Big Smiles at AML

[DanR]

Herbie,

At the risk of being sentimental, I just wanted to post something. A few weeks ago I bought a new computer, and I am in the process of transferring photos from the old computer to the new. I've organized them by trip date, and it's been a long process with years of photos. I am sitting here smiling...

Why am I smiling? Because it's like reliving all the great times, man. One thing stands out, everyone has a big smile. And the fun just comes through the photos. Whether it's me holding my 54" PB guided by you, or seeing my friends like Mike, Chuck, Donnie, Craig etc all holding big fish or PBs...everyone seems so happy. Yeah, sometimes we are out there toiling, and getting beaten down. Yet, when someone boats one of these magnificent fish, everything changes. It's all worth it, and it's part of our life story.

Thanks to everyone who makes this all possible. I miss ya guys...and I'll see ya soon, but as always, not soon enough.

Dan

PS: With some help from Mother Nature, and Eagle Lake willing...this IS the year for my buddy Mike to go over 50"+. I sense it coming...I have a promise to keep.

[Chuck Schranz]

Dan you are oh so right! Nothing like looking over old pictures to put a big smile on your face and bring happy memories of past times together. I often think about those fish caught and not caught and everything involved to get that photo. Perseverance being the key. Even when things are tough on the water I revel in the majesty of God's creation each and every time I'm on Eagle. I've been blessed to meet so many great people while staying at AML. The entire staff are all great people just to be around. Always enjoyed sitting at the cabin after fishing and talking with all the guides with what happened on the water that day and the pigs that eluded us. Looking forward to returning in August with you and Mike and making more memories. Can't wait to see that big smile on Mike's face holding his first 50". I know I'll be smiling too! Chuck

[DanR]

Dan you are oh so right! Nothing like looking over old pictures to put a big smile on your face and bring happy memories of past times together. I often think about those fish caught and not caught and everything involved to get that photo. Perseverance being the key. Even when things are tough on the water I revel in the majesty of God's creation each and every time I'm on Eagle. I've been blessed to meet so many great people while staying at AML. The entire staff are all great people just to be around. Always enjoyed sitting at the cabin after fishing and talking with all the guides with what happened on the water that day and the pigs that eluded us. Looking forward to returning in August with you and Mike and making more memories. Can't wait to see that big smile on Mike's face holding his first 50". I know I'll be smiling too! Chuck

Chuckie,

You betcha! I can't wait. I also totally agree, it's not just about the fishing. Remember when we saw the eagle attack the loon? I've seen bears, moose, one wolf...and i hear the Mountain Lions are coming back East. We gonna need to bring a dog with us for early warning!

Also agree re the people ya meet there. Heck, we met there. And now we've gotten to know Bill Hedden among others. It's awesome.

I'm still screwing around the pictures. It takes a lot of work, but I'm moving platforms from Windows to Mac. So, I'm learning how to use iPhoto on the Mac, and also trying to transfer my photos, etc. I am missing a lot. I know you have some, and I am not sure we ever got our photos from 2010 (our cameras were eff'd, and I think Cal had em). Maybe we can get him to burn a disc. I just don't think I ever asked him for any pics. Or maybe he has a camera card he can give me to stick in my computer.

Let's get together soon, bro.

-Dan

[Bill Hedden]

Dan and Chuck,
My trip is finally getting close enough that I can at last begin to let myself get excited about getting to Eagle Lake and seeing you guys and the other special people there. I got a good reminder of how important these trips are in my emotional world when I went to Alaska king salmon fishing a few weeks ago. The day I arrived there and was loading my gear on a float plane for the flight to the lodge, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game closed all of south central Alaska to king fishing due to the poor salmon runs. And the worst part of it was, when I got to the river and fished trout instead, I could tell that the state had done the right thing: the salmon were few and far between where there shold have been mobs of them. Imagine getting to Eagle Lake and learning that the MNR had closed muskie fishing even to catch and release! I would have to find a mighty big bottle of alcohol to drown my sorrows. These fish, and the days on the lake searching for them, are among the most important things in life for some of us, and I know that you know what I mean. Thank goodness that the musky population is healthy! I truly can't wait to get there.
Bill

[DanR]

These fish, and the days on the lake searching for them, are among the most important things in life for some of us, and I know that you know what I mean. Thank goodness that the musky population is healthy!

