tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53634093621626140322024-03-21T14:38:50.560-05:00Northwoods Way OutfittersProfessional Outdoor Services - Informative Content
Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comBlogger144125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-38844680504039438132016-04-09T12:05:00.000-05:002016-04-09T12:11:44.440-05:00This year was for high quality, not quantity <br />
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This winter was tough for a lot of guys, the walleyes just didn't seem to cooperate and nightly limits were rarer than ever this year. However, I did find some high quality specimens at a higher clip this year. The one on top was taken over a 22' rock hump that protrudes out of 40'. The one on the bottom was taken in an 18' soft bottom scenario, adjacent to a shallow weed promontory. <div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-81136958397359685352015-03-04T14:18:00.000-06:002015-03-04T15:08:12.237-06:00Duck Hunting<h2 class="project-title" style="color: #222222; font-family: futura-pt; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em;">
Duck Hunting</h2>
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Written by Jon Wipfli</div>
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Driving north through Wisconsin, my mind kept wandering through what the next couple of days would bring. Coming into this trip, I was hoping to stomp through the woods in search of grouse and woodcock, but with the forecast leaning towards overcast and rainy, I knew my friend Ben Michlig was interested in going for ducks. My intuition was right. When I arrived at the cabin, Ben and his brother Matt had just returned from a duck hunt, and they were both excited to get back out in the morning. So ducks it was.</div>
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After scouting out the spot for our blind the night before, we were up pre-bright-and-early and on our way to a small creek that runs into a lake. It was a brutal morning to be rowing upstream, but we finally reached our destination with a half-inch of rain in the boat that wasn’t there when we started. After the half-mile boat trip at 5am, rowing through darkness, wild rice reeds, and fat lily pads in Ben’s small, flat-bottomed jon boat, I was soaked with sweat on the inside of my waders. We dropped Matt off at shore to get the blind cleaned out while Ben and I headed out on the water to set up decoys. It wasn’t long before we were back on land, tucked away in our blind with loaded shotguns, waiting for first light.</div>
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At this point, I was visibly shaking from the cold. The mercury was playing tag with 30°F in the northwoods of Wisconsin and Mother Nature was dumping something between rain and snow on us. I was awkwardly squeezed next to Matt into a small duck blind constructed of twigs woven around a frame of 2x4s on a mud floor. The rising sun slowly started to paint the opposing bank of the lake with the colors of fall and I relaxed, knowing this was as good as it gets. Until of course, the birds that brought us out there in the first place start to fly into our decoys.</div>
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After a few sightings of high-flying ducks, a small flock of mallards made a pass directly over our heads. They continued flying downstream, and just when I thought they were uninterested in our decoys, they made a hard left turn and start circling back towards us. To my left I heard Ben whisper some of his first words of the morning, “Get ready, don’t move.” I watched the ducks from under the bill of my hat, head down, trying not to spook them. As they flew closer, their wings went from flapping to gliding, then to cupping the wind in preparation to land. Ben yelled, “Shoot!” and in unison, we stood. All movement seemed like slow motion. The moment we moved, the ducks knew what was happening. They seemingly started to fly backwards, suspending themselves momentarily as steel shot littered the air. As fast as the moment came, it passed, and the loud splash of two birds hitting the water snapped us back to real-time.</div>
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As soon as we retrieved the ducks from the lake, I started thinking about what to cook. I knew I wanted something that wouldn’t overpower the duck and something that wasn’t too heavy. With seasonality in mind, I opted to go with a skewered and grilled duck breast with a horseradish-herb sauce served alongside a room-temperature farro, Brussels sprout, apple, and pistachio salad.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-5410094274953204342014-12-23T12:38:00.000-06:002015-03-03T13:29:01.034-06:00Dano's Tree Service - Senior Picture 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Every year the tree service gets bigger and bigger. And every year we take a sweet senior pic (see below). We added this awesome garage on a five acre lot located technically in Boulder Junction, on the intersection of Bakken Rd and Hwy 51. Also acquired the pictured skid steer, which dominates logs, enabling us to be much more efficient on most job sites. Also, aspiring lumberjack Jason Kingstad, has taken up an apprenticeship with us. </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-22890388954105003792014-12-23T11:48:00.001-06:002014-12-23T11:49:30.797-06:00Spots<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Any E. Lucius around that 40 inch range south of Canada is a quality fish. Here's an example. </span></td></tr>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-60025798783997093852014-12-22T18:54:00.000-06:002014-12-22T18:54:17.238-06:00Row