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

1-888-710-8286

Regular Membership: ❑ 1 Year-$35.00* ❑ 2 Years-$65.00 ❑ 3 Years- $95.00Family Membership: ❑ 1 Year-$47.50* ❑ 2 Years-$90.00 ❑ 3 Years-$132.50Junior Membership (Under 18): ❑ $20.00* ❑ For Donation $________ * Addresses outside the U.S. must add an additional $15 per year (U.S. funds) to cover postage.

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ContentsMUSKIE • VOl. 49, NO. 3

Join Muskies, Inc. ...or give a member ship as a gift.

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MUSKIE magazine is published six times each year and is the Official Publication of Muskies, Inc.Ellen Wells, Administrative Secretary, 1509 Stahl Road, Sheboygan, WI 53081. Ph: 1-888-710-8286.© Copyright 2014 by Muskies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Departments1 About the Cover, Sean Landsman2 President’s Message, Carl Phillips3 Index of Advertisers4 MUSKIE News5 Lunge Log, Dan Koniewicz8 Figure 8, Sean Landsman13 Photo Contest, Brad Waldera17 Member Photos, Brad Waldera23 Chapter News and Views

Features9 James T. Smith Tribute, Steve Budnik, Dan Narsete, Juris Ozols, and Kevin Richards10 Muskies, Inc. Camaraderie, Kevin Butts14 Rock ‘N Roll Muskies, Joe Bucher18 Meat and Potatoes, Ace Sommerfeld20 Planning for a Trip, Rick Helm

www.muskiesinc.org May / June 2015.....MUSKIE 1

About the CoVeRhow can you not smile when seeing a kid holding a big

muskie? Pictured here is Lucas Vanden elzen. he’s five years old. that muskie he’s holding? he caught it on a spin-nerbait while fishing the Wisconsin River. According to Lucas’ father, Joe Vanden elzen (Chapter 26), landing the beast was a team effort as Lucas’ younger brother, Carson, was also in the boat and cleared rods during the battle. Joe netted the muskie and in the process, netted a mem-ory that will last a lifetime. Congrats Lucas, Carson, and Joe!

- Sean

Board of DirectorsExecutive CommitteePresident, Carl PhillipsPhone: 612-709-8066Email: [email protected]

VP Finance/Treasurer, Jim ShannonPhone: 763-434-9729Email: [email protected]

VP Fisheries & Research, Elmer Heyob Phone: 937-309-5359Email: [email protected]

VP Internal Affairs, Dan KoniewiczPhone: 847-682-9238 Email: [email protected]

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

VP Communications, Ron TeschnerPhone: 701-640-0544Email: [email protected]

VP Youth Activities, Kevin BushnickPhone: 847-987-3622Email: [email protected]

Corporate Secretary, Carl PhillipsPhone: 612-709-8066Email: [email protected]

Past-President, Dan NarseteEmail: [email protected] Regional Representatives are also

Executive Committee Members

Regional RepresentativesRegion 1 Term Expires *Greg Kvale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2016 Eric Schultz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2014 Jeff Young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2015Region 2 *Jeff Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2015 Robert Petzke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2016 Joe Heil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2017Region 3 *Jim Evers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2015 James Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2015 Jack Moga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2015Region 4 *Earle Hammond. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2015 Frank Walter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2016 Kimberly Cates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2017 * = Senior Regional Representative

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

Executive Accountant, Kathryn GoonPhone: 419-945-2940Email: [email protected]

Merchandising Director, Will SchultzPhone: 616-447-1688Email: [email protected]

Web Master, Randy loeweckePhone: 815-520-3628Email: [email protected]

Happy Mother’s Day! As I write this I have not yet been sworn in as the Annual Board Meeting is a month away. Such are the vagaries of publishing deadlines. My name is Carl Phillips (CP) and I am the President Elect. I have been a member of Chapter 1 (Twin Cities) for many years. I am the outgoing Corporate Secretary of this organization and I have been a Senior Regional Representative of Region One for three years. I am also the Treasurer of the Minnesota Muskie and Pike Alliance (MMPA) and have been involved as an officer of that organi-zation since its inception.

Spring is in the air and with it a new beginning. We make many promises (this year more top water) and buy many baits. Muskies, Inc. begins with a mostly new slate of officers. I look forward to working with our new officers and I thank those who stood for re-election. And I look forward to meeting as many of our members as possible.

Muskies, Inc. is essentially a volunteer organization. I respect that and I have the utmost admiration for all of the volunteers at every level of our organization. There is truly an 80/20 law in our organization. A minority of people do the majority of the work. Again, I thank you all for your time spent on our collective mission.

You will hear several messages repeatedly in this column. One is this- when Gil Hamm and his original 13 set up our organization they intended for the Chapters to be the activity centers of the organization, not the Corporate Board and not the Executive Committee. Your annual dues pay for the not-for-profit platform necessary for the Chapters to function. At our current membership level the dues and the associated costs of the platform are about even. At our membership level we are breaking even. When you receive your calendar and when you pay your

The President’s Messageby Carl Phillips, Muskies, Inc. President

Email: [email protected]

2 MUSKIE..... May / June 2015

MUSKIE Magazine StaffEDITOR & MAGAZINE DESIGNAmy Penza105 Fairview laneNekoosa, WI 54457Phone: (715) 213-7206Email: [email protected]

ASSISTANT EDITORSean landsmanPhone: (217) 649-4449Email: [email protected] CONTEST EDITORBrad WalderaPhone: (701) 403-5882Email: [email protected] LOG EDITORMembers Only Fishing ContestJim BunchPhone: (715) 226-0295Email: [email protected] SALES TEAMKevin Richards, Advertising ManagerPhone: (573) 280-2300Email: [email protected] SALES REPRESENTATIVES:Harlan FierstinePhone: (218) 255-3461 Email: [email protected] PischkePhone: (920) 676-7893Email: [email protected] ACCOUNT MANAGERSunray Printing Solutions, Inc. - Stacey ThielenILLUSTRATORS/CARTOONISTSRichard Gross, Charles WeissFIELD EDITORSPatricia Strutz, Ace Sommerfeld,Kevin Pischke, Kevin Richards, Rick Helm, Adam M. Glickman

MUSKIE is published exclusively for the membership of Muskies, Inc. and subscriptions come with a paid membership. Muskies, Inc. is a non-profit organiza-tion. Membership classes and associated annual dues are listed on the form at the bottom of page one. Copies of MUSKIE magazine are available at $3.00 each from the Muskies, Inc. Administrative Secretary.Contributors grant rights for M.I. to publish once in MUSKIE Magazine, both the print and on-line versions, including archives and on the M.I. Web site.

dues consider rounding up or a tax-deductible gift. We can use the help.The regionalization of Muskies, Inc. was very well intended but it

served to cut off the Chapters from the Corporate Board. We want to re-create communication between the Chapters and the Board. In fact you will have noticed a proxy you received to increase our Board size. We felt it necessary to seek your approval in order to create a larger Board to assure a flow of information among widely separated Chapters throughout the organization. The regions will continue to exist to keep local Chapters in touch with each other and to continue a place for each Region on the Executive Committee.

I want to begin a tele-conference with all chapters. It makes sense to schedule this shortly after our monthly Executive Committee tele-call so we can keep everyone up to speed with our national issues. We need volunteers at every level. We have many Committee positions available. Volunteers at the national level are incredibly important to bring in a wide variety of people, ideas and efforts.

We have been successful at drawing in new members to Muskies, Inc. but much less successful at keeping members. We need to focus on member retention at every level. If your Chapter has a retention pro-gram that works please let us know.

Respect our volunteers. It’s ok to disagree but it is not ok to be dis-agreeable. Our target species is a top of the line predator and it attracts a few top of the line egos. Always remember that we are all working toward the same goals.

Money, volunteers, communication and member retention are what makes our world go ‘round. You will hear more about these as we go on.

I would be remiss if I did not thank our outgoing officers for their time and dedication. These individuals have spent many hours on our behalf. We are in awe of your dedication and perseverance. Thank you.

Tight lines. - CP

CHAOS TACKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22CHAPTER 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27FITTANTE REPLICAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33HUGH BECKER MUSKIE SYMPOSIUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 HANSON’S KING ISLAND LODGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5JOE BUCHER OUTDOORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14LAKEWOOD PRODUCTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10LURE PARTS ONLINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6RED WING LODGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9ST . CROIX RODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFCT’S TACKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13TIMBER BREEZE RESORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16YOUNG’S WILDERNESS CAMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

May / June 2015.....MUSKIE 3

Persons interested in submitting material for publication should contact the Editor.

Contributors grant rights for M.I. to publish once in MUSKIE Magazine, both the print and on-line versions, including archives

and on the M.I. website.

Submissions toMUSKIE Magazine

www.muskiesinc.org

sustain a trophy fishery in this area. May - $2,500• To assist the Park Rapids, MN DNR in assessing the muskie spawning habitat on Mantrap Lake in the first phase of the three year study. May - $1,500• To help fund the Fin Rays for Estimating Age of Muskellunge research study in Wisconsin waters by Lake Superior State University (Dr. Derek Crane). May - $5,000• To support the Youth Program of the St. Cloud Chapter (Chapter 37) of Muskies, Inc. May - $2,000• To partially fund the Montrose, MN, Fisheries Offices of DNR with their pit-tagging study on the Sauk River Chain of Lakes through the St. Cloud Chapter (Chapter 37) of Muskies, Inc. May - $1,500 • To provide partial support to the Wisconsin DNR through the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Points for the Electrofishing catchability of young-of-year Muskellunge in Northern Wisconsin lakes. June - $5,000• For continued support of the Youth Conservation Alliance (YCA) programs of Muskies, Inc. June - $4,000• To assist the Twin Cities Chapter (Chapter 1) of Muskies, Inc., in supplying funds for additional heating for the St. Paul, MN Hatchery. June - $2,000• To support the Lake Simco restoration project through Muskies Canada. September - $4,000• To support the stocking program of the Penn/Jersey Chapter (Chapter 50) of Muskies, Inc. September - $2,500• To support the Twelve Apostles Musky Club with their stock-ing program for the Central Wisconsin River project. September - $3,000• To support Bill’s Musky Club in stocking Lake Wausau, Rib River, and the Wisconsin River Flowage. September - $3,000• To provide funds to the Twin Cities Chapter (Chapter 1) of Muskies, Inc., for their Metro Lakes stocking projects. October - $4,000

Welcome Bill and Lorin to the MUSKIE TeamLast issue we placed an “ad” in this section asking for a volun-

teer proofreader for MUSKIE. The response was great, so thank you to all that sent in your resumes. We “hired” two proofers instead of just one. Meet Bill Stein and Lorin Nevling in their personal introductions below.

Bill Stein - I have been fishing muskies for over sixteen years. I’m blessed to live on a great muskie lake in north central Minnesota, I belong to the Brainerd Chapter of Muskies, Inc. Every fall my wife Terry and I make a pilgrimage to Wiley Point Lodge on Lake of the Woods where last year Terry caught her first 50 incher, I am still waiting, my personal best is 49.5 inches. I am a semi-retired dentist and for the last thirty one years have been an editor for Northwest Dentistry magazine, the journal of the Minnesota Dental Association. I look forward to being able to help proofread the copy submitted to MUSKIE. Keep those great articles coming!

Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. - I am a retired research biologist and research administrator with publication and editorial experience. My wife, Janet, and I married in 1957 and have five (always-interesting) children and six very promising grandchildren. Over the years I have held a variety of positions in MI both at the Chapter and Corporate level. I look forward to adding Proofreader to my long list of titles within MI. I am a member of Chapter 28, Shawnee Muskie Hunters.

Our Annual Board Meeting will be held on April 18th, 2015 in Green Bay Wisconsin. This year the location of

the meeting is at the Tundra Lodge. It is located on Lombardi and Ashland Avenue right down the street from

Lambeau Field. 2015 Hugh C. Becker Foundation Awards Announcement

The Twin Cities Chapter of Muskies, Inc. and the Hugh C. Becker Grant Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of Grants for 2015. With these awards, the total of benefits issued since the beginning of the program (in 2008) will be greater than $960,000.00

The order of funding dates for 2015, with amounts totaling $119,500 are as follows:

• To complete the Twin Cites Grant Committee commitment to the upcoming Muskie Symposium in 2016. February - $30,000• To contribute to the growth of the Minnesota High School Muskie Fishing Championship headed by the North Metro Chapter (Chapter 21) of Muskies, Inc. February - $2,000• To help fund the various projects of stocking, research, and MN DNR fisheries equipment through the North Metro Chapter (Chapter 21) of Muskies, Inc. February - $5,000 • To provide continued needed equipment for increased muskie rearing at the New London, MN Hatchery Facilities. March - $10,000• To assist and upgrade aerators for Lake Rebecca brood stock efforts of the MN DNR through both the Twin Cities and North Metro Chapters, Chapter 1 and 21 respectively. March - $6,000.00• To upgrade the fencing project at the Spooner, WI hatchery facilities through the Hayward Chapter (Chapter 13) of Muskies, Inc. March - $4,000 • To contribute to the Minnesota Muskie and Pike Alliance (MMPA) political lobbying efforts for related issues within the State of Minnesota. March - $4,000• To provide partial funding for Genetic Analysis of Minnesota Muskellunge Populations (research) by the University of Minnesota (Loren Miller). April - $9,000• To provide funding to the Twin Cities Chapter (Chapter 1) of Muskies, Inc., to grow their participation in the Minnesota High School Muskie Fishing Championship. April - 2,500• For continuing the pit-tagging research by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) for the Lake Canadohta, Tionesta Lake, and Edinboro Lake in Northwest Pennsylvania (Crawford/Warren Counties) by Brian Ensign. May - $2,000• To partially fund the efforts of the Mountain Muskies Chapter (Chapter 60) of Muskies, Inc., to study age class, condition, and longevity in Washington State tiger muskie lakes. May - $5,000• To assist the Lake Superior Chapter (Chapter 33) of Muskies, Inc., in their three-year study (2015 - 2017) of the St. Louis River estuary to ascertain muskie population and movement to



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FIRST CATCH OF 2015In doing research for the Lunge Log I found that there

is an interesting competition beginning each New Year’s Day among some members of Muskies, Inc. Being a member and living in balmy Northern Illinois, I would never have been aware or even thought that this happens. It is the competition to catch and register the first muskie into the Lunge Log. The man who did catch the first muskie this year was, in fact, out on New Year’s Day with this goal in mind. Tom Sabia, President of the Penn-Jersey Chapter 50, registered the first muskie of the year in the

Member’s Only Contest. Tom told me that during that January 1st outing he talked to several members out on the water trying to accomplish the same task. The fish was caught on a Musky Treat jerkbait at about noon on New Year’s Day from the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania. The fish measured in at 37 inches and was a gorgeous hybrid. Tom was fishing by himself and was unable to get a picture. Congratulations to Tom on meeting his personal goal for the day.

JANUARY LUNKER!I had the pleasure of talking to one of our Muskies,

Inc. legends, Bill Looney, when researching the January Lunker of the Month. Bill has been fishing for muskies for many years. He has been making Amma Bama lures since the 1970s and still makes about 800 custom baits a year. After his retirement in 2012, Bill went on a personal quest to catch 100 muskies in a calendar year. He did accomplish his quest, which is well documented in a story “John McCoy” written for the West Virginia Gazette.

Now that brings us to the January Lunker of the month. While many of us Northern folk are wrapped up in our blankets staying warm watching muskie shows, Bill is out fishing. In fact, on December 31st, 2014, Bill was out on the Elk River fishing on a 27-degree day and caught a 34-inch and 41-inch fish. As he was taking the boat out for the day he noticed about 30 turkeys on the riverbank across from him and thought to himself, “what a great day”. Little did he know that the next day would be better.

