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Posts: 7123
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Though my season isnt officially OVER (though Crash_McG's definitely is after dragging her out yesterday), I thought it might be a good idea for us to all add some tidbits about what we learned about and from this muskie season....
-showing your father dozens of fish with just a few in the boat puts a smile on his face, and thats what matters on that trip.
-the Country Kid will need a few moment's peace and quiet from fishing after he sees the fish of a lifetime following his lure.
-if you're on the Goon, and you're deeper than 6', you need to get shallower.
-when you find your perfect partner in life, AND she fishes, you better make sure to go to great lengths to bundle her up to fish!
-the Mojo Dance doesnt always worlk
-Dad carries a powerdrill in his boat, and can fix ANYTHING!
-MuskieFIRST members have a level of generosity that is unmatched anywhere that I've found.
-good friends dont have to be a mile away to always be in your corner.
-topwater season lasts much longer than the hot summer months.
-even if you're on ACTION water, you better have a good plan to get the fish to go....and if your lures are TOO BIG, they wont eat them.
-Frank Rods float, Tomyv's #1 spinnerbait wont.
-there is much more to the muskie world than just catching fish. |
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Posts: 1916
Location: Greenfield, WI | Something that I've known and declared for years, but I had to remind myself about is, The only rule is there are no rules!
This year, my best weekend of the year muskie fishing, had Darrel Mack and myself on a gin clear lake with nearly no wind and mid-80's, catching muskies in less than 3 feet of water in the middle of the day!
It is so easy to get bogged down in following the magazine articles and videos instead of just fishing. |
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Posts: 1046
| "Time on the water is extremely PRECIOUS!!!!!! So are your musky fish`in friends!!!!!!!!!!1 |
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Posts: 2037
Location: lansing, il | "Time on the water is extremely PRECIOUS!!!!!!" ditto!!!!!!!!!!!!! you can read all the books and watch all the videos you want but unless your on the water you cant catch a thing!!! i also learned that positive attitude makes a huge difference. if you fish with people with a bad attitude they can bring you down to their level very easily. however it works the other way too, fish with someone who believes you will put more fish in the boat and you will!!! i also learned to go outside the textbook with baits and applications and it may suprise you what will happen also, this also goes with say trying to fish where maybe your told the fish shouldnt be!!! |
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Posts: 1023
Location: Lafayette, IN | It's as much fun to get guests on big fish as it is to catch one yourself.
1) bro-in-law Dennis; 37 and 40 inch pike and the biggest muskie following a bait that I've seen in my life!
2) Ken on TJ catching a 39 incher on the same cast as I caught a 38!
3) Uncle Mike on TJ catching his first muskies ever. 2 in one day. A 36 and a 42! (holy smokes!)
4) Me catching my biggest pike to date. A 40 incher! (yeah, I really enjoy catching big fish too!) |
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Posts: 2112
Location: The Sportsman, home, or out on the water | A woman that is willing/ learns to love musky fishing is a precious treasure for sure! And when she wants to deer hunt with you, supports your decision to get into the bait business (even on a small scale), You got something WAY more precious than gold, baby!
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Posts: 1046
| Women and musky fishing is an awesome combo, I am very fortunate to be in the same boat! The deer thing is a BIG NO! though! Mine can`t come to terms when bambi is concerned. Men who have a better/half that fishes let alone musky fishes are the luckest men in the world, plus mine is also a good net babe and there is always hooters there too, if ya know what I mean????????????? |
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Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | Some things I have learned this year:
1) You can get skunked on the best of lakes.
2) Sometimes trolling is not the most productive way to fish.
3) God bless these mild summers. 3 in a row, the fish are now fat in the summer, stay shallow and the fishing is good in july and august.
4) It still pays off to be different.
5) If you see a ton of fish in one day, the smallest of the day will be the one you catch.
6) Fish can sure feed fast during a feeding window.
7) There is nothing like netting a musky for your son.
8) Luke Chinewalker tells the story about how fish shy away from his big red martian rain suit but he keeps wearing it.
9) This is still a great web site.
10) Running Hot's champion is not brown as I had originally thought. |
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Posts: 103
Location: Illinoise | - my boat won't start with out the key
- costa del mars do not float
- if you're by yourself and forget the camera you're guaranteed to catch your biggest fish
- voodoo tails work
- not all quick strike rigs are created equal
- check the gas gage before you launch
- I'm completely addicted to this sport |
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Posts: 146
Location: Wayzata, MN | - life jackets can fly [when you forget to stow them, and hit the highway]
- the look on the face os someone who has never seen a musky follow up to the boat
- putting someone on their first musky is a cool feeling
- baggy sweatshirts are a problem with tillers [long story]
- shy muskies turn away when you yell "here we go, com'on baby!"
