Lake.
September, 2008…… $ 2,300.00
Paddlewheel Aerator equipment for the St. Mary’s State Fish
Hatchery in Ohio. This project is to provide support to the Ohio
Division of Wildlife in their efforts to raise minnows for feed for the
Ohio muskie program.
March, 2008….. $ 2,300.00
Twin Cities Chapter of Muskies, Inc. equipment for stocking purposes. This grant to the Chapter is for procuring, upgrading , and
repairing equipment related to the raising of fish for stocking purposes.
September, 2008…….$ 2,000.00
Minnesota Genetic Research Project by the Department of Fisheries,
Wildlife & Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota. With the
cooperation of the Minnesota DNR , this project is to analyze the
ancestry of Minnesota’s stocked muskellunge throughout Minnesota,
in populations stocked with fish from one or more sources
(Shoepack, Leech, Wisconsin, and crosses therein), using the latest
technological methods.
March, 2008……$ 7,600.00
Hayward Lakes Chapter of Muskies, Inc., Sawyer County Stocking
Program. This grant is to assist the Chapter, with the cooperation and
approval of the Wisconsin DNR, in purchasing and stocking yearling
muskellunge in both Round and Whitefish Lakes .
October, 2008…….$ 2,500.00
Michigan Know the Difference Lakeside Educational Program by
the Michigan Muskie Alliance in cooperation with the Michigan
DNR. This grant entails the procurement of materials, construction,
and installation of signs at numerous access sites at muskellunge
waters throughout Michigan.
April, 2008…….$ 5,000.00
D O N AT I O N S
MARCH
John Geml
Vito Calianno
Steve Brezinski
John Arndt
Todd Pouliot
Kenneth Miller
Dennis Eberson
David Cates
Louis Friedman
Mark Krause
Leonard Robinson
Doug Neff
Thomas Richards
On behalf of Muskies, Inc., thank you for adding a bit extra
when you renewed your membership.
– Pete Barber, Treasurer
Twin Cities Chapter of Muskies, Inc., Lake Minnetonka Stocking
approval of the Minnesota DNR, in purchasing and stocking twoyear old muskies in Lake Minnetonka.
October, 2008…… $ 4,000.00
Twin Cities Chapter of Muskies, Inc., White Bear Lake Stocking
approval of the Minnesota DNR, in purchasing and stocking twoyear old muskies in White Bear Lake.
October, 2008……. $ 4,000.00
MUSKIE SYMPOSIUM
BOOKS AVAILABLE
There are only 135 remaining! Books are $70
each including Priority USPS shipping.
Please make checks payable to:
HMH Symposium Fund
c/o Scott Law, PO Box 551, Lapel, IN 46051
For questions call: 765-620-3069
Spring 2008 Board Meeting Synopsis
NEWS
◆
NEWS
www.muskiesinc.org
(Continued on page 6)
◆
The 2008 spring board meeting was one of great efficiency and
positive direction for Muskies, Inc. It was held at the Radisson in
Green Bay, Wisconsin and hosted by the Titletown Chapter. Starting
at noon on Friday was the Al Skaar Leadership Seminar hosted by past
president Greg Wells. In attendance were 25-30 members ranging
from current officers to general members, and past presidents. Topics
for the meeting ranged from conservation issues to the Strategic
Planning Committee recommendations; a foreshadowing of events to
come. Later that afternoon was the Muskies, Inc. Symposium
Committee meeting, focusing on the 2016 event. This symposium
will culminate with MI celebrating 50 years…it will be a meeting to
remember! Plans are underway for the funding and location of the
next symposium.
Friday evening was the Executive Committee meeting, which
could be described as a “pre-board” meeting, complete with preliminary discussion of all the motions and discussions. There was no clear
consensus on where everyone stood on a number of issues, outside of
the fact that the hospitality suite was waiting. The night continued in
prime fashion with drinks and raffles with all enjoying a great night.
Saturday morning’s board meeting was met with significant
change. David Cates handed Gill Hamm’s gavel to Dan Narsete shortly after the meeting began, in what could be described as a symbolic
“passing of the torch.” The new president, at the ripe old age of 31, is
the youngest to serve Muskies, Inc.
The most significant outcome at the board meeting was the passage of the Strategic Planning Committee Plan. Former President
David Cates described this event as “perhaps the most significant
event in our organization’s history.” The result was met with an overwhelmingly positive response of a 76% approval rate, represented by
54 different voting members. Five past international presidents from
Larry Ramsell to David Cates openly voiced their approval for the
measure.
What is so significant to this story is Muskies, Inc. will now be
organized into four regions, will reduce the board of directors from
over 70 members to 21, and will hire an executive director. This
should not only help the organization grow, but increase the efficiency of the operations on an exponential level. If you would like to read
a copy of the plan or see what region you will be in, feel free to read
it on the website, or contact former president Steve Budnik for a
copy.
At the close of the meeting were discussions led by ALD Fred
Brogle and newly elected VP Dr. Tom Betka regarding the develop-
ment of a 54” minimum on Green Bay and early season muskie fishing. The gist of the opinion was in support of the Green Bay measures
and a stance against early season fishing.
It should also be noted that although the board meeting started
20 minutes late and had an hour and a half for lunch it adjourned at
2:30 PM - anyone who has ever attended an MI board meeting knows
that was amazing too!
Another highlight of the weekend was the presentation of a 60inch replica courtesy of Rick Lax, (Lax Reproductions) and Jim
Bunch. According to Mr. Bunch over 3.4% of the muskies now
entered into the Lunge Log are 50 inches or better, compared to barely 1% in 1977.
NEWS
Another highlight from Green Bay – Lambeau Field. Photo by Brad Waldera
NEWS
◆
NEWS
(Continued from page 5)
The raffles and silent auctions were lots of fun with many joyous
winners. A number of folks walked away with fishing trips, prize
packages, and equipment; others continued to enjoy the evening at
the hospitality suite!
In attendance were chapters stretching from Seattle to Ohio and
Minnesota to Kentucky, creating great camaraderie among new and
old friends. It was a great weekend and if you missed it be sure to
mark your calendars for October 25th when the next meeting will be
held in Morehead, Kentucky.
Muskie Survey to Begin
at Skinner Lake, Indiana
A survey on the number and size of muskies caught by anglers at
Skinner Lake in Noble County is set to begin in mid-April and will
run through October, according to the Indiana DNR Division of Fish
and Wildlife (DFW).
Although muskies, which are large predatory sport fish that can
grow up to 4 feet long, have been stocked in the 125-acre natural lake
since 1986, biologists say current information is needed on the status
of their population and popularity among anglers.
“Each year we stock about 625 muskie fingerlings in Skinner
Lake at a commercial value of $5,000,” said Jed Pearson, DFW biologist. “We want to know how many anglers fish for muskies at the
NEWS
◆
SPRING 2008 BOARD MEETING
lake and how many muskies are caught to assess the program.”
The most recent angler survey at Skinner Lake was conducted in
1994. At that time, anglers fished nearly 11,000 hours, 21 percent of
which was directed at muskies.
“That’s a pretty high level of interest,” Pearson said. “Although
no legal-size muskies were taken home that year, we estimated anglers
caught and released 264 muskies. Interest and catches back then were
enough to justify the stocking program.”
Beginning April 15, DFW personnel will be stationed at Skinner
Lake to count the number of anglers and examine their catch. The
DFW personnel will also ask about the species anglers fished for,
whether they caught any muskies, and how they rate fishing at the
lake.
“Based on the fraction of anglers interviewed by survey clerks, we
can estimate total effort and catch for each month,” Pearson said.
“The survey will tell us whether interest in muskie fishing has
increased, decreased or stayed about the same since 1994.”
Biologists will also set trap nets in early April to help estimate the
overall relative number and size of muskies in the lake.
“We also plan to look at the long-term impacts of the muskie
stocking program on other fish in the lake,” Pearson said. “In May,
we’ll conduct an electrofishing survey to estimate the number and size
of bass. Then in June, we’ll go back to conduct a follow-up survey to
see if there have been any changes in numbers or sizes of bluegills,
crappies and other fish species.”
For more information you can contact Jed Pearson, Fisheries
Biologist, at: (260)244-6805 or Marty Benson, Public Information
Officer, at: (317) 233-3853. ❖
by
Ji m B u n c h
Entry History By
State / Province!
Our state/province list has grown to 26 states and 3
provinces after New Mexico made the Lunge Log in 2007.
Keep in mind, there may be muskies swimming in some
state or province that is not on our list. You see our list represents the Lunge Log from January 1, 1970 through the Bill Heiden, Chapter 17. 2007 April Lunker Of The Month. 49 inch, 4/27/2007.
2007 season - 250,608 muskies. If you add the numbers for McMaster, IL. Crank Bait. Fish I.D. 237781
all the states and provinces you will
come up about 13,000 short. We
pulled the “Not Specified” category
as they are the entries that cannot
be connected to a specific state or
province. Consequently there are
only 3 states without a member
name for the longest entry of their
state. They are Missouri, Ohio, and
Wisconsin. The West Virginia
longest by Mike Money is the only
one in the list without the specific
lake within a state.
When you take a peek at the
longest for each state/province you
will have to agree the “Good Ole
Days” are now. There are only 6
state/provinces with their longest
caught in 1995 or earlier. Of interest here, these 6 include the 3 with
the name withheld. The list shows
that 7 state/provinces recorded
their longest last year in 2007. It
reveals that the record in 17
state/provinces is only 5 years old.
It also shows that 25 of these are 10
years old or less. Please don’t get
lost in my count here as 4 states
have ties in their longest fish listed.
Every state with significant entries
has a 50 inch or longer for its
record fish. Only 9 state/provinces
show a longest less than 50 inches.
They are all fairly new with very
www.muskiesinc.org
Lu n g e L o g ◆ Lu n g e L o g ◆ Lu n g e L o g ◆ Lu n g e L o g ◆ Lu n g e L o g ◆ Lu n g e L o g ◆ Lu n g e L o g
g
nge L
u
L
e
o
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LUNGE LOG
few total entries. So in the end we give you 29 state
champions, 35 with some ties. Pretty neat deal I think.
Want to be on the list? Get your traveling shoes on,
there are some spots available, 29 to be exact.
Entry History By Chapter!
Brad Buzzell, Chapter 21, 53.5 inch, Aug 15, 2007, Mille Lacs, MN. Bull Dawg
Jerk, Fish I.D. 243816.
Derek Argotti, Chapter 16, February 2007 Lunker Of The Month, 50 inch, Feb.
4, 2007, French Broad River, NC, Jig, Fish I.D. 236472.
Through the end of the 2007 season we had 51
chapters and we still list 6 chapters that no longer exist.
Don’t forget number zero which is for our unaffiliated
members. The number of entries and number of 50
inch plus muskies per chapter comes from a computer
generated program within our website. The totals will
vary from any hand kept records by chapters for a variety of reasons. Members come and go, members join
then quit, members run off to heaven once in a while.
Consequently these are the most accurate records we
have as it is based on the total entries within the Lunge
Log.
The list shows the longest for each chapter with
the name of the member, the lake and the date. So with
51 chapters, 6 former chapters, affiliated and 9 ties we
have 67 chapter champions; another pretty neat deal.
Once again the records show that the “Good Ole
Days” are now. In 16 of these cases the longest happened in 2007. In 54 out of the 67 the date caught is
2000 to 2007. This does not leave much room for what
we used to call the “Good Ole Days” does it? Keep in
mind; it is possible to be on the list for more than one
chapter. Check out chapter 13, 27 and 28. That is not
a misprint. Yes, sprinkled throughout the list are a few
kept fish; they are part of our history so please don’t get
all worked up over them.
So we have given you state champions and chapter champions. How about lake champions or county
champions? No I’m not going to list them all, but did
you know that as a member with access to our web site
you can look that up yourself. It’s all there - just keep
digging. Hey how about “All Time Lunker Of The
Month”? Give me a break, how about next month.
