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Posts: 1638
Location: Minnesota | Don't get me wrong I love musky fishing . But I was at a musky expo and a guide asked why I haven't been at the vermilion dam lodge musky outing the last few years . I told him its the same time as the Minnesota pheasant hunting opener. I love my musky fishing but bird hunting is my first love . This guide looked at me and said I can buy children if I want to eat a bird , I guess he just don't get it. It got me thinking how many other musky fishermen put there gear away when fall comes around and start hunting. Don't get me wrong I'll still go musky fishing in the fall just not as much |
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Posts: 1416
Location: oconomowoc, wi | from about oct. 20th til nov. 15th, its treestand time! love my bowhunting! |
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Posts: 2375
Location: Chisholm, MN | Yeah, deer hunting takes priority in November and even late October just prepping. I still fish a little but I just can't get out of that tree!
Edited by Kirby Budrow 4/8/2017 4:42 PM
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Posts: 841
Location: Southwest PA | Couldn't agree more about bow hunting. Coyotes also have a special place in my heart. Luckily the last one mainly interferes with ice fishing though. |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Have rotated through a handful of different things. Bird hunting was big for a while, especially out west where musky fishing wasn't as big and it was only Tigers. Moving back to Minnesota has put me back on muskies. Now that I'm
Back in the Midwest I've gotten back into hockey big time. At least going to games. While my son is too young to fish, we go to hockey games instead for family time. Taken my son to 28 various hockey games this season and we've loved every minute. Our hockey puck collection will soon rival my musky bait collection. |
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Posts: 619
| Watching sports. Especially in the fall with football and hockey starting up. Plus playoff baseball. |
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Posts: 21
| Pheasant hunting with my two bird dogs. |
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Posts: 558
| My obsession goes from skinny Musky's to fat toad Musky's. I love the peace and quiet in the fall, I love that lots of musky fisherman and women switch over to hunting that time of year rather than fishing for big fat Musky's. Lol |
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Posts: 1269
Location: Walker, MN | May and June shallow walleyes, and then muskies from July to November. Jumbo perch and crappies in the winter too. |
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Posts: 859
Location: MN | Duck hunting is and will always be my number one. Over open water vs field nothing I love more. |
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Posts: 402
Location: WI | Sitting in a treestand with my Bear bow. I should've spent alot more time muskie fishing last fall.... |
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Posts: 633
Location: Madison, WI | Every year I say I'm gonna fish harder in the fall, then I see that first "good" buck in the treestand and I can't quit bow hunting the rest of the year. I love muskies but big whitetail with a bow is always first priority |
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Posts: 20248
Location: oswego, il | There is only one place i even care to prespawn musky fish so i have picked up salmon fishing. I enjoy it. I used fo drive stock cars back in my early 20's so i enjoy going to a short track and watching some races. |
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Posts: 735
Location: Apparently where the Muskie aren't | NathanH - 4/8/2017 8:53 PM
Duck hunting is and will always be my number one. Over open water vs field nothing I love more.
Couldn't have said it better myself. There is defiantly something special about watching a musky follow a bait, seeing a big trout do a acrobatic leap from the water, or watching my favorite outdoor buddy flush up a pheasant. But to me, nothing can compare to sitting out on the water on a snowy day watching a group of canvasbacks suck right into your decoys. If it's something you've never done, its something you have to try to do. I've seen it time and time again but it still leaves me speechless every time. |
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Posts: 897
| Grouse and pheasant, and some deer, during October. Love being in the woods and field that time of year. |
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Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | Ice fishing for big pike is a close second..
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Posts: 815
Location: Waukee, IA | Fly fishing. Muskie has taken priority over the last few years, but I love chasing trout and Steelhead in streams. The scenery is unmatched |
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Posts: 386
| I'm on the water a lot from April-mid September, but once woodcock and grouse open up that's all I do. Nothing better than walking in on a point over your dog. |
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Posts: 705
Location: Alex or Alek? | I grew up bow hunting and duck hunting as my favorite and didn't catch the Muskie bug tell I was 20. Been at that strong ever since and have maybe sat with my bow a few times. Hoping to get out in the stand more this year now that I moved and now have the option to fish/hunt during the week. |
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Posts: 171
| Just fishing. Lake Erie is literally in my back yard so I spend a lot of time fishing for walleyes and perch. The walleye night bite will be starting any day now and THAT is a blast.