- even old dawgs can learn new tricks
- some people are not very shy [witnessed a couple 'playing' on an I/O]
- there's good info and people on the MuskieFIRST site...
- Funniest line I heard all year [by Tom] the "male muskies won't commit" line [still makes me laugh!]
- when I launch my boat, I shouldn't hit the break too hard [unless I want to swim;]
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | 1) Time on the water is tough to get when there is too much work. Work sucks.
2) Wabigoon is still full of big muskies that get away alot.
3) Sue likes to fish.
4) The older one gets, the faster time flys by.
5) People still don't get it that the Hideout is here, open, and available for use all spring through fall.
6) Great friends here! |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | 1. Fishing is most satisfying when enjoyed with good friends.
2. Muskies can be caught in real shallow water all year long.
3. No matter how many years you have fished a lake you can still find hot spots you were missing.
4. The Rhinelander musky league is a hoot!
5. You can still catch big fish in WI, just keep it quiet so nobody else knows 
6. You can learn something about musky fishing from just about anyone that gets in your boat.
7. Never experiment with new knots without testing them first.
8. There are as many, if not more ways to lose fish, than there are to catch them.
9. Season is too short 
Edited by nwild 11/29/2004 11:29 AM
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | The biggest thing I've learned this season was that Tourny fishing and Fishing for fun are 2 completely different things. I found myself concentrating more and fishing harder during tourny's than on my own personal time. To be honest, I like the tourny fishing much more.
The second thing I've learned is how small the "Hard Core" Musky community really is. Everybody knows somebody who knows somebody. I was sitting at a bar in Presque Isle this fall and I hear..."I wonder if that Gander Guy really fishes that much or for that matter even knows where Land O Lakes is". His buddy chimes in...."He's probally never even caught a legal Musky". I leaned over and said, "I hear he doesn't even own a boat". They laughed, "you know who this guy is too?" I said, "I sure do, I fished 5 tournys with him this year and he has'nt caught a #*^@ thing other than some Bass." I think the Gander Mt baseball cap and sweatshirt gave me away, because they didn't say anything after that. |
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Posts: 149
| 1. I'm not as good as I think I am (but don't tell me that because I don't like hearing it).
2. Just because you're an ass doesn't mean you don't know your stuff.
3. Kids are better people than adults (most of the time)
4. Red Bull and Powerbars will get you through the day
5. Systematic approaches work for getting fish in the boat, but sometimes take the fun out of fishing.
6. 2004 was a bad year for muskie fishing for me.
7. I still suck at backing up a trailer
8. I'm not as bad as my numbers reflect.
9. Most people don't give a rat's asz about muskie fishing. |
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Posts: 149
| Forgot a few...
10. Good fishing partners are hard to find.
11. Fishing Tournaments changes the game and adds tension between you and your partner. |
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Posts: 127
Location: NW burbs of Chicago | --That even though the point of the day is fishing for muskie, when you actually catch one, it's a big deal because they're hard to catch.
--That conversations are always more intense and serious when you're on a boat.
--That it's not so bad to fish in the cold and the rain.
--That there's nothing like eating breakfast after a day of fishing. |
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Posts: 341
| 1. Sucker rigs are nothing more then a big tease
2. Fishing partners that have a goofy sense of humor make muskie fishing much more productive and fun.
3. Jamming heavy metal and air guitar my fishing rod during solo's gives the bait a unique movement that has produced 1 muskie to date. I swear
4. Hard work means nothing. I would rather be lucky or smarter like some of the teams in the big v tourney who fished the bays out of the wind and waves and out produced the idiots like me in 4 foot chop coming up empty.
5. That I really don't need hundreds of baits. Give me a spinner, crank and go.
6. That Miller High life is angler fuel. |
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Location: Des Moines IA | This is my First Season .... This is what I learned .... Top Ten .......
1. Hook cutters, Very Important ... 15# fish hooked to a buddy not a good thing......
2. Good Partners are definately hard to find ... but once you find one as crazy as you, you are hooked....
3. There are times when it is not safe to be in a little boat on the water...... (Glad to be alive after that one) .....
4. Nothin like seein a buddy catch his first Muskie in your boat.......
5. Except catchin your first American Muskie in your first boat......
6. Fishin' in 30 degree weather ain't so bad....
7. SURE DOES COST ALOT TO BE HUMILIATED BY A FISH........
8. Addicted doesn't even come close to explaining it......
9. Would be nice to find a single muskie fisherwoman........
10. Muskiefirst ... has taught me alot ... and helped me spend even more $ .....in a VERY short time.......
Oh yeah, I almost forgot #11. Don't forget the boat plug!!!!!!