Keep a tight line,
Jim Bunch
[email protected]
715 226-0295
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
APDC, INC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
ST. CROIX RODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
CENTRAL OHIO CHAPTER CHALLUNGE . . . . . . . 6
TECH & TACKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
FITTANTE REPLICAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
TUFFY BOATS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
GOOD SEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
USDA - STOP AQUATIC HITCHHIKERS (VHS) . . . . 14
INDIAN LAKE LODGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
YAKIMA BAIT COMPANY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
LAKE VERMILION RESORT ASSOCIATION . . . . . 20
YOUNG'S WILDERNESS CAMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
LAX REPRODUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
www.muskiesinc.org
Muskies, Inc. Chapter
Oral History Videos
Capturing the Muskie Stories of Today’s Generation
to Pass on to Future Generations
by Vince Trotta and Juris Ozols
I
magine watching and listening to Gil Hamm telling of the time
he sat on the hooks of a muskie lure or a video of Kermit Benson,
Hugh Becker, and Gil discussing the development of Muskies,
Inc. Or how about Al Skaar describing the growth of the newsletter
into a national magazine? Frank Schneider herding the cats of the
Minnesota Legislature to promote conservation? And others.
We no longer have those opportunities.
However, many of the Muskies, Inc. pioneers are still with us.
Dick Chapman can tell us about the legendary “First Meeting” with
Gil Hamm. We still can get Steve Statland talking about the first
Chapter Challunge. The Hardy crowd from Chapter # 2 and their
innumerable adventures with big Muskies. Closer to today’s time,
how about the founders of the Nebraska and Washington chapters
and what it takes to get a chapter going? And much, much more.
Now is the time to make audio/video records of the birth and
development of Muskies, Inc. and of the activities of our chapters
today.
In the September 2007 MUSKIE magazine article, “Your
Chapter’s History,” we introduced the idea of oral history. In that
article, we committed to capturing oral histories of our Muskies, Inc.
Twin Cities Chapter Pioneers. We have started and present here the
details of our modest beginning.
We hope that the following information is helpful to each of the
Chapters. What seemed like a reasonably uncomplicated project
proved to be a challenge. Our first attempt at an oral history video
resulted in some satisfying successes and a few items that need
improvement. With Juris as the Director/Video Manager/Off-screen
Interviewer and, me, as the Stagehand/On-screen Interviewer, we
moved forward.
A screen capture from the beginning of the DVD, introducing Vince
as the Chairman of the History Committee.
Screen capture of Jeri and Tom during the interview.
First, we were fortunate to get Tom and Jeri Glander as initial
subjects for the interview. They were excellent subjects and their story
and presentation will be as enlightening 20 years from now as it is
today. Their experiences with Muskies, Inc. started in the mid-70s
and continue. Jeri was a 1993 Inductee into the Muskies, Inc. Hall
of Fame and received the 1995 Chapter’s Muskie Award. Although
she has never caught a Muskie and Tom has caught only one, she and
Tom have been hard-working MI volunteers for over 30 years. Jeri
was the MI Twin Cities Chapter Secretary for 22 years. Tom served
on the Chapter Board of Directors and was on the first International
Board of Directors. Yes, last September, they once again, as in many
years past, managed the signups at the 40th annual Frank Schneider,
Jr. Memorial Tournament. They have worked the Tournament for
over 30 years. Thanks, Tom and Jeri.
In advance of the interview, we sent Jeri and Tom an email with
a general agenda with several discussion issues. She suggested that
more advance details regarding the topics would be helpful. We will
do that with our next Pioneers.
My family room was used to provide the “studio” for the interview. In our pre-production practice session, it became evident that
the lighting was barely adequate. The lamps in the room did not provide enough balanced illumination for quality videography. But the
better light was the diffused sunlight reflected from the deck snow
into the room through the sliding glass patio door. Fortunately, on
the day of the interview, the sun reflection blazed through the sliding
door. Our planned backup was my 1000-watt work light. As the
snow melts that work light will be tried.
Juris used his digital Panasonic PV-GS300 camera, a tripod, and
a wired microphone. The video was shot at HD 720 x 480 (16:9).
“Oral History” captures for all time the voices and
stories of the people of today. It provides future
generations a unique insight into our lives and our
Muskies Inc. organization. The History Committee
is embarking on a program of audio/video recordings
of our early Muskies Inc. pioneers, and we encourage
the chapters to start similar programs of their own.
The Filming Setup. Vince sat in the chair on the left to do the interview and Jeri and Tom sat on the couch.
The raw footage, about an hour, takes up 15 Gbytes when downloaded to a computer.
As an enhancement, we will use a second camera that permits
simultaneous capture of the interview and interviewees to allow professional editing cuts (think “60 Minutes”). We also need a small
whiteboard for the Director to communicate to the participants.
Lessons learned from our first session:
PLANNING: Have a planning session that includes a discussion
of each of the following topics.
LOCATION: Select a convenient location with the amenities
identified below. The location should be private and without background noises from cars going by, airplanes flying overhead, active
children, noisy dogs, etc. Such noises are significantly intrusive on a
recorded video.
GUEST COMFORT: Seating comfort is important. The time
should be as stress-free as possible for all participants. Also important
are such creature comforts as drinks and convenient restrooms.
ENVIRONMENT: Interview area
should be at a comfortable temperature
with little or no distractions.
LIGHTING: Cool bright lighting is
recommended. Lighting tests should be
completed before the arrival of the interviewees. Note that today’s video cameras can
deal with a range of lighting quite well
MINIMUM RECOMMENDED
EQUIPMENT: One video camera, a camera tripod, a microphone, tables for the
equipment, a notebook computer, and
white boards for question prompting and
director communications. We will be
using two cameras for future sessions.
DIRECTOR SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: Juris prefers sunglasses, a small
megaphone, a black beret, and an ascot.
Juris is editing and generating a quite
professional looking video of the Glander
interview for burning on a DVD with his
trusty 24” iMac and Final Cut Express /
iDVD / Photoshop software. We would
www.muskiesinc.org
be happy to send the final DVD of our product to any chapter that
is interested in starting their own oral history program– please contact us.
We recommend that you explore the Web for expert information
and recommendations. An excellent site to begin with is Judith
Moyer’s:
http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oral-History.html#DOIT
There are many more. Entities, such as, historical societies, historical sites, museums, the military services, and families have used
oral history recordings for over 100 years. Many of those organizations have websites for your research.
If you have or as you produce MI Chapter oral history tapes,
CDs, or DVDs, please send a copy to the Muskies, Inc. History and
Archive Committee for preservation and safe keeping.
I hope this self-evaluation is helpful to those who may be thinking of making MI oral history videos. For those of you who are
already producing videos, your advice is solicited, as are comments on
this article or oral history in general. Send them to Vince Trotta,
address below.
Vince Trotta
Juris Ozols
Chair, MI History and
Assistant Editor
Archive Committee
MUSKIE Magazine
12953 Hamlet Avenue
Apple Valley, MN 55124
[email protected] ❖
Member Profile:
Cindy Neurohr
by Patricia Strutz
Cindy with a musky she caught and released while fishing at the
WOW! Women on the Water trip last year. The fish inhaled one
of her homemade lures.
Y
ears ago Muskies, Inc. chapters were filled with men. Though a variety of techniques. This is an all-women’s trip and it is so much
males still constitute a large majority in our sport, more fun to spend a few days together with a bunch of women who enjoy
women and youth are getting involved. This month I show- fishing as much as I do. We all help each other out. It’s great to watch
case a female member; next month I’ll feature a father and his three the confidence levels grow as gals learn to launch their own boats.”
children. It thrills me to share their stories. These fresh faces bring
At last year’s WOW trip Cindy and partner Marianne caught and
enthusiasm and new ideas to out organization.
released a nice 37” musky. The secret bait? One of Cindy’s homemade
I met Cindy Neurohr a few years back. A resident of Joliet, lures. “I started tying my own jigs years ago. Then, these past few years
Illinois, she works as a technician at a chemical plant and is a mem- I have been making bucktails and spinnerbaits, too. It’s very relaxing;
ber of Chapter 17 - Quad County Hawg Hunters. She’s been a MI almost like therapy. My husband pours the lead. We start by determember for the past ten years and a lifelong
mining what weight and style to pour and what
angler. Cindy reflects, “My dad and uncle taught
color to paint. There are so many different com“. . . the surprise of a
me to fish, but it was my sister-in-law who got me
ponents to choose from....style, size, color, and
hooked on muskies. I’ve been fishing for them for
blow-up, talking muskies number of blades...then the hair, feathers, and
33 years now. I still enjoy fishing for walleye and
sparkle. I tie this all together and then go water
with others, getting othpanfish, but there’s nothing like hooking into a
test each lure at a local pond.”
ers involved . . . It’s very
musky.”
“I really like being able to design different
She’s been married to husband, Kim, for 11
patterns. My favorite is the perch pattern with a
exciting to watch people’s
years. “Kim is my main fishing partner. It’s qualilittle added sparkle. Perhaps the fish could care
personalities change
ty time spent together. I also fish with my brothless, but if you don’t like what you are throwing,
when they see or catch
er and his family—Jay, Peggi, Kyle, and Cori
it won’t stay wet. It’s a confidence thing. I’ve just
Calcatera—our best friend, Bill McCanna, and
started making lures for other folks. It’s exciting
their first muskie.”
my WOW (“Women on the Water”) partner,
to have them design their own patterns—espeMarianne Perino and her husband, Randy.”
cially when they catch a big fish on their own
Cindy has been fishing the Chippewa Flowage
creations.”
for over 30 years. Many weekends, you will find
It’s not surprising that Cindy’s own personthe Neurohrs at their cottage on The Chip. “For
al favorite presentation is grinding a spinnerbait.
me, there is such a sense of peace and tranquility
“I love throwing hair, however, my all-time
about that water. This particular flowage has gotfavorite lure is the Tallywacker. I loan mine to
ten into my heart. I constantly dream about it. It
NO ONE. I also enjoy twitching stick baits and
can be difficult water to fish—more mentally
walking the dog—however, I’m still in training
than physically. You must maintain a positive attion that particular presentation.”
tude and never give up. Keep the rewards in
What do the Neurohrs enjoy most about
mind.”
Muskies, Inc? “We have participated in events in
When asked what she enjoys most about
our club and have really enjoyed the camaraderie
musky fishing, Cindy replied, “There are so many
of people with similar interests. I also like what
things...the surprise of a blow-up, talking muskies
MI does for the youth, they are indeed our
with others, getting others involved. It’s very
sport’s future.
exciting to watch people’s personalities change
Last year we escorted Juris Ozols around at
when they see or catch their first muskie. I love
the Bob Ellis Classic row trolling event. Juris is a
the challenge of it. It can truly be a mind game,
photographer and Assistant Editor for MUSKIE
one must be really diligent and stubborn to be
Magazine. I like networking and meeting folks
successful.”
like him. My husband and I just wanted to
Cindy is a “regular” at the WOW! Women on the Water Musky check out all the rigs...so it worked out well. But now we’ve caught
Huntress trips that I host each year. She notes, “I really like these trips the row trolling bug, too. We’re busy building our own row trolling
because they give me an opportunity to fish different lakes and learn boat and hope to participate at the October 2008 event.”
Cindy Neurohr...
avid musky angler, creator of custom lures,
novice row troller, and another smiling face in our Muskies, Inc. family.
Cindy enjoys helping other anglers create custom spinnerbaits. “It you
can dream it up, I’ll make it for you.” Her original works can be found in
the retail area of my website: www.ablondandherboat.com A percentage
of the proceeds go into a scholarship fund for women who wish to learn to
fish, but can not afford to hire a guide. ❖
Patricia Strutz is sponsored by Heckel’s Marina, Crestliner Boats, Shimano,
Frabill, and Mepps. She can be reached via: www.ablondandherboat.com
Cindy Neurohr’s workshop and some of the lures she has made.
www.muskiesinc.org
There’s Nothing Fishy
About Healthy Fish.
here’s danger in the waters. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia
(VHS) is a serious disease of fresh and saltwater fish that
has recently been found widely throughout the Great Lakes
region of the United States and Canada. VHS is not a threat
to human health.
T
VHS spreads among fish through urine and reproductive fluids
released into the water, and also through the eating of other
infected fish. Infected fish and water can easily spread the virus if
they are released into a new body of water. Appropriate hygienic
or other routine biosecurity precautions are necessary to protect
aquatic animal health and prevent further spread of the disease.
The Healthy Way
• Thoroughly clean and dry fishing equipment, bait buckets,
boats, and trailers before using them again.
• Empty all water from equipment before transporting.
• Remove all mud, plants, and aquatic life from equipment.
• Do not move fish or plants from one body of water to another.
• Do not introduce fish of an unknown health status into
populations of farmed fish.