Trolling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfB7Sd0bUwl_a3owybrctZGYwId15RPQ2TEKL5ZenA2CBvu4lMvHYNnjv1m6OXveiLZphIbM2c_w2R3RW1fDCZ3W2E69qM1q8_WSgPOkuHzd5bAcFa2OMR1wWQgwBKr08ODMnkn2uTrsW/s1600/row+musk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_677573="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfB7Sd0bUwl_a3owybrctZGYwId15RPQ2TEKL5ZenA2CBvu4lMvHYNnjv1m6OXveiLZphIbM2c_w2R3RW1fDCZ3W2E69qM1q8_WSgPOkuHzd5bAcFa2OMR1wWQgwBKr08ODMnkn2uTrsW/s1600/row+musk.jpg" gta="true" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Row trolling is hands down the best method for targeting big pelagic muskies. Pictured above are a couple of nice specimens from earlier in the summer this year. Some of the biggest muskies ever caught in Northern Wisconsin were slayed while using this method. Both of these fish came in 50' of water and were roaming under pods of ciscoes. Most anglers immediatly assume that deep diving crankbaits are the best lures for this type of fishing, but both these fish were caught on big rubber. </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-69436956540488674112014-09-28T21:36:00.000-05:002014-09-28T21:36:54.559-05:0042 lbs, 51.5" - The Footage <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/uvHKWaFROFA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-15952106682823362962014-09-06T19:24:00.002-05:002014-09-06T19:24:27.677-05:00Client Musk<div style="text-align: left;">
Had a client nail a nice 38" muskie about five casts into his trip. Needless to say, catching a muskie that fast rarely happends. He also had opportunities at a pair of mid-40s inch fish within the next hour. </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-33514193042468125042014-09-06T19:06:00.000-05:002014-09-06T19:06:12.088-05:00Walleye Guide Trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Had a group up that just wanted to catch a bounty of fish, something they could bring back and have a fish fry with. I guided two boats on a half day trip and totalled over 35 walleyes, with six nice keepers. Also plenty of bonus panfish and a few heavy smallmouth bass. Needless to say, they got their money's worth and then some. </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-28103264952277267522014-08-25T07:25:00.000-05:002014-09-10T14:53:20.845-05:00An Absolute Giant Muskie - 51.5" 42 lbsI was fortunate enough to slay my biggest fish ever on 8-17-2014. With my dog as my lone companion on that night, the fish hit hard just before dark and durng a moon event. After I laced a strong hook set, she revieled herself, violently trying to toss the lure with two sets of agressive above-water head shakes. She stayed pinned and I burried my rod. I turned her once on the right side of the boat, then she powered down hard to the left side of the boat, when I then turned her again back toward the bow. I noticed she was spent and I grabbed my net and scooped her into the bag as steadily as I could. I was truely in disbelief when I starred down at her. I took a measurement and snapped a couple pictures. I tried my best for 45 minutes to revive this laviathon, but she simply would not go. I had no choice but to face the reality that this fish was coming home with me. As a result, I was able to get every possible measurement varified by another guide in the area. I have awesome video of this fish from two different angles, and holding this thing in the boat with the cameras rolling reveales its true size. The stats go.... 51.5 " 25.5" girth 42 pounds 11.5" caudal peduncle. The fish will be one of the biggest fish caught inland in WI this year. <br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-37733761679633879062014-04-22T21:39:00.000-05:002014-04-24T12:48:40.941-05:00Happy Easter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Slid down to the Wausau area Saturday to scout birds at my land. Crushed this one early the next morning, Easter morning. A healthy specimen indeed.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-49779974919719759572014-04-22T21:28:00.000-05:002014-04-22T21:28:59.737-05:00Ertl likes the cyclops crop a lopsFellow Northwoods enthusiast, Mr Joe Ertl, seldom gets out of the Cities, and even more seldom during peak crappie time. However, he recently found himself in this predicament, with a full week off of work, and crappies on his brain. We had a solid four days of slaying, despite having to tough-out the last major storm of the winter which consisted of complete whiteout sideways snow and 14" of accumulation. <br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-68871235720751872542014-04-13T16:11:00.000-05:002014-04-13T16:21:46.925-05:00Why Fish Become More Active in Spring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s a love/hate thing, I love active fish and they hate me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Springtime!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the perfect storm of processes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A time of year when plant life eagerly and strategically take advantage of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the much extended photoperiod and begin to photosynthesize exponentially more; in turn, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>manufacturing excellent conditions for all things living, especially fish, and even more especially, anglers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let’s look at why fish activity increases greatly this time of year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to keep this simple, because nobody likes confusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Photoperiod, temperature, nutrients, insects, and oxygen all increase this time of year, and together conform the impetus to which fish benefit immensely. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Photoperiod, the quantity of daylight in a given day, is perhaps the most influential player in the cycle of increased spring synergy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The increased amount of daylight increases the air temperature and begins to melt the snow and ice, transitioning an opaque ice sheet to an eventual translucent one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sunlight is then able to penetrate the ice and reach aquatic plants, providing the catalyst for photosynthesis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Photosynthesis converts sunlight into chemical energy that is used by all organisms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This energy is a combination of sugars and oxygen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">With the influx of oxygen to a previously oxygen-low environment, aquatic insects suddenly begin to benefit positively and thrive from the increased nutrient loading provided by the newly churning fresh water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cracks and holes in the ice, shoreline breakup, and snowmelt all increase water flow which dumps essential nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus into the newly emerged aquatic insects’ environment, and into their bodies, producing a lively scene.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You guessed it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fish will naturally migrate towards these newly oxygen/insect-rich areas (inlets, shallow water, weed beds) and be handsomely rewarded with calories required to induce reproductive growth and processes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fish now feed intensely, and experienced ice-anglers always know to take advantage of this narrow window before putting their jig-rods and flashers down for the year. </span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-9069724252390426822014-03-27T13:26:00.000-05:002014-03-27T13:26:04.065-05:00Walter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is Walter. He is a pure bred English Lab. He shows an uncanny ability to burry scores of bones, then find them months later. He will do the same thing with your gloves, watch out.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-77335752562530999422014-03-21T14:44:00.001-05:002014-03-21T14:44:12.868-05:00Bull Humpbacks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After walleye season shuts down for the year, it's typically time to explore all the smaller centarchid lakes that have been in the back of my mind all winter- in search of mondo gillz. I like to hit lakes that I've never fished before. They usually are under 200 acres and are loaded with largemouth bass. Lakes that have only LMB as the apex predator will have an over-abundance of stunted one pound bass. An extremely high bass density will always keep bluegill populations lower, creating an environment that yields enormous individual bluegills. Because there are less gills to catch, I have to work hard to catch them, but ridiculously overgrown humpbacks are usually the bounty.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-49638287306052012352014-03-17T22:44:00.001-05:002014-03-21T14:09:37.196-05:00Whitefish <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Let’s face it, those who have the privilege of enjoying their favorite hobbies on a daily or weekly timeframe have got it made. It doesn’t really matter what that hobby is, but for everyone, it’s surely an activity that makes you happier. But what happens when that hobby has lost it’s flavor. There always comes a time when you need to expand that activity to keep your interests, um, well... interesting. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As with most Wisconsin outdoorsmen during these ever-lasting winter months, my hobby is fishing, and this of course means drilling holes in pursuit of walleyes and panfish. But as with any hobby, things eventually get repetitive and eventually become boring. So, you need to spice it up and experience new things associated with your activity of choice. For me, I spice things up by pursuing whitefish on Lake Michigan.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The ONE fortunate thing that arises from these bitterly frigid winters is that good ice cover forms on the Great Lakes, allowing it possible to fish through the ice on the biggest water the region has to offer. To shake the winter blues this time of year, my destination is Green Bay, and my bounty is the hundreds of delicious whitefish that lurk under the ice in the surrounding big water. Pounding whitefish is my way to keep ice-fishing adventurous, interesting, and fun.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Armed with a portable ice-shack, auger, medium action jig rod, flasher, and a couple of swedish pimples; I venture out onto the seemingly overwhelming sheet of ice. To the contrary of what most think, the actual pursuit of whitefish is actually quite simple and easy, and surprisingly not overwhelming. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">If you are an ice-fisherman looking to switch it up, and have second guessed the possibility or your ability to try for whitefish on Lake Michigan, I promise you that it is easy. You have the option of choosing from multiple boat landings along the coast, and every one of them is an adequate option. There will be several vehicles parked at each landing, with scores of ice shacks two to four hundred yards off shore for you to have a good starting point. I usually start in about 25 feet of water and move as far out as 35 feet. There is no real rhyme or reason for a potential starting point, just start fishing. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Whitefish feed directly off the bottom on larval stages of aquatic insects. It often is key in the jigging technique to interrupt the sediment with the swedish pimple, as whitefish will become attracted to this disturbance. Typically, an inch long pimple tipped with wax worms will do the trick. Most anglers will tie a small stinger hook tipped with a waxie roughly 14 inches above the pimple; this is an excellent technique and will double your catch-rate.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">What to do with all the your whitefish? I prefer to pickle them. Whitefish are a little tricky to fillet with an extra band of Y-bones, and the meat is quite flaky, so pickling the meat is ideal and allows me to dip into Ball jars whenever I’m craving a fishy snack months in the future. A nice change of culinary pace to go along with the different angling experience, a double whammy. Email me if you want more tips, or for a good pickling recipe. </span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-80732779395052992582014-03-05T14:07:00.000-06:002014-03-07T02:29:21.042-06:00Muskies - My Best of 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/9AfEzNzCYh4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Please, only view if you want to watch awesomeness in motion.</div>
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But in all seriousness, I want to emphasize how difficult it is to get awesome and unique footage of high-quality big fish - VERY. First, I usually don't get any footage of fish when I'm in another person's boat (thanks Zach Lawson for the exception). Second, good camera light fades well before I am usually done fishing for the day. Third, I can only run the camera for about 2.5 hours when it's fully charged (I need more cameras). SO, these things make it challenging to get high-qual fish on camera, but of course, these are just excuses. </div>
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As always, I would like to thank my boat, the F/V Glory Hole, for being awesome and withstanding two sinkings this year.</div>
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Please Enjoy!</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-31259954491480553802014-02-07T17:45:00.002-06:002014-02-07T18:31:23.176-06:00Cold Weather Monsters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There's a big time difference between accidently hooking up with big pike through the ice and actually targeting these leviathans with purpose. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice bonus when you can ice a lunker pike when setting traps for walleyes, but it's simply a different story when you're actually fishing for them; which was the case on this particularly frigid day in Northern Wisconsin with the ppsf crew. </div>
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Just a short clip of a decent pike a buddy captured on his cell. BUT, the true action comes at the end of the clip, you'll notice Walter in the background with my damn glove, upping his game even further to become one of the all time great glove stealers in the region. ppsf</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-62130646940179404212014-02-04T20:15:00.000-06:002014-02-04T20:15:30.307-06:001st Place - World Muskie Tour Invitational Championship<div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I knew very little about Lake Namekogan, in fact, I first took a glance at a map on the Wednesday before the Championship, and that was of an old topo on the DNR website, but couldn’t really make out too many details considering I was looking at this map on my phone. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I noticed two things immediately, it was big, like 2800 acre big, and there were spots everywhere, like everywhere.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Islands, near-island weed edges, near-island weed edges closely associated with deep water, near-island weed edges closely associated with deep water that closely accompanied mid-lake humps and shallow running under water plateaus.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But wait, that was only one of three pages to look at.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">There was more of the same on the map of the upper-lake as well, more mid-lake structure with islands and weed bars all over the place.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And then, I noticed all the back-water options, two completely separate small lakes and several back bays with one specific bay that should be considered a different lake as well.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I live in Manitowish Waters, on Spider Lake. I have access to 11 different lakes, all with polarizing characteristics, I barely have to drive anywhere, I take my boat every morning to work, to restaurants, and sometimes when I need to, I take my boat to the grocery store. I live on the water. But more importantly, I look for muskies everyday, and my friends do the same. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My best day on the water had come the previous Saturday when a buddy took me to a small-water system where he had seen a super-tank around post-spawn time. He figured it was late enough in the fall already to cast for her. Within minutes we had a good 42ish work us on three different casts, flaring its gills, just behind on the figure eight for a good number of turns. Moved to the next spot, boom, a beaut 46.5 in the net. Moved to the next spot, boom, another fish. Had action from a couple more fish but mainly tried for that big girl my buddy saw earlier this year. I got blanked all week trying main lake structure on the chain, all spots that should produce some action, but not even a follow. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It’s now Thursday night, me and my brother are getting gear together to head over to Namekogan in the morning and I reveal to him the lure I have been saving all year for this tournament. He simply replies, “nice”. I didn’t even use it in the qualifier. Well, I used the same lure, just in a second-rate color pattern, and happened to have a fast double with it day one of that qualifier. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We find ourselves on the windblown shores of Lake Namekogan the day before the championship, trying to mark spots, getting intimate with underwater structure, GPS-ing weed edges, all while trying to decipher everything on a computer printout of the lake, clenching it closely to prevent it from blowing out of the boat. We drove around for about 3 hours and I knew Matty wanted to cast a little bit, but we still had to check out all the shallower back bays and with one back-water system in mind. We checked some back bays off the main lake and they looked good, perfect weed edges that could easily be fished slowly and effectively, but they were still too closely associated with the main lake; with the wind howling into them pushing baitfish up on the weed-edge, but yet I still wasn’t super confident. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We head into the back-water smaller lake system that should have its own name all-together. This system of water was completely locked off from the main lake save for a short narrow channel, and it had two basins. It was a relief seeking shelter from the 30 mpg gusts and the first basin looked promising and we marked two spots that we would fish during the tourney. But then as we eased into the second basin I noticed we were moseying through extremely shallow water to get there… the back basin was a totally different system all together, simply stagnant back water of good acreage, and as I crept up to the weed edge, I notice it’s a solid wall of weeds that breaks into immediate muck bottom. The weed edge was at 7.5 feet with the center of the basin reaching a max depth of 13. I turn to Matty, and see his anxiousness dissolve, and say ‘let’s cast this’. So we start chucking blades in hopes of moving a muskie; just one single muskie is all I needed to see for this spot to work. I move swiftly on the trolling motor and noticed excellent inside-out edges I can’t even keep up with, one second I’m on 5 ft weeds, the next, I’m in 9 ft muck. Sweet! –tons of pockets and inside-out turns. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">There happened to be another tournament boat in there with similar ideas, I noticed one guy was working a bobby or a suick extremely fast. I split equal time watching them, looking at the graph, and checking my own bucktail for follows; but mainly watching them. I mentioned to Matty that it looked like they had their net out, and through the binocs, Matty confirmed it appeared they had just landed a 40 inch caliber fish. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">What? It all made sense! If there are a bunch of muskies back here, they will be feeding at some point during the day, just like the weekend before when we got into a bunch of fish in a similar back-water system; and plus, they will be easy to locate and catch because it’s all shallow water with no wind. They won’t have a pouty attitude from the weather as much as their main-lake brethren, and perhaps most importantly, they have nowhere to go, they can’t seek deep water. Boom, we have our spot! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Ease-out time was set for 0630 and we were promptly in line as number 21, a lucky number some might say. The sun still hadn’t come up and the ease-out was slow and congested as 0630 hit. I drove through the judges and we received our two individualized fish tickets for the day. By the time we shut all the boat’s compartments and got our gear back in place for the drive up to our spot, it was already nearing 0640 before I punched the Mariner to full throttle. It was already breezy out, but the temperature was nice, and we made it to the south side of the pocket we were gonna work with a final 100 yard coast, somewhat trying to sneak in there, and somewhat not knowing exactly when I wanted to put on the breaks. Boom we start casting. The ease in to the spot ended up being perfect, enough time to get everything ready for casting, but not too short so as to waste our first casts. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Its calm back there, and dawn is enough upon us to see exactly what I was casting at – a perfect inside turn on a wall of thick weeds that barely broke the surface with one or two inch-long emerging weed-tips that were visible to cast at and marked the absolute outside turn. First cast, weeds. Second cast, still weeds. Third cast, too deep. Man this looks good! Fourth cast, good. Fifth cast, let it sink a bit… FISH!!!! The muskie was in the net in about 6 seconds and Matty gave me a look of disbelief, I relayed a couple eye-brow raises back to him sending a message that we should be able to get another one. It was a 40.5 at 0650. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">After registering the fish, sharpening my hooks, and waiting 15 minutes until we could officially cast again, I circled back and was in position for the same casts I had just made, only started back slightly further so I could make every cast possible at the same spot I had just caught the first fish. I literally did the same exact thing on the second pass through, the boat is not moving, just picking apart the inside weed-edge; and BOOM, FISH!!! It was probably my seventh cast. We had a 39.25 incher in the bag at 0715. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We are done! Seriously? It’s not even physically possible to have a faster double than that. I look across the bay and the team that had caught the one pre-fishing the day before had a fish in the bag too. Wow, that one measured 40.25 inches. That back water bay was loaded with active 40-inchers. I had no idea what to think. Was there going to be a ton of fish caught today? Dang, I was nervous and I loved the fact that we doubled, but just not happy with the size of the double. I knew we were in good position but we needed a big fish on day two, at least. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We had all day to monkey around with gear and watch college football. After day one, there were 21 fish caught, and four teams had doubled, including us; with our double being the weakest. I thought that is was odd that the three boats that saw us double-up that morning didn’t catch a fish all day, and the fourth boat, the team that caught their’s immediately after we got our two, just upped out and left that entire area. No feeling aside, I thought that was the dumbest move I’ve ever seen in a tournament. How do you not keep fishing that area? Oh well. I guess I did know one thing after day one; there had to be tons more fish back in there and none of them got seriously fished for. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Day two ease out was a little swifter, but it was 15 degrees colder, my hands numbed up, in fact, my whole body was numbed up. I was nervous and not feeling good. Even though we got out of ease out a couple minutes quicker I took a wrong turn around a main lake island and honestly got lost for about 30 seconds. But, here we go, same approach to the spot; slow. I started a few casts down from where I had started the day before, absolutely picking apart this inside edge, barely moving the boat forward. As I approach the exact location from the day before, I almost wanted to throw up I was so anxious. As I’m dissecting this spot while using little flip-casts and working deep into the strike zone, I can’t stop shaking. One cast there, one cast out a little, one cast in a little, one cast in between those casts, with the boat virtually stationary. One cast even in between my last two casts, and…. FISH!!! A tank of a mid-forties inch fish comes out of the water and thrashes its head, mouth wide open. I bulldog her into the net so quickly I simply couldn’t believe what had just happened.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZT8XUldAKPmg090YZhJrXGXt9_GLMOL44xQbnsVGAVrOVT9QTeRjS6N7hzldFGEyzl0aoG39zWbW4UmzNmPoAZpplxwz5ATSigVC6ieLtAWyZYvBnrG_Fur68CJ5Dd3JB0XoHGYbXSTa/s1600/1238338_10103737529946960_510611539_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZT8XUldAKPmg090YZhJrXGXt9_GLMOL44xQbnsVGAVrOVT9QTeRjS6N7hzldFGEyzl0aoG39zWbW4UmzNmPoAZpplxwz5ATSigVC6ieLtAWyZYvBnrG_Fur68CJ5Dd3JB0XoHGYbXSTa/s1600/1238338_10103737529946960_510611539_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Fish #3, 45.5 inches at 650, the same time my first fish from the day before got clocked. Did that just happen? I knew we needed a fish like that on day two, but so early? Again? I didn’t even want to think about our chances for victory or anything, I couldn’t stand up. As we are waiting the final couple minutes before we could cast again I move out deeper and get back into position to hit the spot, I’m watching a different team try to fish that spot and thought to myself, wow, they have no idea how to catch fish; simply way too fast and too random of casts. It’s time to cast now and I lazily grab the hook sharpener, lazily sharpen my hooks, just sitting there… with my mind blown away. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So I do the same exact thing I did for the previous three fish, but this time, nothing. I circle the weed promontory and tell Matty to pick apart the back side as I notice ahead about a cast length that there is another inside turn on the weeds, but this one came out a little further and to my surprise I found myself on top of the tip, and as I’m getting ready to work the back side of that I tell Matty to keep pounding the pocket because I missed a little portion of it. Just then I’m about ready to go into my figure eight when in a matter of about one second, I noticed a swirl, I noticed tension on my rod-tip, I set the hook. Boom… FISH!!! A fatty 43 incher that didn’t want to go into the net immediately. The time was 0720, and we just doubled again. What? Seriously? It was so easy, it was so fast; I needed someone to pinch me. We barley fished. Matt looked and me and said, “What took so long that time, I was getting nervous”. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_m4VNZZ68gmI4O-Sannao4ehUFJduxzepXogqpStMJ0TqIZlTMBJBMsgjWXwa9UPvAvxGzCFw8wLiFCIisU_36x0UamcZ5JS9cG1xjpfarpjQi1DMt_1ypzYhMNunujXgw6x_Yxwds37/s1600/Ben+Michlig+-+WMT+Champs+-+fish+%234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_m4VNZZ68gmI4O-Sannao4ehUFJduxzepXogqpStMJ0TqIZlTMBJBMsgjWXwa9UPvAvxGzCFw8wLiFCIisU_36x0UamcZ5JS9cG1xjpfarpjQi1DMt_1ypzYhMNunujXgw6x_Yxwds37/s1600/Ben+Michlig+-+WMT+Champs+-+fish+%234.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I can safely say I made fewer than 35 casts for the whole tournament, and it turned out we never even needed that last fish because no other team boated three fish for the tournament. We broke records for biggest quadruple, most inches, fastest double, second fasted double, biggest double, and cashed a check for 20 grand. Honestly, I’m more curious as to how many fish I would have ended up catching if I could’ve kept fishing. I think there are fish to be caught all over the place; but on that weekend, during the championship, I just had the upmost confidence in my lure, the upmost confidence in that spot, and upmost confidence in my ability. I’m not the type to brag, but simply grateful that everything came together at the right time. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQeIouR9BfvjXbD40a6X5sC1SvNv5CbzT6gMrDKzm13oK9aVaWgR6IwSMGRmBC0j7JwZt9ukbWKA38Iwf9tXEXcGn3Id_JAdusGO8ZsnHmEvyQnEXaGMnEFatGTKqhZ-VJ1l8SAF9Kb6Br/s1600/Champions+-+Alumacraft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQeIouR9BfvjXbD40a6X5sC1SvNv5CbzT6gMrDKzm13oK9aVaWgR6IwSMGRmBC0j7JwZt9ukbWKA38Iwf9tXEXcGn3Id_JAdusGO8ZsnHmEvyQnEXaGMnEFatGTKqhZ-VJ1l8SAF9Kb6Br/s1600/Champions+-+Alumacraft.jpg" height="183" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-52002261006505481022013-04-22T21:41:00.000-05:002013-04-22T21:42:43.305-05:00Trying to get Wipfli an Early Season Turk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDaSjhFNmIlTZR5SkOOFY7lZwfqGuT8XJdgzwuc1EsnRdKiy_yGLrgEghktrW9lrbT6TcTDzMm0uVhIjOqZlR8K8zlU5q3OqZEZLFxkT_vN9KV3FkAlBfXewKog69BHAScwhG5uKUkpfxx/s1600/turkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dua="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDaSjhFNmIlTZR5SkOOFY7lZwfqGuT8XJdgzwuc1EsnRdKiy_yGLrgEghktrW9lrbT6TcTDzMm0uVhIjOqZlR8K8zlU5q3OqZEZLFxkT_vN9KV3FkAlBfXewKog69BHAScwhG5uKUkpfxx/s400/turkey.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rVh0kVCbVp44hGJywYHbpy6j79OdLi0wecj22GV-Gg-AwVIudG_YW1Iz4BK8X31QcfZAuTghTlWMke5YEcc1UtcAOX9NpC3CMWDRKDekgQjQDlrF3iOFBdkTaWFx8R04L-A8DUQ1hCsO/s1600/Turkey2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dua="true" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rVh0kVCbVp44hGJywYHbpy6j79OdLi0wecj22GV-Gg-AwVIudG_YW1Iz4BK8X31QcfZAuTghTlWMke5YEcc1UtcAOX9NpC3CMWDRKDekgQjQDlrF3iOFBdkTaWFx8R04L-A8DUQ1hCsO/s320/Turkey2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I've never met such ungodly conditions while turkey hunting in my life, and of course these circumstances came when I was trying to guide Wipfli to his first turkey kill. We hunted hard for three days, and actually had above average action. Almost every little mini-hunt we executed produced some action, and on two occasions we had a tom move in to within just out of shooting range. The fact remains that these birds are super henned up right now and it is virtually impossible to call them off their hens to within shooting range. On one of these encounters, a tom appeared to be coming in perfect to my decoy spread, but just as this occurred, the weather switched from a snowy/drizzle and 15 mph wind to a complete blizzard/white-out situation with sideways blowing snow aided by 35 mph winds. One of my decoys actually was taken up by the gust and blew away. The tom eventually lost interest and decided instead to take safety from the weather.<br />
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I'm 95% sure I caught a brief stint of frostbite. When I thawed my left foot out in the shower, a good portion of it was black. <br />
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Moving around in the woods was TOUGH, breaking through the snow up to above my knee every third step, which of course resulted in a good lather of sweat build-up. And after sitting for a time, the lather froze to what felt like ice on my body. We then came up with the brilliant idea of using snow-shoes, turning out to be extremely helpful. (Never thought I'd see the day when I'd actually need snowshoes to hunt turkeys). <br />
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Our best opportunity came on Saturday when the skies cleared and the birds became more vocal. I worked this particular bird for a good hour when finally he made a move towards us. But, of course, he stopped just behind the bushy field-edge about 40 yards from us, never made another sound and disappeared forever. I know he had a couple hens with him, and I guess he didn't find my beautiful hen decoys sexy enough. <br />
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What are you gonna do? Good thing my tag isn't until mid-May....should be prime hunting by then. <div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-52065285168595069522013-04-22T20:39:00.000-05:002013-04-22T20:39:41.409-05:00Inagrual Meeting of Northwoods Chapter of Muskies Inc. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Northwoods Chapter of Muskies, Inc based in Minocqua, Wisconsin.<br />Visit us online at <a href="http://www.northwoodsmuskies.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.northwoodsmuskies.com/</a></div>
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Muskie Inc. was founded in 1966 to promote muskie conservation and education in hopes of solidifying a high class sport fishery throughout its range. There have been several chapters of the organization that have sprung up over the decades, but now, the newest chapter has finally been established in the possibly the most high profile region of muskie angling - the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Other focal points of the organization include promoting muskellunge research; supporting the abatement of water pollution; maintaining records of habits, growth and range of species; and also to disseminate muskellunge information; and to promote good fellowship and sportsmanship among lovers of the sport. </div>
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Chapter 61 Membership benefits include: tournaments, contests, social outings and banquets, guest speakers, monthly meetings, "lake learn" sessions, youth fishing and education initiatives and much more.</div>
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For membership information or questions, please email <a href="mailto:durkeenick@yahoo.com">durkeenick@yahoo.com</a> </div>
