Dave's - Fish On

This morning proved to be successful for our boat with my brother Dave boating this fish on a topwater bait about two hours into the morning.  I know it looks like me with a 41" muskie but really it was caught by my brother Dave. 

With the eldest of the 6 boys, Jim, in town from Switzerland we decided to hit Lake Minnetonka this morning with Travis guiding one boat and myself guiding the other boat. 

We were on the water by 6 a.m. in search of the elusive muskie.  Jim had intentions of catching a muskie on a fly but shortly after sunrise the wind picked up and it made it difficult to throw the fly.  Travis switched him over to a baitcaster and soon they were seeing fish. 

Dave, the second of the six boys, was the first to put a fish in the boat.  That is when the story gets good.  Being that I threw my pliers in the lake the other day I had nothing but my bare hands to land and take his fish off.  I was able to land the fish as you can see, but taking it off (without it biting me) was another task.  Off to work but will try and finish up tomorrow. 

Thanks Dad, Jim, Dave, Ed, and Travis for all the memories today.    

to be continued.........  

Update on Saturday, August 19, 2006 at 12:14PM by Matt Peters

Continued......After finally landing the wild thing I had to try and remove the hooks without a pliers.  As I dug the hooks out with nothing more than my hands I buried one of the treble hooks into the top of my thumb as the fish shook viciously.  The hooks were no longer in the fish but in my hand and the natural reaction was to let go of the fish.  Daves first muskie was now on the verge of falling out of the boat and I wasn't going to be able to grab it.  Dave made two attempts at the fish then it made one big flop and back to the lake it went.  It swam off as though it was taking a nice Sunday afternoon drive.  The fish was un-hurt and I was able to take the hook out of my thumb.   Dave however was not able to hold his fish nor get a picture with it before it was back in the lake.  Thanks to my dad we were able to get this shot before it flew out of my hands.  Nice catch Dave, and next time we will get a picture of you with your trophy.      

Yet another Trophy Encounter

Hit the water again this morning with Travis and once again we had great results.  Any time Travis wakes up to overcast skys in August you can bet he is going to be hitting the water.  He was so giddy this morning he couldn't even wait to hit the water.   

The muskies wasted no time getting started.  At the second spot I had a high 40" fish follow and a 50" plus roll my top water but not eat it.  Travis also had a nice fish follow but no eaters.  Spot three produced nothing but we didn't waste any time heading right for spot four.  

Spot four Travis proceeded to get a big fish to hit his bait but wasn't able to hook up.  We stayed with it and in about 5 more casts I hooked into this beautiful 44" muskie.  It made a few intense and fierce head shakes before running towards the boat.  After a short fight we were able to land the fish and get a couple quick photos.  

Now that we had put one in the boat Travis wanted to keep plugging away and add to our catch count.  Travis felt like he was due and was going to give himself a chance to catch one.  After fishing only one more spot Travis once again had a giant follow but it didn't eat.  

Heading for his three "go to spots" he was feeling good about the conditions and our chances.  The fish had different thoughts.  After fishing all three spots we had saw no fish.  Travis didn't think that was any reason to be concerned.  

Over the next two hours we probably fished about 6 spots, saw five muskies, and Travis once again had a giant eat and tear off.  Travis, I have some advice for you; "When you get one on you have to lace into them and then put your rod tip down and reel hard." -- Travis Frank

Calling it a day, Travis and I headed for the ramp hoping to save a few fish for the next trip.  We did not end up boating any more fish but we did once again have a very successful day of muskie fishing on Lake Minnetonka. 

Thanks again, Travis.  For those of you that have not caught a muskie you should try and get in on some of this action over the next three weeks.  It is absolutely amazing.

Thanks Travis

Last night, fellow guide Travis Frank and I had discussed hitting the water for some night muskie fishing.  We didn't stay awake, but instead decided to hit the water this morning with hopes of boating a few muskies.

