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| Message Subject: Outsider's View of a Muskie Tournament | |||
Missouri Wayne |
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| An article published in the Springfield (MO) News Leader Fishing for muskie could become latest obsession By Steve Brigman Friendly, family atmosphere of tournament at Pomme de Terre makes one want to do it again. For three or four years now, I have been planning to get up to one of the muskie tournaments on Pomme de Terre, but it always seems to get past me. But last weekend I finally got out there among the Missouri muskie nation and fished in their annual tournament. Now, as a newbie to the muskie game, this is probably still not something I would have likely taken on as the captain of a boat, but when muskie guide Earle Hammond called and invited me to join him, I went all in. I've done a bit of muskie fishing this fall, and have even caught two of the toothy critters. They are about the meanest thing pound-for-pound that doesn't live in Africa. They are downright scary when you get them in the boat. They never give up and always seem to be determined to bite the hand that hooked them. It's a little scary to show up at the dock and see the nets these muskie guys tote around. You could fit a small calf in Earle's. "It'll come in handy," he promised. I hoped so. I had survived enough close encounters to know that this whole muskie thing was something I could get used to. I'm sure there are a lot of you just like me out there; I'll get off on some tangent and be obsessed for awhile. Sometimes I never get over it. I'm suspecting this muskie obsession is here to stay. I've dropped a few bucks into equipment now and have a long list in my head of stuff I need. I bummed a few muskie magazines off Earle's coffee table and read myself to sleep with them one night. For me, the whole motivation for participating was simply to hook into another of these beasts. Having done a little competitive fishing, I will tell you in general that it is not my cup of tea. I mean that in the every-weekend-I-fish-a-different-lake kind of way. The occasional contest where there's little at stake is fun. I will admit though, once I am there, the competitive juices flow. These muskie tournaments are just a little different from others in which I have participated. First of all, the guys and gals sit around having breakfast together before the tournament telling each other where they caught their fish the day before and where they would be starting their day. They all seem to want each other to catch fish. It is sort of a family atmosphere. In fact, there were husband-and-wife teams, dad-and-daughter teams and brothers who were competing together. I am most impressed with the whole catch-and-release format of the event. When a fish is caught, another of the competing boats is summoned to witness the measurement, weighing and releasing of the fish. The folks all seemed most willing to comply, acting eager to see the catch. Can you see some guys fishing in a high-dollar bass tournament leaving the point he is fishing on, in fear of losing it to a competing team, to come witness another boat's catch? Muskies folks are quite sociable out on the water, often stopping to visit and share information. It's pretty laid back. Some even take time out at one of the eateries on the water for lunch. In the evenings, they all meet to celebrate their day on the water. Results are announced and there are raffles and drawings for door prizes. There are about enough of the prizes, mostly fishing lures, for about half the folks there to win. I am proud to say that I won something each of the three nights that there were such drawings: two muskie lures and a book of Missouri lake maps. If you haven't priced muskie baits, these are quite nice prizes to win, especially for a newbie trying to build a tackle box. There was a tournament on Friday and then another that ran Saturday and half of Sunday. Besides the competition for muskie points (four points for each fish and another point for each inch over 30), they also give awards for big bass and heaviest bass stringer. You can catch some pretty nice bass while muskie fishing. On Saturday night there is a banquet, where they raffle off things like a vacation package, a tackle box full of muskie lures and a St. Croix fishing rod. Mark Boone, head of the state's muskie program, was there to update the folks on the state of the muskie union, but you didn't need anybody to tell you that muskies are flourishing in Pomme. There were 33 caught on Friday alone. One boat landed six! The three-day tally was 58. Well, I let my team down by failing to hook a fish. Earle caught a 40-incher on Saturday. Just being on the boat when a fish like that is caught is amazing. And then some other guys reel up their lines to come verify your fish and are clearly happy to do it. Wow. It's the Pomme de Terre Chapter of Muskies Inc. that puts on the tournament. They only hold two contests a year, to protect the fishery. The group has an ongoing project to trying to introduce vegetation to the lake and offers the muskie-fishing experience to the uninitiated through a guide-for-day event. For a nominal fee, one of the club members takes out one or two folks, and the club throws in a steak dinner at the end of the day. The muskie nation eats well. I, for one, will be signing up for next fall's contest. This is my kind of competition: there's a chance to catch a muskie; you can win stuff without catching a fish; the newcomer is treated like family; and there is food. | |||
| MuskyHopeful |
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Posts: 2865 Location: Brookfield, WI | Sounds like a fun and friendly tournament. The last one I was at, there was a man on fire, a man on a horse got killed with a trident, and somebody had their arm chopped off. People around here take it too seriously. Kevin You stay classy, M1st. | ||
| Stein |
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Posts: 199 Location: Nebraska | If that isn't good press, I don't know what is! | ||
| lambeau |
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Friendly, family atmosphere of tournament at Pomme de Terre makes one want to do it again. They all seem to want each other to catch fish. It is sort of a family atmosphere. I am most impressed with the whole catch-and-release format of the event. Muskies folks are quite sociable out on the water, often stopping to visit and share information. In the evenings, they all meet to celebrate their day on the water. Mark Boone, head of the state's muskie program, was there to update the folks guys reel up their lines to come verify your fish and are clearly happy to do it. Wow. It's the Pomme de Terre Chapter of Muskies Inc. that puts on the tournament. They only hold two contests a year, to protect the fishery. the newcomer is treated like family WOW. there is something very very right going on with the Pomme de Terre Chapter! this is Muskies Inc. at it's finest. good job guys. | |||
| Sponge |
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| ';kugh986 Edited by Sponge 2/27/2008 3:49 PM | |||
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