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Here are some snapshots of the first ever meeting of chapter 61</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEoSxPpaqWKoHyfhIay7cniPWGj-uUVyT4jHG_dT7Csp8yJscdxhr-TK1UgoF3WJuH7Sy8qekaiTXxHzCzcEnXdA8ZDgaJf51okQCOm7pNK5a4xnkUfWL4Nqq05-AV8nq9LI_LLPDy9XYt/s1600/muskinc2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dua="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEoSxPpaqWKoHyfhIay7cniPWGj-uUVyT4jHG_dT7Csp8yJscdxhr-TK1UgoF3WJuH7Sy8qekaiTXxHzCzcEnXdA8ZDgaJf51okQCOm7pNK5a4xnkUfWL4Nqq05-AV8nq9LI_LLPDy9XYt/s320/muskinc2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-80640550904068934242013-04-15T19:57:00.000-05:002013-04-15T19:57:07.230-05:00Back to Fishin Mode<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQa6gdkLT_ItIYysPuY-YuVuaSCMVvr11fnDoN6wQAxO7fsqDN93FlevpmHOvIIz2OhpEdFX6sSMXnIhoQHyOrXog7mlUcFB2v9ulcLSwqX_QpP90csq2jm6ogcz8wEZGNZw8CtuF_uYf/s1600/craps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dua="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQa6gdkLT_ItIYysPuY-YuVuaSCMVvr11fnDoN6wQAxO7fsqDN93FlevpmHOvIIz2OhpEdFX6sSMXnIhoQHyOrXog7mlUcFB2v9ulcLSwqX_QpP90csq2jm6ogcz8wEZGNZw8CtuF_uYf/s320/craps.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Finally back up in the Great Northwoods, after some much needed r 'n r I figured I should try to get back into fishin mode. Started by drillin a few holes, and naturally, thy bounty got slayed. Still a good 20 inches of ice up here which means some excellent spring crappie slaying will undoubtedly occur over the next couple weeks. <div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-45904921471705925882013-04-02T16:21:00.000-05:002013-04-02T16:21:18.991-05:00Last Day at Purgatory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVC3rgMVJKfFyusHky_aRKd0JfQ9i0Js4rqyZoOoU3g0AdpHAvkK9zvtcXSDGmA79kZrugfD1GNOorOpXv8J0dGMmMa1oGB8TS3rczDLGy81SyRWr0s-64WqXUFZhrfwkAA-k0ltBvV1L7/s1600/purg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" mta="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVC3rgMVJKfFyusHky_aRKd0JfQ9i0Js4rqyZoOoU3g0AdpHAvkK9zvtcXSDGmA79kZrugfD1GNOorOpXv8J0dGMmMa1oGB8TS3rczDLGy81SyRWr0s-64WqXUFZhrfwkAA-k0ltBvV1L7/s320/purg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
It's been an epic winter in Colorado, and sadly it's the last day the mountain is open. Gettin weird and catching some vitamin D is all one can ask for. Time to hit the road and get back to the Northwoods of Wisconsin for an inevitably epic summer of slaying thy bounty, cuttin trees down, and gettin weird!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-79786506512340373352013-03-28T16:50:00.000-05:002013-04-02T16:21:45.083-05:00Booter Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEWu8GWhNKvNlhg5NJ_SS8PPG8gK3CTK-U-SfEAxhZ9LdUOS1VHl_vulDkEjz15qwbfmYhYGbcSP_Y4Md7NinWfYbqb0NNfEgixBd_DeCjA3TUCI9NZCqM37WUE33UbT8t8H05K-jB0J2/s1600/booter+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEWu8GWhNKvNlhg5NJ_SS8PPG8gK3CTK-U-SfEAxhZ9LdUOS1VHl_vulDkEjz15qwbfmYhYGbcSP_Y4Md7NinWfYbqb0NNfEgixBd_DeCjA3TUCI9NZCqM37WUE33UbT8t8H05K-jB0J2/s320/booter+day.jpg" usa="true" width="320" /></a></div>
Dano's new sled is perfect for finding spots like this. We built this monster booter and were getting 75-100' of air. IDEAL.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-22496982306096466272013-03-10T09:23:00.000-05:002013-03-10T09:23:08.442-05:00McCormick's Maze<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLH4FEPuSeXabyxOKTRnOEvk67mdYoAJGv-aA4mpZ9AyJwd-7X5JK0l-Jnl_34_umoP75dcousXknyYLDZA7GrWcvtWkiqkvf19mi04RvH0PtQDKRWwCAC9twhKT7qj8fq9mZ5PhvKPBS/s1600/MM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" jsa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLH4FEPuSeXabyxOKTRnOEvk67mdYoAJGv-aA4mpZ9AyJwd-7X5JK0l-Jnl_34_umoP75dcousXknyYLDZA7GrWcvtWkiqkvf19mi04RvH0PtQDKRWwCAC9twhKT7qj8fq9mZ5PhvKPBS/s320/MM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Over a foot of fresh blower pow at Purg, I think I'll take first chair over to the Maze. Face shots on the reg!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5363409362162614032.post-12425821802165237142013-03-01T17:30:00.000-06:002013-03-01T17:30:41.782-06:00Sleddin powder stashes in the mountains <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtClkxclsbiEDmtprECmUGZ5662xasWH3rpUjTfYaiiRnDbnoUeGzoivNAijQarZccAfhDrk62icGLT4KGeWKumSWdTHrUJxa809N83MPge3HGaF0eHFK10aIckp9xa72_ZHWg3Pezys4/s1600/sled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gsa="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtClkxclsbiEDmtprECmUGZ5662xasWH3rpUjTfYaiiRnDbnoUeGzoivNAijQarZccAfhDrk62icGLT4KGeWKumSWdTHrUJxa809N83MPge3HGaF0eHFK10aIckp9xa72_ZHWg3Pezys4/s320/sled.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDs6yELmkfqs_X2UbgJ4bA-JGwrZjxo7-5BQPHTl-NpwJNSjkwl8wLj-sqPb7caXIuuv219gsJSqShdyl_NYg9r1XZSWAQDCGJjhj-rx4NHpiNbhaKaKpcA31lcZobTiUogQgk3QMQ9A8f/s1600/sled1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gsa="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDs6yELmkfqs_X2UbgJ4bA-JGwrZjxo7-5BQPHTl-NpwJNSjkwl8wLj-sqPb7caXIuuv219gsJSqShdyl_NYg9r1XZSWAQDCGJjhj-rx4NHpiNbhaKaKpcA31lcZobTiUogQgk3QMQ9A8f/s320/sled1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjke2Uzom-k49NVO_5BTaCd-0OETPOIO5DBZo9i8-49CmLP3ns7LC1Fa-Xo5X5OyjP5ETklFArp-CYDlioP8vmS85VO1DrsI-rzng-fnypg3Ln1oByJyV1E-cVDxhhcfpJeCYITtmxHBwse/s1600/sled2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gsa="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjke2Uzom-k49NVO_5BTaCd-0OETPOIO5DBZo9i8-49CmLP3ns7LC1Fa-Xo5X5OyjP5ETklFArp-CYDlioP8vmS85VO1DrsI-rzng-fnypg3Ln1oByJyV1E-cVDxhhcfpJeCYITtmxHBwse/s320/sled2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Reach me at mich0383@umn.edu - your questions and comments will be promptly responded to.
At a lake near you,
Ben</div>Ben Michlighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15290656725625347810noreply@blogger.com