What a morning it was on Lake Minnetonka.  We headed to a few of Travis's "go to" spots and it wasn't long before we were seeing some fish. 

The first spot turned up nothing but by the second spot Travis had a follow and I had a "near hook up" but all it did was blow up and miss the bait.  Arriving at the third spot Travis began to explain to me where the fish like to hang on his spots.  While listening to him and also day dreaming a bit a monster muskie comes up and eats my bait, just about giving me a heart attack.  With the fish turning to run right away, I did not get the best hook set.  After a short battle the fish turned and ran straight at the boat.  It then proceeded to viscously jump on the other side of the boat and it threw the bait.  Well needless to say I was now awake and also a little disappointed.  I felt like my chance for the day was shot.  But Travis had different feelings about the rest of the day.  He told me to hang in there, shake it off, and that we would get other chances.  Travis you weren't kidding. 

When we arrived at the fourth spot I was feeling good and wanted to make up for the previous poor performance.  I thought to myself that if I get another chance today and screw it up, he will kill me.  So in the matter of about 10 casts at the new spot I have one blow up.  It was like someone dropped a water buffalo out of a helicopter.   Looking down at the water I see my bait is sitting there yet, so I reel about three more cranks of the handle and it comes back for more.  This time around it got the bait in its mouth and it starts to swim away.  Patiently waiting, I watch, and Travis says, "He's got it right."  I reel up the slack and laced into the fish like I was on the FLW circuit.  At the end of my line was this giant muskie, measuring in at 49". 

After a short but exciting battle we landed the fish and made a quick release to ensure the fish would be ok.  I can not emphasize enough how important it is to make a quick fight and release when the water gets this warm.  What a great way to spend a beautiful summer morning here in Minnesota.  If you or anyone you know would like to have a chance at catching a fish like this - fish of a lifetime - feel free to contact Travis of Trophy Encounters guide service. 

Thanks again T-Rig, I couldn't ask for a better time with a great friend.  Just remember me when you make it to the top.           

Tough few days on Rainy

Home from a long two weeks on Rainy Lake with lots of pictures and stories. 

The reason I was there was to fish the Fort Frances Canadian Championship with Jeremy Bester.  

I will tell you more about day one and two in a future story but for now here is how it ended.   

Going into the final day of competition Jeremy and I were in 106 place.  Knowing that they only invite back the top 90 we were a little behind the 8 ball heading out that morning.  If we wanted to make the cut and get invited back for next year we would need a huge bag.  We had 16 spots to make up and all of the guys ahead of us had been catching good fish.  We asked ourselves that morning when leaving the hotel "how in the world are we going to catch a big bag ?"  At that point it dawned upon me that in practice we found lots of nice fish in the area we had been fishing over the first two days and they didn't go so wouldn't you think that eventually they would have to bite there.  

Jeremy and I headed back to the same area on day three that we had fished both day one and day two with hopes of the fish turning it around for us.  Boated a few small ones in the morning and continued to plug away and by mid day the fish we there and they were feeding.  The top water bite that was dead for five days finally came alive and brought us our three biggest fish of the day.  

We scored a nice limit through out the day and felt pretty good about our chances.  We got back to the marina and heard lots of talk about guys not really doing so well and I started to believe we may be able to pull off a come back and make the cut.  Our five fish limit weighed 13.88pds and was strong enough to move us into 71 place with guys yet to weigh.  Watching the rest of the weigh-in we just prayed that we had done enough to give ourselves a chance for next year and when all the dust settled we finished in 82 place and got an invite back for next year. 

Rainy Lake always seems to amaze me.  This year was a huge learning experience.  I can also say that I have never been so frustrated fishing in my entire life.  Everyday of the tournament we saw numerous three and four pound fish that would not bite.  I know the feeling of leaving it all on the lake.  Jeremy and I gave it our all and never went in feeling like we short changed ourselves.  Until next year, fare well Fort Frances, and the toughest smallmouth in the world to catch.