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Posts: 2089
| Who was it and how long ago?My Dad introduced the Dr. and I when we were knee high to a toad.Long time ago.Lots of memories from Post Lake. Steve |
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Posts: 469
Location: Downers Grove, IL | Kly and I started chasing these toothy critters about 3 years ago. Our first time on the water was with Big Goomba on the fox river chain right after the first cold snap in November. He had me casting an 8 inch jake and a sharf, and by the time the day was done I couldnt move my arms. Honestly, I was glad to get back to the launch. I laugh now cause I can chuck a mag dawg all day long. Right Eric? LOL Kevin Moore was another guy that showed kly and I the ropes. He had us fishing Okauchee from 4:30 am till waaaaayyy after dark. I scored my first fish with him and a river chub and kly popped a fat 46 on a shap rap. GREAT TIMES!
later, thedude |
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Posts: 111
Location: Big Lake, MN | My Grandfather introduced me to Muskie fishing around 1980. We fished Deer Lake in WI a lot plus Bone. We also trolled the North end of Mille Lacs with good success too. Really great memories with grandpa! |
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Posts: 336
Location: Lino Lakes, MN | Rod Grimme was the man that got me started. Started as talking at my cousins wedding, and the next thing you know, Im in the boat chuckin Lip Rippers and Topraiders. All it took was seeing those couple of fish on Okauchee, and that was it. Brian Susler kept the fire going and taught me a bunch. I thought that addiction was bad....then I met thedude and Jonesi. Now it might be time to lock me up. Amazing how people you hardly know are so eager to get you out there and get you on fish. Im only a couple of years into fishing for these toothy SOB's, but these guys sure shortened the learning curve.
lazer |
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| My father back in 1967. I was 7years old then, and caught 4 tigers that year. I havent looked back since! What an addiction! |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | I'll have to admit that watching In-Fisherman first inspired me to start my Quest for the big fish. My first guide was out of Crash's Landing on Cave Run, then came Fred McClintock on Dale Hollow, Tony Grant.......... until Mike's Extreme finally got me to CATCH a couple! m
Edited by mikie 12/17/2004 1:41 PM
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Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | My Grandfather and Uncle introduced me to fishing. I caught my first musky on a Beatle-Spin by accident. That was 27 years ago and muskies have been my passion in fishing ever since. |
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Posts: 633
| My dad started me fishing way back when. We had a passion for catching pike. Then I stumbled on a couple muskies while fishing for pike. Then what sent me over the edge, was a friend of mine bought into a lure company. We fished a tournament, and I saw 25+ fish in a day and a half.
Lance
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Posts: 1023
Location: Lafayette, IN | A trip to Big Mackinzee (sp?) by Spooner about 9 years ago got me interested. It's only worsened since then.....!
(see boat at left  )
Edited by stephendawg 12/17/2004 7:32 AM
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Posts: 2037
Location: lansing, il | well id say my dad introduced me to it, but never liked it, so i was on my own as a kid trying to figure out what i was doing, with my 5ft pool cue. one of my best friends in appleton really taught me what to do a few years later this was 20 some years ago. he has since turned to wallye fishing more and he only musky fishes a couple times a year with me. funny thing is nowdays im teaching him about proper cpr. guess its come full circle for me! |
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| My dearly departed Dad had me fishing for bass and trout since I could walk. Also my grandfather was a great sportsman. I caught my first musky when I was 15 and there was no turning back! |
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Posts: 89
| In addition to my Dad and Grandpa - who got me started in the Three Lakes Eagle River area, my buddy Mike Borzick won a copy of the Top 50 Muskie Lakes at a DU dinner, he studied it all winter long, we narrowed it down to Yellow Lake in NW Wisconsin. On our first trip we had four fish on - all on top waters in the first hour! Needless to say, I was hooked! However, Beaver, or as I refer to him as my muskie sensai - put me on my first legal on Big Sand, he also is an invaluable source of knowledge and taught me how to make bucktails - I got bit hard and have never looked back. (my wife and family think I'm nuts). Thanks to all those guys.
