Simply Awesome!

I feel like I could just put this picture up here and it would speak for itself.  What you are looking at is the exact reason that I love what I do.  This morning I was joined on the water by two of the most excited fisherman I have had in my boat in quite some time.  The phone conversation the day before with their father revealed that the kids were likely not to sleep due to their excitement.  They had been looking at pictures on this website for some time and have been getting extremely excited to catch their very own muskie.  As I looked at the forecast for our morning of fishing I had a big lump in my throat because it wasn't looking like one of those days that would give us a lot of chances.  Talk about pressure!

This morning I hit the water with David and two young fishing buddies excited to land their first muskie.  Their names were Alex and Adam, and they were ten years old.  Our first spot of the day proved that even with the hot, calm and sunny weather that we were going to have our chances.  Shortly into the outing Alex had a muskie surface behind his topwater lure.  A close call, but not what we were hoping.  Shortly after, the boys were taking a break when I decided to cast to a hopeful fish.  Sure enough, it tried its darndest to eat boatside, but again left us wondering what could have been.  This time, Alex got a close-up view of their target for the day.  "That thing was huge," he said, and pretty much sealed the deal for him.  He was going to land a muskie if it was the last thing he was to do!

As sure as the sun rising in the east, about an hour later the strongest battle of young Alex's life was full on.  Man vs. beast became a reality and Alex was the victor.  An accomplishment that this young fisherman will likely never forget, and one heck of a first muskie.  Ahh, the glories of muskie fishing.  Does it get any better than that?  I think not!  The only problem is that I do believe dad will now have to become a muskie fisherman to keep these boys entertained!  There is nothing more rewarding than seeing young fisherman get so excited to fish, and when I can get them hooked into a big muskie, that makes my year.  Just awesome!  Congrats on the great fish Alex, may there be many more!  Until next time, keep on living the muskie dream!

Muskie Frustrations...

Muskie Frustrations... I think we all can relate to this title.  If you chase the big fish for any amount of time you are going to run into days when you can't do anything wrong, and days when you can't do anything right.  Unfortunately it's been the latter of those two for me lately.  I haven't been on the water quite as much lately due to personal commitments, but the passion is still there.  My trips as of late have been with some pretty lucky fisherman that have boated some nice fish over the years with me, but that didn't gaurantee our success last week.  Here's how most of the week went...

Mid week I spent some time on the water just looking over some new, old and in-between locations.  My goal was to find fish that haven't been bothered too much lately.  I've had some fun experimenting with some new baits while on my free time, and found it to be quite exciting to get responses out of fish that literally make them miss the bait with excitement.  That was ok, because my goal was to find new fish, and not to catch the fish.  After all, I feel a good guide isn't suppose to catch the fish his customers are after.  With my homework all done and fish sitting where I wanted them, we hit the water on Wednesday evening with high hopes.  Steve and Don have danced this muskie dance with me many times in the past and scored well.  They brought the mojo with them, unfortunately the muskies were going to be the victors on their trip.  During our evening we managed to entice 4 seperate muskies into striking, but managed to take pictures of zero in the boat.  Ahhh, that love hate relationship!  Oh well, we saw a few others and had an extremely exciting evening of muskie hunting anyway.

Thursday morning was more of the same.  We tried mixing a few different things up for Bret and his buddy Elling.  Bret has had a streak of at least one muskie every time we have fished together for the last 3 seasons.  Again, this streak came to an end when all the muskies we saw managed to leave us without a picture.  A few gliches in the system caused a couple of hopefuls to slip through the cracks, but hey that's how it can go some days.  A fun morning on the water was capped off by an intense half hour of fishing when these guys managed to bring a half dozen muskies to their feet before the fish outsmarted them.  Intense and exciting, but no dice.

Friday I just couldn't handle the lack of fish in the boat.  I had a wedding to attend in the afternoon, but had a short window of time to hit the water before I needed to put the dress pants and tie on.  Mike and I jumped in the boat for what will likely be one of the shortest outings of the year, but hey, I had a few fish located, and I wanted desperately to land one before I left to hear the wedding bells ding.  As we approached our first spot I was feeling the mojo as much as any guy could.  I laughed when I told Mike to grab the net, but my prediction came true.  About mid cast I was stopped dead in my tracks as a muskie went buck wild on the end of my line.  I will just say that it felt very good.  A few spots later and a couple of insanely close calls and our time was up.  Short and sweet, just the way I like it.  It's unfortunate that so many of the fish last week came unhooked.  It stinks, but that's the reality of chasing big fish.  It adds to the excitement when it all comes together, and stresses the importance of every detail to the game.  If it was easy every time it just wouldn't be any fun.  

