ODYSSEY 2015 - Muskies, Inc.

Transcription

Contents
MUSKIE magazine is published six times each year
and is the Official Publication of Muskies, Inc.
Ellen Wells, Administrative Secretary, 1509 Stahl
Road, Sheboygan, WI 53081. Ph: 1-888-710-8286.
© Copyright 2014 by Muskies, Inc. All rights reserved.
MUSKIE • Vol. 49, No. 2
Departments
About the COVER
1 About the Cover, Sean Landsman
It’s March and spring is just around the corner.
Soon those bare, leafless trees will be bursting with
green as we see in the background of this issue’s cover
image. The photo was sent in to us by “Coach” Jim
Wilson (Pomme de Terre Chapter 5) and shows
almost 16 year-old Tyler Turner holding a 40 incher.
Coach reports that the fish
fell for a bucktail with a
dented blade. In fact, it
was that oddball bait
which produced all the
action that day: four
muskies for Tyler and his
fishing buddy Chase
Wilson.
Spring can’t
come soon enough!
- Sean
2 President’s Message, Jay Zahn
3 Index of Advertisers
4 MUSKIE News
5 Lunge Log, Dan Koniewicz
7 Advertiser Spotlight, Sportsman’s Repair Shop
8 Figure 8, Sean Landsman
10 Member Photos, Brad Waldera
16 Photo Contest, Brad Waldera
25 Chapter News and Views
Features
12 Wisconsin’s Muskellunge Management Team,
Patricia Strutz
17 Creek Paradox - Small Water, Big Lures,
Chris Haley
20 Odyssey 2015: The Muskies Canada Biannual Spring Muskie Exposition,
Peter Levick, Joe Inrig, and Gary George
Join Muskies, Inc. ...
or give a membership
as a gift.
Regular Membership: ❑ 1 Year-$35.00* ❑ 2 Years-$65.00 ❑ 3 Years- $95.00
Family Membership: ❑ 1 Year-$47.50* ❑ 2 Years-$90.00 ❑ 3 Years-$132.50
Junior Membership (Under 18): ❑ $20.00*
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* Addresses outside the U.S. must add an additional $15 per year (U.S. funds) to cover postage.
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Old Address (for address change only)____________________________
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Name____________________________________ DOB ___________
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My Membership #_______________ Expiration Date _______
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Check One: ❑ New Member ❑ Renewal ❑ Address Change ❑ Gift
MAIL TO MUSKIES, INC. 1509 Stahl Road
Sheboygan, WI 53081
1-888-710-8286
(to find the number of the Chapter you wish to join, see the Chapter News & Views section)
Email ________________________
Payment: ❑ Check or ❑ Credit Card:
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www.muskiesinc.org
March / April 2015.....MUSKIE 1
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
President, Jay Zahn
Phone: 920-660-7655
Email: president@muskiesinc.org
VP Finance/Treasurer, Jim Shannon
Phone: 763-434-9729
Email: vp-finance@muskiesinc.org
VP Fisheries & Research, Elmer Heyob
Phone: 937-309-5359
Email: vp-research@muskiesinc.org
VP Internal Affairs, Dan Koniewicz
Phone: 847-682-9238
Email: vp-internal-affairs@muskiesinc.org
VP Membership & Marketing, Greg Wells
Phone: 920-457-3720
Email: vp-membership@muskiesinc.org
VP Communications, Ron Teschner
Phone: 701-640-0544
Email: vp-communications@muskiesinc.org
VP Youth Activities, Kevin Bushnick
Phone: 847-987-3622
Email: vp-youth@muskiesinc.org
Corporate Secretary, Carl Phillips
Phone: 763-972-8240
Email: corporate-secretary@muskiesinc.org
Past-President, Dan Narsete
Email: past-president@muskiesinc.org
Senior Regional Representatives are also
Executive Committee Members
Regional Representatives
Region 1
Term Expires
*Greg Kvale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2016
Eric Schultz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2014
Jeff Young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2015
Region 2
*Jeff Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2015
Robert Petzke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2016
Joe Heil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2017
Region 3
*Max Machuta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013
Jim Evers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2014
Robert Roe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2015
Region 4
*Earle Hammond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2015
Frank Walter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2016
Kimberly Cates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2017
* = Senior Regional Representative
Support
Administrative Secretary, Ellen Wells
1509 Stahl Road, Sheboygan, WI 53081
Phone: 888-710-8286
Email: secretary@muskiesinc.org
Executive Accountant, Kathryn Goon
Phone: 419-945-2940
Email: executive-accountant@muskiesinc.org
Merchandising Director, Will Schultz
Phone: 616-447-1688
Email: merchandise@muskiesinc.org
Web Master, Randy Loewecke
Phone: 815-520-3628
Email: webmaster@muskiesinc.org
2 MUSKIE..... March / April 2015
The President’s Message
by Jay Zahn, Muskies, Inc. President
Email: president@muskiesinc.org
It has been four years since Past President Dan Narsete turned Gil
Hamm’s gavel over to me in Madison. I can’t believe it has been four
years. Looking back it’s been a whirlwind experience; one which has
been rewarding. I can’t begin to tell you about all the people I have had
the pleasure of meeting over the last few years. I wouldn’t do it justice
and I would almost certainly leave people out. I would, however, like
to thank the members of the Board and especially the Executive
Committee members for all of the work they put in behind the scene.
Without their tireless approach to the issues faced by our organization,
we wouldn’t be able to conduct the business we do. Thanks for all of
your hard work.
Thank you to Carl Phillips for stepping up to become our new
President. Carl will take the reins April 18th in Green Bay at our
Annual Board meeting. Carl resides in Minnesota and hails from the
Twin Cities Chapter. I think it is fitting Carl will be in office during our
50th anniversary in 2016. Mark your calendars for the celebration as it
will coincide with the Hugh Becker Symposium. This is being planned
as you are reading this. The dates for this event are March 11th – 15th,
2016. More information will come as we get closer to the event.
I would like to thank all members who take the time to step up and
volunteer to be an officer. Volunteering is what we are all about. Take
a look around the muskie world; I believe it is where it is today because
of Muskies, Inc. chapters. You are what make us strong. Muskies, Inc.
is set up differently than other conservation organizations. We don’t
require our chapters to send money to the organization to run our programs. Gil Hamm thought – and I agree – our chapters would be able to
spend their money in their areas wisely and look at the results. Muskie
fishing has never been better.
Thanks to Kevin Bushnick our VP of Youth. Kevin has been putting
on Youth events which have become very successful. Youth is where it
is at. If we want to have Muskies, Inc. continue in the future we have to
get our children involved in the outdoors. Kevin’s program is doing just
that. Individual chapters are also running youth outings. If a chapter
would like to look into how to put on a youth event, contact Kevin. He
has a template that you can follow and I’m sure he would give feedback
to make your event more successful. Check it out.
I could go on and on thanking everyone but I will certainly leave
someone out and I don’t want to do that. Just suffice to say, I was proud
to be Muskies, Inc.’s President for the past four years and I thank you,
the membership, and my family for putting up with me. Thank you and
hope to see everyone from time to time.
Grab em’ by the Tail,
- Jay Zahn (Soon-to-be Past President)
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
CHAOS TACKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
CHAPTER 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
CHAPTER 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
CHAPTER 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
CHAPTER 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
CHAPTER 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
CHAPTER 42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
FITTANTE REPLICAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
GIVE A 2015 CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
HUGH BECKER MUSKIE SYMPOSIUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
LAKEWOOD PRODUCTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
LURE PARTS ONLINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
MINNESOTA MUSKIE EXPO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
MUSKIE CONTENT DEADLINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
ODYSSEY 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
PROPER MUSKIE HOLDING TECHNIQUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
RAYJUS CUSTOM SHIRTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
RED WING LODGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
SPORT SHOW LOCATOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
SPORTSMAN’S REPAIR SHOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ST. CROIX RODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC
T’S TACKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BACK COVER
YOUNG’S WILDERNESS CAMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
MUSKIE Magazine Staff
Editor & MAGAZINE DESIGN
Amy Penza
105 Fairview Lane
Nekoosa, WI 54457
Phone: (715) 213-7206
Email: managingeditor@muskiesinc.org
ASSISTANT Editor
Sean Landsman
Phone: (217) 649-4449
Email: assistanteditor@muskiesinc.org
PHOTO CONTEST EDITOR
Brad Waldera
Phone: (701) 403-5882
Email: pictures@muskiesinc.org
LUNGE LOG EDITOR
Members Only Fishing Contest
Jim Bunch
Phone: (715) 226-0295
Email: lungelog@muskiesinc.org
ADVERTISING SALES TEAM
Kevin Richards, Advertising Manager
Phone: (573) 280-2300
Email: muskiemag@yahoo.com
ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVES:
Harlan Fierstine
Phone: (218) 255-3461
Email: muskie_ads@arvig.net
Kevin Pischke
Phone: (920) 676-7893
Email: checkeredflag@new.rr.com
PRINTING Account Manager
Sunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - Stacey Thielen
IllustratorS/CartoonistS
Richard Gross, Charles Weiss
FIELD EDITORS
Patricia Strutz, Ace Sommerfeld,
Kevin Pischke, Kevin Richards, Rick Helm,
Adam M. Glickman
MUSKIE is published exclusively for the membership
of Muskies, Inc. and subscriptions come with a paid
membership. Muskies, Inc. is a non-profit organization. Membership classes and associated annual dues
are listed on the form at the bottom of page one.
Copies of MUSKIE magazine are available at $3.00
each from the Muskies, Inc. Administrative Secretary.
Contributors grant rights for M.I. to publish once in
MUSKIE Magazine, both the print and on-line versions,
including archives and on the M.I. Web site.
SPORT SHOW LOCATOR
Calendar of upcoming events in 2015
DATES
Feb.27‐March1
March6‐8
April10‐12
EVENTNAME&WEBSITE
MadisonFishingExpo
www.madfishexpo.com
WisconsinMuskyExpo
www.wimuskyexpo.com
MinnesotaMuskieExpo
www.minnesotamuskieexpo.com
www.muskiesinc.org
LOCATION
ExhibitionHallattheAlliant
Center
PatriotCenter
ConcordiaUniversity
CITY
STATE
PHONE
Madison
WI
(608)245‐1040
Wausau
St.Paul
WI
MN
(715)891‐8856
(763)786‐6031
David Cates retires as Field Editor
Approximately 15 years ago, David Cates, past president, was
asked to help with proofreading content for MUSKIE, and so he
volunteered. As he toiled to see that articles met at least minimum
standards for the English language, he was given several raises of
salary [doubling and even tripling the base rate of zero] by the
Editor in Chief (at the time), Kevin Richards. A promotion to
Field Editor later came with similar increases in remuneration.
Eventually he was joined by another volunteer, recruited by
David, in part to ease the workload while David was the holder of
several offices in Muskies, Inc. Recently, Mr. Cates was sworn in
as Judge of Kosciusko Superior Court #1, Warsaw, Indiana, and
has elected to retire as Field Editor. The members of Muskies, Inc.
should thank Judge Cates for his years of service as Field Editor,
which have helped make the magazine the fine, readable, and
understandable publication it has been, each and every time, over
many years.
On that note, there is now an opening for a volunteer proofreader for MUSKIE magazine. The job entails a few hours every
other month to proof already-edited content for MUSKIE.
Everything is done via email with an occasional phone call. If you
feel you are qualified, please email your résumé to Amy Penza,
managingeditor@muskiesinc.org.
- Rick Helm, Field Editor, and sole surviving proofreader
Make your will, your trust, and your estate plan into
your legacy
For those of you who are new to Muskies, Inc. or may not recall
who I am, I joined in 1990 and became a Life Member in 1997. I
served as President 1997-1999, was elected to the Muskies, Inc.
Hall of Fame in 2002 and elected Editor Emeritus in 2007, after
serving as your editor for five years.
Recently my wife and I decided to update our family trust. It
had been ten years since we moved from Colorado to Arizona.
There were some changes I had been thinking about doing. One
was to establish a program to leave a few dollars to a couple of
charitable organizations to which I have belonged and worked for
over my life. High on my list was, of course Muskies, Inc.
Now, here is the deal! It costs me nothing to make these changes. The transfer can be made upon my demise and leave whatever
my wife would enjoy keeping in memory of me.
Most large conservation organizations have brochures and support materials explaining in detail what is needed to add this component to your existing family trust or will. This is so simple; it is
like a “Slam-Dunk”. Here is the bottom line. There are a multitude of good conservation organizations and organizations like
Muskies, Inc. who can use the funding to further their causes. Any
amount that you can offer will grow over the years geometrically.
Take advantage of it.
Most charitable organizations provide Sample Trust Provisions
in addition to their brochures. I would imagine any of our attorney members would be happy to advise you what to do and how
to do it. My good friend and former Muskies, Inc. President,
David Cates, I feel would be more than happy to help you out.
[Editor’s comment from Rick Helm: I am also an attorney.
David is now a judge and probably would not be able to assist,
other than to direct members to a source. The best source is
your personal attorney. There are many options for gifts,
depending on amount and your tax situation: a direct bequest,
a charitable remainder trust, a funded life insurance policy with
Muskies, Inc. as the beneficiary. Each member will need to
consult an attorney in the state where they reside, as the law is
different for each jurisdiction. Don’t have one? Get one!]
I began to think, what could I do with my piddling little estate
to make the biggest splash? Where have I directed most of my
time?
Here’s my point. When all is said and done and there is couple
of nickels left in the pot, spend it. If you have been relatively successful over the years and during your working career, your wife
has been taken care of and your kids too. The little bit that you
can offer will expand greatly over time.
I know many of you have heard of Hugh Becker and his foundation that the Twin Cities Chapter distributes each year for specific
muskie stocking or other worthy projects. Hugh passed away in
2007, and a gentleman by the name of George Selcke administers
the trust as Executor of the estate. So far the Twin Cities Chapter
has distributed around $687,000.00 to be distributed to our chapters for good muskie projects. That is a lot of money going into
our favorite sport. Think a minute of how that could be compounded if we all left a sum of our dollars.
There is another available fund, The Gil Hamm Memorial Fund.
Now, before I get in over my head, I would suggest you Google
the Hugh C. Becker Foundation. I would also get in contact with
Lorin Nevling, Muskies, Inc. Corporate Secretary. I have talked
with George Selcke and Lorin Nevling, both by phone and email,
in putting this article together. Jim Shannon, our V.P, is another
person to ask questions of.
The purpose of my interest in writing this article is to expose our
membership to the dollars that are currently available for most
muskie projects. It is important
that you make contacts with
your state game and fish departments as well as other federal
agencies. Then write up your
request for funding and submit
it through the proper channels,
for consideration. Let us not
forget about creating your legacy gifts.
- Past President, Jim Smith
We are saddened to report that right before this issue went
to the printer we got news that Jim Smith passed away on
January 31st, 2015. Jim was a great supporter of Muskies,
Inc. and MUSKIE magazine. It seems fitting that this was
the last article he shared with our members. We send our
condolences to Jim’s family and friends. We will have a
story about Jim in the May issue of MUSKIE.
LUNGE LOG
LUNGE LOG
www.muskiesinc.org
Ask for details
LUNGE LOG
www.youngswildernesscamp.com
LUNGE LOG
“Rip-N-Lips” Muskie Extravanza
LUNGE LOG
Hello to all. I have had to step in and write this column
for my good friend Jim Bunch. Jim had a sudden illness
over the past month and as a result was unable to write
this entry. We wish him a speedy recovery.
The 2014 Lunge Log officially stopped accepting
entries on January 12th, 2015. If you missed getting your
fish entered for the year, you can still do so, but these
entries will not count in the 2014 contest. We know this is
important to our members to keep their individual fish list
up to date. The reason for the early January contest end
date is so we can compile the stats and to finalize the
Members Only Contest standings. Remember that we have
been requesting that you report your muskies within 30
days of the catch date for the contest eligibility.
In 2014 we had a total of
14,083 entered into the Lunge
Log. This is not a record for the
Members Only Contest. However,
it is an increase over the 13,232
that were recorded in 2013. A
total of 1,195 of Muskies, Inc.
members entered fish into the
We offer some of the best trophy muskie waters on
contest. The entries came from
Lake of the Woods – Stevens, Stony and
998 men members, 102 women
Sabaskong Bay
members, and 95 junior
• Remote Island Camp (boat-in)
• All-inclusive American Plan • Housekeeping cabins
members. This equates to about
•
Free
guided
tour with map of muskie hotspots
20 percent of the Muskies, Inc
•
Professional
guide with 21 years lake experience
membership participating and
Write
or
Phone:
•
Specializing
in personal service
contributing to the Lunge Log.
We will donate
1-807-484-2930
For all of you that entered fish in
5% of your fishing
U.S. residents call Toll-Free 1-866-894-0674
package to the muski
2014, thanks for your help in
e
Box 126, Nestor Falls, Ontario P0X1K0
club of your choice!
continuing to build our muskie
e-mail: info@youngswildernesscamp.com
LUNGE LOG
2014 Has Officially Closed for the
Season
catch data base.
There always seems to be some confusion regarding
the Muskies, Inc. Master’s Divisions. The Master’s
destinations for the Members Only Contest happens only
one time a year and that is on January 1st. In order to
become a Master in the Members Only Contest you need
to have caught, registered, and released 250, if you are
Men’s members, or 100 is you are a Woman’s member.
