Back in the Game!

Have I told you how much I love muskies?  The cool temps over the past few days have finally made this a reality again.  Prior to the cold snap, record water temps in the 90 to 91 degree range were reported in parts of lake Waconia.  Main lake surface temps on Tonka hit the mid 80's and everyone with a muskie sense shut it down for a few days.  That all seems like a distant memory now.  Current temps in the mid 70's mean it's game time once again!

Instead of sharing every detail, I'll just hit a few of my favorite moments.  My first day back on the water brought ideal conditions.  Clouds and a little bit of wind greeted Eric and I as we attempted to make it the ultimate "Eric" day.  I learned that the ultimate day meant a date with a muskie was to be followed by another with a special girl.  To land a fish would be the first goal, a solid first date with his sweets was the next.  About 8 muskie encounters into our morning he spilled the beans on his hot date, and said "it would be awesome if I could land a muskie and then have my date go well tonight."  That was all the fish needed to hear.  Moments later he was battling his first topwater muskie.  Shaking like a leaf, we headed for the next spot.  "If I get another fish today it's going to be the best day of my life," he chuckled.  As luck would have it, only a few casts later he was holding a slightly larger fish.  At that point our morning was pretty much through.  He spent the rest of the time texting his buds and sharing the news.  It couldn't have been any cooler.  It reminded me of my start to muskie fishing.  The reason why I'm out there every day, and  the reason why I continue to chase the dream.  You simply cannot beat the rush.  As far as the date with the girl, he checked in later that night with a facebook update saying. "Best day ever!"  I guess that was a success too.

In an attempt to beat the story of Eric's "Best day ever" comes another tale from the water.  A few weeks back I had a lucky man catch his first muskie at 53.5 inches.  Everything about the fish, the strike and the lucky shoes made it a story to remember.  For Jeff, it turned out to be the beginning of a very strong muskie career.  For myself, it was a moment I'll never forget.  Fast forward to the present time and we find ourselves back in the ring.  Jeff brought a new partner in crime, and as the evening went along, he jokingly grabbed his lucky shoes out of a bag he had stuffed in storage.  Laughing histarically, I lost it and I instantly I knew we were in for a treat.  It just so happened that the moon was going to rise 6 minutes after he put on the lucky office footwear.  It didn't take 4 minutes and we had the mouth of jaws trying to eat his buddies lure boatside.  While the fish managed to avoid our net, Jeff seeled the deal on muskie number two moments after on the very next spot.  A fish that shocked us senselss on a blind figure 8 strike.  Jeff is now 2 for 2 in his muskie quest.  I'd call that a good start.  It now leaves me wondering.  Was it the moon that triggered the strike, or the lucky shoes?  I'm leaning towards the shoes.  Stay tuned for more of the action and more stories as I recap on all the excitement happening in the life of a muskie crazed lunatic.  Until then, keep on livin' your dream!