jan muskie.pdfemail: [email protected] vice president/communications, dale vercauteren...

January 2010.....MUSKIE 1www.muskiesinc.org

Departments2 President’s Message,

Dan Narsete

2-3 Index of Advertisers

3 About the Cover, Juris Ozols

4 MUSKIE News

6 Lunge Log, Jim Bunch

10 Figure 8, Kevin Richards

26 Photo Contest, Brad Waldera

27 Chapter News and Views

36 Sport Show Locator

38 Member Photos

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

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ContentsMUSKIE • VOL. 44, NO. 1

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

Features5 2010 Chicago Muskie Show

13 Best of the Best – 2009,Kevin R. Pischke

14 The Water is So Low It Doesn’t EvenReach the Shore,

Patriciz Strutz

17 The Minnesota State Record Muskie,Juris Ozols

21 Catch the Light Show!,Kevin Richards

SSSSpppp oooorrrr tttt SSSShhhhoooowwww EEEEdddd iiiitttt iiiioooonnnn

InternationalOfficers

President, Dan NarseteEmail: [email protected]

Vice President/Finance, Jim ShannonPhone: 612-670-8943Email: [email protected]

Vice President/Fisheries, Research & Youth,Dr. Tom Betka, MDPhone: 920-544-5868Email: [email protected]

Vice President/Internal Affairs,Perry PetersonPhone: 253-850-5889 Email: [email protected]

Vice President/Membership & Marketing,Greg WellsPhone: 920-457-3720Email: [email protected]

Vice President/Communications,Dale VercauterenPhone: 920-826-5810Email: [email protected]

Treasurer, Kathy GoonPhone: 419-945-2940Email: [email protected]

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

Web Master, Ron GroeschlPhone: 262-271-1002Email: [email protected]

Int. Administrative Secretary, Ellen Wells1509 Stahl Road, Sheboygan, WI 53081Phone: 888-710-8286Email: [email protected]

Regional Directors Term Expires

Region 1

Rory Potter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2011

Carl Phillips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2012

Ron Teschner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2012

Region 2

Bob Timme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010

Fred Brogle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2011

Robert Benson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012

Region 3

Joel Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fall 2009

Doug Dibble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fall 2009

Chad Theesfeld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012

Region 4

Rich Gallagher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2010

Kimberly Cates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2011

Earle Hammond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012

The President’s MessageThe President’s Messageby Dan Narsete

Muskies, Inc. International PresidentEmail: [email protected]

2 MUSKIE.....January 2010

Happy New Year!!!After another record-setting year for the efforts of Muskies, Inc. members and our

officers I’m intrigued by the possibilities for 2010 . . . it is my opinion that we will see anumber of world record fish caught in the near future. The sheer numbers of high fiftyinch fish is now staggering, and very exciting!

Did you know that recent scientific studies have concluded that the Great Lakes were allonce valleys? Stemming from volcanic activity many thousands of years ago many if not all ofthe lakes between Northwest Ontario and Ohio were once basic land masses. Then during thelast ice age glaciers expanded to epic proportions. Once they melted a massive freshwaterequivalent of an ocean was created and as the glaciers subsided in elevation our lakes and riverswere created. Presumably during this time period our favorite fish swam upstream and becameland locked creating our respective version of paradise some 13,000 years ago.

With a number of new chapters popping up all over the country I believe the future ofMI is quite bright. We are truly a number of extremely focused individuals. Recently some-one asked me what the deal was with muskie fishing . . . I promptly explained it is very sim-ilar to tracking a highly evolved predator. Not quite like the movie Predator (not sure I’d likea muskie like that), but rather a mountain lion or perhaps even a bear. If you consider thatyou first have to locate the domain in which they reside it is very similar. In the springmuskies are found in the shallows near warm water and the first weed growth. Not coinci-dentally this is where the forage fish also locate. Lions and bears follow seasonal migrationsof deer, elk, and other prey. Muskies follow schools of cisco, panfish, tullibees, etc. and hencecan be found in similar areas. I know you’re scratching your head saying “um, yeah, so?” Butremember I’m trying to rationalize our “obsession,” or what we call “our sport”.

Tight lines, Dan v

INDEX OF ADVERTISERSANGLE OUTPOST RESORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

BEST OF THE BEST-TITLETOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

BIG WOOD MUSKY LURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

DADSON BLADE BAITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

FITTANTE REPLICAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

GREEN RIVER LAKE, KY/TAYLOR COUNTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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MUSKIE Magazine StaffEDITORKevin Richards7618 Sunrise Ridge RoadHenley, MO 65040Phone: (573) 280-2300Email: [email protected] EDITORJuris OzolsPhone: (612) 747-0178Email: [email protected] CONTEST EDITORBrad WalderaPhone: (701) 642-1952Email: [email protected]

LUNGE LOG EDITORJim BunchPhone: (715) 226-0295Email: [email protected]

ADVERTISING SALES TEAMKevin Richards, Editor / Ad ManagerPhone: (573) 280-2300Email: [email protected] Beaupre, Advertising Sales RepresentativePhone: (920) 323-0721Email: [email protected] Fierstine, Advertising Sales RepresentativePhone: (218) 252-0947Email: [email protected]

PRINTING ACCOUNT MANAGERSunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - Stacey Thielen

MAGAZINE DESIGNSunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - John Windschitl

ILLUSTRATORS/CARTOONISTSRichard Gross, Sherry Hunt, Charles Weiss

FIELD EDITORSPatricia Strutz, Colby Simms, Sean Landsman,Adam Glickman, Bob Chochola,Steve Budnik

EMERITUS EDITORSRod Ramsell, Keith Ogden, Jim Smith

MUSKIE is published exclusively for the member-ship of Muskies, Inc. and subscriptions come witha paid membership. Muskies, Inc. is a non-profitorganization. Membership classes and associatedannual dues are listed on the form at the bottomof page one. Copies of MUSKIE magazine areavailable at $3.00 each from the Muskies, Inc.International Office.

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

Submissions toMUSKIE Magazine

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


INDEX OF ADVERTISERS–(Cont’d)ILLINOIS FISHING EXPO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

JOE BUCHER OUTDOORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

MANITOU WEATHER STATION FISHING LODGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

MILWAUKEE MUSKIE EXPO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

MOREHEAD TOURISM COMMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

MUSKIE MAGAZINE ADVERTISERS-THANK YOU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC

MUSKIES, INC. CALENDAR FUNDRAISER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

MUSKIES, INC. 2009 COMMEMORATIVE LURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

MUSKY ROAD RULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

RED WING LODGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

TRI-ESOX PRODUCTIONS-CHICAGO MUSIE SHOW . . . . . . . . . 24-25

VERMILION DAM LODGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

YOUNG'S WILDERNESS CAMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

ABOUT THE COVERIf Gil Hamm and the founding members of

Muskie’s Inc. could see the rewards of theirpioneering efforts, they would be astounded.Our members are catching - and releasing – fishin sizes and numbers far beyond what was tak-ing place forty years ago.

This month’s cover shows just a few of the“monster muskies” that graced the cover andpages of MUSKIE Magazine in 2009. Thecentral picture shows a great release shot ofKevin LaRoche’s 55-incher on Lake St. Clair onJune 20. The other pictures, starting from uppercenter and going clockwise:

Norm Dillon’s hybrid of the year, a 48.5 inchbeauty caught in Lake Merwin, Washington on May 18. Lots of big tigers up therefor members of one of our newest chapters to chase.

Bruce Wisner’s 58.5 incher from the Ottawa River on July 3 will be the longestmale angler release of the year unless somebody got a bigger one in December.

Lars Hierta is sitting on the transom as friends Ryan and Ron Tempich hold uphis 56+ incher caught on Lake St. Clair on August 8.

That 56.25 inch muskie was on the cover of the October magazine whichshowed pictures of its catch and release on two occasions four years apart. It wasfirst caught as a 55-incher in August 2005, by Jeremy Asselin and then again byGreg Marino in July 2009, caught near the same spot on Lac Seul both times.

Amber Smith’s first lifetime muskie was this 56 incher from Georgian Bay onJuly 24, and is the longest release by a female angler as of the end of November2009. What a fish!

Lake St. Clair again. Ed Hepburn (left) caught this pretty spotted 54.5 incher onJuly 3.

The probable Junior division winner, Wesley Worel with a Lake Vermilion 55.5incher caught on July 8. Wesley has the top four fish in the Junior’s contest.

Dick Manske with his 54 inch Fox Lake, Minnesota, muskie caught on July 13.That whopper is the “smallest” pure-bred on the cover!

The likely second place muskie by a male angler (by just one-quarter inch) isMark Carlson’s 58.25 incher caught on July 1 on the St. Lawrence River.

So there you have just a few of our monster muskies from 2009. What will2010 bring? My guess is we haven’t seen the best yet! – Juris v

Another New MUSKIEAd Sales Representative!

Please welcome Brett Beaupre as another new member of ourAdvertising Sales Team! We are pleased to have Brett join theMUSKIE team. Brett just graduated from the University ofWisconsin – Milwaukee. He is a member of the Titletown Chapterand a muskie fishing fanatic. Brett’s degree is in Finance, but he alsohas experience working with the Sea Grant Invasive Species Programon Lake Michigan. You can contact Brett at: 920-323-0721 or:[email protected]

Hugh C. Becker2010 Foundation Awards

Many MI members remember Hugh C. Becker. Before hisdeath, Mr. Becker worked with fellow MI member George Selcke toestablish the Hugh C. Becker Foundation. Seventy-five percent ofthe dividends from this multi-million dollar foundation go to

Muskies, Inc. each year! The funds are channeled by the foundationboard and through the Twin Cities Chapter. To date, The Hugh C.Becker Grant Committee has awarded a total of $104,300 ($44,200in 2008 and $60,100 in 2009).

The estimated available funds for grants for 2010 will be$120,000. The exact amount will be predicated on the merits andquality of the proposals received by January 31, 2010. The decisionsof the Committee will be made by 1 March 2010.

By the end of 2010, The Hugh C. Becker Foundation, throughthe Twin Cities Chapter of Muskies, Inc., will have issued almost$225,000.00 for muskie-related projects throughout the UnitedStates and Canada.

The annual grant application process is open to chapters andconservation agencies throughout the North American muskie range.The grants can be used for projects such as muskie propagation,stocking, habitat, water quality, and professional research. Please seethe November or December issues of MUSKIE Magazine for addi-tional application details.

The 2010 grant application period closes on January 31,2010. Address all requests to: Hugh C. Becker Committee, TwinCities Chapter of Muskies, Inc.

c/o George Selcke, 13004 Shady Dale Road, Minnetonka,MN 55343-4904

What an amazing legacy Hugh Becker has left for the ben-efit of muskies and muskie anglers!

Nominations for SpringBoard Meeting ElectionFrom the Executive CommitteeMuskies, Inc. will hold an election for President-elect at

the 2010 spring board meeting. If you are interested, or know ofsomeone that is, please submit a resume for publication in MUSKIEMagazine by January 25, 2010. Send the resume to VP PerryPeterson via email to:

[email protected]

The President-elect will take over as President at the 2011 springboard meeting when the term of our current President, Dan Narsete,ends. This is a very important election and we hope to have a lot ofinterest from qualified applicants. Please step forward and helpMuskies, Inc. grow! v

Got Marketing Experience?Membership and Marketing VP Greg Wells is

seeking members with marketing backgroundswho might be interested in joining the marketingteam. You can contact Greg at:

[email protected]


www.redwinglodge.netFamily owned and operated for 40 years

Over

9,000 MuskiesReleased

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

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Call or write for data on musky catches:

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

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

On Sabaskong BaySix-time Muskies, Inc.,

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

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Come to experience the excitement of the 2010 ChicagoMuskie Show. Whether you are a diehard muskie hunter orjust a beginner, you will have a wonderful time at North

America’s most exciting and dynamic muskie show.

Book your next fishing adventure with a selection from themany resorts situated on some of the best muskie waters inMinnesota, Wisconsin, or Canada. Fill all your tackle needs fromamong the nine muskie retailers bursting with the newest gear.Tackle manufacturers will be displaying and selling this year’s hottestnew tackle. These include many national companies along with the‘mom and pop’ shops that create those hard tofind super lures in all their custom colors.

Boat dealers, custom rod makers, artists, andtaxidermists, all create areas of interest for atten-dees. Viewing the countless spectacular trophymuskie mounts scattered throughout the hall isworth the price of admission. Muskie guide serv-ices and fishing schools populate the hall as well.

Then there are the seminars! For 15 years theChicago Muskie Show has consistently providedthe best lineup of muskie seminar speakers on thecontinent. Many favorite speakers will be return-ing such as Hall of Fame members Joe Bucher andSpence Petros, along with Jim Saric, Chad Cain,Gregg Thomas, Mike Hulbert, and Steve Heiting.

New this year is Don Schwartz, who will beshowing sensational underwater footage ofmuskies approaching and attacking baits. Thisvideo has never been seen before. Worldrenowned author, photographer, and fly fishermanRobert Tomes will show how to catch muskies onthe fly. Robert is a wonderful speaker and is veryknowledgeable in this even more challenging wayto hunt for muskies. Mike Keys and DaveBrown will include incredible action videoswith their seminar on soft plastics.

Luke Ronnestrand will explain how towork the huge double bladed bucktails andwhat tackle is best suited for them. There willalso be professional ‘on the water’ presentationsin Lake Tri-Esox, (the swimming pool adjacentto the expo hall). Every presentation is enter-taining as well as educational.

One of the new exhibitors at the show isJust Encase. They have a wonderful line ofclear plastic storage systems that really showand display your muskie baits. Another newexhibitor, H2O Tackle builds a high qualityline of diving plugs and other baits. DutchFork Lures is a lure refinishing and paint shopthat specializes in chrome finishes. They alsomake their own muskie plugs. Returning tothe show (they were really missed) will be JoeBucher Outdoors and their incredible line ofmuskie baits.

Tri-Esox Productions produces the show in conjunction withthe Chicagoland Muskie Hunters and South Side Muskie HawksChapters of Muskies, Inc. The Chicago Muskie Show will be heldJanuary 8-10, 2010 at Harper College, located at the northeastcorner of Roselle Rd. and Algonquin Rd., just off Interstate 90 inPalatine, IL. Show hours are Friday, January 8, Noon to 9 PM;Saturday, January 9, 9 AM to 7 PM; and Sunday, January 10, 9 AMto 5 PM. Daily admission is $10.00; a three day pass is $20.00;children under 13 are admitted free. There are thousands of FREEPARKING spaces. For more information, see: www.chicago-muskieshow.com or call 847-328-6200. v

2010 Chicago Muskie ShowCome for the exhibitors, stay for the seminars!


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Lunge Log Integrity!What is this thing we have here? The Lunge Log to

most members is a record of their personal muskie fishinghistory. This is very neat. In the process we give out a fewawards for the winner of each division and Lunker of theMonth. The awards themselves are a neat little plaquewith the Muskies, Inc. logo and the catch details. Theplaque is nice but they only cost my committee $18 each.With a record of nearly 282,000 muskies since 1970 it isneat to sort and look at muskies by lake, state, lure, chap-ter, color, or by whichever column of information wechoose. In the process we need your integrity to make thisas accurate as possible.

For example if you fish muskies in Wisconsin all overthe state with your member friends but only report catch-es from one lake, this draws undue attention to yourintegrity. Readers of the Lunge Log may them assume youare supporting or sponsoring a business or a lake. You donot need that assumption. Now if you do not reportcatches from other lakes and just your favorite lake, weguess you are not really blowing smoke at us. However ifyou report all catches from all lakes as if they were caughton your favorite lake then you are blowing smoke at us.You are the one that will have to look in the mirror in themorning and face reality. Keep in mind that when you areout fishing somebody is always watching.

The next example is about your fishing lures. If youcatch 40 muskies in a year and every one of them is onthe same lure, what is the viewing public going to think?Other members are seeing you on the water with yourthree tackle boxes but the Lunge Log only has you listedusing one bait. As you get better at what you do with themuskie it is only natural that others will look on theLunge Log to see your data. In other words please do notblow smoke at everybody. You will have to face reality inthe future, because somebody is always watching.

There I have spoken my piece; the last two para-graphs are kind of ugly. You see when some membersquestion other members’ integrity they do not confrontthat member. They simply send an email to me and ventbig time. Then they expect me to hire two lawyers andthree cops to go check this guy out. Give me a break! TheLunge Log is an honesty reporting thing, once in a whilewe need to deal with that big time. Please face that reali-ty because the Lunge Log is a really a neat deal. Please donot be the bad apple in the barrel.

