A Couple For The Good Guys...

No, this isn't part of the quest, not just yet anyway.  The weather was, well, a little too blustery for our first attempt this past friday.  In fact, as I write in my journal, I'm now missing another planned attempt at fishing the big pond.  These darn winds just won't subside.  The forecast on weather.com for today doesn't have a sun with clouds around it.  Nope, it just says WINDY!  Oh well, there are other lakes to fish, and other fish to catch.  Yesterday we made the most of our situation and while we weren't chasing the state record muskie on Mille Lacs, we were still chasing muskies in November.

The journal would read something like this - November 1, a good start to the month, the boys done good.  The boys being Jeff and Gordy.  I picked these gentlemen up at the dock around 10 AM.  This was our first outing together, and much to my surprise, these gentlemen informed me that they had no expectations leading into our trip.  Whew, that was a relief.  I'm use to some people saying, "if it aint 50, I don't want it!"  Now while I love 50 inch muskies as much as the next guy, that kind of pressure can kill a muskie guide, or at a minimum, take a few years off of his life expectancy.  Nope, these guys were open to any events that were going to unfold, large, small or none at all.

For Jeff it was a bit of a learning experience.  A chance for him to pick up a few pointers to help him in his first full year of owning a boat - next year.  For Gordy?  Well, I think this was a good excuse for him to enjoy the November weather.  Regardless, my goal was the same as any time I hit the water.  Get my clients to catch a muskie or two and have a darn good time doing it.

Our morning came and went in a hurry, we saw nothing, but passed the time by discussing muskie tactics and things that trigger a bite.  Funny thing was that one of the triggers was about to happen and we didn't even know it.  Early in our afternoon, our patience was about to be rewarded when the wind came to a dead stop and started to lightly blow from a completely different direction.  I hardly had a chance to make the comment about the change when Jeff hooked into his largest fish ever.  It was a 46 incher that truly gave him a run for his money, and left him wondering if the tackle he had at home would withstand the abuse these fish can dish out.  I secretly fist pumped after it all went down, and once again praised the big guy up above for changing the wind for a few brief moments. 

After the release the wind returned to its normal routine and we experienced more of the same.  Nothing.  As we talked about these triggers a bit more, we once again had no idea that we were going to get another opportunity from a wind trigger.  Yep, you guessed it, about an hour had passed when the winds once again laid flat.  I instantly motored to a previously located fish, and as the light gusts from the opposite direction started to hit us in the face, Gordy was given his opportunity.  An opportunity that he took full advantage of, and gave us a perfect end to our November first outing.  Now if this pattern will hold true, I can anticipate about 60 to 70 muskies in the boat this month.  Ha!  Until the wind shifts again in our muskie favor, keep on livin' your dream!

Prelude To The Quest...

Ahh yes, it's about that time again.  Time for the big girls to come out and play.  For most, November means deer hunting, pheasant hunting, or just hunting in general.  For me, this still applies, but I also go hunting for the one.  The biggest, fattest, meanest fish swimming in fresh water.  I tend to give her a personal name, but we all know her best as the state record muskie. 

If you haven't followed my quest in the past, here is a bit of info to get you up to speed.  Each fall, specifically the month of November, I begin a quest to land the next state record muskie.  I know this might sound rather stupid to think that I can just go out and catch a state record fish, but it really isn't that out of line.  See, in the fall these fish become larger.  Given the right lake with the right forage, these muskies can literally weigh an extra 10 pounds heavier during November than at any other time of the year.  Finding the right locations and timing things perfectly put the odds in your favor to land muskies exceeding 50 pounds.  This isn't simple by any means and it takes great patience and persistence in the worst elements mother nature can throw out, but the rewards can be incredible.

For the last two seasons I have been concentrating my efforts on Lake Mille Lacs.  It is no secret that this lake holds some of the largest muskies ever grown.  Coupled with the tullibee population, these beasts reach peak weight just before the ice forms.  It is cold, it is exhausting, but I have found ways to cope and I have found fish willing to strike.  Two years ago I landed a fish that still leaves me wondering.  She was a beaut that no doubt surpassed the 50 pound mark.  The next day I scored another giant that might have only been a few pounds shy of the record as well.  It was those two fish that fueled my fire to catch a fish larger than the current record. 

