photo contest – may may muski… · may 2010.....muskie 1 departments ifc photo contest,brad...

Photo Contest – Mayby Brad Waldera, Photo Editor • [email protected]

Photo #1I’ve got to hand it to Chapter 21’s Dave

Ledman; he always contributes interestingphotos of high quality to MUSKIE Magazine.At first glance I thought these were waterdrops suspended in the air, but then I realizedI was looking at mayflies glistening in the set-ting sun. This has to be one of the most inter-esting shots I’ve had submitted, and a reallycool photo. Dave was fishing on Minnesota’sLake Vermilion when he took this shot andthought it would be good to share with ourreaders as the mayfly hatch is somethingmany muskie fishermen have to deal with.Instead of being irritated by them, maybe wecan do like Dave and use the moment as aphoto opportunity. Great shot Dave. We reallyappreciate it. Be sure to check out thismonth’s Member Photos page to see anothershot of Dave’s from the same trip.

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Photo #2I really like this shot of Perry Peterson of

Chapter 57. Perry also happens to be theMuskies, Inc. Vice President ofInternal Affairs. On this day hewas fishing with fellow chaptermembers on Washington’sMerwin Lake and caught hislargest ever Tiger muskie, this39-inch beauty. Their groupcaught quite a few fish that day,even with the cool and rainyweather. You can see just a hintof the terrific Merwin Lakescenery in the background; Iguess the trees were changingas well which made for somebeautiful color patterns. I like thelook on Perry’s face in thisphoto. He has that look of some-one who’s quite grateful to hookup with a fish on a day when it’stough just to be outside.Congratulations on your person-al best Perry and for all you’redoing for muskies out there inWashington State.

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May 2010.....MUSKIE 1www.muskiesinc.org

DepartmentsIFC Photo Contest, Brad Waldera

2 President’s Message,Dan Narsete

3 About the Cover, Juris Ozols

3 Index of Advertisers

4 MUSKIE News

5 Figure 8, Kevin Richards

5 Donations

6 Lunge Log, Jim Bunch

25 Chapter News and Views

34 Member Photos

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MAIL TO MUSKIES, INC. 1509 Stahl RoadSheboygan, WI 53081

1-888-710-8286

Regular Membership: q 1 Year-$35.00 q 2 Years-$65.00 q 3 Years- $95.00

Family Membership: q 1 Year-$47.50 q 2 Years-$90.00 q 3 Years-$132.50

Junior Membership (Under 18): q $20.00

q For Muskie Research $________q Automatic Renewal

Payment: q Check or q Credit Card:

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(to find the number of the Chapter you wish to join, see the Chapter News & Views section)

ContentsMUSKIE • VOL. 44, NO. 5

Join Muskies, Inc. ...or give a membershipas a gift.

q VISA q MasterCard

MUSKIE magazine is published monthly and is theOfficial Publication of Muskies, Inc. InternationalOffice: Ellen Wells, International Sec., 1509 StahlRoad, Sheboygan, WI 53081. Ph: 1-888-710-8286.© Copyright 2010 by Muskies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Features10 Tricks That Trigger More Clear Water

Muskie Strikes, Joe Bucher

12 Anglers and Nature Lovers Beware! (Part 1),Patricia Strutz

16 Is it BIG or is it HUGE?: The “Special Needs” of Muskies, Inc. (Part 1)

20 GO FISH!: Restoring the Tradition of Fishing,One Angler at a Time, Denise Otto

22 Dixie Muskies, Dr. Phil Bettoli

24 I Promise, Ace Sommerfeld

ExecutiveCommittee

President, Dan NarseteEmail: [email protected] President/Finance, Jim ShannonPhone: 612-670-8943Email: [email protected] President/Fisheries, Research & Youth,Dr. Tom Betka, MDPhone: 920-544-5868Email: [email protected] President/Internal Affairs,Perry PetersonPhone: 253-850-5889 Email: [email protected] President/Membership & Marketing,Greg WellsPhone: 920-457-3720Email: [email protected] President/Communications,Dale VercauterenPhone: 920-826-5810Email: [email protected], Kathy GoonPhone: 419-945-2940Email: [email protected] Master, Ron GroeschlPhone: 262-271-1002Email: [email protected]. Administrative Secretary, Ellen Wells1509 Stahl Road, Sheboygan, WI 53081Phone: 888-710-8286Email: [email protected]

Regional Directors Term ExpiresRegion 1

Rory Potter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010Ron Teschner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2011Carl Phillips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2012

Region 2Bob Timme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010Fred Brogle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2011Robert Benson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012

Region 3Joel Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2010Chad Theesfeld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2011Doug Dible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012

Region 4Rich Gallagher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2010Kimberly Cates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2011Earle Hammond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012

Members Only Fishing Contest, Jim BunchPhone: 715-226-0295Email: [email protected]

The President’s MessageThe President’s Messageby Dan Narsete

Muskies, Inc. International PresidentEmail: [email protected]

2 MUSKIE.....May 2010

Controversy in muskie fishing? Imagine that. Recently I worked with a group of ourmembers from eastern Ontario who strongly considered forming the first-everMuskies, Inc. chapter in Canada. This was a local effort with substantial interest

and excitement; it was not initiated by me or by our M.I. leadership team. However, alongwith all the positive energy which would have created a unique chapter came some strongopposition from some other local anglers. In fact even with the support of Muskies Canadaa number of our members were bullied, threatened and ultimately decided to drop the ideaof forming a new chapter. I do not want to create animosity, but I believe it is time to setthe record straight on a few things.

Muskies Incorporated has been around since 1966 and it seems there is some realmisconception about what we stand for and what we do. Here are eight basic themes wepromote:1. To promote a high quality muskellunge sport fishery.2. To support selected conservation practices based on scientific merit as carried out by

authorized federal and state agencies.3. To promote muskellunge research.4. To establish hatcheries and rearing ponds and to introduce the species into suitable

waters.5. To support the abatement of water pollution.6. To provide a library facility for scientific and popular muskellunge literature and to

maintain records of habits, growth and range of the species.7. To disseminate muskellunge information.8. To promote good fellowship and sportsmanship among men, women and children.

Now, unless I’m blind where does it say that M.I. is some sort of corporate monsterthat promotes large-scale tournaments and the destruction of ecosystems? Somehow thisseemed to be a major misperception of those who were opposed to forming a Canadianchapter of M.I.

In 2009 alone Muskies, Inc. contributed $10,000 for a Canadian graduate study oncatch and release which will benefit all muskie anglers (check out the centerfold story in lastmonth’s issue of MUSKIE).

Our conservation efforts over the past 44 years have impacted millions of anglers onthousands of waters on both sides of the border. Take a look at our 2009 calendar as anexample; it includes a summary of over 100,000 released muskies reported to our LungeLog from Ontario, Wisconsin, and Minnesota from 1970 through 2008. During this time

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MUSKIE Magazine StaffEDITORKevin Richards7618 Sunrise Ridge RoadHenley, MO 65040Phone: (573) 280-2300Email: [email protected] EDITORJuris OzolsPhone: (612) 747-0178Email: [email protected] CONTEST EDITORBrad WalderaPhone: (701) 642-1952Email: [email protected] LOG EDITORJim BunchPhone: (715) 226-0295Email: [email protected] SALES TEAMKevin Richards, Editor / Ad ManagerPhone: (573) 280-2300Email: [email protected] Beaupre, Advertising Sales RepresentativePhone: (920) 323-0721Email: [email protected] Fierstine, Advertising Sales RepresentativePhone: (218) 252-0947Email: [email protected] ACCOUNT MANAGERSunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - Stacey ThielenMAGAZINE DESIGNSunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - John WindschitlILLUSTRATORS/CARTOONISTSRichard Gross, Charles WeissFIELD EDITORSPatricia Strutz, Colby Simms, Sean Landsman,Adam Glickman, Bob Chochola,Steve BudnikEMERITUS EDITORSRod Ramsell, Keith Ogden, Jim SmithMUSKIE is published exclusively for the member-ship of Muskies, Inc. and subscriptions come witha paid membership. Muskies, Inc. is a non-profitorganization. Membership classes and associatedannual dues are listed on the form at the bottomof page one. Copies of MUSKIE magazine areavailable at $3.00 each from the Muskies, Inc.International Administrative Secretary.

Contributors grant rights for M.I. to publish once inMUSKIE Magazine, both the print and on-line ver-sions, including archives and on the M.I. Web site.

Submissions toMUSKIE Magazine

Persons interested in submitting articles forpublication are directed to our website www.muskiesinc.org for a link to MUSKIE Magazine,where you will find links on the left side of thepage providing information necessary for submis-sions to MUSKIE Magazine. Further questionswill be answered by Kevin Richards, Editor.Submissions may be sent to: 7618 Sunrise RidgeRoad, Henley, MO 65040 or by email:[email protected]. Phone: (573) 280-2300.

INDEX OF ADVERTISERSFITTANTE REPLICAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

GREEN RIVER LAKE, KY/TAYLOR COUNTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

MOREHEAD TOURISM COMMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

POPLAR RIDGE OUTFITTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

RED WING LODGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

ST. CROIX RODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

YAKIMA BAIT COMPANY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

YOUNG'S WILDERNESS CAMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

ABOUT THE COVERA special cover for May. That’s youngSara Van Doorn, angler extraordinaire,and her dad Dave. They’re showing offa smallmouth bass that Sara has justcaught on a beautiful autumn day inNorthwestern Wisconsin.

After the revelry, photos and high fivescelebrating her great catch, Sara askedloudly and matter-of-factly, “Is it BIG oris it HUGE?”

Well, you be the judge of that, as far asthe fish goes. But we do have a bigstory about the events of the day on page 16. This is one of those“must read” pieces!

– Juris v


there was an increase in muskie fishing by anglers who were becoming more experienced andmore effective. However, the average length of muskies increased in Wisconsin andMinnesota by 2-3 inches and stayed nearly steady in Ontario. This means the conservationpolicies promoted by Muskies, Inc. inside the U.S. are working and that the Ministry ofNatural Resources in Ontario has done a fantastic job; in fact they have set a benchmark forsome of our own policies. What is important to take from this is MI has been dedicated toimproving muskie fishing for all anglers for almost five decades and what we do works.

Another great example of the success of our efforts is the graph on the cover of theMarch 2010 issue of MUSKIE. It shows an amazing increase in the number of muskies over50 inches released by our members over the past forty years; in 2009 over 30% of thosemonster releases were caught in Canada. But releasing big muskies is not the main point ofthis example. Growing big muskies requires the careful release of thousands of smallermuskies. Muskies, Inc members release almost every muskie they catch and have done sofor many years!

For those of you reading this in Canada, M.I. has and always will be a big supporter ofCanadian fisheries, Canadian anglers, and our many fine Canadian advertisers. Collectively,our members spend a lot of time and money fishing for muskies, and other species, inCanada (I sure enjoy fishing annually in Ontario).

We will not let a few negative individuals cast a shadow over the wonderful relation-ships which have been built around our mutual love of the muskellunge. Rather, we willcontinue to point out the many similarities we share in the hopes of crossing this bridgetogether for a positive outcome in the future.

Tight lines, Dan v

Bye Bye “International” –Hello Board of Directors!

Over the years we have all heard folks refer to “TheInternational” - sometimes in a positive light, sometimes in a nega-tive light, but guess what – it was always in an erroneous light!

Starting with this issue we will try to strike that word and anyold perceptions of it from MUSKIE Magazine and maybe from ourculture as an organization. The official name of our organization isMuskies, Inc. – it does not include that other word. Muskies, Inc.does have leadership teams at several key levels to run the organiza-tion. Each team is essential and all teams must work together forour organization to thrive.

At the Chapter level our members elect officers to run the chap-ters, coordinate activities, recruit volunteers, and act as liaisons withthe next two levels of Muskies, Inc. teams.

Collectively the next two teams make up the Board of Directorsfor Muskies, Inc. These teams are the Regional Directors and theExecutive Committee. There are 19 voting members on the Boardof Directors plus a handful of non-voting members who serve asadvisors to the Board (Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian, etc.).

Under our new organizational structure 12 of the 19 votingmembers on the Board of Directors are the Regional Directors; threefrom each of our four Regions. Our Regional Directors are chaptermembers from within the region which they have been elected toserve. You can find their names on page 2 of every issue of MUSKIE.

The other 7 voting members on the Muskies, Inc. Board ofDirectors are the President, 5 Vice-Presidents, and our immediatePast-President. This group, along with their advisors, make up theExecutive Committee of Muskies, Inc.

In future issues of MUSKIE we will tell you more about all ofthe members of our Board of Directors.

One last item, if you see an improper reference to that old wordin MUSKIE let our editor know he needs to change it. Thanks!

Legislative insight and effortto repeal the spearing banon Cass Lake, MN

Last month we reported on the move in Minnesota to repeal thespearing ban which has been in effect on Cass Lake since 1988. Thespearing ban was implemented to protect muskies and large pike andcertainly appears to have been working.

In the legislative arena things can change quickly, including billnumbers, as a bill moves between the House, Senate, and variouscommittees.

The bill started out in the MN Senate as SF 2484. ManyMuskies, Inc. members, including our President, expressed opposi-tion to this bill and any other attempts to repeal the spearing ban onCass Lake, MN. Remember, that bill was laid over (tabled) whichmeans it may still have life. As of April 11th no further action hadbeen taken on it by the MN Senate Environment and Natural

Resources Policy Committee.In the MN House a companion bill HF 3227 was introduced.

HF 3227 was referred to the Game, Fish and Forestry DivisionCommittee. That bill was forwarded for inclusion in the omnibusgame and fish bill.

The Omnibus G&F bill is bill HF 3124. Folks can use the billsearch links mentioned last month to keep up on the status of thisbill or go to: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/bills/billnum.asp?Billnumber=HF3124&ls_year=86&session_year=2009&session_number=0&Go.x=14&Go.y=13

It was discussed in a hearing by the State & Local Gov.Operations Committee, moved on to the Finance Committee, andmoved on again to the House Environment & Natural ResourcesFinance Division Committee.

As of April 10th HF 3124 had not been discussed in the HouseEnvironment & Natural Resources Finance Division Committee,but by the time you read this it will probably been discussed andmoved forward by the House Committee.

By the end of April or early May the House and Senate ver-sions of the Omnibus G&F bills will be discussed by conferencecommittees to come up with one bill; this is where the fate of thespearing ban may ultimately be decided after some political wran-gling. The final deadline for 2010 will be the end of the currentlegislative session, which will be on or before May 16.

If you want to share your comments with legislators, the emailformat for each MN senator is: [email protected] the email format for each MN representative is:[email protected]. You might also want to contactMN DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten (651-259-5555) or MNDNR Deputy Commissioner Laurie Martinson (651-259-5027) tolet you know how you feel on this issue.

Keep reminding Minnesota Senators and Representatives thatMinnesota has become one of the premiere places to fish for trophyspecies like muskies and big pike in North America. This is largelythrough the efforts of a progressive DNR which has worked closelywith conservation organizations such as Muskies, Inc. and with otherstate and federal conservation agencies. The state has over 10,000lakes. About 116 of those are managed for muskies and only 26 areclosed to spearing. Certainly there are plenty of places for folks to gospearing without re-opening one of the state’s best muskie waters tothis practice.

Remind the decision makers that catch-and-release works.Point out the 100% survival noted by author Sean Landsman inour April issue of MUSKIE during his C&R study. We know thatnot every released muskie will live, but a high percentage will. Onthe other hand, we know that most muskies which get stuck by aspear will die.

Let legislators know that muskie fishing brings great economicbenefits to communities, states and provinces with high qualitymuskie fisheries. In addition, catch-and-release programs like ourssave government agencies millions of dollars in stocking costs. Toreplace just one killed 52 to 55-inch muskie it would require thestocking of about 750 ten-inch fingerlings plus 15 to 25 years forone of those fingerlings to survive and grow to this size!

Finally, it is important to remind legislators in any state to letthe professional biologists and researchers manage our preciousaquatic resources – that is the role of our fisheries agencies, whetherwe call them the DNR, the DOC, or whatever! No matter whathappens on this particular bill muskie anglers need to be aware of thelegislative process in each muskie state. Get to know your DNRleaders, your legislators, and the leaders of your state MuskieAlliance, Conservation Federation, or similar group. v


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Pilot Program for MUSKIEMagazine starts in 2010

At the April Board Meeting we had a good discussion of themotion to change the number of issues of MUSKIE we produce in2010 and 2011. The motion was unanimously approved by the 19voting members of the Board thanks to considerable advance supportexpressed by many chapters.

We now have permission to pilot one combined (two-month)“showcase” issue in 2010 and one or two more in 2011. We will cutan equal number of normal-sized monthly issues and I promise toremind you and listen to your feedback as we move forward. As youknow, I am a strong supporter of using MUSKIE as a communica-tion tool for our chapters. I am also working on a plan to ensure wecontinue the very positive trend we have experienced over the past 18months in that regard.

I see the new pilot program as an improvement which will giveus more editorial flexibility. It will help our editorial team to bettermanage magazine content, to really use one or two issues each yearto showcase Fisheries, Research and Youth, and hopefully to attractmore advertisers because of the improved focus and content.

The first pilot “showcase” issue will be a combinedOctober/November 2010 issue. If that issue receives generally pos-itive support from our members and advertisers we will try it againfor one or two issues in 2011. The exact months for 2011 will bedetermined by the editorial team, but would include one bi-month-ly issue during the sport show season and possibly another later inthe year.

I thank you for supporting this pilot program and I look for-ward to using it to make MUSKIE Magazine even better. It’s a priv-ilege to serve as your editor.

Other thoughts fromthe April Board Meeting

I just got back from the April Board Meeting and the MNMuskie Expo. We decided to save this block of “last-minute” space

in this issue of MUSKIE to give you a short update on a few items,such as the pilot program (above).