Some new Muskies, Inc. members like Josiah
Kaetterhenry, from Wild Rose, WI recorded their first
catch into the Lunge Log. Others like Jeff Hanson of
Verona, WI recorded 175 catches. Wow, what a year of
muskie fishing for you Jeff! Again, thanks to both of you
for taking the time to enter your fish.
Now we all know that muskie fishing, for many of us,
is hitting that magical 50 inch mark. In 2014, Muskies,
Inc. members did their fair share of catching fish to meet
this 50 inch mark. During the year we registered 240 fish
that meet or exceeded that 50 inch barrier. That is
about 1.8 percent of the catches reported for the year.
Now, for a recap of some of our contest winners. The
largest catch of the year was recorded by Paul Findlan.
Paul’s fish was caught in September out of the St.
Lawrence River. This is the second year in a row that the
St. Lawrence has produced the big fish in our contest.
Catherine Latoza of the Fox River Valley Chapter
registered a 55 inch monster that was caught on Lake St.
Clair to take top honors for the Muskies, Inc. woman.
The largest Junior’s release was caught and released by
Reily Sieren. Reily’s fish was 52 inches and also was
caught on Lake St. Clair.
Again, thanks to all of the members who entered fish
into the Lunge Log.
LUNGE LOG
LUNGE LOG
LUNGE LOG
LUNGE LOG
Men's Masters Division for 2014
Rank / Member Name
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Jeff M. Hanson
Maurice J Potvin
George Weber
David White
Bruce A Ludke
Mark Pauling
J. Dean Davis
Charles Schauer
Adam Andresky
Tad Martinez
Chapter
City
State
8
41
56
18
12
41
19
12
16
19
Verona
Baltimore
Kettering
Moundsville
Wrightstown
Fremont
Coshocton
Wisconsin Rapids
Gibsonia
North Canton
WI
OH
OH
WV
WI
OH
OH
WI
PA
OH
Men's Masters Division for 2014
Muskies Points
Caught
2,216
1,788
1,732
1,559
1,546
1,519
1,481
1,364
1,237
1,227
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Jeff M. Hanson
Maurice J Potvin
George Weber
David White
Bruce A Ludke
Mark Pauling
J. Dean Davis
Charles Schauer
Adam Andresky
Tad Martinez
Women's Masters Division for 2014
Rank / Member Name
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Chapter
Deborah S. Crossley‐Davis
Margaret Pauling
Catherine Latoza
Mary N. Arndt
Silvia Spitzer
Charlotte Fuchs
Sheila McCord
Lynne M. Dembiec
Pattie Miller
Cindy Hegdahl
Rank / Member Name
1 Danny Kurttila
2 Matt Pelletier
3 Leif Spilde
4 Pete Bergman
5 Pete Bergman
6 Brett Anderson
6 Mike Crisanti
8 Michael Floyd
9 Pete Bergman
9 Pete Bergman
19
41
39
41
50
19
9
35
12
1
City
State
Muskies Points
Caught
129
115
81
54
32
33
18
21
12
13
1,538
1,457
1,135
641
578
458
299
258
180
178
Rank / Member Name
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Nikki Swain
Vickie Banks
Jennifer Martinez
Donna Bork
Donna Ball
Mary Lundberg
Holly Neville
Cheryl Ford
Linda Knutson
Stephanie Neville
Hybrid Top 10 for 2014
Chapter Size (inches)
0
50.00
59
48.50
8
48.25
57
48.00
57
47.50
3
47.00
57
47.00
57
46.75
57
46.50
57
46.50
Caught
October 20, 2014
April 8, 2014
July 26, 2014
July 12, 2014
July 13, 2014
July 20, 2014
August 15, 2014
June 27, 2014
July 19, 2014
July 19, 2014
Chapter
City
State
8
41
56
18
12
41
19
12
16
19
Verona
Baltimore
Kettering
Moundsville
Wrightstown
Fremont
Coshocton
Wisconsin Rapids
Gibsonia
North Canton
WI
OH
OH
WV
WI
OH
OH
WI
PA
OH
Muskies Points
Caught
175
152
134
126
95
125
127
87
111
115
2,216
1,788
1,732
1,559
1,546
1,519
1,481
1,364
1,237
1,227
Women's Division for 2014
Coshocton
OH
Fremont
OH
Burbank
IL
Elmore
OH
Chadds Ford PA
No Canton
OH
Roanoke
WV
Hartland
WI
Eagle River
WI
Bemidji
MN
Lake
Pineview Reservoir
Bluewater Lake
Lake St. Clair
Mayfield Lake
Merwin
Indian Lake Chain
Merwin
Merwin
Merwin
Mayfield Lake
County
Weber
Cibola
Ontario
Lewis
Cowlitz
Ontario
Cowlitz
Cowlitz
Cowlitz
Lewis
State
UT
NM
ON
WA
WA
ON
WA
WA
WA
WA
Chapter
City
State
42
52
19
11
18
46
41
28
1
41
Upland
Wellington
North Canton
Davenport
Hopedale
Lake Nebagamon
Gahanna
OFallon
Hugo
Summit Station
IN
KY
OH
IA
OH
WI
OH
IL
MN
OH
Muskies Points
Caught
28
28
27
17
11
10
10
10
6
10
390
362
317
156
140
129
120
116
109
103
Junior's Division for 2014
Rank / Member Name Chapter
City
State Muskies Caught Points
1 Kendall Hill
33
Duluth
MN
39
527
2 Seth Niday
8
Oregon
WI
36
469
3 Charles Neville
41
Summit Station OH
21
229
4 Jesse Karau
12
Mosinee
WI
15
187
5 William Neville
41
Gahanna
OH
16
183
6 Robbie Jarnigo
8
Lake Mills
WI
15
173
7 Ryan Sailer
2
Rosemount
MN
22
173
8 Allison Klug
9
Proctor
WV
12
166
9 Elysa Amberg
37
Becker
MN
15
154
10 Levi Metheny
16
Bethel Park
PA
15
143
Lunker of the Month 2014
LUNGE LOG
Date
Chapter
Member
January 10, 2014
9
Charles Carpenter
February 1, 2014
9
Daniel Haddox
March 29, 2014
9
Bernie Klug
April 8, 2014
59
Matt Pelletier
May 26, 2014
3
Brian Zofkie
May 30, 2014
16
Levi Metheny
May 31, 2014
19
Thomas Johnson
June 20, 2014
16
Joel Morrow
July 26, 2014
8
Jeff Hanson
August 6, 2014
69
Andrew Lacko
August 27, 2014
4
Scott Gille
September 26, 2014
16
Paul Findlan
October 18, 2014
39
Michael Chisamore
October 31, 2014
21
Jason Hamernick
November 24, 2014
23
Francis Stack
December 15, 2014
8
Matt (Catfish) Firestein
LUNGE LOG
175
152
134
126
95
125
127
87
111
115
Rank / Member Name
City/State
Size (inches)
Harrisville, WV
42.00
Harrisville, WV
49.50
Proctor, WV
48.00
Albuquerque, NM
48.50
Crestwood, IL
51.00
Bethel Park, PA
51.00
Canton, OH
51.00
Ford City, PA
54.50
Verona, WI
55.25
Kenmore, NY
55.00
Little Suamica, WI
55.00
Franklin, PA
56.25
Wheaton, IL
53.50
Wyoming, MN
53.50
Lorain, OH
53.50
Chesterfield, MI
52.00
Lake/River
NF Hughes River, WV
Tygart River, WV
Mid. Island Creek, WV
Bluewater Lake, NM
Fox River, WI
Stonecoal Lake, WV
Salt Fork Lake, OH
Lake St. Clair, ON
Lake St. Clair, ON
St. Lawrence River, NY
Green Bay, WI
St. Lawrence River, ON
Eagle Lake, ON
Mille Lacs, MN
Lake St. Clair, MI
Lake St. Clair, MI
Lure/Bait
Crane Bait
Red October
Klug‐O
Herky Jerk
Showgirl
Cobb Jerk
Strike King
Baker
Spanky Fireball
Bondy Bait
Plastic Hosebait
Legend Perch
Bull Dawg
Medusa
Bull Dawg
MUSKIE
ADVERTISER
SPOTLIGHT
The Sportsman’s Repair Shop is a unique business because they only do repairs and the onlyWarranty
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The business was started in 19711007
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Chuck Brod, the owner, explains that having a degree in gunsmithing provided a very good base for repairing
many other products which are mechanical in nature.
Chuck says that after 43 years in the business, The Sportsman’s Repair Shop has narrowed down the product lines
that they repair to muskie reels and Minn Kota motors. They do not do product sales, only repairs.
They are a Warranty Service Center for Abu Garcia reels and an Authorized Service Center for all Minn Kota
products. The Sportsman’s Repair Shop is the Warranty Service Center for all St. Croix reels. Chuck Brod has
partnered with St. Croix to take over all of the warranty service for St. Croix reels. Chuck has purchased St. Croix’s
extensive inventory of reel parts. Through this partnership both companies intend to provide the highest level of
service possible. Please note that St. Croix rods are still being serviced by St. Croix Rods in Park Falls, Wisconsin.
Repairing muskie reels and Minn Kota motors keeps Chuck and his three employees busy throughout the year,
but they still make time to fish for muskies. Muskie fishing is Chuck’s favorite pastime and working to improve
muskie fisheries is very important to him. Chuck is a member of Muskies, Inc. and the Vice-President of the Musky
Clubs Alliance of Wisconsin. Through the Alliance, about 25 muskie clubs, including at least 9 chapters of Muskies,
Inc., work together on various projects and goals.
MUSKIE Field Editor Kevin Richards said, “I like doing business with MUSKIE advertisers and with people
who know how special muskies are. If you ask around you hear good things about The Sportsman’s Repair Shop. I
just sent a couple of Abu Garcia Revos to Chuck to make sure they are in top condition when I start chasing muskies
again this spring.”
MUSKIE is pleased to have The Sportsman’s Repair Shop as one of the fine advertisers who support Muskies
Inc. with their advertising!
“Specialists in repair of fishing tackle”
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www.muskiesinc.org
This issue features a couple articles that
touch on partnerships, which was a topic I
wrote about in the September/October issue
of MUSKIE. At the risk of sounding like a
broken record, I will say it again that partnerships are vital to the betterment of our sport and
the fisheries we care about.
What sets Muskies, Inc. apart is its reputation
among fisheries agencies as an organization always
willing to help and whose members are deeply passionate about the fish they love to pursue. There are
a number of fishing clubs that focus on the actual
capture of muskies themselves, but few have members that go the extra mile to help pull fyke nets or
seine hatchery ponds in October. Indeed, Patricia
Strutz’s article in this issue does an excellent job of
highlighting how Muskies, Inc. (and by extension, its
members) plays a role in working with the Wisconsin
Muskellunge Management Team to improve
Wisconsin’s already stellar muskie fisheries.
Our friends north of the border in Muskies
Canada, Inc. (MCI) also hold tremendous clout with
agencies like the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
and organizations such as the Ontario Federation of
Anglers and Hunters. Again, it’s their members that
go the extra mile and making that effort pays dividends for their relationships. Take a look at the article
penned by Peter Levick, MCI’s president, to see how
they use their muskie exhibition show, in part, to improve
relations among themselves and the agencies they
engage with. I hope that Muskies, Inc. and Muskies
Canada, Inc. can build on their already solid relationship
in the years to come.
So I think when our members talk to non-members it
should be communicated to those individuals what separates Muskies, Inc. from other organizations or clubs.
We do more than fervently cast and troll after our favorite fish; we actually work hard to raise the funds and get
the manpower needed to plant the fish habitat and stock
the muskies. Perhaps we should collectively set a goal
to encourage at least one person in 2015 to join Muskies,
Inc. and become part of something larger.
Calendar
Calendars should have made it to your home back in
December, but if you would like extra copies you can fill
out the form at the bottom of this page and send it along
with a check to the address listed.
Remember two things: 1) practice catch-and-release
and 2) wear your sunscreen.
April 10 - 12, 2015
Our 21st year!
WWW.MINNESOTAMUSKIEEXPO.COM
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Daily Admission: $10 daily; 3-day pass
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All Seminars are FREE with the price of admission!
Friday, April 10, 2015
SHOW HOURS - 2:00 pm - 9:00 pm
3:00 pm - John Hoyer & Matt Siefert
5:00 pm - Larry Dahlberg
7:00 pm - Luke Ronnestrand
Luke Ronnestrand
Saturday, April 11, 2015
SHOW HOURS - 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
11:00 am - Bob Mehsikomer
1:00 pm - Rich Reinert
3:00 pm - Ben Olsen
5:00 pm - Gregg Thomas
Sunday, April 12, 2015
SHOW HOURS - 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
11:00 am - Bob Benson & Dustin Carlson
12:30 pm - Tony Rizzo
2:00 pm - Mike Keyes
Greg Thomas
Chapter 21 member Grant
Lindberg caught this 54.5 inch
muskie in Minnesota last July.
His wife Korey got it in the net
for him and took the picture.
Fall on the Chippewa River. Nice shot here from
1st Wisconsin Chapter member Jason Smith.
Mark Wright (Chapter 56)
caught his last muskie of
2014 on December 21st using
one of his own twitchbaits.
He was fishing Caesars
Creek Lake in Ohio.
Bob Busche sent in this
photo of his grandson Cade
Busche, a member of
Chapter 33, with a 38 inch
muskie. It was his biggest
for 2014. Nice job Cade!
Steve Lauer of the Hayward Lakes Chapter
caught and released this late season muskie.
Over
ies
0
13,0 0 Musk
Released
OnSabaskongBay
Nine-timeMuskies,Inc.,
ChapterChallungeHeadquarters
1983,1986,1993,1997,2003,2004,
2011,2012,2014
Chapter 49 member David Cates took this beautiful sunrise shot while
looking out over Minnesota’s Lake Vermilion. Fantastic!
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Luke Mancl of Chapter 20 caught his first muskie on a lure he
made the day before at a muskie fishing clinic put on by his
chapter. What a great story and congratulations Luke.
Chapter 33 member Duane (Blu) Haarsager caught
this 45 inch muskie during his Chapter’s Take A Vet
Fishing Outing on the St. Louis River (Duluth, MN)
this past season.
Here is Chapter 62 member Tanner Schulz
with a 34 incher he caught and released on
the first day of the 2014 National
Championship Musky Open held in Eagle
River, WI. This fish earned him a third place
finish in the youth division.
www.muskiesinc.org
Wisconsin’s
Muskellunge
Management
Team - Patricia Strutz
include: developing and reviewing regulation proposals,
stocking plans, and assessment metrics and sampling
protocols; assess the status of the muskellunge fishery;
identify research needs; and maintain and update
muskie water classifications.
Team member and Fisheries Biologist Greg Matzke
puts it simply, “We have a ‘team’ set up for many fish
species--muskie, pike, walleye, bass, panfish, trout,
Wisconsin’s Muskellunge Management Team and catfish. Typically one or two biologists from each
(WMMT) is a standing policy team of the Wisconsin region of the state are on each team. Those of us who
Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Fisheries are passionate about muskies try to serve on the
(DNR). The Director of the Bureau of Fisheries ‘muskie team,’ which oversees muskie management. If
Management, with concurrence of the representative’s a biologist is desires to make some major changes with
respective District Fisheries Supervisor, appoints the muskie management in his or her area of responsibility,
team members. The members include: fisheries they will seek guidance from us. In a situation where a
biologists from around the state, a DNR hatchery regulation is going to be liberalized (e.g., if the
representative, a tribal biologist, and a DNR research biologist wanted a 28 inch length MSL [minimum size
representative. Fisheries Biologist, Tim Simonson, limit]) we would review the data collected. It would
serves as Team Leader and Fisheries Supervisor Scot need to show that there is an overabundance, slow
Stewart is the Team Sponsor; they help recommend growth issue, or potential impacts of the other fish
non-department (non-DNR) appointments—external
community in a lake.
agencies and public
Conversely, if a
involvement
are
biologist wanted to
solicited as deemed
go to a 45 inch MSL
appropriate. Partners
we would analyze
from Wisconsin’s
the data to make sure
major muskellunge
the fishery is a good
fishing organizations,
fit (being managed
including Wisconsin
as trophy water, good
chapters of Muskies,
growth rates, high
Inc., have been
size structure, etc.).”
invited to participate
Other members,
in the past.
such as Research
The WMMT was
Scientist
Jeffrey
active in the late
Kampa,
provide
The WMMT work hard to manage Wisconsin’s muskie fisheries so
1970s, when the first
updates on research
that anglers can have opportunities to catch giants like the one
contemporary
activities to the team
pictured here! Photo courtesy the Florence Fisheries Team.
management plan
and
help
lead
was developed. Over
discussions
on
the years the team has led a successful effort to increase selecting research priorities for a cooperative biennial
the minimum length limits on several bodies of waters. planning effort between the Fish Management program
In the early 1990s, they addressed concerns regarding and the Science Services (Fish Research) program.
muskie harvest and size-structure. Their efforts resulted
WMMT Partners—Muskies, Inc. and others
in an increase in the minimum length limit to 34-inches
As President of the Wisconsin Chapters of Muskies,
statewide. The present committee is addressing
Inc. Tom Penniston was invited as a WMMT partner. “I
numerous issues, including those related to muskie
have served since 2010; I provide input on policies and
propagation and stocking.
proposed regulations. As a former State Hatchery
The team’s “charge” is to implement the state’s Biologist and Fish Health Specialist, I can understand
muskellunge management plan. Specific assignments why they are doing certain things that may not make
sense to someone without my background—and, I can
also call them on the carpet when I see something that
I believe wouldn’t be in the best interest of our
members.”