I know what you mean, Bill. People mock or make fun of my obsession re Muskies, and think its weird. They don't get it. At the same time, I don't get why they don't understand it.

I've tried to explain it, but I gave up on that. If they don't get it, they never will. There's nothing we can do to help other people understand. So it's best to just go aboutour business, and not worry what other people think.

I still feel like some people look down on obsessed "crazy" Musky fisherman like us. I don't judge the people playing bumper boats in the narrows in the evening for walleye. I may try it some day, but it's certainly not my cup of tea. To each his own.

Dan

[Chuck Schranz]

"My trip is finally getting close enough that I can at last begin to let myself get excited about getting to Eagle Lake and seeing you guys and the other special people there.
Bill"

Bill: When are you arriving this year and how long are you staying up? Is your brother joining you or are you flying "solo?" Dan, Mike and I will arrive on 8-25 til
9-1. Really looking forward to the trip and counting down the days! Only seven more weeks.

[Bill Hedden]

Chuck,
I will arrive on August 18 and stay three weeks. Brother Tom will join me from the 23rd through the 29th. It will be really good to see you and Dan there.
Bill

[Chuck Schranz]

Bill...We're looking forward to seeing you as well and meeting Tom. Lots to catch up on. Any of you other guys and/or gals have vivid memories or stories when you look at old fish photos? I see this thread has had quite a few hits and would like to read your fish memories.

[Bill Hedden]

Chuck,
I recently came on an old photo that brought back a lot of memories. The picture itself isn't much...it's a low 40s muskie in the water somehow hooked to the outside of a net...but it was the first serious muskie I caught fishing by myself and that made the whole experience wonderful. I was fishing Osbourne Bay on the southeast part of Eagle Lake and my fishing companion was sick, so I went out alone for the first time. It was an adventure in those days to handle the boat by myself (no trolling motor, big wind), find my way around the lake, and just be out there alone experiencing the weather, the wildlife and having follows from fish that seemed scary to me (big follows are different when you are alone; try it sometime, especially late in the evening). In the early afternoon a moderate front came in and I could see lightning off to the north and rain coming and I knew enough to realize that I had better find a fishy spot to be on when the window opened, so I went to a complex bay I had discovered where there was relatively deep water off a large beaver lodge. I got there and started casting just as the rain began. My bait was a natural walnut crankbait I had made. The wood had interesting curl in the grain that made it look alive in the water and I had been catching big pike on it, so I felt good about it. As I worked toward the beaver lodge I could hear the kits inside mewling between the rumbling of the thunder and the sound of the rain on the lake. When I finally cast to the left edge of the lodge itself a muskie jumped out of the water and caught my bait in its mouth and crashed back into the water. I know that sounds weird, and I have never seen it again, but the fish must have seen the bait coming and just jumped up and ate it. When I felt the weight of the fish on the line I realized that the light spinning outfit I was using was going to make it hard to keep the muskie out of all the sticks and debris from the beavers, and I realized that at the same time I saw that the wind was pushing the boat into the logs. It was my first experience of having to do many things at once to land one of these great fish and I really cannot tell you how I managed it all, but soon the boat was squared away and the fish was near boatside ready to be netted, except the net was stashed with the handle pushed all the way in, so I had to free it and pull out the handle while fighting the fish, which I managed to do except that I didn't get the little spring-loaded pin in place to lock the handle to the net, so when I finally brought the fish nicely into the net, it thrashed and immediately turned the net upside down with the fish in the water and the bait hooked to the net. Realizing I might never get it in the boat, I took a quick photo of the fish beside the net before reaching out with the pliers to release it. Everything about that fish felt like a gift to me...finding it alone on water I had prospected, using my handmade bait, the intimacy of the storm in the bay...it wasn't a big one, but it was one of the most memorable muskies I have caught.
Bill

