Recent Happenings.....

Muskie Mike and myself had an early morning escapade yesterday to check out a few different things that we both have been tinkering with.  Some of the results were good, some were not so good.  Well mainly for me, they were not so good, because I only caught one northern, and Mike had all the muskie action.  He had I think 8 different strikes or follows, and battled this little fella to the boat before we unhooked it for a quick release.  I wasn't dissapointed that he had the action, because it always seems like somebody in the boat gets the fish to cooperate, and the others get to watch.  However, I like watching, and enjoyed the time.  Plus we both learned a thing or two from each other as we always do.  We make a good team, and the muskies usually don't stand a chance when we come rolling through their territory.  Hahaha, just kidding, we do have a good time together though, and this was our first outing together this year.  Definitely not the last!   BRING ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNEY!

Today seemed as though they un-stocked the muskies from Minnetonka.  We fished hard and had a few close calls, but they were tough to come by.  I was able to take two great guys on the water who purchased my donation to the United Way, and were the highest bidders on the auction.  For the 3 of us it was a great way to spend the day on the water even though the fish didn't exactly cooperate like we had planned.  We did manage a couple of dandy bass on our baits which gave us a little excitement when we thought it could have been ol' Snaggle Tooth himself.  They smiled for the pictures any way and sent the bucketmouths back in the water.  Posing for their picture is Ray and his co-worker buddy Paul.  Two gentlemen that are bound to land the big one some time soon!

Tonight I will be giving a guest speaking appearance for the Fishers of Men group.  I know it is short notice, but if you are looking to join in you will most certainly be able to hear me "spill the beans" on how I go about my daily routines on the water.  I take great pleasure in sharing my knowledge to interested fisherman and enjoy each opportunity to do so.  If you want information regarding the time and place for the "Bean Spilling" feel free to contact me at your convenience.  It should be a great time, and I think anybody is welcome, plus they are serving refreshments to those who attend, so if you don't care about the info I have to share, at least you can get a free drink or two.  Come One! Come All!  It's Muskie Time!

Does The Early Bird Get The Worm???

Today we John, Brad and myself hit the water at 5:00.  Our question of the morning.  Does the early bird get the worm today???  Well, judging from this picture, yes and no.  We did land a nce fish this morning, but it wasn't at the crack of dawn when it came in the boat.  We did however have our chances right out of the gate this morning, and unfortunately the muskies did what muskies do, and were able to shake a few of our hooks in the glow of the approaching sunrise.  Our fish today was boated at around 9ish in the morning, which we were happy about due to the close calls we had and the intense heat and sunshine that we were faced with.  As last week went and this week is starting out with, the conditions with the heat and cloudless sky's have made things tougher on us muskie men, but hasn't stopped the picture taking.  Typically with any high pressure system, midday can be a tough time on the water to entice anything to bite, especially when dealing with the most moody creatures in the waters.  I would like to give a thanks to Brad and John for yet another memorable day on the water and another memorable Trophy Encounters update.

The second highlight after the muskies we saw and battled, was this baby loon.  The darn thing acted more like a muskie than a bird, and made every effort in the world at grabbing our lures.  It was quite funny, because it gave us at least a dozen follows to the boat, and if it hadn't have been for some quick wrists in pulling the baits out of the water, things may have ended differently.  It would have been the easiest catch of the season if we wanted it to be, but that just didn't seem like a good picture to be taking, plus none of us knew the proper handling techniques of a loon:)  The dumb bird followed us for about 15 minutes before it finally latched on to this sunfish next to our boat.  It was quite the ordeal! 

Until next time, keep on livin the dream fellas!  Catch a big one, and let it go!

4 Days, 8 Encounters, And Clint Eastwood Is Finally Caught!

Just as the title of this entry states, We  raised this fish 4 straight days, and it made 8 different attempts at our baits before we finally landed the musky nicknamed Clint Eastwood.  This is a hilarious story for me to tell, because this week I had Jack and his Boy Tom in the boat with me, and the most elusive fish during that stretch, was this fella I hold here.  We went to this spot two times each day on the water, and each time we were able to get it to charge our baits.  I knew it was only a matter of time before we would land this guy, but never sure when.  As luck would have it, Jack and Tom had a couple of looks from this guy yesterday, but knowing that his long time friend Don and his boy Steve were coming today, the story was all too predictable.  Although we had a few interesting attacks yesterday, We only did battle with one fish, and it was short and sweet before Jack had a few things to say to the fish swimming away.  As the day ended we returned one more time to see the fish Jack nicknamed Clint Eastwood.  Sure enough it followed right behind the bait one last time.  I honestly looked at Jack and said, " You know that Don or Steve is going to land that darn fish first thing tomorrow."  "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah," he said, "I'll believe it when I see the pictures on your website." 