The meeting and the Expo were both top-notch. Special thanksto Eric Schultz from Chapter 1 for coordinating the Board meetingarrangements.

We will publish a summary of the Board meeting minutes in anupcoming issue of MUSKIE. President Dan Narsete presided over aconcise and thorough business meeting with help fromParliamentarian Henry Hempe, and others. The VP and Committeereports were concise but thorough.

From my perspective it was great to see the Regional Directorsin action. They made a number of comments specifically on behalfof the regions and chapters they represent. They also offered somevery good ideas and insight. I look forward to working with them inthe future!

After the thrill of catching your next muskie do your best tocarefully release it to fight another day; the future of our muskieresource will literally be in your hands!

– Kevin

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www.redwinglodge.netFamily owned and operated for 40 years

Over

9,000 MuskiesReleased

• Ultra-modern one, two, three, or four bedroom cabins• Housekeeping or camping• Floating docks, electricity for charging batteries, Lund Boats with swivel

seats and depth finders, Honda motors with electric start• Dining room with food and liquor available for registered guests only

Call or write for data on musky catches:

1 (888) 488-5601 or (807) 488-5601Red Wing Lodge, Box 1008, Baudette, MN 56623

The convenience of a drive-in camp with the privacy you would expect on an island.

On Sabaskong BaySix-time Muskies, Inc.,

Chapter Challunge Headquarters1983, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2003, 2004

8 8Figure 8by Kevin Richards

[email protected]

D O N AT I O N SSpecial thanks to our members and supporters fortheir donations to Muskies, Inc. during the monthof March, 2010.

- Ellen WellsBruce RuppelEdward Gurka

Shane AkinJim Carow

Dan ShapiroPatrick FieldsTony SworskyThomas Sikora

Phil UhlMark Krause

Fred Montividas

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Members Only Fishing ContestRules and Regulations

1. Muskies must be caught on legal sport fishing tackle (hook andline) in the United States or Canada in strict compliance withall local, state, or provincial laws. Release Division: 30 inchminimum. Kept Division: length set by the governing agency ofthat body of water.

2. Muskies must be hooked and played by only one person, andonly that person may enter the muskie in the contest. Assistancein landing is permitted.

3. Entrant must be a member in good standing of Muskies, Inc.prior to catching the muskie.

4. Members should enter their own catches on the Muskies, Inc.web site within 30 days of the date of catch. Members that donot have this capability should mail their entries to theirChapter Contest Chairperson and postmarked within 30 daysof the date of catch. In turn the Chapter Contest Chairpersonmust have them submitted to the Lunge Log within 60 days ofthe date of catch. Unaffiliated members must enter then on linewithin 30 days of date of catch, or mail them to Jim Bunch at4338 County Hwy P, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729.

5. Release Division: 30 inch minimum for all bodies of water inthe United States or Canada regardless of local regulations.

6. The International Contest Committee will review all entries forvalidity and their decisions will be final. At its discretion thecommittee may require additional documentation consisting ofa photograph and/or a 2nd witness before an entry is accepted.

Annual International Awards:1. Men’s Masters – 10 Awards. Any male member who has record-

ed 250 or more releases all time in the Lunge Log by January 1of the contest year.

2. Women’s Masters – 2 Awards. Any female member who hasrecorded 100 or more entries all time in the Lunge Log byJanuary 1 of the contest year.

3. Men’s – 10 Awards. Any male member 18 years of age or olderwith less than 250 all time entries on January 1 of the contestyear.

4. Women’s – 10 awards. Any female member 18 years of age orolder with less than 100 all time entries on January 1 of the con-test year.

5. Junior’s – 10 Awards. Any male or female member 17 years ofage or less on January 1 of the contest year.

6. Lunkers of the Month – 12 awards, plus all ties qualify. Longestrelease by any member of Muskies, Inc. by month. A horizontalpicture of muskie and angler is required.

Release Points are based on 4 points for each release and 1 point foreach inch over 30 inches. Any measurement of 1/2" or longer will berounded up. Any fraction of less than 1/2" will be dropped.

The contest rules to me are quite simple; however they do get alittle confusing at times in the interpretation. So bear with me as I

touch on a few things you members seemto not quite understand. Rule 1 says youmust follow the rules that the state orprovince has set. This includes the openseason rule. If you catch a muskie whenthe muskie season is closed while fishingfor something else, it does not count inthe Lunge Log. Rule 2 says only onemember may fight and land the muskie.So now we have a training issue. Whathappens when a member has a youngchild that they are coaxing along tointroduce to muskie fishing? If an occa-sional helping hand ends up on the rodor junior’s belt we are not going to knowabout it. This is a common sense thing.

the Lunge Log

by Jim Bunch

Leonard Robinson, Chapter 9. 52.25 inches, 8/6/09,Burnsville, WV, Amma Bama. Fish I.D. 274616.

Poplar Ridge OutfittersDryden, OntarioMUSKIE GUIDE SERVICE

on Wabigoon, Eagle, Thaddeus & Ord lakes

Backwater Adventures forPike, Bass & Walleye

Guide Service or Full Packages Available 807/937-2249

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Rule 3 simply states you must be a member of Muskies, Inc. at thetime of catch.

Rule 4 has changed from time to time in the past. The reasonfor this 30 day thing is that every entry is automatically calculated inthe contest. In the past some would save all their entries untilDecember then all of a sudden they go from worst to first. That isnot right and we will not allow that to happen. Rule 5 states that theminimum length for entry in the Lunge Log is 30 inches. Yes manybodies of water have higher length limits. We will count 30 and up,think about it, it is not illegal to catch a 32 incher even if it is illegalto keep a 32 incher. So you go through the release process no matterwhat the length is. We have been at 30 inches for a long time, caseclosed.

The Lunker of the Month Awards. It awards the longest catch ofthat month. Notice it does not say the largest or the heaviest. If thereis a tie in length, they both or all get an award. Rounding off to thenearest inch is a bit of an issue; see below in the measurement poli-cy. The release points are calculated automatically by the Lunge Logprogram. So if you enter 371/2" or 38 inches it comes out the samepoint value (12). If you enter 37 or 371/4" inches it comes out thesame (11). If you round off before you enter the muskie, it makes nodifference. It will come out the same.

Muskies, Inc. Measurement PolicyExhibit C-1. 4/21/01

Muskie entries sent into the Lunge Log are recorded exactly asthey are entered. Individuals are free to follow the stated policy ofrounding off too the nearest inch for a typical catch. However if themuskie is approaching the area of an International Lunker of theMonth, that being 45 inches or longer, we ask that all attempts toobtain an accurate measurement be taken.

The estimation of a muskies length without some mechanicalmeasuring device is not accepted. The very experienced angler withmany captures who thinks he can guess a muskies length while in thewater is simply doing that, guessing.

The measuring of a muskie still in the water is not an exact sci-ence. However in the interest of preservation of the muskie it isencouraged and accepted. It is understood that most anglers thatmeasure a muskie, with integrity, still in the water will actually comeup with a length shorter than the actual God-given length.Consequently it is a common practice accepted by Muskies, Inc.

Length Measurement. For the most accurate measurement oflength for a muskie it will have to be brought into the boat and laidflat on a proper surface. A proper surface is plastic or vinyl. The car-pet in a typical boat is one of the worst surfaces to lay a muskie on.Wood is not much better.

The best measurementis one were the protectivesurface also contains themeasurement device.

The most accuratemeasurement is when themeasurement device is on aflat surface with the muskielaid on top on it. Line upthe farthest tip of the jawwith zero. You should thenmeasure the farthest tip ofthe tail.

You may compress thetail so that the tips cometogether to determine the

(Continued on page 8)

www.muskiesinc.org

Mike Yerman, Chapt 16, 50.5 inches, 7/22/09.Lake St. Clair, ON, Wiley Crank. Fish I.D. 274899.

Lynn Yerman, Chapt 16, 51.75 inches, 9/6/09Lake St. Clair, ON, Wiley Crank. Fish I.D. 278324.

May 2010.....MUSKIE 7

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longest point of any section of the tail. This is a common practice by nearly

all of the Departments of NaturalResources from around the country.They use this during creel census and lawenforcement issues.

The use of a soft tape (One formeasuring girth) should not be used forthe length measurement as it follows thecontour of the muskie and will give afalse increased measurement of the trueoverall measurement.

Girth Measurement. When youhave captured a large muskie, it is ofinterest to you and all of Muskies, Inc. todetermine the girth so that an estimationof weight may be determined. All muskiefisher-persons should purchase a simplesoft tape or flexible tape. This should be one that will easily followthe contour of a muskies body to measure the largest distance aroundthe muskies body.

To measure the girth with integrity one should make multiplemeasurements to locate the longest measurement. Studies show thetypical muskie angler is so excited that they do not take the time tofind the longest measurement.

Pull the soft tape firm but do not compress the body in anymanner.

The typical weight formula is: Length X Girth X Girth dividedby 800

Note: Some states or provinces may restrict boating a fish that isintended for release. Always check with state, provincial, or local reg-ulations.

Yes by golly we do have a measurement policy (above) passedback in 2001. It has too many words. It is very detailed and subject

to the opinions of a select few at the time and yes I am the one thatwrote it (my email is below). Over the years after a lot of practicehere is what I believe is reality. After you bring a muskie to the boatthe first thing is to subdue and remove the hook. In my opinion thebest option is a large net to hold the muskie along side the boat.Do not bring into the boat while in the net. You will need long nee-dle nose pliers to remove the hook. Yes the chance of snagging thehooks in the net are high but it will be worse if brought into theboat. After hook removal leave the muskie in the net in the waterand take time to prepare the measuring device, camera, etc.

There are some measuring devices on the market that willsuit this purpose just fine. They are usually plastic, about 8 incheswide and 60 inches long. They usually fold in half for easy storage.The zero end of this has an upright end to lay the muskies head uptoo the zero point. Bring the muskie over the side without the net. Apair of neoprene gloves is advised as you will have your tender fingersnear the muskie’s sharp gill plate. Lay it on the measuring device,

head at zero and read the tail length. Bigmuskies often have two tail points that don’tmatch so pinch them together. When you laythe muskie on the board the chance of himflopping are very high so hold the muskie downwith your other hand. You are done with that,lift up for a picture, done with that. Obviouslya 2nd or 3rd person in the boat makes this easi-er. End result will be less than 60 seconds outof the water, a nice picture and a very accuratemeasurement. Remember the length is what itis, if it might be a Lunker of the Month, don’tround off just tell me what the board said. It iswhat it is. The picture you took, we will talkabout that next month.

Jim BunchThe Lunge [email protected] 226-0295


LUNGE LOG(Continued from page 7)

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Triggering followers is one of the ultimate challenges inmusky fishing, and truly tests an angler’s strategy and tech-nique. This is even tougher to accomplish in clear water.

Outside of developing better boat control skills and knowledge of thewaters you fish, honing your fish triggering skills is paramount inimportance. It literally does separate the “men from the boys”.

The best musky anglers in the business have a definite edge here.They truly have developed a few time-proven tricks that trigger thosereluctant followers. This is a crucial key to any musky angler’s suc-cess since so many fish are likely to follow. Think about it — ifyou’re able to increase your success rate with even a small fraction ofthese followers, it is sure to add up to more fish in the boat per day,per week and per year. Clear water muskies, in particular, require

some specific tactical tricks. Follows are far more common thanstrikes. In order to turn that tide, you have to know what it takes tomake them (the muskies) commit.

The best musky fishermen don’t necessarily see more fish thanthe rest of the pack, but they are simply way better at triggeringstrikes. This depicts the best musky anglers today more so than anyother single trait. This 6th sense is only developed through experi-ence, but it also demands that you put a higher priority on master-ing presentation skills. Anyone can master this art, but you have tomake it a priority to do so. When the subject is clear water muskies,excessive retrieve speed comes into play.

In the early 1970s, when I first started guiding on deep gin-clearlakes, it didn’t take me long to figure out that clear water muskies

were definitely different. Clear water muskies areprimarily sight feeders, and live in an environ-ment where everything around them, includingtheir prey, can see well. Everything moves muchfaster in clear water. Heck, even we muskieanglers can see much more in clear water. A fol-low can be spotted at far greater distances than inany dark water environment. We can also seemuch farther down into the depths. If we can seethat much more from above, imagine what a pow-erful predator like the musky can see from theirperspective.

I firmly believe that a clear water musky canmove faster than any high speed baitcaster cancrank. They have to literally explode on prey inorder to have any degree of success in catchingthem. The superior speed of a big predatorgamefish on the attack makes the differencebetween an empty stomach and a fat and sassyone. Everything in a clear water musky’s domainmoves very fast. When it doesn’t, it looks out ofplace. Arguably, this is why clear water muskiesfollow slower moving baits. Perhaps the fishinstinctively senses “hey, this is too easy.Something is not quite right here”. One thing isdefinitely for certain, a musky can visually inspecta lure far better in a clear water environment, andI have seen them actually do this on follows. In


Tricks That TriggerMore Clear WaterMuskie Strikes

By Joe Bucher

This big tiger was a notorious “follower”, but became a “strik-er” on a day with strong winds and wild white capped waves.

some cases, I have even seen clear watermuskies pull up alongside a lure. I am cer-tain this is clear evidence that they can see toomuch, and a “need for speed” is in order.

Strong wind and big waves is also a hugeasset for gin bottle ‘lunges. Admittedly, Ihave taken far more big muskies during midday conditions on gin clear water when thereis a serious chop on the water. I regularlyseek out clear water when it is windy now. In fact,I remember heading out one evening a few yearsago after a stormy “big blow” with winds pushingthe 45 mph plus mark. These winds were actuallytoo strong creating dangerous conditions on thewater. But the wind subsided a bit around 6 p.m.to a tolerable 25 to 30 mph. As soon as I startedmy outboard, I headed for a spot that contained abig tiger that I’d seen follow in a few times, butcould never get it to hit.

I reset the trolling motor shaft so the powerhead was deeply submerged and would not blowout of the water in the rolling waves. Then, point-ing my bow against the big waves, I drove low anglebullet casts into the strong wind. The small joint-ed DepthRaider cut through the wind like a bullet,and I had no problem making repeated casts overthe potential hotspot. I could also now fish thislure at whatever speed I wanted to without trying tocompensate for wind drift speed. Also, I couldeffectively fish the crankbait through the cabbagesince it was all leaning over due to the strong waveaction. Plus, I was running the lure directly downcurrent making it easy for the deep diver to slitherthrough the parallel laying weed stalks.

I distinctly remember hanging up on one peskycabbage stalk with the small DR, and ripping it free.Within what seemed like a millisecond, my linewent completely slack and before my brain evenregistered what had happened, the 48 inch classtiger was airborne with three treble hooks buried inhis jaw! After an incredible battle that carried meand the fish a good 500 yards downwind, I finallylanded the fish up inside a shallow flat of reeds.This is still the biggest tiger/hybrid I have evertaken in Wisconsin waters. I finally got it to strikeon a wild windy day in this gin clear water.

In summary, I think it is always important toconsider that clear water muskies are primarily sightfeeders and are used to chasing down fast movingprey. Crank or troll a bait slow in clear water andyou’ll likely get nothing more than follows. Putsome speed on it, and you’re apt to get the rodalmost jerked out of your hands by a violent highspeed strike. More often than not, the “need forspeed” is a must for clear water muskies. v


Clear water muskies are often activatedby wind and wave action to move shallowand become more aggressive.


Bugs and fishing go together. Bugs and diseases also go togeth-er. So, there is a natural corollary: fishermen need to be con-cerned with diseases associated with bugs and other things

found in the great outdoors. I personally experienced this last year asmy husband struggled with a progressed case of Lyme disease. Thatwas the impetus for this article; I wish to share information aboutsome of the illnesses all outdoorsmen should be aware of.

TICK-BORNE DISEASESLyme Disease: Lyme is transmitted to humans by the bite of blacklegged (i.e. deer) ticks. Burrowing into skin, they gorge on blood andleave behind disease causing bacteria. Cases have been reported inmost states; the largest concentrations found in the upper Midwestand northeastern states. Wisconsin alone has averaged well over1,000 diagnosed cases each year for the past few years.

Initial symptoms may include fever, headache, fatigue, muscleand joint pain, and a characteristic circular reddish rash. Not allpatients with Lyme will have all symptoms—we never found thebulls-eye rash on my husband. Left untreated, patients can developlesions in other areas of the body, swollen lymph nodes, facial palsy,neck stiffness/meningitis, heart palpitations, and severe joint pain.

Diagnosis is verified through viewing the clinical signs or labevidence. Unfortunately, blood tests that measure antibodies areunpredictable. It is not uncommon for the tests to present a falsenegative in patients in early stages. Quite often several testings arerequired for correct diagnosis. Most cases of Lyme can be treatedwith antibiotics. Doxycycline is commonly prescribed (*Author’snote: when taking doxycycline stay OUT of the sun. There are manycomplications.) Most folks are cured within a few weeks of taking thedrug. Patients diagnosed with advanced stages of Lyme may haverecurrent symptoms that last years after treatment, making earlyrecognition important.

Prevention includes using a repellent (more on that later) andremoving ticks promptly via a fine tipped tweezers. Transmission of

bacteria is unlikely to occur before 24-hours of attachment.

Babesiosis: Called “Wisconsin’s malaria,” babesiosis can be fatal.Also spread via bacteria of an infected black legged tick, many folksdon’t even recall getting bit because the ticks, particularly in theirhungry nymph stage, are so small. The bacteria destroys red bloodcells and can cause anemia and jaundice.