Last season was another epic quest that gets me excited to start this years journey.  I located 3 fish that I figured would have topped the scales around that elusive 54 pound mark.  Two of them were near the record, and one of them totally blew the rest away.  I nicknamed her Diane, and we fished her hard when the weather would allow for the better part of two weeks.  I estimated her at about 60 pounds, and I am not making this up or exxaggerating.  Some days I could get her to follow and others she would have none of my business.  When she would come to the boat, it was a sight out of this world.  Picture a five gallon bucket nearly 60 inches long following your bait and you will understand what I am talking about.  She was almost surreal.  I don't remember the date, but there was one time that we got her to eat.  It was with my good buddy Mike that day, and after releasing a nice mid 40 inch muskie, we quickly drove to her location hoping the short window of opportunity was till open.  I pointed to her home, and Mike landed the lure spot on.  She devoured the bait the second the lure hit the water, and chaos broke loose.  It was a battle that I will never forget, and one that left Mike in tears on the back deck of the boat.  As the fish came around the boat, she did a barrel role and the over-sized lure popped free.  It was an experience that you literally had to be there to understand.  Sure it's only a fish tale at this point, but something so large and powerful still leaves me sleepless at night.  I know what we had, and we had the next state record inches from the net. 

So with that, I hope you understand my quest for the one.  It is not made up, it is not exxaggerated, it is not a ridiculous feat to accomplish, but it is the most insane fishing one can imagine.  As the water temps continue to fall to the perfect degree, I will soon be trailering the boat north.  When you are in your deer stand, I will likely be on the water.  When you are ice fishing the first frozen lakes, I will likely be chipping the access free to launch my boat.  When the weather cooperates and the winds lay down, I will likely be somewhere on that big pond.  This year I will have more guests than ever before.  Clients, Newspaper writers, television crews and good fishing friends are all on the menu to join the insanity.  It's all gonna be a hoot!  What will we do when we land that beast?  I just don't know, but I hope that you follow along and join me for the entire experience.  Until the state record strikes, keep on chasing your dream!

NoDak Fowl...

It's been a while since I donned the waders in a slopping pile of mud.  Last week I did just that, and boy did it feel good.  Tuesday night I jumped in the truck filled with my huntin' buddies, Dusty, Scott, Jeff and Sean.  For us, it was a much anticipated trip to North Dakota for ducks, geese, pheasants and anything else that flies.  For the most part, we were after mallards in that picture perfect field hunt setting, but on trips like this, we do anything necessary to get the job done.  Once we get our fill of chasing ducks, then we switch gears, change from camoflouge to blaze orange, and follow the dog through the weeds in search of roosters.  It's chaotic, exciting, overwhelming and exhausting, but that is why we love hunting in Nodak, and we certainly don't waste a minute of daylight during our trips.

Wednesday morning we learned exactly how our week would be spent.  Mud was the word, and sloppy was an understatement.  We met up with Young Ben, and he took us to a mallard honey hole.  Hoping for that perfect mallard shoot in the "dry" field, Ben greeted us with the comment, "oh, and you guys need to bring your waders, leave the blinds in the truck." Yes, we were hunting a field, but the darn thing was flooded, along with half of the other fields in NoDak.  Oh well, we didn't care and followed Ben's orders to Mallard heaven.  Soon after we were reminded why we love hunting in the central of the flyway as we cut mallards that were tumbling into our meager little spread of 6 decoys and 2 spinning wings. 

After the completion of our Wednesday morning hunt, we continued our drive to the final destination in the central part of the state.  It was about two more hours west.  Slowly we drove out of the insanely flooded field country and into the area that we had hunted for the past 7 years.  Well it took us two days for things to click, but while we enjoyed the dry areas in the middle of the state, the duck numbers were less and so were our results.  The ducks were enjoying the sloppy wet fields to the east, which meant that we too would have to suck it up and follow the migration the way nature intended it to be.  With a sigh, we packed our gear and headed back to scout the muddy field waters.  It took us about 5 minutes to find thousands of mallards.  We locked about a dozen locations in our GPS in a matter of hours, and obtained permission to the privately owned duck havens. 