“I provide info about the WMMT activities via
email with other chapters of Muskies, Inc. I don’t think
the DNR has to invite any of us to be involved; they
could keep it completely in-house. But, they are doing
a nice job of outreach, trying to make sure they receive
input from a number of parties with a vested interest in
our state’s muskie management.”
Bob Haase represents the 25 clubs in the Musky
Clubs Alliance. “I attend WMMT meetings and am
allowed to participate in discussions to try to provide
input from the clubs. I feel most of the efforts in muskie
propagation have been in stocking, with not much done in
the area of habitat improvement. With the scare of VHS
[viral hemorrhagic septicemia] and the limits placed on
the movement and stocking of fish, it reminded me how
important natural reproduction is. I’m not against stocking,
but I’m against making that our only tool for enhancing
fish populations. I’d like to see more research on why one
lake has natural reproduction and the lake next to it
doesn’t. I’m also one of the founding members of
Walleyes for Tomorrow and I think we need to work
together more between organizations. The best walleye
waters are usually the best muskie waters, too,
because they have a balanced ecosystem that
supports them.”
Like Penniston, Haase applauds the DNR’s
willingness to involve muskie clubs. “Tim
Simonson was instrumental in getting
representation from the muskie clubs and
welcoming our input. It’s great to be able to
represent the member clubs and to give them
a voice in muskie management in Wisconsin.”
Other WMMT partners include fisheries
research professors from the University of
Wisconsin and representatives from the
Wisconsin Conservation Congress.
Current Projects
Over the past decade, many management
issues have been worked on including different
minimum length limit regulation proposals,
trophy regulations on selected waters, allowing
motor trolling statewide, stocking (or lack
thereof) of Leech Lake muskies, securing
brood source fish for Green Bay, and regulation
Biologists prepare equipment for a day of
PIT tagging. Photo courtesy David Rowe.
Thin-sectioned anal fin rays clearly showing
annuli rings used by biologists to determine a
fish’s age. Photo courtesy David Rowe.
changes for areas that have Great Lakes spotted
muskies. A couple of interesting current projects are
detailed below.
Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) Tags
Fisheries Supervisor, David Rowe, from Fitchburg,
Wisconsin was originally appointed to work with the
restoration of the spotted muskie population in Green
Bay. He now supervises the Fisheries Management
staff in southwestern Wisconsin. “My current
management interests are in the use of PIT tags to
assess survival and recruitment of stocked muskellunge,
accuracy and precision of non-lethal aging structures
(e.g., anal fin rays), and angler cooperation in using
PIT tags to assess population abundance and fish
survival after being handled by recreational anglers,” explains Rowe.
“We
are tracking thousands of stocked
muskies that
have been PIT tagged to
Broodstock collections:
UWSP grad student,
Zeb Woiak, with a
muskie during
WDNR
broodstock
collections.
Photo courtesy
Justin VanDeHey.
assess survival and growth. We’ll recapture these fish
as adults and the tag will allow us to age the fish—
we’ll then remove some of the fish’s anal fin rays to see
if the ray’s cross section provides an accurate estimation
of the fish’s age.”
They are working closely with Capital City Chapter
of Muskies, Inc. to use angler reports of these PIT
tagged fish to improve abundance estimates, evaluate
handling mortality and growth of different strains of
stocked muskies. Jeffrey Kampa and Max Wolters
described the PIT tagging projects in the July 2014
issue of MUSKIE.
Pellet vs. minnow diet
Team partner and assistant professor, Dr. Justin
VanDeHey, at UW-Stevens Point, is working with the
WMMT to assess the growth, condition, and survival
of muskies reared in different ways. This research will
help guide future hatchery decisions. He explains,
“Post-stocking survival of muskies is related to many
factors. One is that larger muskies survive at relatively
higher rates than smaller ones do. However, the cost
associated with purchasing minnows to feed these
larger muskies has increased due to many reasons—
one of which is the DNR’s attempt to reduce disease
transmission into their hatcheries. Minnows are known
to carry a variety of viruses that can be transmitted to
muskies.”
“As an alternative, we are exploring rearing them
on dry diets—pellets—for a portion of their time at the
hatchery. This three-year study will evaluate how well
this method works compared to traditional rearing
methods. The study began in 2013 and the first stage,
short-term survival, will conclude in fall of 2015. So
far, results have shown fish started on pellets were
consistently smaller than those fed only natural prey.
However, both methods produced fish in suitable
lengths for stocking. Preliminary results suggest that
fish reared using both methods are surviving and a cost
analysis suggests the pellet rearing method may be 25
percent less expensive.”
Do other States have Muskie Management Teams?
“I believe Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, and
Missouri have teams devoted to muskie management,
but I’m not sure beyond our immediate neighbors,”
relays WMMT leader Tim Simonson. “There is also an
organization called the ‘Esocid Technical Committee,’
which brings together technical experts from the
Midwest states as part of the North Central Division of
the American Fisheries Society.”
Fishery Biologist and WMMT member Jordan Weeks is Wisconsin’s
representative on the Esocid Technical Committee. “We meet
biannually to discuss Esocid issues and I report these issues or topics
to the WMMT,” states Weeks.
WMMT Meetings
The team typically holds two meetings per year: one meeting is
usually in southern or central Wisconsin and the other is often held in
the northwoods at the Kemp Natural Research Station on Lake
Tomahawk. The meetings are generally around March and in August or
September. If the meeting is open to the public (to observe, not
necessarily to participate), it is posted on the DNR’s public meetings
calendar at www.dnr.wi.gov/news/input/Meetings.html .
Muskies, Inc. thanks the current WMMT members and partners for
their continued efforts to promote a healthy muskie fishery in Wisconsin.
“...build better baits...”
Team Sponsor: Scot Stewart, Fisheries Supervisor, Fitchburg
Team Leader: Tim Simonson, Fisheries Biologist, Bureau of Fisheries Management,
Madison
Team Members: Steve Hogler, WDNR Fisheries biologist, Green Bay; David Rowe,
Fisheries supervisor, Fitchburg; Greg Matzke, Fisheries biologist, Florence; Aaron Lure Parts Online, Inc., 580 North Street, Springfield, IL 62704
Cole, Fisheries biologist, Barron; Luke Roffler, Fisheries biologist, Sturtevant;
Jordan Weeks, Fisheries biologist, La Crosse; Jeff Kampa, Research scientist, Spooner;
Mark Luehring, Fisheries Biologist, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Odana.
Partners: Dr. Dan Isermann, Wisconsin Cooperative Fisheries Research Unit, University of
Wisconsin - Stevens Point; Dr. Justin Van De Hey UW-Stevens Point; Bob Haase (Muskellunge
Clubs Alliance of Wisconsin); Tom Penniston (Wisconsin Chapters of Muskies, Inc.); Joe Weiss
(WI Conservation Congress – Washburn County); Roger Sabota (WI Conservation Congress,
Oneida County); John Aschenbrenner (WI Conservation Congress - Emeritus, Forest County).
An 18 year-old muskie
sits alongside a 1 yearold in a holding trough.
Photo courtesy the
Florence Fisheries Team.
Fall fingerlings: Fall fingerlings at Wild Rose State
Fish Hatchery. Lengths and weights were being
collected to determine if growth and condition
differed between the two rearing methods.
Photo courtesy Justin VanDeHey.
A netting survey is just one of many tools at the disposal of
WMMT biologists. Photo courtesy the Florence Fisheries Team.
A tub full of
muskies! Photo
courtesy the
Florence
Fisheries Team.
www.muskiesinc.org
Photo Contest
By: Brad Waldera, Photo Editor - pictures@muskiesinc.org
Here is a picture of Bob Busche with a 49 inch muskie he
caught on the last day he was muskie fishing in 2014. It
turned out to be his largest fish of the year, and his
grandson Cade was with him to get it in the net. What a
great memory for them both! I like this shot. You can
clearly see Bob, as he’s not wearing sunglasses and his
hat isn’t down too far. He also doesn’t have the horizon line
going right through his head in the background. Juris was
never a fan of that, as some of you may remember. It’s
also a very sharp photo with good color and exposure. It’s
always nice to get a good photo to go along with a good
catch. Nice job on both Bob. Thanks for sending this in.
Long time Muskies, Inc.
member, Brad Nelson, sent
us this photo of his boat at
Olin Landing in Madison,
Wisconsin after a day on
the water last November. It
was quite cold that day,
and this was a neat effect. I
know quite a few of you
who have suffered through
days like this going after
that “one bite” that could
make your entire year. Not
sure if Brad was rewarded
for his efforts this particular
day, but I hope he was.
Thanks for the photo Brad.
Creek Paradox
Small Water, Big Lures
Over my many years of muskie fishing in both
northern and southern waters, I have established a love
for throwing large gliders in many different lakes and
rivers. Although I have spent time fishing plenty of big
water, in recent years I have slowed my search for
reservoir and lake muskies and reverted back to where
it all started for me: chasing muskies in small streams
and rivers.
To the trophy hunter this may seem like a regression
or not even acceptable, but just because these bodies of
water don’t seem likely to have the caliber of fish you
seek doesn’t mean that is necessarily true. I have
learned that if the food sources are there, then the
quality fish are there too. It’s true you may not get that
50 or 60 pounder but your chances of 30 to 40 pound
class fish are present and they are catchable. I don’t
know many muskie anglers who will say, “I don’t
waste my time with fish in the 45-50 inch range”
because, let’s face it, these sized fish are quality fish
and can be caught in some amazingly small bodies of
water. I can’t explain the feeling of seeing a log you
just casted to turn and eat your lure, or a mid-40 inch
fish come from nowhere in a foot of clear water to take
a lure. Did I mention that you often have the water to
yourself? These are some of the joys of small water
fishing that I am hoping to convey to you in this article.
Although I began muskie fishing on small rivers
and streams, most of my “muskie education” came
fishing larger reservoirs like the southern shad-filled
lakes of Buckhorn and Cave Run and the alewife-based
lakes like Green River in Kentucky and Melton Hill in
Tennessee, with a few cisco lakes up north. The one
thing these lakes have in common is the size of the
forage. Regardless of whether it’s gizzard shad or
ciscoes, the average forage size is 4-8 inches. Both
gizzard shad and ciscoes get bigger, but the most
common size appears to be in this range. With the
forage being smaller, lake muskies tend to like lures
that are small and shad shaped with colors that resemble
shad or similar baitfish, although sometimes smallersized sucker or perch colored lures will work, too.
Muskies will start eating lures that are bigger as fall
approaches in these lakes, I suspect, because their
forage size is growing too.
Watching a big muskie take a larger glide bait is
www.muskiesinc.org
y
- Chris Hale
- Chris Haley
As water that’s usually cooler than nearby lakes and
often void of other fishermen, stream fishing can be
an excellent option if you’re searching for a new
experience or to fish new water.
something I absolutely love to see, but it seemed the
bite was limited to periods when the baitfish were at
their biggest in the fall or when food was limited like
in spring before the shad spawn. This left me searching
for a bite to throw my big gliders.
During one summer our lake water temperatures
jumped up to unfishable levels, so I decided to stream
fish until water temperatures dropped. This turned out
to be one of the best decisions I have made in my
pursuit of the Mighty Muskie. Not only was the water
cooler and safer for the fish, it was also full of hungry
muskies willing to chase down lures from the biggest
bucktail and gliders to the smallest of bass-sized lures.
So from that point on I decided that small streams was
where I was going to spend the majority of my fishing
time. I always knew there were fish to be caught in
these waterways, but I just didn’t realize what fun it
would be chasing them on small bodies of water. I
know many muskie anglers drive right past little creeks
and rivers on their way to the larger lakes and
reservoirs. So in the next few paragraphs I am going to
share my thoughts and experiences of fishing this type
of water in order to help you find a hidden gem of your
own or possibly tangle with that 50-inch class fish you
have been chasing.
One of the first steps to learning how to catch fish
on these smaller bodies of water is understanding the
forage base. These muskies feed on a larger spectrum
of forage compared to their lake counter parts whose
diet, in the South, is 95% shad. Muskies in small
streams focus on suckers and carp, but will also feed
heavily on drum and sunfish. Another forage fish that
stream muskies chase harder than their lake counterparts
is terrestrial animals like ducks and small mammals
such as mice, rats, and yes, baby beavers; basically,
whatever they think they can eat. Muskies in streams A giant hole of water with rock bottom may hold fewer
tend to focus on crawfish more than lake muskies, fish than a small hole with a sandy gravel bottom, and
which eat crawfish in late winter and spring periods even though it’s winter, suckers still feed when some of
especially after spawn.
their food is in the sand and gravel. I have found holes
The willingness of the stream muskie to tackle that were beautiful with deep-water cover, but I
larger forage creates an opportunity to catch muskies couldn’t catch a fish from them, whereas floating
on bigger traditional muskie lures like gliders, but the through a small, shallow, sandy hole proved to be
newer lures work just as well. The reason for this is loaded with muskies simply because the forage was
that muskies will be feeding on redhorse and white there. Suckers will remain here until the water starts to
suckers. While some streams contain gizzard shad, warm and they start searching for spawning areas.
they are usually twice the size of their lake counterparts
Stream muskies won’t just prey on suckers. As
and not as plentiful. The size of the preferred forage is mentioned, they will also take terrestrial food items
10-15 inches but in lean times they may chase larger opportunistically. Lures that imitate terrestrials, such
forage.
as topwater baits, are always good to keep handy and
Sucker school locations vary from season to season may trigger a large muskie into a committing a viscous
and the muskies follow them just like in lakes with strike. Muskies key in on crayfish a lot especially after
schools of shad. Sucker locations can also vary from spawning and during muddy water conditions. In some
stream to stream and understanding the migrations of streams, muskies only have minnows and sunfish to
suckers can help boat more muskies. Suckers spawn in eat. These streams and rivers, however, are often less
early spring on shoals or feeder creek mouths, making productive, but can be a fun day on the water when
them a prime area to focus on. After the spawn, suckers trying to avoid a crowd or a heat wave.
rest in the pools near the shoals for a few weeks or until
After you have figured out the forage for the body
high water disperses them and then travel to shallow, of water its time to choose your plan of attack.
sandy stretches of the streams to feed on invertebrates. Choosing a proper boat to fish from is important and
Muskies follow in pursuit and can be found in some should begin with a decision on how much physical
amazingly shallow water chasing them. Key places are activity you want to exert. Kayaks and canoes can get
shallow areas in front of shoals where suckers feed. you to the skinniest of water and into places no one else
The downstream sides of the same areas where the can access, but obviously require a lot more effort.
shallows drop into deeper water hold large numbers of While Jon a boat with a trolling motor offers a
ambushing muskies. In cases of
compromise between canoes
The
author
with
proof
that
small
low water the suckers become
and larger jet boats, jet boats
streams don’t just produce small fish.
nocturnal and only venture into
can get into areas traditional
the shallows to feed at night and
Jon boats can’t, unless you’re
go back in to the deep holes to
willing to get out and pull the
rest in the day. So look for
boat through skinny water.
ambush points near the shallow
Once you have your boat
water areas even though you
(or shoreline since a boat is
don’t see suckers there because
not required) figured out,
the muskies will be waiting for
good lure choices will help
them to come by at dusk and
getting these fish to the
dawn.
commit to bite. I have found
The suckers may stay near
that large gliders are the best
the shallows until late summer
in small streams. I use large
or early fall, and then cold water
handmade gliders that are
forces them into the deep pools
usually in natural sucker and
to winter in. The bottom in these
carp patterns. Some of my
winter holes plays a big role in
favorite muskie gliders are
the number of muskies and the
the Widow Maker gliders like
number of suckers that use them.
Sidewinders, which I use
Gliders are an
excellent choice
for fishing small
rivers and
streams.
most of the time,
and Deadheads
that I turn to in
colder
water
where a neutrally
buoyant glider is
needed. I use
other
great
gliders like the
Shumm Shumm
and Hot Tails,
both of which
have soft plastic
tails that trigger some awesome strikes. Others include
the old stand-byes like Smuttly Dogs and Amma
Bammas. The key is to find one you like and stay with
it.
While gliders produce many fish, other large lures
cannot be overlooked. I use big bucktails in double 8s
and 10s. Colors that contain similar colors to the
muskie’s forage like golds, browns, silvers, and blacks.
I use the Dammit Boy double 8 and the Boo Dadley
double 10s for the most part. These lures are shorter,
but are bulky and give a big profile to draw the attention
of a fat stream muskie.
Topwaters are often great choices all year, too. Top
Raiders, Stompers, and even larger bass style buzz
baits work well. If the top water bite is happening it
could be a great time to use the terrestrial imitation
lures that look like ducks and mice.
Another lure that produces in natural colors are
large twitch baits like Grandmas, SS Shads, and
Shallow Invaders. I like to twitch them near woody
cover, and then crank them back to the boat.
Large soft plastics shouldn’t be dismissed either.
I’ve caught tons of huge muskies in the streams on Red
October tubes rigged jerkbait style. I stick with the
baby muskie (gold) color and a
pearl white tube in 10 and 12
inches. Other large soft plastics
produce nice fish, too, like Bull
Dawgs. I use them in cool water
and fish them slowly, but you have
to learn how to feel for the strikes.
Sometimes you won’t even feel
them grab the lure.
You soon find out after hitting
the water that these fish commit to
W
NE
bite the lure faster than lake fish
and don’t seem to be as shy. This eagerness to attack
large lures makes it the perfect situation for fly
fishermen, too, and is probably the best chance to get a
large streamer in front of a hungry fish.