As a side note to the muskie business, I want to make a brief but important comment about our local lakes.  The cormorant conditions have been escalating out of control the past couple of years.  Now is your chance to do something about it.  The In Towne Marina as well as several local west metro businesses have a petition available to sign.  The goal is to create awareness and voice our opinions as concerned anglers and lake enthusiasts.  This petition will make it to our government officials, and everyone is encouraged to help with this cause before it is too late.  Here are a couple of quick facts to ponder.  There are currently at least 1,500 to 2,000 cormorants using Waconia Island on Lake Waconia as their nesting and roosting territories.  They fly to local lakes by the hundreds and eat about 1 pound of fish a day.  If you think about this, that several thousand pounds of fish leaving our lakes every day.  Not good.  Also, they destroy habitat because their crap is so acidic that it kills all vegetation it touches.  It's a disgusting sight to see, and even worse to smell.  Their effects are already visible on the fish, vegetation and surrounding lakes.  It will only get worse if we don't do something about it.  They have no natural predators and this is happening all across the country.  I encourage you to sign the petition if you see it and help make a difference before it is too late.  Also, please help spread the word about this issue.  It is literally out of control. 

On a positive side, I want to give a great big shout out to Stanton who came into town last week.  Soon he will be marrying my sister and I cannot be more excited for either of them.  I'm sure you will all see photo's of him and his first fish very soon.  Until then, keep on Livin' the Dream!

What's New?

Another week gone by, and more stories to tell. Hmmm. Where to start? How about the weather? If you haven't noticed, this has been an unusually cool summer. Water temps are still hanging in the lower 70's on the metro lakes. That is about 10 degrees cooler than an average year. How about the drought? Yep, the water is a solid foot or two below the normal depths. Weed growth is different based off of both the aforementioned details, and the fish are reacting differently than in the past. What does all of this mean? Absolutely nothing! It's still fishing, and you still have to experiment to find what is working right now.

While it may seem like the bite has been slower than other years, the fish are still biting. I have caught muskies this year in the most random places. I have found 'em in 30 feet of water, 2 feet of water and everywhere in between. Basically what I am saying is that I have really been experimenting a lot. Some days have been spectacular and others not so good. As I write this post I'm not quite sure how I feel about everything. I went from landing at least one muskie on 16 out of 18 days on the water, to having only one successful trip in the last 4 days on the water. Normally this would leave me feeling down and out, but I guess I'm not quite ready to hang my head. In those 4 trips we managed a nice 45 and 48 incher. They both came about an hour apart from each other making for a great evening of fishing. The other 3 days just have me shaking my head. During these outings myself and my guests have managed to raise about 40 fish without successfully landing one. If it could go wrong, it has! Fish shaking hooks boatside, in the air, under water and in the weeds. Argh! I have to laugh at the results, because looking at the stats behind it, you would think that it hasn't been a good stretch of fishing. The opposite of that would actually be a better assessment. Sure we didn't land any fish, but the amount of action that I have been having lately is actually up from the week previous. Even though that week lended itself nearly a dozen muskies in the boat. Weird. Each trip has yielded some chances for myself and the other anglers, but we failed to connect on nearly every occasion. The only time we didn't miss any chances came on Friday morning when no muskies attempted our lures at all. Greg and his son Jack came out for a multi-specie morning on the water. We tried for muskies for a bit, switched to bass, caught a few pan fish, and then threw for ski's again. Jack was the victor on that outing with one of the largest pike I have seen in the metro in years. Not to mention a heck of a dandy bass! We landed some nice fish that morning, but no muskies.

When I look back at last week I just have to shake my head and chalk it up as another learning experience. A good stretch on the water that just didn't pan out like it was suppose to. Oh well, this week is a new week and I get to try it all over again. I'm just thinking that the results might be a bit better.

As a side note, I have been doing a lot of radio hosting the past few months. If you are ever on the road on Monday evening, you can catch the show as Mike Max and I talk fishin', huntin', and everything else outdoors. WCCO 830 AM from 8 to 9:30 PM. Until next time, keep on livin' the dream!

Take a girl fishing...

Every summer I designate at least one day to get my sister and her friends on the water.  I call it take a girl fishing day, and they absolutely love the chance to do something out of their every day routine.  Not to mention the beautiful sun-rays that are cast over the water.  I look forward to this day each year because their excitement to fish is so incredible.  To share this with others is great, and the girls just love it!  In the past we have had as many as 8 girls on the water.  This past trip had a few kinks in the girls' schedule, but we decided to enjoy the Sunday weather anyway.  Becky and Sarah hopped in the boat and we were off to enjoy some tunes, sunshine, fish and laughs. 