Occuring mainly in the upper Midwest and Northeast, patientsdevelop flu-like symptoms—fever, chills, sweats, aches—and violentshaking. It can be life-threatening to folks lacking a spleen or withweakened immune systems. Diagnosed by examining blood speci-mens and pinpointing Babesia parasites inside red blood cells, effec-tive treatment is available. Patients respond well to a combination ofprescription medications (atovaquone and azithromycin or clin-damycin and quinine).

Avoiding exposure to tick habitats is the best defense; for moreinfo, read prevention and control section.

Anaplasmosis: Once again black legged ticks are the culprit, spread-ing bacteria via bites. The highest incidence is reported among personsover 60-years old (younger folks may just not have as severe of symp-toms.) Cases have been diagnosed throughout the U.S.—from NewEngland to the Pacific Coast and at many points in between. Recenttravels should be reported to your doctor; otherwise, if you live in anon-endemic area they may not consider testing for a certain disease.

Onset begins within three weeks of a bite. Fever, chills, and mus-cle aches are commonly confused with influenza. After consideringthe symptoms and exposure to a tick bite, diagnosis can be confirmedvia laboratory tests. Blood samples test for low white blood cell count,low platelet count, or elevated levels of specific liver enzymes.Tetracycline antibiotics are usually administered for two weeks.

Because so many of these tick-borne disease symptoms are sim-ilar to less severe diseases many people do not receive prompt treat-ment. Delaying treatment for anaplasmosis can lead to serious andeven fatal complications.

Ehrlichiosis: The lone star tick transmits the bacteria associatedwith this disease. With an ever expanding “musky range” comes pos-sible contact with these critters found in eastern and south centralmusky territory states. Symptoms appear 5-10 days following thetick bite and include influenza like symptoms as well as nausea, diar-rhea, cough and confusion.

As is the case with many tick borne diseases, individuals maybecome infected but do not become ill or develop only mild symp-toms. Folks suffering from more severe cases can look for a diagnosisbased on clinical signs and lab tests. Ehrlichiosis is usually treatedwith an antiobiotic such as doxycycline.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever: Considered the most severetick-borne illness in the U.S., this disease is spread from ticks(American dog, brown dog, and the Rocky Mountain wood tick.)Symptoms appear after an incubation period of 5-10 days after a tickbite. Early signs include fever, nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite, and

Dog ticks, Lone Star ticks, Deer ticks--many different species ofthe critters spread a variety of diseases. After spending time out-doors, do a tick check. It's important to pull them off your skinwithin 24-hours of attachment.

Anglers and Nature Lovers Beware!Bugs, Fungus, Parasites and Prevention (Part 1)

by Patricia Strutz


severe headache. Later, the patient usually presents with a rash,abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

Prevalent throughout the U.S. druing the months of Aprilthrough September, over half the cases occur in the south-Atlanticstates. Musky hunters in Virginia should take special note as that is ahigh incidence area. Diagnosis is based on clinical signs and con-firmed lab findings. Treated with doxycycline, many patients are hos-pitalized during the treatment.

Tularemia: Ticks (dog, wood, and lonestar) and deer flies transmit this disease, alsoknown as “rabbit fever.” Skin ulcers andfever are common symptoms. This is a rela-tively rare illness, especially in musky coun-try—with one exception: Missouri. If youare from the Show Me state, you may wish toread more about this on the Center forDisease Control (CDC) website. It relaysthat folklore remedies, such as using hotmatches or petroleum jelly, do little toencourage a tick to detach from skin. Infact, they may make matters worse by irri-tating the tick and stimulating it to release additional saliva, increas-ing the chances of transmitting the pathogen.

MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASESEncephalitis/West Nile Virus: West Nile is just one type ofencephalitis (inflammation of the brain.) Not common in “tradition-al musky country” nonetheless it has been found in all 48 lowerstates. Texas and California mark the highestincidence, but musky haunts of Washingtonand Colorado diagnose moderate numbersof the virus each year, too. Rarer strains ofencephalitis exist, too. La Crosse virus hasbeen found throughout the U.S. The easternand southern states, particularly Missouri,are hotbed areas for the St. Louis strain.

This seasonal epidemic flares up in thesummer and continues as long as mosquitoesare present. Carried by certain species of thepesky insects, almost 80% of folks infectedwon’t show any symptoms at all. Most otherswill entertain mild symptoms of fever, bodyaches, and swollen lymph glands. About 1out of 150 people infected develop a seriousillness: high fever, tremors, convulsions andparalysis. Neurological effects can be perma-nent.

No specific treatment is available andmost mild infections go away on their own.Severe cases are treated with supportive carein a hospital (i.e. intravenous fluids, preven-tion of secondary infections, etc.)

The best way to avoid WNV is to pre-vent mosquito bites. Over 200 species of birds(including crows and ravens) transmit thevirus to mosquitoes so it’s best not to handledead birds with bare hands, either.

INSECT PREVENTION & CONTROL* Walk on cleared trails to minimize contact with leaf litter and

overgrown grasses.* Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts. Tuck pants into socks so

ticks can’t crawl inside. * Wear light-colored clothing. It’s much easier to see and remove ticks

before they attach to skin. Dark clothes also attract mosquitoes.* Reduce mosquito populations by emptying

water sources (old tires, clogged rain gut-ters)

*Drain and put fresh water in bird baths,pet dishes, and children’s wading pools.

*Repair window screens. * Fragrance attracts mosquitoes. Thinkabout using unscented sunscreen, hair prod-ucts, fabric softener sheets, etc. * Take extra precautions in late spring andearly summer, however, ticks are active any-time the temperature is over 50 degrees. * Always do a tick check after spending

time outdoors; especially around thegroin, armpits, and scalp. It is important to pull the critters offwithin 24-hours.

* Keep your yard free of tall grass and leaf litter. Add a strip of grav-el between those areas and the yard to discourage tick migration.

* Apply repellents according to label. Do not apply to kids’ hands asthey often put their hands in their mouths.


Bugs and fishing go together.Bugs and diseases also gotogether. So, there is anatural corollary: fishermenneed to be concerned withdiseases associated with bugsand other things found inthe great outdoors.

* Be cautious about combo products. Sunscreen should be appliedgenerously while excessive repellent use isn’t necessarily a goodidea. Use sunscreen first, let dry, then top with repellent.

* Taking vitamin B supplements (thiamine) to prevent mosquitobites has not been scientifically proven effective. Some evidenceshows that it makes the bites less itchy.

REPELLENTSThere are many products on the market. Let’s break them down

according to their active ingredient:

DEET: (N-diethylmetatoluamide). This is the most common andeffective ingredient used in repellents. Repelling mosquitoes andticks, the duration of effectiveness is measured by the amount ofDEET in the spray (or lotion). Off ’s Deep Woods and 3M’sUltrathon both contain 24% DEET and last five hours. To repelticks, the amount of deet must be at least 20%.

Many physicians recommend a formula of no more than 10%DEET on kids. Greater amounts have a potential to be harmful. Sofar the Environmental Protection Agency has not classified the chem-ical as a human carcinogen, however, some studies have shown braincell death and a concern for development of cancerous cells associat-ed with long term use. It does not readily degrade in the environmentand has potential to seep into groundwater.It is only slightly toxic to fish and otheraquatic invertebrates. DEET causes damageto plastic, rubber, and paint. *Do not usenear fishing line, electronics, etc.

PICARIDIN: (2-hydroxyethyl, KBR3023) is another conventional repellent thatoffers comparable protection to DEET; yet,it is considered safer. Used in Europe foryears, it has only been available in the U.S.for a few years. Picaridin offers protectionagainst mosquitoes, chiggers, ticks, and fliesby blocking the insect’s ability to locatethose who have applied it. Advantages overDEET include working better on bitingflies, not damaging plastic, and a morepleasant smell. Cutter’s AdvancedSportsman contains 15% picaridin; Repel’sSportsman Gear Smart offers 20%picaridin—repellency lasts a full 10 hours.

PERMETHRIN: Used as an area repel-lent, permethrin can be applied to clothingbut not directly to skin. It stays effectivethrough several washings; killing ticks andwarding off mosquitoes. Studies debate as towhether or not is is carcinogenic if ingested;however, it is the main ingredient in headlice shampoo. This insecticide is highly toxic to freshwater fish, but,once it bonds with fabric it is inert so a fisherman who has treatedhis pants with it could do a cannonball into the water without harm-ing any aquatic life.

BIOPESTICIDES: Derived from naturalingredients (plants, minerals, etc.) the dura-tion of effectiveness varies. Classified by theEnvironmental Protection Agency as abiopesticide means these products are—as ageneral rule—inherently less toxic than con-ventional pesticides. Most are not plasticiz-ers. Some common ones include oils of cit-ronella, cedar, lemongrass, lemon eucalyptus (p-menthane-3), and geranium. Some folks haveexperienced skin or eye irritation with use,however, they are considered safer than mostchemical pesticides. Not all oils have beenreviewed by the Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) and not all can be applied tothe skin.

IR/Merck 3535 (ethyl ester, aminopropi-onic acid) Used in Europe for many years,registered in US as an active ingredient in1999. Effective against mosquitoes, deerticks, and biting flies. Similar in effectivenessto Picaridin regarding mosquitoes but does-n’t handle flies as well. This product is gener-

ally only available in sunscreen/repellent combos such as Skin So SoftBug Guard Plus IR3535 or Sawyer’s Sunblock with Insect Repellent.

Products to Try Just about everyone has tried the most popular DEET repel-

lents. They are effective and readily available. I decided to try somealternatives:

Bite Blocker Xtreme Sportsman and Bio UDA geranium oil based insect repellent, Bite Blocker Xtreme

Sportsman (Note: not the regular Bite Blocker—it has less activeingredient) performed well in my field research—up to a full day ofrepellency for mosquitoes and flies. For ticks, try their Bio UDlotion. Registered with the EPA, it’s active ingredient, 2-Undecanone, is derived from wild tomato plants. This makes a greatreplacement for permethrin and DEET as it is can safely be appliedto the skin. It is effective against mosquitoes, too.

Author note: I particularly like their “pen size” products. Easy tostash away in a tackle box or jacket pocket, they are always close athand. The only drawback? They list only two hours effectivenessagainst ticks: www.homs.com

Cutter and Repel productsBoth Cutter Advanced Sportsman and Cutter Skinsations con-

tain 15% picaridin and tout a full 10 hours of repellency for ticksand mosquitoes. (Note: the regular Cutter Advanced only has 7%picaridin, thus, a shorter duration of efficacy) The Skinsations for-mula contains an additive which makes it feel drier on the skin.*Authors note: I tried both of them and THUMBS UP. Reallyworked well; deet-free but still offering 10-hours of effective use isawesome.

Repel brand generally offers higher levels of active ingredients.Their Sportsman Gear Smart contain 20% picaridin (some modelshave only 15%). They also last a full 10 hours, repel ticks and mos-quitoes, and feel great. All picaridin based products are safe on plas-


ANGLERS…BEWARE!(Continued from page 13)

Biopesticides aremade from naturalingredients; thebase of this productis geranium oil.

Unlike DEET,repellent made withpicaridin will notharm fishing tacklemade out of plastic.

tic and other tackle. *Authors note: I especial-ly liked the 20% style available in a pumpspray. It felt practically invisible on my skin—no sticky residue.

Repel’s Lemon Eucalyptus is an impressivebiopesticide. It is EPA registered and CDCrecommended. Containing 40% lemon euca-lyptus, it offers six hours of repellency forinsects (including the dreaded deer tick.)*Authors note: I love using “natural products”but most plant oil based repellents need to bere-applied every two hours. This one worksthree times as long making it a great alterna-tive to chemicals: www.spectrumbrands.com

Sawyer ProductsIf you would rather not apply topical

repellents, Insect Repellent for Clothing treatsall outdoor gear with permethrin. This spraydoesn’t harm fabrics and is odorless. It pro-vides protection from ticks and mosquitoes.Permethrin is ineffective if applied directly onyour skin—a natural process breaks it downinto amino acids. But, once permethrinbonds with fabric it does not migrate to theskin. *Authors note: I tried this while I fishedin swampy canals in southern Florida, it worked great. I could hearmosquitoes buzzing but they stayed away from me!

Their new liposome-based repellent, Ultra 30, is really hightech. The liposomes hold DEET in place on the skin and reduce theabsorption rate. Liposomes are used in medicines to allow delivery totake place over a longer period of time. Similar products in the pasthave also produced controlled release of DEET but they were poly-mer-based. Liposomes are natural components and are much lessgreasy and comfortable on the skin. It is effective for a whopping 12hours. When choosing a DEET based repellent, the delivery systemon this product is much safer for children because of the lowerabsorption rate coupled with lack of alcohol concentration (causesskin irritation) in aerosols. *Author’s note: Even though I’m not realkeen on using alot of chemicals I have to admit there is a time andplace for it. When faced with a heavy infestation of insects and lack-ing the ability to re-apply very often, picaridin or DEET seem to bethe best answer. The ability to add in a controlled release is outstand-ing: www.sawyerproducts.com

BugbandAn effective alternative to pesticides, the active ingredient

Geraniol is a natural essential oil derived from geraniums. It’s vaporscreate an invisible shield that is safe for everyone (kids, too) and forthe environment. It is non-toxic, has a pleasant smell, and is not aplasticizer (won’t damage gear.) The spray lotion is effective againstmosquitoes, biting flies, and ticks. Label solely states lone star anddog ticks, but studies have proven it is effective on deer/black leggedticks, too. They also offer a waterproof wrist band, however it is noteffective on ticks as there must be skin to skin contact to repel thosecritters. *Author note: I find the wrist bands very comfortable to castwith and great at repelling mosquitoes. Wear them on your wrist,attach to a hat or belt loop: www.bugband.net

Mechanical Deterrents and Area RepellentsThere many other mechanical deterrents and

area repellents on the market. Mosquito netting,mosquito coils, sticks, and strips, bug zappers, cit-ronella candles, control tablets for birdbaths, etc.These devices offer the convenience of not havingrepellent on your skin or clothing, yet quite oftentheir level and area of protection in unpredictable.Some make great complements to topical repel-lents; especially during shore lunches or whenhanging out by the dock. For the purpose of thisarticle - whose readership is avid musky fishermen– we will focus mainly on repellents applieddirectly to skin or clothing.

However, I must add one shameless plug. TheThermaCELL appliance works wonders whenspending time around the dock or on mosquitoinfested islands. I’ve even had clients bring themin the boat, especially if we are fishing in theevening. The devices heat a saturated mat via acordless butane unit. The active ingredient ispyrethin, a naturally occurring insecticide foundin chrysanthemums. Specs say it provides 225 sqfeet of protection and works on mosquitoes andgnats but I found it worked on biting flies, too.

To be continued…

www.muskiesinc.org May 2010.....MUSKIE 15

ThermaCELL appliances work well while hanging out around thedock or having shore lunch. They can also be brought along inyour boat.

Clothing treated with Sawyer's perme-thrin based repellent is effectivethrough several washings.

Patricia Strutz is a fishing guide, outdoor writer, and Field Editorfor MUSKIE Magazine. For information, visit her website at:

www.ablondandherboat.com

On a beautiful early autumn day, four of us shared the seren-ity of quiet water on a Northwestern Wisconsin lake. Thesunshine held warmth, and the promise of fish to be had on

these last of the last truly nice days of the year. Our quarry for theday included muskies and smallmouth bass. Our gang of four washighlighted by young Sara Van Doorn, angler extraordinaire. Weworked a while for muskies, moving down a shoreline with someweed edges and blow downs as we leap-frogged each other’s boats.Veronica and Todd Berg watched as the two boats intersected andthey saw Sara’s dad, Dave, swing the rod hard into a good strike. Hegrunted out “FISH!”, and we watched with that heart-stopping“hold your breath” anticipation to see what he had tied into. Asquickly as the rod loaded, it suddenly unloaded and the fish wasgone. The obligatory moment of angst and silence followed, typicalafter a lost musky. The hush was abruptly shattered by Sara, whowas casting off the stern of the boat for smallmouth. She announced,

“I’ve got a fish” and we all shifted our gaze and saw she was made fastto a bruiser of a bronze back. After a long tug of war, Sara ruled theday and Dave scooped the beautiful smallmouth pictured above intothe net.

After the revelry, photos and high fives celebrating her greatcatch, Sara asked of us loudly and matter-of-factly, “Is it BIG or is itHUGE?” We all laughed and Sara laughed along with us. It was aperfect perspective from a kid who just caught a really nice fish.Sara’s not just any kid though. She lives with Autism and she posi-tively LOVES to fish and be outdoors.

By the nature of her circumstance, Sara both likes and thrives onrepetition of routine. What is more repetitive than casting? Sara willsit in a boat and cast for hours on end, content with each and everycast, good or bad, and whether she connects with a fish or not. Youhave to remind her to have a sandwich and something to drink whenshe’s on the boat; that’s how intense she is about fishing. We have

said many times that there’s a therapeutic effect from fish-ing which all of us recognize. This seems nearly universalamong people with special needs as well, we’ve seen it inmany instances.

When you think about it, why wouldn’t most folkswith special needs be just as jazzed about being outdoors asanybody else? Maybe it’s a bias which many of us sharewhen trying to shelter or protect those who have specialneeds, to keep them from harm or out of danger. Maybeit’s an assumption that people with special needs can’t dowhat we do or can’t do it the way we do it. Maybe it’s some-thing we just never considered.

Many among us have seen and heard anecdotal evi-dence of people who reside in assisted living centers or reha-bilitation facilities responding amazingly well to interactionwith domestic animals. Take a dog to a care facility some-time and see how the residents’ eyes light up and howquickly smiles come onto their faces. A natural extensionof that type of experience is to expose those around us withspecial needs to the outdoors and the creatures that livethere. Because we at Muskies, Inc. are first and foremost a


“Is it BIG oris it HUGE?”