[Doc Spoon]

Chuck,
I recently came on an old photo that brought back a lot of memories. The picture itself isn't much...it's a low 40s muskie . Everything about that fish felt like a gift to me...finding it alone on water I had prospected, using my handmade bait, the intimacy of the storm in the bay...it wasn't a big one, but it was one of the most memorable muskies I have caught.
Bill

NOW THAT is a GREAT fishing story!!!! That's a memory that can never be duplicated!!!!!

[Steve Herbeck]

i'm sure we'll have some more stories to remeber by the end of the trips!!! looking forward to seeing you guys again.
herbie and the gang

[Northcoastie]

i'm sure we'll have some more stories to remeber by the end of the trips!!! looking forward to seeing you guys again.
herbie and the gang

My wife and two friend and I will be on our first AML visit the last week of August and noticed in reading the posts that you will too... looking forward to meeting you. And here'e one of my fish tales:

Last fall, my wife Pam and I, with our Labrador retriever, Tar, traveled to Manitowish Waters for a week of bass and musky angling. The first night (after check-in and boat launch) was anticipated--by the Solunar tables, and my buddy and me--to be awash in musky-raising alignments of sun and moon. So Pam, Tar and I set sail an hour before sunset to commence the hunt, full of anticipation. Indeed, we raised three fish in that first hour, but landed none. Still it was an exciting evening, with more, I was convinced, to offer.

So it was just as the setting sun cast a warm orange glow on the water, that I loaded my nearly new St Croix rod to cast a Topraider on the idyllic scene. There were only three, but they were beautiful long casts, with each retrieve’s plop, plop, plop enticing our prey to come out and play. Twenty yards from the boat, behind the gurgling bait, rose a denizen to answer the third call. It was the greatest musky head I have seen (but I stipulate that it is possible, as my wife claims, that it grows larger with each telling), the enormous mouth engulfing the bait without hesitation. A strong hookset triggered immediate aerobatics. Fish on!

Tar, who had been asleep in the cockpit of the boat, awoke, poked her head above the gunwales, saw the commotion, and immediately launched over the side to take a more active role in what looked to be a lot of fun. My wife, apparently also asleep in the back of the boat, awoke to Tar’s splash with a screech of “No Tar, NO!!” (She would continue this refrain throughout the next 60 seconds at full voice, bringing all the lake’s inhabitants to the end of their docks, looking in our direction, phones in hand, poised to dial 911 to report the apparent murder occurring in the middle of the lake).

While those 60 seconds remain a bit of a blur for me, I do recall: trying to work the fish to the other side of the boat to escape Tar’s most earnest efforts to retrieve the fish to hand; looking out to see Tar “mounting” the musky (she makes friends quickly), fully astride the enormous fish; and, the gaping, toothy maw of the fish boatside as it spat the bait, unfortunately, but with great accuracy, into Tar’s ear.

As the uncaptured fish returned to the depths, we dragged Tar aboard and removed the hook, which fortunately had not penetrated beyond the barb. While Tar and my wife retreated to the rear of the boat, I surveyed the carnage to discover that sometime during the melee, the top 10 inches of the rod had snapped off.

I do not know where in the episode the rod broke: it might have happened in the hookset, or with the exertion of pulling the fish to the other side of the boat; it might have happened when the fish spit the hook; or it might have happened when I carefully and gently (“hah!” my wife would say) set the rod down to pull the dog aboard—I just don’t know--but I do not in the slightest hold St Croix responsible under these extreme circumstances. [Although what a great endorsement it would have made to have actually landed the dog/fish without breaking the rod—I would have sent them a picture of dog, fish and angler with rod—with my blessing to use it in their advertising. My imagination envisions the picture would have become an iconic depiction of musky fishing—a renewal of bond between a man and his best friend in the joint pursuit of a great predator].

