The Way It Was

[Musky Mauler]

While waiting for ice-out (will it really ever happen this year?) there is time for me to render another somewhat lengthy north woods fishing tale. Here goes:

Some years ago, Earl Tomek passed away. Some of you might have known Earl from back when he and Elsie ran The Old Log Inn. Good beer, great food, and excellent camaraderie. In addition, Earl was also a great musky guide. One of his favorite hunting grounds was Moose Lake. This was back when Al Kaiser was the only one who lived on the lake. Al, his wife and his young school-age daughter lived an isolated lif on that lake.. The girl once had a "Bambi" deer as a pet. It came into their home much the same as a pet dog. She once also had a pet fox. It was kept outdoors, however.

After Earl Tomek died, he was cremated. Then, in accordance with his and his famiily's wishes, it was decided to scatter his ashes partially on his favorite musky haunt: Moose Lake. So, one fine summer day some years ago, his son, Scott Tomek and two of Scott's friends, Randy Wagner and Cathy Jordan, went to Moose Lake to do a bit of musky fishing. This was after all remnants of Al Kaiser's home and his few rental cabins were long gone, and Moose Lake had, once again, become desolate. In addition, this particular fishing trip would provide an opportunity to cast Earl's ashes as desired.

The reason that Randy and Cathy were along was because their fathers, Wally Wagner and Carl Jordan, used to fish regularly with Earl right there on Moose Lake. It was decided that Scott, Randy and Cathy would "do lunch' that day on the island near the middle of the lake. So, after launching, they motored the boat to the island so as to unload their cooler and foodstuffs.

Cathy had never been musky fishing. But, she had heard a good many tales from her dad, and from the across-the-street neighbor, Wally Wagner. (Wally was the brother of Millie Weseman. Al and Millie Weseman used to own and run Al's Place back before the days of Earl Gitzlaff's ownership and the eventual changeover to Fort Flambeau Condominiums.) After hearing tales from Wally Wagner and her dad, Cathy was well aware of why the musky is called "the fish of 10,000 casts." As any true musky fisherman will tell you, they ARE somewhat hard to hook and coax into the boat. So, while the boys were unloading the boat of the foodstuffs, they told Cathy to practice making some casts off the back of the boat to get used to tossing a musky lure in proper fashion.

Wouldn't you know - - on her THIRD "practice cast" she latched onto and landed a nice 42-inch tiger musky!

It was enough to make a grown man cry. Later, she even taunted her dad by saying, "Dad, you've blown it all out of proportion. There's really nothing to it at all!"

After quick photos, the fish was put back to the place from whence it came. Then, a bit later, they went to a favorite area that consisted of Moose Lake musky cabbage and this was where Scott scattered Earls' ashes. As they drifted away, Scott tossed a "ceremonial cast" into the area where the ashes had been scattered.

And, believe it or not, he latched onto yet another musky!

Now, I'm sure that some folks will attach some mystifying significance to this happening. A musky materializing right out of Earl Tomek's ashes? All I can say is that it does give one pause to wonder about the wily ways of the musky gods.

Then, to top things off, at the end of the day, Randy also landed a musky.

This is a true story, and you can attach whatever significance to it that you might choose. In my own case, it does cause me to reflect upon some great times that I had while fishing with Earl Tomek. Also, I think I might hafta make a run up to Moose Lake this summer and see if any of Earl's ashes are still visible in that viable spot near that particular patch musky cabbage. I wonder, will Scott, Randy or Cathy tend to reveal the actual location of same?

Musky Mauler

[BretRobert1]

Always enjoy your posts, Musky Mauler.

[sureshot612]

Im not sure about the 3 post but, I can only hope that a fellow fisherman put up a post, as good as that after I pass. To leave a story like that behind that is what legends are made of. To honor some that have done things to make others feel so good that they put up a post about them. Well we could all be so lucky.With that, the best to all and have another prosperous year.

[Musky Mauler]

Sorry 'bout the multiple posts. When I first tired to post it the first time, the website told me that it couldn't be posted due to some inernal hangup. So, I re-wrote it and tried again. For the second time, I was told that it could not be posted. So, I re-wrote it one more time, and tried, again. Only to be told that it could not yet be posted. Subsequetnly, I logged-on to this website and was surpried to see that it HAD been posted all three times! From n ow on, I'll be leery of warnings that material cannot be posted. I'll be sure to take a look and see if that's really true. By the way, I tried to remove two of them, but was not successful in the attempt. Dumb me.

Musky Mauler

Musky Mauler

[MuskieRandy]

Mr. Mauler:
Same thing happened to me. I just posted an ice report, and when I finished, I clicked "Post", and got some kind of an error from the forum software. I wasn't sure if the post really "stuck", so I closed my browser down, went back into this forum, and there the post was! I think something's not quite right with the forum software.

Addendum: I just got an error posting this message!