The “Special Needs”of Muskies, Inc.

Part 1

With a little help from my friends.(This photo of Sara Van Doorn with her father Dave wastaken by Veronica Berg)

Heading to the lake at McGraw.

fishing organization, why not take those with special needsfishing!

From a lifetime of experience (Sara’s lifetime) Dave and hiswife Nancy have seen some amazing things from their daugh-ter. They frown on the term “disability” and rightly claim thata majority of people with special needs, while different than us,simply possess different skills than we do and that the outlookof those with special needs is perfectly normal to them. Sara’sview of the world is the view that Sara has always had. There’snothing abnormal about it, it’s just different than our view.

Dave Van Doorn says, “Folks with special needs may walka different path than we do, but that doesn’t mean they can’t ordon’t enjoy the same feelings and peace so many of us capturefrom our time outdoors.” Aren’t those with special needs enti-tled to see, hear and feel the pulse of nature? To watch a loondive for a fish and teach her young to survive? To feel the braceof cold air hit their faces as the boat moves down a lake earlyin the morning? To see a moose, or a bear, or a deer along ashoreline, or to feel the surge of a very powerful fish? We cer-tainly think so! We believe that “fun is fun” whether you have spe-cial needs or not.

The Fox River Valley Chapter of M.I. has been involved inyouth outings for many years. Our youth directors, Mike

Zaborowski andKevin Bushnickhave super-sizedour involvementwith youth pro-grams during thepast several years.Our annualBartlett FishingDerby hosts up to500 kids for a funtournament-l ikeexperience (seeDecember 2008issue of MUSKIE).

Our chapter also sponsors youth musky hunts, fishing classes andmusky trips designed for kids. In 2009 we inaugurated three newprograms - a youth musky hunt, a “girls only” fishing day, and anincredible special needs fishing outing, all hosted by the MaxMcGraw Wildlife Foundation in East Dundee, Illinois. The rest ofthe photos in this article give a little glimpse into the success of thefirst special needs outing.

Kevin Bushnick highlighted the event in a wonderful audio-video presentation at our December “Family Night” chapter meet-ing. These guys and all the members who help make these outingssuccessful make our chapter more vibrant and our board is extreme-ly thankful for all of their energy and leadership. We also wish tothank the many dedicated staff members such as Michelle, Tracy, Al,Tom, and Matt (just to name a few) from McGraw WildlifeFoundation who have helped us get these programs up and runningand provide pivotal support and input for our special needs program.

Dave suggested we write an article in order to expose M.I. chap-ters around the country to the special opportunity that we all couldcapitalize upon. As we see it, if one member of one chapter takes theinitiative to start a special needs outing, this article will have achievedour goal. We’re going to break this topic down into two parts. Thisfirst part should help everyone understand the “why” for planning a

special needs program. Part two, coming soon, will outline the how,when and where to plan an event for special needs people in yourvicinity.

We hope the “why” part becomes very evident. Imagine if eachof us had the outlook of every fish being either “Big” or “Huge” likeSara does. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bass, a bluegill or a musky, they’reall just “Big” or “Huge” from now on! How wonderfully simplewould that be! Sara’s story which we used to open this article isjust one amazing example. All of us should realize how fortunate weare, and that because of that good fortune we also have an obligation.Those with special needs will almost always like this outdoor fun forthe same reasons the rest of like it. Our Muskies Inc. communityshould have a need and desire to help others broaden their horizons.Most of us learned to fish and enjoy the wonders of the outdoorsfrom someone else. We now share the wonderful responsibility topass it on to others.



A good bend in the rod.

It’s all in the way you look at it.

Helping hands.

At our special needs outing last summer we witnessed ouryounger chapter members helping out our special needs anglers.Many of them blossomed as they helped out. They recognized howfulfilling it was to help others. Quite simply, they “got it” and youcould see their horizons broaden and watch them grow, with eachline they untangled or with each fish they unhooked or each photo-graph they took - all for somebody else. Ask Sara’s older brother Timwhat he thinks of fishing with Sara and he’ll tell you she’s just his sis-ter, no big deal. We should all share Tim’s pure view of the world.

There’s a Chinese proverb which is a bit of a curse disguised asa compliment. It says, “May you live in interesting times”. We doindeed live in interesting times. Economically challenged to say theleast and we find that state and local governments which once hadbudget money to help out with events, no longer have those funds toallocate. This is where conservation organizations like Muskies, Inc.need to step up. Within our means, it’s imperative that we partici-pate. It could be argued that this is where the involvement shouldhave come from in the first place rather than from the governmentin general. As the saying goes, all politics is local.

Let us be the movers and shakers that make these events happenwithin our own communities. Organizations such as Fishing HasNo Boundaries© (FHNB) exist to specifically help anglers with spe-cial needs. These are wonderful folks with chapters in many loca-tions and who host outings and have made it into an art form. Theyare headquartered out of Hayward, Wisconsin and can be reached byphone at: 800-243-3462 or on the web at: www.fhnbinc.org. Tap


“IS IT BIG OR IS IT HUGE?”(Continued from page 17)

… a big success!Anticipation ends in…

Touching.

into their knowledge base and ask about a FHNB chapter in yourarea; perhaps you can co-sponsor an outing with them. They arealways willing and thankful to have help.

Another wonderful organization catering to special needs indi-viduals is NISRA (Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association;www.NISRA.ORG). Their resume is really quite impressive.NISRA has twice earned the prestigious national Gold Medal Awardfor excellence in park and recreation management, presented by theNational Recreation and Park Association and the SportsFoundation, Inc. NISRA programs and staff have attracted local andstate recognition with other awards. Their mission is to “Enrich thelives of people with disabilities through meaningful recreationalexperiences”. NISRA’s annual Spring Fishing Classic will be heldJune 5th, 2010 in northern Illinois. For more information and back-ground on setting up a special needs outing, contact Emily Todd, theManager of Cultural Arts and Special Eventsfor NISRA. She can be reached at 815-459-0737.

We also need to recognize the membersof The Between The Lakes Chapter ofMuskies Inc.

(www.betweenthelakes20.com/about.htm)

who have been devoted to organizing youthoutings for many years. They can help withan initial knowledge base as you develop aspecial needs program for your chapter. Thereare probably other individuals and organiza-tions in your area that would like to partici-pate or donate time or other resources. Workcollectively to put an outing together!

In part-two, we will discuss the How,When and Where of planning your own chap-ter special needs outing and delve into theissues of safety, basic rules, location, and whatto expect. We will also discuss what we like tocall The Intimidation Factor that comes withevents like these and what to be prepared for.In the meantime, gather up a few members ofyour chapter, discuss it at a board meeting andstart looking at the calendar to begin planningyour chapter’s special needs outing. We guar-antee it will be one of the most worthwhilethings you’ve ever done, personally and collec-tively. Stay tuned for part two in an upcom-ing issue of MUSKIE. v

Special thanks to Todd Berg and Dave VanDoorn for compiling this wonderful perspectiveand to Sara Van Doorn for inspiring them to doit. Many folks from the Fox River Valley Chapterhelp make all of their youth outings successful,but youth directors Mike Zaborowski and KevinBushnick have helped lead the efforts. One of thephotos for this article came from Veronica Berg;all the rest came from Susan Hershberg.


Folks with special needs may walka different path than we do, butthat doesn’t mean they can’t ordon’t enjoy the same feelings andpeace so many of us capture fromour time outdoors.

– Dave Van Doorn

Fishing is a tradition, a passtime, a needed escape from hecticeveryday life that robs our soul of the basic essentials that onlynature can replace. Fishing satisfies a human need to fill your

lungs with fresh air and once again let nature center your being.Fishing trips, whether spent alone or withfamily or friends, have a way of weavinginto the fabric of your life. It seems thatmost fishermen cannot tell you what theyhad for dinner the night before, but invivid, methodical detail they can recallevery fishing trip they have been a part ofgood, bad or ugly.

If asked, many life-long anglers cantell you who first taught them how to fish.Usually, before they even get a word out, asmile comes to their face. Many would sayit was their dad or grandpa. As for me, mydad gave me my first fishing pole andtaught me how to fish. At the time, I hadno idea how the fishing trips my dad and Ishared would affect my attitudes on theenvironment and ultimately my careerchoice.

However, the tradition of fishingis dying. Reasons for this vary - theinternet, video games or a fragmenta-tion of the family unit or maybe acombination of these factors. Wemust take action to ensure future gen-erations appreciate fishing, aquaticresources and family time spent onthe water. How could a future genera-tion disconnected from nature appre-ciate, preserve and protect the aquaticresources that are so abundantthroughout North America? Howwill they react, or will they react tolegislation that could possibly jeop-ardize those resources? It is unlikelythat such a generation would be goodstewards if they are not introduced,taught and mentored to understandand appreciate aquatic resources.

GO FISH! offers the same opportunity to kids ages 7-15 whichI shared with my dad. GO FISH! is a multi-faceted angler educationprogram designed to have repeated contacts with young anglers, whileoffering educational opportunities including fishing skills, knowledge

and techniques. Taking a child fishing mul-tiple times is key to creating a life-longangler. The question I always asked my dadat the end of our fishing trips was not,“Who caught the biggest fish?” but,“When can we go fishing again?” Eachtime we would go fishing, my dad wouldteach me a little bit more. GO FISH!teaches young anglers the same way my dadtaught me, building future knowledge onpast knowledge. GO FISH! offers sevendifferent programs or “hooks” including:Basic Fishing I, Basic Fishing II, BasicFishing III, Fishing with Lures, SpeciesSpecific Fishing (channel catfish, large-mouth bass and trout), Cooking andCleaning Your Catch, Aquatic Ecology,Conservation and Ethics and Introductionto Trout Fishing.

The seven “Hooks” provide fish-ing information and skills that engagethe angler in an active learning expe-rience. Each program begins with areview of the previous program, andthen new information is presentedand discussed, followed by hands-onfishing.

Basic Fishing I teaches younganglers, several of which are first-timeanglers, about fishing equipmentbasics (using a spincast rod/reelcombo), baiting techniques, castingmechanics and safety.

Basic Fishing II progresses toinclude knot tying (Palomar andimproved clinch knots) and properfish handling.

Basic Fishing III teaches younganglers how to identify largemouth


GO FISH!Restoring the Tradition of

Fishing, One Angler at a Timeby Denise Otto, Fisheries Biologist,

Missouri Department of Conservation

Denise Otto accepts a $1000 donation to the GO FISH!program from Wayne Humphrey on behalf of the Pommede Terre Chapter of Muskies, Inc.

We must take action toensure future generationsappreciate fishing, aquaticresources and family timespent on the water. Howcould a future generationdisconnected from natureappreciate, preserve andprotect the aquatic resourcesthat are so abundantthroughout North America?

Maggie McCaffrey with a little help from GO FISH! volunteer, DavePins, lands a nice largemouth bass.

bass, channel catfish, bluegill and hybrid sun-fish. Biological aspects such as spawning, lifecycle and anatomy are also discussed.

Fishing with Lures introduces anglers tocrankbaits, soft plastics, spinnerbaits,buzzbaits, jigs, spoons and flies. Instructorsand coaches demonstrate techniques for eachof the lures presented.

Species Specific Fishing (channel catfish,largemouth bass and trout) teaches younganglers about many characteristics of eachspecies such as: life cycle, diet, behavior, habi-tat, spawning techniques, sex determinationand other basic biology facts.

Cooking and Cleaning Your Catchallows young anglers to get close to targetspecies. Instructors catch one bluegill, large-mouth bass, hybrid sunfish and channel cat-fish. Instructors then use the opportunity toshow anglers examples of concepts and anato-my learned in earlier programs. Instructors demonstrate filleting tech-niques for each species, cook the fillets and allow anglers and par-ents/guardians to taste the various species.

The final program, Aquatic Ecology, Conservation and Ethicsprovides understanding on how aquatic resources are both positivelyand negatively impacted, how humans fit into aquatic food webs andhow regulations can protect aquatic resources for users and inhabi-tants.

GO FISH! programs are diverse, giving anglers the tools theyneed to understand and enjoy the dynamic world of sport fishing andaquatic ecosystems. Young anglers successfully completing each“hook” receive an important piece of fishing equipment-free! Thisequipment, coupled with the knowledge gained from attending GOFISH! programs, is key to transforming new anglers into life-longanglers. Since GO FISH! began in 2006, 1,429 participants have becontacted 6,701 times during 550 programs, generating 816 programgraduates.

GO FISH! replaces previ-ous angler recruitment effortsconducted by the MissouriDepartment of Conservation,which focused on single-dayfishing and fishing educationprograms through the St. LouisUrban Fishing Programs,Urban Fishing Clinics and vari-ous kids fishing clinics. Thoughangler recruitment evaluationswere not performed for theseprograms, fishing permit salesexhibited flat or decliningtrends since they began in1971.

Extensive evaluations arebeing conducted on the GOFISH! program. Recent surveysreturned by GO FISH! gradu-ates (those participants com-pleting all hooks), provided verypositive feedback regarding the

effectiveness of the program. Nearly 40% ofthe surveys, representing 22 different zipcodes were returned and 89% of the GOFISH! graduates fished in 2009, with 74% ofparents/guardians purchasing a fishing licenseto fish with their graduate!

GO FISH! is currently supported by 56volunteer fishing instructors and coaches whodedicated nearly 1,500 hours in 2009. GOFISH! is also supported by generous dona-tions, such as the $1,000 donation made bythe Pomme de Terre Chapter of Muskies, Inc!

Future plans for GO FISH! are to devel-op an extensive mentoring program.Mentoring programs will be critical to retain-ing the newly recruited anglers. Plans includeFishing University to train GO FISH! gradu-ates to be peer mentors, continuing educa-tion courses and yearly fishing opportunitiesprovided by local fishing clubs.

GO FISH! programs are offered at Suson Park in South St. LouisCounty, Bellefontaine Conservation Area in North St. Louis County,Forest Park in St. Louis City and August A. Busch MemorialConservation Area in St. Charles County. The spring/summer pro-gram runs from April to September, with the winter trout programrunning from November to March. The Missouri Department ofConservation supplies bait, equipment and volunteer support.

Program dates, times, and locations can be found atwww.mdc.mo.gov/13100 Reservations can be made by calling (636)441-4554 and asking for the GO FISH! program.

This is a wonderful opportunity to give of yourself, pass onknowledge and make a difference in a young life. Who knows, maybesomeday someone will ask a former GO FISH! angler, “Who taughtyou how to fish?” and they will smile and think back to the time whena GO FISH! volunteer took the time to teach a young child how tofish. If you don’t live too far from St. Louis and would like to becomea GO FISH! volunteer or would like to get a child involved in GOFISH! contact Denise Otto at [email protected] or636.300.1953 x 243.

If you are unable to volunteer,but want to support this worth-while program, monetary dona-tions can be made to the

Missouri ConservationHeritage Foundation

P.O. Box 366,Jefferson City, MO 65102.

Please include a note which out-lines your wishes for the donationto be used only for the St. LouisRegion Kids Fishing Program,account # A14-303T.

If you would like to keep up on allthings GO FISH!, visit

www.friendsofgofish.com

and become a GO FISH! facebookfriend! v


Travis Nixon proudly shows off alunker he pulled from a brush pile

at the Suson Rearing Pond.

Alena Buczkowski smiles forthe camera as she is victori-ous over the channel catfish.

Gaila Jones found a hybridsunfish more than willing to

sample some bait in theForest Park Hatchery.

Muskies? You’re radio-tagging muskies in Melton HillLake? I didn’t know Tennessee had muskies!” That’s theresponse I often get when professional colleagues (and

many anglers) learn about a new research project we just started onmuskies in an east Tennessee reservoir. They are further surprised tolearn that muskies were native to the upper Tennessee River basin andrepresented one of the southern-most stocks of this important key-stone predator and valuable sportfish. The exact cause of their disap-pearance from many waters in Tennessee is not known, but construc-tion of dams and loss of free-flowing river habitats that began inearnest back in the 1930s clearly played a major role in the extirpa-tion of many species of native fish.

Although some natural reproduction by muskies occurs in scat-tered locations throughout Tennessee (including the CumberlandRiver basin), fishable stocks disappeared from the upper TennesseeRiver decades ago. The TWRA’s attempts to establish fishable popu-lations of this important, native species from the local fish fauna invarious east Tennessee reservoirs prior to 1998 yielded limited success.In 1997, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) biologist,Jim Negus, suggested they try again with Melton Hill Lake, a main-stem impoundment on the Clinch River. A description of TWRA’sefforts to re-establish muskie can be found on the website:http://www.tnfish.org

Since 1998 Melton Hill has been stocked with muskie obtainedfrom various northern sources, including Kentucky, because native

Tennessee broodstock were unavailable to TWRA’s hatchery man-agers. The stocking program has been modest with annual stockingsof 1,000 to 7,000 fingerlings and advanced fingerlings per year; insome years, no fish were stocked due to low availability. The EagleState Fish Hatchery manager, Mike Smith, was instrumental in focus-ing re-introduction efforts on stocking larger fingerlings (8-12 inches)to improve survival of the few fish TWRA was able to stock each year.A fishery has been born from TWRA’s humble stocking of an average0.5 fish /acre/year.