Try to “match the hatch” and then use water flow
and clarity to guide what lures you should try first. The
fun thing is you can get by with one of each of these
lures to fish streams, so it can be a good choice for
beginner muskie anglers who are just getting their lure
collection started, or the guy on a fixed budget who can
only get the basics.
You soon see that stream fish can be fun and
watching muskies take large lures near the surface or in
clear, shallow water is an incredible sight to see. With
catch and release, many of these fish are caught over
and over and continue to grow larger every season.
Stream fishing has some down falls, though,
especially below tailraces and dams where swift water
and boating hazards are always present. There are also
fewer people around and in most cases you’re the only
angler on the water so fishing alone can be hazardous.
Let people know what waters you are fishing and when
you plan to return from the trip. A cold night on a river
when you’re wet and tired is not fun.
Most states have a listing of streams and rivers that
contain muskies along with good information on where
the ramps are and what stocking rates may be.
Remember, don’t judge a stream by its size. Think
small water and big lures. The next time you want to
escape the crowds or need to find cooler water to fish,
consider small streams and rivers. You may just be
surprised at what you find.
Biography
Chris Haley is a former Field Editor for MUSKIE magazine and has
published many articles in some of the top magazines in our industry.
He is the Vice President of Chapter 52 and has been a member of
Muskies, Inc. since 1996. He runs a guide service on Buckhorn and
Green River Lakes along the Kentucky River Systems. To contact
Chris, please email him at Chaley1@windstream.net.
NEW
ODYSSEY 2015:
The Muskies Canada Biannual Spring
Muskie Exposition
By: Peter Levick, Joe Inrig, and Gary George
Every two years Muskies Canada, Inc. (MCI) holds
a “must see” event - The Odyssey. This tradeshow
historically features our very best speakers and
exhibitors. It is the only all-muskie show of its kind in
Canada and is a one-day event held in St. Catharines,
Ontario.
Speakers at the upcoming Odyssey are four of
Canada’s best guides. John Bondy is well known for
his Bondy Baits. He is a guide in the Lake St. Clair–
Detroit River area and has not only perfected a special
jigging technique that triggers more fish, but has also
developed a unique bait that makes it work. Johnny
Dadson is a professional bait maker who is also an
accomplished muskie hunter and guide in the Georgian
Bay area. John Anderson guides on the Ottawa River
and is a much sought-after speaker. Dan Colomby
guides on the legendary Lake Nipissing and has some
great stories for us about the giants of the northern
waters.
The Odyssey is also a showcase for some of the
foremost bait and tackle suppliers in Canada. We will
have two of Canada’s biggest muskie shops on-site:
JBs Tackle and Protackle Muskie Shop. In addition,
you will find many unique custom baitmakers that
specialize in hand-made, custom, and hard-to-find
muskie lures. There will also be a great selection of the
best rods, reels, hardware, accessories, and terminal
tackle to help you handle the really big ones.
In addition to exciting speakers and the best of the
best lure suppliers, The Odyssey also features an
incredible prize table and silent auctions for unique
muskie related products, lodges, and resorts as well as
guided trips and one-of-a-kind items.
The Odyssey is much more than a great muskie
expo. The event is also Muskies Canada’s biggest and
most successful fundraiser. Proceeds of the Odyssey
go to support the extraordinary conservation,
restoration, and research work that helps Muskies
Canada work towards the enhancement and
sustainability of our wild Canadian muskies. These are
the most compelling reasons one should attend the
event and consider membership in Muskies Canada.
Muskies Canada runs The Odyssey biannually in St.
Catharines, Ontario near Niagara Falls. The show
attracts some of the top talent in the Canadian (and U.S.)
muskie community, and it provides an important venue for
tackle manufacturers to distribute their products. The
Odyssey is the only all-muskie show in Canada.
The Story of the
Odyssey
The idea of an all-Canadian muskie show was
conceived in late November 1999 while Chuck Boyd
(former Chairman of the Kitchener-Waterloo Chapter
of MCI) and Joe Inrig (member of the Hamilton
Chapter of MCI) were enjoying a muskie day-trip on
the Upper Niagara River. Discussions between Chuck
and Joe revolved around the pros and cons of such a
venture. At the time there was no “All Muskie Show”
east of Chicago and they both thought it would be a
great opportunity to get involved and promote such a
show here in Canada in hopes of bolstering Muskies
Canada’s conservation efforts.
Chuck and Joe pitched the idea to their respective
chapters. They emphasized that the profits of such a
show could be shared in order to support ongoing and
future projects. It was proposed that one-third should
go to Kitchener-Waterloo, one-third to Hamilton, and
the final third to Muskies Canada national. Both
chapters gave their approval to move forward with
their ideas. It didn’t take long to form a committee and
once it was established in January 2000, the approval
was given by the Board-of-Directors for a show to
occur in 2001.
For Chuck, Joe, and the other members of the
committee, the next 14 months proved to be a real eye-
predator for hundreds of years before becoming almost
extinct in the 1980`s. Lake Simcoe is one of Ontario`s
largest freshwater lakes, located about 100 kilometers
north of Toronto. The financial requirements of this
decade long project are very substantial. The key
financing is provided by funds from our biannual
Odyssey, which are then matched by necessary funds
from our major partners such as the Ontario Federation
of Anglers and Hunters, the Becker Foundation of
Muskies, Inc., various Federal and Provincial sources,
and the Spring Fishing and Boat Show.”
Catch-And-Release Study “Project Noble Beast”:
“Carrying out intensive muskie research requires
Projects Supported by funding
partnerships coming together to achieve a
critical
mass
of dollars for a project,” says Hedrik
the Odyssey
Wachelka, Research Director, former Chairman of the
Over the years, proceeds from our Odyssey Shows Ottawa Chapter, and primary Project Noble Beast
have supported many projects including:
volunteer. “Muskellunge research is usually not the
Lake Simcoe Muskie Rehabilitation Project:
highest focus in fisheries research or even as an
“The Lake Simcoe Muskie Restoration Project is elevated governmental priority as compared to salmon
Muskie Canada`s largest project”, says Ian Young, and bass as examples.
former President of Muskies Canada. “The goal is to
“Available Odyssey funds over the past decades
reestablish a stable, self-sustaining population of have been utilized in maintaining much needed projects
muskellunge into Lake Simcoe where it was the apex that have helped the cause of muskie fishing. A great
opener. Members often drove long distances to attend
committee meetings each month (except July and
August), but eventually all the preparation was
completed and on April 7th, 2001, The Odyssey began.
It was a huge success as over 600 people attended
the event. MCI members (all chapters were represented)
and non-members joined in the fun. There were also
U.S. anglers coming from places like Pittsburgh,
Buffalo, Minnesota, and Tennessee. The Odyssey’s
first speakers included local anglers like Bill Hamblin,
Larry Jones, Sean Maher, and Mike Lazarus as well as
cross-border legends like Larry Ramsell and Jim Saric.
HUGH BECKER MUSKIE SYMPOSIUM
save this Date:
March 11th - 15th, 2016
Muskies, Inc. Celebrates 50 years
Please join in on the 50th anniversary
celebration and Hugh Becker Symposium in
Minneapolis in March of 2016.
All chapters and members can donate to
the 50th anniversary Celebration or
hugh becker Symposium by sending your
donations to the address below:
Muskies, Inc.
1509 Stahl Road
Sheboygan, WI 53081-8894
** Please be sure to assign your donation to either the Celebration or the Symposium.
for more information
call (888) 710-8286 or visit our website
www.muskiesinc.org
example is Sean Landsman’s work evaluating the
factors and survival of angler caught muskie on/in the
water and not just in a lab. His work showed that with
proper equipment and handling techniques catch and
release results in negligible post release mortality and
is a viable population management tactic.”
Sean Landsman, the Project Lead tells us, “Project
Noble Beast (PNB) was funded largely by angling/
conservation organization money. Muskies Canada’s
biannual exhibition show, The Odyssey, generated
financial support needed to complete the research in
PNB.”
[Assistant Editor’s Note: For those interested in reading a copy of the
study, it can be accessed online via the Muskies Canada homepage
www.muskiescanada.ca]
Muskellunge Nursery Habitat Identification Project
in the Thousand Islands Area:
Muskies Canada Gananoque and Thousand Islands
chapter has been involved in a project to identify and
quantify muskellunge nursery habitat sites in the 1000
Islands region of the St. Lawrence region since 2005.
This project is still ongoing and completed its 10th year
in 2014.
Muskellunge nursery habitat sites are identified
through seining shallow embayments throughout the
Thousand Islands area and the capture of young-of-theyear muskellunge at those sites. Volunteers from
Muskies Canada work with Parks Canada and Ontario
provincial fisheries employees on the project.
Information is recorded at each seining site as to the
location of the site, the fish species captured and their
abundance, and a description of the habitat at the site.
This project has identified 23 previously unidentified
muskellunge nursery habitat sites to date. Habitat sites
used by species-at-risk such as the pugnose shiner,
bridal shiner, and grass pickerel have also been
identified. Once identified, these sites can be protected
under the Fisheries Act. The project has received
Odyssey funding both for equipment purchases and the
hiring of a private firm to help us in the first year of the
project.
Saint John River Tagging Study:
Brandon Jones, Chapter Chairman said “Thanks in
part to the Odyssey funding our chapter has received
we currently have over 650 fish tagged in the Saint
John River System, tracking such things as growth
rates and seasonal movement. Previous to the study
there was very little known about how the muskellunge
were using the river. The Odyssey funding was very
important for our chapter and has helped us to better
understand how muskies are using our river”.
The Saint John River Chapter (SJRC) Muskellunge
(muskie) Tagging Study began in the fall of 2006,
operating under a research permit held by the University
of New Brunswick. In February of 2010, the SJRC of
Muskies Canada, Inc. (MCI) received a Scientific
License (#325548) from the Department of Fisheries
and Oceans (DFO) permitting SJRC members to tag
angled muskie in the Saint John River. This permit has
been renewed annually, allowing continued tagging of
angled muskie by SJRC members, up to and including
the 2014 recreational angling season.
Individually numbered T-type tags (i.e., Floy tags),
deployed with Mark II and Mark III pistol grip guns
into the flesh just below the dorsal fin of captured
muskies are used to determine growth rates and
movements throughout the Saint John River system
upon recapture of tagged fish. Length measurements
are taken using calibrated bump boards and girth is
taken using a soft tape. Measurements are taken to the
nearest quarter inch.
For the purpose of this study, the SJRC has divided
the portion of the Saint John River flowing through
New Brunswick into the following three zones:
- Zone 1 - Above the Beechwood Dam, including
the section of the river considered to be international
waters
- Zone 2 - The Mactaquac Dam upriver to the
Beechwood Dam
- Zone 3 - Below the Mactaquac Dam
Kawartha Lakes Pike Invasion Project:
“One of the research concerns which was raised at
the start-up of the Kawartha Lakes Chapter in 2009
was the migration of northern pike into the Kawartha
Lakes System” according to Tom McCutcheon, former
Kawartha Lakes Chapter Chairman. “The Pike Invasion
Project (PIP) was implemented to investigate these
concerns and to provide volunteers and monies for
research. Throughout the 1990’s and early into this
century, it was suspected that northern pike were
moving into the system from Lake Simcoe to the West
and Lake Ontario to the South. There had been
numerous reports of pike in the system, but nothing
confirmed. This was a major concern for MCI as the
Kawartha strain of muskies is unique and had never
interacted with pike and they were being displaced in
smaller lakes such as Canal and Mitchel. The fact that
pike spawn two to three weeks in advance of muskies,
Sudbury Chapter membership
director, Marc Pitre (left), and
former Muskies Canada
president, Ian Young (right),
pose with Jim Saric (center)
during The Odyssey. Money
from the Odyssey helps fund
important projects conducted by
Muskies Canada chapter and
their partners.
and in the same general areas and structure, gives the
pike a distinct growth advantage over the newly
hatched muskie fry. The muskie fry become food for
the older pike as well as the pike’s diet is identical to
the muskie and the pike will consume what the muskie
fry needs to sustain life.
Since 2009, our chapter has received numerous
donations from MCI Odyssey funds, CFWIP grants
from the OMNR, donations from the public at mall
information days as well as other Chapters donating to
the PIP. We also received a $1,000.00 donation from
the Chinese Anglers Association to be directed
to the PIP”.
Odyssey funds have also helped support
many other projects over the past decade,
including:
- Genetic analysis of Georgian Bay, Lake
Simcoe, and Saugeen River and Ottawa
River (Trent University)
- Young of the Year (YOY) (Saugeen
River)
- Radio Tracking Studies (Saugeen River)
- Spawning Studies and Tagging in: Lake
Simcoe, Severn Sound, Moon River,
Magnetawan River, French River,
Strawberry Channel
So there it is. The story of how Canada’s
only muskie-dedicated show came to be. It just
proves what can be accomplished when a
group of committed volunteers and dedicated
career muskie nuts get together. Nearly the
entirety of the Canadian muskie fishery has
benefited from this modest, but high quality,
event. The organization Muskies Canada, Inc.
has elevated itself, muskie fishing, and its
followers most dramatically in one decade
through this effort. Relationships with
educators and regulators have been created
and cemented, the fishery enhanced, and the
quality of experience being a muskie hunter in
www.muskiesinc.org
Canada is hard to surpass. Many thanks to the various
people who provided background information for this
article. We all join together to thank everyone involved
with Muskies Canada, Inc. and Muskies, Inc. for your
past and future support of the Odyssey and all our
various efforts throughout the seasons. Hopefully we
will see you in April at the show and on the water when
the season arrives.
[Assistant Editor’s Note: I think it’s important that Muskies, Inc.
members understand what our friends north of the border are doing. As
we move further into the future, my hope is that ties between the two
organizations will strengthen.]
Fox River Valley Chapter of Muskies Inc.
Presents the
20th Annual Challunge on the Chain
The Oldest & Largest Muskie Tourney in IL
Saturday, May 16, 2015
A Special Thanks to our Sponsors:
1-800-441-5014
www.angleoutpost.com
1-800-214-2533
www.baystorecamp.com
by Kloss Distributors
*
*
LOOK FOR ALL CHAOS TACKLE PRODUCTS AT A TACKLE STORE NEAR YOU.
www.chaostackle.com www.esoxassault.com www.customxlures.com
Grand Door Prize
C a sh Pr i z e s
sponsored by
1 st Pl a c e $ 5 , 0 0 0
2 n d Pl a c e $ 2 , 5 0 0
3 rd Pl a c e $ 1 , 2 5 0
4 t h Pl a c e $ 1 , 0 0 0
Additional cash prizes for boats placing 5th thru 10th
$200 Gift Certificate
Door Prizes
Based on full field of 100 boats
Trophies
Dinner
Raffles
Tournament Entry Form
Awards
Name: ______________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________
City: ___________________ State: _____ ZIP: ______________
Phone: ______________________ Date: __________________
Email: ______________________________________________
Club Affiliation _______________________________________
Name: ______________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________
City: ___________________ State: _____ ZIP: ______________
Phone: ______________________ Date: __________________
Email: ______________________________________________
Entry Fee Per Team:
Mail completed form & payment to:
__ Early Bird Registration: $200
__ After 5/1 Registration: $220
__ Day of Registration:
$230
FRV Muskies Inc.
P.O. Box 7613
Algonquin, IL 60102
For complete rules, boat positions, and tournament info visit: www.frvmuskie.com
Chapter News and Views
Special Events
2015
Chapter 12’s Spring Classic of Champions
Catch & Release Muskie Tournament
Dates: June 13-14, 2015
Location: Eagle River Chain of Lakes (Vilas
County, WI).
For more information, please contact Scott
Samuels:
Phone: (715) 547-3340
Email: springclassic@outlook.com
Facebook: “Spring Classic Muskie Tournament”
www.headwatersmuskies.com
_____________________________________
To all Youth Conservation Alliance
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
Event: 2015 Youth Muskie Hunt (YMH)
Date: September 17th (Thursday) - 19th (Saturday)
Time: Kick off starts at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday with
awards/closing ceremonies happening Saturday
night at Louie’s Landing.
Command Center: Mystic Moose on Moose Lake
in Hayward, Wisconsin
Event registration will open up on August 1st, but, if
you’re 90 percent sure that you’re going to attend,
please email me with a heads-up so I can get
some rough estimates on attendance. As most of
you know, these events continue to grow and we’re
certain to have this event be our biggest ever.
Note: There will NOT be a June Youth Muskie
Hunt in 2015. September is it and it’s going to be a
cool one!
Feel free to call Kevin Bushnick (YCA Grand
Master) at (847) 987-3622 or visit our website
www.theYCA.org with any questions.
MUSKIE Deadlines
Issue 2015
Deadline Date
May/June
March 20th
July/August
May 20th
September/October
July 20th
November/December September 20th
January/February (2016) November 20th
www.muskiesinc.org
No. Chapter, Address
ATTENTION
CHAPTER
CONTACTS:
Please make sure
your chapter address
and phone number
is correct on this page
AND on the M.I. website.
Whenever you update
chapter information on
the website, please send an
email to the Editor so we can
keep this page current. Thanks!