Dean Roll, Twin Cities, 54 Inch!Hey Jim thanks for all the work the Lunge log does for us and thanks

to Muskies, Inc. What a great way to document the fish we catch andhave a log to look back on especially when its 30 below and we are onlymuskie fishing in our dreams!!! This fish was really special in that I caughtit with my Dad (Don), 73 yrs. young!! My parents have a lake home forthe summer in Northern Minnesota. I get up there several times eachsummer to visit, fish and help out when I can. Dad, usually only fishesfor muskies when I come up, but then it’s only a few hours in the morn-ing or evening around “prime” times. Mom usually has other plans for

the Lunge Log

by Jim Bunch


us and it’s hard to say “NO” to Mom when we get up there so infre-quently. Dad has caught a few muskies, but never a really big one.He has, however, helped me land several 50 inchers in the last fewyears during our short prime time outings. Dad loves being out inthe boat with his Son and I’m not so sure he cares if he catches one ornot. This is displayed by the countless missed follows while he’s chat-ting and watching the sunrise or sunset!!!

This particular outing I was intent on putting him on a fish. Iexplained we had to put our time in and let’s make it a real FULLday effort. We fished all day, which is very unusual for him. I have

to give him credit as he held up great chucking big doubletens ALL day. I have fished with many others less than halfhis age who have not done nearly as well. With that said,I don’t believe we moved a fish all day. Dad was gettingpretty wore out, but agreed to one more spot after dark as Isaid moon would be happening in less than a half hour.

Three casts into our last spot I hooked this fish in thefirst couple cranks of the “bullhead” colored Cowgirl. Shehit hard and I got a great hook set, but she did not move.The big wide head shakes told me she was a good one. Iyelled to Dad,”Big Fish, Get the Net!!!” Followed by avery long pause and no response from Dad. Then only tohear “I think I took that out of the boat when the Kids weretubing yesterday” I then replied,” How about the cradlethat you have stored in your boat?” “I didn’t think you everused that any more so I took it out”, he says. Well I guess itsplan C, we will have to hand land this girl if we get thechance. A couple jumps in the darkness, with a noise I willnever forget, and we had her boat side. Dad shined theflashlight down and that’s when we knew she was really big.She had a huge head and I couldn’t believe how long shelooked! She was really too green to hand land so I had towork her around the boat a few times with some nerveracking moments in between. I then handed Dad the rodand was able grab her first shot. Two years ago I got rakedup pretty bad on another 50 inch fish we got again in Dadsboat, when I tried to hand land her, but I was too tentativeand didn’t take control. This went through my mind andI went after this one aggressively the FIRST time!

I cut hooks quickly and measured her in the water witha floating ruler since the fight had been longer than I wouldhave liked. We checked several times with each eyeing theruler, even flipping the ruler the other way, and agreed it wasmy personal best for length at 54 inches. She was wide acrossthe back, huge head, but had typical July girth. A quick pic-ture and not too much reviving and she went away strong.

John Dennis54, 53, 52.5 LSC

Hi Jim, Here is the picture you requested. I also includ-ed a pic of a 53” and 52.5”. I was trolling with one of mylong time fishing friends, Tom Householder of Columbus

(Continued on page 8)

Dean Roll, Chapter 1, 54 Inch,7/11/09, Vermilion, MN.

Cowgirl, Fish I.D.271629.

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–(Cont’d)


OH, when I caught the 54” fish. What makes this catch even more mem-orable is that when I was picking up the rod as it was going off, my otherrod also started ripping out line which had a 40” on it. Also of special

note, both fish were caught on the new Tuff Shads being marketed byChris Hamrick. Returning to the same lake a week later with ChrisHamrick, I was again lucky enough to boat a 53” and a 52.5” on aMordas MX6 within like an hour and a half of each other.

Dick Manske 54”Fox Lake, MNJim, this is what I sent to every-

one the night that I caught the fish.I caught this fish tonight and I’m stillshaking while I’m writing this. Shewas 54 inches long. The neat thingabout the fish was at no time did Iever think about killing her. All Ithought about was trying to get herback into the water without hurtingher. I always said if I caught a fishover 53 inches, she was going on thewall but I guess it’s too late now tochange my mind. She is swimmingaround back in the water. I was fish-ing with “all my friends” and by lucka pontoon was going by when I caughtthe fish. They came over and I askedthe guy to come into my boat and helpme. He said that his son was a guideon Lake of the Woods and his firstthought was that the fish was a mon-ster. His wife took the pictures and hehelped me measure the fish so it wasnice to have someone help me out.I’m going to bed right now but proba-bly won’t sleep at all.

Keep a tight line,Jim BunchThe Lunge [email protected] 226-0295


LUNGE LOG (continued from page 7)

Dick Manske, Chapter 29, 54 Inch, 7/13/09, Fox Lake, MNDicktator, Fish I.D. 272479.

John Dennis, Chapter 19, 54 Inch, 9/2/09, Lake St. Clair, ON.Tuff Shad, Fish I.D. 278225.

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The rules andregulations forsubmitting to theLunge Log are onthe Muskies, Inc.website. The same ones havebeen there since 2005.Log in to our website.In the left column clickLunge Log, then in theright column under HotLinks click ReleaseForms, then clickLunge Log Regis-tration Page 2. Scrolldown to the bottom ofthe page and therethey are.

Muskies, Inc.Past Presidents

Gil HammEdward T. Peterka

Robert HillRobert Shoop

Frank SchneiderPeter Hadley

DuWayne BakkeLou Cook

Peter HadleyBob Schmidt

Larry RamsellLou Cook

Keith OgdenBill Davis

Steve StatlandJohn Hotle

Jim BlaubachSteve Budnik

Jim SmithPaul Framsted

Perry SmithGreg Wells

David Cates

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Our Muskies, Inc. Family . . . Happy New Year to each of you! I hope 2010 brings you new

friends, great fishing, and fond memories. I also hope you can makethe time to enjoy one or more of the Muskie Expos and Sport Showswhich will be taking place over the next four months. I’ll be headingto see the Tri-Esox guys in Chicago this month.

Speaking of new friends and fond memories, I must reflect a biton 2009. As your Editor, I think it’s very important to get to knowmore of our Muskies, Inc. family – our members, officers, volunteers,authors, advertisers, and friends.

One cool thing that has happened over the past year is an increasein reports and stories which have come from our chapters across NorthAmerica. In 2007 and 2008 we only averaged about 10 or 11 chapterreports each month; in 2009 we averaged over 17 per month. Thismonth we have 23 reports. As you will see, some are quite detailed.To encourage this participation we have added a chapter photo bannerto the News & Views section each month and we highlight activitiesof individual chapters periodically with a chapter “focus”.

As more chapters have participated on a more regular basis I’vegotten to know a number of the chapter reporters. They are a finebunch. They work hard for their chapters. Make sure you thankthem once in a while.

In 2009 I traveled more than ever before. I attended two muskieshows, met lots of advertisers, and spent time with M.I. members,authors, and advertisers on 9 different muskie lakes. These tripshelped me get to know more of our MUSKIE family and make new

MUSKIE friends.My final Northwoods adventure of 2009 took me to northern

Wisconsin to meet up with Assistant Editor Juris Ozols. I will admitthat when I took this job as Editor in 2007 I wondered, “What willthis Juris guy be like to work with?” Juris is one of the hardest work-ing volunteers I have ever met. Muskies, Inc. is very lucky to be oneof the organizations to which Juris dedicates his time. He has alsoturned out to be a good friend.

Over a five day period Juris and I visited folks from Hayward toEagle River to Mosinee to Green Bay. We visited MUSKIE friendslike Jerry Bucholtz and Tom Stark. I finally got to meet and fish withField Editor Patricia Strutz. I even got to release muskies on two dif-ferent lakes while row trolling for just one day with Patricia; besidesbeing an essential contributor to MUSKIE Magazine she is a greatmuskie guide.

When we made it to Green Bay we met up with author/guide/firefighter Kevin Pischke, my former MUSKIE boss Jay Zahn, Jeff“Tilky” Tilkens, Steve Haas, Capt. Brett Jolly, and a number of otherM.I. folks who happened to be in Green Bay.

The bite had calmed down by the time we got to Green Bay, butthere were a few nice muskies being caught. Things were pretty slowin my boat until Tilky loaned me one of the new chrome and greenShallow Raiders from Joe Bucher Outdoors (Tilky is our rep for JBO).About a half-hour later I should have landed a 50-plus incher on thatShallow Raider, but she whipped me by finally tossing the bait afterabout four minutes of surface thrashing during which I rarely gainedany line on her. I have already asked Tilky to send me my ownchrome and green Shallow Raider!

This leads me to one last point for thismonth. Get to know our advertisers, try theirproducts or services, and tell them thanks forsupporting Muskies, Inc. Please take the time tolook at the list of 2009 advertisers on the insidefront cover of this issue. The folks who advertisein MUSKIE Magazine bring us fine products,camps, and services. I believe in their stuff. Myfinest muskie adventures of 2009 occurred veryclose to some of the businesses that advertisewith us, or on baits and tackle you can find inour magazine.

I am fortunate to serve as your Editor and Ilook forward to the year ahead. I hope our pathscross and that perhaps I can spend some time ina boat with more members of the MUKIE fami-ly during 2010.

After the thrill of catching your next muskiedo your best to carefully release it to fight anoth-er day; the future of our muskie resource will lit-erally be in your hands! - Kevinv


8 8Figure 8by Kevin Richards

[email protected]

Titletown Chapter’s 2009 Best of the Best Tournament washeld on the Lower Bay of Green Bay and Fox River on Oct.16-18, 2009. Most participants would agree with calling the

weekend of fishing ‘a tough bite’. The 55-boat field caught only 10fish in the two-day event.

About a week and a half before the tournament the bite had dra-matically slowed down. Many anglers had been experiencing multi-ple fish days prior to this. With fluctuating water temperatures andthe arrival of gizzard shad in the bay, fourth place finisher and localguide Brett Alexander believed the muskies relocated to deeper, morestable water and that anglers just couldn’t compete with the masses ofavailable live prey fish.

Saturday morning brought temps in the low 30’s. It remainedcold for the day along with overcast skies. Sunday had the same coldtemps coupled with off and on rain and a stiff 20 mph south breeze.Towards the end of the day the sun provided some welcomed warmth.

Titletown President Jay Zahn summarized the action of the tour-nament by saying, “Although it was a tough bite I thought it had anexcitement to it that our other years didn’t have, because right to theend, with the right fish, any team could have been a winner.”

Twenty minutes into the event the team of Rania Baxter andKevin Stahl from Green Bay were on the board with a 47.5 inchercaught on the Bay. They found this lone fish in an area that had beenone of the hottest in prior weeks. This catch would have them in firstplace at Saturday’s finish. The single fish was not enough to win theevent in the end, but it was the biggest fish of the tournament. Baxter

and Stahl finished second, with 23 points.They won $1,500 and will receive a LaxReplica for the biggest fish of the event.

The team of Ron Hedsand and Don Petersilka from SturgeonBay captured the first-place prize of $5,000. They landed a 35.5” onSaturday and 44.5” on Sunday for 31 points total. Hedsand andPetersilka were trolling at a faster speed than most anglers, as well asrunning north and south against the waves. Their 44.5” on Sundaywas taken while turning the boat, enhancing their tactic of using fastermoving baits.

The team of Matt Butch of Sherwood and Aaron Techlin ofAppleton nearly proved Jay Zahn right. They caught two fish in thefinal 30 minutes of fishing to move into third place (they had thesame point total as Baxter and Stahl; the tie breaker went to the firstfish caught). The third place prize was $800.

The team of Brett Alexander and Steven Ryan finished fourth($400) with 20 points; James Bohr and David Schmidt finished fifth($300) with 14 points.

Special thanks to all of our fine sponsors listed on the ad on thefacing page and to our tournament committee for all the time andhard work they put into this year’s event. It was a safe and fun week-end of competitive fishing.

Keep watch at WWW.TITLETOWN-MUSKIESINC.ORG as entry information will beavailable for the 2010 Best of the Best MuskieTournament! v

Best of the Best – 2009by Kevin R. Pischke


Many folks visiting the Northwoods ofWisconsin last summer commented thatthey’ve never seen the water levels so low. In

fact, I had difficulty launching and loading at several ofmy favorite lakes. I attended a workshop organized by theWisconsin Association of Lakes which addressed thisproblem. Whether you live in the Badger State or else-where, low lake levels have affected all regions of theUnited States at different times throughout history. Hereare some of the workshop’s highlights.

Factors Affecting Water Levels: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Tom Jerow

opened the seminar by stating that the presenters don’t have all theanswers, but, “collectively we are all trying to find the answers.”Limnologist Tim Asplund explained that lakes throughout the mid-west are no strangers to fluctuations in water levels, “They respond tochanges to many factors.

The recent unusually dry weather patterns have made low levelsparticularly noticeable. Natural variations are only part of the lakeecosystems. Larger forces of climatechange, water and land use are atwork, too.”

“We are experiencing a prettysevere drought right now. It is start-ing to creep throughout the uppermidwest, spreading east and west.Even though the weather conditionsaren’t as bad, we have not seen theselow water levels since the 1930s.This indicates something more thanjust decadal cycles is going on.”

Though none of the expertswanted to specifically blame globalwarming, Asplund noted, “We havestudied Anvil Lake in Vilas countyfrom 1936-2006. The study showscycles but there is a definite down-ward trend in water levels. This can’tbe due to all natural variability.There is no debate among over1,000 scientists involved in theIntergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange. They state that climatechange is unequivocal and is verylikely caused by human activities.Global warming speeds up the watercycle. It creates more evaporation insome areas, more precipitation in

others—more extreme weather events. Lakes are not bathtubs. Waterbudgets are connected to groundwater, surface water, inputs, outputs,precipitation, evaporation - many different components affected byclimate determine the lake level.”

A short course in hydrology explained differences in lake types.For example, closed basin seepage lakes have no inlet or outletstreams; their main source of water is groundwater. Asplund contin-ued, “The lakes that are greatly affected are seepage lakes - especiallyif they are shallow. Seepage lakes are generally located higher in thelandscape so they really respond to a lack of precipitation, whereaslower lakes are able to obtain more groundwater.”

“Certainly human use factors, such as high capacity wells for bot-tled water and irrigation, affect the water levels, too, but the droughthas greatly exacerbated the problem.”

A team of DNR lake coordinators added, “One of the lakes we’vestudied in northern Wisconsin is Sparkling Lake. It is a small lake,however, big Lake Superior behaves very similarly despite their vast sizedifference. Sparkling Lake is a seepage lake on sandy soil. Precipitationand ground water are its primary sources of water. The recent declinein lake levels is partially explained by precipitation rates—which havebeen below normal now for the past five years. When each year’s pre-cipitation deficit is added up over a 23-year period this leads to a 53

inch drop in accumulated water inputto the lakes. On top of this, northernWisconsin lakes are getting warmer andsummertime evaporations have beenincreasing since the early 1990s. Thiscan only aggravate the ongoing trendtoward drier conditions. Unless we see adramatic reversal we can expect low lakelevels to be the norm for quite sometime. Northern Wisconsin, like otherregions of the world, is getting warmeras a result of global climate change.”

This last statement was hard toswallow since July 2009 was the coldestJuly on record in many parts of thestate. Daniel Vimont, a professor atUW-Madison who studies atmospher-ic and climatic changes, points out,“The jet stream this summer was fromthe north - it is usually from the south.Global warming has changed the jetstreams because of the melting ice cap.”

“There is a definite downwardtrend in precipitation in northernWisconsin but the central part of thestate is getting wetter. Precip and tem-perature go hand in hand. In the past58 years central Wisconsin has a largeupward trend in in temperature, this


“The Water is So LowIt Doesn’t Even Reach

the Shore”by Patricia Strutz

Dairyland looked much different after a 30-foot drawdownfor dam repairs. Although this drawdown was planned itgives a visual example of how the lake basin and habitat

change under low water conditions.

Dairyland Reservoir near Ladysmith, WI was one of the June2007 M.I. Chapter Challunge lakes. Here’s a view from the boat

launch during that event.