Our mission was to catch anything that would give us some action.  We spent about two hours trying to catch what I figured to be the easiest, which was sunnies.  The only problem was that I couldn't for the life of me find one that wanted to bite.  As I pulled the anchor I decided to grab the big sticks.  With pontoons, jet ski's and tubers surrounding us, the foolish thought came over my head and I thought we would try it any way.  Since we couldn't get a sunny to bite, we might as well go for the grand prize and a giant fish.  As I approached the exact spot I wanted to cast, the girls decided that they would first see what they needed to do and learn a few things from us by watching us cast the abnormally large fishing lures.  Let's just say that this was a big mistake on their part.  Mike's first and only cast of the day resulted in a 43 incher that received simultaneous screams from the girls throughout his entire battle.  It was awesome!  The girls were impressed to say the least.  Obviously that action got 'em excited, and my sister was instantly onboard to cast the big baits. 

Sarah was still a little hesitant and decided to keep on watching and learning.  I explained that so many times the fish will eat the lure right by the boat, and that you have to be ready as well as know how to work the lure.  Four casts after Mike caught his fish, and my fifth cast of the afternoon this exact scenario came to life.  As Sarah was leaning over the side of the boat, I brought my lure boatside to see a wide open mouth charging in behind it.  Yep, you guessed it.  The fish latched on and and the hoots and hollers were again heard from across the lake.  She had a front row seat to witness what I think is the single coolest strike in fishing.  A very healthy 46 incher was soon in the net and the slimy high fives were bouncing from all four of us.  Does it get any better than that?  I think not!

That was all it took to get Sarah involved and soon we had two new muskie freak members in the boat.  I've said this many times before, but I just love teaching women how to muskie fish.  They learn so much better than a man does.  This is funny, but the steriotype holds true.  They listen to the directions that I give, and pick up on all the details instantly.  Sorry guys, but I'm just being honest!  Sarah and Becky weren't afraid to ask questions, and soon they were both casting perfectly and drawing flawless figure 8's with their rod tips in the water.  About 15 casts into Sarah's muskie career this almost gave her a boatside strike as the fish swiped at her bait twice at boatside.  A feat that would had made me the proudest man on the water.  Unfortunately, the fish had other ideas and only left us wondering what could have been.  With dinner on the table at home we decided to call it a day.  An afternoon on the water with the girls that won't ever be forgetten!  I think you might see these two holding their own muskies very soon!  Until then, keep on livin' the dream!

One Lucky Muskie Freak...

"I'd rather be lucky than good," was all Tim had to say after his last antics on the water.  Friday evening he and I snuck out on the water for a couple of hours of fishing before the sun set on our day.  A perfect way to end the work week we figured.  When we left the dock I was prodding Tim with thoughts of continuing his hot streak.  The lucky walleye/bass guy has a batting average hovering around 1,000% when we muskie fish together.  We may only muskie fish together a couple of times a year, but he always gets 'em.  He laughs about it and chalks it up to the guide, but there almost has to be something more behind it.  He literally catches every single fish that tries to eat his bait, and for that, I have to tip my hat.  You know the saying, "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."  Well, I guess this horse drinks every single time, and I love it!

I've been toying around with a rather new bait, and the results have been nothing short of amazing.  After a brief explanation and demonstration of the lure in the water, Tim mastered the art.  I explained that about 70 percent of the action will occur at boatside with this new thing, but he laughed and said he wanted it to happen out where he couldn't see the fish to mess it up.  About 20 minutes into our outing his exact desires became a reality.  A monster fish devoured his bait several yards from the boat, and the battle was on.  A fish that rocked him from the depths showed her massive face and soon found the net.  This beast of a muskie got him in the 50 inch club and kept his unbelievable streak alive.  All I could do was laugh and give him a high five.  What else can a guy do?  His perception of muskie fishing obviously must be skewed by the non-human like results that he has had the last 3 seasons that we have muskie fished together.  I tipped my hat once again, and could do nothing but laugh at his success. 

While he has had some incredible luck, the last two times out he has put a curse on me.  He laughs at what he calls my "rookie mistakes," because I keep losing fish by doing the exact opposite of what I tell him to do.  Haha!  That's muskie fishing I guess, but I am really starting to wonder what is happening to me.  I've lost some dandy muskies that I battled for a bit, and his joking attitude doesn't let me forget anything that I have done wrong.  I guess that's why I love this sport so much, but more impostantly why I enjoy fishing with him.  Our evening ended with Tim entering the 50 inch club, and myself losing one of the 10 other muskies that attempted my bait.  We saw a giant of a fish that we have named Brutus, and solved a few of the world's problems during out short trip.  Just another perfect way to spend an evening if you are the luckiest muskie freak on the water.  Great night and a great fish!  Until next time, Keep on Livin' the dream!