WCCO DEBUT...

Tonight I am honored to be the co-host of "Live Outdoors" on WCCO 830.  I have been on this show before, which is quite fun, however this is the first time that I will be hosting it from the big booth in Minneapolis.  I tell ya, it is one of the coolest studios.  With all the Microphones and such, it is a privilege just to be down there.  I have some awesome stories to update on the site, so tune in tomorrow to read them, or tonight to listen to them LIVE!  A brief history on this show.  Every Monday night Ron Schara and Mike Max bring you "Live Outdoors," which is a 1.5 hour long program that runs from 8 til 9:30 on WCCO 830.  They discuss anything and everything happening in the outdoors, and anybody can call in.  Tonight I will have 2 guests on the show, but you'll have to tune in to find out who they are.  It would also be great to hear from you if you want to call in.  Wish me Luck!  Livin The Dream!

Maintenance Muskie...

I'll go ahead and start out with a quick recap of the past few days and its events.  While I have been doing my best to keep you updated on what has been happening, I haven't been able to get everything on the world wide web.  This past Tuesday marks the first day in over 3 weeeks that I have hit the water without landing a beast.  I'm pretty proud of this accomplishment, but it didn't come without a fighting chance.  Tuesday morning Tom and I hit the frigid waters early in the morning and had some close calls right off the bat.  If it weren't for a broken eye on my rod, and the frayed line it caused, I might still have a very long streak going.  However, the line broke upon the strike of the fish, and all I was left with was a sad story of the one that got away.  It wasn't surprising to me to only have a couple of chances with the intense cold front that moved in, but all good streaks must come to an end, especially when dealing with muskies.

During our outing on Tuesday, I noticed some issues with my motor.  Sometimes these issues aren't the easiest to describe to the mechanics at the dealership, so when Mark at R & R Marine couldn't pinpoint the issue at the dealership, we took it for a test run on the water.  Last night we found ourselves in the middle of the lake with the cover off and the computer hooked up to the motor.  A few minutes, and our thoughts were confirmed on the issue.  Since we knew what needed to be fixed, and we had some time before darkness, we did what any fisherman would do....We Fished!  It didn't take long to locate some big fish, and Mark was staring down a giant before he prematurely set the hook.  That's fishin I guess, and a leson was learned on the art of muskie fishing.  A few minutes later I was the recipient of a picture perfect strike, and we photographed another beauty.  While she wasn't huge, (44 inches) she was a great catch nonetheless and it kindof brought my spirits up from the motor troubles.  A quick maintenance check turned out to be an alright evening on the water, and Mark and I enjoyed one of those picture perfect fall evenings.  If only he could have landed Mr. Piggy!  Oh well, I guess there is always next time.  And that is what I call, Livin the Dream!

Solo Shot...And A Couple More...

Saturday I spent most of my day in the vehicle driving up to and then back from deer camp.  Our annual trip to make sure the hurricanes didn't knock our forest down, and make a few modifications.  As I wheeled back into town, I could see the sun about to set, and decided to jump on the lake for a little solo trip.  Knowing I only had a half an hour before dark, I didn't make a hard attempt to gather a fishin buddy, and set sail to see how it would go.  Since I am not very use to fishing by myself, I started to think about what I was going to do with the fish, and why I would like to catch it right now.  So I decided I was going to try to locate some fish for the next outing and put a "tag" on them.  I know this sounds foolish, however I just wanted to fish new waters and find some fish that might not be pressured.  I decided I would try to pull any lures away from the fish I found and return later with some clients or buddies.  I then grabbed my camera and fooled around with the timer to see what I could do if I caught one and wanted a picture.  The back butt-seat is almost perfect, and I have 10 to 15 seconds after I press the button to get in place.  This all sounds weird, but it was very necessary for what was about to take place.

Within the first 10 casts I found an absolute monster and just barely got the hooks away from her.  Minutes later I had another close call with another 50 plus incher, and decided to get out of that spot....I'll be back of course.  As I pulled up onto another spot I haven't fished this year, it took only 2 casts before I didn't have a choice.  The big fish grabbed the bait so fast that I couldn't have gotten it away if I wanted to.  This is where my preparation all came together.  I landed the beast.  Unhooked her, pushed the button and hoisted her in the air for a quick photo.  She was back in the water before I knew what I had, but I got most of the fish in the bottom corner of the pic, and she was a beaut.  After that, it was dark and the bite was done!

I returned the next morning with Whorl to see how we would fare.  Well, it didn't take long to see that we were rolling yet again.  The first fish showed up after about 20 to 25 casts, and gave Mike his first perfect net job of the morning.   As the fog rolled in, it just had that feel of something special, and after a quick stop at spot number two, we were headed to a new favorite of mine.  This was obviously a good choice, as Mike was again able to put his netting skills to the test.  I only write the story this way, because that is how we talked about it all morning, and after each fish, it wasn't good job with that fish, it was good job with that net Mike!  Nothing but fun times when fishing with buddies.  Gosh has it been another great run this year.  I am just amazed every day at what keeps on eating the lures.  What a hoot!  Until next time, Keep on Livin the Dream!

An Outing To Remember...