The morning of January 1st he got a call from his friend, Johnny Paine, to see if Bill wanted to do some fishing. Based on the results from the day before, Bill was in and knew exactly the approach they needed to do to catch some fish that day. The day was another nice one for early winter, about 26 degrees and cloudy. Just after noon, Johnny boated a mid-30 inch fish to make the day a successful one for muskie fishing. Bill knew the day was not over. He kept on casting away with his Amma Bama crankbait, bouncing it off the riverbed until he felt that proverbial head shake. Once hooked, Bill knew it was a big fish. When it got up to the 12-foot John boat, Johnny told Bill that it was a good one and it was at least a 48-inch fish. Johnny grabbed the net and made a quick attempt to net the fish and missed. The fish was spooked by the net and peeled off a quick 30 feet of line and did a jump. All Bill kept saying was “Please don’t get off”. The next time around, Johnny netted the fish and the rest is history. It is Bill’s

Bill Looney (Chapter 50) holding his 50.5 inch January Lunker of the Month muskie.

Chapter City State Muskies Caught Points Avg. Muskie

Length (inches)1 David Goodrich 59 Prewitt NM 24 206 352 Matt Pelletier 59 Albuquerque NM 14 135 363 Mike Woelfel 52 Ona WV 9 98 374 Shaun Cox 52 Sandy Hook KY 8 91 375 Bryan T. Smith 52 Huntington WV 6 78 396 Taylor Linkous 9 Blacksburg VA 5 77 417 Seth Davis 52 Hazard KY 4 75 458 Brandon Schorle 39 Elgin IL 6 65 379 Scott M. Donovan 28 Carbondale IL 7 53 3410 Nick Gibson 9 Philippi WV 3 45 4111 David S. Jones 9 Huntington WV 3 42 4012 Kevin Butts 3 Chicago IL 3 30 3613 Daniel Buzzard 9 Harrisville WV 2 29 4114 Greg Knight 9 Harrisville WV 3 27 3515 Tom Sabia 50 Perkiomenville PA 2 23 3816 Earle Hammond 5 Urbana MO 3 23 3417 Tom Watson 41 Powell OH 1 18 4418 Doug Manley 59 Albuquerque NM 2 17 3519 Sam Reichenbach 18 Cadiz OH 2 16 3420 Jeff Jaras 39 Lombard IL 2 13 33

Rank / Member Name

Men's Division for 2015


Length (inches)1 Charles R. Carpenter 9 Harrisville WV 12 149 382 Bob D. Marshall 19 Bowerston OH 6 75 393 Edward T. Lawton 9 Blacksburg VA 4 64 424 Bill Looney 9 Amma WV 4 57 405 Walter Krause 28 Collinsville IL 3 36 386 John Cade 9 Clarington OH 1 21 477 Frank L. Maus 31 Kittanning PA 1 20 468 David White 18 Moundsville WV 2 19 369 John Ringenbach 19 Lakewood OH 1 17 4310 Phillip Gutmann 39 Lake In The Hills IL 1 14 40

Men's Masters Division for 2015 Top 10

Rank / Member Name


Length (inches)1 Donna Bork 11 Davenport IA 1 14 402 Vickie Banks 52 Wellington KY 1 10 36

Rank / Member Name

Women's Division for 2015



Length (inches)1 Chase Gibson 9 Philippi WV 4 37 352 Ethan Cain 39 Gilberts IL 2 14 33

Rank / Member Name

Junior's Division for 2015

The rules & regulations for submitting to the Lunge Log are on the Muskies, Inc.

website. The same ones have been there since 2005.

– Log in to our website.– In the left column click Lunge Log, then in the right column under Hot Links click Release Forms, then click Lunge Log Registration Page 2.– Scroll down to the bottom of the page and there they are.

Lure Parts Online, Inc., 580 North Street, Springfield, IL 62704

“...build better baits...”

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Chapter Length Date Caught Lake County State Lure

1 Bill Looney 9 50.50 1/1/2015 Elk River Braxton WV Amma Bamma2 Bob D. Marshall 19 48.00 3/25/2015 Piedmont Belmont OH Tuff Shad Jerk3 Daniel Buzzard 9 47.00 3/21/2015 Mid. Island Creek Pleasants WV Grandma Crank4 John Cade 9 46.50 1/2/2015 Stonecoal Lake Lewis WV Bull Dawg Jerk5 Seth Davis 52 46.50 1/25/2015 Kentucky River SF Clay KY Red October6 Bryan T. Smith 52 46.25 1/11/2015 Jackson River Alleghany VA Red October7 Frank L. Maus 31 46.00 1/4/2015 Allegheny River Armstrong PA Rapala Magnum8 Walter Krause 28 46.00 1/28/2015 Kaskaskia River Shelby IL Storm Wild Eye9 Seth Davis 52 45.00 1/18/2015 Kentucky River SF Clay KY Deadhead Jerk10 David S. Jones 9 45.00 1/20/2015 Kentucky River SF Clay KY Sidewinder11 Charles R. Carpenter 9 45.00 1/22/2015 NF Hughes River Ritchie WV Crane Bait12 Shaun Cox 52 45.00 3/7/2015 Cave Run Reservoir Rowan KY Myers Lil Evil13 Mike Woelfel 52 45.00 3/8/2015 New River Giles VA Hellbender14 Taylor Linkous 9 44.75 1/4/2015 New River Montgomery VA Bondy Bait15 Edward T. Lawton 9 44.50 2/27/2015 New River Montgomery VA Shallow Raider16 Taylor Linkous 9 44.00 1/4/2015 New River Montgomery VA Bondy Bait17 Seth Davis 52 44.00 2/8/2015 Kentucky River SF Clay KY Bull Dawg Jerk18 Edward T. Lawton 9 44.00 2/27/2015 New River Montgomery VA Shallow Raider19 Tom Watson 41 44.00 3/11/2015 Alum Creek Delaware OH Muskie Extreme20 Shaun Cox 52 44.00 3/27/2015 Cave Run Reservoir Rowan KY Krusher21 Bill Looney 9 43.00 1/2/2015 Elk River Braxton WV Amma Bamma22 John Ringenbach 19 43.00 3/1/2015 James River Botetourt VA Fly23 Taylor Linkous 9 42.75 3/12/2015 New River Montgomery VA Bondy Bait24 Seth Davis 52 42.50 3/22/2015 Kentucky River SF Clay KY Shum Shum25 Charles R. Carpenter 9 42.00 2/1/2015 NF Hughes River Ritchie WV Crane Bait

Top 25 Releases for 2015Rank / Member

Name

fourth 50-inch muskie out of West Virginia and his first in the month of January. As you can see in the photo, it is a great looking specimen. Congrats to Bill for catching the January Lunker of the Month.

FEBRUARY LUNKER!In doing the research on tracking down the owner of

the February Lunker of the Month, I got the pleasure of engaging in muskie talk with Ed Lawton. In fact, when I called Ed, he was out on the river doing some fishing. Ed is with West Virginia Chapter 9 and is a long time member. Ed has been able to capture the Lunker on the Month in the past. He says his only opportunity for a lunker comes in the early part of the year before season opens for us Northern members. The fish that Ed caught was 44.5 inches and is still swimming in the New River of Virginia. During the day Ed boated two other muskies. Ed told me that the New River is a great fishery and has some trophy potential. His personal best out of the body of water is a 53 inch monster he caught back in 2003. That fish was also a Muskies, Inc. Lunker of the month. Let’s all congratulate Ed on the February Lunker catch.

NEW FOR THE MEMBERS ONLY CONTEST, “FLY FISHING”

I am happy to announce that Muskies, Inc. will be adding a new category to the Members Only Contest for all of you fly fishermen out there. The Muskies, Inc. board recently approved six awards for this category, one being awarded for the largest release. Five awards will be given out to the members that have collected the greatest number of release points in the category. You will be able to follow along with the standings on the Lunge Log online and we will also add the standings here in the MUSKIE Magazine.

I have to thank Patrick Krumenacker, President of Chapter 64, the Nittany Valley Musky Alliance and members Phil Smeal and Ed Walzer for bringing to my attention the number of members targeting muskies via fly fishing. They tell me that it is a growing percentage of our membership. These gentlemen have also promised to pen some interesting articles in the future to highlight when, where, and how to catch muskies on flies. I personally look forward to reading some of their material. I hope all of you will also become excited about this new division and give fly fishing for muskies a try this year.

James T Smith (1938 – 2015) The Stott Family (Tammy, Tanya, Sandy, and Dave) for the 2016 Symposium Fund.

Donations listed within this area will require a minimum donation of $25 and must list who it is coming from, years and who it is a memorial/tribute for. Funds should also be designated to a specific

fund per the donor request.

Donations In Memory/Tribute

Using Tact When Advocating for Muskies

Muskies, Inc. is a special interest group dedicated to the sport of muskie fishing and the preservation of muskie fisheries across America. As such, it is our duty to stand up for what we love. This means, among other things, engaging in discussions about the management of muskie fisheries, debunking common misconceptions about muskies, informing the public about why we love to pursue this species, and keeping an eye on potential illegal harvest.

There was a video that surfaced online in 2014 showing an angler on the Detroit River killing an undersized muskie. The video went viral and, as I type this, has over 355,000 views on YouTube. For those that may not have seen it, the story goes something like this. Two anglers using (presumably) a GoPro camera were muskie fishing and in the distance noticed two other anglers in a different boat battling a large fish. As the tape rolls, the other anglers can be seen hauling in a muskie and then you hear an audible “THWACK”. The video rewinds and zooms in on the anglers, clearly depicting one hitting the muskie and then tossing it back into the water. The anglers filming the incident then drive over to the now-dead fish and measure it to confirm it was undersized and proceed to confront the other fishermen about the incident. As the tape contin-ues rolling, the angler who clubbed the muskie becomes increasingly irate, uses some colorful language and essentially says (I’m paraphrasing) every muskie should die.

There was tremendous outrage over the incident and because the video was viewed so many times – including being shared on the Field and Stream website – it became high profile. Officials with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources were noti-fied and an investigation was opened. Eventually, the angler, now identified as Eddie Parent, that killed the muskie was convicted, fined $1,000, and banned from fishing for two years.

Some time later, Canada’s national news network, CBC News, produced a story about online posting and public shaming. One of their case studies? The incident I have just described. The crux of their news piece was the “effectiveness” of public shaming and whether anonymous online posters get carried away.

The reporter interviews Mr. Parent, who talks about the harassment he’s received over the incident. I have read some of the comments on the original YouTube video and while the killing of that muskie was deplor-able and the conviction and penalties levied against Mr. Parent are absolutely justified, some of the comments are atrocious and completely uncalled for.

I trust that no member of Muskies, Inc. engaged in the online harassment of Mr. Parent, or at least if you voiced your displeasure it was done so in a reasonable manner. Hopefully you reading this don’t perceive my text as a suggestion that we sit back and let these things happen; on the contrary, I believe we should speak out against incidents like these. However, do so with tact. Some of the YouTube comments indicate that Eddie should also be clubbed because he killed that muskie. Really? Think before you speak.

And, unlike what happened in this situation, if you are so lucky enough to catch an undersized muskie please release it! Also, don’t forget to wear your sun-screen.


Jim Smith was a game changer, a mentor, an all-around great guy who served as Muskies, Inc. President from 1997-1999 and as Editor of MUSKIE Magazine from 2002-2007.

Jim was born and raised in the Midwest but was a regular visitor to the Wisconsin Northwoods and was a muskie fishing veteran by the time he settled in Colorado. Jim had been a Muskies, Inc. member for some time by 1991, when he was one of the prime movers in getting the new Colorado Chapter started.

By 1993, Jim was hard at work getting hybrid tiger muskies stocked in several Colorado lakes. The fact that he had served as a Colorado Division of Wildlife Commissioner helped for sure. With the success in Colorado, Game and Fish agencies from other states followed suit. States from Washington to Virginia have since planted Tigers in their waters giving thousands of anglers a chance at catching a fish of a lifetime.

Jim was always a good person to discuss ideas with; no muskie issue was too large or too small. By the mid-‘90s it was a foregone conclusion that Jim would end up serving as National MI president, and in 1999 that’s exactly what happened. By that time Jim was organizing some fairly impressive youth fishing events in Colorado with some events involving over 1,400 kids on multiple Denver area lakes.

Jim was accorded MI’s highest honor in 2002 with his induction into the MI Hall of Fame. Time to retire? Not James T. for sure. He took on the job of Editor of MUSKIE Magazine and held that job for five years, becoming Editor Emeritus in 2007. Jim made the time to recruit, train and mentor his MUSKIE successor. During his years as Editor of MUSKIE, Jim made the magazine a quality publication fea-turing color, photographs, and many great articles. During those years MUSKIE was published monthly and he put in many long hours on the job.

In 2013 he was inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator, in recogni-tion of the 100-plus fishing articles he authored over the years.

Jim’s dedication, leader-ship and dry sense of humor will be missed, but not for-gotten. A life well lived, and lived to the fullest, to be sure. Rest in peace our muskie friend. Jim passed away in Arizona on January 31, 2015 after a lingering illness.

www.muskiesinc.org March / April 2015.....MUSKIE 9

Contributing Authors: Steve Budnik (Past MI President), Dan Narsete (Past MI President), Juris Ozols (Past Assistant MUSKIE Editor), and Kevin Richards (Past MUSKIE Editor)

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I became obsessed with muskies during my first trip to Canada in 1998 at the age of 11. The 46.5-inch Lake of the Woods muskie crushed my chartreuse Buchertail in the figure eight as stormy skies loomed overhead. That memory still gives me goose bumps. As I look back on 2014, I can’t help but recall many more memorable encounters. In fact, 2014 was my best year ever, but why was that season so great and to whom do I need to give credit? I’ve targeted muskies many days each season since meeting our Assistant Editor, Sean Landsman, as an undergraduate student, but why did things seem to come together last year? Quite simply: Muskies, Inc. I want to take a few moments to express my gratitude for what this organization has to offer all muskie anglers, but especially those with a thirst for knowledge. I’ve advanced more as a muskie angler since joining Muskies, Inc. two years ago than I had in the prior 14 years combined. Why? Because Muskies, Inc. enables its members to learn more, make friends, explore new waters, have fun, create memories and, of course, catch more fish!

How was the New England Patriots’ cornerback, Malcolm Butler, able to anticipate the slant route, make the play of his life and ultimately win Super Bowl XLIX for his squad? If you’re a weekend warrior like me, preparation and research are critical to your success. And, while watching film (i.e., Keyes Outdoors, Joe Bucher and Musky Hunter) will certainly help, I’ve found that active membership in your local Muskies, Inc. chapter is the real driver. The Chicagoland Muskie Hunters (Chapter 03) was fortunate enough to have a phenomenal lineup of speakers this year, and you better believe I was there listening attentively. Fishing is a sport where knowledge-transfer and accumulation are critical to success, and Muskies, Inc. offers its members every opportunity to advance up the learning curve, so take

- Kevin Butts

NEW

NEW

Helpful advice from a fellow muskie angler contributed to the successful capture of this early season fish from the

Fox River, Wisconsin.

Muskies, Inc. Camaraderie

advantage of it! Also, don’t hesitate to ask presenters specific questions or stick around afterwards to chum it up with them a bit, as this is how you can pick up little tidbits on a specific technique, pattern or body of water than can make or break your next trip. Attention to detail is key in the sport, and Muskies, Inc. can give you an edge. Use your newfound knowledge to assemble a game plan before you hit the water, have confidence in your strategy and visualize your own success. Before you know it you could be hoisting a fifty-incher like Malcolm Butler holding his Super Bowl trophy.

