Mitch Wins Gold!
Travis Frank
No, I'm not talking about the gold medals that everyone is watching on the olympics. I'm talking about gold in the form of a first time muskie! While this fish wasn't the largest guy I've ever seen in the boat, I will take nothing away from the experience and the perserverence that Mitch put in to catch it. For heavens sake, he woke up at 3 o'clock on a sunday morning to fish for an hour and a half, and head back home before his family got out of bed. Now that's determination! He has had a few close calls in our previous couple outings (all boatside attacks that have left him sleepless at night), he's seen a giant 51.5 incher come in the boat, and learned many tricks for success. When that muskie grabbed his bait 3 feet from the boat in the darkness of a Sunday morning sky, he was ready for battle. The funny thing about it all was that when the fish hit, it smacked so hard that it set the hook on itself causing a backlash in Mitch's reel, which basically left him helplessly holding onto the rod and an angry muskie. He had the right steps figured out, however he wasn't able to use any of them during the intense battle. 
That's exactly the type of fish that a guy needs to break the ice and get that first time muskie slime! This muskie was in the low 30's, but will forever be a trophy for that lucky Mitch Petrie! To top everything else off, a few minutes later we watched a spectacular sunrise that just never gets old. What a morning!
The action the past few outings has been very sporadic. One minute it is incredibly intense, the next you are wondering if the fish have dissappeared. The pressure is really getting to many of these muskies, which is the main cause for this behavior. The traditional spots are being hit 2, 3, and sometimes 4 boats at a time all day long. If you are heading out there, try something different and investigate waters that aren't necessarily the best looking. There may be fewer fish in the area, but odds are they are more likely to eat a bait. Stay tuned, as I will give my advice on heavily pressured muskies in the near future. Watch for it on this site, the MN Bound site, or even the Due North site. Also, I will be telling my tales in the Outdoors Weekly paper in the very near future. Watch for it! Until next time, Keep on Livin the Dream!