While this was quite a drive, it was clearly worth it.  The next morning we slopped through the mud to the waters edge and put out our small ducky spread.  Then we laid our nice looking coffin blinds in the mud and spread the goo all over the outside.  As the skies to the east started to glow, we were bombarded by ducks by the hundreds.  It really was the hunt of a lifetime, the reason for our trip and the reason that I will be back next year.  During the next few hours we picked out greenies and folded 'em like we knew what we were doing.  As we filled our limit we just laughed at the sight of everything we had just done.  The blinds were covered in mud, inside and out, and everything we touched had a layer of black somewhere on it.  It was crazy, but so worth it! 

As I returned to the farmer that gave us permission, he chuckled at the sight of what I had become.  My face covered in mud and war-paint, I told him thank you for the hunt of a lifetime.  He obliged and continued to laugh.  Looking back at it all, I would have been laughing if I were him too.  We looked ridiculous, our white truck was brownish black and our gear the same.  If you are a duck hunter, it just doesn't get any better than that.  If you are a farmer, then you will laugh at the guy that pulls up to your front door.  That's just how it is, and I get it!  For us, all the work that we put in will be forgotten, but that hunt will remain in our memory 'til we retire. 

The rest of the trip was more of the same, along with some "dry" pheasant hunts that kept us occupied when we weren't swimming in the muddy fields.  We laughed uncontrollably at times, and we got to watch Jeff's dog, Bella, retrieve her first ducks and flush her first pheasants.  The only negative part of the trip was that I chose not to bring the camera into the muddy hunts and the pictures will have to be remembered in our minds instead of on film.  Oh well, those memories will be stuck in my mind forever.  Thanks for the remarkable trip fella's, I can't wait 'til next year!  Until then, Keep on livin' the dream!

Fishing With Legends... Part 2

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to spend a week fishing with a legendary angler by the name of Joe Bucher.  This man has an extensive history with our sport of muskie angling.  What he has done in his lifetime is certainly nothing short of amazing.  As cool as that was, I returned home for a short stay and then went straight to northern Minnesota to spend some time with another stud in the muskie world.  We were once again filming a show for "Legends of Rod and Reel," a program that airs on the Outdoor Channel, but this time we were filming with the creators of the all impressive muskie catching Cowgirls. 

Brad Hoppe is the name behind the bait and the focus of our program.  While the history behind this man may not be that of Joe Bucher or other fishing icons that we grew up with, what he has been able to do in a short period of time is simply incredible.  Muskie fishing as we know it has changed dramatically over the last 5 years, and it is his passion for change that created it.  Here's a brief story to explain what I am talking about.

Several years ago Brad and his girlfriend at the time named Carrie, decided that they wanted to create something totally different in the world of muskie fishing.  They had tinkered with a few jerkbaits and crankbaits, but it wasn't until Carrie found some tinsel/flashabou and spun herself a bucktail with two gigantic blades that they struck a nerve.  The nerve was from the muskies and their eagerness to eat the lure.  Upon creation, Brad said that he thought it was goofy and didn't want to throw it.  Well, Carrie finally talked him into it, and minutes later he landed the largest muskie of his life measuring 53.5 inches.  From there, the explosion occured, and soon guides like Jason Hammernick were throwing it with unbelievable results.  If you muskie fish today, then you have heard of their line of baits.  The Double Cowgirl, Showgirl, Siligirl and Super Model are their trademarks, and boy have they stuck.  Their bladed baits have accounted for more muskies over 50 inches than possibly any other lure during its time.  It's almost to the point of unfairness to the fish, and if you are on any muskie lake, odds are that you will hear the clanking of their blades flying through the air. 

The neat part for me is learning where it all started, and to see how everything is hand made, one at a time for our fish catching pleasure.  Today, Brad and Carrie are married.  They both have quit their day jobs to focus entirely on muskie fishing.  Brad is a full-time guide, and Carrie is a full-time lure making artist.  From their place out in the country near Alexandria, MN, they put together hundreds of thousands of baits for you and I to toss.  It's almost overwhelming to see it all, but very neat.  They laughed when they said that some muskie fisherman have thought that their lures are made out fo the country.  I can assure you this is not the case, and I have witnessed their Musky Mayhem.