Great habitat often becomes unavailable to fish under low waterconditions. The hump in the middle of this lake has a number of

fish cribs which are normally in 10 to 15 feet of water.


matches the global trend. Global models forecast that climatic changeis inevitable; they predict a 3-6 degree Celsius increase because theanthropogenic greenhouse gas is increasing to levels we’ve never seenbefore. High carbon atmospheres mean huge impacts on climate.Adaptation needs to take place to minimize our impacts, we mustreduce our carbon footprint.”

Whether or not one agrees with the global warming argument,there is no debating that our lakes up here in the Northwoods arealarmingly low. Declining water levels means changes in habitat andthus affects muskies and other wildlife.

Declining Water Levels:Effects on Fisheries and Wildlife

Aquatic biologist Susan Knight and DNR fisheries coordinatorSteve Avelallemant tackled this topic. Knight began, “Declining waterlevels affect so many different habitats and can dramatically alter alake’s littoral zone. The littoral zone extends from the shoreline andcontinues to the depth where sufficient light for plant growth reachesthe lake bottom. This fringe zone maintains the health of the lake.Low levels cause beaches to be exposed, wood is left high and dry,plants colonize on exposed shores, and shallow lakes have more lightpenetration so plants start growing out further in the lake.”

“As the levels decline, aquatic plants will grow deeper into thelake and emergent plants on the water’s edge become stranded. Thisnew real estate becomes prime habitat for terrestrial invasive species.Fish and invertebrates lose ideal breeding habitat as water levels fall.”

“Littoral zones are changed greatly on shallow lakes with gradualdepth contours. Exposed shorelines means loss of low level aquaticplants. Those plants provide cover for insects and invertebrates. Theyalso reduce erosion, provide staging and breeding habitat for water-fowl, and breeding and nursery areas for fish. Weed beds providecover for grazers and predators.”

“Water declines on gradual shorelines equate to more exposedmud, silt, and sand. When rains occur, this makes the lake more tur-bid. Most important for fishermen, perhaps, is the amount of exposedwood. This not only causes loss of fish habitat, but also loss of algaegrowth on wood, loss of habitat for invertebrates, and on and on. Itaffects the whole food web.”

“Fish grow three times faster in lake with lots of woody habitat.There was a wood removal study done on Little Rock Lake. The lake

was cleared of wood. The perch completely disappeared. There wasnowhere for them to hide so the bass ate them. A corollary experimenton Camp Lake added wood. The bass are now using the wood fornesting and raising the juveniles. They are growing much faster thanever before.”

“Shallower water also means higher water temps. This createschanges in fish distribution. Some of the cold water species willdecline while the warm water species increase.”

Avelallemant added, “One of the biggest challenges facing fishduring low water levels is reproduction. Natural reproduction in selfsupporting fish communities has lots of variability. Solid year classesevery 3-5 years is generally adequate. The Centrachids (bass, bluegill,crappie) can adapt to fluctuating water levels because they use diversesubstrate. As nest builders they will just go out 40 feet from the beachand dig down through the mud.”

“Musky and pike are broadcast spawners. Pike like silty bottomsand muskies like firm bottoms, generally in less than one foot of waterin a very protected bay. If that habitat isn’t available for them duringlow water levels periods, they just won’t spawn. Same goes withwalleyes. They have very restrictive spawning requirements, whichinclude gravel/cobble, clean substrate, under one foot of water, windswept shorelines, and off shore bars. So, even the fisheries in deeperlakes are affected because of the changing of habitat available forspawning.”


In 2009 the water in many northern Wisconsin lakes wasthe lowest it has been since the 1930s.

“Another challenge to the fishery is the altered littoral zone.Portions are now exposed. Young-of-the-year of all species used thiscover to hide. Adult ambush predators will also be affected. Theywaste evergy looking for cover. There has to be substrate to grow foodfor fish. Diversity of habitat equates to diversity of forage available.”

“There are no solutions to this, solely mitigative responses suchas addition of habitat (wood), stocking (to augment reduced repro-duction), winter aeration, and possible water level manipulation.”

In the worst case scenarios extremely low water levels coupledwith high nutrient loads can result in oxygen depletion and major fishkills.

Other wildlife is affected, too. DNR scientist Mike Meyer spear-heads a study which looks at the connections between climate change,lake characteristics, and loon populations. He notes, “Wildlife are theoriginal residents and have co-evolved with fluctuating water levels.However, it still impacts them. For instance, there is a tight associa-tion with water clarity (as indicated by deeper secci disc readings) andbreeding loons. Loons are not found on lakes which experience win-ter kill. And, they need to eat. A family of four loons eats around1,500 pounds of fish (predominently bluegill and perch) a year. Lowwater levels exposes wood. This creates a shift in the fish biomass. Noperch, no loons?”

“Low water levels also shift nest site suitability. The low levels maketheir traditional sites more vulnerable because they are no longer pro-tected by surrounding vegetation and are more obvious to predators.”

Ephemeral woodland ponds, wetlands, and marshes dry out.This adversely affects certain ducks and spring peeper wood frogs.Muskrats move downstream away from dry headwaters. The stress ofconcentrated densities causes population decline. Conversely, somewildlife fluorishes during low water level periods. Ospreys and otters,for example, seem to find increased availability to prey.

Caring for Newly Exposed Shoreline &Adapting to Our Changing Lakes

Until water levels return to normal, it is important for lake prop-erty owners, fishermen, and boaters to avoid inadvertently harmingthe exposed lakeshore areas. Most activities conducted on the exposedbed (i.e. beach grooming, cutting plants, etc.) are regulated by theDNR. Here are some of the experts’ suggestions of what to do:• Wait it out. Natural variations are part of a lake’s ecosystem.• Wood once used for habitat is left high and dry along the shoreline.

We are encouraged to leave the wood alone. Do not “clean up” yourshoreline. When the water levels return to normal it will providemuch needed habitat.

• Conserve water; decrease inefficient water use (i.e. washing your car)• Reducing nutrient inputs from the watershed is a key to minimiz-

ing the negative impacts declining water levels have on a lake.Water quality enhancement activities such as perserving shorelandbuffers, installing rain gardens, initiating sound agricultural prac-tices, proper lawn care, and annual septic maintenance reducenutrient and sediment inputs into the watershed.

• Shift boating and fishing behavior. Go into deeper water, awayfrom shore areas and shallow water.

• Adamently follow slow-no-wake zones during low water level peri-ods. Boat wakes contribute to shoreline erosion.

• Get involved in a lake monitoring program. Programs monitorwater clarity, temperature, nutrients, aquatic invasive species, etc.

• Propeller disturbance in shallow areas can cause direct damage toplants, trim up and go slow.

• Consider hand landing over power loading your craft.* Dredging the lakebed for a boat dock is not allowed without a per-

mit (which is very difficult to obtain.)

ConclusionLow water levels can make it extremely difficult

for fishermen to access the lake. They may also havelong term effects on habitat, fisheries, and otherwildlife. Do we need to change lake managementstrategies? So far, the answer seems to be no; bepatient and wait. The seminar experts stated that newregulations would only need to be initiated if the lowwater starts to impact things such as reproduction.

“We have to wait a few more years to see if thisis just another cycle or if the trend is going to con-tinue to go down. The water in northern Wisconsinis the lowest it has been since the 1930s, if it contin-ues like this in the next 10 years it will be the lowestsince glacial years. Periodic low water conditions canbe beneficial to lake ecosystems. Sediments can con-solidate and allow new plants to colonize the lakebedto provide habitat for rare plants and shorebirds.When water levels return to normal an expansion ofnew plants becomes habitat for fish, removes nutri-ents from the water, and can increase water clarity.But, we’ll have to wait to see if this is merely a fluc-tuation or is indeed a result of climate change andother factors.” v

For more information, contact www.wisconsin-lakes.org or call (608) 661.4313.

Patricia Strutz is a fishing guide, outdoor writer, andField Editor for MUSKIE Magazine. For information,visit her website at: www.ablondandherboat.com


WATER…SO LOW (Continued from page 15)


Minnesota is at the forefront of muskie fishing today. Lakeslike Mille Lacs, Vermilion, and Bemidji are delivering enor-mous fish as never before, and the old classic lakes – Leech

and Cass among them – are still consistently productive.Without doubt the new Minnesota state record muskie is swim-

ming in one of these or some other Minnesota lake. But the currentstate record from 1957 is now over half acentury old. Why hasn’t it been broken?Why hasn’t that record muskie been caught?

I believe it has, and more than once.But an intriguing phenomenon seems to begoing on. Catch and release is taking placeat even the record levels of muskie fishing.The overwhelming drive – “Record Hunger”let’s call it - to own the record that was atwork in the early days of muskie fishing –Louie Spray, Art Lawton, the others – simply does not seem to be amajor force. To be sure, personal records are significant, and it wouldbe “nice” to be in the record books. But releasing those great fish isfar more important. And that’s not really new, as you’ll see.

Let’s take a look at the existing record, see what the Muskies Inc.Lunge Log shows, and then I’ll present three released fish that Ibelieve were possibly or even likely the state record.

The Current Minnesota StateRecord – Art Lyons, 1957

The Minnesota state record fish suffersfrom none of the controversies that haveswirled around various world recordmuskies. Art Lyons caught that fish on LakeWinnibigosh in August, 1957, with lots ofwitnesses.

George Ross, a Minneapolis policeman,was there on family vacation and personallywitnessed it. He relates:

“Art instructed the four of us to go inone boat and he would go in another. Itwas after three o’clock when we pushed offand started working to the north of theresort towards Tamarack Point. We startedcasting medium sized red and white dare-devils with 20 lb. test black Dacron line.

We tried to stay about thirty yardsaway and move along with him. Artwould catch one or two and say, “Try ithere.” After a lot of laughs and a few fishwe had drifted further apart. We were onlyon the water about a half an hour when

all of a sudden we notice Art wasn’t casting anymore but fightingsomething.

We kept on fishing and watched Art as he played the fish. Heplayed it not wanting to horse it in. The fish would just stay downand not come up.

This went on for a while and Art would keep working the motorto keep his boat positioned right. We stayed out of the way because thefish was starting to move more. Sometimes it would stop and Artwould play it some more. I can remember hollering something like

“Art, I think your kidding us. It looks like it’s a little bigger one.” He said“Ya I think it is a little bigger, maybe a 20 pounder!”

After over an hour, and some adventures with getting a propersize net, Art boated the fish. George goes on to say:

“Art weighed that fish on the boat house scale. It weighed 57 lbs. andsome ounces at High Banks. I think it was 57 lbs. 6 ounces. It was as long

as Art was tall and he had trouble holding the fishup. After a struggle we snapped some pictures ofArt holding the fish while standing on a benchalong side the boathouse.

Then someone said this must be a record fishand that we should take it in to an official scale.I think they went to Deer River to weigh it.

I remember Bill and Art saying they drove90 all the way there. On the way, they did stop atBena to show the fish off. Well sure enough by the

time the fish was weighed there it had been out of the water for a fewhours and had lost a few of pounds. The fish weighed about 55 lbs. andwas 56” long.

Then the fish was brought to the Twin Cities to a big sportsman’sstore called Corries’ Sporting Goods on Marquette where it was displayedfor a few weeks. The official weight was determined to be an even 54pounds. The fish, well it went on display at the Bena bar for many years.But in 1979 the building burned to the ground and so too the prize win-ning muskie.”

So there you have the current state record. Lots of witnesses, andseveral weighings.

The Lunge Log DataRecords of Minnesota muskies between 1957 and 1970 are hard

to come by. But those were also the “bad years,” before Muskies Inc.,fish were killed as a matter of course, and fishing was generally poor.So we don’t know much about any potential state records during thattime. However, it would be a reasonable guess that there may nothave been any caught.

The Minnesota State Record Muskieby Juris Ozols

“The overwhelming drive -“Record Hunger” let’s call it - toown the record that was preva-lent in the early days of muskiefishing simply does not seem tobe a major force these days.”


Seven fish entered in the Lunge Log match or exceedthe length of the state record muskie.

Art Lyons’ 1957 staterecord muskie, 54

pounds and 56 inches.

Muskies Inc. initiated the Lunge Log in 1970 and has main-tained statistics ever since. The chart here shows the lengths of thebiggest fish entered in the Lunge Log each year. Seven of those fishare 56 inches or longer, thus matching or exceeding the length of theLyons’ state record.

The 1976 and 1977 fish were weighed and came in at 40 poundsand 35 pounds respectively, far from the record. However, there is noweight data for the other five fish, and the girth is also not recorded.Lacking that, we have no way to estimate their weight. But clearly,fish of the length of the record fish have been caught, and the frequen-cy of capture is accelerating.

There are other fish, not included in this Lunge Log chart, thatare truly intriguing. Here are three of those.

The Joe Arends Fish, 1988Last September I interviewed Fargo-Moorhead Chapter member

Joe Arends as part of the Muskies Inc. “Oral History” program.Among other things, he off-handedly showed me a picture of one ofhis fish from 1988. An enlargement from that picture is reproducedhere, and this is what Joe had to say about that fish:

“This was the third fish I caught that evening. This is Leech Lake.It’s on “The Mailbox.” But anyway, the sun was up about a foot when Ihooked this one. And he kept going, kept going, kept going, fought andfought. Now it’s getting towards really dark. So, you know, I’m trying toget it off. But he finally behaved himself so I could do a water release, thatfish was pretty good size.

I didn’t know the people that took this picture. But I had a personthat seemed to think by measuring the fish’s head alongside the number onthe side of the boat, and with the fish right up against the boat, it was 10and a half inches wide.”

I asked Joe if he thought it was the biggest fish he ever released.Joe said, “One of them. It was a dandy.”

The second picture shows a head measurement of the replica ofmy own modest 50 1/2” fish. That head is about 5 1/2” or maybe 6”at the very most. Look at where 10 1/2” is on the ruler. If you acceptJoe’s casual statement that somebody seemed to think that the headwas 10 1/2” wide, you get a fish of almost impossible proportions.

So consider this. Joe is about my size, and my hand is perhaps 4inches across when clenched. I’ll guess that Joe’s hand is about as bigas mine. Now compare Joe’s hand to the fish’s head. That head is well

over twice as wide as the hand, maybe two and a half times. Thatbegins to bring the fish’s head up close to that incredible 10 1/2”mark.

More calculations can be done, but leave that aside, it doesn’tmatter. The fish has to be in the state record class, and perhaps sub-stantially beyond it. However – this is a central point here – Joe did-n’t claim it was a state record, didn’t brag about it, none of that. LarryRamsell, muskie historian extraordinaire, didn’t know about this pic-ture until I showed it to him

Joe water released this “dandy” fish without measuring or weigh-ing it and just quietly went home. So where was that “RecordHunger” in this case, some twenty years ago? Not there.

The Jim Roerig Fish, 2005Let’s jump ahead a couple of decades to 2005, Lake Vermilion.

Jim Roerig also caught an exceptional fish, although it wasn’t thelongest of that year and doesn’t show up in the chart above. Theseextracts from his January, 2006, MUSKIE Magazine story pick upafter the fish is landed:

“I picked her up and holycow she was heavy! She taped outat 52 1/2 inches with the tailpinched and looked like a blimplying on the board.

We put the tape around herand got 28 inches but looking ather we were not in the widestpart so we moved up and retapedtwice and both times it was 281/2 inches. Just incredible. Wehad no scale in the boat so I care-fully put her back in the net andJohn got on his cell phone andcalled his wife to run the calcula-tions. As I was holding the fishby the tail in the net John said“53.3 pounds.”

Now I knew the Minnesota record was 54 lbs even. I also knew theformula we used - Length x Girth x Girth / 800 (L x G x G/800) - couldbe off a couple of pounds one way or the other. I always said I would killa state record fish if I ever caught one and here I was looking at a fish thatcould possibly be. What a dilemma.

I must have had a million thoughts go through my head trying todecide what to do. She was a perfect specimen and I didn’t think she wasat her full potential yet. Plus what great genetics to pass on. I thought fora few seconds and said “Let’s release her.” John pulled the net away andshe really wanted to go. I let her go and she gracefully slid away with acouple of slow swishes of her tail. I was smiling and shaking really hardby now and I thought to myself what did I just do? I was ecstatic as wasJohn. I felt like I had just won the lottery. What a fish.”

So here, after just a moment of hesitation, and despite his pro-fessed intention to keep a state record, Jim let the fish go. In prepa-ration for this article, I contacted Jim again. Did he have any secondthoughts now, after some years?

