NABC Championship

Sitting on Leech Lake this week prefishing for the NABC Championship and the weather has been far from nice.  The first few days of practice it blew 25 mph plus and was rainy.  Today it looks like it is going to clear off, calm down, and maybe warm into the high 50's or low 60's.  The bite has been tough for me this week but hopefully can put enough together today to have a good tourney this weekend.  It is my fishing partners (Eric Schultz) b-day today so that should bring us some good luck.  I have a few photo's and videos from practice this week I have been trying to load but due to poor internet connection I can't get them uploaded.  Off to the lake for the final day of practice. Fish On!    

Buff's Mission

Tonight I guided Dustin Byfuglien of the Winnipeg Jets NHL team and past Stanley Cup winner with the Chicago Blackhawks to his first Lake Minnetonka toothy critter.  This muskie hit a bucktail shortly after dark and measured in at 40".  It was a very nice healthy fish and Dustin's first of the summer.

Buff has had a few opportunities this summer to tangle with a toothy critter but he had yet to land his first Lake Minnetonka muskie-until tonight.  I was glad to get him a notch in his belt and to be apart of the excitement.  I am headed back out tomorrow morning for a early trip on Lake Waconia before heading back to Lake Minnetonka tomorrow afternoon for a trip.  Will try and keep the updates and photo's coming.  Fish On!  

Tina's Touch

Lake Minnetonka muskies are rather large....in case you were wondering.  This photo is real-not photoshop'd as some would call it.  Tina was able to catch this great muskie on about her 15th cast and it measured in at 53" of pure muscle.  Not sure which one has more muscle, the fish or Tina?!  Look at those guns.  :)  

I spent the day working on getting my new boat ready to go in the water and thought the entire time it looked muskie-ess outside(cloudy, breezy, and pre-frontal).  I told Pete more then one time he needed to hit the water and get Tina out.  The muskies were going to feed, and that they did.  Pete took Tina to one spot and it all went down.  Congrats to Tina on her great fish!  

The new hot rod (Ranger Z521 powered by Mercury 250 Pro XS) has arrived and is the ultimate fishing machine.  The dual power poles, lowrance HDS graphs, and everything else about it is totally sweet.  I will be putting more than one slimy fish in this hot rod.  Off to get the lines tight and stretch the string.  Until next time, Fish On!   

Muskie Madness

Being a Lake Minnetonka muskie guide has it's rewards-I get to occasionally catch a giant muskie or two..  This week I was on the receiving end of a 51 1/2" toothy critter that decided to chew what I was heaving for a bait.  Rarely do I do any fishing when I am on a muskie guide trip.  On this occasion the gentleman I was guiding asked me to throw to double our chances of seeing a fish or raising one.  Before I could get my bait away from this giant it had already inhaled it and I was doing battle shortly after sunrise.  I held her up for a photo, got a measurement, and back in the lake she went to fight another day!  :)     

I guided for muskies on Lake Minnetonka this entire week and had clients on fish each and every day.  Unfortunately the way muskies can be they opted to "quick release" before they were in the net for a photo and measurement.  I have been hitting the water by 5 am every day and the fish have proven why they are known as the fish of 10,000 casts.  For a fish that is so huge and can be so elusive we did have our chances this week.  On Friday, Tom had 3 muskie encounters (45, 42, 38 roughly) on and almost to the boat before they decided to go darting off his bait.

I also guided a few corporate trips this week for bass and those all turned out to be great evenings with some great guys.  Thank you to each and every person I shared a boat with this week and I look forward to doing it with you all again some day.  This week I am back on the water guiding muskies and bass on both Lake Minnetonka and Lake Waconia.  The muskie fishing in the metro should continue to be hot as the cool fall evenings and weather begins to roll in.  Until next time, Fish On and Stretch the String!