At times, muskie fishing can be a secretive and mystifying endeavor, but Muskies, Inc. can help you

take the guesswork out of it if you’re willing to make friends. My main fishing partner and fellow Chapter 3 member, Jim Rickleff, and I became best friends back in high school by simply showing each other our treasured smallmouth bass spots. With this in mind, I made it a point this past season to get out fishing with a handful of guys in my chapter who seemed to be genuine and passionate about muskie fishing. Besides learning these guys were pretty darn good sticks, I found that 1) there were a number of waters that ranked high on their list that I had never visited, 2) there is typically more than one pattern working at any given time and it pays to know what those are, 3) they were willing to share information and help me catch fish, and 4) they were a lot of fun to hang with. It is important to note that I didn’t necessarily even share the boat with them on every trip. It is surprising how much relationship building and knowledge sharing can take place over a Smokey Joe Grill and a few parking lot beers at the end of the day. For example, during the southern Wisconsin opener I asked an individual in our group who had the hot-hand precisely what size blade he was throwing and what his reel’s gear ratio was. I made the switch that evening, woke with a renewed optimism and was rewarded with a thick 44.5 inch spotted muskie that set the tone for the rest of my season.

Exploring new waters can be challenging, but if you make the right connections, do your homework and go into it with the right mindset, you will grow tremendously as an angler. Fishing a variety of waters across the muskie range makes you a more dynamic angler, enabling you to recall a diverse group of tactics and patterns that have succeeded in similar situations. In 2014, I decided to target large bodies of water that I had previously avoided due to their formidable size. Muskies, Inc. has hands down given me the confidence and know-how necessary to take on and succeed on these larger systems. Here are three ways I’ve leveraged my Muskies, Inc. membership to succeed on exploratory trips: 1) solicit information from someone in your

chapter whom you’ve grown close to who knows the body of water, 2) learn where to stay and where to launch, as sometimes this is half the battle, and 3) analyze catch data on the Lunge Log to get a sense of what baits and tactics have historically produced the greatest numbers or size of fish. Once you’re there, you still need to analyze the map, put a pattern together and locate fish, but utilizing Muskies, Inc.’s resources in advance will give you a jump-start. Always remember that fishing new water is an adventure. The trip’s purpose is as much to scout for the future, as it is to catch fish.

Above all though, to me Muskies, Inc. is about having fun, making memories and catching fish. There is perhaps no better example of all of the above than

my last big trip of the season with Jim Rickleff and Chapter 3 Board Member and Master Angler, Frank Loye. Jimmy and I had been on a couple of trips through the season with Frank, but we never had the chance to share the same boat. When I dialed up Frank to see if he’d be interested in a quick Thanksgiving weekend trip to Lake St. Clair, he

responded with an emphatic “YES”. The weather was looking bad and our connections out there indicated the water quality was poor, but there was no way we weren’t going. Although the three of us had limited experience on this particular lake, we figured we had enough to have a good shot at catching a fall bruiser and we were right. After covering a lot of water and ultimately striking out on Saturday, we went back to the drawing board and decided to make a major location change Sunday. The first spot on Sunday proved unfruitful, but we put our heads together and made a calculated decision to make a long run to an area where we believed clean water would be found. After arriving, we finally discovered what we had spent a day and a half looking for, and the fish were there too. Frank was the first to score with a hefty 41.5-inch fish that went around the figure eight for nearly two minutes despite the boat drifting at a rapid clip. It was truly incredible to watch in the clear, cold water. Seeing


Purposes of Muskies, Inc.• To promote a high quality muskellunge sport fishery• To support selected conservation practices based on scientific merit and carried out by authorized federal and state agencies

• To promote muskellunge research• To establish hatcheries and rearing ponds and introduce the species into suitable waters

• To support the abatement of water pollution• To maintain records of habits, growth, and range of species

• To disseminate muskellunge information• To promote good fellowship and sportsmanship among men, women and children


HUGH BECKER MUSKIE SYMPOSIUMsave this Date:

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how aggressive this fish was I decided to change both my bait and retrieve speed to match that of Frank’s, and at the end of the very same drift I was rewarded with my heaviest fish of the year, a 47.5-inch Slobasaurus that put up an epic battle. This fish capped off my 2014 season, and carried special meaning as it represented the camaraderie of Muskies, Inc. While helping me unhook, hold and release this fish back into beautiful Lake St. Clair, Frank, who won the Chapter 3 Men’s Release contest in 2013, congratulated me on earning the same honor in 2014.

We all strive to improve as anglers each season, but how many of us truly take advantage of the resources Muskies, Inc. has to offer? I admittedly did not my first year of membership, but I believe this past season gives credence to the benefits of this great organization. However, Muskies, Inc. is only as powerful as its members, their involvement and their willingness to volunteer in support of its mission. In addition to endorsing Muskies, Inc.’s catch-and-release and fisheries promotion efforts, there is much we can do as members for the betterment of the sport. Making new muskie comrades, advancing as anglers, catching fish and celebrating one another’s successes is why we all love muskie fishing. I hope my reflections on Muskies, Inc. and its impact on my 2014 season have brought this to life.

Chicagoland Muskie Hunters (Chapter 3) members Kevin Butts (left) and Frank Love (right) smile for the camera as Kevin holds his biggest of the 2014 season. Becoming a

member of Muskies, Inc. opens the door to valuable friendships and lots of on-the-water learning opportunities.


Here is a nice evening photo submitted by Jim Tenhaaf, who is the President of Chapter 47. He was fishing a western Michigan lake with his Chapter’s Membership Director, Tory Bowman, when he took this shot of Tory. Most muskie fishermen really enjoy this scenario, being out on calm water in the evening for the “night bite.” Pictures like these can be hard to get under those conditions, but this one has good color and focus. Hope you guys hooked up. Thanks for the photo.

I always dreamed of fishing a body of water like this for largemouth bass, but I think it could be a nightmare trying to get a muskie through all that and to the boat. Mark Wright of Chapter 56 took this photo on a trip he made to Cave Run lake in Kentucky. He said the fishing was a bit slow, so he decided to take a few pictures. I’m glad he did. Too bad the fish wouldn’t cooperate, but he scored with this photo. Thanks for sharing it Mark.

Photo ContestBy: Brad Waldera, Photo Editor - [email protected]

Member Photos Needed!

Please send photos to Photo Contest Editor:

[email protected].


Many Muskies, Inc. members are well aware of the summer connection of rocks and muskies, yet there are still those doubters out there who don’t even make a cast if they can’t see a weed stalk. I’m here to tell you that would be a serious mistake. Muskies love rocks; even in those lakes that do have lots of weeds. However, anytime you encounter a body of water lacking weeds, you can bet your best fishing rod that muskies will be all over rocks from spring through mid-fall.

Favored depths muskies tend to hold at on any given rock structure might vary with the water temperature, water clarity and the weather conditions. Warm water tends to pull the fish up shallower. Stained or turbid water usually encourages muskies to move shallower on rocks, also. However, a good wave chop invigorates muskies to slip up onto shallow cresting rocks more than anything else. The stronger the wave action, the shallower the fish are likely to be.

Waters with strong weed growth can also produce a good rock bite in certain situations. Weeds might hold the majority of muskies, but rocks are sure to offer a few big ones. Weeds generally get all the fishing pressure while rocks get virtually none. This scenario can provide a unique opportunity as it actually isolates both the big fish and the pressure. One can confidently fish highly pressured waters in situations like this and expect to find a lone rock hump or two in the middle of the lake virtually untouched.

A big factor in rock reef muskie success seems to center around good wind and subsequent wave action. Dead calm conditions rarely produce consistently. Water movement and wave action appear to activate muskies and attract forage to the rocks. Current and water action boiling around shallow rocks, in particular, seems to be a winner. Take away the wind and wave action, and the pattern weakens. Even when muskies are sighted on shallow rocks during these conditions, it’s a good bet that they are not very active. The lack of

wave action decreases their aggression. In fact, it is not uncommon to spot inactive muskies hovering over open water in these dog day conditions. Yet, be ready for their attitude to change instantly when a breeze arrives.

Can muskies be triggered off rocks on calm conditions? Yes! The key is timing. Casting topwater lures over shallow rocks just before dark as well as right at first light on dead calm days is often deadly. This pattern is even better when you have a good wind blowing over a particular rock bar all day long and it suddenly dies down right after sunset. The window is short, but many big fish are taken during this time period on rocks.

The best overall weather for rock muskies seems to vary some from lake to lake, but oddly enough, bright sunny weather with a strong wind seems to be far more productive with rock oriented muskies than dark overcast. It’s not that I haven’t taken a few nice muskies off rocks on dark overcast days, but sun seems to be a positive factor. When the water is coffee stained, bright sunny conditions seems to be an even more critical factor with rock muskie action. I actually relish those nice sunny summer days with a good breeze now more than ever as I’m fairly certain the rock muskie bite will be “on”.

Rock muskie lure choice is fairly simple, but it has its nuances depending upon the mood of muskies on any given day. Try anything that runs effectively without snagging up. In most instances a traditional in-line spinner of some kind is my first choice. One simply can’t go wrong in most cases casting a favorite

Rock ‘N Roll Muskies

- Joe Bucher

A bucktail is the author’s favorite lure style to cast for rock spot muskies, but topwaters and big flat-sided minnowbaits can also be

excellent choices.


spinner style lure over rocks. When rocks top out at four feet or less, topwater lures can be really productive, too, particularly late in the day, but the most underrated rock lure is the shallow running, floating minnow bait. From big 9 to 10 inch slab-sided minnow baits worked in a jerkbait fashion, to a simple jointed version cranked in a fairly straight non-aggressive manner, they seem to produce rock muskies when other baits do not.

Floating deeper divers that travel 5-7 feet deep can be exceptional rock producers after a cold front passes thru. Cold front muskies are less apt to chase and are usually hugging much tighter to the bottom. A crankbait that goes deep enough to tick the rock tops is sure to be the top weapon in this situation. Deeper topping rock humps should always be checked with a diver no matter what the conditions. Even when a good shallow rock bite is occurring, a lunker is apt to be hanging off a deeper reef munching on walleyes and perch.

The best time of day to fish rocks depends so much on daily weather patterns and to a lesser extent moon phase. I’m a big fan of mid-day conditions, with the highest sun angle and the most wind/wave action for some of my favorite rock reefs, but the last hour of daylight is nearly always good. Night fishing can also be exceptional on rock points, reefs, and isolated small humps. I have taken some real lunkers after dark on shallow rocky reefs including my best fish of the 2014 season. If fishing pressure and boat traffic are on the rise, slipping out after dark to cast the rocks is always a good bet. That’s exactly what I did to bag that brute this past season.

Finally, it’s worth noting that lakes with a predominance of rock are a welcome change-up

The author works a rock reef during midday with just the right amount of “Muskie Chop”.

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Fishing rock spots after dark can produce giants.

An added benefit is less boat-traffic, too.

when other nearby waters become weed choked by mid-summer. Clean rocky lakes can be a savior at this time of year. Crystal clear weed-free lakes seem to be at their best when all the weedy waters go stale. While some anglers really like to pound shallow weed-slop during these conditions, a really good open water rock bite can be had right down the road on a “gin bottle” lake.

Admittedly, there’s no place I’d rather be during prime windy weather conditions in mid-summer than on rocks. While I’ve surely had my fun over the years beating up weed slop in the late summer for big fish, it is always a challenge to keep a bait working in such conditions. You are bound to waste quite a few casts when the vegetation is thick. Keeping a lure weed-free is a constant battle and physically demanding. This is not an issue when casting over rocks.

Pick a boat with ample draft and a powerful trolling motor, plus reliable sonar. Once you set up a good milk run of favorite rock reefs, you

might become totally hooked on this style of fishing.

May / June 2015.....MUSKIE 17www.muskiesinc.org

Tim Voeck of the Capital City Chapter was beat down by the wind and rain on Lake Minocqua

during the second week in September of last year. He captured it in this photo.

Robert Thaxton, Secretary of SCWV Chapter 63 Muskies, Inc., caught this

51-inch on December 14th, 2014.

Jim Tenhaaf, President of Chapter 47, caught this 37-inch muskie on December

26th of last year. It’s nice to get one on the last trip of the year.

Check out the beast Karl Kagelmann caught while fishing in Green Bay, a 53-inch beauty.

Karl is a member of the Titletown Chapter and caught this fish in September of last year.

The first muskie Lilly Hartman caught was the same length as she is. Her dad Paul sent this photo

of it in. Nice job Lilly.

While attending Muskie Boot Camp on LOTW, Chapter 39 member

Michael Pierce caught his personal best, a 50 and 1/8 muskie.

John Ringenbach of Chapter 19 caught this 43-inch muskie while fishing the James

River in Virginia on March 1st of this year.

Peter Krause of the Lake Superior Chapter sent in this photo of his son Kellen with

a pike.

provide forage for everything in the food chain. A muskie’s best years are from young to mid adult. Gaining girth is a ways off, but they are growing fast and establishing themselves in the system.

Mid-size fish are often the most aggressive fish we deal with. For starters, they probably haven’t seen the inside of a net as often as an older fish. It took a while for me to understand the concept of conditioned fish. It’s one of the main reasons the biggest fish you saw all day made a lazy follow and broke your heart. Catch and release doesn’t stop a fish from becoming conditioned.

Younger fish are forced into taking chances if a larger fish is in the vicinity. I saw this situation first hand on one of my rivers in 2012. A mid-30 showed up following a bucktail on a figure-8 and, about halfway around, a mid-40 blasted onto the scene and the small fish disappeared, but unfortunately the big fish wasn’t “hot” enough to hit something so close to the canoe. Small fish have led me to bigger ones on a few occasions. Once, I was approaching a submerged tree, that created a tremendous eddy behind it that fish love to occupy. I moved a low-30 at the bottom of the eddy, which is an odd spot for a fish to occupy, but when I reached the tree a 46 incher ate a Bull Dawg. From that point on, whenever I see small fish in the wrong spot, I’m on full alert for something that might lead me the right location.

Keeping sharp isn’t too hard if you’re out for only a few hours, but casting from sunrise to sunset is another story. We often depend on the mid-sized fish to keep our heads in the game on long days. Think about the times all you had to show for your efforts was a mid-30 or two, and you felt the day could’ve been worse. Small fish often represent the difference between success and failure. I try to remember that every small fish that comes along gets me closer to the one I’m after. It becomes a numbers game; small fish always

Not all 40 inch fish are small. This fall muskie has evidently been bulking up for winter.

Brian Wright holds a nice upper-30 inch, early winter muskie.

Meat and

PotatoesConditions on this autumn evening are ideal for

muskie activity. Under normal circumstances I’d be confident, but a month of striking out has me guessing. I’ve had a few chances, netted a couple of nice fish for partners, but October 2013 turned into one to forget.

Just after dark, the surface erupts. I rear back on reflex. The jinx is broken with a sleek 40-inch fish that puts up a terrific fight. Things settle down. I have time to think about it; the size doesn’t matter. After 26 nights without a fish, I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Releasing big fish is the driving force that keeps many sticks motivated, but muskie fishing is more rounded when we appreciate what the mid-sized fish mean to us.

The most compelling statistic in the Lunge Log to me is the average size of released fish, which is 37 inches. That tells me I’d better get used to seeing a lot of fish between 34 and 40 inches. I’m okay with that. Those fish make up the bulk of the muskies we are after, or as I refer to it, they’re the “Meat and Potatoes” of what we catch. Think of how long you’d go between fish if all you caught were 45 inchers; most of us would take up another sport. I’ve had some of my most

exciting moments on the water when a 30-something fish smoked a lure.

The life span of muskies follows a pattern, which dictates that most of the population is going to fall into those parameters of the pattern. Making it to adulthood is a long shot. There is no sympathy down there. Muskie fry and adolescent fish have the same chance of survival as any fish. They

- Ace Sommerfeld


The author inspects a 39 inch muskie with a peculiar looking tail.

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A 38 inch fish is released to hopefully make future Meat and Potatoes muskies.

lead to bigger ones. It’s easy to doubt yourself when hours between

fish turn to days. We have so many options to consider that deviating from your routine is a constant temptation. Moving any fish may be all you need to stick with your plan a little longer. We see so many more mid-30s that I think of them as teachers. Seeing mid-30s on a consistent basis tells me I’m on the right track and that I just need to stick with it. This idea works both ways; moving a fish shortly after trying something new is a good sign regardless of its size.