Some days on the water come and go and we hardly even remember the hours we spent chasing our favorite fish.  Some days are left stuck in our memories for a lifetime, and that is exactly what keeps us coming back day after day.  Last night was one of those Outings that won't soon be forgotten.  I sat at the access for about 30 minutes waiting for Matt Hennen to show up, and trust me, I almost left without him.  I could just feel the muskie smell in the air and I could hardly control myself at the access.  I can't explain that feeling of knowing a fish is ready to be caught, but if you have been there, you know what I mean.  With the motor running as he pulled into the parking lot, he pretty much jumped in while I was driving away.  With a quick fist pump, we were on our way.  We grabbed our lucky lures, and as we pulled up he said..."why are we fishing here?"  I just told him to cast, and as always he laughed and agreed.  What he didn't know, was that I boated two muskies on this particular spot the day before, and he has never seen me fish it before. 

Well, on his first cast he brought nothing back but his lure.  Cast number two however was the cast of the night, as his bait stopped dead in its tracks.  Instantly we saw the fish surface and realized that we were dealing with another giant.  Hennen's other two muskies for the year were 49 and 49.5 inches and all he could think of was here comes Mr. 50 incher!  The battle was intense, as the large girth seemed to give this big girl extra power.  As I scooped it up in the net, the hooks flew out and the fist pumping and high fives began.  I get to experience this feat quite often, and I would be lieing if I said that it gets old.  As he struggled to hoist his largest fish to date, we snapped some quick photos and got her measurement.  While 50 was the goal, it just didn't quite reach, and we had to settle for 49.75 inches.  Not quite the 50 club, but I told him he can't be dissapointed with his three fish this year being all 49 or better.  "What a rush" he said as we went to for cast number 3.  Our night was made, and nothing else needed to be caught to make it successful.  Still on cloud 9, and spot number two, He does it again.  Yep, Mr. Hennen was on for battle number two.  While it was clear that this fish wasn't quite as large, he has never had 2 fish in one outing, and boy oh boy was he excited.  The only problem was that he forgot to check his line, and the fish had ideas that didn't have anything to do with getting its picture taken.  The line broke, Matt hollered bloody murder, and the fish swam away.  Still a great night for this guy, and I am yet again able to write about the one that got away, and the one that didn't get away.  That's why I love this sport so much.  Until next time, Keep on Livin the Dream!

Dorm Room Chatter...

Here I am, sitting down to write from the confines of my dorm room.  Yep, that's right, I'm back at college...only this time, it isn't school related.  Today and tomorrow I am part of a strategic planning session that we are holding at Ron Schara Productions.  I will start out by saying that it is quite an honor just to even be a part of something so great.  I could never have imagined sitting down and hearing the stories that we have heard today, and be able to throw my ideas back and forth as well.  I can just say that it will be very exciting to see what the future holds.  Not only that, but we are also the guests on the property for tonights dinner, followed by a meet and greet and a speech tonight for possibly hundreds of campus alumn.  Pretty cool stuff, and as always, I am honored to be a part of it all.

Now for the good stuff, that is more related to the fish that we have been seeking.  If you have been keeping track of what Mike is up to on his journal, you have probably already read some of this, but I do have some new stuff for ya.  Just to cap off Dean and Doc's wild ride from last week, we hit the water again on Wednesday morning, and found the fish very inactive.  In fact, they would surface behind our baits and stare at us, not one bit interested in eating.  Oh well, but we did land one before our morning was through, and the excitement carries into next season.

As Mike already mentioned, we hung deer stands Saturday afternoon, and decided it best not to hunt the after such a ruckess.  Instead we went out to get some fish for the bellies.  We grabbed the jiggin poles for the first time in ages, and ordered up a scoop of fatties...fathead minnows that is.  It wasn't long and we were on the board.  Actually I should say Mike was on the board.  He landed the first two walleyes, missed a handful more, then I followed it up with an eye of my own.  A short window of activity, but worth it for sure and we ate well Sunday after church.

Sunday morning I snuck out of bed early to watch the sun rise over the Eastern sky.  It was just spectacular, and just after I put the camera down, I was rewarded with a nice low 40 inch muskie.  Shortly thereafter my uncle Loge got to the lake from his long drive, and although he had his own boat and two buddies with him, we opted to fish together, and let Phillip and Jeff fish their hotspots.  After already having one in the boat, I felt pretty descent about landing some others with my old muskie buddy alongside of me.  It has been years since we have tackled a lake with just the two of us, but when that happens, the fish are really eager to take their pictures.  This past Sunday morning was no different, as the action started out with Loge landing his first.  It was a nice and healthy fish, about 42 inches, however it had a really weird discoloration in the midsection of his body.  Anyway, a muskie nonetheless and we were back at it.  The next spot, we watched a beautiful 44 incher swipe and miss his lure in the crystal clear water, after a split second to admire the miss, the fish ate, and Loge's 2nd battle of the morning was underway.  At the completion of his battle, the fish made that perfect turn and the lure just came right back to us...Otherwise known as a quick release!  Lets just say that he wasn't too happy about it.  I just chuckled, and hooked up with my 2nd of the morning about 5 casts later.  I had a pretty good hookset, and I was able to do what my partner couldn't...land the fish (hahaha).   A great morning on the water, however I had to call it at that time, and I was off to church.  3 hours of fishing, and 3 muskies is way more than good enough for me.  Especially when i consider the conditions to be less than favorable.  I guess the fish just like it when Loge and I fish together.

After eating all the walleyes I had planned on giving to the farmers that let me hunt on their property, I decided to give it a go again.  Same exact results as the night before, and Whorl had another great picture holding some dandie walleyes.  3 nice eaters, caught in the same exact order as the day before.  Whorl, then Whorl, then a miss or two, then my turn!  A great weekend of Living the dream, and now I must get back to my studies...I will report back with what we find out.