Of course we also had to fish.  Brad and Carrie bundled up for our outing, and almost immediately the fish responded.  The third cast of our trip brought a hefty musky boatside, but she didn't take.  Shortly after, the guide's trademark name came about as the Musky Mayhem we were looking for exploded at our feet.  Carrie had latched into a beast of a fish at boatside on one of her newly put together Cowgirls.  The results?  Well, I guess you'll just have to watch the program to see how it all went down.  Day two we were joined by muskie phenom Jason Hammernick.  He and Brad jumped in the boat together for our final day of on the water filming.  Again, we saw fish ranging into the mid 50's, and again, I will let you watch to see what happened. 

For me, spending time with some of the biggest names in muskie fishing, past and present, has been one of the best experiences in my young career.  These guys are all truly unique in their own way.  How they started, what they have done, and their passion for the fish is very inspiring.  I guess I am almost humbled to say that I have fished with some of the Legends of Rod and Reel.  Until next time, keep on livin' the dream!

Fishing With Legends...Part 1

What does it mean to be a legend?  I had to ask myself this very question last week when I left my office for a small town in northern Wisconsin.  I was venturing that way with one of our photojournalists, Cy Dodson, and we were off to spend a week with a man named Joe Bucher.  Our mission was simple - tell his story.  See, we produce this show on the Outdoor Channel called "Legends of Rod & Reel." We seek out fisherman across the country that have impacted the world of fishing in some way or another.  Anglers that are very well known and respected in their parts of the country, or fishing genre, and others that you and I might not have heard of before.  Regardless, they are all unique in their own way.  We spend time with them, fish with them, and really get to know who this person is and what makes them tick.  Then we share this with the rest of the country.  It's pretty cool.

For myself, it was more than an honor to be given the opportunity to help produce the show about Joe Bucher.  Joe has been muskie fishing, writing about muskies, and teaching about muskies well before I was born.  In the 70's he was writing articles in magazines when nobody else wanted to talk about muskies.  As Cy and I spent time with this man, it was really a pleasure to learn why he made the choices that he did in his life.  Like many of us, he has a passion for the outdoors.  A passion that spawned the creation of lures.  Muskie lures to be exact.  With the encouragement of Roland Martin and Al Lindner, he decided to start his own fishing show.  Soon after was magazine dedicated solely to the sport of muskie angling.  Muskie Hunter is still one of the only magazines focusing entirely on that Esox.  Joe has written thousands of articles as well, and as we reviewed some of them, I found it interesting to read words from the 70's and 80's that pertain directly to my life on the water today.  One of the unique phrases that stuck while Joe and I talked muskie fishing was, "if you think you have something new, just go back 20 or 30 years and you'll see someone else who has also done that." 

Joe was a true legend in all aspects.  He was very humbled by the fact that we were filming a show because of all of his accomplishments.  We talked about the past, present and future of fishing, and bounced our ideas off of each other.  Also, I'm not going to give out too many details here, but I think you might be seeing some pretty cool new muskie baits in the very near future.  We met his unbelievably encouraging and wonderful wife Beth, his dog Raider, and several other key people in his life.  We heard him rock out on the guitar, which he does in each of his shows, and finally, when the rain cleared, we went fishing.  After all, this still is a fishing show!  We filmed two seperate pieces to the show.  One of Joe fishing with his good friend coach Kip, and the other on a solo mission.  The first trip was with Coach Kip, and boy were these two fishing pals a hoot.  It was destiny from the start the Coach would catch the first muskie, and par for the course, he did.  That was the only fish they saw that morning, but it was perfect.  Later that day, we returned to the water on a solo trip with Joe.  Like all fishing trips that guys take, the lake is a place to unwind and relive past memories.  We did just that.  As the sun set on our last day with Joe, the water erupted and our prayers for Joe to land a muskie were answered.  After all, what else would you expect from a legnd like Joe?  From the legendary waters of northern Wisconsin, Keep on chasing the dream!

p.s. coming soon - another legendary outing for the record books and some great cold weather muskie action back home that has been happening the past few weeks.  Shhh...They are biting!