If you knew me, you would understand that for the rest of the evening, both wife and dog stayed as far away from me as an 18 foot boat allows. I mourned the loss of the rod and the fish; I was mortified by the shenanigans of my dog; I was humiliated by my wife’s vocalizations that called public attention to the unfolding calamity; and upon reflection in the next day’s light, I was embarrassed by my own bad behavior in the wake of the event. And in my superstitious funk, I knew without doubt—and was proven correct by time—that there would be no more muskies that evening, or on that trip. But time heals all and today, my wife still loves me, the dog curls at my feet without serious wound, and the monster awaits my return. The rod, alas, is beyond repair.

Good hunting,
Bruce

[DanR]

Awesome story. Thanks for sharing Bruce. Maybe we'll see ya up there. Not sure which cabin we'll be in, but we'll be in shortly after dark (dependent upon which area of the lake we win up in at dark).

If we're having any success, we're happy to share info. Since its your first time on Eagle, read some posts here on which baits & colors to bring. Keep it simple. My arsenal is basically: Spankys/Cowgirls, Depth Raiders, Grandmas, and Bulldogs. Better luck on more natural colors. I've been experimenting more with Topwater lately too.

Dan

[Northcoastie]

Awesome story. Thanks for sharing Bruce. Maybe we'll see ya up there. Not sure which cabin we'll be in, but we'll be in shortly after dark (dependent upon which area of the lake we win up in at dark).

If we're having any success, we're happy to share info. Since its your first time on Eagle, read some posts here on which baits & colors to bring. Keep it simple. My arsenal is basically: Spankys/Cowgirls, Depth Raiders, Grandmas, and Bulldogs. Better luck on more natural colors. I've been experimenting more with Topwater lately too.

Dan

Thanks for the information Dan... have a fairly full box, so advice to lighten the load is welcome, as I will also be packing some flies to see if they are of any interest to the fish

[Bill Hedden]

Thanks for the information Dan... have a fairly full box, so advice to lighten the load is welcome, as I will also be packing some flies to see if they are of any interest to the fish

Bruce,
I have fished flies for muskies and spent quite a bit of time fishing with a partner who was flyfishing exclusively, and I have a few thoughts. First, and if you are the only fisherman in the boat this is irrelevant, but if you are fishing with a partner then both of you should fish flies together. Otherwise, the difference in casting length makes it very hard to put the boat in the right place relative to the structure. My fishing buddy was casting a spey rod 100' but if I put him in the right place I felt like I was crammed on top of the fish and making pooch casts all day. If I set up the boat for my casts, he couldn't reach the sweet spots. Second, though you are casting big, wind resistant flies in a place that is often windy, you probably want a relatively short rod (8'6" or so), because you need to do boatside maneuvers with flies just like with baits. That gives you your best chance to actually have a successful hook set since the fish takes at the boat and turns off so the hook can hit them in the corner of the mouth and get stuck. If a fish takes from behind as you are stripping in a fly, it is terribly difficult to to make a successful hook up. I vividly recall being on Snowshoe Point with Cal and a nice fish took my friend's fly about 35 feet from the boat. He hit it so hard that I thought his rod would break and, indeed, the fish struggled on the line for a few seconds while Cal and I cheered, and then the fish simply looked at us and opened its mouth and let the fly go. It wasn't hooked at all. In sum, flies are a lot of fun and you should surely catch some big pike if you work at it, and they might provoke a muskie when nothing else is working, but everybody in the boat is fully involved in flyfishing and needs to be bought in to the process; and you often hook them at boatside, just like baitcasting. One thing for sure: you can be very proud of any big muskie you catch on a fly.
Bill

