Either we are on to somethin...Or...We are on somethin!

The title of this journal entry was the theme for the day yesterday on our qwest for the next state record.  As we pulled out of the boat harbor bundled to the max, we looked at each other shaking our heads yet again.  The only thing that Theo could say was, "either we are on to somethin, or we are on somethin."  I chuckled and said that we have to be on something to be doing this crazy adventure.  With the recent results of my last 3 trips to the big pond, our hopes were very high in not only landing a large muskie, but trying to break that magical 54 pound mark set 50 years ago.  I have to give my hats off to these boys (Todd and Theo) because they really gave it their all yesterday and they kept a positive attitude the entire time.  The conditions were brutal, which probably made Theo's new personal best all the more bitter sweet.  We had waves crashing over the side of the boat all morning, and the cold water and air temperatures caused everything in the boat to turn into a giant ice cube.  It really doesn't get any more hard core than what we did yesterday.  Knowing that we were after Sweet Mamma(the next state record that I have already nicknamed) our mojo was at an all time high when 10 minutes into the morning Theo got rocked by a fish.  It was a crazy few seconds of waiting to see what he was battling, and hoping that Sweet Mamma would come out from under the boat.  While it wasn't the next state record fish, it was a very nice and fat 45 incher and gave us quite a bit of excitement.  It was Theo's new personal best that he has now increased 3 times with me this season and a fish that any body would be happy to have. 

Our day went on with 3 more muskies grabbing the bait, but only to leave us wondering about what we almost battled.  How they can grab a lure full of hooks and let it go is beyond me, but they seem to do it with frequency.  We shared laughs, stories and more laughs throughout the day, and never had a dull moment on the water.  We didn't land Sweet Mamma, but were pretty confident that she saw our lures more than one time.  I truly had a great experience on the water with those boys, and will always remember the last few trips as my being completely crazy for even attempting that water.  I know that one of these days that lake will reward somebody with their efforts, and who knows, it may just be in my boat!  I put a few other pictures up to describe the type of fun we had and depics the elements that we were dealing with.  I think my favorite is the one of the Tullibee that I snagged and having Theo (Darth Vader) in the background all bundled up posing with me for the picture.  Rock on Boys!

I want to give a special thanks to everybody who has given me such great recognition for the fish I have been fortunate enough to catch lately.  It means a lot to hear from you all, and I appreciate every congratulation you send my way.  If you would like to see another story of the near state record that I boated a few days back, you can find it in the Brainerd Sunday paper.  I feel honored to be given the entire page of the outdoor section and it is a pretty neat read for me to see, not to mention a pretty neat accomplishment for a fisherman like me.  You can also check it out online by going to Brainerd Dispatch.com and clicking on the sports section, followed by the outdoor section on the left hand side of the website.  Thanks again everybody, it has been a great run to this point.  Until Next time, Keep on Living The Dream!