To learn more, visit
www.aphis.usda.gov/healthyfish
United States Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
The Minnesota Muskie Expo (MME)
by Brad Waldera
I
t’s 5AM and I can’t sleep because I’m too excited
about going to the Minnesota Muskie Expo. I’ve
been to this show six times and it never ceases to
amaze me. There are rods, reels, boats and lures as far
as you can see. Almost everything in the room relates
to muskie fishing or to education about how we can
better preserve the resource. Quite a few members of
my chapter make sure to mark the date of the Expo
on their calendars every year, but I suppose there are
a few who have never attended and may not be aware
of what the MME is all about. After reading this article, I hope you can understand more about what the
MME offers and why you should attend. It’s really a
great time.
I made the three-hour drive from my home to
the Expo, and got there right after it opened on
Saturday. Almost immediately after walking through
the door I saw George Wahl stroll by. I easily recognized him, as I took his picture a few years earlier
when he was elected into the Muskies Inc. Hall of
Fame. George is the inventor of the Eagle Tail, which
still ranks as one of the top lures of all time for catching 50-inch muskies. As if that gift to the muskie
fishing world wasn’t enough, George is also the man
responsible for the Minnesota Muskie Expo. I asked
him if he’d mind talking about it with me, and he was
most gracious in answering my questions.
George said it all began in the early 90s, when he
asked to have a small corner of space at a sport show
that only featured muskie related materials. He was
denied the space, and told that his idea would never
catch on. Undaunted, George took it upon himself to
keep his idea alive. He held the very first MuskieOnly Sport show in 1994 in Milwaukee. He borrowed $900 from the Twin Cities Chapter of M.I. to
put on the first Muskie-Only show in Minnesota in
1995. George said that show still holds the record for
the highest attendance of the Minnesota shows. He
said that another sport show had backed out at the
last minute, and that he was extremely fortunate to
be able to rent the National Sport Center in Blaine,
Minnesota to host the MME. It cost him $3500 to
rent it in 1995. The third show was held in Chicago
in 1996, and shows are now held yearly in all three
www.muskiesinc.org
M
uskie fishing in the shadow of Mt. Rainier and Mt. St.
Helens holds a certain mystique (just take another look at
this month’s cover). Here in the Pacific NW most of our
“lakes” stocked with tiger muskies are actually reservoirs. Half of these
are canyon reservoirs in the foothills where depths of 180 feet are not
uncommon. Fishing reservoirs can be a guessing game if you’re dealing with ever-changing water levels. Power generation and irrigation
have precedence over musky fishing so when you show up at the boat
launch, you just deal with the lake levels and conditions you find. I
hope you can relate some of my experiences to your lakes when low
water conditions exist.
One of our more popular musky lakes is a power generation
reservoir and the generation schedule goes into effect on the weekends
because of more power being used during these times. This generation
Angler-Jack Tipping, retired WDFW biologist - 44".
Photo-Mark Wells.
draws the lake down quickly and the fish seem to react negatively to
this. In addition, this lake has its incoming water coming from the
bottom of the dam upstream so the lake cools quickly. However, this
is also one of our oldest stocked musky lakes so it also holds some of
the state’s biggest muskies.
My game plan on this lake is to fish it on a Thursday or Friday.
Yeah, sure. Most of the time that’s not possible so when I get on the
water on Saturday morning, I head to my best spots and cover a lot of
water quickly hoping for an active fish to
strike before the falling water turns them
We found the
off. As the day or weekend wears on I
tigers where
switch to fast drop offs close to the areas
see them in during stable water levels.
we could find IOne
such spot drops from a 6-foot rocky
suitable cover
point to 90 feet over a distance of about
10 feet. It’s basically a cliff wall but it usuwith baitfish
ally holds fish. The outside edge of weed
close by.
beds is also a good place to look for fish
that have moved out of their shallow
water haunts. This isn’t much of a tactic but so far, it’s the best one I’ve
got for this body of water and it’s the only one that’s been paying off.
It’s common to have a one to two foot drop in water level over a
Saturday and Sunday, some weekends it might even be three feet. This
can make some best areas of the lake almost impossible to get to and
can make weed beds look like hay fields that need cutting.
My home water is not one of our deepest reservoirs but has its
own water level problems from year to year. Most years the lake is
dropped 8 to 10 feet for winter drawdown and re-filled in early
spring. Last spring it was approximately 26 feet below full pool which
did not allow for launching boats at the two public boat launches.
Maintenance on a diversion dam upstream delayed the filling of this
reservoir until the last part of June; even then when the boat launches opened the lake was still down six feet.
On my first trip last year with a good friend our home water had
us badly stumped. Most of our usual spots were high and dry or too
shallow to hold fish so we backed out and fished the water adjacent to
them. Usually we can have multiple fish days in the spring and early
summer but by 10AM we had not even had a follow.
My partner is a home builder and just happened to be building
custom home on this lake at the time. I knew it was in the area we
were fishing and I needed a break to use the port-a-jon. When I
walked back down the dock to wait for Bryon to pick me up I looked
in the water and immediately noticed a good healthy tiger musky.
I don’t usually fish this stretch of shoreline but I just realized this
tiger was relating to the docks because they were providing good cover
while most of the other docks and shoreline cover on the lake were out
of the water. This was a steep shoreline so the docks all had plenty of
water under them. Since my usual spots were not paying off I suggested another shoreline I knew of that had a similar arrangement of
docks and deep water and would still have a little shade from the
bright sun.
I told Bryon I was going to fish the docks with a spinnerbait tight
to the pilings just like we would if we were bass fishing. On about the
fourth dock I got a strike and solid hook set on a beautiful 45-incher
(see at right). After a great net job, a couple pics and a healthy release,
my partner and I moved on with a little zest in our casts.
The very next day Bryon and I hit this spot early with the
thought of active fish using this cover while the lake was still down.
Fifty yards down from yesterday’s fish, I managed to bring a 40-incher to the net on a glider. This proved my theory about the fish using
the available cover with the low water conditions. I’m sure the baitfish
in the lake were also using this same cover for the same reasons.
The morning of the 4th of July found my wife and me on our
home water for a quick couple of hours of musky fishing prior to the
crowds hitting the lake for this busy weekend. Within 1/2 hour on the
deep side of a main lake point, my wife hooked up on a
nice 40-incher. Her first on a figure 8 (see below). We
moved to a similar point I knew of but had never fished
before and on my fifth cast Lori netted a 42-inch tiger
for me (facing left page, top).
A week later, with the water still down a few feet,
another friend and I hit the water with a game plan. I’d
Angler-Mark Wells - 45". Photographer-Bryon Krehbiel.
told him about my tactic and hoped we’d be able to repeat it.
As luck would have it, Jack and I had a heck of a morning. Jack did
a little CPR with a 41 and then a 44 which came on a figure 8 (facing
page, lower left). I managed a 43 1/2 (page 18). Both of Jack’s fish came
on a fast dropping shoreline with docks that had deep water under
them. My fish came off a point that had deep water adjacent to it.
That trip to the port-a-jon and seeing that big tiger along side of
the dock taught me a valuable lesson about low water conditions and
where to look for fish. You can bet your bucktails I’ll remember this
lesson in the future.
Predators need cover for ambushing their prey. Cover was no
longer in the water in places we’d caught fish before. We found the
tigers where we could find suitable cover with baitfish close by. Because
Angler-Lori Wells(Wife)-40". Photo by Mark Wells.
www.muskiesinc.org
CHASING FALLING TIGERS
of the late filling of this lake last year the weed beds came on late and
some did not fully develop. The muskies used wood cover more and
often suspended off breaks. Once we figured this out we started to put
a few muskies in the net during the late summer period. The bottom
line is that whatever cover IS available, the fish will be using.
Best of luck this year and please remember CPR. ❖
Mark Wells is Vice President and Tournament Director of Chapter 57, the
NW Tiger Pac. He is also on the pro staff for Ducktail Lures, Frabill,
Durst Pro, Esox Rods, Bikini Baits, and Charlies Leaders.
Angler-Mark Wells-43 1/2". Photo by Jack Tipping.
PRODUCT REVIEW
The Ultimate Odor Terminator: EXP 2000
by Bob Chochola
“Attention anglers, hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, pet owners,
home owners, and car owners - EXP 2000 has the muscle to eliminate
odors from the air and every washable surface you can think of . . .”
You’ve heard various hard-sell ads on T.V. many times. The loud
obnoxious handy man demonstrating a product “guaranteed to eliminate odors” and leave your home smelling fresh and clean. Then you
purchased the product only to discover it didn’t work.
Most of us have some pretty tough odors to fight around the
home, but many outdoor adventurers face even tougher odors on the
road. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of cleaning the family dog after
he disturbed a napping skunk, then you know how odoriferous the
great outdoors can be.
5047 Martin Luther King Freeway
Fort Worth, TX 76119
Ph# 817-395-0120
Fax# 817-395-0125
Website : www.apdc-inc.com
EXP 2000 is a heavy duty odor neutralizer designed to attack
odors at their source and the scientifically crafted formula continues
to work long after you use it. EXP 2000 eliminates odors caused by
organic decay, animals, mold, mildew, smoke, fires, sewage, and
chemicals. EXP 2000 is NOT a deodorizer, air freshener, or enzyme
product. EXP 2000 uses destructive elimination to breakdown the
source of the odor eliminating it permanently. There are NO added
scents and EXP 2000 does NOT mask odors. It eliminates odors and
enhances the environment WITHOUT the use of perfumes, fragrances, or enzymes.
EXP 2000 has been approved by the USDA for use in food processing areas such as floors, loading docks, and refuse collection areas.
EXP 2000 uses a chemical process known as destructive elimination
to destroy odors at their source. It can be used on anything from baby
diaper pails to kitchens. EXP 2000 is completely non-toxic and will
not leave any harmful residues behind. EXP 2000 is effective on ALL
types of pet odors including male cat spray, skunk, and litter box. It
works on all types of pets, such as cats, rabbits, dogs, and ferrets. It
can be safely sprayed directly on your pet’s coat or bedding.
Outdoor enthusiasts can benefit
by using EXP 2000. It doesn’t matter if you hunt with a camera, bow
and arrow, or rifle; never underestimate the ability wild game animals
have to detect natural odors over
long distances. Anglers on boats spill
gasoline and motor oil on their
hands and clothing all the time and
these powerful fumes and the chemicals that cause them not only spook
fish, damage expensive painted lures,
and melt plastic, but can cause dizziness and even make you feel sick.
EXP 2000 can eliminate these odors.
This stuff really works - no
gimmicks, no phony late night sales
pitches, no foolin’. Keep EXP 2000
around your home and take it along
on your next great outdoor adventure. For more information go to:
www.apdc-inc.com
Bob Chochola is a freelance writer and
photographer based in the Dallas/Ft.
Worth area. You can reach Bob at:
[email protected]
“A Real Good
Wiggle and Shake”
The Untold Story of
Wisconsin’s Tony Burmek and his
“Secret Musky Bait”
by Eric Borgerding
The Burmek boxes were essentially mini billboards,
and included an image of Tony and Fred holding
two muskies from “The 12 Days.”
T
he musky is the undisputed king of Wisconsin’s aquatic jungles, pursued by some of the most dedicated fisherman.
Both are a unique breed and perhaps nowhere was the
“musky mystique” more widely understood than in northern
Wisconsin in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
These were the halcyon days of musky fishing. Men like Cal
Johnson, Len Hartman, Art Lawton, Percy Haver and, of course,
Louie Spray became celebrities and in some cases over-the-top promoters, their names synonymous with big muskies, fishing contests,
endorsements, advertising ... and controversy.
And while debate still rages over these relatively famous men and
the validity of almost 60 year-old world records, one name in musky
history has gone relatively unnoticed, until now.
Making a Musky Legend
Born in 1912, Tony Burmek grew up on Milwaukee’s north side
— a long way from Wisconsin’s northwoods. After high school Tony
hoped to work in a foundry like his father, but a fishing trip in 1930
changed his fate and the fate of hundreds of Wisconsin muskies.
While on a trip to Florida that year, Tony hooked a large swordfish, and from that day on became obsessed with angling for large
species. Back home this meant muskies, and Tony was soon traveling
to the lakes of northern Wisconsin to find them. He made his first
trip to the famed musky waters of Hayward (350 miles northwest of
Milwaukee) in 1934 and would return many more times, pounding
the sprawling 17,000acre
Chippewa
FROM WOOD TO PLASTIC
Flowage and other
The 30-year evolution of
area lakes. His knowlTony
Burmek’s “Secret Bait.”
edge of the local
waters and muskies
grew and in the fall of
1945 he took a 45
pounder from “The
Chip” that “fought
like
a
demon,”
according to brother
Fred, “After that,
Tony was hooked.”