“I’ve released a couple of mid 40 lb fish since then including a 56incher this year but I’ve never topped the one I caught in 2005 weightwise. I still have no regrets about releasing that fish. In fact I like tothink I helped set a precedent in releasing possible / probable records asthere have been a few released since.

With that being said I do think that if I ever caught one that was 60lbs I may very well bonk it, but then again I said that about a 50-pounderand I let one of them go.

MN STATE RECORD MUSKIE(Continued from page 17)

Joe Arends did a water releaseon this monster muskie. Oneestimate puts its head width at10 1/2 inches.

A replica 50 1/2” muskie with a headwidth of approximately 5 1/2 to 6 inches.

Jim Roerig’s 2005 52 1/2” x 28 1/2”Muskie. The standard formula givesan estimated weight of 53.3 pounds.


The replica, photos, and memories of that catch are worth way moreto me than having my name in the record books.”

No “Record Hunger” here either – just a lot of personal satisfaction.

The Randy Porubcan Muskie, 2009One more possible record fish, this one a very recent catch, again

from Lake Vermilion in October 2009. Randy Porubcan and GeneCrowder were out there in Gene’s boat, miserable weather, trolling bigJake’s when they caught and landed a true monster.

Using the LxGxG/800 formula,this comes out to be a 62 pound fish,and almost certainly a state record.

I interviewed Randy at “Floyd’s,”a delightful local bar in his hometownof Victoria, about his thoughts onreleasing that fish.

Randy knew it was a very specialfish from the beginning. He fought itfor seven minutes without really mov-ing it at all. It finally surfaced some30 yards from the boat. Randy com-ments: “That 14-inch Jake looked likea cigar in her mouth. I said, ‘Gene, wegot a monster here.’”

Randy finally succeeded in get-ting the fish to the boat and after sev-eral tries they netted it. What wasRandy thinking then? “I was thinkingabout getting this fish in, getting a pic-ture or two, and getting her back in the

water. And records and things like this didn’t even cross my mind.”They measured the fish with Randy holding, and it was probably

a conservative measurement. “When I had her, Gene measured her withthe 60-inch dowel, and I’m standing with the fish like this” – Randy holdshis arms out in front of him – “and he’s got the dowel, the nose is up byme and he’s got it on the tail, and we ran out of dowel. And I said, ‘Gene,we’ve got to get the fish straight.’ We didn’t pinch the tail or anything, sowe measured it at 59 inches, but I’ll tell you that’s with a bend in the fish.”

Suppose they had had put it on the floor to measure it? “I didn’twant to do that. It’s not good for the fish. You know, given the weather,the slipperiness, ice in the boat, I didn’t want to drop that fish. So we did-n’t lay her flat on the boat, measure her over the girth, and squeeze thetail. But that was a 60-inch fish. We did measure the girth, used a pieceof monofilament, and she was 29, easily.”

The fish was out of the water for only about three minutes, han-dled carefully, and took off handily, splashing Randy with “an icecream bucket full of water” in the face. There’severy expectation that it was in goodshape.

All the way along it seemedlike Randy had no intention ofkeeping the fish? “You know, that’sright. We didn’t. And after it swamaway, Gene said to me, ‘You knowRandy, we just released the Minnesotastate record muskie, by a number of pounds.’And I said, ‘You’re right.’ And I didn’t have anyremorse or anything. We shook hands, gave eachother a hug, and went right back to fishing.”

A wonderful tale. And again, the conceptof “Record Hunger” is not a part of the story ofthis magnificent fish.

Comments from Larry RamsellLarry knows far more about muskie history, record fish, and not-

so-record fish than anybody. His opinions are worthy of attention. Iinterviewed him in November, 2009, in Hayward, Wisconsin for ourOral History program. He noted several times that in terms of deter-mining the weight of a fish, “Until you hang them on the scale youreally don’t know.” So we can’t come to definitive conclusions aboutthe fish I’ve talked about here. But in my interview, Larry and Itouched on all four of these fish. Here are Larry’s comments.

Art Lyons Fish: “I think that was pretty much on the up and up.Art was fishing for northern pike when he caught that fish, and muskiesin Minnesota in 1957 weren’t that big a deal, and I think it’s probablylegitimate.”

Joe Arends Fish: “It’s kind of hard to tell because it looks to me likethe fish has its jaws spread. But it’s a big fish. No question about it, it’sa giant. Just from the head it would be impossible to tell how big it is.But you can tell it’s got a big spread between the eyes. Quite possibly astate record – it’s a giant fish. I’ve got a 53-incher on the wall, with themouth spread, and it’s only 5 1/2 inches across, even spread. So if this was10, it’s a giant.”

Jim Roerig Fish: “There’s no question that was a 50-pound classfish. Whether it was a state record or not – it was a little on the short end,but it was so obese. Without weighing it we’ll never know for sure, but itvery well could have been.”

Randy Porubcan Fish: “I had an outing on Vermilion Lake earlypart of October. One of the guys [Randy] in our group caught a 59 by 29.There’s no question in my mind that if he’d have killed that fish andweighed it, it probably would have been a state record. But they chose torelease that fish. My best guess looking at the photographs and that, it’s inthe mid to upper 50 pound range. Definitely bigger than the 54 poundstate record. I don’t think it was a 60 pound fish. But it wasn’t weighedso we don’t know for sure.”

Finally, Larry made a couple of observations: “There probablyhave been half-a-dozen Minnesota State Records released. For one, MikeBelz and the “Just Big Muskies” guys - they got one last fall or the fallbefore that was considered a possible record by the state biologist.”

Toward the FutureAs I noted at the start of this article, that record fish is out there

and will be caught again, no question. And how will the upcominggeneration of Minnesota muskie anglers treat that fish when theycatch it? Let’s consider the words of Jerry Sondag, a young man ofthat new generation, who seems to have more “big fish” pictures thanalmost anybody. Here’s what Jerry has to say:

Randy Porubcan’s 59” x 29”Lake Vermilion muskie of

October, 2009. The standardformula gives an estimated

weight of 62 pounds.



“I guide in Minnesota, and in over 1800 hours on the water this sea-son, we boated 26 fifties on several bodies of water. Many of those fishyielded larger than normal girths. The calculation of LxG xG/800 putthem over 40 pounds. However, all but two were actually under 40. Butmy goal of a legitimately weighed 50+ pounder or state record class fishhas eluded me for another season.

I fish by a strict personal catch and release belief and I would mostlikely send a state record back to the depths. But when faced with a true55-60 pound Minnesota Muskie that could put me in the books, it mayend up coming home with me. It would have to be an undeniable record.But, it would be something to have my name in the Muskie record books.”

So Jerry is ambivalent about what he’ll do when he catches thatbig one, perhaps like a lot of anglers. Jim Roerig was not ambivalent,before he brought in his fish. He said he was going to keep a recordwhen he caught it. But when decision time came, the fish wasreleased. Joe Arends didn’t even consider that decision – he justreleased his big one as a matter of course. And Randy Porubcan wasin such a hurry to release his fish that he didn’t even realize it may havebeen a record until after the fish was gone. If he had known that,before release, I’m sure there’s no question the fish would have goneback anyway.

So what will Jerry – or the other fine anglers out there on MilleLacs or Vermilion or Leech – do when faced with that catch or releasedecision on a record muskie?

I’m ready to wager that the Minnesota state record fish can bequite optimistic about its fate.

My sincere appreciation for inputs and observationsfrom a number of people.

The Art Lyons quotes and picture came fromthe web site of guide Terry Hagstrom athttp://www.fishingmn.com/record-muskie.html.

The Lunge Log data came from the MuskiesInc. website, http://www.muskiesinc.org/, from theLunge Log data base maintained as a labor of love byJim Bunch.

I interviewed Joe Arends in September 2009,and the quotes and picture are from the interview. ADVD video of that interview can now be obtainedfrom the Muskies Inc. History Committee at [email protected].

Jim Roerig wrote an article about his fish in theJanuary, 2006 issue of Muskie Magazine, and waskind enough to offer his subsequent thoughts in anemail exchange in November 2009.

I interviewed Randy Porubcan in November2009 and obtained the picture of his fish then.Randy offered a thoroughly fascinating descriptionof the capture and release of that fish, and histhoughts as it was happening. A DVD video of thatinterview will also be available from the history com-mittee anon.

I interviewed Larry Ramsell in November 2009on a wide range of muskie record topics includingthe three fish discussed here. Again, a DVD videowill be forthcoming.

I exchanged several emails with Jerry Sondag toget his perspective on the question of recordMuskies. If anybody will do it, my guess is he couldbe the one to catch that record. Will be interestingto see what he does. v


MN STATE RECORD MUSKIE(Continued from page 19)

Guide Jerry Sondag with one of the twenty-six 50”+muskies brought to his boat in 2009.

I’ll never forget the first time I viewed the northern lights. It wasmy first trip to Lake Vermilion, Minnesota. It was the furthestnorth I had ever been. It was nearly 40 years ago, but the mem-

ories are still as clear as the sky that night.About an hour before midnight that clear sky suddenly went

ablaze with colorful streaks of light. I had heard about the phenom-enon but the light show was better than I had ever imagined it couldbe. When the lights subsided that night I went to bed and couldn’twait to watch them again the next night. I learned something impor-tant that next night - the lights don’t adhere to our schedule. Theydid not dance, they had vanished.

Those of you who live in the Northwoods get many chancesthroughout the year to enjoy the lights. Some northern folks get soaccustomed to the lights that they quit noticing them, kind of like notnoticing the Rocky Mountains if you live in Denver. But for those ofus who live in the southern portion of the muskie range the aurorasare a rare and unpredictable treat.

During summer trips to Lake of the Woods I’d see low intensitylight shows, mostly pale white streaks with very little color, on a fair-ly regular basis. But I yearned to see another blazing aurora display.

About 8 years ago I was on a houseboat trip on Lac Seul. I wokeup in the middle of the night and went outside for my normallyuneventful “aurora check” – to my surprise it was show time!Awesome streaks of green and red delighted me for about an hourbefore fading away. Once again, that was the only night ofthe week I saw a display. I wanted to know more about theaurora displays; I wanted to know why, when, and where Imight have the best chance of seeing them while on mymuskie adventures.

WhyIn the Northern Lights booklet created by the NASA

IMAGE satellite program’s Education and Public OutreachProject, Dr. Sten Odenwald explains why auroras form.

“The most spectacular example of the way that the Sunand Earth are invisibly connected is the phenomenon of theAurora Borealis (Northern Lights) and the Aurora Australis(Southern Lights). For millennia, people have watched themand worried about what ill omens they represented: war,death, or the wrath of God. It wasn’t until the mid-1800sthat scientists finally began to discover many of their myster-ies. Like lightning and earthquakes, they were natural events,not supernatural ones. Thanks to intensive study by researchsatellites during the Space Age, auroras have been substantial-

ly de-mystified, even as their ethereal beauty has remained to dazzleus and inspire awe. Scientists learned that auroras often accompaniedmagnetic ‘storms’ and an unsettled magnetosphere; they were pro-duced by flows of charged particles entering the atmosphere; theycame and went with the sunspot cycle; and their colors were the prod-uct of excited oxygen and nitrogen atoms hundreds of miles above thesurface of the Earth.”

“When a major solar storm buffets Earth’s magnetic field, it caus-es some parts of this field to rearrange itself, like rubber bands pulledto their breaking point. This releases energy that causes powerful cur-rents of particles to flow from distant parts of the magnetic field, intothe atmosphere. These particles did not originate from the Sun, butwere already trapped in the magnetic field like flies in a bottle. Oncethey reach a charged layer of the atmosphere called the ionosphere,they pick up still more energy like a rollercoaster shooting down theother side of a tall hill. The currents of fast-moving charged particlescontinue to flow along the magnetic field into the polar regions and


Even under the best conditions the northernlights may appear and disappear likemuskies behind your favorite bait.


collide with nitrogen and oxygen atoms in the atmosphere. These col-lisions produce deep red glows as high up as 1,000 kilometers abovethe ground and beautiful curtains of green and blue light at altitudesas low as 90 kilometers. They never reach the ground, though they cansometimes seem as though they do!” You can check out the completebooklet at: http://ds9.ssl.berkeley.edu/themis/pdf/nlbook_col.pdf

The booklet goes on to explain that “scientists have created amagnetic storm scale that is much like the scales that other scientistsuse to measure hurricanes and tornadoes.” This scale is called the ‘Kp’index. The index can help you figure out when to watch for northernlights displays.

WhenThe best time to see the northern lights is during a significant

geomagnetic storm. You don’t have to understand the scientific basisof the Kp index to use it - it is quite simple. It ranges from 0 to 9. AKp index of zero indicates very little geomagnetic activity and there-fore very little chance of seeing the northern lights. A Kp index of 9would indicate extreme geomagnetic activity and high probability ofa spectacular light show!

It is important to note that even when the Kp index is high it isunlikely that the light show will last for hours on end. Often thelights come and go in short spurts, or substorms. Even under the bestconditions the northern lights may appear and disappear like muskiesbehind your favorite bait.

There are a number of Internet sites which report the current Kpindex. One of my favorites comes from the University of Alaska,Fairbanks. It has a simple Kp index graphic which you can check outat: http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/

The UAF site provides lots of other useful information aboutviewing auroras. For example, they report that the greatest number ofgeomagnetic storms occur in Spring and Fall. Another website whichI check on a regular basis is: www.spaceweather.com – it has a wealthof information and will highlight times when aurora viewing condi-tions are favorable.

There are two other very important factors to consider. Weather-the best viewing will be when high Kp values coincide with clear nightskies. Geographic latitude - as a general rule of thumb higher Kp val-ues also correlate with greater southern extension of northern lightsdisplays; more to come on that.

Where Some folks believe you have to travel to the Arctic circle to have

a good chance of viewing the northern lights. That is only partiallytrue, as there are times of the year where the arctic is too bright foraurora viewing. There are also times when the viewing is fantastic inthe northern U.S. and southern Canada. For example, every photo inthis article was taken near Bismarck, North Dakota, at a latitude ofapproximately 47°.


CATCH THE LIGHT SHOW(Continued from page 21)

The UAF website has a page titled Viewing the Aurora in theNorthern Summer which explains how latitude (north/southgeographic location) impacts viewing; here’s what I learned fromtheir site:• During the northern summer, sunlight prevents viewing the auro-

ra at high northern latitudes. North of 65° latitude (the northernreaches of Hudson Bay) aurora viewing is very limited from May1 through August 10, but fairly frequent during the rest of theyear. The Kp index should be 2 or more to see auroras south ofthis latitude.

• North of 60° latitude (the northern border of Manitoba) auroraviewing is very limited from May 15 through August 1. The Kpindex should be 3 or more to see auroras south of this latitude.

• North of 55° latitude (extreme northern Ontario) aurora viewing isvery limited from June 10 through July 1. The Kp index should be4 or more to see auroras south of this latitude.

• South of 55° latitude, the auroras should be vis-ible to observers in Canada and the northernUS all summer if the Kp index is 4 or more.

Well folks, here’s another simplification, allof muskie range is south of 55° latitude; in factthe most northern muskie waters are around RedLake in Ontario at a latitude of about 51°.Therefore it is unlikely that you will see a vividnorthern lights display during muskie fishing tripsunless the Kp index is at least 4. At any latitude,the displays should be greater at higher Kp values.

As you move further south in muskie rangeyour best chances of seeing the lights will be athigher Kp values. Look for Kp values of at least 5in central Minnesota, 6 in central Wisconsin, or 7in northern Illinois. I won’t be staying up all nightlooking for the lights at Pomme de Terre inMissouri unless there is a Kp 9 geomagnetic storm!

At www.spaceweather.com there is also anarchive page, so I looked up the Kp index for thebrilliant display I watched that night from thehouseboat on Lac Seul. It turns out that the Kpindex was 6, or at storm level, for most of thatnight. The latitude near Sioux Lookout is approx-imately 50°.

This little graph from the NOAA website providesthe approximate Kp index at which you mayexpect to see the northern lights in various partsof North America.

This whole northern lights thing is really pretty simple, but thereis still a lot of good timing and luck involved. Chasing the northernlights is kind of like chasing muskies!