Edited by EsoxHawk 12/17/2004 9:05 AM
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Posts: 1086
| I've been fishing since I could walk and cast on my own. My grandfather and dad started me on the whole blue gill fishing thing. That was all I needed. I took it from there on my own.
But for muskie...this all started when I was about 8 years old, back in 1982. During our family reunion at the lake we'd go to year after year, my cousin and I were bored and gathered our fishing gear and headed out to this lakes "big pier." This pier shot out on the lake a ways and at 8 years old, our parents made us wear our life jackets out on the pier. We were out there throwing our bobbers fishing for sunfish, bluegill and bass. The fishing was slow, the heat of the day was on, we were bored, but there was nothing else for us to do while our other cousins were being forced to take naps since they were younger than us.
Out of boredom....I grabbed another rod and threw on a red & white Daredevil spoon and cast it out. I was reeling in weeds after weeds. One cast, I thought I had a LOT of weeds on the line...a long, heavy, steady pull. I was amazed at the weight of these weeds and I was kind ticked off at first I remember. My cousin asked what was going on...I said..."Oh...nothing. Just a bunch more weeds."
THEN I SAW THE FLASH as the fish saw me on the pier! I started screaming at the top of my lungs, "It's a Pike! It's a Pike!" Nearby by standers came running to help my cousin and I land this beast as we didn't have a net and were only geared for bluegill fishing. We landed the Pike successfully.
That's all it took. From that day there 22 years ago...I've been hooked ever since.
I know that was a Pike and not a muskie...but I personally hold them both in high regards and view them as very similar fish and I treat them the same.
This lake that I speak of this happening at also has a small muskie population. After a few years of fishing that lake for Pike, I was out with my Uncle and same cousin fishing early morning dropoffs for Pike. I had thrown on a Johnson Silver Minnow tiped off with a real, live leech. We'd been jigging the spoons tipped with leeches for Pike all week long on this spot and were having huge successes.
We were working a drift that would start us shallow and push us out over the drop off and then over deep water. The shallow areas that we'd start our drift was the purest, cleanest sandy beach area. I threw that Silver Minnow out there in the four feet of water that had pure, clean sand underneath...we started our drift. As my cousin and uncle were baiting their spoons with leeches...I was steering the boat to set up for the drift. I was holding my rod in my right hand, steering the boat with the left. Then...WHHHAAAAAM! I get yanked and pulled from steering column of the boat and back to the back of the boat! If the boat had not been an outboard motor boat...I would have been wet by being caught off guard. That summer July day, back in summer of '86, netted my first muskie! A muskie caught on a Johnson Silver Minnow tipped with a leech to start off the madness.
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Posts: 1769
Location: Algonquin, ILL | I was Introduced to Musky Fishing by Joe Bucher about 30 years ago, While staying at a resort in Boulder Jct on a cold fall day Joe had some Guide Customers back out due to the cold, being in the right place at the right time I was able to go with Joe that day and at least once a year since. I have learned SOOOOOO much from Joe over the years I wouldn't even know where to start describing it all
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Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | My introduction came back on a hot summer day in 1979 when I was 8 years old. My mom and I took a canoe out to do some bass fishing and were working our way along a shoreline when I spotted this big black and yellow thing. We paddled up and to my surprise, I had found an old Cisco Kid!!
That evening after dinner, with a bunch of whining and constant questions about going fishing with it, my Dad agreed to take me out and go cast the area I found the lure in. So...off we go in his 14 footer with Cisco Kid in tow on my rod with the old green Johnson spincast reel on it and we start casting this small underwater point. Has some boulders and weeds, but nothing too different from the rest of the lake. About 20 minutes into casting this thing (which I was getting tired of doing since I was ony 8 and had never cast anything larger than a beetlespin and a daredevil before) I get a hit. The battle was short and in short order, I had caught my largest fish of my life!! A 5 pound northern!!