[DanR]

Bruce,
I have fished flies for muskies and spent quite a bit of time fishing with a partner who was flyfishing exclusively, and I have a few thoughts. First, and if you are the only fisherman in the boat this is irrelevant, but if you are fishing with a partner then both of you should fish flies together. Otherwise, the difference in casting length makes it very hard to put the boat in the right place relative to the structure. My fishing buddy was casting a spey rod 100' but if I put him in the right place I felt like I was crammed on top of the fish and making pooch casts all day. If I set up the boat for my casts, he couldn't reach the sweet spots. Second, though you are casting big, wind resistant flies in a place that is often windy, you probably want a relatively short rod (8'6" or so), because you need to do boatside maneuvers with flies just like with baits. That gives you your best chance to actually have a successful hook set since the fish takes at the boat and turns off so the hook can hit them in the corner of the mouth and get stuck. If a fish takes from behind as you are stripping in a fly, it is terribly difficult to to make a successful hook up. I vividly recall being on Snowshoe Point with Cal and a nice fish took my friend's fly about 35 feet from the boat. He hit it so hard that I thought his rod would break and, indeed, the fish struggled on the line for a few seconds while Cal and I cheered, and then the fish simply looked at us and opened its mouth and let the fly go. It wasn't hooked at all. In sum, flies are a lot of fun and you should surely catch some big pike if you work at it, and they might provoke a muskie when nothing else is working, but everybody in the boat is fully involved in flyfishing and needs to be bought in to the process; and you often hook them at boatside, just like baitcasting. One thing for sure: you can be very proud of any big muskie you catch on a fly.
Bill

Just like when Han Solo says to Luke, "nothing is a match for a good blaster at your side, kid." when Luke got his first lightsaber. I say, "I'll take a 8.5foot St Croix with a baitcaster, and a smoke/black Spanky over a fly any day, Bill." :-D

[EagleNewbie]

Hey guys,
Just got back from a few days of bass fishing on the St Lawrence River. My in-laws set me up with my wife's cousin to spend a day "muskie fishing". I'm not a big fan of trolling but I had heard they were boating some monsters in Alex Bay, so what the heck... As we're loading the boat, the guy tells me, "there's no muskie here in August, they're all down in lake Ontario". Needless to say, every minute I spent bumping worms off the bottom that day, all I could think about was casting baits on Eagle. The real challenge now is trying not to get speeding tickets while making the 1600 mile drive and daydreaming about big green shapes rising up behind my lure!
See you soon,
Tom Hedden

[DanR]

Hey guys,
Just got back from a few days of bass fishing on the St Lawrence River. My in-laws set me up with my wife's cousin to spend a day "muskie fishing". I'm not a big fan of trolling but I had heard they were boating some monsters in Alex Bay, so what the heck... As we're loading the boat, the guy tells me, "there's no muskie here in August, they're all down in lake Ontario". Needless to say, every minute I spent bumping worms off the bottom that day, all I could think about was casting baits on Eagle. The real challenge now is trying not to get speeding tickets while making the 1600 mile drive and daydreaming about big green shapes rising up behind my lure!
See you soon,
Tom Hedden

It'll be here soon enough Tom! :-) And yes, it's hard not to think about casting on Eagle...no matter where I am...that's what I am thinking about.

Dan

[Northcoastie]