Tony essentially
became a seasonal resident of Hayward and
quickly became one of
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its leading guides, translating obsessive study of muskies into
impressive catches. He understood how information, astute
observation and time on the water translated into consistent
success.
Errol Flynn of the North
By 1950 Tony was a full-time fisherman and as his reputation grew, so did his image. An impeccable dresser who frequently donned a Fedora in the boat, Burmek bore a northwoodsy resemblance to Errol Flynn, and played the part — a
sort of inland swashbuckler chasing muskies across northern
Wisconsin, undaunted by wind, snow or even frozen line
guides.
Tony hits the Chippewa Flowage on a cold fall day, circa 1955.
Tony’s band of pirates – brothers Fred, Joe, Rudy and Clifford
(and frequently an outdoor writer or reporter) – marauded muskies
together in boats stocked with the accoutrements of the day, heavy
The following fall, a million readers would again see Tony in
rods, nets, gaffs, and pistols; they were the embodiment of the musky Outdoor Life, which featured a six-page article titled “The 12 Days”,
mystique. “And they would certainly dress for the occasion,” recalled complete with a full-page illustration and photos. “The 12 Days”
Harold Treland, who was a dock boy at (and now owner of ) his would be mentioned for years to come in various other sporting maggrandfather’s Treeland Resort on the Chippewa Flowage. The resort azines ... and lure ads.
was a frequent starting point for Burmek musky
And what was the secret to the Burmek’s suchunts. “It was a production when they went out.
cess? “The bait they used was a whittled out plug
Tony wore the big lace up boots and the jackets
with a violent tail action,” the Milwaukee Journal
“That baby could
and socks up to his knees, you know how outreported in December upon Tony’s return home.
sell for a fin ($5) if
doorsman used to dress, and he’d have that trade“Tony made it by hand, forgot it for two years, and
mark Fedora on. And they fished hard and when
it’s what Tony says”
used it again on the trip.” Whether forgotten or
it was cold. They fished any conditions and were
contemplated, the “whittled out plug” had made
out all day. It was the old style.”
its debut, and in a very big way.
Consummate promoters, Tony and brother Fred always had a
camera in their boat, and later movie cameras, to document their
catches and produce early “action shots” of muskie battles. A staple
Tony and Fred seized the chance to apply their fishing abilities
marketing tool for guides today, it appears Tony was one of the first
and
musky-sized marketing skills to a new venture – fishing lures.
guides to make use of photos for his own promotional purposes, and
“Tony
has a new bait created by himself this past winter and summer,
boy did they!
with
this
being the first chance to try it out. I haven’t seen it yet, but
Tony’s impressive catches, coupled with the Burmek propensity
it’s
so
good
that Tony figures on manufacturing it himself this winter,”
for publicity, helped launch Tony into the national spotlight. He
County Record reported on October 27, 1955, just four
Sawyer
the
began appearing in outdoor stories and magazines, including an illusdays
into
the
12-day musky marathon. “They will all be handmade
trated column of “Outdoor Tricks” sponsored by Schick razors.
and
just
about
sold with a money back guarantee if you don’t catch a
Tony expanded his territory to Canada and in winter months to
That
baby
could sell for a fin ($5) if it’s what Tony says.”
musky.
Florida, the Bahamas, and later Mexico via Baja. He even fished
As
quickly
as
the
Burmeks were catching huge muskies they were
alongside the late Ernest Hemingway off the coast of Cuba. But
also
reeling
in
future
customers for a secret bait yet to be manufacdespite fishing these exotic locales, the woods, waters and muskies of
tured
or
sold!
“That
bait
had a forked tail that gave it a real good wigWisconsin remained Tony’s true love.
gle and shake, but I didn’t know anything more until it came out,”
said legendary Hayward bait shop owner Leon Pastika. “Most of
those guides were secretive, and Tony was real tight mouthed until it
came out.”
In the proceeding winter months the Burmeks went to work proAs musky showmen traded world records, Tony Burmek simply
ducing the lures and gearing up their homespun marketing machine.
caught big fish, and lots of them. But it was a feat of musky magnifBy the start of the 1956 fishing season they were ready and it was
icence that would truly launch Tony into the national spotlight.
announced that Tony Burmek, “Hayward’s outstanding musky
Starting on Sunday, October 30, 1955, Tony, brother Fred, and a local
guide”, was returning for the May 19 opener, to “introduce for the
resort owner teamed up to catch an incredible 42 muskies in 12 days
first time to the general public ‘Tony Burmek’s Secret Musky Bait’ …
of fishing! Seventeen of the fish weighed from 25 pounds to 43
a wood plug, 3 gangs of hooks, jointed and is patented and is stamped
pounds - the biggest taken in the Hayward area that year.
with the (bait’s) name.”
“Fred and Tony drove to and from the dock in a station wagon,
While best known for their plastic composition, the first producand folks soon began flocking to the store when they pulled in each
tion Secret Baits were made of wood. Highly prized by collectors, a
night,” wrote the Milwaukee Journal’s Gordon MacQuarrie. “Like
handful of wooden versions have surfaced.
baseball fans following a player on a home-run spree, local people
became increasingly interested in the Burmeks’ catches.
The Not So Secret “Secret Bait”
“The Twelve Days” That
Launched a Legend and Lure
www.muskiesinc.org
TONY BURMEK (Continued from page 21)
Secret Baits were sold by the Burmeks directly to area resorts and
tackle shops, a “distribution” system they would perfect and expand
over the next three decades. The packaging at this time appears to
have been the bait itself – no box or bag – hanging behind the bar at
area fishing hangouts.
The first Secret Baits were chunky, wide bodied specimens that
ran fairly shallow with “a real good wiggle and shake.” Demand was
hot and producing each bait from wood quickly became impractical,
so they quickly turned to the best technology of the time – plastic
injection molding.
“The Burmeks had a different approach, they went into injection
molding,” Leon Pastika said. “They didn’t say much about it because
they were worried about people copying them.”
It seems the new plastic Secret Bait appeared rather quickly in
1956, the same year the wooden version debuted.
The Burmeks realized that if packaged right the lure could almost
sell itself, and so they began placing each bait in a cardboard box that
was essentially a mini billboard. The first boxes featured a single
image of Tony holding a 33 lb. musky caught in 1952 by one of
many clients Tony guided that year out of Herman’s Landing, and the
proclamation “17 MUSKIES IN 12 DAYS!” – referring to the 17 out
of 42 that weighed over 25lbs. Each box was stamped with the style
of the bait inside, including: Sucker, Orange Silver Scale, Chub,
Sucker Red Rib, Red Head, and Yellow Rib.
The Secret Bait Gets a Makeover
Two more versions of the Secret Bait and box appeared over the
next several years. The second version, or “Deeper Runner” as Tony
called it, retained the forked tail but the front lip was extended slightly and the body shaved inward on the sides. Both changes caused the
bait to run deeper. Eyes were also molded into the body. This second
version came in a box even more packed with promotion. The “12
Days” were again heavily touted, but this time the number of muskies
jumped from 17 to 42 (the total number caught).
A third version of the bait and box followed. While there is little discernable difference in the bait, the box was a hybrid of its predecessors. Bright white and slightly less busy than version two, it borrowed an image from each. Tony was also now simply calling his lure
the “Burmek Bait” (I suppose after a few years on the market the bait
wasn’t much of a “Secret).
“Read by Millions in National Magazines,
Seen by Millions on TV Shows!”
Advertising in these early days came from low budget flyers and
post cards mailed from Tony’s home, and from his growing national
reputation as a musky angler. As the story of “The 12 Days” spread
to newspapers and magazines nationwide, Tony’s fame grew, and so
did demand for his name and baits. He appeared on TV, wrote regular fishing columns, and made appearances at sports shows, fishing
clubs and seminars, often with Fred or one of the other “Legendary
Burmek Brothers.”
With demand apparently outpacing supply, the Burmeks eventually became as engaged with the fishing “business” as fishing itself.
Tony and Fred well understood the concept of advertising and promotion, and were adept at both. So in addition to overseeing the
manufacture, they were also aggressively marketing and distributing
their baits. Their market grew to several other states, including
Florida where Tony spent winter months guiding.
“The (musky lure) industry was really starting to explode around
this time,” said Leon Pastika. “Before then, you could count on one
hand the number of true musky baits out there – the Vamp
(Heddon), the Globe (Pflueger) and the Surf Oreno (South Bend).
But things were really changing.”
A New Design, A New Era
The Secret Bait was a real fish getter and Tony received hundreds
of letters singing its praises, but it had one significant flaw. Effective
musky baits entice strikes and endure violent thrashing and smashing,
but the manner in which the Secret Bait’s hooks were mounted and
the link between the tail and body were a serious flaw.
Both were secured with relatively soft brass eyelets screwed
and glued into the plastic body. As a result, broken baits
were also showing up in Tony’s mailbox.
Working with Jim Omdoll of the Katchmore Bait Co.
in Palmyra, WI, Burmek designed a new plug with a
longer, thicker and more durable body and ribbed fin
added to the tail. To address durability, Omdoll scrapped
the brass eyelets and switched to stainless steel hardware.
He also employed a method of permanently attaching the
hooks and tail he had already incorporated into his
Katchmore baits.
With these changes, Burmek believed he had the perfect musky plug, even worthy of a new name. “The
‘Burmek B1’ took me ten years of my 20 years of muskie
guiding to perfect,” Burmek said proudly describing his
musky masterpiece. “It’s a light lure that can be used by
men, women and children with a simple, steady retrieve
resembling a swimming fish in trouble. No broomstick
rods or back breaking ‘jerking’ required. The ‘B1’ does all
the work.”
To package the B1, Burmek abandoned the cardboard
Fifty years ago muskie boats were not so comfortable, but that didn’t hinder
box
in
favor of a more efficient “skin pack” developed by
the Burmek brothers!
the industrious Omdoll. Like previous Burmek plugs, the package
was another mini billboard plastered with Burmek lore and pictures
of big muskies.
Still sold today by the Uncle Josh Bait Company the B1 has
undergone very few changes in its nearly forty ears of existence. The
B1’s success led to an expansion, and eventual explosion of Burmekmade or branded baits.
Fond of fishing muskies “on top”, Burmek again teamed with
Omdoll to design and produce his first surface bait, and by early 1971
the Burmek “B2” hit the water. Shorter and fatter than its diving
counterpart, the B2 sported three stainless trebles and props fore and
aft that generated surface “churning action”.
In late 1974 or early 1975, Burmek introduced a slight variation
to the B2. He dropped one of the trebles and swapped the rear prop
for a Heddon-style flap tail blade that “slaps the water behind it.”
With these minor changes, the Burmek B3 “Slaptail” was put to market.
“We only made those for a short time,” Jim Omdoll said about
the B3. “Tony thought they would be fantastic, but it wasn’t a fish
getter like the B1. It never did make it”
Neither the B2 nor B3, touted as the “world’s finest surface
lures,” were very successful. They were too light, even for a floating
surface lure, and rode high in the water. Relatively rare is the B2 and
even more so the short-lived B3. Both disappeared by 1978, maybe
earlier.
Muskies Aren’t the Only Fish in the Sea
Slow sales of the B2 and B3 did not discourage the Burmeks.
While muskies were their bread and butter, they used that notoriety
to launch several other lures for bass, walleye, panfish and salmon. By
the late 1970s, the Burmek’s had put at least 16 lures on the market.
Competition was fierce, and Tony and Fred found innovative
ways to promote their products, develop loyal customers, and survive
among the lure giants of the time. Starting in the later 1970s, these
efforts included the “Burmek Musky
Club” (whose members were eventually
encouraged to join Muskies, Inc.). The
Burmeks also printed a free newspaper,
“The Incredible Fishing Secrets of the
Legendary Burmek Brothers,” and even
advertised in MUSKIE Magazine.
November – one last hurrah before heading to warmer climates for
more fishing and guiding. Cliff, Joe, Rudy and, of course, Fred would
also come and fish hard, but none would stay as long as Tony.
On March 11, 1985, at the age of 73, Tony Burmek suffered a
fatal heart attack in his Milwaukee home. After Tony’s death Burmek
Lures became somewhat inactive until October 1987, when Uncle
Josh Bait Company purchased the rights to manufacture the B1. On
June 9, 1996, Fred Burmek passed away from lung cancer.
“The big muskies may be resting easier with the passing of Fred
Burmek, but they should not get too comfortable,” The Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel said upon Fred’s death. “His lures and lore are still
out there.”
