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Posts: 430
| Anyone out there ever have the pleasure of fishing with Tony Rizzo? Looking for info on the TYPES of lakes he fished. Dont want names or locations just types. Ie. small clear lakes, flowages, rivers etc. Seems that from reading his books that he concentrated on smaller natural lakes the most.
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | i know one. ran into him quite a few years ago now. we were rowing and he was on the shore with suckers out. the old timer stuff that you don't see much anymore. |
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Posts: 430
| Thats what I'm getting at. Those old timer tactics!
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Posts: 32786
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I fished with him a couple times. Vilas county lakes all under 1000 acres. He always had a lure in the air before the boat came to a complete stop. |
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Posts: 430
| Interesting
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Posts: 540
Location: Leech Lake, Walker MN | He always just kept casting and always on the hunt and always thinking !!! |
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Posts: 214
| Lac du Lune west of Lake O Lakes Wi just south of Hwy B was one of his favorites for fall shore fishing. The DNR does not list muskies present in the lake but there is a fishable trout eating population in the lake. During the 90s and early 2000s a number of big 50"+ fish were taken from Lac du Lune but reported coming from lakes like Lac Vieux Desert and Presque Isle. Read his book about his shore fishing in the fall. There are also some big pike in the lake. It does get much pressure.
These comments represent the condition of the lake in the 90s and early 2000s. I fished it fairly regularly when I spent the summers in the Land O Lakes area and caught some nice muskies. However, I never got a big muskie, but did manage some big pike.
Pmail me for a little bit more info...
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Posts: 770
Location: Delavan, WI | I fished with him in the mid 90's. On 2 Separate occasions. Star lake was the 1st lake we fished which made sense since his resort was on it and I stayed there, my buddy managed a mid 30s musky on a rizzo wiz we saw probably a dozen fish that day. The other lake I remember fishing was Allequash, Tony had me throwing his big T jerkbait and my friend casted a 9" ernie. I remember Tony throwing a tailprop bait 1st thing in the morning maybe a Gries top kick but not sure it was about 25 yrs ago. Also remember hitting White sand lake and Tony said there's no snags here, I believe we were in about 40' of water so he meant if you said you had a snag that meant it was a big fish, he did also say big fish felt like a snag. He was an inspiration and a true pioneer of this sport. May he Rest in peace. |
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Posts: 1023
| When I was just a kid, knee high to a grasshopper, Tony would mark me up maps, give me lures and tell me where to go around the area. He got me on action lakes and then got me going on bigger fish. Wasn't always lakes, either! 
Remarkable man, really went out of his way to help a young kid out. He was also an excellent walleye fisherman.
Introduced him to my wife about three years ago...at a show. He still remembered me and he loaded my wife up with some baits and she's caught fish on them.
He was old school, for sure, but he had a way of connecting with people that is rare. He is missed.
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Location: Eagle Lake Vermilion Bay, Ontario | one of the best ever and a genuine wonderful human being. during his time he was way ahead of his time. at least in his part of the country. many of the concepts and tactics held so common today that many took credit for were his ideas long before. when i was first getting started and we'd bump into each other at landings he would unselfishly come over and say hi,see how i had been doing,and offer any and all help to me he could. a great guy and true ambassador of fishing. i will always have fond thoughts and miss him. he could be one cranky little italian though!! loved him for it. rest in peace my friend and i know you will still help me when i talk to you.
herbie |
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Posts: 1667
| I never met the man but this thread indicates he was a good guy and willing to help other fisherman get involved in the hobby.
I think he would want us to "pass it forward" and help others. Our time here is limited and will end long before the mysteries of the hobby get solved. |
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Posts: 688
Location: Already Gone | I heard from a very good friend that there will be a celebration of sorts for Mr. Rizzo at the Wausau Show.
I think that would be a very cool deal. |
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Posts: 217
Location: ladysmith, wi | Yes, The 2019 Wisconsin Musky Expo in Wausau is dedicated to Tony Rizzo, there will be an area set aside honoring his life as a legend in the Musky world, Tony was a great friend and a great person. |
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Posts: 452
| Several of my first rods were the South Bend Tony Rizzo rods. Caught a bunch of fish on them. Time sure does fly. |
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Posts: 297
Location: Not where I want to be! | Fished with Tony 2 times in the middle 70's. Fished Laura, Star, Plum, and Irving. Great guy for sure!! |
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Posts: 34
| My brother and I fished with Tony Rizzo three times back in Aug 1980, Aug 81, and Sept 82. He was a terrific guy. I was only 15 the first time we fished with him and my brother was 12. My parents would drop us off with Tony and they would go out for the day to shop and have lunch while we fished. We had read "Secrets of a Muskie Guide" and thought it would be cool to fish with him. And it was a great learning experience for us. We never caught a muskie with him in those 3 years but I learned more during the times fishing with him than I could have by trying it on my own - especially during the dog days of August. A lot of his principles we still use today when we fish. Boat control being the number one thing. Those were in the days before GPS units. We generally fished smaller lakes under 400 acres although in September we fished Star Lake where his resort was located. He taught us how to use suckers, but it was always with the single hook rig. We found out later that a lot of those - if not all - muskies we caught on suckers died after the release as a result of the single hook rigs. We would wait until the fish would make a long run, boil on the surface, or jump and then set the hook. The muskies released fine but I am sure we killed a couple hundred muskies over the many years we used those single hook rigs after fishing with Tony. Now we only use the Quick-set rigs. If only we would have known the fish mortality back then, we would not have used the single hook kill rig. We always were told that the muskies stomach acids ate the hook and the fish was fine when it was let go. I did catch my first muskie on Star Lake in 1980 by myself using a row boat from Tony's lodge. I rowed out and and anchored as our family Bass Tracker boat died on the trip. So I would anchor and cast. Then I would row a ways further and anchor and cast. I ended up catching my first muskie (32.5") on one of Tony's marabou tails by myself. I saw the fish hit 20 feet from the boat, fought it to the boat, netted it, and then started rowing back to the resort. I did not have anything to measure the fish with and I was not sure it was legal to keep. I certainly wanted to keep and mount my first fish as I was only a Freshman in high school. That being said I was extremely excited to see if I caught my first legal muskie but I also was panicked as I did not know if I was legal (30" was the legal size at the time) having that fish in the boat with me. So I rowed and rowed and was not getting anywhere. Then I realized that I had forgot to pull up the anchor! Once I did I made it back to camp in a couple of minutes but now the fish was close to being dead. I was not sure if I could revive it if it was not legal. So I ran to the main lodge, got a tape measurer, and found it was legal. And then I could breathe easy. That was my first muskie I ever caught. Tony had marked up a map of Star Lake for me which I still have. I have not fished Star Lake in many years but I still remember my first muskie just like yesterday. Great memories for sure. |
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