A Couple For The Good Guys...
Travis Frank
No, this isn't part of the quest, not just yet anyway. The weather was, well, a little too blustery for our first attempt this past friday. In fact, as I write in my journal, I'm now missing another planned attempt at fishing the big pond. These darn winds just won't subside. The forecast on weather.com for today doesn't have a sun with clouds around it. Nope, it just says WINDY! Oh well, there are other lakes to fish, and other fish to catch. Yesterday we made the most of our situation and while we weren't chasing the state record muskie on Mille Lacs, we were still chasing muskies in November.
The journal would read something like this - November 1, a good start to the month, the boys done good. The boys being Jeff and Gordy. I picked these gentlemen up at the dock around 10 AM. This was our first outing together, and much to my surprise, these gentlemen informed me that they had no expectations leading into our trip. Whew, that was a relief. I'm use to some people saying, "if it aint 50, I don't want it!" Now while I love 50 inch muskies as much as the next guy, that kind of pressure can kill a muskie guide, or at a minimum, take a few years off of his life expectancy. Nope, these guys were open to any events that were going to unfold, large, small or none at all.
For Jeff it was a bit of a learning experience. A chance for him to pick up a few pointers to help him in his first full year of owning a boat - next year. For Gordy? Well, I think this was a good excuse for him to enjoy the November weather. Regardless, my goal was the same as any time I hit the water. Get my clients to catch a muskie or two and have a darn good time doing it.
Our morning came and went in a hurry, we saw nothing, but passed the time by discussing muskie tactics and things that trigger a bite. Funny thing was that one of the triggers was about to happen and we didn't even know it. Early in our afternoon, our patience was about to be rewarded when the wind came to a dead stop and started to lightly blow from a completely different direction. I hardly had a chance to make the comment about the change when Jeff hooked into his largest fish ever. It was a 46 incher that truly gave him a run for his money, and left him wondering if the tackle he had at home would withstand the abuse these fish can dish out. I secretly fist pumped after it all went down, and once again praised the big guy up above for changing the wind for a few brief moments.
After the release the wind returned to its normal routine and we experienced more of the same. Nothing. As we talked about these triggers a bit more, we once again had no idea that we were going to get another opportunity from a wind trigger. Yep, you guessed it, about an hour had passed when the winds once again laid flat. I instantly motored to a previously located fish, and as the light gusts from the opposite direction started to hit us in the face, Gordy was given his opportunity. An opportunity that he took full advantage of, and gave us a perfect end to our November first outing. Now if this pattern will hold true, I can anticipate about 60 to 70 muskies in the boat this month. Ha! Until the wind shifts again in our muskie favor, keep on livin' your dream!