And they are. Today, more than fifty years since Burmek musky
plugs were introduced, they are still being sold. Tony and Fred are
surely smiling…
“Too busy to realize that with every tick of the clock, another second of life ticks away with it? Time flies you say, but what are
you doing to slow it down? Man has invented medicines to
deaden your pain, pep you up and tranquilize your distress.
But, nobody has invented medicines to slow down fatigue, the
pressures of modern times and the ravages of speeding old age …
Nobody, that is, except God, provides remedies with the great
outdoors He put on this earth for you to enjoy. That is the way
to slow the sands of time … and live longer! Hark to these words
of wisdom, ‘Allah does not deduct from man’s allotted time those
hours spent on fishing’” - Tony Burmek
Eric Borgerding is an avid Wisconsin fishing lure collector and muskie
angler. He can be contacted by email at: [email protected]. Eric
thanks the following for their assistance and inspiration in writing this
article: Jim Omdoll, Donnie Strysick, Larry Ramsell, Dorothy Ujcich,
Chris Slusar, Harold Treland, Leon Pastika, Bob Slade, Jason Michaels,
Virgil Potvin, Jeff Grootemaat, Larry Pfeil, Sherry Collins and Neil
Peart.
Winding Down
By the late 1970s, Fred and Tony,
now in their late 60s and early 70s respectively, had been promoting and selling
Burmek lures at every opportunity and
venue available for close to 25 years, promoting their lures along with the Burmek
legend.
But the musky bug was always there,
and always bit hard in the fall. The
Burmek brothers were a close-knit bunch,
and all five annually made the trek to
Hayward for an autumn reunion and
extended musky hunt on the Chippewa
Flowage. Tony would arrive around midOctober and stay until the end of
www.muskiesinc.org
8
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by Kevin Richards
[email protected]
8
Early Season Hog – Southern Style
When I started this column it was late March and I had just
received the news of an early season hog caught by Pomme de Terre
Chapter member Lloyd Colbert. Lloyd caught and released a beautiful 49-incher from Fellows Lake near Springfield, Missouri on
March 26, 2008. I’ve included a small photo of that big hog for you
to enjoy but also to highlight how special this fish is. Lloyd is no
stranger to big muskies at Fellows Lake.
Now a very few of you northern range expert anglers may be saying to yourselves, “49 inches – hog? Who’s he kiddin?” All I can say
is if that thought goes through your mind you are either way too
lucky, may need to measure all your muskies more carefully, or may
need to lower the height of your pedestal just a bit. Seriously, fourfooters are great muskies anytime and anyplace. Of course we’re all
searching for a four-and-a-half-footer, or maybe a five-footer to make
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Figure 8
us world famous, but 49 is fine anytime! So let me finish my story.
Missouri produces a lot of nice mid-forty inch muskies, but it
doesn’t produce very many muskies over 46 inches. Missouri’s
stocked muskies fight hard and grow fast, maybe too fast. Along
with fast growth comes a shorter life expectancy. Lloyd’s muskie
could not have been more than 12 years old, as the first muskies were
stocked in Fellows Lake in 1996. Its fantastic growth reminded me
of the long-standing Missouri state record muskie. That fish weighed
41 pounds 2 ounces when it was caught in 1981, also in March. It
was 49.5 inches long and I personally weighed it on a certified scale;
I was the local Fisheries Biologist at that time.
Over the years there have been just a handful of 49-inch muskies
caught in Missouri. I’ve never seen a Missouri muskie over 50 inches or a photo of one; keep in mind I was on the Fisheries spring netting and electro-shocking crew for many years. The Lunge Log lists
one at 53 inches from 1993 without an angler name. Not sure about
the scoop on that one (maybe some reader can clue me in).
Now back to my story, again. My point is 49 inches is probably
close to the “ultimate maximum length” of a Missouri muskie. A
study is underway to see if Kentucky strain muskies might live longer
and grow larger in Missouri but those results won’t really start to
materialize for at least 6 to 10 more years. Mixing of genetic stocks
in Missouri is not a big concern as all lakes being stocked are outside
the native range of muskellunge and recruitment is dependant upon
stocking.
I’ve heard Dr. John Casselman speak about the ultimate maximum length idea. John made the point that knowing the ultimate
maximum length helps put a lake’s potential into perspective, helps
define a real trophy for that waterbody, and helps managers set effective size limits. The ultimates are derived mathematically from the
long-running Cleithrum Project. A body of water can produce
muskies longer than the “ultimate” but they will be rare beasts
indeed.
To put things in perspective I referred to a new publication by
Dr. Casselman, Determining minimum ultimate size, setting size limits, and developing trophy standards and indices of comparable size for
maintaining quality muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) populations and
sports fisheries (Environ Biol Fish (2007) 79:137–154).
Here are the ultimate maximum lengths (in inches) for a
few of Ontario’s best known muskie fisheries:
Lake of the Woods
58.6
Niagara River 51.4
Eagle-Wabigoon 55.6
Georgian Bay
58.5
61.7
St. Lawrence
58.5
Lac Seul
So now it’s May!
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You are either already muskie fishing or anxiously
awaiting your first muskie adventure of the year. If the
little list above doesn’t raise your muskie fever a bit, you
better check your pulse. Have fun, be safe, and enjoy
every muskie you encounter during the season ahead.
Be courteous on the water, wear the MI logo proudly, and try to add these two goals to your list for the year:
1). Sign-up at least one new member; 2). Help at least one
other muskie angler improve their release skills to ensure
even higher survival of the muskies we all treasure.
IT’S MUSKIE TIME!!! - Kevin ❖
MINNESOTA MUSKIE EXPO
locations. There are actually more booths at the MME
than the other shows offer, but the Chicago show still
draws the most attendance. Speaking of attendance at
the Minnesota Muskie Expo, George says there are usually around 3500 paid attendees and a total of about
4500 coming through the door.
George said he had a handshake deal with the Twin
Cities Chapter making them equal partners in the
beginning, but now he’s pretty much putting on this
show on his own. The Twin Cities Chapter still receives
a portion of the proceeds from each year’s show. He also
gives free booth space to every Muskies, Inc. Chapter
who requests it. The majority of the booths feature lure
companies, so I suppose we should talk about lures first.
The lures are one of the reasons I recommend attending the MME.
was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few kids there this year. These
kids may be future Muskies, Inc. members, and they sure like seeing
all the baits, sitting in the boats, and looking at the replicas at the
taxidermy booths. The Expo is a great place to take your kids.
SEMINARS
LURES
Living in a small North Dakota town that doesn’t really have a
genuine sporting goods store, I can honestly say that not a single one
of the lures at the show are available in my home town. I could purchase them by mail order, but it’s very hard to determine
lure size, weight, and quality from a picture in a magazine.
At the Expo you can hold the lures in your hand, and find
out everything you need to know about them. With the
amount of money some baits cost these days, its well
worth going to the Expo for this reason alone. Some of the
companies show pool demonstration videos or people
actually fishing with the lures on video at their booths; a
couple even had live demonstrations. Many of the companies will make you custom baits while you wait. You will
also find the very latest lures to hit the market, such as the
new size 14 blade bucktails. I found quite a few lures I
didn’t even know I needed!
I’ve been to seminars at the Expo given by some of the greatest
muskie anglers of all time. Dick Pearson was one of my favorites. I’ve
seen him speak a few times, and always learn something new. This
year Luke Ronnestrand was the only speaker I managed to see, but I
was sure glad I sat in on his talk. I learned a lot of useful information, and also heard of a bait he’s working on that is so new it hasn’t
even been named yet. I talked to many people who write for
MUSKIE Magazine, Esox Angler, and Musky Hunter. Everyone is
always happy to answer questions and offer advice. Sitting in on
these seminars is worth the admission price of the show, and another great reason to attend.
A lot has changed since George Wahl paid $3500 to rent the
National Sport Center for the first Minnesota Muskie Expo. Today it
costs $18,000 for the same space but the show continues to draw
huge crowds and looks to be getting bigger and better than ever. I
urge you to attend next year. You will not be disappointed. George
always makes sure of that. Thank you George Wahl. ❖
YOUTH
There is a whole section where kids can play games,
race minnows, or even build their own lures. My kids had
a great time racing minnows. It’s really a lot of fun, and I
www.muskiesinc.org
Regulation Controversy –
Northern Wisconsin
Early Muskie Season Change
by Patricia Strutz
M
any fishermen were surprised to find out that a new law
had recently passed in Wisconsin which directly impacts
muskie fishing. Starting in 2009, anglers north of
Highway 10 (excluding Michigan boundary waters) will have an
established catch and release muskellunge fishing season. This new
C&R season will begin the first Saturday in May and end on the day
immediately preceding the regular muskie season opening day.
Only artificial lures with barbless hooks will be allowed.
In the past, the musky season opener has started later in the
northern part of the state. Colder water temperatures create a later
spawning period. Muskies were always protected during this fragile
time.
Many anglers and conservation groups are very disappointed in
this change; both in the law itself and in the way it was enacted.
According to Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC) liaison Kurt
Thiede, “The system that has been established in Wisconsin for
changing fish and game laws has traditionally been the annual Spring
Fish and Wildlife hearings and Conservation Congress county meetings. Each April, citizens have an opportunity to attend their local
county meeting and introduce ideas for dealing with concerns they
have pertaining to natural resource issues. If their idea is supported
in their county, it then gets advanced to the WCC. It is assigned a
study committee made up of citizen elected representatives from
across the state. Upon review, if the committee believes the idea is in
the best interest of the resource it is advanced to the Congress
Executive Council for possible inclusion on the statewide questionnaire the following year. If advanced, then the entire state will have a
chance to vote on the idea at the next spring meeting. If public sentiment from a statewide vote supports the idea, then the idea is
advanced to the DNR (or the Legislature if it requires a statute
change).”
“The DNR studies each issue and makes sure it is enforceable
and will not adversely impact the resource. Provided those conditions
are met, the question is asked at the Spring Hearings the following
year as an official DNR rule change. Yes, this process takes a lot of
time but when a change does eventually take place it has been vetted
through plenty of public input and scientific review.”
“Last year a resolution from Vilas County on an early musky
season was advanced to the WCC for review by the Warm Water
study committee. Upon review, a motion was made to reject because
of concerns of adversely affecting spawning fish. So, the resolution
did not advance further and the author was contacted. The author
then has an opportunity to reintroduce the resolution the following
year with new information that may address the concerns of the
study committee.”
“However, in this case, legislation was introduced to establish
the season and now certain conservation groups are crying foul. The
WCC Executive Council voted at their January meeting to oppose
out of principle because the democratic process for establishing fish
and game laws had been circumvented.”
How did this Rejected Resolution
become a New Law?
According to Jim Rechlitz, Eagle River fishing guide, “For the
past five years I have been going through the proper channels in submitting resolutions regarding a change in musky season to the DNR.
When it has passed in Vilas and Oneida counties, it has always been
tabled by the Conservation Congress.”
Steve Gilbert, Fisheries Biologist for Vilas County reflects about
last year’s proposal, “It passed in Vilas at a vote of 30 to 22. It also
passed in Oneida, 16 to 12, but wasn’t forwarded on to the WCC
because it didn’t have a second at the meeting. The Vilas county proposal was rejected because of concerns of targeting spawning fish.”
State Representative Dan Meyer (former mayor of Eagle River)
then wrote up the resolution and tacked it onto the budget. Meyer
notes, “The motion was proposed on May 10, 2007, in an Executive
Session of the Joint Finance Committee when the committee
addressed the DNR-Fisheries, Wildlife and Recreation section of the
state budget. The DNR was present along with representatives from
various wildlife, sportsmen, and environmental groups. This amendment followed the normal process used to draft and introduce
amendments to the state budget.”
“The budget was enacted on October 26, 2007. If there were
any problems with it, the DNR or others could have contacted me
during that time period, or they could have requested that Governor
Doyle veto the provision. The motion was proposed, discussed by the
committee, and passed on a bi-partisan 13-3 vote.”
Proponents
Several area businessmen support the new law as a way to
increase tourism in the northwoods. Rechlitz states, “The season
was originally delayed in northern Wisconsin to protect the spawning musky and to promote the fishery south of that line. Most
muskies were kept back then and stocking of muskies was on the
upswing for southern Wisconsin. Walleye fishing was very good at
that time and created its own exciting opening. With today’s trend
of catch and release, I believe this new season would create another
exciting opportunity for fishermen and tourism. It would help the
economy . . .”
Proponents have noted that DNRrepresentatives were present at
the and Joint Finance Committee meeting and that many of them
supported the proposal. Opponents have countered that only “numbers crunchers” were present at the finance committee session.