These Meat and Potatoes fish test our gear. Two of the biggest reasons we “burn” fish is poor preparation and oversight. Are the hooks sharp? Is the drag set? Is your gear ready for the task? If you struggle with a 38, what are your chances when a 50 comes along? Mid-size fish should be a constant reminder that every cast is important. Mistakes on mid-30s are a lot easier to deal with compared to bigger fish; you just release a

sigh of relief and correct the problem.Tournaments have been an important part of the

muskie world for decades. From Gil Hamm to Saturday get-togethers, tournaments allow us to see how we stand with our peers. Mid-size fish are probably the most appreciated by tournament anglers. It’s a sure bet that a mid-30 is going to play an important role when the points are totaled up. Most of the tournaments I’ve participated in were won with multiple average fish as opposed to a couple of big ones.

The water you target is going to have a huge impact on the size of fish you contact. Many sticks target action lakes so they can release a large number

of muskies. They don’t judge success by 50-inch fish. The famous Hardy brothers from Minnesota are classic examples. For some anglers their home lake may be a numbers lake, and it’s natural for them to spend most of their time on it. Guides have been known to keep an action lake in their back pocket for clients who insist on catching “something.” I’ll bet the guides appreciate those “Meat and Tater” muskies as much as the clients. You’ll have an easier time holding the interest of someone who is looking for their first fish if they don’t have to wait for a mid-40. Cheer them on if it’s a 34 and tell them to keep at it and good things will happen.

In my mind, the pinnacle of muskie angling is going mano-a-mano with a giant. One of the attractions is the uniqueness of the situation, as big fish are rare in any system. I’m always trying to instigate a brawl. Meanwhile, scrappers that taught me, encouraged me, and put excitement into the long hours between tankers have a special place in my heart.



Have you had the pleasure of a fishing trip with each participant in charge of the main meal for one day… and enjoyed hot dogs, beans, and chips for 5 or 6 days in a row? Or had the pleasure of fishing from sun-up until sundown, then cooking a meal, then washing up after, then trying to get enough sleep to do it again the next day? I sure have, which led me to regularly volunteer to be the “organizer” just to avoid those pleasures. I work hard at fishing, but do not presume that I am good enough to write articles on how to catch fish, but I can pass along some ideas to make the whole package more enjoyable.

A food and meal planning method that has worked well for over 40 years goes something like this. First, everyone plans for his or her own morning food. That may range from cereal to cooking breakfast (not often as it cuts down on time on the water), but often includes foods such as granola bars, fruit, juice, and previously boiled and pealed eggs. A bottle or can of V-8 in the cooler adds some nutrition for consumption in the boat, without reducing time on the water.

The key to our preferred and most useful approach is to take a break for a “main meal” around the noon hour. My fishing groups usually hit the water as soon as possible in the morning, but come in about 11:45AM. With meals planned ahead we cook, eat a “real” meal, clean up after, maybe take a siesta, plug in the battery charger, or do any boat chores that came up during the morning. This approach evolved to avoid an eating-dinner-at-midnight issue

After the mid-day break, we head back to the lake until our endurance ends in the evening, or common sense kicks in. Evening food is every man for himself again, but often includes sandwich makings, cheese and crackers, sardines, chips and salsa, and other similar items. And, of course, everyone brings his or her own liquid refreshment of choice. Those staying out late have the option to take an evening snack or “lunch” with them in the boat.

The suggested mid-day break agenda contemplates a little bit of coordination and cooperation, but mostly needs one person in charge of the meal, usually a second person in charge of the charcoal grill if it is involved, and maybe an assistant cook in the cabin.

Over the years we have developed and evolved several menus which are easy to shop for, fairly easy to store or refrigerate, and relatively easy to prepare as well.

The next step in preparing in advance is to be sure you have all of the food and ingredients needed for the menus. You should have already checked for any food allergies in your party so that they may be avoided. The easiest method is to do the menus for the main meals for the week, print them out and then use the menu items to write out a list or make a computer file for each item needed. You now have a shopping list for the grocery store. By way of example, if there are four in the group, you need four pork chops, four baking potatoes, a bag of salad for four, and green beans for four – assuming that is the meal of the day. Add to the list the obvious such as charcoal, salt and pepper, bread, butter, oil, and condiments.

Two options for shopping for food are logical. If travel permits, take the grocery list and stop at the last major town or city on your travel. One regular group I fish with drives to Rice Lake, Wisconsin the first day, then to northern Minnesota on Saturday. A stop at the Super One in Duluth at about 10:00AM and splitting the grocery shopping among four people works well and efficiently. Print your list in four pages, and get to it. This shopping stop approach also allows for everyone to buy their last minute and/or fresh food for breakfasts and evenings, without multiple stops along the way later.

If carrying all your groceries from home, it just means the packing will have to be planned to keep things refrigerated, etc. for the travel. And freezing the meats helps in this process. Speaking of refrigeration, a quick check to be sure there is enough refrigerator space at your destination, and/or making sure a sufficient number of coolers, and ice are available is a good idea. A word of caution, chicken is great, but needs great care to keep it cold and in good shape. Leaving it in the meat drawer works only if you have set the thermostat on the refrigerator properly, and have not raised the temperature by loading three cases of warm bottles and cans into the ‘fridge to cool down; it

PLANNING FOR A TRIP- Rick Helm

can allow for warm and spoiled food in some cases. A sample of menus follows:

- Steak, parsley buttered red potatoes, tomato and cucumber salad, and bread of choice.- Brats and/or pork tenderloins, peas with mushrooms, red kraut, tossed salad, and bread.- Spaghetti and meat sauce, Parmesan cheese, Italian slaw, baguette or bread.- Fish fry, fried ‘taters, green beans, bread. - A fish boil with red potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, spices, bread, and drawn butter/cocktail sauce/tartar sauce. And of course boiled fish filets cooked in the stock after removal of the veggies.My group stays at a cabin, which is in driving distance of 15 minutes to a supper club; so one of our “main meals” is a noon trip to a supper club, usually on the last day “in camp”. Also, if you stay at a lodge, you may choose to eat a meal or two in the dining room.Another aspect of a fishing trip that can benefit

from planning is the travel. Whether it is several vehicles in a caravan, or everyone meeting at the end of the day, and assuming you have enough time off to make it work, it is a very good idea to split the travel between two days. Driving 18 or 20 hours, then unloading, then launching boats, and expecting to have the energy to fish – that day or even the next – is a young person’s game, not to mention the safety issue of that many hours on the road at one time. So if you can, break up the travel time. And if you do so, having one person in charge of making hotel reservations is a very useful thing. If you spread the travel over two days, it is usually easy to locate a decent eatery by way of the Internet, or ask the motel for suggestions, and book a meal reservation for the first night while you are at it. The supper club in Rice Lake, for example, is quite willing to give us a time slot to allow some leeway for travel times.

Spending some time planning in advance for these things greatly reduces stress and time spent on side issues while everyone else waits, allowing you to fish more, relaxation longer, and eliminate emergencies after arrival when someone forgot the oil, or the brats, or whatever.

One other useful item is to keep a “cabin bag” already packed and available to take with you. Mine contains things that are, at times, missing and other items that are functional or just not available at a fishing cabin. By way of example, a container may include cooking utensils such as tongs and slotted


An easy and hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, oatmeal, orange juice, and a couple muskie lures

just for good measure.

Meals on a fishing trip don’t have to consist of Hamburger Helper and bologna sandwiches. Hearty

dinners like prime rib, fresh baked rolls, and a colorful salad can turn a good trip into a great trip.

While meal planning is crucial to having an enjoyable trip, preparing for a muskie vacation also involves planning for the unexpected. The

author packs useful items into a “cabin bag” including things like extra kitchen utensils, rope, plastic bags, matches, and duct tape.

spoons for grilling and frying as well as other miscellaneous items including lighters and matches, hooks and nails for hanging clothes, dishtowels, scissors, super glue, duct tape, tools, cord and/or vinyl-coated rope (great for clothes lines) and even spare line. Just use your imagination and experience to think of things that are relatively easy to take in a cabin bag and that you will really appreciate having if the occasion arises.

If you have an equivalent “kit” for the vehicle or boat trailer of a back-up battery charger, a 12-volt compressor, a 5-gallon bucket or two, spare fuses and light bulbs, you have the travel part pretty much figured out.

Your author admittedly enjoys food, preferably good food and minimal hassle in preparation. And if

anyone wants the details on how to do a fish boil, or the ingredients in Italian slaw, or the formula for the best spaghetti sauce around, or for parsley buttered reds, please feel free to email me with a request at [email protected]

Tight lines, good net men in your boat, and full bellies!


Jerry Bucholtz (front) and Morgan Huset (rear) enjoy a lunch break while on a fishing

trip to Lac Seul.

A houseboat trip lets you have meals with all the comforts of home while in the middle of

prime muskie waters.


ATTENTION ALL CHAPTERS When submitting your chapter’s News and Views please be sure to send them in a word document and not as the email message. The title of your submission should be your chapter number. Also, be sure to use the proper spelling of muskie. Many of you are spelling it as musky which is correct, but MUSKIE prefers it to be spelled as this: muskie. Due to the high volume of photos submitted by the chapters, we had to place a maximum of 6 images per chapter. All photos must be sent in as separate files and NOT imbedded in the word document. Other than that note, I would like to thank all the chapter heads for sending in their news and views in a timely manner! DEADLINE DATES ARE LISTED ON PAGE 33.

- Amy Penza, Editor

No. Chapter, Address Phone #01.....Twin Cities, 2024 Idaho Ave. E., Saint Paul, MN 55119 ...................................651-353-376902.....Fargo-Moorhead, Box 2021, Fargo ND, 58107 ................................................920-207-544103.....Chicagoland Muskie Hunters, 7600 Kilbourn Ave, Skokie, Il 60076 ................847-677-001704.....Titletown/Packerland, 901 Ethel Street, Green Bay, WI 54303 .......................920-562-524405.....Pomme De Terre, PO Box 5, Hermitage, MO 65668 ........................................314-440-217306.....First Wisconsin, PO Box 122, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 ................................715-839-708907.....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, 14 26th St. SW Mason City, IA 50401 .............................................641-430-696111 .....Mississippi Valley, 501 26th Ave, 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, 16078 East Maple Drive, Pengilly, MN 55775 ......................218-259-997016.....Three Rivers, 119 Buss lane, Renfrew, PA 16053 ...........................................724-789-786617.....Quad County, PO Box 185, Plano, Il 60545 ....................................................815-695-149418.....Hopedale, PO Box 118, Smithfield, OH 43948 .................................................740-733-814419 Akron-Canton Muskie Maniacs, 2211 North Park Dr., Wadsworth, OH 44281... 330-606-5374 20.....Between the lakes, PO Box 61, Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085-0061 ................920-602-141921.....North Metro, PO Box 41216, Plymouth, MN 55441 ..........................................612-916-742622.....New Jersey, 1524 Old Bethlehem Rd. Quakertown, PA 18951 ........................908-319-220523.....Cleveland, 5007 Starr St., Newton Falls, OH 44444 ........................................330-219-796424.....Brainerd lakes, 18031 Heritage Road, Brainerd, MN 56401 ...........................218-838-550926.....Central Wisconsin, PO Box 263, Medford, WI 54451 .......................................715-748-487428.....Shawnee Muskie Hunters, 923 Reiss Rd, O’Fallon, Il 62269 ..........................618-628-420529.....Upper Great Plains, 1788 Hwy 4, Estherville, IA 51334 ...................................712-362-250130.....God’s Country, PO Box 1461, laCrosse, WI 54602 .........................................608-606-306531.....Penn-Ohio, 309 Spring St, Jamestown, PA 16134 ...........................................724-932-581532.....Flatlanders, 6259 Walnut Grove Road, loves Park, Il 61111 ..........................815-703-936533.....lake Superior, 2031 Hwy. 33 S., Cloquet, MN 55720 ......................................218-879-271235.....Milwaukee, PO Box 28842, Greenfield, WI 53228 ...........................................262-250-644437.....St. Cloud, 109 Greenstone ln., Waite Park, MN. 56387 ..................................320-656-116038.....Alexandria-Vikingland, 106 Main Ave, P.O. Box 102, Carlos, MN 56319 .........612-554-817039.....Fox River Valley, 1253 Cobblers Crossing, Elgin, Il 60123 .............................847-741-977141..... Central Ohio, 1094 Eastmoor Blvd. Columbus, OH 43209 740-225-115242.....Hoosier Muskie Hunters, PO Box 501371, Indianapolis, IN 46250 .................. 317-372-011144.....Colorado, 2031 Granger Circle, Castle Rock, CO 80109 .................................303-263-378345.....Kentucky, 212 linden Ave., Southgate, KY 41071 ...........................................859-441-166646.....Bemidji/Cass lake, PO Box 6, Bemidji, MN 56619 ..........................................218-766-669747.....Michigan Muskie Alliance, PO Box 512, Caledonia, MI 49316 .........................616-447-168849.....Webster lake Musky Club, PO Box 670, No. Webster, IN 46555 ....................574-834-166950.....Penn-Jersey, 4 Shull Farm Rd., Erwinna, PA 18920 ........................................610-294-939952.....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, 850 Riverwood Place, Owatonna, Minnesota 55060 ....507-455-164456.....SW Ohio Muskie Assoc., 524 Sterling Meadows Place, Brookville, OH 45309 .937-833-183357.....NW TIGER PAC, 31900 104th Ave. SE #F205 Auburn, WA 98092 .................253-833-172558.....lake St. Clair Muskies, Inc., 34047 Williamsburg Ct, Sterling Hts MI 48312 ....586-873-915459.....New Mexico Muskies, Inc., P.O. Box 65575, Albuquerque, NM 87193 ............505-264-299960.....Mountain Muskies, 6610 N. Hartley Spokane, WA 99208 ................................509-263-723561.....Northwoods Chapter, P.O. Box 1090 PMB #204, Minocqua, WI 54548 ...........715-356-975862.....Wasau Area Chapter, 5709 Canoe Street, Weston, WI 54776 .........................715-297-757363.....South Central West Virginia , HC61 Box 39B Frame Town, WV 26623 ...........304-364-887864.....Nittany Valley Musky Alliance, 175 Industrial Park Rd. Edensburg, PA 15931 814-421-650269.....New York Muskies, P.O. Box 10401, Rochester, NY 14610 .............................585-670-0422

Chapter News and ViewsATTENTION

CHAPTER CONTACTS:Please make sure

your chapter addressand phone number

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

Whenever you update chapter information on

the website, please send an email to the Editor so we can

keep this page current. Thanks!Special Events2015May 2 & 3: Shawnee Muskie Hunters (Chapter 28) “Spring Fling” Tournament at Kinkaid lake Contact John Wright (618) 698-4893

May 16: Fox River Valley (Chapter 39) “Challunge on the Chain” Tournament at Fox Chain of lakesContact Steve Kroll [email protected]

May 30: IMTT Russ Schaller Memorial Tournament at Fox Chain of lakes Contact John Kliczko at [email protected]

www.muskiesinc.org


5th Annual Minnesota State High School Muskie TournamentOn June 27th, eleven high

schools teams (group on left), representing six Minnesota Muskies, Inc. Chapters, met at 5:15 a.m., at Mantrap Lake in Park Rapids, for the 5th Annual Minnesota State High School Muskie Tournament.

After a brief orientation concerning invasive species and the safety of both themselves and the fish, students were assigned judge boats and were off for a day of fishing.

