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!

They Always Bite When You're Not Ready....Hang On Tight!

The title of this entry was the motto for our morning on the water.  Adam, (aka: Mr. 54 incher) and his buddy Rick hopped in my floating device this morning just as daylight was approaching off to the East.  It didn't take us long to get on the board, and we were photographing another beauty.  This girl measured in the mid 40's and gave us a starting point for the morning.  It's always a good feeling to get that first one on the boards.  We soon followed with another fish giving us a mild heart attack and almost coming in the boat.  We had action off and on throughout our quest and laughed along the way.  Thanks to a couple of comedians we know, we had a couple of great laughs as we kept on fishing.  The funny part of the day came when we were talking about how they always seem to bite when you're not ready, and how you have to hang on tight.  Well, that's when Rick almost lossed his rod as one grabbed his bait about 5 ft below the surface in the sunlit waters.  Adam and I could see it coming perfectly, but Rick chuckled afterwards because that is just when he wasn't looking and had it smash his lure.  Needless to say, it was cool!  After that fish, we saw a couple more and were on our way back to the landing.  A good morning to be on the water sun tanning, but not the best muskie conditions.  Still fun, and a great way to spend a Friday.  Thanks Adam and Rick, I'm already looking forward to next time!

Last night was nicknamed Theo Thursday in a very quick time on the water.  Waconia....What, Not Tonka???  That's right, we gave the beasts the night off on that lake and decided to test out a couple of haunts I have landed fish on in the past on good ol' Waconia.  It took all of 10 minutes to decide that we had made a good decision, and Theo has now upped his personal best by a 1/2 inch.  It was sweet...The bite was sweet...the fight was sweet...It was just sweet.  That fish came within feet of where I wanted to see one and I had to grin at what I have seen from this lake the last couple of times out.  After the release, and 2 casts later, Theo had the largest muskie I have seen on that lake coming for his bait.  It swung and missed 3 times on the way to the boat, only to grab it on the figure 8.  AWESOME doesn't even describe what we witnessed.  The fish was hooked, but panic set in quickly because of how the fish grabbed the bait and the poor spot that it was hooked.  During the battle, all we could say was, "Oh My God It's Huge....Oh My God It's Barely Hooked....Oh My God It's Huge."  Needless to say, the battle was intense and it just couldn't be put in the net so quickly, within seconds we were both shaking and the fish was free as a bird.  Oh my god was it close and big.  It would have been the second 50+ incher of the day, but instead it will only be stuck in Theo's memory.  Sorry Karen (Theo's wife), but I don't think you will be seeing your hubby too often the next few evenings.  If that man wasn't addicted before, that fish just did it to him.  We wrapped it up a few minutes later as darkness fell, and I'm sure Theo spent a few hours staring at the ceiling wondering what might have been.  I think I speak for us both when I say that it was a good time on the water.  Thanks Buddy!  Until Next time Y'all, Keep on Livin the Muskie Dream!

Adventures of Jack and Walt

Today was the conclusion of another great series of days on the water with Jack and his fellow fisherman named Walt.  We have shared many laughs and stories throughout our time on the water.  Well, mainly Jack shared stories and Walt and I enjoyed hearing them. 

I feel like I am a whole lot smarter, and I could possibly explain our health care system as well as certain functions of hospitals in our country.  Jack can possibly explain every detail about how to catch a muskie by my stories, and Walt has taught me why those little birds chase those big birds around in the sky.  That right there sums up 3 days on the water.  But in all honesty, we did spend 3 relaxing days chasing these toothy critters.  We were unfortunately blessed with one of the most intense cold fronts that I have dealt with in quite some time, and even did some fishing with temps in the 30's one morning.  Quite a difference from the 90's from the previous week. 

We had many chances, and we landed 4 muskies in total on our quest.  We saw little ones, big ones, and some in between.  We fished mainly Minnetonka, but we also did a tour of Waconia this morning and gave Walt some new views on his first trip to Minnesota.  Although Walt had his doubts about catching a muskie, and quite often he reminded us that he didn't want to land one that big, or definitely not touch it, he did finally catch one of our famous fish.  This morning wrapped up Jacks final outing with me this season, and I enjoyed every one of them.  We have totaled 5 muskies in those trips with Jack landing his largest ever at 46 inches.  Truly a great fish and I am fortunate to say that I was able to guide him to the catch.  While we fished very hard this past 3 days, 3 fish came in the last hour or so of our time together.  With the conditions being as brutal as they were, it was obvious that we were going to have to work for our bites which we did.  Today we had decent weather and we capitalized on our chances.  With a 42, a 45 and a sub 40 incher, we had excitement to end our trip that won't soon be forgotten.  It's weird how it happens, but after fishing for countless hours and days, we boated 2 within 5 minutes of each other and lost one more on our last spot for the day. 

