I Thought I Would Go Fishing Again...

Well the reports have been few and far between on my end lately, and for that I apologize.  I simply haven't been out there living the dream like I normally do.  Yesterday I got a bug up my butt so to speak, and I decided that I would jig myself up some grub, otherwise known as Walleyes.  Hennen and I loaded up my gear and we ran out to Tonka to meet up with Petey and his 4-wheeler.  Being the great guy that he is, I called him up and he came to shore to haul us out to our destination.  We basically set up on 2 different ends of a favorite muskie spot of mine and hoped for the best.  The eye's were schooled up pretty tightly, and when they came in as darkness was approaching, it was pretty fast and furious for Hennen and I.  At times, we had 5 - 6 eyes under our house chasing our baits at the same time.  An occasional tip-up flag of ours went off, but the frozen spools caused them to turn very tough and resulted in missed fish.  Our window of time on the ice gave us some great action and another picture of a mitt-full of eyes.  Petey was about 150 yards away and enjoyed much of the same action, however he was fishing alone, and had some fish get tangled on him which caused his "jar" of keepers to be slightly less.  Either way, he had lots of action, and when you are chasing metro area eyes, that is really what it's about.  The ice on the part of the lake that we were fishing ranged from 4-8 inches.  It is still varying in depth a quite a bit due to the snow cover in spots, however it seems to be plenty good for foot travel and 4-wheelers.  Thank you again Petey and Hennen for another enjoyable night on the ice.

As we approach the great Holiday season of Christmas and New Years, I want to wish you all a safe and wonderful time.  It gives us a great chance to spend quality time with the ones we care most about, and if there is time after that, then we can jump back in the great outdoors.  After all, the ones closest to us make our passions enjoyable to pursue.  Until Next Time Y'all, Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Trophy Encounters & .Com Team Up...

Enough messin around already...  Petey (.com) and I have been puttsing around on a few different areas lately exchanging stories about how we have been forced to fish areas that we don't want to due to the ice, and not catching the fish that we are use to for early ice.  So, yesterday we said enough of that wasting time,  Lets go where we can catch em'.  We loaded up the gear and headed to the walleye rich waters of Tonka in search of enough ice to fish.  I have to chuckle here cuz I am again going to catch grief from my mother (and several other mothers who will read this).  Lets just say that we used 4 wheels to get where we were going, and Petey has kahoonas the size of an elephant.  It was kinda freaky, but once we were there, we were there, and we set up shop for the hour that we had allotted ourselves to fish for that evening.  The action was pretty fast paced and intense for our short window of time, but it was worth every second of it.  I landed my first, yes, FIRST, eye of the season, but it was a dandy 24 incher.  Soon after, Bails and Petey got in on the mix, and since we were the only idiots that far out on the lake, we were hooting back and forth at each other with the standard, "Fish On" that is typically when Petey and I fish together.  It was kinda funny, cuz we yelled "fish on" about 4 times to Petey, and although he yelled back "nice work," it wasn't until after he finally yelled "Fish On," that he admitted that he was getting quite jealous of our chatter.  Petey, Petey, Petey....Like you weren't going to catch one sooner or later!  All of our tactics seemed to work as the fish were smacking the jigs.  I used a forage minnow tipped with a fathead, Bails used a Swedish Pimple with a fathead, and Petey had the old darting Rapala bouncing around.  All the baits seemed to work fine, cuz the fish were simply in the mood to eat.  Todays fish fry is gonna be tasty!!  Well, we now have our first story about knockin down some early season eyes on the ice, and I'm sure it's only gonna get better from here as more spots become accessible.  All of our eyes ranged from 16 to 24 inches, and about that ice.....3.5 inches seemed to hold us a mile from shore.  Oh, and Petey....You Are NUTS!  Until next time Y'all, Keep on Livin That Dream!

A Look Back At The 2007 Season. Thank You Everybody!

Once again we find ourselves itching like crazy to hit that frozen ice that is starting to take form across much of the state.  While I am excited along with the rest of you, I want to take a little time out to look back at the great months that I shared with so many of you throughout the open water season.  There were so many huge fish caught, and great laughs shared that I don't really know where to start.  I have taken hundreds of pictures yet again this season, and as I look through them, I remember each and every one of them like it was yesterday.  For me, it is always great to be in the outdoor world, however as I look at all of those pictures, I kinda chuckle at the friends I have made and the memories that won't ever be taken from me.  After all, isn't that what it's about. 

The early season started with numerous trips to area lakes and rivers and some days it seemed that we could fill bath tubs full of walleyes.  Other days were not as spectacular, but they always gave us some laughs and taught me a few more details about what I was doing wrong.  As the season progressed, I found a new style of fishing which left me sitting on a river in the middle of the night chasing prehistoric Flathead Catfish.  That was sweet too!  I had some trips up to the big pond that always seemed to coincide with a hurricane, and still we landed a few dandies. 

As the summer progressed I shared an uncountable number of days on the water with great people from all over the country.  For the most part, we landed that trophy of a lifetime nearly every time on the water.  Some days the muskies seemed to come into the boat like it was their job.  The largest number in my boat for one day this season was 8 fish, and streaks of boating fish each time were carried through more than one week at times.  Each time on the water I continued to learn a new thing or two to help keep the fish coming in the boat, and the results were great.  I had this "musky mojo" thing at an all time high, and the rewards were sweet.  People of every age landed fish with me this season, and each one of them were great in their own way.  The greatest reward for me being a guide is that I get to see that smile on a persons face when they land that fish of a lifetime, and it keeps me coming back day after day. 