Guide Paul Hansen remarks, “The early opener would definitely be a big plus for northern Wisconsin resorts, businesses, and
guides. When someone can develop a bait that will catch only
muskies then the later season opener may make sense. I throw
Huskie Jerks for walleyes, bass, and muskies. I may not be targeting
muskies, but if they should hit, I do not break the line and let them
swim away with the bait in their mouth.” Hansen went on to note
that education and preparation will be the most important items in
the early opener.
Opponents
Fred Brogle, Eagle River fishing guide, has vocally challenged
this law and helped spearhead the opposition. “It is a bad idea with
bad legislation. A few folks with their own special interests got a legislator to submit it through the state budget. So when the governor
signed the budget it was signed into law.” This comes down to a horrific precedence, as less than a handful of people got a law change
through a back door loophole. Think about this, the original resolution was for only Oneida and Vilas counties but has now become a
statewide issue. The normal procedure was bypassed because of several failures. So instead, the proponents go to a legislator to endorse
it and gets it passed to law by the sneak-it method. Imagine a PETA
group being able to do this with other changes to our wildlife laws.
This is a wrong and dangerous way to make law changes.
The DNR was completely blindsided by this. They were not
asked for fisheries input and the people of the State lost their right to
vote. In northern Wisconsin there are vast sections of difference. For
instance, in the Northeast area you will find restrictions to stocking
because stocking permits for this area have been denied. With the
threat of VHS our musky breeding population is reliant only on natural reproduction in this area. This makes the future an uncertainty.
At the Musky Clubs Alliance of Wisconsin meeting held in
Madison this winter, no chapter or single person present spoke in
favor of the season or the process by which it was enacted. Everyone
there opposed it and vowed to work against it.
Pete Maina, of The Next Bite/Esox Angler, “I think I’m most
disgusted by how this new season came about. The fact that it was
simply “legislated” in – shoved down the DNR’s throat is ridiculous.
How is it that the normally long and arduous process of fisheries
management changes can be completely circumvented by those who
truly know nothing of the potential consequences of the action?”
“So, fisheries health says it all. Oh someone, I’m certain, will have
to mention that there are no studies “proving” that catch and release
fishing for muskies during the spawn is detrimental to fisheries – that
it’s not proven fish will die. In Canada, where tourism depends completely upon healthy fisheries (too far for most to go to just ride
around on a boat or jet ski), and the fisheries are 100 percent reliant
upon natural reproduction - they make certain they protect their
fisheries by not allowing fishing for muskies until after the spawn.”
“Finally, how is it that Eagle River should make decisions for the
whole northern half of the state? I live in Hayward. No one here was
asking for it; businesses, guides or casual anglers. The MI Hayward
chapter voted against it, too.” A thread on Maina’s The Next Bite
Internet forum discusses this law. Many noted anglers have voiced their
opposition including Larry Ramsell, Russ Warye, and Doug Johnson.
DNR/Conservation Congress Input
www.muskiesinc.org
Steve Gilbert, Fisheries Biologist for Vilas County, said, “I stood
up at the spring meeting last year and noted that I was against this
proposal. It is often spawning time on our waters during that time.
Even if the fish are handled gently there is additional stress on them
which inevitably provides a negative impact to the fishery. Delaying
the season errs on the side of the resource.”
Gilbert added, “Former warden Duane Harpster has taken a
stance against this resolution. In fact, I’ve spoken to many folks in
wildlife agencies and haven’t found anyone that is an advocate for
this resolution.”
Conservation Congress Chair Ed Harvey remarked, “We were
very surprised to find out that this was in the budget, we had no idea
that was happening.”
Joe Hennessy, Regulations Specialist for the Bureau of Fisheries,
stated, “This is already the law, it is a statute. The only reason it is on
the hearings is because legislature can’t create the season dates. We
have to do that through the administrative code, which requires a
vote. But, even if the vote comes back as an overwhelming NO it
won’t keep it from becoming law because Meyer worded it as ‘the
department SHALL make the law.’ However, if the results show that
the public is adamantly opposed, then a legislator could go write up
another bill and to try to get this law repealed.”
Hot Topic for Muskies, Inc.
This has become a heated topic among Muskies, Inc. members.
Some members, like the originators of the proposal, seem defensive
about the opposition. Others, like Fred Brogle, feel the regulations
change goes “against the goals and mission of Muskies, Inc.”. The
Over
ies
7,000 Musk
Released
On Sabaskong Bay
Six-time Muskies, Inc.,
Chapter Challunge Headquarters
1983, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2003, 2004
• Ultra-modern one, two, three, or four bedroom cabins
• American plan, housekeeping or camping
• Floating docks, electricity for charging batteries, Lund Boats with swivel seats
and depth finders, Honda motors with electric start
• Dining room with food and liquor available for registered guests only
Call or write for data on musky catches:
1 (888) 488-5601 or (807) 488-5601
Red Wing Lodge, Box 1008, Baudette, MN 56623
www.redwinglodge.net • www.redwinglodge.on.ca
Family owned and operated for 40 years
REGULATION CONTROVERSY
M.I. Executive Committee is discussing the controversy.
Muskies, Inc. Joins
Good Search...
spread the word!
What if Muskies, Inc. earned a penny every time you
searched the Internet? Well now we can!
All you have to do is click on this link
www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=830274 and start
searching the internet as you normally would! You can
save this link as one of your favorites. Each search raises
a penny for Muskies, Inc.
You can also go to the main website for GoodSearch at
www.goodsearch.com; then where it says “enter your
charity here...”, under the box labeled “Who do you search
for?”, just move your cursor inside the box and type
Muskies or Muskies Inc, then click verify. MUSKIES INC
(BARRINGTON IL) will appear. That way you know MI will
get the credit.
Help us spread the word!
Dew ewe nO riCk HElm?? Rick is a regular contributor
behind-the-scenes for MUSKIE Magazine. He proof reads
nearly every issue before we send it to print. Actually about
seven people proof all or part of MUSKIE each month and
even though we never catch all the little typos we all agree
on one thing, we need and appreciate Rick's keen eye.
Thanks Rick!
What Next?
At the time of this writing the county meetings were slated
across Wisconsin on April 14th. Both sides feel it is important to
vote on the catch and release season to allow public input to go
on record. .
As it looks right now, this statute will go into effect in 2009.
Meyer or a different legislator would have to submit a separate
bill to try to repeal this law. So, if you feel strongly one way or
another, contact your local state assemblyman and share your
opinion. Heck, copy it to every senator and Wisconsin representative. Even if you aren’t a resident—but you fish in
Wisconsin—let your voice be heard. You’ll find addresses at:
http://waml.legis.state.wi.us/
Updates on this regulation will be supplied to MUSKIE
periodically. ❖
You can contact Patricia Strutz at:
www.ablondandherboat.com
Editor’s Note
Over the years I have discussed spawning season restrictions
numerous times with bass and muskie biologists. Many of the
fisheries biologists I’ve talked to do not feel that catching, or
even harvesting, individual adult spawners by legal sportfishing
methods during the spawning period will have a negative impact
on the spawn or ultimately on the number of young fish of that
species recruited to the population in most waters. Biologists
seem most confident in this belief if they are afforded the opportunity to protect fish with appropriate (usually higher) size limits - an option that did not exist in the early 1980s when the
early season fishing restriction developed in Wisconsin. I agree
with these beliefs, but I also concur with the statement by
Biologist Steve Gilbert – it’s better to err on the side of the
resource when scientific data is lacking.
Keep in mind, the number of eggs spawned is just a first
step in the complicated process of recruitment. There are many
causes of mortality as a fertilized egg grows from egg to fry to
fingerling; this is why most agencies which stock muskies try to
minimize the early mortality factors by stocking advanced fingerlings rather than eggs, fry, or small fingerlings.
However when a fishery is sustained by natural recruitment
(no stocking) and recruitment is consistently below expectations a biologist might recommend an approach which minimizes any potentially negative human impacts which can be
controlled. This decision should be made by fisheries professionals after weighing biological data and getting input from a
cross-section of the anglers who will be impacted. It should also
be made on a case-by-case basis as oppossed to broad-brushing
an entire region, such as northern Wisconsin. Finally, muskie
management decisions should not be made by politicians, or for
that matter by magazine editors. – kr
ATTENTION
CHAPTER
CONTACTS:
Please make sure
your chapter address
and phone number
is correct on this page
AND on the M.I. website.
Whenever you update
chapter information on
the website, please send an
email to the Editor so we can
keep this page current. Thanks!
No. Chapter, Address
Phone #
01.....Twin Cities, 414 Division St., Excelsior, MN 55331..........................................952-380-1218
02.....Fargo-Moorhead, Box 2021, Fargo ND, 58107................................................701-298-9032
03.....Chicagoland Muskie Hunters, 7600 Kilbourn Ave, Skokie, IL 60076 ...............847-677-0017
04.....Titletown Muskies, Inc., 3097 Inverness Lane, New Franken, WI 54229 .......920-866-9705
05.....Pomme De Terre, PO Box 5, Hermitage, MO 65668 .......................................417-993-0035
06.....First Wisconsin, PO Box 122, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 ...............................715-726-8896
07.....South Side Muskie Hawks, 5211 S. Narragansett Ave., Chicago, IL 60638......773-581-8650
08.....Capital City, PO Box 8862, Madison, WI 53708...............................................608-669-5046
09.....West Virginia, 1270 Federal Road, Little Hocking, OH 45742 .........................740-667-3571
10.....Heartland, 239 8th St SE, Mason City IA 50401 ..............................................641-424-0827
11 .....Mississippi Valley, 5301 11th Ave “C”, Moline, IL 61265 ..................................309-797-1803
12.....Headwaters, PO Box 652, Eagle River, WI 54521...........................................715-477-2913
13.....Hayward Lakes, PO Box 609, Hayward, WI 54843 .........................................715-634-4543
14.....South of the Border, 28926 W. Big Hollow Rd, McHenry, IL 60050.................815-385-9026
15.....Star of the North, 29957 La Plant Rd., Grand Rapids, MN 55744...................218-326-4958
16.....Three Rivers, 119 Bus Lane, Renfrew, PA15136 .............................................724-789-7866
17.....Quad County, PO Box 185, Plano, IL 60545....................................................815-695-1494
18.....Hopedale, 15 Township Rd 125, Dillonvale, OH 43917 ...................................740-769-7269
19.....Akron-Canton Muskie Maniacs, 10957 Northwood Ave NE, Bolivar OH 44612.330-874-2773
20.....Between the Lakes, PO Box 61, Sheboygan, WI 53085-0061 ........................920-564-3226
21.....North Metro, PO Box 41216, Plymouth, MN 55441 .........................................952-469-2155
22.....New Jersey, http://www.mi22.com/ ..................................................................................TBD
23.....Cleveland, 5608 Brave Chief Lane, Ravenna, OH 44266 ...............................330-296-2398
24.....Brainerd Lakes, 9143 Lone Pine Road, Brainerd, MN 56401..........................218-821-3669
26.....Central Wisconsin, PO Box 263, Medford, WI 54451 ......................................715-748-2630
27.....Central Illinois, 1191 Sandra Lane, Monticello, IL 61856 .................................309-264-3730
28.....Shawnee Muskie Hunters, 61 W. Jennings, Wood River, IL 62095.................618-610-5003
29.....Upper Great Plains, 1788 Hwy 4, Estherville, IA 51334...................................712-362-2501
30.....God’s Country, PO Box 1461, LaCrosse, WI 54601 ........................................608-786-4062
31.....Penn-Ohio, 309 Spring St, Jamestown, PA 16134...........................................724-932-5815
32.....Flatlanders, 5776 Vesper Drive, South Beloit, IL 61080 ..................................815-389-4622
33.....Lake Superior, 2031 Hwy. 33 S., Cloquet, MN 55720......................................218-879-2712
35.....Milwaukee, PO Box 28842, Greenfield, WI 53220...........................................262-442-6260
37.....St. Cloud, 312 18th Avenue N., Sartell, MN 56377 ..........................................320-656-1160
38.....Vikingland, 2909 Wicken Lane NW, Alexandria, MN 56308.............................320-846-7975
39.....Fox River Valley, 1253 Cobblers Crossing, Elgin, IL 60123.............................847-741-9771
41.....Central Ohio, 870 County Road 9, Fremont OH 43420 ...................................419-992-4504
42.....Hoosier Muskie Hunters, PO Box 501371, Indianapolis, IN 46250 .................317-577-8050
44.....Colorado, 3739 Sawgrass Trail, Castle Rock, CO 80109 ................................303-668-4089
45.....Kentucky, 212 Linden Ave., Southgate, KY 41071...........................................859-441-1666
46.....Bemidji/Cass Lake, 11551 Misty Meadows Rd, Bemidji, MN 56601................218-759-0098
47.....Michigan Muskie Alliance, PO Box 512, Caledonia, MI 49316 ........................616-447-1688
48.....Arrowhead, PO Box 603, Tower, MN 55790 ....................................................218-753-2612
49.....Webster Lake Musky Club, PO Box 670, No. Webster, IN 46555 ...................574-834-1669
50.....Penn-Jersey, 372 Kingwood Rd., King of Prussia, PA 19406 ..........................610-962-0632
52.....Daniel Boone, 813 US 62, Maysville, KY 41056 ..............................................606-759-7610
53.....Huskerland Muskie Hunters, PO Box 394, Valentine, NE 69201.....................402-376-2743
54.....Southern Crossroads, 1524 Country Club Rd, Albert Lea MN 56007 .............507-373-1818
55.....Mid Iowa Muskies, 2940 SW Meadow Ridge, Ankeny IA 50023 .....................515-289-1583
56.....SW Ohio Muskie Ass’n, 524 Sterling Meadows Place, Brookville, OH 45309 ..937-833-1833
57.....NW TigerPac, 10517 SE 214th Place, Kent, WA 98031 ..................................253-850-5889
www.muskiesinc.org
Special Events
2008
May 3-4
11th Annual Spring Warm-Up Muskie
Tournament, Kinkaid Lake;
contact Shannon Beaty-Dingus:
[email protected]
September 5-7
41st Annual Frank Schneider, Jr.