Phone #
01.....Twin Cities, 4012 Washburn Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, 55410...........................612-925-1109
02.....Fargo-Moorhead, Box 2021, Fargo ND, 58107.................................................920-207-5441
03.....Chicagoland Muskie Hunters, 7600 Kilbourn Ave, Skokie, IL 60076.................847-677-0017
04.....Titletown/Packerland, 901 Ethel Street, Green Bay, WI 54303 ........................920-562-5244
05.....Pomme De Terre, PO Box 5, Hermitage, MO 65668.........................................314-440-2173
06.....First Wisconsin, PO Box 122, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729.................................715-839-7089
07.....South Side Muskie Hawks, 5211 S. Narragansett Ave., Chicago, IL 60638.......773-581-8650
08.....Capital City, PO Box 8862, Madison, WI 53708................................................608-669-5046
09.....West Virginia, 1270 Federal Road, Little Hocking, OH 45742...........................740-667-3571
10.....Heartland, 239 8th St SE, Mason City IA 50401...............................................641-424-0827
11......Mississippi Valley, 501 26th Ave, Moline, IL 61265...........................................309-797-1803
12.....Headwaters, PO Box 652, Eagle River, WI 54521............................................715-891-5574
13.....Hayward Lakes, PO Box 609, Hayward, WI 54843...........................................715-634-4543
14.....South of the Border, 28926 W. Big Hollow Rd, McHenry, IL 60050..................815-385-9026
15.....Star of the North, 16078 East Maple Drive, Pengilly, MN 55775.......................218-259-9970
16.....Three Rivers, 119 Buss Lane, Renfrew, PA 16053............................................724-789-7866
17.....Quad County, PO Box 185, Plano, IL 60545.....................................................815-695-1494
18.....Hopedale, PO Box 118, Smithfield, OH 43948..................................................740-769-7269
19 Akron-Canton Muskie Maniacs, 2211 North Park Dr., Wadsworth, OH 44281... 330-606-5374
20.....Between the Lakes, PO Box 61, Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085-0061.................920-602-1419
21.....North Metro, PO Box 41216, Plymouth, MN 55441...........................................612-916-7426
22.....New Jersey, 1524 Old Bethlehem Rd. Quakertown, PA 18951.........................908-319-2205
23.....Cleveland, 5007 Starr St., Newton Falls, OH 44444.........................................330-219-7964
24.....Brainerd Lakes, 18031 Heritage Road, Brainerd, MN 56401............................218-838-5509
26.....Central Wisconsin, PO Box 263, Medford, WI 54451........................................715-748-4874
28.....Shawnee Muskie Hunters, 923 Reiss Rd, O’Fallon, IL 62269...........................618-628-4205
29.....Upper Great Plains, 1788 Hwy 4, Estherville, IA 51334....................................712-362-2501
30.....God’s Country, PO Box 1461, LaCrosse, WI 54602..........................................608-606-3065
31.....Penn-Ohio, 309 Spring St, Jamestown, PA 16134............................................724-932-5815
32.....Flatlanders, 6259 Walnut Grove Road, Loves Park, IL 61111...........................815-389-4622
33.....Lake Superior, 2031 Hwy. 33 S., Cloquet, MN 55720.......................................218-879-2712
35.....Milwaukee, PO Box 28842, Greenfield, WI 53228............................................262-250-6444
37.....St. Cloud, 109 Greenstone Ln., Waite Park, MN. 56387...................................320-656-1160
38.....Alexandria-Vikingland, 106 Main Ave, P.O. Box 102, Carlos, MN 56319..........612-554-8170
39.....Fox River Valley, 1253 Cobblers Crossing, Elgin, IL 60123..............................847-741-9771
41..... Central Ohio, 1094 Eastmoor Blvd. Columbus, OH 43209
740-225-1152
42.....Hoosier Muskie Hunters, PO Box 501371, Indianapolis, IN 46250................... 317-372-0111
44.....Colorado, 2031 Granger Circle, Castle Rock, CO 80109..................................303-263-3783
45.....Kentucky, 212 Linden Ave., Southgate, KY 41071............................................859-441-1666
46.....Bemidji/Cass Lake, PO Box 6, Bemidji, MN 56619...........................................218-766-6697
47.....Michigan Muskie Alliance, PO Box 512, Caledonia, MI 49316..........................616-447-1688
49.....Webster Lake Musky Club, PO Box 670, No. Webster, IN 46555.....................574-834-1669
50.....Penn-Jersey, 4 Shull Farm Rd., Erwinna, PA 18920.........................................610-294-9399
52.....Daniel Boone, 813 US 62, Maysville, KY 41056...............................................606-759-7610
53.....Huskerland Muskie Hunters, 15706 Hamilton St, Omaha, NE 68118................ 402-498-8959
54.....Southern Crossroads, 850 Riverwood Place, Owatonna, Minnesota 55060.....507-455-1644
56.....SW Ohio Muskie Assoc., 524 Sterling Meadows Place, Brookville, OH 45309.. 937-833-1833
57.....NW Tiger Pac, 20204 9th Ave. S., Des Moines, WA 98198..............................206-870-0673
58.....Lake St. Clair Muskies, Inc., 34047 Williamsburg Ct, Sterling Hts MI 48312.....586-873-9154
59.....New Mexico Muskies, Inc., P.O. Box 65575, Albuquerque, NM 87193.............505-264-2999
60.....Mountain Muskies, 6610 N. Hartley Spokane, WA 99208.................................509-263-7235
61.....Northwoods Chapter, P.O. Box 1090 PMB #204, Minocqua, WI 54548............715-356-9758
62.....Wasau Area Chapter, 5709 Canoe Street, Weston, WI 54776..........................715-297-7573
63.....South Central West Virginia , HC61 Box 39B Frame Town, WV 26623............304-364-8878
64.....Nittany Valley Musky Alliance, 175 Industrial Park Rd. Edensburg, PA 15931.814-421-6502
69.....New York Muskies, P.O. Box 10401, Rochester, NY 14610..............................585-670-0422
CHAPTER Chicagoland Muskie Hunters
3
7600 Kilbourn Ave. • Skokie, IL 60076
847-677-0017 – Dean Rosset
dlrosset@sbcglobal.net
Meets 2nd Tuesday 7:30 PM, Park Ridge VFW 10 West Higgins Ave., Park
Ridge, IL.
The winter months are always a busy time for our chapter. Right now
we are actively preparing for our biggest fund raising event of the year,
the Indoor Fishing Flea Market (IFFM). It will be held on March 7th,
2015 at Rolling Meadows High School (RMHS). This year, we partnered
with the RMHS Athletic Boosters to put on the event. The IFFM is
something no angler should miss. All sorts of fishing gear, collectibles,
close-outs, overstocks, antiques, used fishing tackle and boat and marine
merchandise, will be up for sale. There are always a lot of deals and rare
finds. Plus, it’s a ton of fun swapping stories with fellow anglers. Zach
Arnold has done a great job coordinating the IFFM.
We’ll be drawing the winners of our Annual Fundraising Raffle at the
IFFM. We’re raffling off some very nice prizes, including a muskie rod/
reel combo, two signed and framed Scott Zoellick prints, and as the grand
prize, a GoPro Hero4. Good luck to everyone who bought tickets!
Back in January, we ran a booth at the new Chicago Muskie Expo. It
was great to see all the familiar faces and to meet other muskie
enthusiasts. We always enjoy talking muskies with our fellow anglers and
we also signed up a lot of new members
at the expo! Thank you to everyone who
stopped by
our
booth
and bought a
few of our
raffle tickets.
As
usual,
Bob Ebert
(pictured
left) was the
face of the
Chicagoland
M u s k i e
Hunters. Bob, with support of other Chapter
members, manned our booth for the entire
expo.
Outings Director, Joe Pavilonis, is putting
together some fun outings for 2015, starting
with the WLMC (#49) Ice-Out Challunge. We
won the Ice-Out in 2013 and last year there
were no fish caught and therefore no winner,
so we’d love to re-capture the Giant Minnow
traveling trophy again this year. This event is
always a blast and the WLMC Chapter puts on
a great event with generous amounts of good
food and raffle prizes. The Ice-Out is also a
good opportunity to shake off a few of the
cobwebs that have gathered in our muskie
muscles over the long winter. And not to be
overlooked are the gigantic girths on some of
these pre-spawn fish. This may be the best
time of year to bag ‘Big Bertha’, at least down
here where there’s no closed season. We’re
also planning on having outings on the Fox
Chain and Vilas County amongst other
locations.
Our monthly meetings have featured many
top notch muskie sticks. In January, Gregg
Thomas treated us to a presentation on fishing
soft plastic baits. In February, we got a rare
treat when Luke Ronnestrand presented on
one of our club’s favorite destinations, Lake
Vermilion. I think everyone is looking
forward to our March meeting, when Spencer Berman comes back to Chitown. Spencer always gives a highly entertaining and informative
presentation and with LSC a mere 5 hour drive from Chicago, we’re sure
to put this information to good use. In May, we welcome back one of our
favorite speakers, Sean Bermingham. Sean is a master of tinkering with
his baits to give them that unique wiggle or wobble that fish just can’t
resist. Sean will be sharing some of his favorite bait modifications with
us. Keep on chuckin’
- Frank Loye
CHAPTER
4
Titletown/Packerland
901 Ethel Street
Green Bay, WI 5433
920-866-5244
Meetings held the second Wednesday of each 562, 7:00 p.m., at the Green Bay Yacht
Club, 100 Bay Beach Road, Green Bay, WI. Follow us on Facebook
at Titletown Muskies, Inc. Chapter 4
Greetings from Titletown! Our December 2014 meeting featured our
chapter elections. President Bob Volm, Secretary/Treasurer Bill Gerndt,
and Alliance Representative Steve Haas were reelected for another term
and Tim Drewiske was elected Vice President. The club thanks Ron
Myslik for his past service as an officer. Other business discussed
included future club outings, Titletown clothing options, and our winter
schedule. Our January meeting was also our annual swap meet. Good
deals were abundant.
Our annual banquet will be held on Friday, March 20th at the Stadium
View Banquet Hall in Green Bay. There will be door prizes, raffles,
Indoor
Indoor
Indoor
Indoor
Indoor
Fishing
Flea
Fishing
Flea
Indoor
Fishing
Flea
Fishing
Flea
Fishing
Flea
Market
Market
Fishing
Flea
Market
Market
Market
Market
All Types of Fishing Gear
All
of
Gear
All Types
Types
of Fishing
Fishing
Gear
Collectible
& Used
Fishing
Tackle
Collectible
&
Used
Fishing
Tackle
All
Types
of
Fishing
Gear
Collectible
& Used
Fishing
Tackle
Closeouts,
Overstocks,
Antiques
All
Types
of
Fishing
Gear
All
Types
of
Fishing
Gear
Closeouts,
Overstocks,
Antiques
Collectible
&
Used
Fishing
Tackle
Closeouts,
Overstocks,
Antiques
Boat
& Marine
Merchandise
Collectible
&
Used
Fishing
Tackle
All Types
of Fishing
Gear
Collectible
&
Used
Fishing
Tackle
Boat
&
Marine
Merchandise
Closeouts,
Overstocks,
Antiques
Boat & Marine
Merchandise
Closeouts,
Overstocks,
Antiques
Collectible
&
Used
Fishing
Tackle
All Types
of Fishing
Gear
Closeouts,
Overstocks,
Antiques
Boat
& Free
Marine
Merchandise
Parking
Boat
Marine
Merchandise
Closeouts,
Overstocks,
Antiques
Collectible
&
Used
Fishing
Tackle
Boat &
&Refreshments
Marine
Merchandise
Free
Parking
Free
Parking
Boat & Refreshments
Marine
Merchandise
Closeouts,
Overstocks,
Antiques
Free
Parking
Refreshments
Free
Parking
Boat &Refreshments
Marine
Merchandise
Free
Parking
Saturday
March
7th
2015
Refreshments
Free
Parking
th
Refreshments
Saturday
March
7
th
Saturday
March
7th 2015
2015
8:00AM
– 1:00PM
Refreshments
Free
Parking
Saturday
March
7th 2015
8:00AM
–
8:00AM
– 1:00PM
1:00PM
Saturday
March
7
Refreshments
th 2015
Saturday
March
7
2015
8:00AM
–
1:00PM
th School
Rolling
Meadows
High
8:00AM
–
1:00PM
Saturday
March
7
2015
8:00AM
–
1:00PM
Rolling
Meadows
High
School
Rolling
Meadows
High
SchoolIL 60008
2901 W. Central
Rd.
Rolling
Meadows,
th 2015
8:00AM
–
1:00PM
Saturday
March
7
2901
W.
Central
Rd.
Rolling
Meadows,
IL
Rolling
Meadows
High
School
2901 W. Rolling
Central Meadows
Rd. Rolling
Meadows,
IL 60008
60008
High
School
8:00AM
–
1:00PM
Rolling Rd.
Meadows
High
School IL 60008
2901 W. Central
Rolling
Meadows,
Admission
$5.00
2901
Rd.
Rolling
Meadows,
and Seniors
$4.00School IL 60008
RollingStudents
Meadows
High
Admission
$5.00
2901 W.
W. Central
Central
Rd.
Rolling
Meadows,
IL 60008
Admission
$5.00
Children
and
Under
Free
Students10
and
Seniors
$4.00
Students
and Seniors
$4.00School IL 60008
2901 W. Central
Rd.
Rolling
Meadows,
Admission
$5.00
RollingChildren
Meadows
High
10 and Under Free
Children
10 and
Under
Free
Admission
$5.00
Students
and
Seniors
$4.00
Information
847-769-4061
Admission
$5.00Meadows,
2901 W. CentralChildren
Rd.
Rolling
IL 60008
Students
and
Seniors
$4.00
10
and
Under
Free
Information 847-769-4061
Students
and
Seniors
Admission
$5.00$4.00
Information
847-769-4061
Children
10
and
Under
Free
Children
10
and
Under
Free Post Prom Committee
Students
and
Seniors
Sponsored by Chicagoland
Muskie
Hunters
& $4.00
RMHS
Information 847-769-4061
Admission
$5.00
Children
10 Hunters
and
Under
Free Post Prom Committee
Information
847-769-4061
Sponsored by Chicagoland
Muskie
& RMHS
awards, hundreds of prizes, so there will for sure be something for
everyone. A full report will appear in the next issue. For more information
on the banquet, please contact Bill Gerndt at billg@kaydist.com.
- Respectfully submitted, Bill Gerndt
CHAPTER
6
First Wisconsin
P.O. Box 122, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
www.firstwimuskiesinc.org
Meetings 1st Monday, 5:30 PM, at Rod and Gun Club, Lake Wissota from May to
September and at the Fill Inn Station, 104 W. Columbia St., Chippewa Falls from October
to April.
Our awards banquet was held in January. The Members Only Fishing
Contest had 59 anglers reporting 578 muskies released. The Men’s
Division was won this year by Ace Sommerfeld, with 64 fish worth 726
points. In second place was Rick Hall with 53 fish worth 547 points. In
third was Matt Rokus with 42 fish worth 456 points. The Men’s Masters
Division was led by Harold Hall with 57 fish worth 542 points. In second
was Brett Olson with 39 fish worth 425 points. In third was Brian Wright
with 28 fish worth 320 points. The Women’s Division was won by
Kirsten Spletter with 3 fish worth 37 points. In second was by Susan
Roytek with 2 fish worth 23 points. In third was Lesa Allen with 1 fish
worth 18 points. The Junior’s Division was won by Max Gibson with 5
fish worth 97 points. In second was Sam Hall with 6 fish worth 69 points.
In third was Cortland Spletter with 5 fish worth 62 points. Congratulations
to ALL the anglers.
The Mike Malone Memorial Award, which recognizes a member’s
service for the betterment of the chapter, was presented to Don Maves for
his work heading the Merchandise and Tournament committees.
The chapter Executive Officers for 2015 are as follows: President, John
Imm; Vice President, Alex Swanson; Treasurer, Jack Gerlach/Joe Heil;
Secretary, Paul Gottwald; Chapter Representative, Tom Riedel. Thanks
to last year’s President, Dave Jann.
The March general meeting will feature muskie guide Mike Cookas of
Sawyer County. April will feature Larry Mann of the Hayward Fly
Fishing Co. These meetings are held every first Monday of the month at
the Fill Inn Station in Chippewa Falls. Meetings start at 7 p.m. and the
seminars are free and open to the public.
Our 39th Annual Tournament will be held September 18th-20th, 2015.
Please mark your calendars and join us.
- Paul Gottwald
CHAPTER
Capital City
P.O. Box 8862, Madison, WI 53708
608-669-5046 – Gerard Hellenbrand
www.capitalcitymuskiesinc.org
Meets 2nd Monday at the 5100 Bar, 5100 Erling Ave., McFarland, WI.
8
Well, “Cabin Fever” is running at high levels in the land of the Capital
City Chapter of Muskies, Inc. (CCMI). We have numerous members
anxious for the ice to leave and for spring to arrive. Luckily, we have a
whole lot of great events and activities to keep our minds off of the
seemingly endless winter season. On February 9th, we held our Annual
Awards Banquet and, as always, our Release Contest Chairman Michael
Winther, did an excellent job presenting the fish, the stories, and
acknowledging all of our various Division Winners. It was another
excellent year for many of our club members, in regards to the size of fish
and the number of fish caught. It’s always a big thrill to hear the stories
and get the background information on the huge fish boated by our club
members.
One of my favorite winter time events, The Madison Fishing Expo, was
held on February 27- March 1st. We had a good number of members
working in our booth, selling raffle tickets, selling our club sweatshirts,
selling lures from our very popular “Garage Sale”, meeting new people,
and promoting Muskies, Inc. I thank all of the volunteers that put time in
(Continued on page 28)
during the expo and I also thank everyone who stopped by and either
bought something or joined the club. Speaking of Expos, I would also like
to thank Rick Lane, who worked our booth at the Wisconsin Musky Expo
in Wausau on March 6-8.
