Celebrating the 40th anniversary

Here are a couple of the 'big boys' from last season.

There is a lot to appreciate when you have the time

The cover photo was taken last April by Mike Anderson, Fisheries Management Biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. It shows Cody Atchley holding a 45.5" Muskie captured during the standard Muskie fyke netting surveys at Hazel Creek Lake. At the time of the photo, Cody was a 14-year old Novinger High School Freshman and was Job-shadowing with the Missouri Department of Conservation for the day.

It is said that "you have to pay attention to every cast". You never know when or where!

Our second “Fish” cover in a row, but this one taken underwater- a unique picture. It was shot by Eric Engbretson, a professional underwater photographer. His story on the photo: “It was taken last year in early May in Vilas County Wisconsin, just outside of the town of Boulder Junction, self proclaimed "Musky Capital of the World". This is a small lake about 200 acres that's known for good numbers of muskies but it's certainly not a trophy fishery by any means. I like photographing here early in the year because all the Muskies are concentrated in a narrow band of emerging weeds along the shoreline. It's not unusual to see a dozen muskies in an hour as I swim along a weed bed that's maybe 200 yards long. Later in the year, Muskies are harder to find, so I get most of my musky photos early in the season when the water is just warming and the fish are all very shallow and easy to spot.”

The cover picture is Dawson Barringer, son of former Muskie editor Bernie Barringer, who reports:

“Dawson has worked really hard to catch a muskie even though he is only 10 years old. He's got the fever pretty bad. Dawson caught this fish on Spirit Lake, Iowa fishing with a Reef Hawg. It was 39 inches and his largest so far. I'm taking him to Ontario muskie fishing for the first time this year in hopes of helping him get a big one.”

The cover shows a true monster of a Muskie caught last November by Peter Lahosky of Bethlehem, PA. His fishing partner Joe Satkowski took the photo

Crane Bait commeratve lure

The Lady with the 57 inche musky!

Chuck Weier built that beauty himself

When did you last catch 176 Muskies in one day? Well, some 50 Muskie folks from the Twin Cities, Minnesota, area did just that on Saturday, November 5. But it took a full day too. The group assembled at a small rearing pond near North Branch, Minnesota early that morning, spent some six hours netting the pond, and brought in 176 Muskies running from 27 to 30 inches.