ErieBoy75 |
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Posts: 243
Location: South Central Wisconsin | I've been very fortunate in my deer hunting career. I've killed more deer than most people ever will. Not bragging, just a lot of doe in my area and not enough people in the area killing enough to keep the population healthy so, I took it upon myself to do this. My dad and I started QDMA in our area in 1991. It was a little premature for the neighbors to get involved but, eventually started paying off. Myself, and my kids have killed many many wall hangers. I'm 43 and have 11. My son 16, has 3. And my daughter 11, got her first last season. Now, I take veterans out hunting every fall and they have killed a couple wall hangers and missed a couple more. So, at this point in my life, I get more adrenaline dump from my kids or veterans killing them than myself.
Waterfowling was always my passion. Hunted 56-57 days out of the 60 day season. Also been fortunate enough to hunt many different states. One of my favorites being the flooded timber in Arkansas. I met a father and son from there and hit it off immediately. Well, 4 years ago the old man passed away. This took it out of me as he was like a father to me.
I've been musky fishing since I was 17. Again, I was fortunate enough to fish in different states, and canada. I have caught 50"ers. Now I want 50 lbs! If I was in it for myself, I'd be out musky fishing every chance I'd get. The guy out there with a snow covered boat, ya, that's me. |
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Posts: 3156
| Hunting vs fishing?????
We were staying on vermilion few years ago brought the rods and guns,,
TroyZ and his partner went out and got a 56 and 53 in one afternoon lost others,,,bite was definitely on!!! We still went out grouse hunting instead,,more fun.
Now I'm totally addicted to custom turkey calls its sick how many I have from the grandmasters. |
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Posts: 441
| Before I retired and moved out of Illinois, bow hunting and shed hunting were my obsessions. I had great success with both, but I wouldn't change my life right now, for anything! I get to spend five months up on the Big V. and fish every day if I want to, and spend seven months in Florida, where I rest up, and work out, for fishing up north. |
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Posts: 3504
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Let's see...
Winter: Walleyes through the ice and indoor competitive archery
Spring: Golf when it starts, and Turkey hunting
Summer: Muskies, Muskies, Muskies (with golf thrown in when not able to fish)
Fall: Muskies and Bowhunting. By late october, boat is away and all bowhunting. Grouse hunting during the day, sit morning and evening for deer.
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Posts: 1168
| Muskies aren't even an obsession anymore. I have an opening day streak I'll try to keep alive but after that? Meh. If I do target them I won't be using a 'typical' approach. It'll be fly rods, live baiting in the middle of summer, jigging open basins, etc. Ice fishing was incredible this year and I'd be an idiot if I wasted too much time on fishing for other stuff besides what I was chasing around all winter long.
As far as obsessions go muskie fishing has slid down a ways and now is in the same company of making sure my rain gutters are cleaned out. Cooking maple syrup, making horseradish, dirt track racing, a kid, building an ice shack, etc. If I only fish for muskies once this year or not at all I won't lose any sleep over it.
Edited by ulbian 4/10/2017 1:32 AM
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Location: 31 | Wow those are some nice pike! I've never enjoyed hunting with guns much but could see myself getting into hunting with a bow if there were better local opportunities. My problem is finding the time because I have so many other activities that I've enjoyed for a long time like vacationing with my wife, tournament poker, steel tip darts, ice skating, and more recently ping pong night. You wouldn't think you could work up a sweat playing ping-pong with a couple buddies but it's actually pretty good cardio... and a lot of fun.
It's kind of a tossup between poker and muskie fishing for me anymore though depending on the season... hard to beat the adrenaline rush of netting a big muskie or taking down a poker tournament. |
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Posts: 3156
| Jerry
I always thought it would be cool to combine a muskies Inc tournament during the day with a poker tournament that nite,,most casinos get a 10% rake on pots,,MI could get a 10% rake from buy in for stocking. |
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Posts: 119
Location: Cheyenne, WY most of the year | happy hooker - 4/10/2017 1:45 PM
Jerry
I always thought it would be cool to combine a muskies Inc tournament during the day with a poker tournament that nite,,most casinos get a 10% rake on pots,,MI could get a 10% rake from buy in for stocking.