We experienced Wind, Bitter Cold, more Wind, and a Storm front that would chase most off the water.  The life long lessons that the three of us shared will be stored in my memory bank forever, and I think Jack and I made a believer out of Walt when it comes to the sport of Muskie fishing.  Thanks for it all gentlemen!  Enjoy your winter down in Florida, and I'll be calling you Walt when I come out to the Rockie Mountains.  One more reminder, I wouldn't hold a cocktail party during a Hurricane just to say you did it.  Apparently it's not all its cracked up to be!

Brrrrrrr....And a Waconia 50!

Tonight I tried something different.  Judging by the release picture, it worked.  I was out on Waconia for a brief time before dark trying to catch a few panfish to take up north with me this weekend.  Well, as it turns out, I can't catch panfish very well right now.  Who would have thought that I would have a better chance to land a muskie than a sunfish????  So just before dark I slipped over to a spot that I was hoping would hold a fish.  About 5 casts into it, this beastly 50 incher came full steam ahead and smashed my chewed up lure.  Pretty exciting even though I was the only one in the boat.  I will be looking into this pattern in the very near future, because I like what I just saw!

The last two days I have been on the water laughing and joking with Jack and his buddy from Colorado named Walt.  It has been a great couple of mornings with these gentlemen, but it has been downright cold.   Brrrrrrrr....This morning it was 38 degrees when we put the boat in the water.  We did manage to land a smaller muskie this morning and saw a few others, but the fish were as expected, very lethargic.  Yesterday morning was similar, but I had one nice one hooked up by the boat, and Walt battled a mid 40 incher for a brief period before it slipped away.  We have seen a few the last couple of days, but we have definitely been working hard for our action.  The escapade continues with Jack and Walt tomorrow, and I am going to continue to try my darndest to send him home with the fish of a lifetime.  This story is to be continued.

You guessed it....The keys are in the vehicle....The truck is running....and legal shooting hours start in less than a half hour.  I had to put this picture on here to rip on Alabama (aka; John Denver or D-Train or Daniel) just a little bit.  It was quite the episode at 5 in the morning, but as you can see, I captured it all with a picture so he never forgets this one.  All in good fun boys!

And it happens....

Well it finally happened!  Not that I have had too many outings, but still, I landed my first muskie of the 07 season.  Normally I would have a handful of them after the first couple weeks of walleye season, and occasionally throughout the early musky season, but this is my first toothy bugger of the year.  I blame my lack of muskies on the fact that I haven't been fishing my normal waters and patterns as often.  For the most part, I have watched everyone else in my boat have chances this season, and it wasn't until Mille Lacs on Monday that I actually had them trying to eat my bait.  This morning was the same thing, because I watched 3 different muskies try to eat Matt's lure, and I still hadn't had any action.  Not to mention the fact that Matt lost yet another muskie, this one was screaming by the boat when the hooks let loose.  Well, after ragging on him for nearly an hour, I set the hook and I was watching yet another muskie fly high.  I love it, and that is all I have to say about that.  This year I have yet to fish my pride and joy waters of Minnetonka, and have opted to learn a thing or two about the Waconia muskies.  I wouldn't say that I am an expert at it, but in the 4 outings after them, we have landed 3 and had many other chances and sightings.  I feel pretty good about what I have going on with my hometown lake, and hope to put a few more sore mouths on them before I head back to Tonka.  The fun of having the opportunity to spend time learning new water just intrigues me, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity.  Hope the bite keeps up, and as always, Keep on livin the Dream!

Oh yeah, 41 inches.  Not huge, but it'll do.  Plus I don't think this is the last picture taker of the year.

Oh, and I am actually not complaining that I wasn't getting all the chances cuz I would much rather have everyone else get the catch instead of me, hence why I enjoy guiding!