From that moment on, I stopped fishing for bass (rock bass mostly since they were easy to catch) and started casting this big ole thing. Dad would let me take the boat out with the oars and fish the bay right in front of the cabin...so that's what I did for hours at a time. Needless to say, I never caught another fish on that lure, but some 25 years later, it still hangs in my box of baits. It is a constant reminder of what brought me to this sport and what will continue to make me fish for these critters. I did not get an opportunity to catch my first muskie until about 1985 when I caught a small tiger on a daredevil.
Now...I at least am able to catch a few each year, and get to enjoy this wonderful, humbling, sometimes frustrating sport with my wife. And to this day, SHE now has the largest fish in the family after only 5 years of being married to me. Oh....the frustration of it all. |
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Posts: 24
| A Musky
10 yrs old and a 42"er ate my small spinner. After a tough fight I got part of the fish in the net. The net broke, I jumped in the water and wrestled the fist onto the bank.
Here is where I start to feel bad ( I was young and didn't know better )
My brother 8 yrs old Smacked it with a large stick, The stick broke and made the fish very mad. I sat on it slipped a stringer through the gills and mouth and dragged it home. I could not hold it high enough or long enough to get it home any other way.
1st and last musky that was not released.
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Posts: 354
| Joel Wick- Thanks Joel! |
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| I started working at a guide shop in Minocqua when I was in highschool, and was mostly into walleyes at the time. I spent time with the likes of George Kurek, Gus Tzvaras, Terry Strutz, and Greg Bohn. They all kind of weened me off of the 'eyes and onto muskies. Learned a lot of valuable info from these guys, and they were very good at helping out the 'kid' on the staff. Always look back with extreme fondness on those days.
J.Sloan
1992 - beer,babes,and backtrolling.... |
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| Al Linder. |
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Posts: 576
Location: Germantown, WI | my dad and uncles.
i caught my first muskie at age 6 on big round lake in hayward.
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| On my 40th birthday I got a combo as a present from my wife. SANKS was asked what he thought I would like for a gift and being the kind of friend he is, I ended up with a 7'6" Lighting Rod and Quantum reel and Eagle locator. I take back all those bad things I said about you SANKS.
Happy Holiday's 1st gang.....
Netman |
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Posts: 620
Location: Seymour, WI | My dad used to take an annual week long muskie trip to the Chip with his bowling team. I always wanted to go with but the kids weren't allowed to come. I had to wait at home for the pictures and stories.
In high school my dad and I fished N. Twin a few times and I listened to him tell stories about he and his dad fishing walleyes there. On one of our trips I caught 35" muskie and we raised several fish including a couple super tankers. Seeing those two big fish was all it really took to hook me for life. That was about 20 yrs ago now and my muskie addiction has been getting worse each yr.
Grass, |
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Posts: 110
Location: Albertville, Minnesota | I gotta say the true addiction started from some buddies who invited me on "the annual" musky/northern trip five years ago on the big pond. At first I was more interested on slaying some walleyes there, but while using a gander mt heavy action rod and a abu garcia c-4, I raised what appeared to be a serpant of the deep (weed edge). After that, I never swam in a lake again and now i pride myself chasing these bad boys/girls all over MN.
Chris |
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Posts: 723
| My first run in with a muskie was on rainbow flowage while fishing off our dock for walleyes, a little tiger about 20 inches.
After that my dad caught a 42 off our dock, his first muskie, which he got mounted, and then never fished for them again. So I pretty much got the itch
but never went until my uncle got me hooked around age 13-14. And I've been doing it ever since, probably a little more crazy now than ever though |
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Posts: 145
Location: Eau Claire, WI | My dad introduced me to muskie fishing in 1974 at Lake Winter, Sawyer Co. WI
I caught a 36" that day and he was more proud than I was. I wish he was still around to see how good the fishing is now compared to then.
