God's Country

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Here is a small window into my weekend adventure with Jen to the Boundary Waters in Northern MN. We went to Flour Lake outside of Grand Marais MN and had a great time-as you will see in the album. We wanted to eat fresh walleye for dinner and thanks to Jen's fishing skills we were able to make that happen. It was a great weekend of fishing and fun.

The Studs Keep Coming!

Well what can I say?!......  This fishing stuff is something I love and guiding for muskies is a passion of mine.  I think I get more joy out of a client catching a fish then they usually get out of landing a big muskie.  This story is nothing about my clients-which is what most of fishwithmatt is dedicated to.  This story is about a dandy muskie I was able to hook up on and tangle with.  

The morning trip produced Jack Ryan his first ever muskie.  I had the rest of the afternoon to myself and I couldn't resist the chance to go check a couple more areas.  It is not very often that I actually get to fish for these great fish that I respect.  I don't usually fish a whole lot when I guide for muskies, I want YOU to catch the one fish that might bite all day.  But when the chance presents itself for me to do a little throwing, I am not going to pass it up.

After dropping Jack and Matt off I pulled up to the first spot and caught a nice 40" Lake Minnetonka muskie.  It only took me 3 casts on the spot and the fish was hooked up.  Realizing the fish were chomping I called in my good friend Pete to bring more baits and an attitude ready to tangle with a giant or two.  About the time Pete showed up the clouds were starting to go away and the bright yellow thing was starting to shine.  I knew this would not help our mid day muskie bite so I ran to some heavy milfoil that is about 7-9 feet of water and started throwing.  Pete made a comment to the effect of he wasn't going to throw on the spot because there wasn't any fish on this spot. I replied with a, "well I know there is a big one here, so I will just have to catch her".  He said, "whatever it takes, I will take one for the team".  No sooner did he get those words out of his mouth and I looked up and saw her coming hot on my bait.  She followed it all the way to the boat and then darted off and I thought she was gone.  Going into a figure 8 I was already smarting off to Pete.  About the 2nd turn of my figure 8 she darted out from under the weeds by the boat and ate my bait.  The fish measured in at 51" and was about as fat as Jerome Bettis leg.  Needless to say it has not been on much of a diet.  Not sure Pete will ever hear the end of this one.  The fish was released and swims to fight another battle.  

Hey Pete-Next time the guide tells you that a big girl lives on the spot you might want to reconsider sitting on your hands.  ;)  I have been fishing a ton lately, as well as been to the Boundary Waters for a short fishing excursion.  The photo's, fish stories, and reports have been lacking due to the limited amont of time I have spent on dry land.  Will have more coming your way ever so soon.  Until next time, Fish On and get out and stretch that string! 

Keep Reeling!

Being a full time fishing guide on Lake Minnetonka and Lake Waconia has it's ups and downs.  It's not the ups and downs of the business I am talking about it...  It is the emotional rollercoaster and down right patience it takes to pursue trophy fish knowing that on any ONE cast it may just "happen"; the giant fish of a lifetime might just eat your bait.  I told that to Matt and Jack yesterday and they stuck to throwing and reeling for the better part of 5 plus hours.  

After 2 missed opportunities early in the day, it was down to the last spot and the "5th" hour when Jack was hooked up and doing battle.  These guys worked hard and never stopped reeling.  I had told them for 5 hours straight that the next cast or that the "next spot" was going to produce a fish.  I could tell they were starting to wonder if it was just a guides tale. 

Jack Ryan (pictured at top) was on the receiving end of the emotional high yesterday when this giant 49" muskie decided to eat what we had to offer.  After a quick measurement and photo with the fish I come to learn that Jack can't even usually bait his own hook... Hmmm  But when asked if he wanted to hold the fish for a quick photo he jumped at the opportunity and was all smiles the whole way.  He was feeling pretty good about things.  I could see the muskie addiction was already setting in and soon to take over for this young man.  Not a bad start to a muskie fishing career and it wasn't for a lack of hard work and effort.  Congrats to Jack on a great fish and she swims to fight another day!  

Many muskie outings don't have a great story or a great ending.  So often as a guide and fisherman I am left disappointed or wanting more.  Many times I feel "down".  Those are the days that the fish decide they just don't wanna cooperate.  The "ups" and "downs" or as better called the emotional rollercoaster of fishing is exactly what brings me back for more.  It is a rollercoaster and when it's good-it's really good; when it's bad it can be brutally tough.  At the end of the day, I am my worst critic and am hard on myself when the day doesn't go as planned.  I enjoy working hard at the sport of fishing and will continue to leave it all on the lake day in and day out.  I told Matt and Jack that we were not going in until they caught a muskie.  Little did they know I was serious, so good thing they caught one shortly before Matt had to go to his office.  Ha   

As for Matt-well he caught a dandy smallmouth and had his chances at a toothy critter(s)!  Always remember this one thing-Just keep reeling!!!  Until the next time I can break away from the lake long enough to update y'all on the bite, Fish On!  

4!!!

Fished on the golf course ponds yesterday at the 3M Championship. It was a great way for the golfers to get out and enjoy the course in a little different way. Needless to say the fish were pretty dumb and easy to catch. We ended up with 39 lbs which was good enough for 2nd place. This was a great idea and a great experience. It allowed for some friendly competition. It was one of the more fun fishing events I have ever been apart of. How often can you say you fished from shore on golf course ponds and caught 2-5lb bass all afternoon?! I have to say thank you to Ted Capra, Tony Capra, and Dean Capra of Capra's Sporting Goods for inviting me on this great outing. Now that I know the bite, I will be better prepared for next year. Until then, Fish On!