That would be sweet. Mille Lacs has a casino on the lake... |
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Posts: 3156
| So does the Frank Schneider tournament on leech,,northern lights casino which just happens to be a tournament sponsor,,,hmmmm? |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | salmon fishing, cooking with the smoker, training field cockers, field trialing and grouse hunting with them and making america great again ... |
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Posts: 267
| Muskies were number 1 for me for a long time. Now it's bowhunting. So I don't fish much after bow season opens. |
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Posts: 164
Location: West Central WI | First of all, never hire that guide. Secondly, I get what all the other people in this string said. There are those who are obsessed about whatever sport they do, but never look back on other options that give you joy. The fall in the midwest gives us so many opportunities and all are compatible and provide some great diversity in the outdoors. For me, muskie fishing is my first love, but I don't give it a second thought when an opportunity comes to hunt grouse, or go scout for deer. I don't bow hunt, but love rifle and muzzle loader hunting. |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | Muskie fishing in the Fall is the best for me... So is the opener.... I don't hunt, but Big Booty Women would get my eye if it were a season.
Winter time I have been working on and Painting Cycles the past 2 yrs.
Next winter I'm going to build a Bobber from a 60'S/70'S era type bike.
Muskie fishing still Rocks as far as I'm concerned.
My Brisket is almost as good as Franklin's in Tx. Haaa... I do enjoy smoking any type of Meats. |
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Posts: 223
Location: Downers Grove, IL | H2O if you're brisket is anywhere close to Franklin's in Austin, then that's a pretty good hunk of meat. That stuff is just ridiculous . |
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Posts: 272
| Howdy,
I love fall fishing and fall fishing trips, but I schedule them around Browns games (seriously).
Take care,
Ruddiger |
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Location: 31 | SummerSchool - 4/10/2017 3:01 PM happy hooker - 4/10/2017 1:45 PM Jerry I always thought it would be cool to combine a muskies Inc tournament during the day with a poker tournament that nite,,most casinos get a 10% rake on pots,,MI could get a 10% rake from buy in for stocking. That would be sweet. Mille Lacs has a casino on the lake...
After a day on the water I'd probably be a bit too tired to play in any reasonably structured poker tournament. However, I've combined muskie/poker trips before and use to hit the local casino for some 1-2 cash when I got blown off of the water. One of my fondest memories was taking a day off from muskie fishing in August of 2009 (before everyone and their brother knew about Green Bay) and with a little luck took down the local casino's special anniversary tournament. The whole trip is a bit of a blur now but I'll never forget the conversation I had with my wife while waiting at the payout cage because she thought I was just messing with her about winning. I had the cage attendant tell her how much I was cashing out for and she said "cashing out for $14,500" to which my wife replied "you said it was $15,000". I laughingly explained that I left a $500 dealers tip and she said " what??? $500, that's kind of a big tip don't you think" LOL.
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Posts: 3156
| Plan to muskie fish all my life
Plan to hunt all my life
Plans change upon the legalization of recreational use of marijuana!!
Edited by happy hooker 4/11/2017 2:44 PM
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Posts: 8825
| happy hooker - 4/11/2017 2:42 PM
Plan to muskie fish all my life
Plan to hunt all my life
Plans change upon the legalization of recreational use of marijuana!!
Plans then change to:
1. "Wooooaaaah. Did you see that fish, maaan?! I should have set the hook. Wowww that was cool. What have we got to eat??"
2. "Nice buck!! If I shoot him, I'll have to climb out of this tree stand, dress him and drag 'em out of the woods. Then I'll have to clean him. Hey. I wonder if they like cheetos? They're made from corn, right? Hey deer! Yeah, up here. I got cheetos. You hungry? I'm sure hungry." |
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Location: 31 | happy hooker - 4/10/2017 3:06 PM So does the Frank Schneider tournament on leech,,northern lights casino which just happens to be a tournament sponsor,,,hmmmm?