Special thanks to Lyndon Anderson for shar-ing the photos in this article. Lyndon lives inBismarck, ND and photographs the northernlights from his family farm 15 miles north ofBismarck. He enjoys the “chase” and has spentmany cold nights outside waiting for theshort-lived substorms when the best photo-graphs of the northern lights are taken.Lyndon has an online brochure on his web site(www.prairiejournal.com) that includes a lotof information about the northern lights. v

www.muskiesinc.org January 2010.....MUSKIE 23

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

Photo #2Nate Belden of the First WisconsinChapter sent this photo in for the MemberPhotos page, but I think it deserves to beone of this month’s spotlight shots. The fishis a 48.5 inch beauty Nate caught whilefishing suckers with Gregg Thomas lastOctober in Minnesota. It was quite coldand snowy, but I think we forget aboutthings like that when we strike pay dirt likeNate did here. Even better, is that he got agreat shot with his Canon Rebel digitalcamera to remember the moment. You cansee all the detail in the fish and you cansee Nate’s face clearly in the shot. Manytimes the highlights are too bright in thefish to see the color and texture, but in thispicture the exposure is right on. Great shotof a great fish Nate, and very worthy of theContest page. Congratulations.

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Photo #1 Here is a beautiful shot of a snow covered lakeshore in northern Minnesota. Michael Winther of Chapter08 sent it in, and has been a frequent submitter for a while now. This shot should serve as another reminder to the rest ofus that we should not forget to get a few pictures to document our surroundings while we’re out there pursuing muskies.Quite a few guys fish late into the year and opportunities like this should be captured if you can do it. Thanks for submit-ting this Mike I really like it. Mike also hasa great Black Bear photo appearing on thismonth’s Member Photos page that youshould check out.

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Special Events

2010Aug. 25-27, 2010

2010 Gil Hamm Chapter Challungeat Lake Vermilion, MN. Contact: Jeff Young:

[email protected] or 218-821-3669

No. Chapter, Address Phone #01.....Twin Cities, 6311 Steller Circle, Excelsior, MN 55331......................................952-474-596702.....Fargo-Moorhead, Box 2021, Fargo ND, 58107................................................701-298-903203.....Chicagoland Muskie Hunters, 7600 Kilbourn Ave, Skokie, IL 60076 ...............847-677-001704.....Titletown Muskies, Inc., 3097 Inverness Lane, New Franken, WI 54229 .......920-866-970505.....Pomme De Terre, PO Box 5, Hermitage, MO 65668 .......................................417-993-003506.....First Wisconsin, PO Box 122, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 ...............................715-864-226907.....South Side Muskie Hawks, 5211 S. Narragansett Ave., Chicago, IL 60638......773-581-865008.....Capital City, PO Box 8862, Madison, WI 53708...............................................608-669-504609.....West Virginia, 1270 Federal Road, Little Hocking, OH 45742 .........................740-667-357110.....Heartland, 239 8th St SE, Mason City IA 50401..............................................641-424-082711 .....Mississippi Valley, 5301 11th Ave “C”, Moline, IL 61265 ..................................309-797-180312.....Headwaters, PO Box 652, Eagle River, WI 54521...........................................715-891-557413.....Hayward Lakes, PO Box 609, Hayward, WI 54843 .........................................715-634-454314.....South of the Border, 28926 W. Big Hollow Rd, McHenry, IL 60050.................815-385-902615.....Star of the North, 16774 West Bay Drive, Pengilly, MN 55775........................218-885-167716.....Three Rivers, 119 Bus Lane, Renfrew, PA15136.............................................724-789-786617.....Quad County, PO Box 185, Plano, IL 60545....................................................815-695-149418.....Hopedale, 15 Township Rd 125, Dillonvale, OH 43917 ...................................740-769-726919.....Akron-Canton Muskie Maniacs, 10957 Northwood Ave NE, Bolivar OH 44612.330-874-277320.....Between the Lakes, PO Box 61, Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085-0061 ...............920-564-322621.....North Metro, PO Box 41216, Plymouth, MN 55441 .........................................952-469-215522.....New Jersey, http://www.mi22.com/ ..................................................................................TBD23.....Cleveland, 5608 Brave Chief Lane, Ravenna, OH 44266 ...............................330-296-239824.....Brainerd Lakes, 18031 Heritage Road, Brainerd, MN 56401 ..........................218-838-550926.....Central Wisconsin, PO Box 263, Medford, WI 54451 ......................................715-748-487427.....Central Illinois, 1191 Sandra Lane, Monticello, IL 61856 .................................309-264-373028.....Shawnee Muskie Hunters, 61 W. Jennings, Wood River, IL 62095.................618-610-500329.....Upper Great Plains, 1788 Hwy 4, Estherville, IA 51334...................................712-362-250130.....God’s Country, PO Box 1461, LaCrosse, WI 54601 ........................................608-786-406231.....Penn-Ohio, 309 Spring St, Jamestown, PA 16134...........................................724-932-581532.....Flatlanders, 5776 Vesper Drive, South Beloit, IL 61080 ..................................815-389-462233.....Lake Superior, 2031 Hwy. 33 S., Cloquet, MN 55720......................................218-879-271235.....Milwaukee, PO Box 28842, Greenfield, WI 53228...........................................262-542-999737.....St. Cloud, 312 18th Avenue N., Sartell, MN 56377 ..........................................320-656-116038.....Vikingland, 2909 Wicken Lane NW, Alexandria, MN 56308.............................320-846-797539.....Fox River Valley, 1253 Cobblers Crossing, Elgin, IL 60123.............................847-741-977141.....Central Ohio, 870 County Road 9, Fremont OH 43420...................................419-992-450442.....Hoosier Muskie Hunters, PO Box 501371, Indianapolis, IN 46250 .................317-577-805044.....Colorado, 3739 Sawgrass Trail, Castle Rock, CO 80109 ................................303-668-408945.....Kentucky, 212 Linden Ave., Southgate, KY 41071...........................................859-441-166646.....Bemidji/Cass Lake, 16256 Andrusia Rd NE, Cass Lake, MN 56633...............218-335-859747.....Michigan Muskie Alliance, PO Box 512, Caledonia, MI 49316 ........................616-447-168848.....Arrowhead, PO Box 603, Tower, MN 55790 ....................................................218-753-261249.....Webster Lake Musky Club, PO Box 670, No. Webster, IN 46555 ...................574-834-166950.....Penn-Jersey, 510 Bryton Ave., Pottstown PA 19465.........................................484-459-594052.....Daniel Boone, 813 US 62, Maysville, KY 41056..............................................606-759-761053.....Huskerland Muskie Hunters, 15706 Hamilton St, Omaha, NE 68118...............402-498-895954.....Southern Crossroads, 1524 Country Club Rd, Albert Lea MN 56007 .............507-373-181856.....SW Ohio Muskie Ass’n, 524 Sterling Meadows Place, Brookville, OH 45309 ..937-833-183357.....NW TigerPac, P.O. Box 5515, Kent, WA 98064 ...............................................253-850-588958.....Lake St. Clair Muskies, Inc., P.O. Box 805915, St. Clair Shores, MI 48080....586-873-578159.....New Mexico Muskies, Inc., P.O. Box 65575 Albuquerque, NM 87193.............505-363-4624

Special events listings areprovided at no charge toMuskies, Inc chapters.

To list your chapter's event,

email to: [email protected]

or by ground mail:Kevin Richards,

7618 Sunrise Ridge Road,Henley, MO 65040

Please send announcementsat least 2 months

in advance.

ATTENTIONCHAPTER

CONTACTS:Please make sure

your chapter addressand phone number

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

Whenever you updatechapter information on

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

keep this page current. Thanks!

Chapter News and Views


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Chapter Banner & Focus:Between the Lakes Chapter 20

A DAY TO REMEMBERFrom years past in our history books, we all have learned about

the brave men and women who fought in our wars and left their foot-prints on our soil and overseas. During the Between the Lakes ChapterVeterans’ Outing 20 brave veterans, with over 100 years of service, lefttheir footprints on the shore of Random Lake.

At 7 AM with a beautiful sunrise coming over the tree tops, guidesand vets hit the water. It was a wonderful day to be fishing. Temps inthe mid to upper 60s.

My fishing partner was 18-year Army veteran Dan Songsern. Danis an Army Recruiter in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He told me he had beenover fighting in Iraq and told me of some of the beauty of Iraq and someof the sadness. Dan said if he could go back overseas and fight againhe would but he had been shot by a sniper on patrol two times. At thatmoment it was like the whole lake went silent. I told Dan I was so sorry.He said, “Don’t be, it is OK. The Medic laid on top of me as he patchedme up; there’s no doubt in my mind he saved my life.”

Dan and I were fishing in the first part of Random Lake. He wasusing one of the baits I make. He was casing away and fishing in about10 feet of water. After 5 minutes on the water Dan had a beautiful fishabout 40 inches follow to the boat but swim away. Then a short timelater using the same bait we saw the tail of another fish.

A call came on the radio of the first muskie in the net. Dan and Iwere close and headed over to see veteran Ron Oonk reeling in a nice32 inch muskie. Ron was fishing in Frank Stercen’s boat. CPR wasgiven and the fish was released to fight again.

We moved to a new spot and I changed to a black/orange Creeper.Dan changed to a yellow/orange Manta Shallow Runner. Dan lookedat my bait and asked, “What is that?” I replied that it was a Creeperwith a smile. Dan asked if it caught fish, laughing out loud. I said, “Ohyeh.” Dan was laughing when on my third cast the water exploded.Setting the hook, I handed my rod off to Dan, saying here this is for you.After a short battle the fish was in the Frabill net. I took pictures of the36-inch muskie and the very healthy fish was placed back in the waterto grow. Dan said he had been just about ready to bet me $10 that baitwouldn’t catch anything.

Reports came on the radio from other boats hooking into “toothyjaws”. Rich Kammer’s veteran brother netting 2 fish, a 41 inch and 33inch on a bucktail. Mike Scholler reported 3 fish; 29 and 31 inchmuskies and a 31 inch northern. There was a 38 incher from BobLammers boat and veteran Glenn Walcott released a 26 inch muskiefishing with John Markham.

Club members were frying brats and hamburgers and gettingthings ready for us hungry fishermen. The students of Random LakeHigh School heard about the event. They wanted to do something, sothey did. At school they made a boat from start to finish and called itThe Brat Boat. It’s a fryer, the grill part comes out to fry your meat onand the rest of the boat can be used for your setups, like plates, buns,and all the fixings. Jamie Martin of Martin Automotive was the eventsponsor for the food and soft drinks. The Ted Scharl family providedbake goods in the morning with coffee and juice. Pictures were takenof our group of veterans and Muskies, Inc. hats were given to the vetsby our club. Club member Roy Kalmerton told me he thought this wasa great program. It has taken off with other clubs doing things like this.

Dan and I became good friends and fished together again on BigElkhart Lake in Sheboygan County. I was lucky to catch and release a37 inch muskie. We have made plans to fish more and take a week-end get-away up north.

I would like to say thank you to all who helped with this event anda special thank you to the students from Random Lake High School forthe use of their Brat Boat. They did a great job building it; I hope theyall got an A+ for workmanship.

Please thank a veteran for serving our County - a handshake anda thank you goes a long way. Pray for our troops, here and overseas,for their safe return.

God Bless, Jody Booth

The Twin Cities Chapter Core Activity - Rearing and Stocking In early 1968, Gil Hamm and the fledgling MI members purchased

Darrell Trumbaurer’s one-acre rearing pond and the surrounding land,near Battle Lake, MN. As a result, Muskies, Inc. has a 42-year historyof successfully rearing and stocking Muskies.

Dedication to the rearingand stocking tasks has beenthe core activity of Chapter 1.There are many other Chapteractivities that are important tothe fisheries and the commu-nity, as well as, the fund-rais-ing projects that support rear-ing and stocking. However, itis the stocking and rearingprogram that brings forth thepassion instilled in the currentmembership by the legacy of the MI founders. The binder that holdsthe Chapter to the task is the successful Rearing and StockingProgram.

In the years from the beginning, a strong partner in stocking andrearing has been the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.The joint ventures of Chapter #1 and the DNR have made significantcontribution to the Minnesota Muskie fishery, as is true of the otherMinnesota MI chapters and the MNDNR. Along with the DNR, Chapter1 has rearing and stocking partnerships with Frankie Dusenka ofFrankie’s Live Bait and Marine and Paul Hartman of Metro MuskieTournament.

To understand the depth of thecommitment of the Twin CitiesChapter to this core activity, onehas to but hear the discussions ofthe Board of Director regardingstocking and rearing. Yes, hearand see Paul Hartman, GregKappes, Shawn Kellett, JohnNewman, and other board mem-bers verbalize their dedication andsupport of Chapter stocking andrearing. They are fulfilling theobjectives of Gil Hamm and theearly members of MI.

Last October 31st, members of Chapter #1 braved air tempera-tures, in the low 30s, and water temperatures, not much higher, to claim

Twin Cities6311 StellerCircle • Excelsior, MN 55331

952-474-5967www.twincitiesmuskiesinc.org

Meets 2nd Tuesday 7:00 PM, Knights of Columbus, 1114 W79th St Bloomington,MN, near the SE corner of the intersection of I-494 and I-35W.

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Between the LakesP.O. Box 61 • Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085-0061

920-564-3226 – Ted Scharl, [email protected]

Meets 3rd Thursday 7:00 PM, The Millersville House, SE Corner of Hwys. JJ & 32,Howards Grove, WI.

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the bounty of a 2008 release of Muskie fry into the Kost Pond nearNorth Branch, Minnesota. This difficult physical work is a critical part ofthe rearing and stocking program of the Chapter. The process requiresthe volunteer workforce to tow the 10’- wide and 1100’-foot long netaround the pond, capturing, then, concentrating the Muskies by reduc-ing the net-circle diameter to about 40 feet. Once netted the Muskiesare placed into a holding area for further processing, transporting, andstocking into White Bear Lake. This year’s yield at Kost Pond was dis-appointing; however, plans are underway to reuse the pond with theplacement of fry, next fall. In 2009, the doing was more important thanthe numbers. And, it has been done.

Greetings Thrillseekers,Looks like the 2009 muskie season has drifted to a halt with lakes

freezing over both near and far. Our Chain O’ Lakes had their waterdrawdown in mid-November forcing some of us out of our docks soon-er than we wanted. Boats are now put away and rain gear finally airedout in basements around the Chicagoland area. The ChicagolandMuskie Hunters plan to keep things exciting throughout the “hardwater” season with great speakers at our monthly meetings. At least wehave sport shows coming shortly!

There has been a great deal learned this year due to the participa-tion of the 200+ members of Chicagoland Muskie Hunters as well asfrom our guest speakers that included: Chad Cain, Robert Tomes, Rich“Big Goomba” Gallagher, Chauncey Niziol, Dale Bowman, Doug Klout,Corey DeBoom and Max Wolter. Of course it helps that every meetingincludes Nonna Silvia’s delicious pizzas!

A special shout out goes to Joe Pavilonis from our Chapter whoarranged a great Chapter Outing to Green Bay, Wisconsin on the firstweekend of November. Great weather and a great turnout. I have hadreports from a number of participants that they had a great time, learneda bunch about multiple-line trolling for fat Fall muskies in Green Bay andthe related Fox River, Wisconsin. Can’t wait to see some of the photos.

What many of us consider the best Sport Show of the year is theChicago Muskie Show produced by TriEsox Production at HarperCollege (Palatine, IL) on January 8, 9 and 10, 2010. Details atwww.chicagomuskieshow.com . Parking is free, and the show has tonsof tackle manufacturers with the latest and hottest muskie baits, rods,reels, nets… There are also taxidermists, artists, boat dealers,resorts/muskie camps/lodges and much more. They have drawingsevery hour (I once won a two day trip in a drawing) and lure demonstra-tions at the College pool. Best of all, there are top shelf speakers includ-ing Joe Bucher, Jim Saric, Chad Cain, Spence Petros, Mike Hulbert,Robert Tomes, Steve Heiting, Don Schwartz, Colby Simms, LukeRonnestrand, Pete Stoltman, Russ & Jake Smith, Mike Keyes and DaveBrown and a very cool surprise presentation on Sunday at the show.

Tip of the Month: Go to the Chicago Muskie Show and meetsome of the guys from Chicagoland Muskie Hunters. We will have abooth and look forward to welcoming you, answering any questions youmay have and invite you to our next Chapter meeting.

It may be a little early but wanted to mention the 11th Annual IndoorFlea Market at Rolling Meadows High School in Rolling Meadows, IL.You will find a boat load of fishing equipment and a good time by all whoattend. Date for the Indoor Flea Market is March 13, 2010.