Bruce,
I have fished flies for muskies and spent quite a bit of time fishing with a partner who was flyfishing exclusively, and I have a few thoughts. First, and if you are the only fisherman in the boat this is irrelevant, but if you are fishing with a partner then both of you should fish flies together. Otherwise, the difference in casting length makes it very hard to put the boat in the right place relative to the structure. My fishing buddy was casting a spey rod 100' but if I put him in the right place I felt like I was crammed on top of the fish and making pooch casts all day. If I set up the boat for my casts, he couldn't reach the sweet spots. Second, though you are casting big, wind resistant flies in a place that is often windy, you probably want a relatively short rod (8'6" or so), because you need to do boatside maneuvers with flies just like with baits. That gives you your best chance to actually have a successful hook set since the fish takes at the boat and turns off so the hook can hit them in the corner of the mouth and get stuck. If a fish takes from behind as you are stripping in a fly, it is terribly difficult to to make a successful hook up. I vividly recall being on Snowshoe Point with Cal and a nice fish took my friend's fly about 35 feet from the boat. He hit it so hard that I thought his rod would break and, indeed, the fish struggled on the line for a few seconds while Cal and I cheered, and then the fish simply looked at us and opened its mouth and let the fly go. It wasn't hooked at all. In sum, flies are a lot of fun and you should surely catch some big pike if you work at it, and they might provoke a muskie when nothing else is working, but everybody in the boat is fully involved in flyfishing and needs to be bought in to the process; and you often hook them at boatside, just like baitcasting. One thing for sure: you can be very proud of any big muskie you catch on a fly.
Bill

Great thoughts Bill,
while I have been in this situation alone and with my buddy--also an occasional flyguy for the big fish--your perspective is though=provoking! Thanks for sharing. My favorite buddy is my wife, who flyfishes less than she baitcasts--and less than she offers opinions about what we should be doing differently than we are doing, But her casts are generally shorter than a man's, so we will be close to casting the same distance (me about 75 feet, hers, a bit longer, but from the back of the boa). and besides, having a fly rod handy is as much about follows and throw-backs as it is about blind casting. Still, there's a lot to learn in this gig, so please continue to share.

[Northcoastie]

Bruce,
I have fished flies for muskies and spent quite a bit of time fishing with a partner who was flyfishing exclusively, and I have a few thoughts. First, and if you are the only fisherman in the boat this is irrelevant, but if you are fishing with a partner then both of you should fish flies together. Otherwise, the difference in casting length makes it very hard to put the boat in the right place relative to the structure. My fishing buddy was casting a spey rod 100' but if I put him in the right place I felt like I was crammed on top of the fish and making pooch casts all day. If I set up the boat for my casts, he couldn't reach the sweet spots. Second, though you are casting big, wind resistant flies in a place that is often windy, you probably want a relatively short rod (8'6" or so), because you need to do boatside maneuvers with flies just like with baits. That gives you your best chance to actually have a successful hook set since the fish takes at the boat and turns off so the hook can hit them in the corner of the mouth and get stuck. If a fish takes from behind as you are stripping in a fly, it is terribly difficult to to make a successful hook up. I vividly recall being on Snowshoe Point with Cal and a nice fish took my friend's fly about 35 feet from the boat. He hit it so hard that I thought his rod would break and, indeed, the fish struggled on the line for a few seconds while Cal and I cheered, and then the fish simply looked at us and opened its mouth and let the fly go. It wasn't hooked at all. In sum, flies are a lot of fun and you should surely catch some big pike if you work at it, and they might provoke a muskie when nothing else is working, but everybody in the boat is fully involved in flyfishing and needs to be bought in to the process; and you often hook them at boatside, just like baitcasting. One thing for sure: you can be very proud of any big muskie you catch on a fly.
Bill

Great thoughts Bill,
while I have been in this situation alone and with my buddy--also an occasional flyguy for the big fish--your perspective is though=provoking! Thanks for sharing. My favorite buddy is my wife, who flyfishes less than she baitcasts--and less than she offers opinions about what we should be doing differently than we are doing, But her casts are generally shorter than a man's, so we will be close to casting the same distance (me about 75 feet, hers, a bit longer, but from the back of the boa). and besides, having a fly rod handy is as much about follows and throw-backs as it is about blind casting. Still, there's a lot to learn in this gig, so please continue to share.

And Dan--I generally agree with your thoughts about the baitcaster (esp St Croix's) over the fly... but sometimes it's nice to throw something bit different.