Fred
Edited by FredJ 12/17/2004 11:46 AM
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Location: Des Moines IA | I started fishin young with grandpa out in the little red 12 ft wood boat on his pond. Gills and crappie mostly. Then as i got older I found other things to do. A guy at work got me started fishing again about 4 or 5 years ago almost strictly for bass. Then we decided to go to Vermillion Bay , Canada do some Walleye fishing on Lac Seul ....... Got some guides ... northwinds canadian outfitters .... Great guides I highly recommend them.... Went walleye fishin that 1st day ..... Was fun but very boring!!!!!!! We all bought muskie rods to go Northern fishin up there with dawgs.... Well Scott Munsford decided to see if A few of us wanted to take a day and see if we could raise a muskie... I don't know why but I was all about it.. Went out saw a 50 withtin the first hour right at the boat in front of my feet.... Sadly my bull dawg was already a foot and a half out of the water .. I had forgot to figure 8....... But nonetheless ... ended that day with a 44 ... What a day!!! a 44 on my first day.. anyway I was so addicted that we went back out with Scott later that week with suckers must of saw 15 or 16 fish that day only got 2 in the boat but man what a trip....... the fish in my profile is that fish ... caught trolling a 10 in Jake (perch) on the Indian chain in Ontario..... Since then I have been totally addicted....
Edited by MuskieMike 12/17/2004 12:40 PM
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Posts: 32
Location: Sherry, WI | My "final introduction", the one that hooked me, was performed by Tuck Pence, back in 1991(?). Otherwise, it was the first cast I made for a musky, back in 1972, from the shore at Trees For Tomorrow in Eagle River, WI. I caught a massive 14" musky on the first cast I ever made for a musky! With that cast to catch ratio, I should have quit while I was ahead. The wallet would have stayed fatter had I quit then! |
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Posts: 259
Location: Alexandria, MN | I never had anybody take me Muskie fishing -- I found them on TV and in Magazines. Once I had
wheels and could afford a 16 foot Lund, I started making trips to Leech Lake and learned everything
on my own. I have spent 22 years fishing for Muskies and have had the thrill of introducing others
to the sport. I wish I would have had some help early on. I had a Super Tanker follow on my first
trip to Leech, but had to work for 5 years to catch my first Muskie a 22 incher!
Tough sport to do on your own. Still spend my trips solo, but starting to find more and more people
to share the boat with.
Steve |
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Posts: 393
Location: Kawarthas, Ontario | Lauri Rapala....I was using a an F7 rapala fishing for walleye a couple of decades ago and hooked a OOS muskie instead. Kinda scared the crap out of me, wasn't prepared for it. I did manage to release it unharmed. I've since been a little more prepared and upgraded my tackle a bit too. Perhaps I should still use those tiny baits though? |
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Posts: 8835
| First musky I ever hooked (and lost) was in 1986 fishing for bass. Fishing in about 2 feet of water on a big sandbar at night, only light I had was the ambient glow of the big halide lamp out on the pier. I saw her swimming around, wasn't even sure at first what kind of fish it was... I threw my Rebel crayfish towards her, expecting that it would scare her off, and she swam right up to it and stopped. Man my heart was pounding, it was the biggest fish I ever SAW. After realizing I was just standing there and she was just sitting there I decided to twitch it once to see what happened and she just EXPOLDED! Something I'll never forget. Nearly broke my ultralight ugly stick, and with 6 pound test there was no way of getting her out of the water. She threw the lure after a minute or two of absolute chaos, but that incident really changed me. 12 years fishing that same lake and never experienced anything like that. I had heard around town that they were stocking tiger muskies the last couple years, but I never saw one until that night. Then I discovered FISHING SHOWS... Learned a lot from watching those guys! It wasn't until last July that one of our vendors actually invited me to go musky fishing. I had no idea what to expect other than what he told me, which was "it's a guide trip, don't bring ANYTHING except a good pair of sunglasses. (Yikes, $150.) Went on the trip, and man, that first follow was IT, watching this monster cruise up behind this giant sized lure (turned out to be a 42" Northern) and feeling the power of that fish was like nothing else in the world. Went out the next day and bought a muskie rod and reel. Then it was a tackle box, and baits, and more guide trips, rain gear, more baits, hook sharpener, more baits... So here I am less than 6 months later, I've gotten a whole pile of skinny northerns, one 36" Tiger, snagged several carp, and caught 1 32" spotted Musky. Had a handful of follows, a few lost fish, and a %&*%load of fun!