One of the ways the event was different this year, was the amount of preparation each team had put into the event. Students had researched and pre-fished the lake. The night before, there were several big muskies caught, so they all had a game plan and high levels of confidence. The following high schools competed: Wayzata, Watertown Mayer, North Branch, Coon Rapids, Bemidji, Detroit Lakes, Dilworth Glyndon Felton, Becker, Foley, and Brainerd.

Throughout the day, teams were catching northerns and getting on the board, but were trying for muskies, which would beat any sized northern. The judge boats: Jim Kath (Brainerd Lakes Chapter), Mike Riha (North Metro Chapter), and Tom and Kathy Keith (Twin Cities Chapter) were stationed throughout the lake helping students whenever needed.

All teams were off of the water by 1:30 p.m. and were treated to a lunch brought by Denise Olson and Greg and Elaine Randolph. During the awards program, students talked about where and how they contacted muskies that day. The winning fish was 39 inches and was caught by Brandon Dehring from Detroit Lakes High School (Brandon and his partner Josh Weber are pictured on the left). My wife and I were fishing about 100 yards from them, so when we heard the sounds of a splashing

fish, we went to them and got a series of pictures. Just minutes before the end of the tournament, Jeremy Wolfe from North Branch High School caught a 32 inch muskie. Jeremy and his partner fished the event last year and knew the importance of fishing hard for all of the allotted time. The Detroit Lakes team was given a plaque and new muskie rods. All competitors were given a commemorative tee shirt and a package of lures. There were additional drawings, so all students won some prizes. For a number of students, this was the 2nd year they had fished the event. Ashley Dolezal (on right) from Bemidji High School, competed in her third and final year in this event. Ashley wrote about her participation in this event in the July/August 2014 issue of MUSKIE.

Parents and Principals should be very proud of their students. As they talked about how they organized their day, they utilized Bloom’s Taxonomy of Higher Order Thinking Skills. They comprehended what they were trying to do and applied that information. As they analyzed their ongoing results, they synthesized that information into new plans.

At the end, they were able to evaluate what they did and how it worked out. They were a very impressive group!

I am grateful for the individuals and groups that support this event: Hedron Industries, Members of the Twin Cities Chapter of Muskies, Inc., The Hugh C.

Becker Foundation, The Twin Cities Chapter of Muskies, Inc., Musky Mayhem, Musky Innovations, Tee Squared, Roger Remaley, Denise Olson, Greg and Elaine Randolph, Kathy Keith, Jim Kath, Mike Riha, Brett Waldera and Dennis Lappen. Without their help, this event would not be possible!

- Tom Keith

We held our 16th Annual Indoor Fishing Flea Market on March, 7th. This event is our Chapter’s biggest fundraiser and by all accounts, it was a very successful event. We had above average attendance with over 600 people through the door; typically we get about 500-550. Vendors reported brisk sales and a lot of shoppers found a lot of great deals. The onsite raffle, run by Al Weinblatt, raised a lot of money thanks in large part to one raffle prize. It was a signed Andrew Shaw Chicago Blackhawks game day jersey, which was won by Pete Kukurba. We also drew the winners of our Annual Fundraiser Raffle at the conclusion of the Flea Market. Congratulations to the big winners: Jeff Stulgin (GoPro Hero4), John Valley (signed Scott Zoelick print), Bob Ebert (signed Scott Zoelick print), David Stalle (muskie rod/reel), and Greg Martin (fly rod/reel). Thanks to all our Chapter members who donated their time and energy to set-up and run the event.

On the topic of big winners, the winners of our 2014 Members Only Fishing Contest will be honored with awards at our April meeting. Congratulations to Pat Elza (Masters Division, Longest Release, June Lunker, August Lunker, November Lunker); Kevin Butts (1st Place Men’s Release Division, Illinois Big Fish, December Lunker); Chuck Birmingham (2nd Place Men’s Release Division); Joe Shay (3rd Place Men’s Release Division); Brian Zofkie (May Lunker, LSC Outing); Joe Fabian (July and Septemeber Lunker); Mike Vodicka (August Lunker); Steve Statland (August Lunker); Charlie Bromann (October Lunker); Lee Radtke (Gil Hamm Outing); Zach Pflum (Juniors); Alysha Hatfield (Juniors).

This is the time of year when our chapter starts to switch its focus from fundraising and other Club administrative tasks, to the important business of catching and releasing muskies. Charlie Bromann earned Chapter bragging rights by entering the first fish in the 2015 Fishing Contest, with a 36 inch on March 14th. Our first Club Outing is the Webster Lakes Ice-Out Challunge hosted by the WLMC (Chapter 49) which is scheduled for March 21st. We hope to re-claim the coveted Giant Minnow traveling trophy this year. But no matter what, we’re sure we’ll have a good time. We’re planning several more Club Outings, including the IMTT Championship on the Fox Chain in October, and possibly a Vilas County trolling Outing, pending the final outcome of the Wisconsin trolling legislation.

We have a few indoor meetings remaining before we take a break for the summer to hit the water. Our April meeting will feature the theme of Home Cookin’. In addition to awarding the winners of the 2014 MOFC, we’ll hear tips, tactics and tales from our own chapter members, including Kevin Butts, Pete Kosanovich, Pat Elza and Hall of Famer Steve Statland. Like many Chapters, we have some tremendous anglers in our ranks who are more than willing to share their knowledge. Our Home Cookin’ format is always one of best programs of the year. In May, we welcome back one of the best speakers out there, Sean Bermingham, who will share some of his favorite bait modifications.

Our current meeting location, the Park Ridge VFW, is being sold, so we need to find a new venue to host our monthly meetings. We plan to stay in the same vicinity on the northwest side of Chicago. We hope to have a new location identified soon.

Keep on chuckin’- Frank Loye

Twin Cities204 Idaho Ave E., Saint Paul, MN 55119

615-353-3769 - Eric Schultzwww.twincitiesmuskiesinc.org

Meets 2nd Tuesday 7:00 PM, Knights of Columbus, 114 W79th St Bloomington, MN, near the SE corner of the intersection of I-494 and I-35W.

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Chicagoland Muskie Hunters7600 Kilbourn Ave. Skokie, Il 60076

847-677-0017 – Dean [email protected]

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

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Greetings from Titletown. Our February and March meetings were held at the Green Bay Yacht Club. Our February meeting featured Tony Grant as guest speaker and Spencer Berman followed in March. Reports were given on the Wisconsin Chapters of MI meeting held on March 7th. Alliance ticket sales were also discussed.

Club members have been busy attending the muskie shows in Chicago, Milwaukee, Wausau, and New London, while waiting for open water.

The Titletown annual banquet was held Friday, March 20th, at the Stadium View in Green Bay. There was a total of 194 people who attended this years’ banquet, raising over $7,800 for club projects. Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped plan the banquet and worked the many raffle tables. Also thanks to the many companies and individuals that contributed and donated to the banquet and the entire Stadium View staff for their hospitality. Scott Gille received the Big Fish of the Year award for a 55 inch caught in Green Bay. This fish was also the Muskies, Inc. Lunker of the Month for August 2014.

We are saddened to report the passing of club member Ron Myslik. Ron was a club officer for many years and a Best of the Best Tournament winner. Ron was a volunteer at all club events and his fundraising efforts for the club were unmatched. His many contributions will be missed. A presentation was made at the banquet to Ron’s family honoring his achievements. In his memory, the club has decided to name the annual big fish award after Ron Myslik.

- Respectfully submitted, Bill Gerndt

The long winter season is history and our waters are now, once again, free of ice. Time to get all the knowledge we have accumulated through sport show seminars and TV shows sorted and prioritized. Make sure those new “can’t miss” lures and trusted old faithful’s are ready for this seasons challenges.

We would like to thank the muskie guys (Ace Sommerfeld, Kevin Stahl, Kurt Shultz, Josh Borovsky, Mike Cookas, and Larry Mann) who were willing to share their knowledge with us at our winter meetings.

The beginning of May we will have our annual fish fry/swap meet and get ready for Wednesday Night League. Our summer general meetings will be held at Chippewa Rod n’ Gun Club on Lake Wissota. The meetings are brief, usually with a donation meal and then out on the water. June will feature our chapter “Top water Challunge”.

Our 39th Annual Tournament will be held September 18th-20th, 2015. It is held on muskie waters of Chippewa, Eau Claire, Rusk, and Barron counties. Last year’s results are available at: www.firstwimuskiesinc.org/documents/summary%202014%20(1).pdf .

Five bodies of water gave up fish greater than 45 inches and 11 bodies with greater than 40 inches. Tournament information is on our website. Please mark your calendars and join us.

- Paul Gottwald

Our reels are spooled, our boats are gassed up, our tackle boxes are overflowing, and our hopes are high as we kick off the 2015 muskie season in Southern Wisconsin. Capital City Chapter Muskies, Inc.

(CCMI) is coming off of a fantastic off-season. Our 14th Annual Intermediate and Advanced Muskie School, which was held in March, was another huge success for both the club and the students that attended. We had a great turnout of 200 plus attendees, a great offering of prizes, and the instructors did a superb job sharing their knowledge and skills, which only increased the excitement and preparedness of our students for the upcoming season.

As if the Muskie School wasn’t enough, April brought about two more incredible events for the club. The first was our Annual Fundraiser on April 11th, which featured basketball legend and the Muskie Life Founder, Christian Laettner. Christian drew a great crowd and did a wonderful job sharing stories about his basketball career, his muskie fishing adventures, and what it’s like to be the ringleader of all the Muskie Lifers. Another highlight of the fundraiser was the mountain of great raffle prizes and silent auction items. The prizes ranged from guided trips, lures, muskie rod/ reel combos, muskie collectables, and CCMI swag. We were also fortunate enough to raffle off another beautiful, hand-crafted, John Eversoll wooden tackle box; it was a true work of art and we are truly grateful for John’s generosity to the club year in and year out. April ended with our Annual CCMI Hawg Hunt in Iowa. We had a good number of attendees taking advantage of the early opportunity to get their boats into Iowa water and try out their new purchases from this past winter.

The Southern Wisconsin muskie fishing season opened on May 2nd. The first few weeks of the season are always a crap shoot as anglers start chasing the “lake sharks” on the Madison Chain. Hopefully many of our members will have a pattern dialed in before the CCMI Madison Chain Outing on May 16th. The CCMI Madison Chain outing will begin at 7 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. The $12 per person registration fee includes lunch served at the Green Lantern on Lake Waubesa at 3 p.m. and entry into our outing raffle. There is a lot of on the water parking at the Green Lantern’s pier, so there is no need to trailer your boat to attend the luncheon. This outing is open to the public and you need not be a CCMI member to attend. The outing takes place on Lake Waubesa, Upper Mud Lake, Lake Monona, and the portion of the Yahara River, which connects the three bodies of water. The past few years have presented us with different fishing patterns from the previous year, but there is always a few of our participants that will figure it out and put some great looking fish in their boats. As always, information on this event and a registration form can be found on our website www.capitalcitymuskiesinc.org.

June also brings about two more great club events, the first being the Wisconsin Youth Muskie Championship. This fun filled event will take place on June 13th. Every year, the WI Youth Muskie Championship is a great success and there are not too many events more rewarding for our club members than this one. Whether they’re in search of their first muskie or a new personal best, all of the kids entered in the event have a great time and only add to the fun. Taking a day to help these young anglers hunt down a lunker and improve their fishing skills and knowledge, is one of the foundations of Muskies, Inc. and one of the biggest reasons why so many of us get involved in clubs such as ours. I like to joke that the easiest way to get kids off the street and out of trouble is to get them out on the water.

June concludes with the annual Bill Wood Memorial Lake Winter Outing. Even though Bill shared a special affinity for Lake Winter, we have now opened up the outing to other waters in Sawyer County. This outing is one of the most beloved traditions of CCMI and a great example of the strong camaraderie that is the lifeblood of CCMI. Be sure to look on our website for all of the details on this outing and while you are there, I encourage you to browse our photo galleries which contain some photos of the big and beautiful muskies that our members are catching and releasing.

I wish you great success in your 2015 muskie fishing endeavors and I hope you catch a monster.

- Sr. President, Luke Vike

Titletown/Packerland901 Ethel Street Green Bay, WI 5433

920-866-5244Meetings held the 2nd Wednesday of each month, 7:00 p.m.,

at the Green Bay Yacht Club, 100 Bay Beach Road, Green Bay, WI. Follow us on Facebook at Titletown Muskies, Inc. Chapter 4

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

www.firstwimuskiesinc.org

Meetings 1st Monday, 5:30 PM, at Rod and Gun Club, lake Wissota from May-September and at the Fill Inn Station, 104 W. Columbia St., Chippewa Falls from

October-April.

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

www.capitalcitymuskiesinc.org Meets 2nd Monday at the 5100 Bar, 5100 Erling Ave., McFarland, WI.

8CHAPTER


Our Annual Business Meeting and Awards Banquet were held on March 7, 2015 at the GYM of the former Harrisville (WV) High School. We began with a moment of silence for Dave Moser, Jack Cobb and Marty Perri’s wives who passed away during the last year. John Kaltenecker, Secretary, summarized the minutes and Darlene Kelley gave the Financial Report. President Jim Moore went over the budget, which was approved at the Fall Membership Meeting. George Workman, Eric Workman’s Father, spoke to us about the Eric Workman Charitable Foundation and their 3rd Annual Tournament scheduled for June 6 and 7, 2015. This Foundation was established in memory of Eric Workman, a WV State Trooper and avid muskie fisherman who passed away in the line of duty. Larry Robinson gave the Membership Report. We have 154 members, six fewer than a year ago. We hope that those no longer with Chapter 9 have continued as Muskies, Inc. members in other chapters.

The Palestine Fish Hatchery Electric Project remains unfinished, because the contract electrician has been too busy to get everything done. Plugs are now being installed in some boxes and some of the aerators are operable. Chris O’Bara is planning a hands-on PIT tagging training session for interested members at Stonewall Jackson Lake.

2015 Tournament / Outing Schedule:Spring Mail-In: March 28 – 29 / Chair: Jim MooreOdie Cutlip Memorial: May 2 – 3, Stonewall Jackson Lake / Chair: Darlene KelleyOhio Lakes Day 1: Salt Fork Lake Saturday, June 13. Ohio Lakes Day 2: Piedmont Lake Sunday, June 14 / Chair: Robert EddyWest Virginia Lakes Day 1: Burnsville Lake Saturday, September 12. West Virginia Lakes Day 2: Stonecoal Lake Sunday, September 13 / Chair: Darrell Brown. Kanawha River October 10, Three Upper Pools / Chair: Mark Smith. Fall Mail-In October 24 – 25 / Chair: Debbie BeverOn a trial basis, all 2015 Tournaments will follow a Team Format. The

Tournament Committee, which consists of Tournament Director Jim Moore and all 2015 Tournament Chairs, will decide if it will be continued or modified in following years.

Elected to the Executive Committee were Danny Buzzard for a two year term and Debbie Bever and Jay Dotson for one year terms.

DNR Biologist, Jeff Hansbarger, spoke and asked for volunteers to help sink Christmas Trees into Beech Fork and East Lynn Lakes in early April. This is part of an ongoing effort to improve habitat, which also involves the “Hinging” of shoreline trees. Corps of Engineer pontoon boats will be utilized for this task.

District VI Biologist, Scott Morrison, reported on the New River and Kanawha River muskie projects. Ongoing passive and active tagging and tracking projects were started in 2014. Chris O’Bara, DNR Warmwater Hatcheries Manager presented information on muskie rearing and stocking as well as discussing Fish Health issues.

Longtime member Larry Robinson was inducted into the WV Chapter Hall of Fame. Larry served as Vice President and Membership Chairman for many years. He chaired a number of tournaments, wrote articles for MUSKIE and created a CD profiling WV Bait makers. In the absence of President Moore, Larry led our planning effort to respond to the Woodrum Lake situation a number of years ago.