You are encouraged to come to any of the next ChicagolandMuskie Hunters meetings. Everybody shares their knowledge andexperience. Chicagoland Muskie Hunter meetings are now the secondTuesday of the month at the Park Ridge VFW located at 10 W. HigginsRoad, Park Ridge, Illinois at 7:30pm with free pizza being served about8:00pm. Lastly, Dean Rosset always has the latest information and tipswhich can be found in the Chicagoland Muskie Hunters Newsletter andour President, Zach Arnold always makes you feel like family. It does notget better than that. Keep the calls coming with questions about comingto a meeting or joining Chicagoland Muskie Hunters. As always, feelfree to call Dean Rosset at 847-677-0017 or [email protected] ormyself at 847-434-1400 or [email protected]

Take care, Kevin M. Lynch

Greetings from The Almost Frozen Tundra. Our October meetingwas packed full of information. Scott Stein and Susan Finco represent-ing the Fox River Clean Up addressed the attendees. They went overthe details of the nine year project which is now under way. The proj-ect is targeting PCB’s found in the river sediment. The sediment iseither removed and processes or capped and covered. The end goal isa much cleaner and healthier water way. They also explained the areasof construction and the warning/barrier devises in those areas. Learnmore about this 700 million dollar project at: www.foxrivercleanup.com

WDNR Warden Ben Treml was also part of the meeting. He alsohighlighted the areas of construction on the Fox River and explained thehazards involved. Treml stressed the need to navigate slowly in theseareas. He also addressed the issues of late season boater distress onthe Bay. He reminded us of the importance of our safety gear and com-munication devises for cold weather fishing. He pointed out that muskieanglers on the Bay are some of the safest and conscientious boaters.Hat’s off to all on that one!

November continued to be a busy month and fishing pressure con-tinued on the lower bay as season’s end neared. During the final weekand a half many area musky anglers were splitting up their days chas-ing both musky and whitetail deer. Our Tuesday night league fishingended with get together on Monday November 30th.

In early November we were paid a visit by MUSKIE Magazine’sKevin Richards and Juris Ozols. Kevin and Juris spent a day in theEagle River area row trolling with Patricia Strutz and Tom Stark. Thefollowing day found them in Hayward fishing with Jerry Bucholtz. Theyfinished up their trip to the Dairy State with two days chasing Titletownmuskies on the Bay. Patricia, Jerry and Tom also made their way toGreen Bay to join us. The fishing was tough to say the least, but I’mglad to report that no one fell in the water during the Green Bay leg oftheir trip. Both boats hooked and lost good fish on the second day. Tilkyand Jay cooked lunch for the crew at the Yacht Club and joined us onthe water.

At our November chapter meeting it was agreed by the membersto switch our meeting night to the second Wednesday of the month.The meeting night was switched to help alleviate a scheduling conflictwith our gracious hosts at the Green Bay Yacht Club. We had previous-ly agreed to hold the 2010 spring banquet at the Green Bay Yacht Club.

The financial results of the Best of the Best Tournament were dis-cussed. Thanks to our generous sponsors and participants this year’stournament was again a success. The proceeds are planned to helpwith either a reproductive and spawning study and/or stocking of thebay.

Wishing you a Safe and Happy New Year from all of us at theTitletown Chapter of Muskie’s Inc.

Kevin R. Pischke, Secretary

Calendar of 2010 Events:Jan. 11 - 6:30 PM Chapter Board Meeting, VFW, Starr Ave, Eau ClaireJan. 23 - Annual Banquet, Fill Inn Station, Chippewa Falls. Feb. 1 - Monthly Meeting, Fill Inn Station, Chippewa Falls, Speaker:

Jerry SondagFeb. 15 - 6:30 PM Chapter Board Meeting, VFW, Starr Ave, Eau Claire

The Leech lake strain of stocking in Lake Wissota happened backon Oct. 28. The muskies this year were in great shape, the best in thisfive year effort. Plus we got a deal, they brought us 1400 Leechers andthe bill was still our usual $14000. As we proceed with this effort we nowshould see some of these come “Up” and be caught in 2010. It isthought that they stay deep until 40 inches. If this effort remains suc-


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Chicagoland Muskie Hunters7600 Kilbourn Ave. • Skokie, IL 60076

847-677-0017 – Dean [email protected]

Meets 1st Tuesday 7:30 PM, Park Ridge VFW 10 West Higgins Ave., ParkRidge, IL.

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

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

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

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Titletown3097 Inverness Lane

New Franken, WI 54229920-866-9705

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cessful stocking will probably be only every other year. Our chapter issome what anxious about this program as our DNR fish biologist JoeKurz is retiring and his replacement may have a different view of thisprogram. With the budget cutting by the state they may not evenreplace Joe. This would of course mean that stocking decisions wouldgo “Upstairs” at the DNR None of us on the board of our chapter feelgood about that possibility.

At the November board meeting Joe Heil went over the boardmembers that are up for election. We have members that come and goeither by location or by interest. So this is an ever changing board. Inthe process we hope to draw new blood with their new view point of thisorganization. Interested members should contact Joe Heil at 715 839-7089. We call this an election; however interest in serving on the boardpretty much gets you a spot.

Jerry Sondag will make a presentation at the Feb. 1, 2010 gener-al meeting of the First Wisconsin Chapter of Muskies, Inc. It will be atthe Fill Inn Station at 104 W. Columbia, Chippewa Falls, WI. At 7:00 PM.Jerry is a good example of a multi-species angler, who somewherebetween panfish and billfish found his passion as a musky guide inWest-Central Minnesota where he resides. His guide service followsand promotes a strict catch and release policy which has helped himmaintain a 42”+ average catch and many fish over 50”. Jerry is also anownership partner and the Director of Marketing for The Next Bite -Esox Angler Magazine.

Our Annual Awards Banquet is Jan. 23, 2010. Each year we do aslide show of muskie catching events throughout the year. If you havepictures that would fit into this presentation please send them to JasonSmith at [email protected] by Jan.7, 2010. Happy hourstarts at 5 PM, dinner at 6:30 PM.

Reservations for the banquet should be made with Joe Heil, asusual the cost is just $20 ($10 Juniors 12 and under). Joe is at 715 839-7089 or [email protected], mail reservation checks made out to FirstWis. Muskies Inc. to Joe Heil, 1231 Rowe Street, Eau Claire, WI 54703.Early bird reservations are due by January 8, 2010. This gets you in adrawing for a rod and reel.

Our 2010 annual fall tournament will be September 17, 18, 19. Theapplication and fee have been submitted to the DNR. The headquartersfor next year are questionable as East Bay is still up for sale. ScottSchreiber is working with the current owner and will request the date bereserved with hopes the new owner will honor booked dates.

Thanks, Jim Bunch

The November meeting of the South Side Muskie Hawks gotunderway at 7:30 PM with President John Daley presiding. After wel-coming everyone, the first item on the agenda was the announcementthat our own Bob Jeffries and Ron Rodak had won the Illinois MuskieTournament Trail championship on Lake Shelbyville. Ron was the bighero by catching a 36 ?” fish on the last day of the tournament on aSuper Stalker. It was the only fish caught on that leg of the tournament.Reportedly, they won a check for $1000, two huge trophies, ”points”jackets, and a set of tires which they decided to split, each of them tak-ing two tires for their boat trailers. Congratulations to both of them, andwe wish them much more luck next year. Way to go, guys!

In other fishing news, it was reported that Ed Waliczek has beenfishing up in Minnesota and has nailed two 50” fish, and a whole bunchin the 40+” class. It sure sounds as though he is having a great fishingtrip.

Following the fishing reports, an announcement was made that asign-up sheet was being circulated for workers for our fundraiser, as wealways need plenty of them. Workers are to show up no later than 9AMon the day of the fundraiser.

The next item on the agenda was the announcement of ourChristmas party, which will be held on out normal meeting night inDecember. It was announced that tickets for the party would be $30each with an open bar, and that a sign-up sheet was being circulated for

those wishing to attend.The next item to be covered was a report on the regional board

meeting given by Lynn Polyak. She stated that the main topic of themeeting was the proposal by the executive board of Muskies, Inc. tohire a full-time executive director to oversee the daily running of theorganization. Many questions followed this announcement, and it wasdecided that the chapter cannot support this proposal at this timebecause of the lack of information regarding the particulars of the pro-posal, and the poor state of the economy at present.

Following a brief intermission, John told us about his recent tripwith others to the Louisiana coast to do some fishing out on the Gulf ofMexico. He reported that one guy in their group caught a red snapperthat was so large that it would put a muskie to shame, and he had thepictures to prove it. The girth on it was tremendous. Oh, that we shouldbe so lucky as to catch a muskie that large! John also reported that hewas able to see some of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina whenhe saw shrimp boats tossed up onto dry land back in the bayous.

As usual during the raffle, the Whiners’ table was doing a lot ofwhining about “never winning” as they were raking in the prizes. Theseguys just never quit whining, but they are all great guys and hard-work-ing ones too!

The South Side Muskie Hawks meet on the 3rd Wednesday of themonth at Mama Luigi’s Restaurant, which is located at 75th and HarlemAve. in Bridgeview. Meetings begin at 7 PM, and we welcome men,women and children. Why not come out and join us?

Respectfully submitted, Lynn Polyak, RVP

Mild weather extended well into December this year, giving thoseof us in the southern half of Wisconsin an extended fishing season.This is because the WDNR regulations were revised last year to changethe last day of the season from November 30th to December 31st southof Highway 10, which is the dividing line that distinguishes the northernzone from the southern zone. Many CCMI club members took advan-tage of the change in the regulations and the good weather to put addi-tional muskies in the net. It was a welcomed and popular revision in thefishing laws and regulations.

Joel Michel, southeast Wisconsin fishing guide, did an outstandingjob as our guest speaker at the general membership meeting onNovember 9th. Joel shared his knowledge on the presentations andtechniques that have been very successful for him on the lakes betweenMadison and Milwaukee, as well as anywhere else. It was an informa-tive evening, causing many of us to want to give these lakes a try.

Tom Gelb, Musky Hunter Magazine Field Editor, was the featuredspeaker on December 14th. His presentation, called “Musky HuntingStrategy: The Big Fish Zone,” provided details about the “What, How,Where and When” of suspended musky hunting. More details on thispresentation will be featured next month.

Luke Ronnestrand, muskie guide and tournament angler from ElkRiver, Minnesota, will be the guest speaker at the CCMI monthly mem-bership meeting on Monday, January 11th. Ronnestrand is co-ownerof Holcombe Tackle Company, Inc., the company that makes PremiumMusky Buster lures.

CCMI members are busy organizing other annual CCMI events.The annual Awards Banquet, when members in the club are recognizedfor outstanding angler achievements, is scheduled for February 8, 2010and will be held at the East Side Club on Monona Drive in Madison.This is always a fun-filled event as big fish stories, CCMI outing stories,and fishing highlights from the last year are shared and re-told. (Ofcourse, we anglers never tell fishing stories over and over again!)

Another major CCMI event, our annual Intermediate and AdvancedMuskie School, is scheduled for March 20, 2010. Plan to attend. Thisis an outstanding opportunity to increase your knowledge, learn how tofine tune specific techniques and presentations, and find answers to allthose questions that came up last year while you were wonderingwhere the fish went. There will also be many “how-to” workshops thisyear. More details to come, so check the CCMI website frequently(www.capitalcitymuskiesinc.org.)

CHAPTER NEWS & VIEWS (Continued from page 29)

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

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

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

773-581-8650

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

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On March 8, 2010, Russ Warye, professional muskie and small-mouth bass guide, educator, and writer, will be the featured speaker atthe monthly membership meeting. Warye is the author of 11 books onfishing which speak to the where-to and how-to for fishing the lakes ofWisconsin, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Minnesota and Ontario.

The CCMI Annual Fundraiser Fishing Seminar will be held on April15, 2010. This year’s featured speaker will be Gregg Thomas, ownerof Battle the Beast Guide Service. Thomas guides on Cave Run Lakeand Green River Lake in Kentucky and on Mille Lacs Lake inMinnesota. He is featured in several DVDs on the how’s and why’sof fishing for muskies, and is a frequent contributor to several fishingmagazines.

To round out our list of guest speakers before the summer break,fishing guide, Wally Banfi, will be the featured speaker on May 10, 2010.Banfi, a member of the National Professional Anglers Association, isco-founder of “The 4-Lakes Guide Association” based out of Madison,WI. He is also a Partner and Co-Host of “Outdoor Horizons Radio”weekly program on WTDY AM-1670 radio with Tony Puccio and GaryEngberg. Wally Banfi is a multi-species guide with over 20 years expe-rience guiding the Madison Chain and Lake Wisconsin.

Until next month, and while you are waiting for ice-free water, signup for fishing schools , watch TV fishing programs, attend muskieshows, and have a great new year.

Lee Bartolini, VP

Miserable weather greeted us on Halloween, the first day of ourFall Mail-In Tournament. On the next day Dale Brady won the compe-tition with a 40”, his first ever from Stonewall Jackson Lake. Dalefooled this one casting a black and silver Muskie Messiah.

Robin Clegg and his brother Chuck won our Odie Cutlip MemorialTeam Tournament at Stonewall when Robin trolled up a 50.5” on aCrane Bait. It is rare that a Chapter Member boats a fifty in WV watersand really special when it happens in a tournament. Other fish regis-tered were a 46” by Larry Robinson, a 38” by LuAnn Lancaster and a31” by Daniel Haddox.

Our Burnsville Lake Team Tournament ended in a tie. The teamsof Bob Hoce/Jim Moore and Charlie Carpenter/Dave Johnson eachcaught a 42” trolling.

We appreciate the work of Larry Robinson, Darlene Kelley andNancy Amick who served as chairpersons for these events.

Congratulations to Mike Campbell of Wirt County, the lucky winnerof this years’ Rod Raffle. He may choose one of two quality St. CroixMuskie Rods. Thanks to all who sold or purchased raffle tickets.Despite the tight economy, we collected almost as much as last year.

A total of 1,300 regular fingerlings were stocked by the WV DNR inJuly. The majority of them went to the Kanawha River. Some werestocked in Sandy and Dunkard Creeks.

Tragically, Dunkard Creek suffered a total fish kill in September.Many questions remain unanswered concerning the source of theDunkard Creek problem and the solution to it. We do know that waterquality will not improve sufficiently to support forage required for muskierestocking anytime soon.

Tournament and Outings Schedule for 2010:Spring Mail-In March 27-28 Odie Cutlip Memorial, Stonewall Jackson Lake May 1-2Ohio Lakes Tourney; Salt Fork (Sat); Piedmont (Sun) June 12-13Burnsville Lake September 18Fall Mail-In October 23-24

Our Annual Awards Dinner and Awards Banquet will be held in theJackson Park Community Building in Vienna, WV on Saturday March 6,2010.

John Kaltenecker, Secretary

Happy New Year to all musky enthusiasts ,members and friends.This past 12 months flew by for this writer; when I recap it is amazing -all of the programs, outings, classes, and community events thatHeadwaters Chapter gets involved with. Our youth program is a veryimportant; our youth are the future of our musky fisheries. Here is abrief discussion of our 2009/2010 programs:

Headwaters Chapter Tom Botten Youth Program. This program isfor a free (1) one year membership to all youths from the age of 10 to17 years to Headwaters Chapter. It includes membership in Muskies,Inc., MUSKIE Magazine, the Headwaters monthly newsletter, and par-ticipation in all our monthly & annual events.

Sugar Camp Elementary School 2010. This is our second year vol-unteering to do presentations at the Sugar Camp Elementary School .This year there are nineteen students in grades 3 - 6 signed up for theclub. This is more than double the participants last year. The fishing clubis held from 2 -3 p.m. (or as long as the kids want to stay as this is theirlast class for the day)at the Sugar Camp Elementary School . Theseare held each month from November to May. Here are this year’s top-ics and presenters:

November, Paul Hansen - How to Make Baits.January, Roger Sabota & Jim Rechlitz - Ice FishingFebruary, Bill Jacobs - Fishing techniques and the best time to

catch each local species.March, Jim Heffner - Catch & ReleaseApril, Dale Peterson - Rod Building (This is held on a weekend; it

takes 2 days to complete the rod building. Rod blanks aredonated by Headwaters Chapter and Dales; Rod BuildingGuild helps with the class).

May, Art Anderson - Boat SafetyAll students receive the free one- year Tom Botten youth membershipto Muskies, Inc.

Trees for Tomorrow. Maggie Bishop, the Executive Directors for Treesfor Tomorrow asked if we could help with three groups of high schoolstudents that would be attending their campus.

