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| I realize that this should be in the fishing reports, but I thought because it has to do with Operation Muskie I'd put it here to start.
I donated a guide date to Operation Muskie and Tony Pignatello was generous enough to bid and win that date.
On Saturday July 11th I met Tony for the first time and we headed out fishing. We were met with post frontal bright blue ski conditions, it would have been an understatement to say I was worried about how the day was going to go in terms of fishing. However, after 5 minutes of talking with Tony I knew we had nothing to worry about. His idea for the day was to honor the troops, fish and get away from the hectic schedule he had been keeping back home.
Wow, the pressure was off! Plus, it felt like I had met up with an old friend, even though I had never met Tony before, we just seemed to click.
My first idea was to try for some suspended muskies, Tony had never fished for muskies in the basin before. After a few hours we were rewarded with a nice fish that ate a Triple D. On a side note, it was one of the worst hooked fish I ever dealt with, but it did swim away strong. The wind really picked up and the bait scattered so we decided to switch lakes.
With the wind blowing steady around 20 mph I decided to try and hide from the wind on some smaller water. When we pulled to our first spot I told Tony that bucktails and topwaters should work. He decided to throw a bucktail. After about an hour Tony was rewarded with a VERY solid fish. It had a huge head and very thick body.
It was funny, we only saw two fish all day, but we were lucky enough to get hooks into both of them and land them.
It truly was an honor to be part of such a great cause, plus I made friend out of the deal. Tony and I plan on fishing together again in Sept.
Thanks again to everyone involved with Operation Muskie!
John Stellflue
Attachments
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 Tony OM.jpg (77KB - 94 downloads)
OM John.jpg (67KB - 111 downloads)
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Nice job John! Congrats to the both of you for helping out Operation Muskie! | |
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Posts: 32885
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Absolutely. Norm and I guided Tony that week for a day each as well ( Tony bought a 'package deal' he was stuck with Norm and I too), only one little one between us but LOTS of action. It was a pleasure fishing with Tony, and I can't thank him, John, and Norm enough for helping get an Operation Muskie Veteran out on the water. | |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | good job Tony, I told ya that you'd stick a nice one1 | |
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Posts: 20212
Location: oswego, il | I was going to post some usual smartass comment but to tell you the truth, Tony is one of the really good guys in this sport. I am glad he got a nice fish and contributes back to this sport very well. Congrats Tony!  | |
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Posts: 256
Location: Janesville | Congats . anytime you can put two in the boat is a good day. Way to go John. | |
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | Many thanks to you both! You helped make the Vets smile! Also thanks to the muskies, for their generous contributions. Doug Johnson | |
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Posts: 265
Location: McGuire AFB, NJ | John,
I had the pleasure of being apart of Operation Muskie this year. What an amazing trip it was, truly a trip of a lifetime! I think I walked around camp with a big smile on my face the entire time I was there. Words cannot describe how greatful I am to have had the oppurtunity to be appart of such a great event. Thanks for donating YOUR time so fellow veterans and myself could enjoy some great musky fishing. I was able to break my PBR for both musky and pike, take a peak on the reports page. Thanks again! By the way what lakes do you guide on?
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Posts: 409
Location: Almond, WI | Well, I'll chime in here too.
I won the half day trip with John Hoyer of Skie Patrol Guide Service. We fished Lake Minnetonka on June 15th. The totals were 1 45" caught, 2 unseen fish lost, and 6 follows, only one of which was under 40". The two biggest follows were 52" and 48". John has top notch equipment, including a Ranger 190T, 8' and 9' St. Croix and Thorne Bros Rods, Shimano Calcuttas, and Lowrance graphs. Right away he explained the pattern we were fishing and demonstrated the techniques. We told him we would be fishing Independence too, and he pulled it up on his GPS and showed us his favorite spots/techniques, which landed me a 42" the next day. He also gave me some tips on Vermillion for the MuskieFirst outing in August. I plan on fishing with him again. He guides the Metro, Vermillion and Mille Lacs.
Basically, I just want to encourage everyone to bid in the auction next year, or make a donation. Not only that, but please remember these folks, the guides, the resorts, and the tackle companies, who are donating their time and money/merchandise to the cause. Give them your business so they can continue to make donations.
There's a whole lot of good mojo going around this Operation right now, with the guide trips being successful, and more importantly the Vets' trip being successful. It's really something special that the big fish, both years if I'm not mistaken, was caught by an amputee Vet (and I do capitalize the word as a title of respect). Let's keep that mojo going as long as we can. | |
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Posts: 944
| Jonn,
Nice work. Whats up with the visor. You need to put it with the kwik cradle.LOL
I hope mike won't let you fish with him with that on. Let me know if your going to be in the area this year.
Jeff Hanson
Madisonmuskyguide.com | |
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