Being an impoundment, Melton Hill Lake acts like a large, slow-moving river. Bound by Melton Hill Dam at the lower end, the reser-voir extends 58 miles upstream to Norris Dam which impoundsNorris Lake, a large, deep impoundment renowned for its small-mouth bass and striped bass fisheries. Norris Lake also holds the cur-rent Tennessee state record for muskie, a 43.5 pounder caught wayback in 1983, although that remnant population no longer supportsan active fishery. The cold, well-oxygenated water below Norris Dam(the headwaters of Melton Hill Lake) provides for a world-class tail-water trout fishery that produced the State’s record brown trout (near-ly 29 pounds). The trout tailwater extends about 12 miles down-stream, where the habitat turns more lake-like. Tennessee has anabundance of cold tailwater rivers where northern cool- and cold-water species can thrive but what makes Melton Hill Lake a trophy-fish producer is the presence of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s BullRun steam plant about a third of the way down the lake. The heatedeffluent the plant discharges provides a complex and highly variedthermal environment year ‘round. In short, fish in Melton Hill Lakehave the opportunity to forage and grow over a wide-range of temper-atures throughout the year. It’s all about choice. Too hot in the sum-mer - swim upriver or drop downriver and descend to the well-oxy-genated waters below the thermocline! Too cold in the winter (yes, itcan get pretty cold in Tennessee each winter) - swim over to the powerplant effluent plume! The fact that the reservoir has a low-retentiontime (due to the constant exchange of water in the reservoir) meansthat the lake rarely stratifies and sufficient amounts of oxygen areavailable over all depths. It should come as no surprise that stripedbass, an introduced species that immigrates into Melton Hill Lakefrom other reservoirs in the system, grow to gargantuan sizes inMelton Hill Lake because of that combination of good water quality,a wide range of temperatures to select from, and abundant forage inthe form of shad. The current lake record striped bass is 63.5 poundsand that fish once held the distinction of being the largest landlocked

A small incision is closed with three sutures after the radio tag isinserted. The fish is lightly-sedated by pumping treated waterover the gills during the 5-minute surgical procedure.

“


striped bass ever caught in the country. It was these observations onstriped bass that convinced TWRA to try and establish a fishable pop-ulation of muskies that could grow fast, and big. Boy, can they ever.

It didn’t take long for avid muskie anglers, local and northernersalike, to discover just how fast, and big, Melton Hill muskies cangrow. Landing fish over 45 inches is no longer uncommon. The cur-rent lake record is a 53-incher caught in late February 2010. Most ofthe fishing effort occurs in winter and spring in the general vicinityand slightly downstream of the steam plant, where muskies tend tocongregate to take advantage of warmer temperatures and the foragethat is also attracted to the steam plant. The rapid increase in fishingpressure - and fears that this trophy fishery would soon be depleted -prompted the TWRA to enact a 50-inch size limit in March 2010 (upfrom 44-inches). The “buzz” about Melton Hill muskies alsoprompted the TWRA to fund its first study of muskies in Tennesseein over 30 years using federal Sport Fish Restoration funds. Theresearch is supported by TWRA, Tennessee Tech, and the TennesseeCooperative Fishery Research Unit (U.S. Geological Survey). One ofthe first things that we did was insert a wire microtag into the cheekof every muskie stocked last fall. The plan is to repeat this taggingeffort in the coming years and tag fish in different body locations eachyear. Eventually, tagged fish that survive to adulthood can be identi-fied using a detection wand and those recaptures can be assigned to aspecific year class. With that type of information, we will know exact-ly how long it takes Melton Hill muskies to grow to 30-inches, 40-inches, 50-inches…

For his graduate thesis project, Master’s degree student AaronCole (an Iowa State graduate) has beengiven the task of describing howmuskies in Melton Hill select tempera-tures and habitats throughout the year(not just in winter). Once spring andsummer roll around, the habits ofmuskies in Melton Hill are largelyunknown; angler success drops andmuskies are rarely observed in elec-trofishing samples. He is accomplish-ing these two main objectives by man-ually tracking 30 adult muskies (36-49inches) that we implanted with radiotags this past winter. Those tags will“telemeter” the body temperature ofeach fish and allow Aaron to monitortheir location, activity patterns, and thehabitats they choose throughout thelake for the next year. He will also bedescribing the thermal environmentthroughout the reservoir over the com-ing year to see what choices muskieshave over the seasons. In addition tocollecting a lot of data on the ecologyof muskies in Melton Hill Lake, wehope to provide insights into why thepopulation does not appear to be self-sustaining. The lake does not supportmuch aquatic vegetation and watchingwhere the adults congregate during thespawning season will tell us where theyare trying to spawn. Information onhabitat use in different seasons will alsoallow us to assist TWRA in designing amonitoring program using trap nets,which are the preferred method of

sampling muskies in many northern states.In the very short life of this project, Aaron has already witnessed

the rapid dispersal of muskies from the general area of the steam plant.Suffice it to say, a lot anglers and guides would like to now wherethose fish are going and they would like to know right now! All of theresults that Aaron generates will be available to the public after theproject concludes in 2011 and the final report is written and scruti-nized by the scientific community. In the meantime, anglers will have

to be patient and do their best to findthose fish on their own.

In the first few weeks of this proj-ect we received reports of anglers cap-turing (and releasing) at least nineradio-tagged muskies. That’s greatnews for us because it indicates thattagged fish are recovering nicely andquickly getting back to their old habits.In the event that an angler is luckyenough to catch a big Melton Hillmuskie that has an odd-looking wireexiting its body, we hope they will dropus a line (and we hope they won’t har-vest any of our tagged fish if they arelonger than the 50-inch minimum sizelimit). The surgical incision will even-tually heal so well that anglers won’t beable to see it, but that 8-inch wireantenna sticking out of them is a deadgive-away. Although our taggedmuskies have no external tags to indi-vidually identify each fish, if an anglertells us where and when they caughtone, Aaron will know who it is!

Once this project wraps up, theplan is to shift the research focus toTWRA’s efforts to manage muskies inthe Collins River watershed in middleTennessee, home to more fabulous fish-ing for muskies in the land that JackDaniels, Dolly Parton, and CountryMusic made famous.

Stay tuned! v

A tagged muskie spends her post-op recovery in a large dip netuntil she fully regains consciousness in about 2 minutes.

“. . . fish in Melton Hill Lakehave the opportunity to forageand grow over a wide-range oftemperatures throughout theyear. It’s all about choice. Toohot in the summer - swim upriv-er or drop downriver anddescend to the well-oxygenatedwaters below the thermocline!Too cold in the winter - swimover to the power plant . . .”

This radio-tagged muskie has fully recovered from sur-gery and is ready to swim out of the grasp of TWRA biol-ogist Jim Negus. Note the trailing antennae wire thatexits the body wall on its left side.



Muskie fishing is complicated business. There are a millionthings to keep track of every time you go out. It doesn’tmatter if it’s for two hours or two weeks. You have to

assume every cast is the one that is going to produce something spe-cial. And that’s not enough…good muskie anglers never drop theirguard, never stop learning, and constantly pay strict attention todetail. I know 2010 will be successful if I stick to a plan, and prom-ise myself to focus on a few important aspects that I’ve spent the win-ter thinking about.

The biggest handicap I face is making full use of the electronicequipment in my boat. Locators/GPS units have become the mostimportant element in muskie fishing. They are our eyes in the darkor fog. Precise boat control is often determined by how well you readand adhere to your electronics. The dead-reckoning of a good loca-tor is more important than instinct and memory. Time and moneysaved by a locator will be determined by how well you take advantageof its capabilities.

Last winter I picked up a new Lowrance 522. It replaced anobsolete unit. The 522 is mounted in the bow with the transducerbuilt into the electric motor. I monitor a 334 when I’m traveling andtrolling. It may seem like a modest set up for some anglers, but it suitsme. There’s little point in spending thousands of dollars on equip-ment that exceeds your needs or the capabilities of your boat. If youtry to stay abreast of the latest technology, chances are, you’ll never getcomfortable with what you have before you’re shopping again.

As last season progressed it became obvious I’d be catching morefish if I understood the electronics better. It was embarrassing whensomeone with a 522 asked me to check something and then had toshow me how. It has never been a problem for me to admit I don’tknow everything, but those situations were reminders of the impor-tance of being self-sufficient. Lessons on electronics (or anything else)should not be done while you’re trying to locate a hungry muskie. Itwasn’t fair to waste my partner’s time on something I should havealready been familiar with. This year I promise to be more proficientwith my electronic gear when the season opens. That means I’ll be onthe water a month ahead of time with nothing in the boat but instruc-tion manuals. Repetition is the best way for me to learn. I’ll forcemyself to repeat the steps until they become automatic.

Night fishing provided the best success for me last year. I baggednearly half of my fish with a custom-made topwater bait that didn’trequire anything more than bombing it out as far as I could andretrieving it slowly. The lure did all the work. All I had to do was lis-ten and reel at the right moment. When it was too rough for the top-water, I’d grab the stick with the double-10s. The biggest challenge

was burning them as fast as possible. If things got really tough, I’d trya few crankbaits.

I have a number of jerk baits, but I always seem to run out oftime before they come out of the tackle box. You constantly hearfrom experts to settle on a few lures and perfect their action; this is toencourage you to become a complete muskie angler. If I don’t likethe conditions of my home lake I can mow the hay in my front yard,and wait until the lake is right for me. But suppose I go to Canada,and the fish thumb their nose at the meager selection of lures I’m toss-ing? Think about how guides deal with finicky fish and tough con-ditions; their clients expect action regardless of what Mother Naturehas served up. Without jerk baits they would have a big handicap.The same goes for tournament anglers…perfecting finesse lures is anessential element of their success.

Instead of heading for shore when my favorite lures aren’t work-ing I promise to try something that is going to require more skill thanmy current approach. This is the type of experimenting and learningyou can do on the water. Actually, you don’t have a choice. Seekadvice, read, watch an expert, settle on one or two for starters, anddecide what works best for you. Lures such as a Suick are like a gui-tar…nobody retrieves them the same way, but we develop a certaindegree of skill. The only way to know what works for you is castingit out and paying attention to what you are forcing the lure to do. Ifyou move a fish, you’re on the right track. Confidence will come withsuccess.

Knowing how to make the most of a lure is often what separatesexperts from the rest of the angling world. I can’t get into a boat any-more that isn’t littered with soft rubber lures. Ask ten anglers howthey prefer to retrieve them, and you’ll get ten different answers.Sometimes conditions will dictate your approach. Believers areanother good example of a lure you can do a million things with.From trolling to a slow topwater retrieve, the limits of some luresdepend upon your imagination and willingness to perfect them.

If I had to choose one book on muskie fishing it would be DickPearson’s, “Muskies on the Shield.” It is packed with useful knowl-edge which muskies anglers from Maine to Mayfield can take advan-tage of. His phrase, “muskies love chaos” has put me back on trackmany times. Another snippet of wisdom he offers deals with explor-ing new water. This is definitely one I have trouble doing. My boatspends most of the fishing season on a lift 20 minutes from my office.The convenience pulls me like a magnet to my home lake. I fish until11 PM five or six times a week, get a good night’s sleep…and still havea wife! I’m not even close to learning all the lake has to offer, so whyin the world should I consider going anywhere else?

I Promise…by Ace Sommerfeld

The author with a muskie caught on a lake outside of his“comfort zone” - he promises to do more of that in 2010.

I know 2010 will be successful if Istick to a plan, and promise myself tofocus on a few important aspects thatI’ve spent the winter thinking about.


Special Events

2010May 14-16, 2010

14th Annual Indiana Muskie Classicwww.indianamuskieclassic.comContact: Kenton Smith, Director-

Indiana Muskie [email protected] (317) 523-7004

June 5-6, 20102nd Annual LSC Muskie Madness SpringTournament. Contact Mark Kornosky,Chapter 58, for more info: 586-596-4481

or email: [email protected]

Aug. 25-27, 20102010 Gil Hamm Chapter Challungeat Lake Vermilion, MN. Contact: Jeff Young:

[email protected] or (218) 821-3669

September 10-12, 2010Pomme de Terre Chapter Annual Muskie

TournamentLake Pomme de Terre, MOwww.missourimuskies.org

No. Chapter, Address Phone #01.....Twin Cities, 6311 Steller Circle, Excelsior, MN 55331......................................952-474-596702.....Fargo-Moorhead, Box 2021, Fargo ND, 58107................................................701-298-903203.....Chicagoland Muskie Hunters, 7600 Kilbourn Ave, Skokie, IL 60076 ...............847-677-001704.....Titletown Muskies, Inc., 3097 Inverness Lane, New Franken, WI 54229 .......920-866-970505.....Pomme De Terre, PO Box 5, Hermitage, MO 65668 .......................................417-993-003506.....First Wisconsin, PO Box 122, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 ...............................715-864-226907.....South Side Muskie Hawks, 5211 S. Narragansett Ave., Chicago, IL 60638......773-581-865008.....Capital City, PO Box 8862, Madison, WI 53708...............................................608-669-504609.....West Virginia, 1270 Federal Road, Little Hocking, OH 45742 .........................740-667-357110.....Heartland, 239 8th St SE, Mason City IA 50401..............................................641-424-082711 .....Mississippi Valley, 5301 11th Ave “C”, Moline, IL 61265 ..................................309-797-180312.....Headwaters, PO Box 652, Eagle River, WI 54521...........................................715-891-557413.....Hayward Lakes, PO Box 609, Hayward, WI 54843 .........................................715-634-454314.....South of the Border, 28926 W. Big Hollow Rd, McHenry, IL 60050.................815-385-902615.....Star of the North, 16774 West Bay Drive, Pengilly, MN 55775........................218-885-167716.....Three Rivers, 119 Bus Lane, Renfrew, PA15136.............................................724-789-786617.....Quad County, PO Box 185, Plano, IL 60545....................................................815-695-149418.....Hopedale, 15 Township Rd 125, Dillonvale, OH 43917 ...................................740-769-726919.....Akron-Canton Muskie Maniacs, 10957 Northwood Ave NE, Bolivar OH 44612.330-874-277320.....Between the Lakes, PO Box 61, Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085-0061 ...............920-564-322621.....North Metro, PO Box 41216, Plymouth, MN 55441 .........................................952-469-215522.....New Jersey, http://www.mi22.com/ ..................................................................................TBD23.....Cleveland, 5007 Starr St., Newton Falls, OH 44444........................................330-219-796424.....Brainerd Lakes, 18031 Heritage Road, Brainerd, MN 56401 ..........................218-838-550926.....Central Wisconsin, PO Box 263, Medford, WI 54451 ......................................715-748-487428.....Shawnee Muskie Hunters, 61 W. Jennings, Wood River, IL 62095.................618-610-500329.....Upper Great Plains, 1788 Hwy 4, Estherville, IA 51334...................................712-362-250130.....God’s Country, PO Box 1461, LaCrosse, WI 54601 ........................................608-786-406231.....Penn-Ohio, 309 Spring St, Jamestown, PA 16134...........................................724-932-581532.....Flatlanders, 5776 Vesper Drive, South Beloit, IL 61080 ..................................815-389-462233.....Lake Superior, 2031 Hwy. 33 S., Cloquet, MN 55720......................................218-879-271235.....Milwaukee, PO Box 28842, Greenfield, WI 53228...........................................262-442-626037.....St. Cloud, 312 18th Avenue N., Sartell, MN 56377 ..........................................320-656-116038.....Vikingland, 2909 Wicken Lane NW, Alexandria, MN 56308.............................320-846-797539.....Fox River Valley, 1253 Cobblers Crossing, Elgin, IL 60123.............................847-741-977141.....Central Ohio, 870 County Road 9, Fremont OH 43420...................................419-992-450442.....Hoosier Muskie Hunters, PO Box 501371, Indianapolis, IN 46250 .................317-577-805045.....Kentucky, 212 Linden Ave., Southgate, KY 41071...........................................859-441-166646.....Bemidji/Cass Lake, 16256 Andrusia Rd NE, Cass Lake, MN 56633...............218-335-859747.....Michigan Muskie Alliance, PO Box 512, Caledonia, MI 49316 ........................616-447-168849.....Webster Lake Musky Club, PO Box 670, No. Webster, IN 46555 ...................574-834-166950.....Penn-Jersey, 510 Bryton Ave., Pottstown PA 19465.........................................484-459-594052.....Daniel Boone, 813 US 62, Maysville, KY 41056..............................................606-759-761053.....Huskerland Muskie Hunters, 15706 Hamilton St, Omaha, NE 68118...............402-498-895954.....Southern Crossroads, 1524 Country Club Rd, Albert Lea MN 56007 .............507-373-181856.....SW Ohio Muskie Assoc., 524 Sterling Meadows Place, Brookville, OH 45309..937-833-183357.....NW TigerPac, P.O. Box 5515, Kent, WA 98064 ...............................................253-850-588958.....Lake St. Clair Muskies, Inc., P.O. Box 805915, St. Clair Shores, MI 48080....586-873-578159.....New Mexico Muskies, Inc., P.O. Box 65575, Albuquerque, NM 87193............505-264-2999

Special events listings are provided atno charge to Muskies, Inc chapters.

To list your chapter's event,email to:

[email protected] by ground mail:Kevin Richards,

7618 Sunrise Ridge Road,Henley, MO 65040

Please send announcementsat least 2 months in advance.

ATTENTIONCHAPTER

CONTACTS:Please make sure

your chapter addressand phone number

is correct on this pageAND on the M.I. website.

Whenever you updatechapter information on

the website, please send anemail to the Editor so we can

keep this page current. Thanks!

Chapter News and Views


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During our March member meeting, we held our annual lureswap. This is a well attended event as it gives all of us an excuse todust off our muskie tackle box (if many of you are like me, its muskietackle boxes!!) and pull out your neglected lures you have not beenusing to sell or to trade. Tables for lure displays were set up aroundthe perimeter of our meeting room and a line of tables were set up inthe middle. Many of us did multiple laps looking for the best lures andthe best deals. As an example of how the deals worked out this year,I brought five lures for trade and had spotted a great black and whitejointed Believer. I offered up a bucktail with number 10 blades fortrade and the offer was accepted. I walked two tables away and fellowmember, Ben Meister, had a great table display of lures. I spotted agreat fire tiger colored Phantom. I asked Ben what he would like forthe lure, and he said he wanted my recently acquired Believer. I decid-ed that I cast more than I troll anyway, and accepted the offer. I man-aged to trade off my five neglected lures and replace them with fivenew lures to add to my collection.