2014 Lunker of the Month (LOM) Winners:January: Taylor Linkous 44 inches New River, VA; February: Jarred

Bailes 50 inches Muskingum River, OH; March: Bernie Klug 48 inches Middle Island Creek, WV; April: Ed Lawton 46.5 inches New River, VA; May: Ray Hensley 48 inches Upper Mud Lake, WV; June: John Cade 48.5 inches Lake St. Clair, ONT; July: Allison Klug 47 inches Stonewall; Jackson Lake, WV and Dave Wenzel 47 inches Lake St. Clair, ONT; August: Jay Dotson 51.5 inches Lake St. Clair, ONT; September: Shelia McCord 51 inches Burnsville Lake, WV; October: David Kaltenecker 46

inches Little Kanawha River, WV and Danny Haddox 46 inches Stonecoal Lake, WV; November: Dave Wenzel 51 inches Lake St. Clair, ONT; December: Dave Sales 43.8 inches James River, VA.

Special thanks to Jake Flint who donated Musky Messiah Lures to Chapter LOM winners and for a great job cooking the delicious pork for dinner. Also, thanks to David and Glenna Kaltenecker for their work on the dinner and to Ron Ingram for the tasty meatballs.

- Secretary , John Kaltenecker

Our awards banquet was held on February 22nd. Eighteen members reported catching and releasing 101 muskies. The Men’s Division was won by Randy Huizenga, with 30 fish worth 292 points. Second place was Aaron Bork, with 11 fish worth 128 points. Third place was Michael Peters with 9 fish worth 83 points. Women’s Division was won by Donna Bork with 17 fish worth 156 points. Donna finished in fourth place for ALL women reporting fish with Muskies, Inc. The Junior Division was won by Meghan Bork with one fish worth 13 points. Congratulations to all who caught muskies this last year.

The awards banquet was attended by nearly 50 members. The members were treated to a talk by Minnesota Musky Guide Ryan McMahon. Ryan educated the members on several new technics to catching muskies. Ryan also donated a guided trip for a raffle prize. The raffle was won by long time member Don Swensson.

The chapter would like to welcome six new members this year. The new members are as follows: David Ramm of Blue Grass, Iowa; Dana Christensen of Moline, Illinois; Dennis McIe of Cambridge, Illinois; Joe Dittmer, Rick Sherman and Gary Ramm all from Davenport, Iowa.

The chapter’s annual spring opener trip to Moose Lake Hayward, Wisconsin will be May 23-25th this year. Anyone interested in joining us contact Rob Dickinson at (309) 737-3171 so he can arrange for accommodations at Virgin Timber Lodge on Moose Lake. Additional information is available on our website www.Mississippivalleymuskieinc.com

- John Claeys

It looks like we have all survived the winter, though brutal, it appears to be behind us with better weather ahead! The club has been busy this past winter with sport shows, the annual banquet and a few extra activities. The permits are all in and our annual tournament dates are etched in stone. They are as follows: May 16th: Andy Luchovik Memorial Tournament Pymatuning Lake. July 18th and 19th: Chautauqua Lake Team Tournament. August 22nd: Allegheny River Tournament. October 18th: Lake Arthur Tournament.

Please check the website or Facebook for approximate times and sign up locations. The date of the Annual Kids Tournament is set for August 8th at Lake Arthur. More details will be released closer to the date.

Lastly, the club has lost a long time member, Tom Pinckey. He passed away in early March 2015. Tom was from Maryland and was quite a distance from the club, so he was unable to attend a lot of the meetings and tournaments. We send our deepest thoughts and condolences to Tom’s families and thank him for his long term support of the club.

We would also like to thank our sponsors and lure makers of the club, next time you’re out, don’t forget to take a look at their lures or services. Wiley Lures, Legend Lures, Leo Lures, Mtailz lures, Newman Lures, Grandma lures, Muddy Creek Guide Service, Hammer Lures, Allegheny Guide Service, Boss Shad, Red October Baits, Baker Baits.

- Good Fishing, Joel Morrow

West Virginia1270 Federal Road • little Hocking, OH 45742

740-667-3571www.westvirginiamuskiesinc.org Meets: No definite schedule-call

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Mississippi Valley501 26th Ave

Moline, Il 61265 • 309-797-1803Email: [email protected]

Meets 2nd Wednesday 7:00pm at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island, Il.

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Three Rivers119 Buss lane • Renfrew, PA 16053

724-789-7866 – James P. Busswww.threerivers.muskiesinc.org

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

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The weather played a part in the attendance at the February 21st Awards Banquet. So much, that it has been moved to the third Saturday in March next year. Those that did attend were treated to an evening of good food, socializing, and some great prizes. Several awards were also given out.

David White and Donna Ball received recognition from Muskies, Inc. David for fourth place in the Men’s Master Division and Donna for fifth place in the Women’s Division. The chapter release contest was completely in the control of David White with 1,559 points. No, this isn’t a misprint. David had 126 releases with the largest being a 49.5 inch whopper. Having a banner year and coming in second place was Sam Reichenbach with 526 points. Altogether there were 10 members with 10 or more releases. Jeffrey Lucas had seven releases to take Junior Honors. The Tom Sikora Overall Tournament Championship was a tie between Chet Snezek and Mike Rouse. To cap the evening off Sam Reichenbach received the Lou Vidoni Man of the Year Award. Congratulations to all.

The Annual Chicken BBQ will be at the May meeting. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the meeting and lure auction to follow. An open lake tournament will be on June 20th and 21st. The hours will start June 20th at 8 a.m. and will end on June 21st at 5 p.m. Remember to call Sam Reichenbach to report your catch at (740) 512-9778 as soon as possible.

- V.P., Kevin Singhaus

On February 17th, the Muskie Maniacs held their Annual Lure Auction. Dean Herrick was once again our auctioneer for the event, which makes this event a lot of fun. Our club members donate their unused lures and fishing equipment to our club to be auctioned off. We had a good turn-out for this event, with 40 people in attendance, to make this event a successful night in raising funds for our club. We want to thank Dean for being our auctioneer and everyone who donated their items for the auction. We want to specially thank Mike Mihalko for donating a Lakewood box full of lures and we also sold the Lakewood box as well!

The Muskie Maniacs held their Annual Awards Banquet on March 7th. We had a great crowd of over 140 in attendance. The food was excellent and there were many prizes for the taking. Our guest speaker for the evening was Legendary Jake Satonica, from Grandma Lures. Jake shared with us how he got started fishing for muskie as a kid with his dad and that he couldn’t find lures to catch fish, so he decided to start making his own lures. He also gave us some pointers on where he fishes on his favorite lakes, depending on what time of year, and at what speeds he likes to go while trolling. His speed is fast, between 5 to 7 mph! We definitely learned a lot of knowledge from Jake and don’t want to forget his wife Rhoda for being with us. Jake told us that he would drive the boat and she would work the rods. They have both caught a lot of fish over the years and we feel very fortunate to have them both come and share with us! We also want to thank all of the club members that helped behind the scenes that made our banquet a success! We want to

HopedalePO Box 118

Smithfield, OH 43948740-733-8144– Jerry Pruneski

Meets 1st Thursday 7:30 P.M., Pine Valley Sportsman’s Club, Smithfield, OH..

18CHAPTER Akron-Canton2211 North Park Dr. • Wadsworth, OH 44281

Mike Sandridge - [email protected]

Meets 3rd Tuesday at 7:00 PM, North Canton FOE, 6979 Sunset Strip NW, Canton, OH.

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www.muskiesinc.org

(Continued on page 28)


congratulate our club award winners from the International as well as our club events!Junior Division: Madeline Frustereo, 8 fish. Women’s Masters: Deborah Crossley-Davis, 129 fish; Charlotte Fuchs 33 fish. Women’s: Jennifer Martinez, 27 fish. Men’s Masters: J. Dean Davis, 127 fish; Tad Martinez, 115 fish; Bob D. Marshall, 110 fish. Men’s: John Ringenbach, 50 fish; Mike Sandridge, 48 fish; Timothy A. Smith, 39 fish; Chuck Harmon, 38 fish. Largest Club Release: Jason Bond 55 inch fish from St. Lawrence River. Largest Ohio Release: Tom Johnson 51 inch fish from Salt Fork Lake (His Personal Best). Hall of Fame Award: Elmer McClure. Rookie of the Year: Richard DanielsOur first tournament of the season is coming up on April 18th and 19th

at Piedmont Lake. We have just heard that the ice has just cleared off of Piedmont and Saltfork Lake so there are a lot of us that have cabin fever and are eager to get out and catch our first fish of the season. Club member Bob Marshall has already started us off with catching two fish off his dock at Leesville Lake. Congratulations Bob! He stated that most of the lake is still frozen, but he had enough water to cast in.

On May 30th and 31st, we are having our Chapter Challenge at Salt Fork Lake. We invite everyone to come out and fish and camp with us. We have several clubs that bring their members to make this a great event. Check our website for info at www.members.tripod.com/muskie_guy/index-4.html.

We will have our second tournament of the season on June 13th and 14th at Leesville Lake. This is Bob Marshall’s home lake, so we will keep tabs on how many fish he catches with his first two fish he caught in March, until we have our tournament in June. Until then, I will give the results of our April Piedmont Tournament in our next issue. Be safe and catch some fish!

- Kevin Proffitt

At this writing, we are in the last stages of preparations for our Annual Fundraising Banquet. Many thanks go to the many sponsors and guides who donated items and/or their service to make this a quality fundraiser. It takes a lot of volunteers to put on this show and a number of members have contributed greatly to its success. Thanks to all.

George’s Muskie Expo is soon and NMMI Chapter 21 will have a booth there all three days. Stop by and say hi and share stories.

We are starting to plan the 50th Anniversary events in conjunction with the Twin City MI club during the Muskie Symposium in April of 2016. Come join us in the Twin Cities for information and a good time.

It is not too soon to contact Pat Miller or John Van Ingen for their Red Wing outing on Lake of the Woods. A better value for a week’s fishing in Canada cannot be found. Check our website at www.nmmuskies.com under the “Outings” tab for more information.

The Hugh Becker Foundation has graciously and generously awarded the North Metro MI club and the Minnesota High School State Muskie Tournament monies to be used for the betterment of the fishery and young people’s education of how to protect the resource. Without their interest and focus on the matters of the day in the muskie world, NMMI would be much less effective. Thank you so much.

- Mike Riha

Greetings, from New Jersey. After a long winter, MI22 members are welcoming spring. Most of our lakes were iced over making anything other than ice fishing an impossibility. Regarding that, there were some

really large muskies caught through the ice this winter. These were fish in the 40 pound class and unfortunately they were caught via by catch and harvested. Some MI22 folk would like to see a closed season so these fish get a break. This author is one of them.

Even though it was a somewhat harsh winter, as a club, we were busy. MI22 set up booths at the Garden State Outdoor Sports Show in Edison, NJ, at RAMSEY Outdoor Cabin Fever and CAST and BLAST, and at the 38th Annual World Fishing and Outdoor Exposition in Suffern, NY, which saw a whopping 40,000 attendees. Promoting the fishery, the chapter and Musky School, were some of the objectives. As a result, Musky School, which will be held on May 16th at Lake Hopatcong, SOLD OUT again this year. Nineteen students signed up and over twenty are on the waiting list for next year’s school.

MI22 hosted its annual holiday party at the Hackettstown Hatchery. A great time was had and good food was shared between MI22 members and the fisheries staff. We were treated with being able to view the muskies in their rearing tanks. One really cool thing was a rare albino muskie, among all the other hatchlings. Should he grow up to catchable size? I don’t think you’d miss him following in your bait! (Pictured here)

Speaking of the hatchery, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife at Hackettstown, after conducting a two year study on Lake Hopatcong, NJ (the largest lake in NJ), used trap nets to take representative samples from the lake. An astounding 28 species of fish were netted and data was recorded. Twenty-nine nets were set over the sampling period-over nineteen locations. Approximately three to four nets were set each day. A total of ten muskies were collected during the trap netting, ranging from 39.02-47.64 inches and weighing 14.55 to a whopping 35.28 pounds. That’s a heavy 48 incher. Surprisingly, seven of the ten muskies were caught in the SAME DAY in the SAME net. This study is proof that NJ fisheries are thriving.

The chapter hosted another great Skype presentation at one of our meetings. Many thanks to Musky Guide, Gregg Thomas, for joining us in January and for giving an informative discussion about muskie hunting and talking a bit about his home waters. Muskies and information that Gregg shared is invaluable to members in elevating their games to a higher level. Thanks again, Gregg Thomas!

The Spring Tournament will be held June 13th on the three lakes of Echo, Monksville and Greenwood. Details are not finalized.

If everything goes according to plan, the chapter will complete a small structure project in June with NJF&W. This will entail sinking some trees in approved locations in some of our home waters. Our fingers are crossed that this goes through.

MI22 members are working hard for the chapter. Jim Evers has been doing a GREAT job as the Region 3 Representative. Kevin Johnson and Jay Sturm are putting together info and ideas on rebuilding the MI22 Chapter website, as well as working with Mike Marzo on putting together the finishing touches on our Facebook page.

Well, hope that this spring is good to you and that you get your net wet on your first muskie outing!

Tight lines and beasts in the net.- David Christinzio

Hi everyone, as of this writing, the frigid weather has finally broken. I’m sure everybody is like me, getting ready for another great year. I’m getting the oil changes, lubing the trailer axles and checking off the safety equipment list, while counting down the days until the ice melts. I can’t

North MetroP.O. Box 41216

Plymouth, MN 55441612-916-7426 • www.nmmuskies.com

Meets 3rd Wednesday at Coon Rapid VFW 1919, Coon Rapids Blvd NW, Coon Rapids, MN 55433 from 7-9pm

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New Jersey 1524 Old Bethlehem Rd., Quakertown, PA 18951

908-319-2205 • www.mi22.comChapter meetings are held monthly the last Tuesday of each month, September through

May. Summer meetings will be held on the water. Check our website for details.

22CHAPTERCleveland

5007 Starr St. • Newton Falls, OH 44444330-219-7964

Meets 2nd Monday of each month, 7:30 PMat Westfall’s Family Restaurant, 18148 Mahoning Ave., lake Milton, OH 44429, except June-

August when meetings are at the East Boat Ramp Pavilion in West Branch.

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www.muskiesinc.org(Continued on page 30)


wait for the lakes to fill up in our area. We had our annual awards banquet in February this year. I think the

attendance was down a little bit because of severe weather, but it was still a success and everyone had a great time. Thanks to Sherman Champlin (our President) and all of his helpers who organized a great event. I also want to thank Mike Mordas of Muskie Train Lures, who was our guest speaker. He talked about the different types of crank baits, the action they provide and how to “tune” them. We had plenty of awards this year and well deserved. Mike Clemente was our biggest winner taking the Men’s Master Release Division, The Largest Ohio Release (48 inch) and the 2014 Tournament Champion. Beau Chumley took the Men’s Release Division with 72 releases last year. Katherine Cooper won the Woman’s Division and Ethan Erb took the Junior Division. Last but not least, Jason Basic won the Largest Release of the Year for his 53 inch at Lake St. Clair. Congratulations to everyone!!

Chapter 23’s 2015 calendar of events are going to be as follows:May 16-17: Tom Bishop Sr. Memorial Tournament - West BranchMay 30-31: Chapter 19 and 23 Chapter Challenge - Salt ForkJune 6: Cindy Dean Memorial Kids Derby - Lake MiltonJune 27-28: Lake Milton Tournament - Lake MiltonJuly 18-19: Summer Tournament - West BranchSeptember 12-13: Ed Garland Memorial Tournament - Lake PymatuningOctober 3: Chili Outing - West BranchAs usual, all of our events are open and we welcome anyone wishing

to attend. Be sure to bring the kids, they’re the future of our sport. We hope everyone has a great year and please be safe out there.

- Dan Fisher

Check out our website (shawneemuskiehunters.org) for lots of good information. Thanks to Renee Johnson for taking over our website and rebuilding it.