Memorial Muskie Tournament
21 lakes in the Bemidji-Cass LakeWalker-Longville, MN area.
More details at:
www.twincitiesmuskiesinc.org
September 24-25-26
2008 Gil Hamm Chapter Challunge
Hosted by First WI Chapter of Muskies
Inc., Chapter 06
Break on the Lake Resort, Cass Lake
Minnesota will be our headquarters.
Contact Jon Olstadt: 715-579-1300
[email protected]
October 25-26
8th Annual Fall Brawl Muskie
Tournament, Kinkaid Lake;
contact Shannon Beaty-Dingus:
[email protected]
Special events listings are provided at
no charge to Muskies, Inc chapters.
To list your chapter's event, email to:
[email protected]
or by ground mail: Kevin Richards, 7618
Sunrise Ridge Road, Henley, MO 65040
Please send announcements
at least 2 months in advance.
CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS ◆ CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS ◆ CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS
Chapter News and Views
01
Twin Cities
414 Division St.
Excelsior, MN 55331
952-380-1218
www.twincitiesmuskiesinc.org
Meets 2nd Tuesday 7:00 PM, Knights of Columbus,
1114 W79th St Bloomington, MN, near the SE corner
of the intersection of I-494 and I-35W.
KEYWORD: BUSY
The Chapter’s planning activities range from
participation in the early March Minnesota
Muskie Expo to February 2009’s Chapter
Banquet with many other activities in between.
Here are a few of the major projects. You will
find these explained in greater detail at the
Chapter’s website:
http://www.twincitiesmuskiesinc.org
Show Booth - The Muskies, Inc. Chapter #1
has booths at numerous sport shows. The
booths have proven to be attention getters with
their Muskie mounts, literature, and the volunteer experts who man them.
First Annual High C. Becker Foundation
Awards - By the time this article is published, the
Becker Foundation Committee will have distributed the available $44,000 to the selected projects from the 18 that were received requesting a
total of $120,000.
Vets Home Opener - One of the most exciting projects of the year is the Vets Home
Opener, cosponsored with VFW Post 6690 and
other VFW and American Legion posts. A trout
fishing pool is placed on the grounds of the
Minnesota Veterans’ Home. The Vets catch the
trout with some help if they need it. MI members
clean and cook the fish. The Vets are the most
worthy and appreciative participants of this
activity.
Capable Partners - The Chapter provides an
Independence Lake fishing experience for physically-challenged Muskie fishermen in June.
Members provide the boats, serve as guides,
and prepare a lakeshore fish fry for all participants.
Boat Raffle - The Chapter boat raffle is the
primary source of funding for rearing and stocking activities. This is the one activity that
includes all members in fund raising by asking
them to buy tickets and sell tickets to others. It
is always a success because of this high level of
participation.
Awards Banquet - Winners of the Members
Only Fishing contest and the Kids Only Fishing
Contest are honored at the February award
banquet. This year’s affair provided a night out
for those who attended and it was a sold out
event.
Frank Schneider, Jr. Memorial fishing
Tournament - This tournament has had other
names, however, it is the granddaddy of all
Muskie tournaments. The original Muskies, Inc.
started the competition in 1967 and this is its 41st
year. The tournament will be held on September
5, 6, and 7, 2008 in northern Minnesota in 21
lakes in the Bemidji-Cass-Longville area.
Planning: Busy, Busy, Busy
Vince Trotta
Pomme de Terre
P.O. Box 5
Hermitage, MO 65668
417-745-2381 – Carl Marks
www.missourimuskies.org
Meets: Various days-Call for schedule
05
The 2nd annual Shawnee/Pomme Chapter
Challenge took place on Kinkaid Lake on March
15th. The event had been postponed one week
due to freezing weather and the weather was
better on the 15th. Temperatures were in the mid
40s and it only rained for three straight hours in
the morning.
Because of the cold front, fishing was not as
good as hoped. Only 4 fish were caught by the
38 participants. Two were caught by Pomme
and two were caught by Shawnee Chapter members.
For the Pomme Chapter, Gary Pearson
hooked a 40 1/4 mid-morning on a Believer and
Jim “Coach” Wilson hooked a 38” mid-afternoon
on a Hell Hound.
For the Shawnee Chapter, Kyle Hilger boated
a 36” on a white spinner bait a little before 4 pm
and Barry Wesley boated a 31 1/4” at almost the
same time.
Dinner was held that evening at the
Boathouse Restaurant. The fried chicken
received great reviews and it is a good place to
socialize.
The winners received “Border Wars” jackets
and Gary Pearson received a rod and reel for the
longest fish caught. The traveling trophy returns
to the Pomme Chapter for next year.
Our thanks to Jim Wilson, Bass Pro Shops
and everyone else that donated merchandise
and time to make this event a success. Thanks
also to Manuel Santa Cruz for putting the event
together for the Shawnee Chapter.
Next year’s event will be held on Pomme de
Terre early in March. Attendance is building at
this event because it is a lot of fun and everyone
should be making plans to attend. For upcoming
chapter events, check out our website: www.missourimuskies.org
Wayne Humphrey
08
Capital City
P.O. Box 8862, Madison, WI 53708
608-669-5046 – Gerard Hellenbrand
www.capitalcitymuskiesinc.org
Meets: 2nd Monday 7:00 PM Park Ponderosa
McFarland, WI
The month of March was especially busy for
the Capital City Muskie Club. The first activity
was the seventh annual muskie school held at
the Waunakee High School on March 8th. There
were over 130 participants for the intermediate
and advance muskie angler classes. The school
just gets better each year thanks to the cofounder Bill Wood and Geoff Crandall.
This
year’s plenary session featured Steven Worrell,
Muskie First Chapter, who presented his work at
recording the sound and footprint various lures
make while being retrieved. The relationship
between the construction of the lure and the
sound emitted while being retrieved amassed all
of us. The trick will now be to translate this
knowledge to the water when the fishing season
opens.
After Steve’s presentation, students participated in over 30 classes relating to muskie fishing,
including making lures and leaders, row trolling,
use of boat electronics, sucker fishing, fishing
various lakes in Canada, Minnesota and
Wisconsin, lure demonstrations, and much
more. From the evaluations, the school was a
huge success in helping the students become
more successful muskie fishermen and women.
Our monthly club meeting was held on March
10th at the East Side Club in Madison. A good
crowd was on hand for our annual lure swap.
Our feature speaker was Warren Zarren who
spoke about the reflective properties of various
muskie lures. Warren gave us tips on how to
measure lure reflectance and how knowing this
property may assist in getting that very stubborn
muskie to strike.
Our first club outing was held at Cave Run
Kentucky. Eight of our club members ventured
south on March 13. Although the success was
limited to a couple of small (less than 30 inch)
fish, the thrill of getting boats on the water again
after a very long winter here in southern
Wisconsin was well worth the trip.
09
West Virginia
1270 Federal Road
Little Hocking, OH 45742
740-667-3571
http://westvirginiamuskiesinc.org
Meets: No definite schedule-call
Gary Hoffman
About 125 persons attended our Annual
Awards Banquet and Business Meeting on
March 1, 2008 in Vienna, WV.
John Kaltenecker, Secretary, summarized the
minutes of the 2007 Business Meeting. Darlene
Kelley, Treasurer, gave the Financial Report. We
began the year with $8,097 and ended the year
with $10,258. Much of these funds are dedicated to particular projects and are not available for
usual expenses. We try to keep enough in
reserve to function for one year.
President Moore updated us on the Kiosk and
Telemetry Program at North Bend Lake, stream
access issues, our proposed 50” length minimum for Stonewall Jackson Lake and redecoration of TJ Muskies restaurant at the resort. He
informed us of some changes to the Ohio Muskie
Program and suggested that, budget permitting,
we consider a donation to the Ohio Coalition of
Muskie Clubs.
Due to safety and liability concerns, it is proposed that all but one low water dam along the
West Fork River between Clarksburg and
Weston be removed. Leonard Robinson discussed this situation and expressed his passionate opposition to dam removal. The water level
would be dramatically lowered and decades of
sedimentation could present problems. The
West Fork is one of our successful stocked
streams, capable of producing trophy muskies.
Tournament / Outing Schedule for 2008:
Spring Mail-In
March 29 – 30
Chair: Bob Hoce
Odie Cutlip Memorial
May 3 Stonewall Jackson;
May 4 Burnsville Lake
Chair: Darlene and Kevin Kelley
Ohio Lakes
June 21 Saltfork Lake;
June 22 Piedmont Lake
Chair: Robert Eddy
North Bend Lake
September 12
Chair: Dave Moser
13
Hayward Lakes
P.O. Box 609
Hayward, WI 54843
715-634-4543
Tuesday the 6th. We will have a business meeting at 6:30 and the general meeting will be at
7:30 PM. Our guest speaker will be local guide
Scott Kieper. Scott’s presentation will be very
interesting because he and his clients have been
catching a record number of fish (200 plus last
year!!!) right around the Hayward area, including
six over 50 inches. Scott is donating his time for
our club so we thank him for his time.
We are planning on a June meeting on
Tuesday the 3rd at 7:30 PM, our speaker has not
yet been confirmed. Both of these meetings will
be at the Dick-Sy Roadhouse, 11 miles east of
Hayward on highway 77 east. Sunday July 13th
we will have a “fishing outing” during the day and
meet for a picnic at 6pm at the Lake Hayward
picnic area.
Our annual kids fishing day will again be the
first Sunday of August. We can always use more
guides and you do not need to be a “pro” you just
need enthusiasm, so think about joining us. The
guest speaker for our September meeting will be
nationally known Muskie historian Larry Ramsell.
That meeting is the 2nd of September at 7:30 PM.
At the Dick-Sy Roadhouse
Finally, don’t forget our 31st Annual Fall
Tournament will be the first weekend of October
(as usual); this is October 3-5, 2008. Plan on this
fun event too!
Good Fishing,
Mike Persson
19
Akron-Canton
10957 Northwood Ave. NE
Bolivar, OH 44612
Gordon Selden - 330-874-2773
http://[email protected]
Meets 3rd Monday 7:00 PM, Belgrade Gardens,
3476 Massillon Road, Akron, OH.
The Muskie Maniacs held their Annual Awards
Banquet on March 8th at the Louisville F.O.E.
The weather didn’t cooperate that evening as we
www.muskiesinc.org
had a big snow storm but all who were able to
make it had a great time. Bill Crane was our
guest speaker for the evening. He gave us a
perspective on how the first muskie clubs were
started and where they are today. He also compared the fishing equipment that was used then
to what is used now. Bill also told us how he got
started in the lure making business and how he
continues to improve his line of baits. We want
to thank Bill and Sharon for coming and sharing
with us at our banquet! We would like to take this
opportunity and highlight the winners of each
division that were recognized at our banquet.