Edited by MuskieMike 11/29/2004 1:58 PM
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Location: Athens, Ohio | 1. Guys from Iowa are actually pretty cool to fish with and can, when provoked, break 50.
2. I CAN catch more fish than Mauser with the proper boat partners.
3. Send Slamr the check AFTER he mails yer baits.
4. Gracious hospitality can be defined by the family name "Worrall".
5. They have great muskie waters in N.Wis., but the fish don't seem to like the looks of southern hill people very much, and when they see us, they run off.
6. The folks at MuskieFirst are still the coolest collection of fishermen on the Internet.
m
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Posts: 723
| You can't catch fish from the couch.
bait washing doesn't make your baits better looking.
never take your eye off the prize, no matter how little he is.
55 pounders make muskie nets look SMALL!
big fish are everywhere, you just have to look for a small one first.
you will always have a good day when the old lady is mad at you for going fishing that day.
snags sometimes turn into fish.
beer doesn't help heat stroke.
my fishing partner is one stubborn norwegian, but it pays off.
you can never have enough baits, there is always one that you're missing.
CAN'T WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR! |
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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | Hmmm 2004..... what did I learn.......
Getting married takes away too much vacation time to do it more than once. 
Meeting, and fishing with new people from the board still ROCKS!!!!
Depth Raiders + Fish Crib + Trolling = new Depth Raider
Fishing with family is still the greatest thing in the world
Loosing a good friend can mean gaining other good friends
You can only use 3 lines PER BOAT in the IMTT (oops)
Having a wife that loves to get in the boat ROCKS!!!!
Dogs make great boat partners, but terrible netmen
I still can't hook fish on suckers!!!
I hate florocarbon for leaders (sometimes)
Speed + bucktails = lots of boatside hits!!!
I will always be drunk and awake til 4 in the morning when I hang out with The Shady One.
You guys on this board ROCK!!!!!!!!! (new that already, but had to reitterate it) |
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Posts: 223
Location: minneapolis | The muskie men on this site are the greatest guys on earth ( and water )
That we eat like royalty at the Shady Outing
I need new baits
Be careful how much apple pie from Baby Shady you drink
This site is the best thing to happen to a female muskie hunter who is boat-less and looking for time on the water ( thanks guys! )
Even though I didn't put a legal in the boat this year - I got more time on the water and may have learned more by not sticking a fish
I am a muskie fisherman - which has nothing to do with my gender
I can't wait for more MuskieFirst outings in 2005 |
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Posts: 87
| 1. Just about everyone has caught a 50", but me.
2. muskies suck. |
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Posts: 107
Location: milwaukee | I second the following...
2. muskies suck.
6. The folks at MuskieFirst are still the coolest collection of fishermen on the Internet.
6. Fishin' in 30 degree weather ain't so bad....
--That it's not so bad to fish in the cold and the rain.
9. Season is too short
1) Time on the water is tough to get when there is too much work. Work sucks.
..and add
-this game ain't as easy as the books make it appear
-don't turn so sharp when trolling lines from mid-ship
-bow casting from a Tuffy Esox Mag in 4-ft waves is kinda like surfing, but probably not as much fun
-fishing alone sucks, need to find more partners for next year
-boat control *really is* the most important skill in fishing muskie
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Posts: 2024
| 1. Muskie fishing is a form of self-torture
2. "The fish think it's neat-o." Explanation of why muskies use a particular flat on a particular lake.
3. Fishing with other people is always an enlightening experience
4. Fish should be given "doggy bags" or "a sack lunch" to go home with when being released
5. Dave Chappelle imitations REALLY help to break the monotony on those calm, blue bird days
6. A five fish day with all dinks is better than a one "big" fish day
7. Spillway fishing w/ topwater is some fun $#!t
8. Don't forget the plug
9. Tournaments are super fun
10. Muskies are the coolest thing to ever swim the waters of North America
11. Set the hook INTO the fish vs. AWAY from it in a figure 8.
12. Don't try and tire fish out during tournaments, this will lead to lost fish, lost trophies, and lost checks
13. Dogs make great boat partners |
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Posts: 87
| I forgot a few
Its eaisier to put the plug in before you launch, than to put it in after you've been on the water an hour.