That's along the lines of what we wanted to do with the shell of the WRMA after we finished with authenticating the world record (I honestly thought it was going to be a clean sweep and O'Brien would hold the WR). We actually started the redirect toward conservation with a name change to World Muskie Alliance, but lost almost all of our momentum with the way things were mis-handled by the shady record keepers. The poker part of it was to help raise funds from outside of the muskie community, in IL you can legally have up to 4 one-day poker/gambling fundraisers per year, and with multiple chapters and an approximate $2500 net per event, things could have been very interesting. We really liked the idea of raising money this way and each chapter being in control of the lions share of it. However, I got burned out and nobody else was willing to take the reins so it just died on the vine. Poker fundraisers would not work with Muskies Inc. though because each chapter would need to be its own 501(c)(3) organization, and I doubt that International would want to endanger their tax exempt status for an individual chapter, but it's something to think about. |
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Posts: 337
Location: Watersmeet, Michigan | In some ways fall is the toughest time of year because I love to fish and I love to hunt. Which will I do? The decision usually depends on whether I have a hunting partner or a fishing partner. (If only I could be cloned so I could do both every day.)
Fr. K |
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Posts: 8825
| I've gone hard core into a number of things over the years...
Playing guitar in rock and roll bands
Building hot rods + anything to do with cars
Classical voice training
Playing jazz piano
Archery
Firearms
Anything that goes "bang" (things that go BOOM are better)
Anything you can do in the woods
Gambling
Partying like a rock star
Fine dining
Wine
Single Malt Scotch
Travelling
Exotic food
Gardening
Many things have come and gone. Still sing with a local symphony. Been fishing since 1974, doubt that will change. I do miss being out there 100 days a year, but at some point you need to start being an adult. These days? Priorities are making a living, paying for a house, keeping my wife happy, fishing when I can, and preparing for retirement because (holy crap) it's not that far off...
It's all good. We're running the rat race like everyone else, but we're getting tired of of it. 10 year plan is to leave IL forever, build the lake house up North, buy a little beach house in FL and spend our time between the Northwoods and South FL. Captains license for me, nail salon for her. Figure I can guide up North during the summer and run charters down in FL for my retirement job(s). I will die an old man in my boat. Samantha will die when she runs out of my money!  |
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Posts: 112
Location: Illinois | Same plan here. No more Illinois and build/buy my northwoods house in next 10 years. Spend winters in warmer climate(not sure on the Florida part though lol).
My other passions/obsessions are golf/poker/children-family(about to be first time grandfather this year) and sports(watching and attending). Don't hunt and don't desire to start. I'm glad many do though. I can start spending more time in the fall chasing ski with less boat traffic.  |
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Posts: 14
| Turkey hunting, Golf, Cooking and Smoking, Deer hunting. |
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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | After just living muskies for years, my daughters both took a liking to shooting bows. So of course, I had to buy a bow, and learn to hunt deer. I haven't shot a deer in my 2 years of doing it, but have learned a TON and am having a blast doing it. I did shoot a tree this year though. That buck was lucky. #*^@ buck fever.
Do a TON of salmon fishing during the summer, coyotes in the winter, and in a few weeks, turkey season.
Since having kids, my priorities have changed a bit, for the better. Both kids love getting out in the woods, and my older daughter will get to go on her first turkey hunt in a few weeks (the other likes to shoot bows and guns, but doesn't like getting up early for hunting). Ellwood is definitely my hunting partner, and we've seen some pretty cool things in the woods. When we finally harvest a deer (or turkey), that will be the icing on the cake. Until then, I'll enjoy the camo facepaint jobs she does on both of us, and stalking whatever our quarry is. |
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Location: Vilas | from mid Dec-mid April its Florida and my collection of shells |
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Posts: 1000
| Muskie fishing is my number 1 love-hate relationship. Come Oct 1st though, I try to spend my weekends walking the woods for Ruff's.
Fall in MN is all about burning the candle at both ends so you have enough memories to last till ice-out |
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Posts: 6
| Deer hunting with bow, rifle and muzzleloader. I can't believe no one else said spring walleyes on the rivers, that's a blast too |
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Posts: 32924
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Really, really big open water crappies and bull bluegills, followed by whitetails.
Ice fishing doesn't get in the way of Muskie fishing, and that's good because muskie fishing would lose. |
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