Before we turned everybody loose at the lure swap, we did havesome business items to review. President Jeff Young conducted themeeting. Business included an update on the Gil Hamm ChapterChallenge on Lake Vermillion; the ice fishing outing on Jones Bay,Pelican Lake; and the heated discussion about Senator PaulKoering’s bill that was presented in attempt to block the muskie stock-ing proposal of Upper and Lower South Long Lake. Many memberslike President Jeff Young, Trent Bauman, and me had contactedSenator Koering and discussed our disappointment with the bill.Senator Koering claimed that he was mealy listening to his con-stituents as he received sixty plus calls against the muskie stockingproposal. I am confident to say that he has received many morecalls from his constituents sharing their favoritism to stock muskies inUpper and Lower South Long Lake. The meeting concluded withdrawings and prizes. Upcoming events include the Poolside Demowith Brett Erickson from Thorne Bros at Craguns Resort on May 11th,Lure Making Night on June 8th, and the June Clash on LakeAlexander on June 19th. For more information, please visit our web-site at www.brainerdmuskies.com

Damien Williams

It has been a busy time with the sports shows, Midwest Fly FishingExpo, George’s Expo, and our poolside demonstration. Increasingnumbers of people are interested in getting involved with the muskieresource at a very personal level of involvement. I like talking with peo-ple at these shows and sharing the common experiences we have. Weare not isolated people, but a collective group that has a significant eco-nomic impact.

Our chapter is finishing up plans on the annual Capable Partnersouting on June 13th. We take a number of people with disabilities for amorning of fishing and a cook-out. We also host a Military FamilyFishing Day on June 25th, taking family members out on the water for aday.

At our last meeting Paul Klein, noted Wisconsin Muskie guide,spoke about open water muskie fishing. He did a great job and sup-ported his ideas with both anecdotes and scientific background. Wehave a lot to think about as the season approaches.

Hugh Becker was a lifelong member of Chapter #1. I hope we canget an article about him in the muskie magazine, talking about his lifeand his commitment to muskies. Chapter #1 serves as administratorfor the Hugh C. Becker Grants. The 24 grants totaled $139,000 for2010 and were awarded to 11 states and Canada. Some of the grantswere: Chapter #41 in Ohio – a Fish Tank to be used for stocking;Chapter #8 in Wisconsin – help the continuing study of the strains offish stocked in Waubesa, Monona, and Kegonsa; a study by Dr. JamesDiana and James Molenhouse about home ranges, diet, and seasonalmovement in the Antrium County Chain of Lakes in Michigan; Chapter#57 in Washington – helping to raise and stock tiger muskies; Chapter#9 in West Virginia – upgrading and renovating a rearing pond; and theLeech Lake Watershed Foundation – two grants to acquire sensitivespawning shoreline and habitat protection. These and the other grantswill have a significant impact upon the muskie fishery throughout thecountry. As a recognition of Mr. Becker, all grant recipients should men-tion the Hugh C. Becker Foundation in all of their publicity. Over thenext few years, these grants and the subsequent grants are going tohave a major, positive impact upon muskie fishing.

Check those split rings and hooks. We hope to see you at theChapter Challunge on Vermilion!

Respectfully submitted, Tom Keith

Greetings Thrillseekers,Chicagoland Muskie Hunter chapter has started out this spring in

a big way with members fishing wherever they could. There is excite-ment in the air at every meeting with discussions as to where and whenfolks are fishing and planning to fish. It’s always amazing how manymembers know so many lakes but it just seems that there is at least oneexpert for every lake and they are always willing to mark charts for othermembers.

Our March, 2010 meeting was a great success which was toppedout with a healthy check being presented by Steve Statland who co-produces the famous Chicago Muskie Show every January at HarperCollege in Palatine, Illinois. Steve presented this check to the club fortheir volunteer participation in working the Show. Thank you Steve.

Our March guest speaker was Mike Hulbert(http://mikehulbert.com). Mike had an excellent PowerPoint presen-tation and focused his discussion on how to handle the increased fish-ing pressure on the lakes we all experience. Mike guides in bothIndiana and northern Minnesota so he understands fishing pressure.

One of the most interesting things Mike spoke about related to thelures he uses to trigger big fish on pressured lakes which include BullDawgs, the Medusa from Chaos Tackle (10', 8.25oz.), Red October’sTwisted Tubes (14"), Double Cowgirls and Spanky Baits (specificallythe heavier version of the double bladed bucktails). Clearly he likesthrowing big baits all year long. He is a strong advocate of fluorocar-bon leaders in the 130#-150# test range. Lastly, Mike stressed theimportance of longer fishing rods, specifically 9' rods. Mike has beenworking on a 9' rod which can be ordered via his website. From myresearch, this rod has been received quite favorably.

Chicagoland Muskie Hunter chapter had its most successfulIndoor Flea Market ever this last weekend. Amazing deals were to behad and from conversations with the vendors, “it was a good day”.

Twin Cities6311 StellerCircle • Excelsior, MN 55331

952-474-5967www.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.

01

Brainerd Lakes18031 Heritage Road • Brainerd, MN 56401

218-838-5509 – Donny Hineswww.brainerdmuskies.com

Meets 2nd Tuesday 7:00 PM, Water Fall Inn, Hwy 371 north of Brainerd byBrainerd International Raceway.

24

Chicagoland Muskie Hunters7600 Kilbourn Ave. • Skokie, IL 60076

847-677-0017 – Dean [email protected]

Meets 2nd Tuesday 7:30 PM, Park Ridge VFW 10 West Higgins Ave., ParkRidge, IL.

03


Hope you had an opportunity to pick up a few things for the new year.Frank Loye has booked a bunch of great speakers for 2010 and

Joe Pavilonis has arranged some outstanding outings. Hope you canall attend.

You are encouraged to come to any of the next ChicagolandMuskie Hunters meetings. Everybody shares their knowledge andexperience. Chicagoland Muskie Hunter meetings are now the sec-ond Tuesday of the month at the Park Ridge VFW located at 10 W.Higgins Road, Park Ridge, Illinois at 7:30pm with free pizza beingserved about 8:00pm. Keep the calls coming with questions about join-ing Chicagoland Muskie Hunters. As always, feel free to call DeanRosset at 847-677-0017 or [email protected] or contact me at847-434-1400 or [email protected]

Take care, Kevin M. Lynch

Even during the off months Titletown members have been keepingthemselves busy. Many have attended or worked the fishing shows.Others have traveled to the warmer waters of Kentucky and Tennesseefor a little early musky hunting. With the waters of Green Bay and theFox River being open for the last several weeks, many have been ableto enjoy a little early season walleye action. And then there are the end-less hours of prepping tackle, gear and boats as well as planning for ourspring banquet.

In February Greg Thomas spoke at our monthly meeting. Gregcovered new tactics for fishing plastic baits and the importance of prop-erly executed figure-eights. Greg also demo’d his new hybrid leadersystem.

During March’s meeting we approved donating $1000 to theWisconsin DNR for the continued studies and research specific toGreen Bay musky. We continue to promote positive relations with bothbiologist and enforcement personnel of the DNR. Tom Rozek was ourguest speaker. Tom explained his methods of researching and fishingnew waters.

On a sad note in March we lost a great friend and mentor. TomMoes 69, of Abrams passed away March 9. Tom was a contractor own-ing his own business with his wife. He also ran his own Musky FishingGuide service in Oneida and Vilas Counties for many years and co-founded Musky’s Unlimited. Tom was also instrumental in backing ourChapters creation and forming. Tom was remembered with a short trib-ute from Tony Olsen and memorable stories from other chapter mem-bers.

Kevin R. Pischke, Secretary

2010 Calendar of Events:May 3 – General Meeting and fish fry. 5:30 PM Chippewa Rod & Gun

Club.May 8 – Swap Meet, Chippewa Rod @ Gun Club Boat landing.May 17 – Chapter Board Meeting, 6:00 PM Chippewa Rod @ GunMay 29 – Muskie season north of Hwy 10 opens.June 2 - First night of 2010, Wednesday Night League, Wissota and

Old Abe.June 7 – General Meeting at Chippewa Rod & Gun Club 6 PMJune 12 – Top Water Challenge, Lake HolcombeJune 19, 20 – Kleeba Challenge of the state Muskie Inc chapters, Lake

Holcombe.June 21 – Chapter Board Meeting, 6:00 PM Chippewa Rod & Gun

Tony Belohlavek the president of the Chippewa. Rod and Gun Clubwas at our last meeting and started by thanking Muskies Inc. for yearsof help to the Rod and Gun. He presented information on the Boat Showand Swap Meet scheduled for the second Saturday in May and invited

Muskies Inc. to host a booth for raffle ticket sales and memberships. Our chapter donated $500 to a project on Pine Lake. This lake is

connected to Lake Holcombe. The islands have been rip-rapped to pre-serve the shoreline and full length trees were placed and anchored per-pendicular to the shoreline with the butt end on the rip-rap and the treetops and limbs extending into the water. Excel Energy had a grant of$12,500 from a Natural Resource Grant. The Lake HolcombeImprovement Association coordinated things.

The Wednesday night league kicks off on June 2nd and will onlybe on Lake Wissota and Old Abe this year to encourage camaraderie.The cost for the whole year is $5 and the board wants everyone to paythis in a timely manner. It was suggested by the board that if membersdon’t pay your fish points don’t count. Members should realize that atour meeting and fish fry on May 3 it would be a good time to pay thesmall fee and sign up with different members for each Wednesday nightto fish with. The club also purchased 8 prints from artist GarrettShipman and 10 DVD’s of “Just Big Muskies” to use at our various raf-fles and drawings.

The Top Water Challenge on June 12 will not start until after thenoon cook out. It was decided that from 5 in the morning until 10 at nightmakes for a long day. So we will eat first and then fish. The cook out isat Pine Point on Lake Holcombe and the gathering after words will beat the Big Minnow.

Thanks, Jim Bunch

The March, 2010 Awards Night of the South Side Muskie hawswas called to order by Vice-president John McNicholas. After a few briefannouncements regarding our mini-fundraiser for the Veterans Homefishing pond, our April Swap Night, and our Memorial Day weekend tripto Sunrise Resort on Lac Vieux Desert, John ordered the food to bebrought out to the buffet table and everyone got in line to enjoy someshrimp, stuffed mushroom caps, baked clams on the half shell, a vari-ety of cold cuts, fresh vegetables, deep-fried mushrooms and zucchini,meatballs, and for dessert, home-baked cakes and brownies con-tributed by our members.

After everyone had finished eating, we got into the main portion ofthe evening, the awards for the best fisherman, women, and kids for the2009 season. The Awards were as follows:

JUNIORS DIVISIONChloe Niemiec (3 years old) . . . . .16" largemouthAlex Niemiec (7 years old)) . . . . . .14" crappie, 19" walleye,

24" largemouthLARGEST MULTI-SPECIES

Largest Northern Fred Howes 371/2"Largest Largemouth Alex Niemiec 24"Largest Walleye Alex Niemiec 19"

South Side Muskie Hawks5211 S. Narragansett Ave. • Chicago, IL 60638

773-581-8650

Our meetings are held every third Wednesday of the month at MamaLuigi's located at 7500 S. Harlem in Bridgeview, IL starting at 7:00 pm.

07

First WisconsinP.O. Box 122, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729

Jason Smith - 715-726-9912 • 1-888-726-6733www.firstwi.muskiesinc.org

Meetings 1st Monday, 5:30 PM, at Rod and Gun Club, Lake Wissota from May toSeptember and at the Fill Inn Station, 104 W. Columbia St., Chippewa Falls fromOctober to April.

06

Titletown3097 Inverness Lane

New Franken, WI 54229920-866-9705

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LUNKER OF THE MONTHRon Rodak March 431/2"Matt Cozzi May 33" and September, 48"Dennis Latoza June 48" and October, 50"Rich Schuit July 55"Al Buvelot Nov. 46" and December, 45"

WOMEN’S DIVISION1st Place Diane Capiak 2 fish 22 points

MEN’S DIVISION1st Place Matt Cozzi 11 fish 149 points2nd Place Al Buvelot 9 fish 123 points3rd Place Tony Capiak 9 fish 107 points

WOMEN’S MASTERS DIVISIONCatherine Latoza 37 fish 437 pointsCatherine also took 3rd Place in the International Women’s Masters

Division!

MEN’S MASTERS DIVISIONDennis Latoza 39 fish 464 points

Congratulations to all of the happy winners! Hopefully, the econo-my will improve enough so that more of us can take longer and morefrequent fishing trips this year.

All in all, everyone had a great time at the meeting, and it was agreat way to spend St. Patrick’s Day. Even the whiners table wasn’twhining as much as usual, though they did whine a little bit. After all, ifthey didn’t whine at least a little, they really wouldn’t be living up to thename now, would they? Of course, once they started winning in the raf-fle, the whining almost stopped!

Don’t forget to sign up for the Memorial Day weekend trip toSunrise Resort on Lac Vieux Desert. For further information or to signup, contact John McNicholas at (773) 617-9685.

Respectfully submitted, Lynn Polyak, RVP

Winter is always a very busy time for CCMI club members. Theannual Awards Banquet, the annual Intermediate and Advanced MuskieSchool, the annual Muskie Seminar - our official fundraiser, and partic-ipation in the Madison Fishing Expo keep us going. As these activitieswind down, however, club members gear up for opening day. And it isfinally here. We hit the water hard, anxious to land our first muskie ofthe season, and more. Hopefully, the season begins trouble free,motors tuned, reels oiled, line replaced, hooks sharpened. Good luckto all. We hope you all have a great and safe season.

The CCMI 9th Annual Intermediate and Advanced Muskie Schoolon March 20 was, once again, a resounding success. Over 200 stu-dents and instructors participated. Attendance broke all previousrecords and participants rated the school very highly. Congratulationsto all who worked to make this event so special, and particularly to GeoffCrandall who did all the organizing and booking of instructors. Geoffdoes an outstanding job year after year. Thanks, Geoff!

As this is written (in late March), the outcome of CCMI’s IowaHawg Hunt Outing on April 17th is not known. More details will be pro-vided next month.

As previously written, the final CCMI sponsored event this springwas the annual fundraising Muskie Seminar on April 15th. This year’sfeatured speaker was Gregg Thomas of Battle the Beast Guide Service.If you have never heard Thomas give a seminar before, you owe it toyourself to make sure you do. Thomas is always current, his “TimelyTips” were meaningful, and he is quite the entertainer. Thanks, Greggfor an outstanding presentation.

As mentioned last month, the final guest speaker at monthly mem-bership meetings before the summer break is Wally Banfi, fishing guideand National Professional Anglers Association member. Banfi will speakat the May 10, 2010 membership meeting. As a local guide and radioprogram host, Banfi has significant knowledge about the waters ofMadison and the surrounding area. We look forward to learning fromhis expertise and experience. For information on all CCMI outings and

events, check the CCMI website at www.capitalcitymuskiesinc.org.Last month we reported that the Annual Awards Banquet was held

on February 8, 2010, when members in the club are recognized for out-standing angler achievements. We also reported that in 2009, clubmembers caught and registered 1142 muskies, and every muskie wasreleased. In that report, the number “4” and number “2” were trans-posed. The number of muskies caught and released should have been1124. We apologize for the error.

CCMI is proud to announce that the club has been awarded $9,000from the Hugh C. Becker Fund to help continue its research project onthe Madison Chain of lakes, and particularly Lake Monona in which thegrowth and survivability of Wisconsin strain muskies is compared to thegrowth and survivability of Leech Lake strain muskies. CCMI, in coop-eration with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has beenstocking approximately 1000 10” to 12” muskies, 500 of each strain, inLake Monona for three years. All fish have had Passive IntegratedTransponders (PIT tags) implanted in them. When netted by the WDNRor caught by anglers, a wand can be passed over the fish, and a num-ber, which identifies the age and time of stocking of the fish can be usedwith data on the size and location of the fish to determine which straingrows longer, grows larger, and lives longer. Data collected will also helpthe WDNR evaluate its stocking efforts on the Madison chain, as well asstatewide. The project is projected to continue for two more years.CCMI is very grateful to the Hugh C. Becker Foundation for the grant andappreciates the recognition of the importance of this project. Thank you!

Lee Bartolini, VP

About 150 persons attended our Annual Banquet and BusinessMeeting on March 6, 2010 at the Vienna Community Building.

John Kaltenecker, Secretary, summarized the minutes of the 2009Business Meeting. Darlene Kelley, Treasurer, gave the FinancialReport. We began the year with $11,129.00 and ended the year with$10, 859.00. Much of these funds are earmarked for particular projectsand are not available for general use. Jim Moore went over the 2010proposed budget which was approved earlier by the ExecutiveCommittee.

Jim reminded us that winners of the Chapter’s Men’s Division mustremain in the Master’s Division for a minimum of 3 years after whichthey may elect to return to the Men’s Division. Declaration of intent toreturn to the Men’s Division must be made prior to January 1.

Jim Moore updated us on various Chapter Projects. The TJMuskies Eatery Renovation to a muskie motif at Stonewall JacksonResort Lounge is about 90% complete.

We donated $250.00 to the Ohio Minnow Fund. We have mem-bers residing in Ohio and many of our WV members utilize their muskiefishery. We have budgeted $300.00 to WV DNR for use at theirwarmwater hatcheries. Application has been made for a Hugh C.Becker Grant thru a foundation overseen by the Twin Cities Chapter ofMuskies, Inc. to upgrade rearing ponds adjacent to Stonecoal Lake.