(I'm also several thousand dollars poorer)
So I guess the first musky found me, then it was the TV, and THEN someone finally took me musky fishing and sealed the deal.
I'm sure I'll run into some of you next season -- Ive got 4 weeks vacation and I'm spending all four CHASING MUSKIES!
Jeff
Edited by esoxaddict 12/17/2004 2:47 PM
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Posts: 20255
Location: oswego, il | Definitley my dad and my grandfather. They caught the musky bug on our last couple of trips to eagle lake when I was a kid. After my divorce I bought a new boat ans we started musky fishing. |
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Posts: 148
Location: DES MOINES, IOWA | Wow,had to think about that one.Gramps really got me into fishing,dad into Pike fishing.but none of the places in Minnesota we fished had Muskies or at least we never caught one.On my first Sabaskong trip around 1960 fishing with Duane Lund we caught 3 Muskies on jigs fishing for Walleyes at Whitefish.I was so impressed with the experience of landing these fish with 10# test line,I made up my mind that this is what I wanted to do,when I a became an adult.Family all were big Walleye fishermen,but it never did really turn me on like Pike fishing did.Since then have ruined 2 sons,and working on a grandson,teaching them to Musky fish.The rest of the family think we are nuts.None of them really understand working that hard fishing for something you don't eat. |
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Posts: 136
| I used to be a multi-species kid....around the age of ten, I already had already caught 30 pound stripers, bass, cats, bluegills, crappies, etc. I seen a few muskie fishing shows and saw some big fish in magazines, so I had to talk dad into trying it. I can remember casting a 10" rapala minnow with a ugly stick....
Our first guide was a guy named Alan Watts on Cave Run. This was before the Cave Run guide service, Crash's Landing, or Battle the Beast. Im 26 now, so this was 16 years ago. I really didnt learn much about muskies until I start getting involved with muskies inc. |
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Posts: 32934
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | My Dad. He had me fishing muskies when I was in my early teens, but our trips to Bone and Deer Lake really started in earnest when I was about 16. That makes it about 36 years, give or take a month. I haven't been normal since. I've spent nearly every spare moment during my entire life either fishing or hunting.
Here are a couple shots from back then. The shot on Moccasin Lake in Elcho was in late October. Mocassin was a pretty good Muskie lake back then. The Tuffy shot was actually at the landing on Muskie Bay on Pelican back in '78.
(Steve, Moccasin Lake, Wi.-1975.JPG 2.jpg)
(Steve & his Toughy, Bone Lake-78.JPG Small.jpg)
Attachments
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 Steve, Moccasin Lake, Wi.-1975.JPG 2.jpg (16KB - 117 downloads)
Steve & his Toughy, Bone Lake-78.JPG Small.jpg (20KB - 118 downloads)
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Posts: 4266
| ME!
We used to go up to Phelps for 2 weeks every summer when I was a kid.
All my family ever fished for was walleyes. I'd take a rowboat out and fish for perch
and I remember seeing some muskies while out fishing and seeing other people
catch them, so I got myself an outfit, a handful of lures, and started chasing them
on my own.
Caught my first legal, a 38"er on a Radtke Pikie, and never looked back.
Probably over 30 years ago.
Beav
Edited by Beaver 12/18/2004 10:33 PM
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