There is still time a little time left to register for CCMI’s 14th Annual
Intermediate and Advanced Muskie School on March 14th. With
attendees coming from several States around the upper Midwest, our
Muskie School continues to be very popular. Much of the schools success
is due in large part to the great job that our “Muskie School Dean” Geoff
Crandall, does organizing the class curriculum and school activities. The
schools success is also due to the superb job our “Muskie Teachers” do in
giving their seminars. We’re always adding new classes to keep things
fresh and to make sure that every year has something new to offer our
attendees. You can find more info on the school at our website (www.
capitalcitymuskiesinc.org) or you can contact Geoff at Crandall@msbnrg.
com or at (608) 770-7131. The cost of attending is $35 ($45 after March
9th) and $10 for kids 17 and under. Please note that we require that any
enrollees under age 16 be accompanied by an adult. If you registered prior
to March 1st, you were automatically entered in a drawing for a $200 Gift
Card to Dorn Bait & Tackle. The school fee covers your three classes and
a catered lunch. There will also be a raffle, silent auction, and free coffee
and donuts to start off the day.
On Saturday, April 11th Basketball Legend and Muskie Fisherman
Christian Laettner will be our speaker at our CCMI Annual Fundraiser.
Since retiring from Professional Basketball, Christian has developed a
deep passion for Muskie fishing. He has appeared on The Next Bite with
Pete Maina and has started his own website and state of mind: “The
Muskie Life”. Christian will cover his experiences in the sports world and
in Muskie Fishing. He will discuss the correlation between preparing for
the Big Game and preparing for a Big Fish trip, among other useful
points. There will be raffles, silent auctions, chances to meet Christian,
and many, many prizes. The Fundraiser starts at 1pm and will be held at
the 5100 Bar & Banquet Hall, 5100 Erling Avenue, McFarland, WI
53558. Details for this even can also be found on our website.
Take an early opportunity to get your 2015 off to an early start by
attending the CCMI Iowa Hawg Hunt on April 25th, near Cedar Rapids,
Iowa. It’s a great way to try out the new lures and gear that you have
purchased over the winter and it allows you to knock off some rust before
the WI season opener and the CCMI Madison Chain Outing. The
Madison Chain outing takes place on Lake Waubesa and Lake Monona as
well as the water linking the two. It will be held on May 16th. This is a
very fun event, a great way to get to know fellow club members and meet
new Muskie anglers. The fishing filled day ends mid-afternoon at The
Green Lantern in McFarland, with a free lunch and prizes. Mark the date
on your calendars and visit our website for all of the details (www.
capitalcitymuskiesinc.org).
CCMI will again be hosting the Wisconsin Youth Muskie Championship.
This fun filled event will take place on June 13th. Every year, the WI
Youth Muskie Championship is a great success and there are not too many
events more rewarding for our club members than this one. Whether
they’re in search of their first muskie or a new personal best, all of the
kids entered in the event have a great time and only add to the fun. Taking
a day to help these young anglers hunt down a lunker and improve their
fishing skills and knowledge, is one of the foundations of Muskies, Inc
and one of the biggest reasons why so many of us get involved in clubs
such as ours. Details for this event can also be found on our website.
I wish you success in your 2015 Muskie fishing season and I hope you
catch a monster.
- President, Luke Vike, Sr.
CHAPTER
9
West Virginia
1270 Federal Road • Little Hocking, OH 45742
740-667-3571
www.westvirginiamuskiesinc.org
Meets: No definite schedule-call
Last season, WV Chapter 9 members registered about the same number
of muskies as the previous year. Some familiar names stayed at the top in
several Chapter Contest Divisions. John Cade and Shelia McCord
repeated as WV Men’s and Women’s Master Champions. Allison Klug
once again won our Junior Division. Charlie Carpenter is our 2014 U.S.
Waters Release winner. He shared the award in 2013 with Troy Radcliff.
With 38 releases for nearly 500 points, Danny Haddox won our Men’s
Release Division. Darlene Kelley boated 8 fish for 96 point to win our
Women’s Division. Danny and Darlene will now compete as Masters. Jay
Dotson’s first over fifty was our longest of 2014. Jay boated a 51.5 inch
from Lake St. Clair on a guided trip bought for him by his family, for his
birthday. Too bad more of us don’t receive such great creative gifts.
Personally, I’m tired of socks and Fruit of the Looms.
While many of us were relaxing at home, probably watching New
Year’s Day Football, Bill Looney was making his own fun on the Elk
River. Bill rang in the New Year with a 50.5 inch, casting one of his own
Amma Bama Lures. This wasn’t the first time he has registered WV
lunkers in early January. By January 9, 2012 Bill had already caught
eight muskies from the Elk and Little Kanawha Rivers including a 45 inch
and a 50 inch. Congratulations again Bill.
Chapter 9 would like to congratulate, as well as thank, former DNR
Director Frank Jezioro, who retired on December 31st, 2014, after serving
sportsmen and the states’ natural resources for ten years. Mr. Jezioro had
many accomplishments during his tenure as Director. Mr. Robert Fala has
been appointed to serve in this important capacity and we look forward to
working with him as a club in the improvement, enhancement and
protection of all our wonderful natural resources within the state.
- Secretary , John Kaltenecker
CHAPTER
13
Hayward Lakes
P.O. Box 609
Hayward, WI 54843
715-634-4543
In November and January, the Hayward chapter had two business
meetings. We reviewed the tournament results, made plans for next year
and set a budget for the club’s spending and financial needs. We also
discussed projects and other monetary requests and planned club events
and activities. In December, Allen and Barbara Hoeft hosted our annual
Christmas party.
In February, we will send out the calendar of club activities along with
a reservation form for our annual awards banquet, which will be Saturday,
March 7th, 2015. Everyone who registered fish in our members contest
will receive a trophy, plaque or certificate at the banquet. If you can’t be
there, the awards can be mailed.
The following fish have been entered in our club’s member contest as
of January 20th, 2015:
Youth - Tommy Tiffany (2 fish and points); Women’s - Vicki Barber (8
fish and 99 points), Vicki Shumway (7 fish and 82 points), Claudette
Kersten (4 fish and 38 points), Tera Neibauer (2 fish and 30 points);
Men’s - Ken Vesel (20 fish and 221 points), Carl Langham (22 fish and
183 points which includes a 48.5 inch from Vermillion), Emmett Brown
(14 fish and 120 points), Steve Truver (7 fish and 86 points), Al Hoeft
(5 fish and 69 points), Kris Gottwald (5 fish and 64 points), Tom
Kersten (8 fish and 57 points), JB Ellis (3 fish and 56 points which
includes a 48.5 from the Chip), and ErnieThieding (4 fish and 44 points);
Men’s Masters - Larry Ramsell (11 fish and 130 points which includes
a 48 inch from the St. Lawrence) and Mike Persson (11 fish and 134
points).
These results are not final and are subject to review by Jim Bunch.
NOTE: For more information call Mike Persson - 715-634-4543 or
visit our club’s website www.muskiesinc-hayward.org
- Good Fishing, Mike Persson
CHAPTER
19
Akron-Canton
2211 North Park Dr. • Wadsworth, OH 44281
Mike Sandridge - 330-606-5374
mjsand@live.com
Meets 3rd Tuesday at 7:00 PM, North Canton FOE, 6979 Sunset Strip NW,
Canton, OH.
The Muskie Maniacs held their Christmas party/raffle on November
15th. We want to thank all of the club members for bringing gifts to be
donated to Pathways for needy kids. Wendy from Pathways also thanked
everyone for their donations and told us how they were going to distribute
www.muskiesinc.org
the gifts to all of the
children. We also had
our drawing for our
Fall Raffle of a 50 inch
TV.
We had pretty good
weather for the months
of November and
December, as some of
our club members took
Some of our members pose for a quick photo.
advantage to increase
their fish totals before the end of the year. Now (as of this writing) it’s
January and everything is frozen over. Good thing they have sport shows
during the winter to get us through the winter blues. Our club members
were excited to be attending the Ohio Muskie Show on January 23rd 25th to see what is new and get some tips on how to catch more fish.
On February 17th, we had our Annual Lure Raffle. This is a fundraiser
for our club and is an opportunity to get rid of some of the lures you don’t
use and get a bargain on some new baits. The proceeds from the raffle
will help in getting ready for our Annual Awards Banquet on March 7th.
A lot of planning is underway to make this years’ banquet even better than
last year. I will give the highlights of the lure auction and our banquet in
our next newsletter. Our first tournament of the season will be at
Piedmont Lake on April 18th - 19th. Last year, we had a good turn-out
for the tournament and there were some nice fish caught.
- Kevin Proffitt
CHAPTER
20
Between the Lakes
P.O. Box 61 • Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085-0061
920-602-1419 - Kevin Rortvedt,
klrortvedt@hotmail.com
Meets 3rd Thursday 7:00 pm at Chizzys Pub in Waldo WI.
Well, we are half way through winter and the lakes are full of ice
shacks. The days are getting longer and the muskie, boat and sports
shows are in full swing. Just talking fishing gets you pumped up.
Our club has been busy making plans for the coming year. We had an
ice fishing outing on February 22nd and our annual fundraising banquet
is April 14th. On June 6th, we will be participating in a free fishing day,
along with all the other county conservation clubs in Sheboygan County.
Rich Kammerer will again be putting our summer muskie league together,
which has been a huge success and Jody Booth has set September 20th
for our annual Veteran’s Outing.
Our new youth director, Luke Mancl, has suggested we take kids from
the local Boys & Girls club to a fish hatchery and I think we are going to
make it happen. So it looks like we will have busy summer again; some
of us have made reservations already for the August tournament in Eagle
River.
For now it’s watching fishing shows, waiting for my Rollie & Helen’s
Musky Shop catalog and to figure out how to spend my $100 gift card.
- Mike Scholler
CHAPTER
21
North Metro
P.O. Box 41216
Plymouth, MN 55441
612-916-7426 • www.nmmuskies.com
Meets 3rd Wednesday at Coon Rapid VFW 1919, Coon Rapids Blvd NW, Coon
Rapids, MN 55433 from 7-9pm
Our North Metro club sponsors a Members Only Contest, with mounts
going to the biggest fish caught in the Adult and Junior category. We are
pleased to announce that Grant Lindberg caught a 54.5 inch fish to win
the Adult Division. We are also pleased to announce that Markus Klobe
won the Junior Division with a 47 inch fish. Both competitors will have
a replica made of their big fish, courtesy of NMMI. They were awarded
the mounts at our banquet on February 28th.
Matt Seifert was our December speaker. Matt runs Muskie Mercenary
Guide Service and fishes in Minnesota. Many of our questions had to
deal with his experience on the
lower St. Croix. There was a lot of
great information given out on
how to approach fishing the St.
Croix, Metro Lakes and Lake
Vermilion.
Please join us on our new
website, www.nmmuskies.com.
Look at the December newsletter
and see if you are interested in the
Congrats to Janet Yde on her very first
Annual Red Wing Lodge trip
muskie. This 35 incher was caught at a
organized by two of our members,
sponsored club event (June Jam
Pat Miller and John VanIngen.
Tournament) which was held in Polk
Contact information is in the
County of western Wisconsin.
newsletter.
We are happy to announce that John “Geno” Genosky has joined the
NMMI Board of Directors. Stop by and chat at our booth at George’s
Muskie Expo Show held April 4th – 6th.
Now is the time to prepare for the 2015 muskie season. Make use of
these months to plan your trips and get you and all your gear ready.
- Mike Riha
CHAPTER
22
New Jersey
1524 Old Bethlehem Rd., Quakertown, PA 18951
908-319-2205 • www.mi22.com
Chapter meetings are held monthly the last Tuesday of each month, September through
May. Summer meetings will be held on the water. Check our website for details.
Happy Holidays to all of you muskie maniacs. Most of our lakes are
frozen, so that leaves us time to get our gear back in good working order.
The past month or so were good for some of our members. MI 22
member Matt Andreula put four big shouldered muskies in the net on
Thanksgiving Day and enjoyed some turkey too!
At our final meeting of 2014, we made good use of the club’s computer
and new projector, and linked (via Skype) with Ottawa River/St.
Lawrence Musky Guide Mark Thorpe for a question and answer session
on muskie strain and DNA research. Mark has worked with Dr. John
Farrell, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director at the Thousand Islands
Biological Station, and he brought us up to speed on the ongoing research
that he took part in and related to MI22 as well as the work that Dr. Farrell
and others have done on St. Lawrence strain and their DNA sampling.
The research is continuing and we hope that our chapter members will
have had an opportunity to interact with Dr. Farrell in person or via
Skype.
Going into the 2015 season, in addition to guest speakers, the chapter
will be working on the tournament schedule with dates to be firmed up by
February. On February 7th, we will have had the 3rd Annual Christmas,
New Years, Cabin Fever, Groundhog Day Extravaganza with NJ Fish and
Wildlife Staff, at the Hackettstown Hatchery.
At the time you have read this, MI22 will have participated in the Fresh
Water Fisheries Forum, at the Hackettstown Hatchery on January 24th
and the muskie show season will be under way. Several members are
planning to attend shows like Musky Max, as well as, the Ohio Show and
Region 3 meeting taking place at the Ohio Show.
We already have one local show under our belts and our booth at the
Raritan Center Outdoorsmen Show was a real eye catcher with the new
projector. Many who stopped by the booth commented on the large
screen slide show and some who stopped, saw themselves on the “big
screen”. Thanks to MI22 members Jim D., Greg M., Cal H., Steve S.,
Matt A., Phil E., John H., Doug P., and Jim E. for staffing our booth at this
event that took place January 8th-11th. We picked up a Grandt Rod that
will be raffled off at Musky School, filled our Veteran’s Seat for Musky
School and had 11 out of 16 seats for the 2015 Musky School filled by
the shows end. This year is setting up to be a great year for chapter
activities. We will keep you posted!
Tight lines and beasts in the net to all of you.
- David Christinzio
CHAPTER
28
Shawnee Muskie Hunters
923 Reiss Rd, O’Fallon, IL 62269
618-628-4205 – Jerry Ford
fordjk@sbcglobal.net
www.shawneemuskiehunters.org
Check out our website (shawneemuskiehunters.org) for lots of good
information. Thanks to Renee Johnson for taking over our website and
rebuilding it.
It is March and our spring season is well on its way. March is a very
good month to catch a very big, fat muskie on Kinkaid. They are at their
heaviest of the year before they spawn. Fishing in March can be very
good one day and tough the next. The weather in March can be 60 today
and 30 the next with windy conditions. But, we can fish for our favorite
fish, where our brothers up north can only watch Jim Saric and Mike
Keyes catch muskies on their TV’s.
We have had some changes in our Officers for 2015. Our new President
is Jim Beaty. He took over the chapter when Jerry Ford had to step down
due to work obligations. I know Jim will be a very good president and he
will have the same support that we have given Jerry. Our new Vice
President is Jim Fritz. He took over from John Wright and he will serve
our chapter well. Our new Habitat Director is Kyle Kroening. The rest of
our officers have kept their positions for 2015.
We not only have our muskie fishing starting to heat up, but so are our
chapter activities. March 28 is our Shawnee/Pomme challenge. This date
was changed due to a last minute change with the IMTT tournament
circuit. This year, the challenge will be held on Lake Pomme de Terre. I
know we will do our best to keep the traveling trophy in the hands of
chapter 28.
On April 18th we will have our annual lake clean up. This event has
really gotten the support of the local community. The IDNR supplies the
bags and hauls the debris away. The Marina supplies a free lunch to the
volunteers that gather up the trash. We have volunteers from 4H, Boy
Scouts, Girl Scouts and Southern Illinois University to name a few. It is a
fun time and for a good cause.
After the cleanup, we will have our 3rd Iron Man Outing. This event
also includes a boat dress up at 7 pm. Members decorate their boat and
pass by the judges for prizes. It is very hard to beat the team of John Write
and Ray Wheelock. They start planning their design for the next year right
after the outing. The hours of the outing are from 2 pm on the 18th and
ends at noon on the 19th. I am looking forward to seeing what they came
up with this year.
April 25th we will hold our spring Guide for the Day event. This is one
of our first money making events of the year. It has really grown and this
year the list is very long from our first sports show and we have another
sport show to go. We may have to turn people away and we are even
considering adding a second day to handle the excess.
I hope to see you on the water at one or more of these events this
coming year. And if you see me fishing on the water this spring, stop by
and chat. Remember I’m in the other New Lund.
- Walt Krause
CHAPTER
29
Upper Great Plains
1788 Hwy 4, Estherville, IA 51334
712-362-2501
www.muskieclub.com
Meets 3rd Thursday , Legion Club, 1709 Okoboji Ave., Milford, IA.
This group photo was taken at
the Okoboji Middle School at
Smith’s Bay, West Okoboji on
January 15 and 16th.
Greetings from Northwest Iowa, Chapter
29! Winter finds our lakes icebound and
muskie fishermen cleaning and preparing
tackle for opening in May.
Our agenda for early 2015 is as follows
(some events will have passed by the time
this writing is published):
- Our annual Awards Banquet February 21st
at McKeen’s in Spirit Lake with auction and
raffle.
- Spring Seminar March 21st featuring Mike
Keyes, from Keyes Outdoors television
One of our members
collecting the old line at
one of the boat ramps
collection stations
That same member recycling the
old line at Pure Fishing in Spirit
Lake Iowa; that’s a lot of line!
show, as our speaker with auction and
raffle at Pelican Ridge.