Electrofishing boats can now be launched at the new access a fewmiles below the city of Buckhannon water supply dam. This hasenabled Kevin Yokum to expand the Buckhannon River Muskie TaggingProject downstream from the Catch and Release Area.

We are very proud of the Palestine Hatchery Construction Project.A roof was placed on one of the structures and a pole building was builtby Chapter volunteers. This work saved the WVDNR thousands of dol-lars.

We hope that the East Lynn Lake Christmas Tree Project spear-headed by Jason Wright can continue this year. Christmas trees aresunk into the lake to provide cover for the fish.

President Moore was disappointed with member participation atour booth at the WVDNR Hunting and Fishing Show at StonewallJackson State Park last September. We will have a booth again in 2010but unless more people work we may discontinue this important project.

Tournament/Outings Schedule for 2010:Spring Mail-In March 27-28 Chair: Jim MooreOdie Cutlip Memorial May 1-2 Chair: Darlene Kelley

Team Tourney [ Stonewall Jackson Lake ]

Capital CityP.O. Box 8862, Madison, WI 53708608-669-5046 – Gerard Hellenbrand

www.capitalcitymuskiesinc.orgMeets 2nd Monday at The East Side Club, 3735 Monona Dr. Madison, WI.

08

West Virginia1270 Federal Road • Little Hocking, OH 45742

740-667-3571http://westvirginiamuskiesinc.orgMeets: No definite schedule-call

09

CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS (Continued from page 27)

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Ohio Lakes:Salt Fork Lake Sat. June 12 Chair: Kevin WoolardPiedmont Lake Sun. June 13

Burnsville Lake Sat. Sept. 18 Chair: Paul & Nancy AmickFall Mail-In Oct. 23-24 Chair: Sharon Crane

Current officers were re-elected for a two year term: President: JimMoore; Vice President: Kevin Kelley; Secretary: John Kaltenecker;Treasurer: Darlene Kelley; RVP: Bill Crane. Elected to the ExecutiveCommittee were Ken Squires and Debbie Bever for one year terms;Chris Burnette has one year remaining of his two year term.

Chapter members Chris Burnette and Wayne Riggenbach report-ed on the tragic situation at Dunkark Creek in Northern WV andSouthwestern PA. A total aquatic life and fish kill occurred late last sum-mer for 43 miles of this stream. Chris represents us on a committeeinvolved with this issue. Wayne had disturbing, graphic pictures of theaftermath of the fish kill.

Jeff Hansbarger reported on the Elk River Tagging and TrackingProject and Chris O’Bara updated us on the warmwater hatcheriesmuskie stocking.

VP Kevin Kelley announced the induction of Don Smith and ChuckBraniff into the Chapter Hall of Fame. Don Cox accepted the award forDon Smith who was posthumously honored. Don Cox emphasized thatSmitty was not only a good angler but a good person. Smitty was anearly advocate of Catch and Release going so far as to purchasemuskies that other fishermen had on their stringers just so he could turnthem loose.

Dave Wenzel made the presentation to Chuck Braniff. He referredto Chuck as his muskie fishing mentor and praised him for his exempla-ry character as well as his fishing abilities. Chuck Braniff is a chartermember and was a leader of the WV Chapter during its’ formativeyears. Chuck served as President for several years in the early 1980s.

John Kaltenecker, Secretary

Hello Muskies, Inc members from around the country. HeadwatersChapter 12 is getting ready for our 2010 season. With only weeks awayfrom opening day it is time to start planning and marking our calendarsfor our up coming events.

We just finished our 32nd annual Banquet and awards dinner. A bigthanks To Joe and Micki Koschnik, and Bill and Sandy Jacobs for cosharing our banquet as well as all the hard work provided by our clubDirectors which was a great success. Over 135 people in attendanceenjoyed a great sit down dinner ,live auctions and numerous rafflesCongratulations to Paul Hansen for being named the lure manufactureand artist of the year. A Big thank you to Scott Samuels for donating abeautiful coffee table with a 48 inch Musky Replica mount done by JoeFittante as our main live auction item.

Our Headwaters club will hold its first outing of the year on May29th.All club members or prospective members interested in this eventcan find information on our web site www.headwatersmuskies.com

On June 12th and June 13th. Headwaters Chapter is hosting the31st Annual Spring Classic which will be held on the Eagle River Chain.This tournament is limited to the first 150 teams. Again informationabout entering this tournament can be found at www.headwa-tersmuskies.com

Another outing open to our club members is the Kleeba outing,Jerry and Marge Hollnagel will be chairing this outing for our club. Thisevent is open to our club members and information will be found in ourmonthly newsletter.

The season is finally here Good luck to all anglers this seasonGlenn Matula, Secretary

The Hayward Lakes chapter held its annual awards banquet onSaturday, March 6th for all of the club members who entered fish in our“members contest”. If you didn’t enter fish last year think about joining

us in 2010. We award trophies, plaques, certificates and patches sothere is something for everyone. It’s also interesting to see who caughtwhat, where and when and the stories behind the catch. We would likesee more participation by women members and youth. This year wewant to post pictures of fish caught by our members on our web site socontact Mark Laustrup at: 715-634-0842 if you have a picture we canuse. Please register your fish on line if possible, if not we will acceptyour paper form.

The guest speaker at our May meeting is Muskies, Inc. memberKevin Pischke. Kevin lives in Green Bay and is an experienced fisher-man there. Since this has become an excellent fishery in recent yearswith numbers of big fish this will be an interesting presentation. The dateis Tuesday May 4th. We will have a business meeting at 6 PM and thegeneral meeting at 7 PM.

Bill Shumway will be the speaker for our June meeting which isTuesday the 1st at 7 PM. Bill has been guiding in the Hayward area for27 years and his line of muskie lures is well known; this will also be agood presentation. Both meetings are at the “Dick-Sy Roadhouse, tenmiles east of Hayward on Highway 77 east.

Plans for our 33rd Annual Fall Tournament are falling into placewith the prizes and other aspects of the tournament being the same asprevious years. The dates for this year are October 1, 2 &3.

Our club is going to continue meeting for a fishing outing everyother Wednesday evening starting on Wednesday the June 2nd; westarted this activity last year. We fish from about 5-9 PM and meet at anearby bar/restaurant afterwards. We will post the schedule in the Juneissue of the magazine and also on our web site www.muskiesinc-hay-ward.org.

Good Fishing, Mike Persson

To our Three Rivers Chapter 16 members. Our March Meetingwas held, with some of our top musky fisherman/members demonstrat-ing their leader building techniques, which was informative and wellreceived by our members in attendance. Door prizes and raffles weresupported once again by those in attendance.

Calendar of Events for 2010:May 15 - Outing at PymatuningJuly 24th and 25th - Chautauqua EventAugust 14th - Kids Outing at Lake ArthurOctober 16th and 17th - Lake Arthur OutingAt our May meeting we will holding a round table discussion, host-

ed by Tom Simon and Doug Lindsey, giving us their insight into fishingPymatuning, the June meeting will host Joe and Jerry Marinzel, givingus a presentation on lure construction, and our July meeting will haveTodd Young, giving us his insight into fishing Chautauqua Lake. Weare looking forward to all these events and hope to see you in atten-dance.

Now that the good weather is upon us, enjoy fishing and be safe.Jim Patterson

The Muskie Maniacs held their Annual Awards Banquet on March6th at the North Canton Eagles. We had a great crowd with 104 in atten-dance. Our guest speaker for the evening was Jim Bortz. We want tothank Jim for his presentation and helpful information that he sharedwith us!

The winners of the different divisions of our club for 2009 were:Junior Division-Brian Aguirre; Women’s Division-Deborah Crossley;Women’s Master Division-Charlotte Fuchs; Men’s Division-DeanDavis; and Men’s Master Division - John Dennis. Largest club release

Three Rivers119 Bus Lane, Renfrew, PA 15136724-789-7866 – James P. Busshttp://threerivers.muskiesinc.org

Meets 2nd Monday 7:30 PM, Northside Sportsmans Club, Wexford, PA.

16

Akron-Canton10957 Northwood Ave. NE • Bolivar, OH 44612

Gordon Selden - 330-874-2773http://[email protected]

Meets 3rd Monday 7:00 PM, Belgrade Gardens, 3476 Massillon Road,Akron, OH.

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Hayward LakesP.O. Box 609

Hayward, WI 54843715-634-4543

13

HeadwatersP.O. Box 652 • Eagle River, WI 54521

715-891-5574 – Bill Jacobswww.headwatersmuskies.com

Meets 1st Wednesday 7:00 PM, Eagle River Inn, Eagle River, WI.

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went to Kevin LaRoache with his 55” fish from Lake St. Clair. This fishis also the largest club release to date.

Our club finished the 2009 season with 726 releases and therewere 11 50-plus inch fish that were caught. What a great season!Hopefully, this year will even be better than last year. Well the ice is offthe lakes and reports of fish are already coming in. We have had acouple of warm spells and the fish have been very cooperative.

Our first tournament will be at Saltfork on April 17th and 18th. OnMay 15th and 16th, we are having our Chapter Challunge down atSaltfork. We invite all chapters to participate. We will have a shorelunch on Saturday for everyone. Chapter 41 won the challunge lastyear and will be hosting it for this year. Our next tournament will beJune 12th and 13th at Leesville Lake. Well that’s all for now but I willkeep you informed on what our chapter is doing.

Kevin Proffitt

Check out our website (shawneemuskiehunters.org) for lots ofgood information. Thanks to Jerry and Cheryl Ford for taking over ourwebsite and adding new items such as: Hot News, members lookingfor fishing partners, and much much more.

May is a very good time to fish for muskies on Kinkaid. The fishhave finished spawning and are feeding to get their strength back. Avariety of lures will work including glide baits, buck tails, spinner baits,crank baits and surface baits. Both casting and trolling will producefish. The weather is just right for a pleasant day on the water.

As you look at our activities in the next couple of mounts you willsee we will have lots of things the whole family can enjoy. We start thismonth with our Spring Warm up tournament. This is usually a verygood tournament with lots of muskies being caught. We have hadentries from 5 states for this tournament. Contact Manual Santa Cruzfor information or go to our web sight.

Our Guide for the Day program looks strong again for this year. Wehave had a lot of interest in this program from the sports shows this pastwinter. Our Member Outing this year is being planed by Craig Moser. Itshould be a very good event with a picnic at the end of the day.

A short mention of the first ever Youth Muskie Tournament Trailsponsored by the IMTT ( Illinois Muskie Tournament Trail). The trail thisyear will have three tournaments. The first at Shelbyville, Second onthe Fox Chain and the third on Kinkaid. We hope that this trail takes off.Our youth are the future of our sport.

Upcoming Events:May 1st and 2nd Spring Warm up Tournament on Kinkaid Lake.

Contact Manuel Santa Cruz for more information or go to ourweb sight.

May 15th Guide for the Day on Kinkaid LakeMay 22nd Members outing on Kinkaid Lake 7 AM.May 22nd Youth Muskie Tournament on Lake Shelbyville This is

the first tournament on the new IMTT Youth Tournament Trail.You can contact me if you want more details on this circuit.These Youth Tournaments are free to school aged youth. My e-mail address is [email protected] or lake for information onthe IMTT web sight.

June 5th & 6th Prairie Lake Members outingJune 26th Kids fishing Day on Lake Murphysboro

Remember I’m in the other Lund, Walt Krause

So are you ready to go fishing or what? Well start the season offright by fishing the Iowa Muskie Team Tournament at Pleasant CreekLake on May 16th. Get your registration form in the mail 10 days beforethe tournament and your entry is $100. You can also show up the morn-ing of the tournament and get signed up but the entry is $120.Remember you can get all our tournament forms and information on ourwebsite at www.muskieclub.com. Once you get fired up from fishing thefirst tournament and you catch that first taste of muskie fever for theyear, you can then start fishing on the Iowa Great Lakes on May 21st.Then to keep it going we offer two more tournaments in June. I’ll tellyou what if you like muskie fishing in Iowa this chapter offers greatopportunities to fish with fellow muskie fanatics. The Clear Lake tour-nament is June 13th and Spirit Lake on June 27th. Two great tourna-ment dates for sure. Come and join the fun!

Chapter board members and officers continue to hold monthlymeetings at Perkins in Milford every third Thursday of the month. All ofour members are invited to attend these meetings. We usually orderour meals around 6pm and the meeting gets started at 7pm. Everymonth we cover various topics from club events to ways we can contin-ue to protect and preserve our muskie fishery in Iowa. At our March 18th

meeting we voted to make a $1000 donation to partner with Iowa’sWater and Land Legacy in support of The Natural Resources andOutdoor Recreation Trust Fund that will provide a permanent, dedicat-ed and accountable funding mechanism for protection of water quality,conservation of agricultural soils and improvement of natural areas inIowa, including fish and wildlife habitat. Iowa’s Water and Land Legacyamendment will be the largest conservation ballot measure in the coun-try this year and we need what it takes to win. So our chapter took oneof many steps that it will take to start educating and promoting thisimportant amendment on Iowa’s November 2nd ballot. PheasantsForever have agreed to match our donation dollar for dollar! Our con-tribution of $1000 immediately doubled to $2000 thanks to PF. TheUGP chapter is a proud supporter of this important amendment. To findout more information on this issue go online at:

http://www.cdiowa.org/AnnConf09/IWILL-McMahon.pdfHave a great year and I look forward to seeing you on the tourna-

ment trail.Sincerely, Pete Hildreth

(712-363-0755)

February’s board meeting began at 6PM. Meeting minutes can befound on the chapter website. For March’s general meeting, Bill Weyersdid a great job of captivating the audience with a couple of difficult board

Shawnee Muskie Hunters61 W. Jennings • Wood River, IL 62095

618-610-5003 – Manuel Santa [email protected]

www.shawneemuskiehunters.org

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Upper Great Plains1788 Hwy 4

Estherville, IA 51334712-362-2501

Meets 3rd Thursday , Legion Club, 1709 Okoboji Ave., Milford, IA.

29

Shannon Beaty sent this photo of her 15-year old son Kyle with the 45-inchmuskie which helped his chapter win the March 2010 Border WarsTournament against the Pomme de Terre Chapter, on Kinkaid Lake, IL.Kyle’s fish was also the largest release of the event.


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MilwaukeeP.O. Box 28842 • Greenfield, WI 53228

262-442-6260www.milwaukeemuskiesinc.com

Meets 4th Tuesday Jan. thru May, Sept. & Oct. Meets 3rd Tuesday in Nov. only: 6:00PM Board,7:30 PM General, Waukesha Elks Lodge #400, 2301 Springdale Rd, Waukesha, WI 53186.

35


decisions related to the MOFC contest. Without the main fundraiser for2010, the board opted to create a booklet again this year but not to haveit printed. Bill had two binders of the booklet at the meeting for membersto view, and it can be viewed online on the chapter website. Bill had aPowerPoint presentation and an image slideshow for all to view. LauriTeriaca won the Chapter’s Women’s Division. Steve Miljat won theChapter’s Men’s Division. Lauri and Steve will advance to their respec-tive Masters Division at the Chapter level. At the whole Muskies, Inclevel, no one advanced into the Masters. For women to advance to MIWomen’s Masters, 100 total registrations or more were requiredthrough 2009. For men to advance to MI Men’s Masters, 250 total reg-istrations or more were required through 2009.

As of March 28th, there haven’t been any chapter entries for theMOFC 2010 contest. As a reminder, if you need to mail your entries,send them to Contest Chair Bill Weyers at 14340 W Rogers Dr, NewBerlin, WI 53151. Bill’s e-mail address is [email protected] and hisphone number is 262-796-8055.

We’d like to express our gratitude for those who helped with ourChapter presence at the Milwaukee Muskie Expo this year. Much effortwas put forth for a new booth and to organize and man the event.

The 26th Annual Pewaukee Classic will be held on Saturday May8th and has a few changes from recent years. The total release tourna-ment has been expanded to include Pewaukee, Okauchee, andOconomowoc Lakes. Registration for the banquet only is also available.The banquet menu has been enhanced to include baked chicken, slicedbeef with gravy, mashed potatoes, and more. Sign-in is required for thetournament anglers at Nettesheim Park between 5AM and 6AM.Tournament hours are from 6:30AM to 3:30PM with the banquet imme-diately following at Sussex Bowl. See the brochure for complete infor-mation and registration.

The Chapter outings on Pewaukee Lake begin again starting May20th. June is the 23rd, and July through September will be on the 20th.These outings are hosted by Nancy and Roy Hinkforth. Contact themfor outing registration at [email protected], [email protected], or 262-366-6842. Additional outings may be host-ed by other Chapter members. There will be a nominal fee this year tocover food.

May’s meeting will be held on the 25th. As of this writing, the Mayspeaker has not been confirmed.

Youth and Veteran Outing Director Joel Michel is organizing anevent with Big Brothers and Big Sisters for mid to late May. This outingis to introduce youth 16 and under to muskie fishing. Please contactJoel if you can participate. It’ll be up to each volunteer whether this is aone-time outing or more than one. Joel also presented an idea to theboard for a youth multi-species contest. The contest was approved, andJoel is tracking this contest and submissions can be sent to him at 700Belmont Ave, Racine, WI 53405. Joel can be reached [email protected]. Similar to the muskie MOFC contest, youthcan fill out a registration form. The contest rules and forms are availableat meetings and on the website.

Wisconsin Chapters Larry Kleeba Tournament will be held at LakeHolcombe June 18th - 20th.

The Gil Hamm Memorial Chapter Challunge this year is on LakeVermilion in Minnesota. It’s the week of August 21-28 with the tourna-ment fishing Wednesday the 25th 6AM to 6PM, Thursday the 26th 6AMto 6PM, and Friday the 27th 6AM to noon.