The first group was on May 19th of 44 special needs students fromWaukesha High School .

The second group was on May 27th of 25 special needs studentsfrom Janesville Parker High School .

We gave these students and their attendants a tour by pontoons ofthe Eagle River Chain.

The third group was an at-risk group of 30 students from MadisonEast High School wishing to continue their education by attending col-lege. The group mentors help them attain the necessary information,grant’s etc. to help them attain this as well as build a lasting friendshipin their group. This group received a grant from the Madison Expo. Toattend Trees for Tomorrow. Our chapter provided a number of Guides totake them fishing, give them a boat ride and view the Eagle River Chain.

Fishing Has No Boundaries. Many members volunteer their time andresources to help take 125 physically, or mentally Challenge partici-pants, fishing the first weekend in June of each year.

We also donate $500.00 annually to this event.

Muskies Inc. Headwaters Chapter Stephen J. Bassler MemorialScholarship. We donate $1,000.00 annually to the University ofWisconsin - Stevens Point for a scholarship to a student continuing adegree in a Natural Resources field.

Camp AweSum. Donated rod and reel combos. This is a camp forautism youths nine to fifteen year olds that is held in June each year atMoon Lake in St. Germain , Wisconsin .

Youth Boater Safety. We pay for the boaters’ safety program in EagleRiver

We also donate/help with: $500 to Eagle Rivers Kids Guide Day;$500 to Conover’s Kids Guide Day; $200 to Kids Fishing Tips at theHigh Pines Campgrounds; and $500 to The Three Lakes Fish and


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

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

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

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West Virginia1270 Federal Road • Little Hocking, OH 45742

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

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Wildlife program. Yes our youth programs are very important to ourclub.

Headwaters held the Enduro outing on Oct 31St. 2009. This wasour last outing and Enduro was correct, with 30 MPH gusts and verytough conditions. Paul Hansen chaired this great outing that wasattended by 80 members. Even with tough conditions 10 muskieswere caught and released: Mike Lehey 32, Bill Jacobs 38 & 48, MartyHermes 36, Craig Hermes 39, Darren Gerds 37, Brian Widule 38(tiger), Fred Brogel 41.5, Gary Myshak 41, Steve Bassler, Jr. 48 (tiger).Congratulations to Steve Bassler, Jr., fishing with George Langley, ona fish of a lifetime - a humongous thick girthed 48 inch tiger. he pic-tures were awesome.

Welcome Matt Buetell our newest member who attended ourouting.

Glenn Matula, Secretary

The Hayward Lakes Chapter’s last meeting was Tuesday,November 3rd. At this meeting we reviewed our tournament results. Wediscussed things that were working well and also possible improve-ments. We also elected our officers and board members for 2010. MikePersson will again be president , Emmett Brown will be vice president,Jim Breen will again be treasurer and Ivan Uttech will continue as sec-retary. Bob Reinert will represent us as our RVP and Bob Timme willcontinue as a regional director. For our board of directors we have overa dozen people who all take an active part in helping with club activitiesso we are looking forward to a successful 2010.

The following entries have been received in our members contest.Women: Brenda Dettloff 13 fish-180pts. includes 2-45” fish from “TheChip”; Tera Niebauer 7 fish-96pts includes a 47.5” from Leach and a51.5” !!! from Bemidji. Sandy Hackbarth 1 fish-5pts. Women’s Masters:Sarah Muntz 8 fish-87pts. Men: John Dettloff 17 fish-243pts. includes a45” and a 47” from “The Chip.” John Ryan, 10 fish-178pts. includes a47”48”50”50”& 54.5”!!! from the St. Lawrence. Emmett Brown 17 fish-159pts. includes a 45” from Lower Clam and a 45” from LOTW. WayneBalsavich 7 fish-64pts. includes a 53” !!! from the Crowley Flowage.Steve Truver 2 fish-45pts. includes a 45” and a 52”!!! from Vermillion;J.B. Ellis, 4 fish-42pts., Kris Gottwald 4 fish-28pts. includes a 45” fromthe Eau Claire chain, Tom Kersten 1 fish-12pts. Marc Laustrup 1 fish-7pts. Kim Hackbarth 1 fish-4pts. Men’s Masters: Tom Muntz, 79 fish-600pts !!! includes a 46” from Deer Lake. Adam Glickman 26 fish-369pts. includes 2-46’ and 2-47’Ted Muntz 20 fish-234pts., includes a46” from the Indian Chain, Mike Persson 11 fish-122pts., includes 2-46”from LOTW. Tanner Wildes 1 fish-18pts. .

To register your fish please do it on line at the Muskies Inc. web-site. This saves a lot of work. If you need help call Mike at 717-634-4543. We will however, accept the paper forms, mail them to the club’spost office box #609, Hayward WI, 54843.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday January 12th at 7pm. This will bea business meeting to plan our 2010 projects, activities and budget. Allboard members are asked to attend and all interested members arewelcome. The meeting will be at Dow’s Corner Bar on highway 77, 11miles east of Hayward at County A. Don’t forget we now have our ownwebsite: www.muskiesinc-hayward.org

Good Fishing, Mike Persson

Hello Three Rivers Members, it’s now a brand new year and wehope that all of you had a great holiday season. Did anyone make anyNew Years resolutions? Maybe you won’t buy any more muskie

lures…yeah right!! Any way, our Release Chairman, Fred Francese willbe putting the final touches on the 2009 release contest numbers for ourJanuary meeting. Fred should have the majority of those figures readyby this months meeting so that you can see where you stand in therelease contest for last season. The 2009 Memories Replica Contestwill be drawn at the meeting also. Those of you who entered, andcaught a fifty-inch or larger muskie, will be placed in the drawing for thereplica. In the event that you are drawn, you will need to provide a goodphoto, and measurements, to Memories Taxidermy so that they maybegin work on your replica. Contact information will be provided whenthe drawing is completed.

Back in October of last year, we held our annual Lake ArthurCharity Challunge Tournament at Lake Arthur. Three Rivers donated aportion of the proceeds to a camp for disabled and disadvantagedyoungsters for their fishing program. It was a relatively nice weekend byanyone’s standards for late October. We want to thank Jim Burr, ofMuddy Creek Fishing guides, for providing an excellent hot lunch of chiliand crackers on Saturday. Thanks to Treasurer, Greg Peters, and JimWalker, for being on hand to help dish out the grub too. At Sunday’swrap-up, there were a total of eight muskies caught for the two-dayevent. The top four places were as follows. Kevin Whipkey, with a 45,Mike Coyne, with a 44, Mike Lamberto, with a 43 ?, and Tom Demarco,with a 42. All of our winners took home their choice of some greatprizes, and all participants received $10 off gift cards compliments ofGander Mountain. After the weigh-in, an excellent meal was provided atThe Fair Ground Market, served by Jim Burr and staff. Congratulationsto all of the winners, and many thanks to Tournament Director, EricBartolomeo, for a great tournament season.

At last November’s meeting, we had a special guest speaker. Wewould like to thank Adam Andresky, for giving an interesting, and inform-ative seminar on the St. Lawrence River. Adam shared tips, trollingstrategies, and some history behind this big trophy water. He also hadsome pictures of some very impressive muskies, along with maps, andsome required gear for fishing the area. That same evening, we heldnominations and elections for new officer, and board of director posi-tions. We would like to welcome our new President, Jim Burr, and ournew Vice President, Joe Houck. These gentlemen have graciouslyaccepted these positions, and we want to thank them for stepping up,and showing their continued commitment to Three Rivers Chapter. JimBurr is a well-known local muskie angler, and guide, with Muddy CreekFishing Guides. Jim has been a fixture with our organization since itsinception. Jim has always given of his time, and recourses, through hisexperience in the food service industry, to our club over many years.Joe Houck is our former Research Director, and a retired W.C.O. withthe Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Joe has played a majorrole as contact person with the commission in our clubs float stockingefforts, and along with volunteers from our club, have helped the com-mission stock ten’s of thousands of muskie fingerlings into our localwaters. We are very confidant, and pleased to see that Three RiversChapter will be in experienced hands for the foreseeable future. Wealso want to thank the following people for they’re past, and on goingcontributions to Three Rivers Chapter. Former President, DaveHuemmrich, 2007-2010, Former Vice President, Mike Yerman, 2007-2010, Treasurer, Gregory Peters, Secretary/Membership Director, JimBuss, Merchandise Director, Fred Kahrer, Release Chairman, FredFrancese, Tournament Director, Eric Bartolomeo, Youth Director, BobDomachowski, Research Director, Joe Houck, and to our members, fortheir continued support of Three Rivers Chapter.

In December, we held our annual Christmas party, and the ‘BigCash’ raffle, the details will appear in the February issue of this column.Remember, that awards banquet reservation sales are now under way.The 15th Annual Awards Banquet and Fundraiser will be held onFebruary 27th at the Four Points Sheraton in Cranberry Twp. The costis $40 for Adults and $30 for kids 17 and under. Strip ticket packagesare on sale for $100. You get 150 tickets with your package, versus pay-ing $1 for the same tickets at the banquet. The cut off date for banquetreservations and strip tickets is Monday, February 22nd. The grand Prizeis also included with your banquet ticket purchase. A one-week stay, forup to five people, and one boat slip, at Green Acres Resort Pigeon LakeOntario, compliments of the proprietors, John and Jackie McBride. Youmay purchase banquet and strip ticket reservations at our monthlymeetings or, send a check, made payable to: Three Rivers Chapterof Muskies Inc. to: Treasurer, Gregory Peters, 136 Garner Rd.Edinburg, PA 16116. Please specify the number of adult and child


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

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

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Hayward LakesP.O. Box 609

Hayward, WI 54843715-634-4543

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tickets needed, as well as any strip ticket packages you require,along with appropriate remittance. Your banquet tickets and striptickets will be waiting for you at the door the night of the banquet. Wewill open the doors around 5 p.m., please see an attendant at the doorbefore entering to receive your tickets. Dinner, awards, and raffle draw-ings will all follow after 6 p.m., our banquet is always a great time, andthe merchandise and raffles are second to none, so please plan onattending our biggest event of the year. For more information about thebanquet, please contact Dave Huemmrich, at: [email protected],for information regarding Three Rivers Chapter, go to: www.three-riversmuskiesinc.org

Dave Huemmrich

Happy New Year from all of us from Chapter 19! Hope you all hada good 2009 season and look forward to what 2010 has to offer. Wecurrently have a few members still adding to their totals of the 09 sea-son with a month to go. So far the weather has cooperated but we knowit won’t last very long. At our last meeting, we had an officer from theDept of Watercraft to speak on life jackets to be used for all weatherconditions. He showed us a wide variety and demonstrated some ofthem by activating them by pulling on the cord. He was very informa-tive and we learned a lot from his presentation. We are going to electour officers for 2010 at our December meeting. Well I look forward to anew year and I hope that you all have a better fishing season in 2010than you did last year!

Kevin Proffitt

Let’s start off with a tip of the hat to Kevin Johnson for landing anice 49 ?” true strain muskie. Nice fish Kevin! Our Christmas partywas Friday December 4th at The Lake Arrowhead Club House.

Andy M. did a nice presentation on the use of “mega” lures in thefall and on big water. He covered trolling them at 20’ plus and in doingso he pointed out that the equipment must be sturdy along with a fatwallet to cover the costs of the custom baits. He stressed that stouttrolling rods, heavy duty metal rod holders are a must and the riggingrequires a minimum of 80lb super braid or Monel wire along with 150lb+leader of wire or mono. Anything less will result in lost or damagedequipment.

Cal H. did a short presentation on lure repairs and the use of epoxycoatings as a way of protecting your investment in lures and extendingtheir use after being damaged.

To those of you who missed this meeting I suggest that you planon attending the next meeting on Jan. 26th. Presentation topics willcover rod types and utilization; demonstration of coating lures that needrepair; repairing rubber baits; expanding club scrap book; musky infoswap of books, magazines and videos.

Election of club officers for 2010 season: Pres. CalvinHuntzinger; VP John Hughs; Tres. Jed Chingery; Sec. Chuck Graf;Webmaster Mike Kopp; Tournament Chairs Jed Chingery and PatMarshall; Musky School Chair Kevin Johnson; and Regional VP BobMischka.

Musky School is slated for May 15th on Lake Hopatcong. Locationand start time TBA. Plan for this and volunteer now!!! This is our princi-ple fund raiser for the hatchery and your support strengthens our fishery.

At the December 5th meeting at the hatchery proposed increasingthe state size limits for musky. We are suggesting that the current sizelimits be increased to 40” statewide and 45” for trophy lakes. CalHuntzinger and Pat Marshall will represent our chapter, all are welcometo attend. (Hey you might even learn something if you get involved.)The meeting starts at 10:00 am at the Hackettstown State Hatchery.Pre registration is suggested. See chapter web site post from Kevin

Johnson NJDFW Freshwater Forum.Finally we discussed Greenwood Lake update. Lake fees are

pending!!! Draw down has been postponed. Discussion continues onaeration system being installed in the north arms to help breakdown bio-mass and the possible development of a public launch on the south endon land owned by fish and game. That is all from the eastern front.Musky Squadron out.

Respectfully submitted, Cal Huntzinger

During our November meeting, we celebrated our annual ladiesnight. Fishing stories included a story from our Regional VicePresident, Steve Earhart, who netted a 52 1/2” muskie for chaptermember and guide, Tim Anderson. Congratulations Tim! The chap-ter outing “The Trophy Hunt” located on Little Boy Lake and LakeWabedo chain resulted in no fish caught, but a big muskie washooked trolling on Lake Wabedo by fellow member Bob Pelphrey,who unfortunately lost it after it was already in the net. Sorry Bob,you’ll catch’em next time! Chapter member attendees were informedthat two to three lakes in Crow Wing County are going to be pre-sented for possible muskie stocking. Lakes included are LakeRoosevelt and South Long Lake. Nominations were reviewed forour upcoming election at the December meeting. Our meetingclosed with prizes for the ladies, and raffles. Upcoming eventsinclude game night on January 12th, and our fundraiser banquet onFebruary 6. Folks, for those of you who do not know, our chapterfacilitates one of the best, well organized, and entertaining fundrais-er banquets in Minnesota. Tickets usually sell out, with tickets beinglimited to 300. This is also a great opportunity to visit the northwoods for a winter weekend getaway. For more information,please visit our website at www.brainerdmuskies.com.

Damien Williams


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

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

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

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Brainerd Lakes18031 Heritage Road • Brainerd, MN 56401

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

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

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2009 Muskies, Inc.Commemorative LureOur 2009 lure is a Limited Edition “Jones Special”from Jones Baits (www.jonesbaits.com) of Pennsboro, WV

These 300 signed and numbered baits come in a wood box.They are available now for $45 per lure, including shipping;

add $15 for shipping outside the continental U.S. Funds raised will be used to support

our Fisheries, Research andYouth programs.

For questions contact: [email protected]

You can order the2009 M.I. Commemorative Lure on-linefrom the Muskies, Inc. website.

For questions contact: [email protected]

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New Jerseyhttp://www.mi22.com/

Chapter meetings are held monthly the last Tuesday ofeach month, September through May. Summer meetingswill be held on the water. Check our web site for details.

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Marty is finalizing the Octapod plans with a couple of variations.Art has a pile of logs which will be put to good use as soon as JeffScheirer from the DNR gives final approval and we get some Octapodvolunteers. Call Marty at: 715-748-4521.

The spring Awards Banquet is set for Sat. April 24 at the FlorenaSupper Club (same place as last year) on Hwy 13; 6 PM drinks 7 PMdinner.

The current chapter leaders are Master’s - Don Kempen 39;Men’s - Scott Estlund 15; Women’s - Monica Schillinger 1; LargestRelease - Don Kempen 53”.

We are organizing a Lac Seul houseboat trip July 16 -23. CallJerry Bucholtz at 715-457-2192 if interested.

Jerry Bucholtz

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

We had our Fall Brawl Tournament on October 24th and 25th onbeautiful Kinkaid Lake. The weather was very good but the conditionswere far from perfect. Two inches of rain fell on Thursday before thetournament, the lake turned over earlier in the week and a severe coldfront made for some very tough fishing. Forty one boats turned intwenty six fish in the two days. We had thirteen on Saturday and thir-teen on Sunday. We had participants from seven states. The winningteam of Josh and Rich Shulk turned in four fish. Big fish of the tourna-ment was a forty six inch muskie caught by Fred Dearbon on Sunday.Our president Manuel Santa Cruz did another great job of organizingthis tournament.