- In May, we participate in classroom sessions with Okoboji High
School followed by on-water fishing at the Grade in Spirit Lake. Also
in May, we co-sponsor a Swap Meet with Stan’s Bait Shop in Milford,
held in conjunction with the Musky Season Opener on May 21st.
Our club continues to install and service line collection containers at all
our local boat ramps. We recycle line at Pure Fishing in Spirit Lake. Our
next service project under discussion is improving docks at our lakes in
cooperation with the Iowa DNR.
Our monthly club meetings are the 3rd Thursday at Perkins Restaurant,
Milford with dinner at 6 pm and our meeting starting at 7 pm.
- Tom Gude
CHAPTER
35
Milwaukee
PO Box 28842 • Greenfield, WI 53228
Craig Ader – 262-250-6444
www.milwaukeemuskiesinc.com
Meets 3rd Thursday January – May, & September – November, 6:00PM Board Mtg.; 7:30PM
General Meeting, American Legion Post #449. 3245 N. 124th Street, Brookfield, WI 53005
As I write this, we are full swing of winter and the 2015 muskie shows.
The Chapter 35 board has been working hard to try and come up with
some new fundraising ideas. Fundraising is how we pay for stocking and
research projects, our Speaker Series at the general meeting, and the
outings with Big Brother/Big Sister and the Veterans. We are always
looking for donations, volunteers and assistance with the outings and
fundraisers. We are always welcoming fresh new ideas.
This past winter, we have been working with Spanky Baits on a
fundraising project. With input from folks tackling area lakes, we came
up with a bucktail that is #9 smoked blades on an 11 inch frame with a
weight of 3.2 oz. The flashabou is jet black over pearl and silver. The
bucktails are going for $25 and if you haven’t bought one yet, please do
so to help support our chapter.
We’re also working on suppliers for decals, coffee mugs, and more.
We’d like your feedback on what you’d be interested in. We’re also trying
to get our hands on the embroidery file that was used for the Milwaukee
Chapter clothing in the past. You can e-mail Mike Phelps with your
comments, suggestions, and interest to order.
A couple of the club’s events are coming up in May. The annual Quad
County Challunge on Pewaukee is the opening weekend of May 2nd 3rd. This is a “fishing for fun” tourney between both Milwaukee Chapter
and the Illinois Quad County Chapter. The other big event is the May 31st
Annual Pewaukee Classic on Pewaukee Lake. This is our long time
running annual fund raising tournament. Bryan Blanke is the Pewaukee
Classic Tournament Director. Please check our website for the latest
details on both events.
In June, we have added a second cash competition tournament to
coincide with our Fall MCMI Championship Open in September. Geoff
Verges and Bob Petzke are chairing the MCMI Spring Championship
Tournament on Pewaukee Lake on June 13th. This is a tournament
designed to be a fundraising cash payout tourney. It will be paying out
two-thirds in awards and one-third to support chapter stocking, research,
outings and club activities.
In regards to Stocking and Research, planning is still underway for our
local waters and for submissions for grants. Direct purchase and stocking
into Pewaukee, Okauchee (if no longer restricted due to state-wide
study), and/or Lac LaBelle is likely. For our efforts with the Amron pond,
we’ve discussed putting that on the back burner for now. Mike Phelps and
Greg Sieren have been collaborating with area biologists and discussing
migration studies that could be used to encompass the Oconomowoc and
Pewaukee/Fox river systems. Under development is the cost of a study to
monitor water levels and fish movements through these river systems.
Our January 2014 general meeting, featured speaker Gregg Thomas
with Battle the Beast Guide Service. Gregg gave a general overview of
Lake St. Clair, spoke on the basics of mast trolling the lake, and fishing
with rubber and plastics.
Keep checking our website for the latest details on club events. Make
sure the club has your most current email address to be put on the club’s
email newsletter. Contact Mike Phelps to update any email address info
at: ehmphelps@att.net.
Our upcoming club events calendar is as follows:
March 19th - MOFC Awards Banquet. April 16th - Meeting Speaker
Capt. Matt “Catfish” Firestein – Whopper Stopper Muskie Charters.
May 2-3rd - Quad County Challunge Tourney on Pewaukee Lake. May
9th - Pewaukee Classic Fishing Tourney. May 21st - Meeting Speaker
- Captain Mike Koepp of Mike’s Extreme Guide Service will be
talking about Early Season Patterns and Locations. June 13th - MCMI
Spring Championship Tournament. June 20th - Big Brothers/Big
Sisters Outing.
- Greg Sieren
CHAPTER
37
St. Cloud
312 18th Avenue N. • Sartell, MN 56377
Bruce Kitowski - (320) 656-1160
www.stcloudmuskies.com
Meets: 3rd Tues. 7:30 PM, American Legion Post 428, 17 2nd Ave. N, Waite Park, MN.
It is definitely “fish fry” season and the best fry in central Minnesota
is hosted right here in Waite Park by Chapter 37 at the American Legion
on April 24th. Our annual Anglers Dinner is fantastic and quite
entertaining with prizes being handed out all evening.
Our Chapter Contest has been finalized and we would like to say thank
you to everyone who participated and congratulate our top scores. First
place in the Men’s Masters division goes to Bryan Thompson. In the
Men’s division, first place is Eric Poissant. Second place went to Alex
Lauer followed by Thomas Ardolf in third. Elysa Amberg took first place
in the Juniors division with Ryan Schmitz for second and Joshua Nielsen
placing third. First place In the Women’s divisions is Kara Poissant.
Again, great job to everyone who took part in the contest in 2014 and we
look forward to next years round of participants.
Elections were held in December and we are happy to report that
everyone on the Board of Directors will be with us for another term. Our
December meeting was also our Christmas party, which turned into a
round-table discussion of our stories and experiences throughout the year
during dinner. Everyone leaves a gift-wrapped lure under the Christmas
tree for a swap at the end of the evening. It’s definitely my favorite
meeting of the year and a great way for everyone to get to know each
other a little more.
January and February’s combined meeting is a featured speaker, guide,
outdoor writer, tournament angler and T.V. personality Josh Borovsky.
This was held February 10th at the Moose Lodge in Waite Park. These
annual speakers are a great way to sharpen your game and break out of
the winter blues.
As we all know, one can never possess enough lures, equipment and
technology so making it to one of the many Muskie Expos is crucial.
Concordia University hosts George’s 2015 Minnesota Muskie Expo on
April 10th, 11th and 12th. We just hope to see you there, at a meeting or
on the water. Visit our website or Facebook page and keep send those
good vibes down the line!
- Eric Poissant
CHAPTER
39
Fox River Valley
1253 Cobblers Crossing, Elgin, IL 601230
847-741-9771 – Rich Gallagher
www.frvmuskie.com
Meetings and banquets: Chandlers Chop House at the Schaumburg Golf Club, 401 N.
Roselle Rd. Schaumburg, IL 60194. Dinner will be available starting at 6PM.
On Wednesday, March 11th our speaker will be Corey Allen. Cory is
the founder of Stone’s Throw Adventures, which specializes in river
fishing for muskies from kayaks, jon boats, and canoes all over the
untamed wilderness of Tennessee. It is Cory’s wish that you’ll find
something fresh, enlightening, and inspiring every time you fish with
him. He will be talking about this uncommon approach and present some
uncharted places to fish in beautiful Tennessee. Bring a friend and don’t
miss this meeting! All FRV general meetings are held at the Schaumburg
Golf Club/Chandlers Chophouse. Dinner starts at 6:00 p.m. and the
meeting starts around 7:00 pm. We ask for a $3 donation at the door.
FRV’s annual Awards and Fundraiser Banquet will be held at the
Schaumburg Golf Club from 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March
14th. This event serves as an opportunity to recognize members of all
ages who caught and registered all kinds of fish for our 2014 fishing
contest. Additionally, the donations generated from this night help fund
most of the activities FRV undertakes throughout the year. With over
$30,000 worth of merchandise, our prize list includes tickets for local
sports teams (like the Blackhawks), jerseys and other sports souvenirs,
guide trips and resort packages, appliances, artwork, jewelry, gift cards
to restaurants and entertainment venues, tackle, a freezer full of meat and
seafood, a Benelli shotgun, and $1,000 in cash! We need our members to
show their support for the club by attending. Seating capacity is limited
to 225 people, so please visit our website as soon as possible for details
on tickets, prizes, the meal, and the event in general. We hope to see all
of you there!
Our April 8th general chapter meeting will feature Southern Wisconsin
guide, Jeff Hanson. Jeff has fished the Madison Chain his entire life and
professionally guided on the Madison Chain of Lakes for 18 years. He’ll
be drawing from countless hours of experience on Monona, Wingra,
Waubesa, Mud and even the Yahara River. Come on by to the April 8th
meeting to hear Jeff talk about the Madison Chain and the monsters that
swim in it!
As the fishing season starts to heat up, you might want to consider
hitting one of the biggest muskie tournaments in Northern Illinois. We’re
hosting the annual “Challunge on the Chain” Tournament on Saturday,
May 16th. As many of you know, the May time frame is one of the most
productive times to fish the Fox Chain of Lakes. With better odds on your
side, grab a partner and join the fun. We pay through the top 10 places (for
teams boating fish) and the more boats that sign up, the bigger the
payouts! It should be a great day to be on the water.
On a final note, beginning in 2015 FRV President Rich Gallagher
(president for over a decade) has stepped down and passed the leadership
torch to Steve Kroll (previously our treasurer). Those of you with any
previous interaction with Chapter 39 know how dedicated Rich was to
FRV and MI. His leadership style has been absolutely pivotal in the
evolution and success of our chapter. Though he will still be involved
with the board, his shoes will be difficult to fill and we will miss his
enthusiasm and tireless effort as our president. With that being said, we
all wholeheartedly support Steve Kroll as our new president and wish him
luck guiding Fox River Valley to continued success.
Please check out our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, or visit our
website, www.frvmuskie.com for all meeting/speaker/event information,
and to see how Fox River Valley Chapter 39 is making progress against
our mission of Youth Fishing Education, Fisheries, Research and
Community.
- Mark Lamont
CHAPTER
41
Central Ohio
1094 Eastmoor Blvd. Columbus, OH 43209
www.centralohiomuskies.wix.com
Meets second Tuesday of every month at:
PJ’s Pizza, 571 West Cherry St., Sunbury, OH 43074
Greetings from Central Ohio Chapter 41! It has been a while since
we’ve participated in the News and Views section of MUSKIE Magazine,
but we hope to submit our clubs news on more of a regular basis this year.
There’s always a lot to report about the great fishing to be had in the
Buckeye state and the fantastic anglers we are proud to have as members
in this chapter.
First up, our newly elected officers have assumed their leadership
positions as of this March/April report, with Bob Sisson taking over for
Cliff Honeycutt as President. Brian Culbertson has taken over as the Vice
President and Treasurer. The role of Secretary will be handled by Brent
Spence, Chapter Representative is Mark Pauling, Web/Newsletter is Pat
Frase, and Tournament Director is Jack Neville.
Thanks go out to Cliff for a great job as President in 2014! Also a big
thanks, as always, to Elmer Heyob, our Program and Youth Director for
bringing in some interesting and very informative guest speakers for the
club meetings! From safety and regulations education, how to properly
read your boat electronics with a rep from Lowrance, lure makers and
guest fishermen with great tips and techniques to share. This is just my
second season as a member of Muskies, Inc., but I can heartily attest to
the value of these speakers that absolutely pays off on the water.
Activities this past 2014 season included our annual kid’s fishing event
at the Park of Roses in Columbus, Ohio, where we handed out probably
more than a hundred fishing poles to the kids and had a fun time catching
cat fish and enjoying a cook out on a summer’s evening. The chapter
hosted the Wounded Warriors
in May for a day of muskie
hunting on Alum Creek
Reservoir. Lots of hunting was
done, but sadly no fish were
landed that day. Oh well, that’s
muskie fishing guys!
Coming first in our 2015
tournament schedule, is our
April 25-26, John Fisher
Memorial Tournament at Clear
Fork Reservoir near Mansfield, Ohio. Last year’s event produced 15 fish
over 30 inches, with 8 of those over 40 inches. This reporter managed to
land a 44-inch fish to place third (my first ever tournament place) and let
me tell you that thrilled me no end. I can’t speak highly enough of the
guys in the chapter and the help and information they offer freely to their
less experienced club buddies, which helped make my last season my best
ever in muskie fishing.
Here’s looking forward to 2015 and hoping everyone out there has their
best season ever! We’ll be checking in again soon from Central Ohio.
- Dan Collins
CHAPTER
42
Hoosier Muskie Hunters
P.O. Box 501371
indianapolis, IN 46250
317-372-0111
Alright muskie hunters, especially you Hoosier Musky Hunters, it’s a
cold, but sunny January day as I sit here typing this out. Wouldn’t I much
rather be doing a muskie hunting activity? Now is a good time to take care
of your equipment, as well as yourself. Sharpen your lures hooks, clean
and lube your reels and check your rods for any problems. Don’t forget to
keep yourself in shape as well. It won’t be long and we’ll be back on the
water throwing those big lures for hours on end. Now, let’s do some
catching up!
Chapter 42 held its club elections for the Board of Directors on
November 26th, 2014. The results are as follows: President - Andrew
Armheim; Vice President - Jeff Van Osdol; Chapter Representative - Jeff
www.muskiesinc.org
Wines; Secretary - Dave Miller; Co-Director Indiana Musky Classic Scott Law; Co-Director/Treasurer IMC - Jeremy Sivis; Board Members
at Large - Charlie Johnson and Todd Henriksen; MI Magazine Input - Ed
Myshak.
The club calendar should be released in the next magazine. Planning
for the IMC (Indiana Musky Classic) has begun. The dates of the event
are May 15th – 17th, 2015.
Another chapter meeting was held December 10th, 2014. It was held at
Claude and Annie’s in Fishers, IN. This is where many of our future
meetings will be held. So, please join us! The address is 9251 E 141st
Street, Fishers, IN. This is near the intersection of State Road 37 and
141st Street. More information may be found at www.
claudeandanniesfishers.com or you can call 317-774-8124.
Three dates were proposed for the Musky Summit. The date of January
31st was selected after coordinating with Brian Schoenung. The meeting
was held at Claude and Annie’s from 1–3 p.m; hopefully, you were able
to attend. A proposal of having Nick Haunert give a presentation on the
tracking efforts of Eagle Creek Reservoir stocked muskies was discussed.
After coordinating with Nick, April 8th was selected as the date for this
effort. It will be at 7 p.m. at Claude and Annie’s. Nick is a graduate
student at Ball State University. More information will be available in the
next magazine. If you’d like to get a heads up on Nick’s efforts, go to:
www.muskietrackecr.blogspot.com.
Flyers for the IMC are on track. Hoosier Musky Hunters website will
be taken down. If you need to contact us, you may do so by visiting our
Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/HoosierMuskieHunter. Look for
information concerning Hoosier Musky Hunters there. The Indiana
Musky Classic is also on Facebook and may also be located at: www.
indianamuskieclassic.com. Be sure to “Like” those sites on Facebook to
be able to receive information from them. Also, feel free to view them at
any time. Short time frame notices will be posted there.
Here’s to a successful 2015 muskie season! Be careful on the water and
leave the area a little cleaner than you found it!
- Musky Ed Myshak
CHAPTER
46
Bemidji/Cass Lake
PO Box 6, Bemidji, MN 56619
218-766-6697
www.bemidjicassmuskies.org
Meetings are 3rd Thurs of the month- 7pm at Cattails - 6405 Bemidji Ave N,
Bemidji, MN 56601
As old man winter is releasing his grip on us. We are all getting the
“itch” to get back on open water. Soon it will be time to hit those favorite
spots and catch those muskies that may or may not have got away last
season.
We are excited to start the year with our “Lure Auction” on Saturday
March 14th, at 5:00 p.m., at the Keg N Cork, 310 Beltrami Ave NW,
Bemidji, on the lower level. We encourage everyone to bring some lures
to auction and of course take some back home with you. It is always great
time and look forward to seeing everyone there.
Our chapter is excited to have a great schedule ahead of us and want to
personally invite everyone to come fish our tournament this year.
Members, save these dates on your calendar. We have added Wednesday’s
to our outing schedule to allow ten opportunities to earn points.
2015 TOURNAMENT/OUTING SCHEDULE:
June 20 (Saturday) TOURNAMENT - 5am-5pm - Area Lakes
June 10 (Wednesday) OUTING - 6pm-10pm - Lake Plantagenet
July 1 (Wednesday) OUTING - 6pm-10pm - Lake Bemidji
July 12 (Sunday) OUTING - Noon-8pm - Mantrap Lake
July 22 (Wednesday) OUTING - 6pm-9:30pm - Pike Bay
August 5 (Wednesday) OUTING - 6pm-9:30pm - Big Lake
August 16 (Sunday) OUTING - Noon-8pm - Lake Plantagenet
September 27 (Sunday) OUTING - 11:30am-7:30pm - Cass Lake
October 18 (Sunday) OUTING - 9am-5pm - Leech Lake
November 1 (Sunday) OUTING - 9am-5pm - Lake Bemidji
Sturgeon Excursion April 17-19th. Many of our chapter members make
the trip north in April to fish for the mighty sturgeon! We have talked with
Zach Strickland 52 inch muskie.
Judson Tharin holding a nice
Sportsman’s Lodge about
that particular weekend and
they still have plenty of
availability. You will need to
call in and make your own
reservations and deposit. You
can call Sportsman’s at (218)
634-1342. Be sure to let
them know you’re with
John Fosness 52.5 inch muskie.