First thing this morning we head over to the spot with both Don and Steve aware of the previous days events.  First cast nearly gave Steve a bath in the dark as the fish swirled boatside.  A few casts later and he lands his second muskie with me and both of the boys shouted out a few words to their fellow friend as if he could hear them from his home.  I think they woke up a few residents to the lake, but who cares, It was awesome!  That couldn't have been more predictable or hilarious, but there is not one single doubt in my mind that Steve landed Clint Eastwood!  Sorry Jack, I think Don is planning on rubbing that one in for quite some time.  It was a nice fish at roughly 46 inches and the only one we landed for the day.  We saw several others before it was all said and done, but the day was made within the first 10 minutes even if we would have had to leave the lake.  Great time guys!  Well done Steve!  Sorry Jack:(   Can't wait for this sagga to continue.  Until Next Time, Keep on Livin The Dream!

Ron's Gaurantee Was True!

 

While I would never say that putting a gaurantee on any fishing is a good thing, Jim told his longtime friend of nearly 50 years that he was gauranteeing that we would catch one this morning.  Although Ron told me after he caught his fish that he had doubts about that gaurantee, he was delighted that it came true for him.  This is not Ron's first muskie, and he has been on many fishless days, so he just chuckled at Jim and went with the plan of trying for one.  After our 3rd spot of the morning, Ron boated the second fish we had seen and measured in at roughly 41 inches.  A very textbook bite with great results.  He worked the lure correctly over the fish and he was rewarded.  Although we had a giant of a storm role through just hours before our trip, we still saw 13 different semi-active fish this morning which makes for constant excitement and yet another Trophy Encounters update.  I am starting to feel bad for Jim at this point, because he has been out a few times the past two seasons, and he has watched several muskies come in the boat, but unfortunately they haven't been his.  I hope to change that luck if we get out on the water again.  Thanks again Boys, as always, nice work and great fish!  Until next time, Keep on Livin the Dream!

I have to give a shout out to Petey for making these two days on the water possible.  Thanks Buddy, You are the best!

Mille Lacs.....Oh Lord....And Jacks Largest Yet!

This Morning Jack and His son Tom jumped in the boat for some fun.  This is Jack's 3rd season of fishing with me, and while he has caught a couple of nice ones in the past, this morning he caught his largest yet at 46 inches.  This was far from the only chance we had today, and as we kept track it got confusing towards the end.  Jack and Tom will be joining me for two more mornings this week, so hopefully the totals keep increasing and Jack hauls in an even larger one for us to take a picture with.  The tally for today is somewhere around 15 sightings, and 1 in the boat.  A great time for the ski's, but we're hoping to up the average the next couple times out.  As you can see from this picture, Jack had his video camera with, so hopefully the movies will continue to be made.  Eventually I'll get them on here for everybody to see, but I still can't quite figure it out.  Although he obviously didn't tape his own battle, there were quite a few laughs after the net had been placed in the water, and should be a good one to watch.  Thanks boys, see ya soon!

Loge, Kemke and Myself spent Saturday evening and Sunday morning up on the big pond (Mille Lacs).  Our quest was simple, have a great time, relax and catch a 60 pounder.  Well, we did have a great time, the weather made it nearly impossible to relax, and we didn't catch a 60 pounder.  All in all, the great time made the trip worth it.  Friday night we chased the ski's around from dark until about 3:00 AM.  Around 10:00 we really got ourselves into a pod of them, and some giants at that.  It was kinda funny cuz Kemke heard the explosion of one, and honestly wanted nothing to do with it.  Loge and I just laughed.  Loge hooked up shortly after we started seeing the giants, and the beast of a ski found its way into the air and shook the hooks.  Arghhh the Mille Lacs Ski's can be elusive.  He claims he caught it, but obviously he didn't.  We spent the rest of the night laughing at having a good time with the rats nests that they kept getting into.  Like a couple of first timers on the water.   Sunday morning greeted us with 30 mph winds making fishing impossible and breaking my trolling motor in the process.  It was a frustrating couple of hours of battling the totally unnecessary waves,  Why do they have to get that big anyway???  Anybody have an extra trolling motor to spare???  We did catch a couple of Willies before we left which kept the boat from leaving with the skunk still in it.  A fun time, with many laughs, and curse words.  Oh Well, I guess that's what happens when you live the dream!