As the season progressed into late fall, I found myself fishing much further into the year than I had ever done before. I can't even explain how great those rewards were, as I found myself in newspaper articles and chatter throughout the state for catching some "freak of nature" giant fish on the big pond.  I learned a lot in spring, summer and fall that will surely keep me progressing as a fisherman and your fishing guide.  I would like to thank each and every one of you that helped to make it such a great year, but I don't think I have enough space on this website to do so.  You know who you are, and I thank you.

It's a sad day that I will be putting the boat and the gear away, however it would be weird to see a guy jigging over the side of his boat through an ice hole, so I have no choice.  The stories are in no way going to slow down, and Trophy Encounters will continue to be a place to ask questions and hear some of the latest and greatest from not only myself, but by all the others that are telling me their stories to share.  I hope to have something new on this site every day to check out, so make sure you look at this page, and the page called "Its Their Story" to keep on finding new information.

It has been a great run yet again, and I look forward to seeing all of you again on the water in the very near future.  Now its time to get the other equipment ready.  Who wants to go Ice Feeeeshin???  Thanks again everybody, and as always, Keep On Livin That Dream!

Muskie Food For Thought...

Last night I had to hit the water to enjoy the beautiful weather.  For late October you just cannot beat fishing in 65 degree weather.  The conditions were great and the muskies were eager to chomp down on yet another muskie bait tossed out of my boat.  Not only was I able to enjoy the weather with a couple of buddies (Dingy and Whorl), but I had to check on a few things for the next couple of weeks of the season.  Being that I was out of town for a week and not on the water for a few days, I just wanted to see what the fish were doing for some eager guests that are coming out in the next few days.  Secondly, I wanted to test a theory that I have been hearing from many people the past couple of weeks. 

The number one question being thrown my way right now is, Do Muskies Eat Topwater This Late In The Fall???  I know that for many years, people have been writing up stories in magazines and across the internet, that you have to throw large and slow baits when the water cools.  Not to say that they are wrong about this, but all it does is put a thought in every fishermans head that they have to switch everything they have done for the last 4 months and start from scratch.  This could cause several trips of practicing new techniques and baits and result in fishless trips, and even worse, No Confidence.  Like I tell everybody that comes in my boat.  "Grab a couple of baits only, Throw them a ton, Become confident in what you are doing, and you will catch fish."  Muskie fishing is totally a mind game and second guessing yourself.  Once you lose any confidence you had when you hit the water, the fish has won, and you may as well start fishing for sunnies or perch.  Yes, I do like to switch my patterns and lures throughout the season, and it keeps me on top of the game, but that doesn't mean that I am going to listen to every article written in a paper or throw nothing but Magnum sized bulldawgs because that is what everyone else is doing. 

Muskies eat baits because they think it is a meal for them.  They don't go through the summer thinking that an injured fish on the surface looks good in July and August and then consider it a muskie lure in October and November.  Yes they are smart and usually win the brain battle with a fisherman, but that doesn't mean that they won't eat what they think is food when they get hungry.  Last night I grabbed one Topwater lure and made it a point to catch a muskie on it before I went home.  We hit the water at 5:00 and by 6:45 I had 4 fish chase my bait and landed a fat mid 40 incher.  I also learned that all the chatter from the muskie gods may not be true.  In my head I feel I won the mind game, because I kept telling my buddies that I was going to land a muskie on this bait, and I brought the Mojo to the table, which gave me another Kodak moment that I love so much.

I do not consider myself an expert on this sport, but I am confident when I hit the water, and that boils down to one thing.  Fish in my boat.  If I want to throw a certain lure and I feel good about it, I feel I always have a chance at coaxing a muskie into biting.  Whether it is June or November, the muskies see your bait as a meal, not as a fishing lure, and if they are hungry they will hopefully take a chomp out of it.  The second I lose confidence in my approach, I may as well leave the lake.  I hope this little blurp in my journal helps a few of you guys out with your next trips on the lake.  It is my approach and sometimes it just plain works.  The next time you are out, feel free to try new techniques, because I strongly encourage learning something new every time on the water, but don't be afraid to try a bait that you did well on in July or August.  You may be pleasantly surprised.  Currently, the water temp is at 52-53 degrees which is likely to change soon.  Until next time Y'all, Keep on livin that Muskie Dream!

49.5 Inches of Fat...

When I hit the water today, I almost felt like it was my first time again.  Heck, it has been over a week since I touched any water without having a gun in my hand and a duck call on my neck.  Well, I guess we picked up right where we left off, because Bails is pictured here showing off his new PB (personal best).  We actually had an awesome day on the water for only landing this one fish.  We had 14 different fish try to make the wall of fame today, but this very fat 49.5 incher was the only one willing to commit.  Holy Moly are they getting fat this time of the season.  It is hard to judge from this picture, but his hands just sank right into the belly of this beast.  If you ever wanted to catch one of those huge fatty's that you see spreading across the internet, I would suggest bundling up and giving it a shot.  Either with me, or on your own, but it just might give you your new PB.  They put the feedbag on this time of the year, and although it isn't always pleasant to be on the water, the fish still have to eat their meals.  Nice fish buddy!  Oh so close to making it into the 50 inch club.  Boy would that have been sweeeeeeeeet!  Until Next time, Keep on Livin The Dream Y'all!