Chapter VP Craig Ader is taking suggestions for an extendedweekend chapter outing this year to a northern Wisconsin destination.Contact Craig at [email protected] or 262-250-6444 with yourdates, lake, and accommodation suggestions.

Please check the Chapter website for the latest information.Mike Phelps

All Fox River Valley Chapter monthly meetings and banquets willbe held at: Chandlers Chop House at the Schaumburg Golf Club locat-ed at 401 N. Roselle Rd. Schaumburg, IL 60194 | (847) 885-9009www.chandlerschophouse.com/directions.php

We’ve got local-lakes-guru Russ Schaller as our May 12th speak-er! The Fox Chain is widely considered “home water” for Chapter 39members, but there are other opportunities in the area if you do a littleresearch. Well…fortunately for us… Musky Russ has done thisresearch, and he’s going to share his experiences and suggestionsabout N. IL lakes to all who can attend our May general meeting. Showup at the Schaumburg Golf Club on May 12th… and you might learn alittle (or a lot!) about some good muskie fishing right under your nose!For those that are interested in some excellent grub, dinner will be avail-able starting at 6 p.m. The club meeting will begin promptly at 7 p.m.Cost is $12.00/adults and $7/kids under 12!

Our 15th annual “Challunge on the Chain” Tournament was held onSaturday, April 24th. This was our first time hosting the Tournament atFamous Freddie’s, located on Pistakee Lake at the southern end of theFox Chain O’ Lakes. The club and the tournament participants had agreat time and we were very happy with our new location. We’ll expectto see a lot of people returning for the fall event of the tournament seriesin October!

Please visit our website at www.frvmuskie.com and check out ourcalendar of events for the rest of 2010. In addition to our normal cluboutings and stocking/research activities, FRV is hosting or participatingin numerous youth events throughout the year, so stop in for an internetvisit! We appreciate your feedback.

Until June… may your time on the water be memorable.Mark Lamont, Newsletter Director

We had a great Awards meeting in March and here is a summaryof all recipients of the Awards & Trophies.

All 12 Booth volunteers who participated in the PuyallupSportsman Show and the 6 Table Volunteers at Cabela’s Captain’sWeekend and Booth Volunteers at the Spokane Show received “Catchand Release” pins: Bill Green, Rosann Green, Brett Olson, JackTipping, Buddy Hartman, Ed Christiansen, Miles McDonald, Mike Fuller,Tammy Baldwin, Russ Baldwin, Garvin March, Mike Haw, Dan Fuller,Bob Meier, Chuck Gades, Jani K. and Perry Peterson.

Special Merit Awards, our big 15 oz. mugs with the Chapter logo(www.cafepress.com/nwtigermuskies.288186313) were awarded to:Tom Schafenacker for Chairing the 3 Rivers Seminar; Miles Mc Donaldfor his professional job as Chef at the Chapter Picnic; Brett Olson andMike Floyd for doing multiple Tiger Seminars at the Puyallup Show;Tammy Baldwin for Youth Day with Terry Rudnick; Russ & TammyBaldwin for Muskie School; Perry Peterson for Lake Tapps Open; andLee Burns for New Sponsors.

Muskies, Inc. National Plaque for Biggest Tiger of the Year: NORMDILLON (thank you Jim Bunch).

Sportsman of the Year: MR. BILL GREEN 1st Chairman of the TigerMuskie School and dedicated Chapter supporter: Personalized PhotoPlaque.

Tournament Champion of the Year 2009: MIKE FLOYD – AnnualTrophy;

Angler of the Year 2009: MIKE FLOYD – Annual Trophy.Our WDFW has been reorganizing itself due to budget cuts and

also in attendance were the new WDFW Inland Program Supervisor JimUehara and the Statewide Warmwater Coordinator Bruce Bolding.Jim said that despite budget cuts there is still a lot of dedication beingput into the Program. The club members in attendance were glad tomeet Jim and hear him speak and to visit with Bruce again. Bruce hasbeen very involved with the Muskie program in this state for along time.Congratulations and good luck to both of you on your new positions.Chapter 57 is looking forward to staying very involved with the WDFWthrough the coming years.

Chapter 57 is helping the Green River Steelhead Club with theirYouth Day fishing derby on May 1st and they are expecting 200-300kids. If you get this issue in time come on out and help and bring yourkids for some fun fishing.

Everyone will also be gearing up for the May 15th Silver Lake OpenTournament our club is putting on over near Spokane . It is the first

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NW TigerPacP.O. Box 5515, Kent, WA 98064

www.nwtigermuskies.orgemail: [email protected]

Hot line: (253) 850-5889 • Buddy Hartman, President

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39Fox River Valley

1253 Cobblers Crossing, Elgin, IL 601230847-741-9771 – Rich Gallagher

www.frvmuskie.com

Meetings and banquets: Chandlers Chop House at the Schaumburg Golf Club, 401N. Roselle Rd. Schaumburg, IL 60194. Dinner will be available starting at 6PM.



tournament of the year so everyone is excited. President Buddy H. hasarranged with the Holiday Inn Express in Cheney for discounted roomsfor tournament people that want to stay there. They will have theirbreakfast buffet open at 5:30 instead of 6:30 am the day of the tourna-ment so all of you staying there can eat before heading for the lake.Thank You Holiday Inn Express!!!!

Mike Floyd is now the Chairman of the Muskie Log and he wouldlike to let everyone know that your muskie entries need to be submittedto him to be counted. There will be a link on the web page to help withthis.

Thanks Brett Olson for giving a Tiger Muskie presentation to thePuget Sound Anglers group in April. You are very much appreciated forspreading your knowledge of Tiger Muskies around - that is what thisclub is all about.

Don’t forget the members’ only Pend Oreille Pike tournament June12th. For more information go to: www.nwtigermuskies.org.

Bill and Rosann

Special Events 2010:

June 4-6: 2nd Annual Lake St. Clair Muskie Madness(or 5-6?) Spring Tournament

(Contact Mark Kornosky @ 586-596-4481 for details)

June 27: 3rd Annual Kid’s Fishing Day,Metropolitan Beach Park, Harrison Twp.

(www.lscmi.com for more info) orScott Robertson @ 734-968-3752

Hello everyone from Lake St. Clair, Michigan. The ice is finallygone off the lake and the weather is starting to warm up, so it won’t belong and the 2010 muskie fishing season will be underway. Soon wewill be waxing and wheeling the boats, putting the bottom paint on andgetting all our gear ready for opening day. I really have to say Chapter#58 is really excited for the upcoming season.

This past year things have really started coming together for ourchapter and the buzz has everyone very excited. We have had somereally good events these past few months and can only look forward tothe ones to come. Our chapter has grown in numbers considerably inthe past year and we were looking hard for a new home to host ourGeneral Membership Meetings. We tried Cabbo Wabbos of ClintonTownship for our December and February meetings and were happy,but so we kept looking. We held our March Meeting at Gino’s Surf onLake St. Clair in Harrison Township and I think we finally found our newhome. The room is very large and the accommodations are top notch.Its brings so much more to a fishing club meeting when you can lookout and view the lake you love to fish on.

Our March Meeting was a good success as many were in atten-dance to see our guest speakers. We were privileged to have DaveClark from FISHThANKS give us an awesome seminar on the Do’s &Don’ts of Muskie Handling. Dave is the creator of the live wells thatmany of us use to revive fish on LSC. Dave goes to great lengths tosupport catch and release and help spread the word on how to proper-ly handle our resource. He provided us with some great insight to helpprevent injuring ourselves or the fish. Dave is always looking for waysto improve on what we do. After a short break, we had Bob Brunnercome up and give us some information on casting for muskie on LSC.Bob has been fishing for muskie for 81 years and his wealth of knowl-edge and passion for muskies is next to none. Bob is well known for hisbucktails called the Brunner Runner. Bob shared some of his secretspots on the lake plus some of his favorite colors to throw. LSCMIwould like to thank these guys for making our meeting a huge success.

Our April 15 meeting was again held at Gino’s Surf. Our seminarfor the April General Membership Meeting was Matt (aka “Catfish”)Firestein.

Our May Meeting will host Greg Ellison from Traxtech as he willprovide an awesome presentation on how to rig your boat. Also at thismeeting we have Jeff Jenich from Johnnies Prop Shop here to discussthe exciting world of propellers.

Don’t forget all of our General Membership Meetings there are a50/50 and many lure prize raffles. So mark your calendars for an excit-ing next few months and as always feel free to check us out at:www.LSCMI.com. The LSCMI Board is always working on additionalspeakers and presenters and your thoughts and suggestions arealways welcome.

The word is out and we are already getting geared up for threetournaments again this season. Our first one will kick off on openingweekend and will be hosted out of Anglers Point Marina and Tacklelocated in Anchor Bay next door to Selfridge DNR Launch Ramp. Jerryand his family did an awesome job hosting our Ice Fishing Derby at theirmarina in February and we can’t wait to be back there again. ContactMark Kornosky @ 586-596-4481 for additional information or visit us atwww.LSCMI.com. On August 13-15 we will hold our SummerTournament, the BIG SHOW Shootout. This tournament is always funas the team’s battle for the big one during the hot summer sun. We willhost this event in the Nautical Mile of St. Clair Shores, MI. Last but not least will be the fall tournament will be October 8-10, whichis also the same weekend as our Region #2 Fall Meeting. We are look-ing forward to taking out many of our Region #2 friends out for someawesome LSC Muskie Fishing.

All tournaments are utilizing the object scoring system and are100% catch and release. They are also open to ALL Muskies, Inc.members and their guests, so what better time to visit LSC but duringone of these events. All tournaments host trophy and Calcutta divi-sions. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call MarkKornosky.

Well as the days get longer and warmer, make sure you get outand do some fishing. Even if you are not chasing the elusive muskie,get out there and enjoy what nature has to offer, and if you can bring ayoung person with you it will change their life forever! Hope everyonehas a great spring and look forward to seeing you out there on the

water.Mark Kornosky, VP/RVP

With the warmer weather, our muskie lakes are starting to shedtheir ice and are we ever anxious!! The winter has been full of stockingtackle boxes, tying flies, and re-spooling reels for the upcoming sea-son!! Now…its time to fish!!!

Our chapter is at the tail end of our structure project for BluewaterLake and we are excited to finally be able to install these structures intothe lake. We are also still working hard on the minnow project, andwould like to give a HUGE thanks to the Twin Cities Chapter HughBecker Foundation for granting our chapter the funds needed to carryout our purpose and accomplish our goals. We are now able to pur-chase and import minnows to a local hatchery for the sole purpose offeeding our muskie fingerlings to a larger length in hopes of having ahigher survival rate after stocking. Thanks again for the Hugh BeckerFoundation and all involved!

Jared Blaschke

Lake St. Clair Muskies, Inc.P.O. Box 850915

St. Clair Shores, MI 48080734-968-3752, Scott Robertson, President

www.LSCMI.comMeets 3rd Thursday, 7:00pm at Gino’s Surf, 37400 Jeffrson Ave., HarrisonTwp., MI. 586-468-2611.

58

New Mexico Muskies, Inc.P.O. Box 65575, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87193

(505) 264-2999 • Matt Pelletier [email protected]

www.newmexicomuskiesinc.org

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WS CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS (Continued from page 31)

There’s no point in bothering an expert to answer the question.We need to go back to thinking like a guide again. Lakes and riversare constantly turning on and off. I always figure when I hear abouta lake suddenly kicking out a string of big fish, it’s probably too latefor me to get in on the bonanza. The likelihood of taking advantageof the situation is reduced further if I need a map to find the boatlanding. Guides have a number of lakes within their reach that theyare familiar with and keep an eye on. By jumping from one to anoth-er they increase their chances of catching an extended feeding win-dow. If word of a hot streak gets out, they can jump on it.

July and August are great months for exploration. My trips toCanada will be done during that period. I also promise to becomefamiliar with more Wisconsin and Minnesota lakes. My home lakehas kicked out a few big fish, but I’ve been on it enough to realize theodds of popping a 50 aren’t in my favor. By concentrating on a cou-ple of lakes that are proven big fish waters, I can add adventure tomuskie fishing, develop a back-up plan, and someday I may get luckyenough to release my first 50.

I grew up fishing muskies on small rivers in northern Wisconsin.It’s a completely different world compared to lake fishing. Ever sinceI became the proud owner of a Sylvan (it’s a boat) that is the envy ofChapter 6, the rivers have taken a back seat to lake fishing. This yearI promise to dust off the canoe when the home lake get too warm forgood fishing, and spend more time in the old haunts. Muskie fishingfrom a canoe adds a different element of skill and provides a glimpseof what pioneering muskie anglers faced.

For reasons I can’t fully explain, I have trouble bringing the cam-era with me on every outing. The blame lies somewhat on the cam-era. It’s expensive, touchy, bulky, and generally a pain. But it takesgreat shots when used properly. There’s more to the issue than miss-ing a handful of “grip-n-grin” shots. Muskie anglers end up in someof the most picturesque landscapes in North America with breathtak-ing sunsets, approaching storm clouds, and superb scenery. I let 99%of those opportunities slip away as I pound the water. It seems trivialat the time. I rationalize that I’ll always have the picture “in myhead”, but that doesn’t do any good in the winter when I’m scrapingpictures together for a magazine article.

Not everyone who goes muskie fishing is going towrite about it, but almost everyone wants pictures. Nowthat we release just about every fish we catch, picturesbecome our eyewitnesses and provide vivid memories. Yourfishing journal will be more interesting and complete witha variety of good pictures. Writers are always looking forquality shots to enhance their articles, and you never knowwhen someone will ask permission to use one of yours.

Following a few simple steps could mean the differ-ence between average and publishable pictures. For starters,get a camera that has at least six mega-pixels. Make sureyour partner is wearing a shirt. Beer and tobacco logos oroffensive slogans on hats and shirts are a turn-off for edi-tors. Keep the boat free of non-fishing clutter, and makethe background look as natural as possible. Take as manyvertically-oriented shots as horizontal shots, but alwayskeep the muskie horizontal, well-supported, and primarilyin the water! Most magazines feature a braggin’ page, kindof like the back page of MUSKIE. Your picture will have abetter chance of acceptance with these thoughts in mind.

I understand and adhere to the strategy of takingadvantage of every minute on the water. I hate it when

something interrupts apromising drift. But, forme, pictures are a must.This year I promise tohave the camera with meevery time I go out. I’llfigure out a system tominimize the time spenttaking a picture. Fromshots at chapter events toloons, I’ll take more pic-tures and develop bettercreativity.

The matter of per-forming a figure 8 has tobe mentioned when itcomes to improving myodds - 2010 will be theyear I perfect the motion.I’ll get better because I promise to do it more often. I’m not going tocommit to doing it on every cast. That’s too tall an order for manyreasons. Rather than make a half-hearted final swipe at the end ofeach cast, I’ll train my eyes to watch the water three to five feet behindthe lure and be ready when I suspect a fish is coming in low and slow.

I believe the most important casts to figure 8, without seeing afish, are the first 8 or 10 you make on new structure. How manytimes have you dropped the electric and BOOM…you move a fishyou swear was under the boat when you pulled up? It is more likelythe fish picked up the commotion of your lure from a distance. I tryto make each cast three feet apart. It creates the effect of heightenedactivity in a small area. A hot muskie can detect the disturbance froma long distance and close in with astonishing speed. These are thecasts I will figure 8 religiously. I’ll make a concerted effort to throwin the figure 8 more consistently as I continue the drift.

Other areas of promise will include being a good sport and invit-ing others to fish in my boat. I’ll also encourage anglers to join ourchapter of Muskies, Inc. and take advantage of the opportunitieswhich membership offers. v

Muskie anglers end up in some of the most picturesque landscapesin North America with breathtaking sunsets, approaching stormclouds, and superb scenery.

Gary Roholt with a superb muskiehe landed on the last hour of aCanadian trip.


I PROMISE (Continued from page 24)

MUSKIES, INC.1509 Stahl RoadSheboygan, WI 53081

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Alex Johnson of the Huskerland Chapterhasn’t noticed too many pictures of

Nebraska muskies in the magazine, sohere is one of his. He caught this 33.5 inch

fish after school one day last year andtook the picture himself using his camera’s

self-timer. Nice job Alex. Send us somemore Nebraska fish in 2010.

Chapter 12 member Sue Gerdscaught and released this nice fish lastOctober 1st. She said it hit a black &

white Bulldawg in about 7 feet of wateron a very windy and rainy day. Goodto see you get rewarded for being outthere on a day like that Sue, congrats.

Here’s a terrific shot of St. CloudChapter member Jason Jacobs fish-ing Minnesota’s Leech Lake. Fellowchapter member Mike Dincau had a

hard time putting his rod down to takethis shot but just couldn’t resist.

Chapter 21 member Dave Ledman took this silhouette shot whilefishing Minnesota’s Mille Lacs Lake last year.

William E. Schultz of Chapter 47 took this photo of his son Will, who is thePresident of that chapter. Great shot of the sunrise on Lake St. Clair and Will.

Chapter 57 VP Brett Olsen caught this beautiful37 inch Tiger last year while fishing Merwin Lake

in Washington State.

Fargo-Moorhead guys catch some hugefish, and here’s Even Twa with one of

the bigger ones caught from thatChapter last year. This 54 inch fish was

caught in November and quicklyreleased after just a couple pictures.

Great fish Evan!

Chapter 39 member Ralph Ellis caught his personalbest last October on Lake Vermilion using a home-

made bucktail. This 54.5 inch fish hit in the first turn ofa figure 8 right as it was getting dark. Congratulations.

Here is another shot sent in by William E. Schultz -probably the worst backlash he’s ever had. He saidhe simply had to use another rod the rest of the day.

photo contest – may may muski… · may 2010.....muskie 1 departments ifc photo contest,brad...

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