Our spring fishing on Kinkaid got off to a very slow start last year, when we had ice going into the first week of March. That was the first time that I had seen ice on Kinkaid last that long. This year we had ice going into the second week of March. I don’t know when we will see that global warming thing kick in so we can get back to a normal winters.

May is here and it is time for our Spring Fling Tournament. This year it will be held on May 2nd and 3rd. I expect a good turn out on one of the best muskie lakes the U.S. and Canada. In the two day tournament, it usually takes at least 3 fish to place and 3 fish does not guarantee a place in the top 3. It is one of those tournaments that a lost fish will take you right out of the money.

May 15th and 16th we will have an outing on Prairie Lake. Prairie Lake has become a very popular lake in central Illinois. It is only 250 acres, but it fishes much bigger than its size. It has many coves with timber, weed beds and deep water. You can catch muskies both casting and trolling on this lake. It should be a very good week end to learn and enjoy the company of fellow members.

On June 6th we will hold our Kids Fishing Day on Lake Murphysboro. This is one of the events where we get a chance to give back to the community. We usually have 90 to 120 youth that came out and learn to enjoy the outdoors. We are always looking for volunteers to help out with this event. We have also rented the Farm House for the volunteers to stay if they need lodging.

I hope to see you on the water at one or more of these events this coming year. And if you see me fishing on the water, stop by and chat. Remember I’m in the other New Lund.

- Walt Krause

The ice is finally breaking up and the Flatlanders are starting to get back to fishing. Our awards banquet on March 14th celebrated a successful 2014 season. Highlights of last year included an overall a good year of fishing and many individual accomplishments. The chapter registered 220 muskies to Muskies, Inc. Some of the notable member accomplishments are first place, Dave Jack’s with a 52 inch and second place, Craig Born with a 49 inch caught at the Chapter Challenge on Lake of the Woods last August. The Flatlanders’ two teams finished fifth and fifteenth at the Challenge. Mark Carlson also caught the largest fish in 2014 for the chapter at 57 inches. Mark’s fish from the previous year was in contention for IGFA “Angler Choice Contest”; congratulations Mark. Jeremy Venhuizen took first place in the Men’s Division and surprised many of us with multiple fish from Illinois waters.

Flatlanders have been busy over the winter with the local shows and planning next year’s outings. The five scheduled trips will have a mix of some old favorites and some new locations. The schedule is:

May 2: Wisconsin Opener – Madison Chain; June 5-7: Squaw and Squirrel Lakes; July 11-18: Lake on the Woods ON, CA; September 18-20: Deer, Bone, Apple, Wapogasset; October 9-11: Eagle River Chain.

As in previous years, the host for each trip will make a presentation at the monthly meeting prior to the next outing. The host will coordinate the recommended lodging, furnish marked up lake maps, and discuss successful presentations for that body of water. We encourage new members to join the outings and get to know the Flatlanders’ members. We share information that will help make everyone successful and the outing fun for all. Our chapter is actively looking for new members and welcomes anyone interested in muskie fishing to attend the Flatlanders events.

- Dick Cholke

Good spring to you. By the time you are reading this, and you’re in southeast Wisconsin, you should be fishing! We have some exciting events in May as the Quad County Challunge fishing for fun tourney against our fellow MI club from Quad County comes to Pewaukee. May 9th will boast the Pewaukee Classic, one of our biggest fundraisers for the year. May 21st General meeting will feature local Pewaukee guide Mike Koepp.

This year’s Larry Kleeba Challunge is hosted by the Hayward Lakes Chapter and held June 6-7, on Lost Land Lake as well as Teal and Spider Lakes in the Hayward area. The headquarters will be Lost Land Lake Lodge (LLLL) on the south shore of the lake, it has a launch ramp. Pre-fish on Friday and register at Lost Land Lake Lodge from 6-8 p.m on Friday evening. Fish Saturday 6 a.m. till noon, then meet at LLLL for burgers and brats for $9.50, which includes the tip. After lunch we will fish 2 p.m. until dark, Sunday, we will fish 6 a.m. until noon and again meet at LLLL for a fish fry for $12.00, which includes the tip, and the awards will follow. Places to stay are as follows: Lost Land Lake Lodge (715) 462-3218; Empire Lodge (on LLL) (715) 462-3772 Northland Lodge (on LLL) (715) 462-3379; Hayward Visitor Bureau (715) 634-8662. Please contact Bob Petzke if interested in attending.

We’ve added a second cash payout tournament to our series. On June 13th, will be our MCMI Spring Championship Series on Pewaukee Lake. As was the case last year for the Fall Championship Tournament, cash payout will be 66% going to the participants and 34% to the chapter to

Shawnee Muskie Hunters923 Reiss Rd., O’Fallon, Il 62269

618-628-4205 - Jerry [email protected]

www.shawneemuskiehunters.org

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Flatlanders6259 Walnut Grove Road, • loves Park, Il 61111

815-703-9365 Jeff Blanckwww.flatlanderschapter.com

Meets 4th Thursday, 7:30 PM, loves Park VFW.

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MilwaukeePO Box 28842 • Greenfield, WI 53228

Craig Ader – 262-250-6444www.milwaukeemuskiesinc.com

Meets 3rd Thursday January – May, & September – November, 6:00PM Board Mtg.; 7:30PM General Meeting, American legion Post #449. 3245 N. 124th Street, Brookfield, WI 53005

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support chapter activities, such as stocking and the speaker series. At this time, entry fees are $175 for non-members, and $125 for members. Tourney HQ will be at Smokey’s Musky Shop in Pewaukee with rules meeting at 6:30 a.m. and the tournament time running from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. This will be a judge boat tournament.

We still have some fundraising Spanky Baits Bucktails available. The bucktail is #9 smoked blades on an 11 inch frame with a weight of 3.2oz. The flashabou is jet black over pearl and silver. This lure can be yours for $25 (plus shipping and handling if necessary), and it helps us towards the youth, fisheries, and research goals. Please contact Greg at [email protected] if interested.

On March 19th, we had our Awards Banquet night. A big thank you goes out to Lynne Dembiec for putting together the pictures and making a video of our clubs events and catches in 2014. Thanks to Brian Mirek for running the Members Only Fishing Contest and Chairing the Awards Banquet.

Please remember that our meetings are held at the American Legion Hall Post #449. The post has burgers, brats and hot dogs for $5 and you can fill your plate with some side dishes such as potato salad. The food helps the American Legion and which in turn helps out our club.

Our upcoming club events calendar is as follows:May 2nd-3rd: Quad County Challunge Tourney on Pewaukee Lake. May 9th: Pewaukee Classic Fishing Tourney. May 21st: Meeting Speaker - Capt. Mike Koepp of Mike’s Extreme Guide Service. Topic: Early Season Patterns and Locations. June 6th-7th: Larry Kleeba Challunge, contact Bob Petzke. June 13th: MCMI Spring Championship Tournament. June 20th: Big Brothers / Big Sisters Outing August 26-28th: Gill Hamm Memorial Challunge Leach Lake MN. August 29th: Veterans Outing. September 17th: Meeting Speaker - Luke Roffler / Ben Heussner – State of SE WI Muskies. September 26th: Fall Championship Tournament

- Greg Sieren

Get that gear ready, it’s time to use it! Oil those reels, sharpen those hooks, freshen your line and snoop through your buddies photos to figure out those sweet honey holes. June 6th marks the 2015 Muskie Opener here in Minnesota and we couldn’t be more excited to endure the elements, share good company and chase those toothy beauties once again.

Every winter we set aside a special night for a feature guest speaker and combine two monthly meetings into one. On February 10th, Josh Borovsky took us out of the winter doldrums and taught his craft. Josh’s energy and passion was highly contagious as his presentation became interactive with the crowd and had us on the edge of our seats. There is certainly plenty to be learned from Josh, as he is an edifying speaker and a great fisherman. That night, a one-of-a kind Venture Coustom Rod was generously donated in a raffle by owner/builder Paul Amberg. Congratulations to the winner, Joe Lauer, who had the difficult opportunity of deciding between several unique designs. It was a delight seeing the joy on his face.

Our Board met the 3rd Tuesday in February for a long and much needed, Board only, group meeting. It was an excellent chance to make progress and dig deeper into the details of our responsibilities. Very productive time!

When I heard that March’s Lake of the Month presentation was on the Winnipeg River System near the town of Minaki, I had to figure out where that even was. When Nick DeBoer finished his run-through and I saw his slide show, I had to then figure out when I am going there! What an awesome area and totally different experience from what we are used to here in central MN. Great job Nick and thanks again.

March’s guest speaker, Joe Stewig is no stranger to the Chapter and a most welcome face among fisherman in the area. Joe is the DNR

Montrose Area Fisheries Manager and always such a wealth of information. The first part of his time focused on muskies as he covered the ins and outs of P.I.T (Passive Integrated Transponder) tagging, creel surveys, population estimates and nighttime electro fishing. It’s very interesting and critical information to be aware of while understanding the management process of the resource we cherish. Joe then focused his main presentation on the Northern Pike problem and management strategies. It sounds like there is definitely hope for restoring our quality pike fisheries and getting them back to a better balanced but it comes down to public awareness and relation. It will take a while I’m sure. It was a deep conversation with many asked and answered questions throughout the room. Joe, we can’t thank you enough.

Much thanks goes to everyone involved in MI functions, fundraisers and events. We hope to see you on the water, at a meeting and online. In the meantime, check out our website and Facebook page and give us a “like” to stay plugged in and up to date. Let’s make 2015 the best and safest year it can be! Be well and keep sending those good vibes down the line!

- Eric Poissant

On Saturday, May 16th, Fox River Valley is hosting the Annual “Challunge on the Chain” Tournament. Mid-May is arguably one of the most productive times of the year to fish the Fox Chain of Lakes, as fish are well out of the post spawn period, are more active, and have not yet moved to deeper water. With better odds on your side of locating fish, grab a partner and join the fun. We pay through the top 10 places (for teams boating fish) and the more boats that sign up, the bigger the payouts! It should be a great day to be on the water. Walk-ons are welcome on tournament morning at the Musky Tales launch (off of 173, next to the bridge), but it’s probably easier to visit our website and register so you can launch with the rest of the field.

On the Wednesday prior to the tournament (May 13th), our monthly meeting speaker is Ryan McMahon. Ryan has been fishing muskies in MN and WI for over 15 years and lives year round in the Twin Cities Metro area. He guides on several of the Metro area’s prime muskie waters and has written articles for Musky Hunter Magazine and Keyes Outdoors Online Magazine. He’s also appeared on the Keyes Outdoors television show. Please join us for the evening, to listen to Ryan talk about what he’s learned! All FRV general meetings are held at the Schaumburg Golf Club/Chandlers Chophouse. Dinner starts at 6:00 p.m. and the meeting starts around 7:00 p.m. We ask for a $3 donation at the door.

FRV held our annual Awards and Fundraiser Banquet on Saturday, March 14th and it was our most successful fundraiser so far. Around 220 people came out to support the club and there wasn’t an empty chair in the house! New president, Steve Kroll, welcomed the crowd and kicked-off the evening. Kevin Bushnick, president of the Youth Conservation Alliance (YCA), gave an excellent year-in-review presentation (with some fantastic video) for his organization. Everyone ate a great meal and then Vice President, Dan Koniewicz, took over to efficiently run the awards and raffles portion of the banquet for the rest of the evening. Special recognition was bestowed on Rich Gallagher, departing FRV president with over 10 years of service. MI president Jay Zahn was in attendance to present Rich with the Muskies, Inc. 2014 President’s Award. (picutre on right) The award was well-

St. Cloud312 18th Avenue N. • Sartell, MN 56377

Bruce Kitowski - (320) 656-1160www.stcloudmuskies.com

Meets: 3rd Tues. 7:30 PM, American legion Post 428, 17 2nd Ave. N, Waite Park, MN.

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Fox River Valley1253 Cobblers Crossing, Elgin, Il 601230

847-741-9771 – Rich Gallagherwww.frvmuskie.com

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

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www.muskiesinc.org

deserved given all the effort put forth by Mr. Gallagher as he successfully and enthusiastically fulfilled his duties for Chapter 39 and Muskies, Inc. at large.

With donations amounting to almost $30,000 worth of merchandise, our prize list includes tickets for local professional sporting events, jerseys and other sports souvenirs, guide trips and resort packages, cookware, electronics of all kinds, artwork, gift cards to restaurants and entertainment venues, outdoor tackle, a freezer full of meat and seafood, a Benelli shotgun, and $1,000 in cash. Needless to say, many attendees went home with some great stuff. Excluding the brawl that nearly erupted between president Kroll and departing president Gallagher over an Andrew Shaw Blackhawks jersey, the raffles and silent auctions went off without a hitch. Thanks to the money raised, Chapter 39 is poised to allocate the proceeds towards fulfilling our mission of youth, fishing education, fisheries, research and community. Our deepest thanks go to everyone who attended and to all who donated items (or their time) to this worthy cause. We hope to see you again next year!

One more thing…FRV will be taking a break from general chapter meetings from June through August, but our work still goes on. On June 12th, we will be hosting an outing on a local lake for our frequent partner, One Hope United. We will be looking for volunteers to help run this event effectively, so please visit our website for more details.

Please check out our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, or visit our website, www.frvmuskie.com for all meeting/speaker/event information.

- Mark Lamont

The Central Ohio MI chapter had our awards banquet March 14th at the Winking Lizard. The food was better this year according to several folks I talked to. A good crowd was in attendance and everyone seemed energized to have winter almost behind us and a new fishing season beckoning. Here are the top awards given out to some very talented muskie hunters.

Awards for 2014:Men’s: 1st Place - Mark Seys, 99 fish/1,275 points; 2nd Place - Doug Grahl, 57 fish/693 points; 3rd Place - Charles Wilbert, 26 fish/355 points.Women’s: 1st Place - Margaret Pauling, 115 fish/1457 points; 2nd Place - Mary Arndt, 54 fish/641 points; 3rd Place - Holly Neville, 10 fish/120 points.Largest Ohio Muskie: Ron Murdock 47 inch Alum CreekLargest Chapter Release: Erik Hensel, 53.5 inch on St. Clair and Maurice Potvin 53.5 inch on St. Clair.Night Bite Outing Winner: Mike Stumph 41 inchMaster’s: 1st Place - Maurice Potvin, 153 fish/1,805 points; 2nd Place - Mark Pauling, 125 fish/1,519 points; 3rd Place -Shawn Arndt, 61 fish/736 points.Juniors: 1st Place - Charles Neville, 21 fish/229 points; 2nd Place - William Neville, 16 fish/183 points; 3rd Place - Luke Ault, 6 fish/88 points; 4th Place - Sydney Neville, 6 fish/68 points; 5th Place - Cameron Short, 2 fish/35 points; 6th Place - Connor Beachy, 1 fish/11 points; 7th Place - Bobby Sisson, 1 fish/9 points. International Awards: Maurice Potvin, 2nd Men’s Masters; Mark Pauling, 6th Men’s Masters; Margaret Pauling, 2nd Women’s Masters; Mark Seys, 1st Men’s; Holly Neville, 7th Women’s; Charles Neville, 3rd Juniors; William Neville, 5th Juniors; John Fisher, Tournament Winner; Bob Sisson, 43.25 inch and 42.75 inch; Russ Dod Ridge, Tournament Winner; Charles Neville, 38.75 inch and 30.5 inch; Fall Shoot-Out Winner Clearfork, No fish caught; Buckeye Award, Ron Murdock; Charles Neville, 21 Fish Club; Tournament Champion, Tom Watson; 107 Points Club Tournament Champion Youth, Charles Neville with 80 points.Fish are already being caught; Tom Watson scored a 44 incher in the

spillway and Dan Brooks caught a nice one, amazingly right after the monthly MI meeting and on an extremely foggy night with a lure purchased at the annual lure auction held that night! Former President Cliff Honeycutt had one in January to start the New Year. Good luck to everyone in a brand new season on the water. Be safe!