Big bay on the Big V is marked as a high wind area on the map for a reason.
A small craft advisory includes a 17 ft boat.
One armed figure eights are not a good idea.
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Posts: 1438
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1)Excluding the Shady outing....7 days on the water is not nearly enough.
2)Winter is still too long.
3)Having the perfect wife...priceless.
4)I don't deserve the friends I have, all you guys are too much. (I'm not gonna start listing 'cuz I don't wanna miss anyone)
5)this is still the best site on the net.
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Posts: 880
Location: New Berlin,Wisconsin,53151 | I learned:
1) Fishing with Sanks sucks
2) Don't think that because you caught a big fish last year, that you'll get one this year.
3) Don't think that because you caught fish last year that you'll catch some this year.
4) Some baits that you buy, save the receipt and bring back at the end of the year.
5) You can win a tournament and not catch a fish.
6) The Muskie 1st gang are a GREAT bunch of guy's to party with.
7) Looking at all you guys with women that fish, take them fishing all the time.
8) At the end of the season you can alway's look forward to the start of next season.
9) It's great to be alive and fishing "God Bless America" |
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Posts: 1310
Location: Washington, PA | 1. That slamr in fact doesn't own any furniture.
2. That there really is a miss Slamr, and Slamr may not be gay.
3. That dad can fix anything with a cordless drill.
4. That Slamr will be late picking you up at the airport.
5. There are in fact good looking college girls in northern Minnesota.
6. The mojo dance can brighten anyone's spirits during a tough day on the water.
7. You can fish 4 out of the fiberglass floating dock and not have a problem.
8. That the former fat guy is the king of bling.
9. The Chicago suburbs are full of women. They are everywhere.
10. That Shamu swims in eagle.
11. That I become unable to complete a thought after an encounter with shamu, and may need a "moment."
12. After encountering shamu, 40" plus fish arent' worth setting the hook on.
13. That sticking with the "spinnerbait thru the weeds" tactic on the goon may in fact not get you a 50"er.
14. Christina Aguilera look alikes that live in the chicago suburbs don't like being hit on while grocery shopping.
15. Slamr will hunt down anyone driving a hummer that is pulling a ranger with more persistance than I have chasing shamu.
16. The former fat guy likes the name Daryl.
17. Maybe the most important thing I learned this year. Watch out for the naked monkey.
18. That miss Slamr has a sister.
19. That slamr will steal your frank rod, then drop it and your favorite spinnerbait in the lake.
20. That consistently working up your mojo will put more fish in the boat. (okay, maybe still in the theory stage)
Edited by tomyv 12/1/2004 3:50 PM
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| All I want is one more cast
March is cool in Indiana and KY
Tomyv has the best air conditioned boat in the history of air conditioned boats.
I need to use a bigger rock.
Streams are cool.
Duck is really sensitive on his lake.
Cass is the biggest sewer in the history of big sewers.
I should just fish better...
The Midge does #2 almost more than anyone I've ever met.
Hulbert does #2 more than anyone I've ever met.
I have friends for life because of a fish.
Fish die from trolling, Bull dawgs, Live bait and even J.A.L.
You can't say the JAL name in Thorne Bros.
Sasquatch is cool. Furry fella is cool. They get "It" and they are "Can Catchem".
People think a few guys going fishing and being excited about catching big fish is marketing, self promotion, and wrong. I also know they can think what they want and if it bothers me I'll talk to the FFA about it and Hulbert will steal my rod and old Perchy and catch a "Fitty" at the same time make the "Weagle Baby" video...I know it is, was and always will be just fishing and fun.
Big fish live by the dock and with a little intervention can be made to eat something you thought didn't work.
I'm not fishing in Sept of 05'
KA~ When you need it will find you. If you're willing.
Utah has Tiger Muskies.
Big Muskies are in Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania & Kentucky.
You can still make a difference even if the first 367 tries didn't work out.
I've got friends in low places
Kly is missed even by those who never met him.
I should smile more, laugh more.
Worrall should do less and fish more.
I need a seat belt!
Treats just doesn't get that he can be himself.
Duck likes to have twenty dollars.
Sock Puppets are funny.
Armegeddon is still funny and Beav doesn't know how much I like him.
MN guys bend over to pick up a buoy.
I hate tournaments.
Wet lures catch fish
Lock your boat.
Midge likes cheeseburgers more than anyone else in the world.
I'm 10' tall and waterproof
Use suckers to find really fat muskies.
No fish in MN shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
It's never enough...
It's still JUST A FISH.
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