Muskies, Inc. to get the
group rate. Don’t wait until April as the rooms will surely fill up.
Let us know if you have extra room in your boat, or are looking for a
spot - we will do our best to help match everyone up if needed. If you
haven’t fought one of these powerful beasts yet - you need to put this on
your ‘must do’ list! Contact Ethan Rogers for more information.
- Secretary, Denise Strickland
CHAPTER
50
Penn Jersey
Chad Theesfeld, President
4 Shull Farm Rd., Erwinna, PA 18920 • 610-294-9399
E-mail: ChadT@mi50.com • Website: www.mi50.com
Meets 1st Wed of every month.
Please join us for our annual Online Lure Auction, April 27th - May
7th, 2015, with our “Shoot Out Finale” to begin on May 7th at 8:00 p.m.,
(est). We will have many custom baits and guided trips listed. Last year’s
auction was a tremendous success as we raised $5,545.00. The support
from the muskie community has been nothing short of amazing and some
of the premier guides, and baitmakers across the U.S. and Canada had
provided us with guided trips and baits that made for one of the most
impressive auctions ever put together. Many thanks go out to the
following: Hugh C. Becker Foundation, Widowmaker Lures David Speed
Jones, Jim Wilson Hughes River Baits, Chris Haley Buckhorn Guide
Service, Matt “Catfish” Firestein Whopper Stopper Guide Service,
Captain Larry Jones Retired, Bob Franko Blackjack Guide Service, Red
Childress Allegheny Guide Service, Beaver Baits Brian Boyum, Scott
Benson SB Lures, Brian Soares BCS Custom Lures, Vengance Baits
Ricky Fichter, Blue Water Baits Paul and Lidio Azevedo, Matt Gillispie
Custom Lures, Anthony Ashby Hot Tail Gliders, Johnny Dadson Dadson
Blade Baits, Zach Baker Baker Baits, Dinver McClure Custom Lures,
Red October Baits Josh Ketry and Mark Arena, Ownage Muskie Baits
Jeff Cantley, Marshall Custom Tackle Josh and Kyle Marshall, Jeremy
Wagner Tuscarora Tackle, Smuttly Dog Mark Smith, Amma Bamma Bill
Looney, Crane Baits Bill Crane, Adams Custom Lures Adam LeMey,
Kopper’s Live Target, Dale Wiley Wiley Lures, Corey Meyer Flowage
Boa, Dan Moats Spanky Baits, Suick Lures, Cabelas, those who donated
from their private collections and of course our generous bidders across
the U.S. and Canada.
Visit our website at www.MI50.com/smf and sign on to our message
board for auction details and to participate. You must register on the
board to view and participate.
The auction is held each year to help MI50 Penn-Jersey Chapter of
Muskies Inc. raise money to improve the local fishery in Southeastern PA.
This is mainly accomplished by purchasing advanced pure Muskie
fingerlings (12 – 20 inches) and stocking them into our local lakes. Thus
far, emphasis has been on Marsh Creek Lake in Chester County, and Lake
Nockamixon, Bucks County. The club has been stocking advanced pures
in Marsh Creek since 2006. Lake Nockamixon received its first advanced
pure stocking in 2012, with additional maintenance stockings in 2013 and
2014. These stockings can only be accomplished by raising as much
money as possible through fundraisers like this, club events such as
monthly meeting raffles, Greater Philadelphia Sport show raffle and
“Guide for a Day Program”.
On October 28th, 2014, members from Muskies, Inc. Chapter 50 met
at both Lake Nockamixon and Marsh Creek Lake to meet the stocking
truck from Wisconsin’s Gallon Bait and Fish Farm, and take delivery of
750, 12-14 inch advanced fingerlings. These fish were purchased with the
funds raised through our generous supporters of the Online Auction, and
with the assistance of the Hugh C. Becker Foundation - improving the
muskie fishery in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Working along with the PA
Fish and Boat Commission, supplemental stocking has been going on
since 2007 on Marsh Creek Lake. To date, the results have been
tremendous. We began stocking Marsh Creek with purchased advanced
purebreds in 2006, and the lake has yielded pure muskies up to mid-40
inch mark. Lake Nockamixon was added to our list in 2012. To make for
a perfect finish at this stocking event, one of our members caught two
pures at 30 and 33 inches, likely from our stocking in 2012. Awesome!
Thank you, to all of our sponsors and supporters, and the Hugh C. Becker
Foundation. Collectively, we are making a difference!
On October 12th, 2014, eighteen members of MI50 participated in the
Fall King of The Marsh Tournament, as well as a few of our brothers
across the river from Chapter 22. Anglers fished on a sunny day with
tough high pressure conditions. Lots of follows and one or two lost fish
were rumored, but only two fish were netted for the day. First place went
to the team of Mike DiGuiseppe and Chris DeSignor with a 38.5 inch
pure muskie and second place went to the Team of Matt Smith and Treigh
Mason with a 37 inch pure muskie. Big fish Calcutta went to Mike
DiGuiseppe with the 38.5 inch catch. Food and prizes followed the event,
organized by Tournament Director, George Roman
2015 Election Results/Officers are as follows:
Our President is Tom Sabia, Vice President is Re D’Antonio, Regional
Vice President is Alex Cannariato, Treasurer is Greg Ridge, Secretary is
Jenny Donaghue, Release Chairman is Silvia Spitzer, Stocking Director
and State Liaison is Alex Cannariato, Club Librarian is Tom Cooley,
Muskie School Director is Mike DiGuiseppe, Show Director is Tom
Sabia, Online Auction and Fundraising is Silvia Spitzer, Cabelas Co-op
Representative is Jeremy Kern, Show Secretary is Dave Little, Youth Day
Director is Mike DiGuiseppe, MI Magazine Editor is Treigh Mason,
Tournament Director is Matt Smith, and Webmaster is Archie Roche.
- Michael DiGuiseppe
CHAPTER
57
NW Tiger Pac
20204 9th Ave. S.
Des Moines, WA 98198
206-870-0673 - Charles Legarski, President
www.lscmi.com
Hello, I would like to introduce myself as the new President of Chapter
57, Brett Olson. Along with the New Year, our Chapter will have a new
look. Because of the many miles between members, we are going to focus
on social media to stay in touch with all our members and future
members. You can see our links and contact information in our header
above. I would like to personally thank outgoing President and Secretary,
Miles McDonald and Mary McDonald. They went above and beyond for
two years to make this an outstanding chapter. Their many, many hours of
volunteering are greatly appreciated by all of our members; some great
food prepared by Chef Miles, our culinary expert is appreciated as well.
Our chapter would like to extend our condolences to Miles, as he has just
lost his father, Larry.
Mike Fuller and his son Dan, our experienced Tournament Directors,
have selected the 2015 Tournament Schedule: May 16 – Mayfield; June
13 – Mayfield; August 29 – Merwin; September 25-26 – Curlew; October
10 - Merwin. You will want to make reservations for Merwin at Lone Fire
Resort – we all stay in the campground/cabins after fishing one of the best
tiger muskie lakes in the west. Come join in on the fun.
Note: ALL of our tournaments this year are going to be OPEN to all,
in hope that allows for more anglers to bring family and friends,
especially if they are visiting from other states. The exception will be
Curlew Lake, in September. It is the Annual Chapter Challunge
ESOXAGANZA between the WA.M.I. Chapters 57 and 60. The Golden
Bucket is on the line, help us bring that baby back to the west side! Please
make your plans early to attend this event. Many of us stay for extra days.
As of this writing, we are still trying to nail down the dates in March
2015, for the Tiger Muskie Fishing Seminar to be held. It is tentatively
at the Bass Pro in Tacoma and/or Sportsman Warehouse in Federal Way.
That will be the same date as our Annual Awards Ceremony for 2014. The
big PMTT style trophies will be awarded. All Members come and support
the chapter – see you there!
I am looking forward to working with our Board: Vice President, Dan
Fuller; Tammy Ramsell Baldwin, Secretary; Jani K., Second Vice
President, Mike Haw; Tournament Director, Mike Fuller.
- Brett Olson, President
CHAPTER
58
Lake St. Clair Muskies, Inc.
34047 Williamsburg Ct
Sterling Heights, MI 48312
586-873-9154 - Charles Legarski, President
www.lscmi.com
I would like to thank everyone who stopped by our booth at the
Ultimate Fishing Show in Novi. We had a great time catching up with our
current members, as well as meeting several potential new members. It
was a great opportunity to introduce people to what Lake St. Clair
Muskies, Inc. is all about and to drum up interest in the club. I especially
enjoyed being able to swap fishing stories with those of you that stopped
by, and reminisce about the past season on the water. After the show, we
raffled off two free memberships to Muskies, Inc. Please join me in
congratulating Allen D. King and Hunter Greene who were our contest
winners!
I would like to remind everyone about the 2nd Annual Bowling
Fundraiser, to be held on March 21st at 8:30 p.m. We will once again be
at Harbor Lanes in St. Clair Shores. This was an incredibly successful
event last year and we are hoping it will be even bigger this year. Please
come out and support your local chapter of Muskies, Inc. The cost is $20/
person and includes three games (no tap), shoes and pizza. There will
also be prize raffles. Please contact Charlie at (586) 873-9154 to register
or to request additional information.
Please see the below schedule of upcoming events: March 19th –
General Membership Meeting; March 21st – Bowling Fundraiser; April
16th – General Membership Meeting; May 21st – General Membership
Meeting
All meetings are held at the Sports Channel Bar and Grill on Jefferson
Avenue just north of 10 Mile Road. The meetings begin at 7:00 p.m.
Please check out our website at www.lscmi.com or Facebook at www.
facebook.com/lscmi58 for more information on who the guest speakers
will be at each meeting.
- Adam Penzenstadler, Secretary
CHAPTER
60
Mountain Muskies
6610 N. Hartley Spokane, WA 99208
509-263-7235 • Email: douglaswood@comcast.net
www.mountainmuskies.com
Meets every 4th Tuesday at 6:00 pm @ the VFW, 300 West Mission Ave.,
Spokane, Wash.
As the 2014 season came to a close, we enjoyed fun and fellowship at
an end of the year celebration at Doug and Alicia’s home featuring fun
awards for various fishing categories, a scrumptious potluck meal, and
officer elections for 2015. Officers elected are as follows: President,
Doug Wood; Vice President, Chuck Gades; RVP, Chris Gades; Treasurer,
Alicia Wood; Secretary, Jeff Wagner; Board Members-at-large are, Ed
Hoyle, Karen Agnew, and Sandy Gades. Thank you to all of you for your
willingness to make Mountain Muskies successful for another actionpacked year.
First on the list is the biggest sportsman show of the year for the inland
empire, the Spokane Big Horn Show. Yes, we know muskies don’t have
horns, but you get to blow yours when you catch one! It is just around
the corner on March 19th-22nd, 2015. We urge all members to get on
board and help out setting up and manning the booth whenever you can
for the busy week. It’s our big chance to get out the Muskies, Inc.
message of Youth, Fisheries, and Research. We are amazed each year at
the booth how many people have tried to fish for or want to learn how to
fish for muskies. This is a great opportunity to get them off on the right
foot and introduce them to our chapter.
Next is the Spokane Kids Fishing Day on May 2nd, where we assist in
introducing approximately 800 kids to the fun and excitement of fishing;
many of them for the first time in their lives. Next on the busy schedule
is our first tournament of the year at Silver Lake on May 16th. Watch
your emails for more specific information as the day approaches. We are
skipping the Newman Lake tournament event this year and instead
sponsoring two tournaments at Curlew Lake. We want to double our
chances to tie into one of those monsters there. Jeff Newman got us up
to #13 on the Muskies, Inc. hybrid list last year and we hope we can do
better than that this year.
So it’s early March as you read this and the ice is coming off the lakes.
Time to get the boats uncovered, buy some more necessary lures for your
empty tackle boxes, and head for the lakes because “it’s Tiger Time”
again.
- Chuck Gades
Chapter 63’s
Robert Thaxton
holding a 51
incher caught on
December 14th,
2014. He named
her, Mountain
Momma.
New River has become a popular angler destination.
Once again, we, the anglers of WV, have to thank Lila Warren, Scott
Morrison and the rest of the DNR for doing what they do to make WV a
better fishery. I personally give them a big thank you, considering the
New River, because that was where I caught my first muskie that led to
this powerful addiction. Good luck to everybody in 2015!
- Robert Thaxton
CHAPTER
64
CHAPTER
63
South Central
West Virginia Chapter
HC61 Box 39B
Frame Town, WV 26623
304-364-8878 - Jake Flint
Our chapter has had great success for our first year. I would like to give
a big congrats to Randy Allen on winning the Jack Cobb Memorial
Tournament with a nice 38 incher; the only fish caught for the last tourney
of 2014.
Division of Natural Resources biologists have launched a three year
study of muskies seasonal movements in Southern WV’s New River. The
research is being conducted between Sandstone Falls and Hawks Nest
Lake and the information should tell biologists when and where they
spawn and when they move up and down the river. Biologist Lila Warren
and her colleagues will spend the next couple of months catching muskies
and implanting acoustic transmitters in their abdomens. The transmitters
emit signals that will be picked up by sensors scattered along a 44 mile
stretch of the New River. Warren will retrieve the sensors and download
the recorded data. She has an electronic ear, known as a hydrophone, and
if a muskie is nearby she can detect its signal through the headphones.
Five of the sensors have been placed between Sandstone and Stone Cliff.
The other sensor was placed at the upper end of Hawks Nest Lake. Once
her study is complete, Warren plans to share what she’s learned with the
growing population of muskie anglers. The main interest to the anglers is
the seasonal patterns of the fish and what time of the year they tend to
occupy different parts of the river. The research is timely, because the
Nittany Valley
Musky Alliance Chapter
175 Industrial Park Rd.
Edensburg, PA 15931
814-421-6502 - Patrick Krumenacker
Onward and upward! As I sit writing this, I’m proud to say that we’ve
reached a chapter goal set back in June. We have hit the 50 members
mark and all signs point towards more members to come in the New Year!
While the ice has certainly dampened our fishing efforts, things are
buzzing within the chapter. On January 24th Patrick Krumenacker
(President) and Matt Dixon (Chapter Representative) participated in the
very first Region 3 meeting in two years, at the Ohio Musky Show.
Hopefully the efforts of those participating in that meeting can get Region
3 back on the straight and narrow.
This year also brought to us the end of our logo design contest. Chuck
Kelley submitted the winning logo that was selected by popular vote.
Congratulations, Chuck, on the win! Chuck will receive a free t-shirt
bearing his logo when we do our first run of them.
Finally, our chapter is extremely excited to announce that we have
received approval from the State for the “Beast of the East, Musky Fly
Fishing Challenge”. This fly fish only tournament will be held April 10th
– 11th on a large stretch of the Allegheny River, Lake Tionesta and
Tionesta Creek. There are two other large muskie fly fishing tournaments
held in North America each year. We hope to host the third moving
forward. Anyone wanting more information about this tournament
should contact Corey Siple at coreysiple@gmail.com. Details are still
developing, but this should be a wonderful event!
- Patrick Krumenacker
Dear Muskie Fishermen
and Fisherwomen
This is an incredible opportunity to showcase your chapters, while
bringing greater awareness to the sport of muskie fishing. We have
finalized an opportunity for members and non-members alike to support
the shows and Muskies, Inc.’s mission with a custom design of a Tournament
Jersey that is available to you NOW. This jersey is on sale right now online
at www.rayjus.com/muskiesinc and will be available in several retail outlets, as well as at both of the Chicago and Milwaukee Muskie Expos. All
profits will go to Muskies, Inc., to benefit our promotion of the great sport
of muskie fishing. In addition to these professional quality jerseys, we will is also the
option of long sleeve sweatshirts and hoodies which will also bear the company logos.
Custom designed for each order with first and last names as well as Block 7 being your
Chapters Custom Logo (this is the front of the shirt).
www.rayjus.com/muskiesinc
www.muskiesinc.org
Muskies, Inc.
1509 Stahl Road
Sheboygan, WI 53081
Members: Please notify secretary@muskiesinc.org of address change.
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
CHAPTER
59
New Mexico Muskies, Inc.
P.O. Box 65575, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87193
(505) 264-2999 • Matt Pelletier
matt@fishenchantment.com
www.newmexicomuskiesinc.org
Our chapter held a 2015 schedule and project planning board meeting on December 13th,
2014. Coming up in 2015, our next big project will be installing fish structures in Bluewater
Lake. We have acquired a dozen Honey Hole trees and will finalize our installation plans at our
next board meeting in March. Our chapter had a booth at the Outdoorsman Show in February.
I am aware that this writing will be passed that show date, so I am hoping you all had a great
time. We, once again, helped educate the public in smart tiger muskie fishing, tools and release
technique. We continue to work with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
(NMDGF) to improve habitat and the muskie fisheries in New Mexico. NMDGF Sportfish
Program Manager, Eric Frey and Coldwater
Biologist, Shaun Green will be attending our
March board meeting to discuss options for
Nice tiger, Jake!
working together on future projects.
Late year tigers! Many years our open water
time at Bluewater Lake can extend well into
December. Here are some of the rewards
experienced by some late year C59 fishers.
Muskie Smiles to all.
- John Williamson, Secretary
tty one!
leases a pre
er re
Matt Pelleti
Dave’s very fi
rst ice
tiger muskie!
Pictured here
is our
member, Dou
g, holding
a nice tiger m
uskie.

ODYSSEY 2015 - Muskies, Inc.

Transcription

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