- Dan Collins

Well, Hoosier Musky Hunters, as I sit here on this sunny, windy St. Patrick’s Day, I know that soon we’ll be back on our favorite waters hunting the ever elusive fish of our dreams. Tomorrow I take my boat out of storage and begin to get it ready for the upcoming season. Be sure you also get your boat, rods, reels, lures and most importantly, yourself prepared for the demands of our chosen sport. Now, on to the good stuff.

At the Indiana Fisheries presentation on muskie stocking, held January 31st, DNR Chief of Fisheries, Brian Schoenung stated that 19 Indiana lakes were stocked with over 25,000 muskie fingerlings. These fish were forage finished and averaged 10-12 inches in length. The overall health of the states muskie waters looks very good going into the future. The meeting was well attended and much information was given. If you missed it, hopefully you’ll be able to attend next year. Nick Haunert is scheduled to do a presentation April 8th on his muskie tracking efforts on Eagle Creek Reservoir. More information on this presentation will be in a future report.

Planning and arrangements for the 2015 Indiana Musky Classic, are moving along smoothly. As of recently, 20 teams have already signed up to participate in this event. This is in comparison to eight at this time last year. Get your paperwork in soon! We’ve also received word from DNR that no weed control will be permitted before this year’s tourney. This should mean excellent water conditions again. IMC is also very pleased to have “Stealth Tackle” as this year’s Title Sponsor! More information may be found on the Indiana Musky Classic Face Book page.

So far, two chapter outings have been planned for the upcoming season. Saturday, April 25th, 8 a.m., at the Brookville Reservoir was the first outing. Reports from DNR show that this is an up and coming Musky fishery and needs to be fished! The next outing is Saturday, June 13th, 8 a.m., at the Eagle Creek Reservoir. We’ll meet at the boat ramp to start the day. This is another growing muskie lake. If there are any futures outings planned, they’ll be noted here. But for quicker notice, be sure to check the “Hoosier Musky Hunters” on Facebook.

Chapter 42 will be volunteering at the 2015 Indiana State Fair Kids Fishing Pond. This continues to be one of the more popular attractions at the fair and is a great way to introduce youngsters to fishing. We will need volunteers to be there for the afternoon shift, 3:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Watch for details on our Facebook page.

As always, members are welcome and encouraged to attend the Board of Directors meetings. It’s a great way to stay current with club activities and to participate in club decisions. Also, you’ll meet more of your fellow Hoosier Musky Hunters. Remember to be safe out on the waters this year and of course, leave the area a little cleaner than you found it!

- Musky Ed Myshak

Well, as the rest of the country is still locked in winter’s grasp, we are already seeing signs of spring. Flowers and trees are already blooming oh and did I mention tiger muskies are stirring. Yes, it’s that time of year, so that must mean its clinic time. On April 11th at 2 p.m. we will be having our first seminar of the year at Sportsman’s Warehouse; followed by our

Hoosier Muskie HuntersP.O. Box 501371

indianapolis, IN 46250317-372-0111

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Central Ohio1094 Eastmoor Blvd. Columbus, OH 43209

www.centralohiomuskies.wix.comMeets second Tuesday of every month at:

PJ’s Pizza, 571 West Cherry St., Sunbury, OH 43074

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NW TIGER PAC31900 104th Ave. SE #F205.

Auburn, WA 98092253-833-1725 or [email protected] - Brett Olson, President

www.nwtigermuskies.com For Facebook, type in the following in the search bar:

Muskies Inc. Chapter 57 “NW TIGER PAC”

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(Continued on page 32)


Annual Awards Ceremony at 4 p.m. A few of us have been out already raising some big muskies. In fact, I

was out fishing with member Pete and we saw a lot of muskies already up shallow, but no takers; only one very hot follow on my dog-toy lure. On a good note, the WDFW has been patrolling our lakes so no one is messing with our muskies. We’ve had a bit of a poaching problem, but with more enforcement our fisheries should only improve.

Hope all your water is unthawed and your nets wet.- President, Brett Olson

It is that time of year when the weather is getting warmer and we start dreaming about the upcoming musky season. Time to get the boats opened up and ready to go, as well as get a file out and start sharpening the hooks on all of your favorite lures. I am looking forward to seeing all of you out on the water this season and would like to encourage you to participate in one or more of our tournaments this year. This year’s tournament schedule is as follows: June 7, 2015; August 16, 2015; September 20, 2015; October 18, 2015.

Dates are subject to change based on the weather, lake conditions, etc. Please check the website at www.lscmi.com for updates. You can also follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lscmi58

Please join us for the May 15, 2015 general membership meeting at the Sports Channel Bar and Grill located at 10 Mile and Jefferson. The meeting will start at 7 p.m.

- Secretary, Adam Penzenstadler

Muskies, Inc. (MI) Charter 59 (C59) operated an education booth at the New Mexico Outdoors Adventure Show. It was held at the New Mexico State Fair Grounds on 14-15 February 2015. About a dozen C59 members took turns at the booth to demonstrate Catch and Release tools, proper muskie fishing gear and answering hundreds of questions about fishing for Tiger Muskies from the general public over the two day event (shown here).

At the Adventure Show, C59 also unveiled and prominently displayed the recently completed “Fishing New Mexico Tiger Muskies” brochure. This was published by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) with cooperation and assistance from C59. The NMDGF acknowledged our support on the back of the 4 page brochure. Chapter members have also assisted NMDGF by distributing hundreds of brochures to all the local sporting goods stores and

other public places.The NMMI Board met with NMDGF Sportfish Program Manager, Eric

Frey and Coldwater Biologist, Shaun Green was at our March 14th board meeting to discuss options for working together. Our next big project will be installing fish structures in Bluewater Lake. C59 has acquired a dozen

Honey Hole trees and plans to assemble and install those in April. We are also exploring the option of constructing additional, smaller structures from cinder block, concrete (provided by C59) and black plastic pipe (provided by NMDGF).

NMMI plans to host a “Bring a Friend Fishing” day on May 15th, 2015. It is a fun fishing day and opportunity for C59 members to bring a friend fishing that isn’t already in the chapter so they can meet our fun group, enjoy the tiger muskie fishing experience and hopefully join MI.

Muskie Smiles to all.- Secretary, John Williamson

At this writing, our chapter has completed day two of the four day, sportsman, Big Horn Show in Spokane, Washington. Our display booth is shown in the accompanying picture (shown here)/ Person after person would just stand there, staring up at the beautiful Lax mounts and say “woooh, they are in our lakes around here?” “How can I catch one of them?” We offer the kids a candy sucker out of a jar and tell them “that’s what the muskies are good at eating also!” Our goal has been to expose more sportsmen to the value of having tiger muskies in our waters and how to handle them correctly when caught on purpose or by accident. It has been somewhat of a surprise and certainly gratifying to our members, to discover the large number of people telling us that they want to fish for or have fished for muskies, but had no idea that there was a local or international organization supporting this fishery. Thanks to the several members that have contributed to putting together and manning the booth. It should prove to be well worth the effort put forth.

May 2nd is our Kids Fishing Day. We need all our members to show up to help out. This is a collaborated effort between many fishing organizations and state fisheries to provide about 800 kids (ages 6 to 14) an opportunity to catch up to three “tiny” trout apiece. Imagine if they could catch three tiger muskies in one day! They would be hooked for the rest of their lives. But, no, that would deplete all of the tigers in the state and we would all have to go to the Gil Hamm Classic to catch a muskie this year. Hmmm…on second thought.

Soon after, is our first tournament of the year, on May 16th at Silver Lake. Pent up cabin fever pressure can be relieved at this time, as we all kick off the season in grand style in friendly competition. Come and meet the fishermen at the Big Horn show that signed up to get more involved and want to see how to catch the monsters that were on display. Clean up the boat, spool up some new line, IT’S TIGER TIME!

- Chuck Gades

On February 7th, 2015 SCWV Chapter Muskies, Inc. had our first Annual Banquet. Speakers George Workman of Eric Workman

Foundation, was there to give us information on a two day tournament which from 12:00 a.m. (night fishing is allowed) on June 6th until Sunday, June 7th. Check in is at 2 p.m. and will be at Big Otter Fire Department. He also talked about how $3,000 of the proceeds went to help the Palenstine hatchery and purchasing minnows. Also, $1,000 scholarships for high schools, Led Lightings for research study. I would like to give a big shout out (thanks) to George for all the proceeds to help out muskie fishing

lake St. Clair Muskies, Inc.34047 Williamsburg Ct

Sterling Heights, MI 48312586-873-9154 - Charles legarski, President

www.lscmi.com

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

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

www.newmexicomuskiesinc.org

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Mountain Muskies6610 N. Hartley Spokane, WA 99208

509-263-7235 • Email: [email protected]

Meets every 4th Tuesday at 6:00 pm @ the VFW, 300 West Mission Ave., Spokane, Wash.

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South Central West Virginia Chapter

HC61 Box 39BFrame Town, WV 26623

304-364-8878 - Jake Flint

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here in WV. And thank you to the WV-DNR, Lila Warren, for enlightening us on her research on the New River and Jeff Harnsbarger for his DNR muskie information. The banquet was a great success.

Jake Flint won the Spring Mail-In tournament, Rob Thaxton won the Stream tournament, and Randy Allen won the Jack Cobb Memorial tournament. Rob Thaxton won the Men’s Open Division with 40 total fish caught as well as the Longest Release and caught my personal best, a beautiful 51incher. We had a great dinner, the banquet was a great success. We made it through the first year. Hopefully we will grow stronger and have more members join. Weather has been cold and fishing has been slow, but should pick up here soon with warmer temps. Good luck to everybody in 2015!

- Rob Thaxton

Thank the Lord, Spring has sprung! The winter of 2015 was hard for most of the country and I’m certainly not the only one ready for some muskie hunting! By the time this prints, our first tournament will be in the books. The ‘Beast of the East’ Musky Fly Fishing Challenge was held on April 10 and 11, and I’ll be certain to update everyone on the results in the next issue.

Our second tournament will be the Glendale Shootout on June 6 and 7. This event helped establish our Chapter last year and I know everyone is looking forward to another great outing. Of special importance to members reading this, on Sunday the 7th our Annual Chapter Meeting will be held following the “weigh in” at 1 p.m. at the Main Marina. For those who can’t attend regular meetings, this is a great opportunity to speak with your board members and get answers to questions about the Chapter’s direction.

Also, our initial group of members signed up in June of 2014. If you are one of those individuals, it might be time to renew your membership. One of the biggest issues facing chapters, is that people forget to renew their memberships. Please be sure to take care of this business when the time comes. A great option is to sign up for a multi-year membership so you don’t have to deal with this issue each year. As always any questions about membership can be directed to Mike Martin at [email protected].

Wrapping things up, we’re happy to announce that I and fellow member Jeremy Wagner of Tuscarora Tackle, will be filming an episode of Pennsylvania Outdoor Life on June 9 and 10. This regional show covers parts of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. We’re using this as a platform to highlight the different Chapters in Region 3 to hopefully garner some new members. Let’s hope the fish are cooperating!

– Patrick Krumenacker

Nittany Valley Musky Alliance Chapter

175 Industrial Park Rd. Edensburg, PA 15931

814-421-6502 - Patrick Krumenacker

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Special thanks to these members and supporters for their recent donations to

Muskies, Inc.:

• James Groves• Thomas A. Farrell• Greg Keegan• Michael Tronc• Ron Wallos

DONATIONS

• Chopper Lambert• James Richter• Charlie Benson• David Cates• Ben A. Peterson

Issue 2015 Deadline DateJuly/August May 20th

September/October July 20thNovember/December September 20th

January/February (2016) November 20thMarch/April (2016) January 20th

May/June (2016) March 20th

MUSKIE Deadlines

www.muskiesinc.org

MuSkIeS, INC.1509 Stahl RoadSheboygan, WI 53081

MeMbeRS: Please notify [email protected] of address change.

ADDReSS SeRVICe ReQueSTeD

Focus on Chapter 38Welcome Back!

Alexandria-Vikingland106 Main Ave, P.O. Box 102 • Carlos, MN 56319

612-554-8170.

We are here and casting, well maybe not yet, but we have our feet wet. We are the “cast” of the new board of the Alexandria -Vikingland Chapter. Our board is as follows (pictured below left to right): President, Katee Campion; Vice President & Release Chairman, Matt Robertson; Secretary, Jebb Garrison; Treasurer, Sonya Anderson. We are dedicated to preserving what our predecessors have started in our area, to keep the muskie drive alive. I don’t know if any of us knew eachother before our first meeting on March 2nd, 2015. We didn’t have a big group, but enough to elect officers. Katee, our new president, called the gathering together and because of our passion for the sport, we pretty much volunteered for the positions.

Let me tell you about our enthusiastic president. She is like that 40 incher that you get reeled up to the boat and then just takes off in another direction. You reel her back, and then off she goes again! What energy! We have ideas on gatherings that just won’t quit. Matt, Jebb and I are just trying to get through the startup process and introduce some exciting concepts and our leader has already started planning for next year! Alexandria Minnesota’s slogan is “easy to get to, hard to leave,” and we want muskie fanatics around to feel that way about fishing area lakes. Altogether, we’ll make this chapter thrive again. The board is excited for what this chapter will represent years to come. Friends, plan on having fun! Some of the early plans for our 2015 meetings are as follows:

Tuesday March 24th Meeting - Raapers Bar and Grill basement (5:30 appetizers and 6:00 meeting). Tips on how to repair muskie lures plus share your best muskie story, lure Jeopardy for prize and several member drawings for lures!

Monday April 20th Meeting - Raapers Bar and Grill basement (5:30 appetizers and 6:00 meeting). Lure making night! Member drawings.Monday May 18th Meeting - Raapers Bar and Grill basement (5:30 appetizers and 6:00 meeting). DNR presentation and opener discussions. Member drawings.Sunday June 14th Meeting - Lobster Lake Access. A day of fishing or as much time as you can spare. Lunch at 2:00 p.m. Brats and hotdogs are on the menu. You say, why 2 p.m. and not noon? It’s because Katee looked at the moon phases and noon is supposed to be good fishing. That’s Katee! We’ll work the meeting

in. Member drawings.Sunday July 19th Meeting - Lake Miltona’s East Side Access. Plan on fishing all day if able and breaking at 1 p.m. for an Ice Cream Social. Member drawings.Wednesday August 12th Meeting - Oscar Lake. Fish when you can and meeting at the access at 6 p.m. Member drawings.September Meeting (time and location to be determined) - Members only swap and shop event, possibly open to the public afterwards. Also member drawings.Friday October 2nd - 4th - Weekend outing at Viking Bay Resort on Lake Miltona- Contact Jebb at (218) 943-2104.To be announced: take a kid and/or veteran muskie fishing! All year long Photo Contest! Enter on our Facebook page. The most

likes at the end of the season wins year end prize. Watch our Facebook page for news, mini outings and current events.

Members only contest for biggest muskie of the 2015 season, must attend four Chapter 38 outings or meetings to qualify for the 50 inch and over replica mount to be presented at our Chapter Banquet early 2016.

See you on the Water,- Treasurer , Sonya Anderson

Message from Chapter 38’s President:I am excited to meet new members throughout the year and continue

working with mentors who have had nothing but great advice thus far. My fellow board members are also an awesome, resourceful, bright group, which we’re lucky to have. A few years ago, my second muskie trip with my dad, I had my first follow. I never dreamt a person would be able to become addicted as quick as a few second follow, but the fever set in hard. You understand! Muskies, Inc. participation is a wonderful opportunity to promote muskie stocking, conservation, education of the sport and enjoy great company along the way. It is an honor to be president of Chapter 38.

Here’s to opener in Minnesota with a 54 inch keeper limit! - Katee Campion

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