Junior Division
Joshua Smith
1 Fish
Women’s Division Miranda Laroche 2 Fish
Shawn Lewis
31 Fish
Men’s Division
27 Fish
Women’s Masters Charlotte Fuchs
Men’s Masters
Robert Marshall
70 Fish
Rookie of the Year Shawn Lewis
31 Fish
Largest Club Release
Ray Elkins
52” Fish
Michael Mihalko
52” Fish
Outstanding Member of the Year
Gordon Selden
We would like to invite all chapters to participate in our Chapter Challunge on May 17th and
18th at Salt Fork. Come and join us for a weekend of camping and fellowship. We are going to
have a cookout on Saturday afternoon for everyone and the only thing you will need to bring is a
covered dish. We will need a count of the number of people that will be attending so we know
how much food to order. Chapter 23 will be hosting this year’s event for catching the biggest fish
last year. For more information on our Chapter
Challunge, check out our web site at:
http://muskie_guy.tripod.com (there is an underscore between muskie and guy).
Our next tournament will be held on June 21st
and 22nd at Leesville Lake. June has been a
good month to fish Leesville the last few years.
Our tournaments are open to all and we encourage anyone who would like to fish and camp with
us for the weekend to contact us.
Kevin Proffitt
21
North Metro
P.O. Box 41216
Plymouth, MN 55441
763-537-0781
Meets 3rd Tuesday, Knights of Columbus,
Fridley (6831 NE Hwy 65)
Greetings! Here is a photo from our Lake
Independence (Hennepin County, MN) cleanup. The clean-up was held on March 15 and we
collected enough garbage to fill the dumpster at
the Baker Park boat launch to the halfway mark.
It is simply amazing how much junk people leave
behind.
Dave Parks
Shawnee Muskie Hunters
28
61 W. Jennings
Wood River, IL 62095
618-610-5003 – Manuel Santa Cruz
[email protected]
www.shawneemuskiehunters.org
Check out our website
shawneemuskiehunters.org
for lots of good information. Thanks to Jerry and
Greg Ford for taking over our website and
adding new items such as: Hot News, members
looking for fishing partners, and much much
more!
Upcoming 2008 Events
May 3-4: 11th Spring Warm-Up, Kinkaid Lake
(IMTT)
May 16-18: Prairie Lake Outing
May 24 Happy 14th Birthday to my BIG bro
Kyle Beaty! Love Maggie
June 7: Kids’ Fishing Day, Murphysboro Lake,
9AM & 11AM
August 16: Shelbyville Dam Outing & Picnic @
12 Noon
September 13: Patriot Day Celebration at Jones’
Park in East St. Louis
September 20-27: Gil Hamm Chapter Challenge,
Cass Lake, MN
September 27-28: Shelbyville Outing and Lure
Swap
October 4-5: Fall Classic, Lake Shelbyville
(IMTT)
October 18: Meeting, 7PM, Paul Ice boat ramp,
Kinkaid Lake (stay at the farm house)
October 19: Guide for Day
October 25-26: Fall Brawl, Kinkaid Lake
November 1-2: IMTT Championship, Kinkaid
Lake
November 8: Veterans Day Event, Kinkaid Lake
Muskie Gal!
Shannon Beaty-Dingus
[email protected]
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
Fall Mail-In
October 11 – 12
Chair: Sharon Crane
Officers re-elected for 2 year terms:
Jim Moore, President
Kevin Kelley, Vice President
John Kaltenecker, Secretary
Darlene Kelley, Treasurer
Ken McCord and Bob Hoce were elected to one
year terms on the Executive Board.
Longtime member J. Lee Powell was inducted
into our Chapter Hall of Fame. Lee has won our
Master’s Division several times and has caught
numerous muskies including many over 50”. He
has guided other Chapter members to muskies
on Lake St. Clair. Lee has worked very hard to
obtain donations and door prizes for our annual
meetings. He has often served as lure auctioneer and has spent substantial sums of his own
money to support the club. Congratulations Lee!
Thanks to all who helped with the dinner,
especially David and Glenna Kaltenecker who
prepared the beef stew.
John Kaltenecker, Secretary
The Hayward Chapter’s May meeting will be
29
Upper Great Plains
1788 Hwy 4
Estherville, IA 51334
712-362-2501
Meets 3rd Thursday , Legion Club, 1709 Okoboji
Ave., Milford, IA.
Finally it is here. The IA great lakes musky
season begins May 21st. I wish everyone a great
and successful season. May it be your best
ever! We will continue to have musky league this
year, which will actually be starting on opening
night May 21st. League night is open to both
members and nonmembers and cost is seven
dollars to enter. Fishing hours are from 6 pm to
sunset which will be determined by the head
judge of the evening. We will be fishing on East
Okoboji, Upper Gar, Lower Gar and
Minnewashta on May 21st. Just show up at the
Triggs boat ramp on Upper Gar between 5:30
and 5:55 and get signed up if you want to fish
chapter league. The next dates for league will be
June 4th at Templar Park on Spirit Lake and June
18th Triggs boat ramp on East Okoboji. Next, I
don’t have many details because we are still
working on this event but we planning on having
a chapter outing on Fox Lake, MN, Saturday,
June 21st, 7am to 7 pm. This is a free event to
get members together to fish new water. Dinner
will be served following the outing. This is something the board will be working on.
I would also like to thank everyone for their
great response to our Free Fishing Seminar with
Steve Jonesi. What an awesome event, we are
definitely setting the bar for hosting great events.
Thanks to everyone for making this event possible.
Finally I have an announcement that will make
every single one of you very proud to be a member of our chapter. At our last meeting the board
was introduced to a project called Operation
Muskie. Operation Muskie is a partnership
between Walsh Bay Resort on Lake of the
Woods and some of the great musky guides from
LOTW. They will host 20 US veterans for a week
long musky hunt on LOTW. We fell in love with
the project and your chapter agreed to donate
$500 for this event. Thanks for making this possible because as we all know we would not be
free if it wasn’t for our brave men and women of
the Armed Forces. If you want to get more information about Operation Muskie just do a quick
search online.
Thank you and see you on the water.
www.muskieclub.com
Pete Hildreth, President
Fox River Valley
39
1253 Cobblers Crossing, Elgin, IL 601230
847-741-9771 – Rich Gallagher
www.frvmuskie.com
Country Club. They offer a buffet style dinner
starting at six p.m. before the 7:30 p.m. meeting.
The week before the meeting the web site will
have the buffet menu and cost.
Until Later, return ‘em to the water healthy and
remember our troops.
JT
NW TigerPac
Meets: 2nd Wed (Exc June/July) Poplar Creek Country
Club, 1400 Poplar Creek Drive, Hoffman Estates, IL.
Before we take our meeting “break” for the
summer be sure to join us in May when our featured speaker will be FRV’s own Phil Gutman. His
presentation: Lake of the Woods, So You Want To
Catch a 50 Incher? If you have fished LOW
before or are planning to you cannot find many
people more qualified than Phil to “dial you in”
with his knowledge of this water. He has more 50”
fish in his boat that most people’s total fish catch!
This presentation will be a great “leg up” for those
heading up to the “Woods” this summer.
We are proud to again be hosting the Boy
Scout Merit Badge Outing. This is scheduled for
Saturday June 7th. at the Max McGraw Wildlife
Foundation in Dundee, Illinois. This event is
open to any Boy Scout that is interested in
receiving their Merit Badge. The Class is limited
to 15 participants. If you know of a Boy Scout
who is interested please contact Youth Director
Mike Zaborowski at: 630-458-1861 or
[email protected].
In June we start the first of three monthly fishing days for our “Summer Fishing League”. This
is a great chance for a little friendly “bragging
rights” for fishing on the Chain of Lakes with a
cash payout. The dates are:
Event #1 Sunday June 8th, 5 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Event #2 Sunday July 13th, 5 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Event #3 Sunday August 3rd, 5 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Meeting place, fee, rules and payouts can be
found on our Website.
In September we will resume our regular club
meeting nights. At that meeting will be another
FRV member, “Musky” Russ Schaller. His presentation will be on the Fox Chain, Upper and
Lower Fox River. This is our “Home Water” and
more times than not it can leave you frustrated
and scratching your head after a day out. Russ
REALLY knows this water and rarely has a day
without fish. In my opinion this night will be a Do
Not Miss Seminar.
Our regular club meeting dates are the second
Wednesday of the month at the Poplar Creek
57
10517 SE 214th Place, Kent, WA 98031
www.nwtigermuskies.org
email: [email protected]
Hot line: (253) 850-5889
Perry Peterson, President
Hello to all of our fellow Muskies, Inc.
Members! As you are reading this (May) it is our
one year anniversary! It’s true! We have not
just survived, but thrived out here in the land
where Salmon is “King”! And we are celebrating
by having Dan Narsete as our very special
Anniversary Guest Speaker on May 15th! It has
been a great year of learning and growth for our
Chapter. Without the help and advice, of many
of you “Old Timers” the road would have been
much harder.
A big “thanks” from us to the
folks in the Twin Cities, North Metro, Shawnee
and Colorado Chapters and to everyone else
who lent us a helping hand. Ron Groeschl, did
we wear you out?? LOL. Dan Narsete, David
Cates, Pete Barber, thanks for all the advice! It is
a lot of work, but worth it - every time one of our
beautiful tigers is caught and released, it is a
moment of pride for our busy chapter.
Muskies Inc. is an outstanding organization of
fine and compassionate people and I know many
of us will become life-long friends. Here is a list
of just some of our accomplishments in our first
year:
– Grew membership to 65 anglers (Todd Reis,
Chair)
– Held 3 tournaments in the first 5 months,
(Mark Wells, VP & T. Director)
– Funded a very expensive trip for our RVP to
Green Bay (Bill Green RVP & wife, Rosann)
– Built a solid budget and submitted our audit
(Lori Wells, Treasurer)
– Kept over 100 anglers in contact with each
other via email & Wa. lakes forum; which is not
easy as we are spread across the whole state.
(Jani K, Secretary)
– Built and maintained weekly the best darn
tiger muskie web site (Kevin Alexander, volunteer!) With Tom Rybarczyk’s great, snarling
logo!
– Sent press releases out, state-wide, to over
15 newspapers ( Mark Holcomb)
– We increased our minimum size limit from 36
inches to 50 inches !! (Don Wittenberger)
– Produced a booth at our first Sportsman
Show, with 18 volunteers; had 55,000 people
attend.
– Developed a Newsletter (Gayle Reis)
– Will participate in our first youth event
(C.A.S.T. for kids) this summer
– 12 out of the top 25 Hybrid Class fish in the
nation were released by Chapter 57!
Mark Wells, VP, participated in video produced
by WDFW on tiger muskies :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7yEV7wZ9JQ
Our Chapter helped produce a video honoring
the State Biologist, Jack Tipping, who planted the
first tiger twenty years ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKhqBbhjosA
We really hit the ground running and we are
forever indebted to all the people who have done
and continue to do so much to further the goals
of Muskies Inc. and Chapter 57.
Thanks again.
Perry Peterson
Chapter 02 member Ryan Sailer & his
largest Muskie, a 37” from Fluke Lake,
in July.
Here’s Cass Lake guide Ron Janota
with a nice 42 inch Cass Lake fish.
Ron recently joined Chapter 05.
Fargo-Moorhead Chapter member and
RVP, Jeff Cadwell with a 50 inch fish
caught last August on a modified Bulldawg.
Drew Routt helped stock the Barbie
Chain in November of last year. He’s a
member of the Hoosier Muskie Hunters,
Chapter 42. His dad John is the
Chapter President.
Here’s Chapter 9 member Bailey Brewer with one of two fish
he caught on March 15th of this year. He looks very happy
with this one, and the other one was even bigger.
This is a photo of Chapter 24 member
Steve Puctel stocking Muskies last year.
Many Chapters stock fish, but most
people don’t hear about it enough.
Good work Chapter 24!
Here is the sun setting on Kishkutena Lake in Ontario, sent
in by Fargo-Moorhead Chapter member Joe Hardy.
Brainerd Lakes Chapter members helped out at the Cystic Fibrosis
Walleye Tournament on Cass Lake last year. Here is a nice shot of the
group sent in by Donny Hines.
Chapter 24 member Greg Kvale stocking a
future trophy.
☞
Proper Muskie
Holding Techniques
for MUSKIE Magazine Photos including Covers, Article Support, Photo
Contest Entries
& Member Photos
www.muskiesinc.org

MUSKIE Magazine

Transcription

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