Josh and Rich both joined our club after the tournament. We atchapter 28 and Muskies, Inc welcome you to our club and look forwardin seeing you at our activities this year.

It is that time of year to reflect on this past year and start makingplans for 2010. Chapter 28 will have a full schedule of activities for2010. Starting in January we will again have a booth at the “Lets GoFishing Show” at the Collinsville Convention Center. A couple of weekslater, we will have a booth at the St Charles Convention Center in StCharles, Mo. We will be needing help to man the boots at these showsand if you want to help out, contact me, Walt Krause at (618) 972 5584.We will also have two seminars on muskie fishing at the Collinsvilleshow as in the past. Times of the seminars will be on the “Lets GoFishing” web sight.

Some of the other events will be the Spring Warm up Tournamenton Kinkaid Lake May 1st and 2nd. The Fall Brawl will be October 23rdand 24th. One note about the Fall Brawl Tournament is that BobMehsikomer and his film crew will be fishing and filming this event.Make your plants to attend this event.

The IMTT will be holding a March tournament on Kinkaid Lake.The date of this tournament is March 13th and 14th. For those of youup north that want to get an early start on your fishing season, youmight want to consider this tournament. Information on this tournamentwill be available at the Chicago Muskie Show and on the Illinois MuskieTournament Trail web sight. You can also contact me Walt Krause bye-mail at [email protected]. I will be handling all the entry forms forthis tournament.

Remember I’m in the other Lund, Walt Krause

Elections for chapter officers took place in November and theresults are: Bob Petzke – President, Craig Ader – Vice President,Treasurer – Nancy Hinkforth, Nikki Moskaluk – Secretary, and RonGroeschl – RVP. We thank Tom Arvoy for serving as president and tomembers and board members for their efforts in 2009.

As a follow-up to the first annual Veterans’ outing held onSeptember 19th, November’s general meeting began with VeteransTom Wolter and Jim Paar from Mukwanago VFW post 7221 presentinga framed certificate of appreciation in recognition of exceptional supportof our veterans. Afterward, Ed Foster presented “hunting with hawksand falcons,” and Ed had his goshawk in attendance. While this wasn’tmuskie related, Ed did a spectacular job detailing life with a goshawkand capturing the audiences’ attention. With so few licensed falconersin Wisconsin, it was a rare view into falconry – “the taking of wild quar-ry in its natural state and habitat using a trained bird of prey.”http://www.wisconsinfalconers.org/

Show season is upon us, and Pat Kilps has been working on a newdisplay system. We need assistance with the Milwaukee Muskie Expofor setting up and taking down the booth as well as manning the boothduring show hours. The show hours are Friday February 12th noon -9PM, Saturday 9AM - 6PM, and Sunday 9AM - 4PM.

Bill Weyers has taken over the reigns as Members Only FishingContest Chapter Chair. Mike Phelps will assist Bill as needed in the tran-sition; we welcome Bill into this role. If you need to mail your entries, sendthem to Bill at 14340 W Rogers Dr, New Berlin, WI 53151. Bill’s e-mailaddress is [email protected] and his phone number is 262-796-8055.

January 26th is the next general meeting. February’s meeting is onthe 23rd. The search for a banquet chairman continues. Please contactTom Arvoy if you have any interest.

Mike Phelps

NOTICE: OUR MEETING LOCATION HAS PERMANENTLY CHANGED.Please be aware that ALL Fox River Valley Chapter monthly meet-

ings and banquets will be held at: Chandlers Chop House at theSchaumburg Golf Club, 401 N. Roselle Rd. Schaumburg, IL 60194

Dinner will be available starting at 6PM. Cost will be $12/adultsand $7/kids under 12. Call (847) 885-9009 or check out: www.chandler-schophouse.com/directions.php

For the record, the FRV Board of Directors made the decision tomove to Chandlers to provide our chapter members with better food,service, and a larger venue as our chapter grows in 2010 and beyond.

Please join us on Thursday, January 7th for a very special eveningwith Steve Heiting, managing editor of Musky Hunter magazine. Steveis also co-owner of the University of Esox Musky Schools and conductsseminars for sport shows and fishing clubs throughout the Midwest.Each year he serves as the master of ceremonies for the NationalChampionship Musky Open, the largest musky tournament in the world.

Please join us on Wednesday, February 10th when one of our clubsfavorite guest speakers Tony Grant, serves up another great education-al event. Tony spends nearly 275 days on the water and gives dozens ofenlightening seminars each year. Tony is a 9-time PMTT Ranger BoatsChampionship qualifier; he has numerous top ten finishes and champi-onships to his credit. He has also written several educational articlespublished in Mid West Outdoors, Outdoor Notebook, the SouthernSporting Journal and is a contributing writer for Musky Hunter Magazine.

A few key events to mark down on your calendars: The ChicagoMuskie Show at Harper College is January 8-10. The annual FRV ban-quet & fundraiser is on Saturday evening, February 20 at Chandlers.The Deerfield Muskie Show is February 27-28.


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MilwaukeeP.O. Box 28842 • Greenfield, WI 53228

262-542-9997www.milwaukeemuskiesinc.com

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

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

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

www.shawneemuskiehunters.org

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39Fox River Valley

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

www.frvmuskie.com

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

Central WisconsinP.O. Box 263 • Medford, WI 54451

715-748-4874 – Art Klimpkewww.centralwis.co.nr

Meets 2nd Thursday of the month at Happy Joe’s on Hwy. 13 in Medford, WI- 7:00 PM.

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For additional information on our events and club outings pleasevisit our website at www.frvmuskie.com. Our meetings are held on thesecond Wednesday of every month at the Schaumburg Golf inSchaumburg, IL at Chandlers Chop House. Dinner is available toeveryone beginning at 6:00PM and the meetings start promptly at7:00PM in room “D”.

Kevin Bushnick, Youth Fishing Director

Lynn Frazier’s family members, friends and Daniel Boone Chaptermembers of Muskies, Inc. joined together on November 20, 2009 at theRawlings-Stinson Park in Manchester to acknowledge Lynn’s contribu-tions and enjoyment of muskie fishing. A tulip poplar tree, the KY statetree, and a monument stone were placed at the park to commemorateLynn’s efforts for muskie fishing in the southeastern streams of KY andfor successfully supporting the “catch and release” program, thus build-ing trophy muskie fishing in the area.

Scott Smalley, President

Hello Muskies, Inc. members from around the country. Here inBuckeye country we have had a great fall bite. We have had some real-ly nice fish caught during our cooling off period. Our home lake,Caesars Creek (CC), located just outside Wilmington Ohio has still notgiven up that 50 incher yet but we have had two lost at boat side thatwas pushing it real hard this fall.

SOMA56 has applied for a grant to use towards a lake clean up atCC. The grant is for up to $2000.00 to help with the expenses accruedfor the one day job. Club members will be donating their time and wehave had some offers for help from a couple other organizations. Thisevent will be scheduled in the early part of May 2010.

At our Nov. 10th meeting we had Bob Otto from Lowrance talkabout the latest technology and answer questions on current units wehave mounted on our boats. We also accepted nominations of officersfor the 2010 fishing season for the elections in December.

SOMA56 had a lure auction on our website than ran from 11/01/09thru 11/07/09. This was a big success for our club in its efforts to helpsupport the Ohio Minnow Fund, which supports the ODNR Muskiestocking program here in the Buckeye state. I would not hesitate to saythat we will be having our second annual auction in 2010. Thanks toeveryone for the donations and also to the bidders.

SOMA56 will be participating in two fishing shows this year. Ourgoal is to make sport fisherman more aware of SW Ohio’s Muskie fish-ing opportunities, answer questions that anyone may have aboutMuskie fishing and hopefully gain some new memberships.

The first show is brand new this year and is in our backyard. The“Dayton Fishing and Hunting Show” will run Jan. 8th, 9th and 10th. It willbe held at the Dayton Expo Center. Here is the link to their website.www.daytonhuntingandfishingshow.com

The second show we will attend is the well known “Ohio MuskieShow”. This is a great show for us Muskie heads. There are alwaysgreat speakers and tons of Muskie fishing stuff to drain our wallets on.This event will be at the famous Buckeye Hall of Fame Café’ in Februaryon the 26th, 27th and 28th. Here is the link to their website for more info.www.ohiomuskieshow.com

Stop in at our website www.soma56.com and check out everythingwe have going on in Southwest Ohio.

Don Knight

Hello “Musketeers”,Well here we are another brand new year upon us…welcome

2010! We have survived yet another year of Tournaments, Events,Seminars, Helping out the WDFW, and Muskie Schools out here in thegreat North West and we have loved every minute of it! To all our greatChapter members I would just like to say “thanks” your support in2009…and let’s go get 2010!

We will be starting out the year spending time educating andanswering many, many questions from our Muskies, Inc. booth at theSportsmen’s Show in Puyallup…January 27- 31. We would love tohave you stop by the booth to say “hello”.

We also have a dynamite “tourney” schedule this year for you“adventurous” type’s that would like to come out to visit us inWashington! We have some of the best “Tiger” hunting in the UnitedStates! 50 inch minimum limit! Cool, clear water…it is pretty amazing!I know I was astounded by it all…even after fishing the “Chip” for manyyears. It’s a whole new “ball game” in these waters! We would love tohave some more visitors this year! Come fish a “tourney” with us. We’lltell you which lures work best…reallyJ

Congrats to our 2009 Winners: Mr. Mike Floyd for winning our“Angler of the Year Award”. Mike was also our “Tournament Champion”for 2009. Congrats, also go out to Mr. Norm Dillon for winning our“Biggest Fish”… a 48.5 x 25 inch tiger…featured on the cover of theJuly 2009 issue of the “Muskie” magazine. Way to go gentlemen! Untilnext time, may the fishing Gods smile down upon you my friends! Havea great 2010!

Perry Peterson

Daniel Boone813 US 62, Maysville, KY 41056

Phone: 606.759-7610 • e-mail: [email protected]: Larry X. Besant

Meets on Fridays-call or email.

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SW Ohio Muskie Ass’n524 Sterling Meadows Place • Brookville, OH 45309

(937) 833-1833 • Email: [email protected] are the second Tuesday of each month, Marion’sPizza Wagner Ford Rd. 7:00 pm.

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

www.nwtigermuskies.orgemail: [email protected]

Hot line: (253) 850-5889 • Perry Peterson, President

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Happy Holidays to everyone. Hope your 2009 musky season wasgreat one. As the season comes to a close, the boats are stored for thewinter and the lakes begin to freeze, Chapter 58 is already preparing forthe 2010 Musky Fishing Season. We have a great season planned.The 2009 Board of Directors would like to thank everyone for there ded-ication and support. We welcome a few new faces to the 2010 LSCMIBoard of Directors; their help will allow us to have an even better 2010season.Here are some dates to remember for the 2010 Season.Jan 7-10 Ultimate Fishing Show, Rock Financial Showplace, Novi, MIJan 29 2nd Annual Bowling Night Fundraiser, Harbor Lanes, SCSFeb 21 1st Annual Ice Fishing Derby, Anchor Bay, MIMarch 18 General Membership MeetingApril 15 General Membership MeetingMay 20 General Membership MeetingJune 4-6 Muskie Madness Tournament – Lake St. ClairJune 27 3rd Annual Kids Fishing DayJuly 15 General Membership Mtg. on the water - LSCAug 13-15LSC Big Show Shootout Muskie Tournament – LSCAug 21 Muskamout Bay Raftoff Party – LSCSept 23 General Membership Meeting – Big Bait Nite/Lure SwapOct 9 Region #2 Annual Fall Meeting – St.Clair Shores, MI

I hope to see everyone there and look forward to many new facesas well. In late part of 2009 we begun to build our new website and withsome luck it will be up and running as you read this, so please stop andcheck us out! www.lscmi.com Please feel free to drop us a line andgive us your thoughts. Our goal is to make the website as interactiveand up to date as possible, providing an easy to use tool for our mem-bers and soon to be members. We had some very big fish caught thispast season and things really seem to be only improving on LSC. We

also want to Thank Mike Thomas (Fisheries Biologist for the Mich.DNR) for his impressive presentation at our December GeneralMembership Meeting.

Once the lake is frozen, it is a great time to get to a fishing showor out on the lake for some ice fishing. It is also a great time to preparefor the upcoming season. Get those reels relined, leaders retied andstart sharpening or replacing those old hooks. Anyone looking into join-ing an active and fun family oriented club please write, or visit our web-site: www.lscmi.com Until next month, Happy Holidays from all of usto all of you.

Mark Kornosky, VP

Fall is turning into winter here, but we’re still fishing. BluewaterLake has been closed for the winter due to budget cuts, but Quemadois still producing. One member reported a three-fish day in lateNovember, but by the time you read this the lake will probably be closeto frozen (yes, our lakes freeze for a month or so). This will give us achance to start our winter project..

This winter, we will be building fish attractor structures forBluewater Lake, with plans to place them in early spring once the ice isout. Bluewater Lake does not have much natural cover, so the 20 orso Christmas trees should really help provide refuge. We are workingwith the state to identify and document the best locations and getapproval for the project.

On November 14, we held our first youth fishing clinic at a smalllocal pond, which had been stocked with rainbow trout. Ten kids whohad never fished before got to catch their first fish. In addition to theirfresh trout meal, each of them went home with a list of local fishingwaters and a kids fishing combo from Los Pinos fly shop. Hopefully wecreated some new fisherman, and gave them a healthy activity to enjoyin the future. More details and pictures are on the website - you cantell by the smiles that everybody had a blast.

Chris Nordquist

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

(505) 363-4624www.newmexicomuskiesinc.org

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

St. Clair Shores, MI 48080586-873-5781 - Joe Lockemy, President

www.lscmi.comMeets 3rd Tuesday 7:00pm at The Sports Channel Bar & Restaurant, 25419Jefferson, St. Clair Shores, MI.

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SPORT SHOW LOCATORCalendar of upcoming events in 2010EVENT NAME/ &

DATES WEBSITE LOCATION CITY STATE PHONE

Jan. 8-10 Chicago Muskie Show Harper College Palatine IL 847/328-6200www.chicagomuskieshow.com

Jan. 7-10 Ultimate Fishing Show Rock Financial Showplace Novi MI 800/328-6550www.showspan.com

Feb. 12-14 Milwaukee Muskie Expo Wisconsin State Fair Park West Allis WI 608/445-4645www.muskieexpo.com

Feb. 26-28 Madison Fishing Show Exhibition Hall at the Madison WI 608/245-1040www.madfishexpo.com Alliant Center

Feb. 26-28 Ohio Muskie Show Buckeye Hall of Fame Café Columbus OH 513/600-3457www.ohiomuskieshow.com

Mar. 5-7 Illinois Fishing & Outdoor Expo Indoor Sports Center Rockford IL 815/877-8043www.showtimeproduction.net

April 9-11 Minnesota Muskie Expo Concordia University St. Paul MN 763/786-6031www.minnesotamuskieexpo.com

MUSKIES, INC.1509 Stahl RoadSheboygan, WI 53081

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Here’s Evan Twa of Chapter 02 with his personal best,a 45 inch fish caught from Lobster Lake in Minnesota in

October of last year. Nice fish Evan.

Chapter 42’s Jeremy Sivis caught his personal bestin the first 15 minutes of his trip to LOTW in July of

2009, a 44 inch figure 8 fish. Nice job.

Here is a great release shot of a fish caught in 2009by Dave Weyland of the Twin Cities Chapter. Terrific

facial expression and an awesome fish as well.

Here is Kris Dietz doing a figure 8 on Caesar Lake inOhio. Her husband Tom says it was a picture-perfect

morning. I agree, great shot.

Here it is!!! Bob Collins of the Fargo-MoorheadChapter finally caught a 50+ inch fish. He

released this beauty last fall. Nice fish Bob.

Here’s the first muskie for Headwaters Chapter memberScott Vanderventer. He caught it using a live sucker

fishing in Wisconsin. Nice start Scott.

Michael Winther of Chapter 08 snapped this awe-some shot of a black bear going ashore on Lake

of the Woods.

Chuck Veith of the South Side Muskie Hawkssent in this great silhouette shot he took last

year. Very nice photo Chuck.

David Seaton of Chapter 08 caught this 53 inchmuskie from Lake Vermilion in MN. in August of 2009.

jan muskie.pdfemail: [email protected] vice president/communications, dale vercauteren...

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