From the President's Boat
Happy Holidays to Everyone!
Introduce your friends to Muskie fishing this coming year and consider giving them the gift of friendship and a Muskies Inc. membership this holiday season.
We are excited to announce this month’s outstanding speaker is renowned guide Josh Borovsky. Last year Josh debut his new speaking presentation format tailored to the questions and topics pre-submitted by the people in attendance. This will be one of those meetings not to miss, so bring your burning questions and topics of interest. December 17th will be our annual Officers Elections and the Holiday Lure Exchange. Bring one wrapped item or lure to put under the tree and at the end of the meeting pick up one in exchange. Our Monthly Members meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at the Coon Rapids VFW.
You may have seen the recent news report on the massive fish die off http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/24101170/lake-owasso-shoreview-fish-kill) with pictures of hundreds and hundreds of fish including Muskies frozen in the ice on Lake Owasso. This shows just how quickly we can lose a lake to factors other than over fishing. Last November at the DNR’s request we stocked $2,200 worth of yearlings in Lake Owasso. We will obtain an answer from the DNR as to what was the cause and factor that into our future stocking decisions to maximize long term success.
Banquet tickets are now available for the 9th Annual North Metro Chapter Annual All-You-Can-Eat Fish Fry Banquet Saturday February 8th, 2014 which makes a great Holiday gift. It will be more fun and entertaining than last year. The North Metro/Sportsman’s Guide Clothing prize rack will be back again that includes some great hunting camo clothing in various kids to adult sizes. We are on the hunt for great deals on fishing and winter clothing to add to the rack as well.
We need volunteers to work the Banquet as well as to assist us in gathering donations from restaurants, businesses, etc. to use as prizes. Donations do not have to be fishing related. For every $10 in donations gathered you will receive one raffle ticket for a Special Donation Drawing and one ticket for the General Raffle. Contact Mike Riha 763-607-2800 if you can help out or if you have items to donate.
The end of the Minnesota Muskie season has arrived. Please register your fish ASAP and before the end of the month to be eligible for the Members Only Contest. Send in your photos (in large mega pixel format) for the Members only Photo Contest, the Banquet and for the MN Muskie Expo. Submit photos to Dan Mruz at DDmuskies@yahoo.com.
The Board has been working hard to update the North Metro Website and we appreciate your patience. Further updates are in process. We are looking for Members with website skills that can help out.
The Minnesota Muskie Expo is scheduled for April 4 – 6, 2014. The North Metro Chapter will debut a new and improved larger booth. We plan to outline the benefits of being a Muskies Inc. member, add prize raffles, add educational components to teach fisherman proper catch and release techniques and demonstrate release tools. The 2013 Members Only Contest Mount Winners will be presented their mounts at the Expo. We need your recent photos to showcase the fun and success of our Chapter Members as well as volunteers to work the booth. Our goal is sign up a number of new members this year. More details to come in January.
Our Chapter needs your help! There are a variety of small tasks and projects throughout the year. We need additional new Board Members, a Chapter Secretary, a Members Only Contest & Photo Contest Chair, MN Minnesota Expo Co-Chairs and Members Challunge Tournament Co-Chairs. Contact any of the North Metro Board Members if you can assist us!
Dan Mruz
North Metro President
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Hamernick Family Benefit
Please support Jason Hammernick and his family. Jason is an excellent fishing guide and long time member of our chapter. On Tuesday December 3rd The Hamernick family lost their home to a fire.
Please make any donation to support this family through their most difficult times. This is our opportunity to come together as a greater community and support people that really need it, thank you for your kindness and generosity.
Copy and paste this link to support the Hamernick Family:
http://www.gofundme.com/5lj1mw
Kathie and Jason Hamernick have 3 children Chase (College), Hunter (High School), Lexi (Grade School) and their nephew Trent who had just recently moved in with them. They need the support and monetary help of the community to get through this family disaster.
The Forest Lake Boys Lacrosse team will be holding a Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction on Sunday, December 15th from 3:00-5:00 PM at Vannelli's By The Lake, 55 S Lake Street, Forest Lake MN. The Hamernick family lost their home, 2 vehicles and all of their belongs to the fire. All proceeds will go directly to the family. Suggested donation: $10.00/person. Please join us in supporting this family as they begin to rebuild their lives!
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NEW ON-LINE MEMBER ID CARD PROCESS
January 2014 the new member ID card process will be implemented, but it will be ready to roll within the next few weeks for all members.
ON LINE MEMBER ID CARD PRINTING
All member ID’s will be printed by members once accessing their account User Profile. There will be a link on the user profile page (upper right hand corner) that will allow them to print and retain their own ID Cards at ANY TIME. For family members the family head will be able to print the entire families ID’s.
Print Membership ID Card
Print All Family ID Cards
We will be eliminating MI supplying and ID cards effective 1/1/2014. This will save the organization dollars in monthly expenditures for the imprinting and managing of the ID cards.
We understand some of our members will not have access to computers or be able to print their own ID cards, in these cases they can contact the Secretary to have them produced and mailed to them, but this will be by request only. We will advise members of this in the January Issue of Muskie Magazine.
We understand change is difficult but we also have an obligation to the organization to remain fiscally responsible and to become part of the new wave of technology.
Ellen M Wells
Administrative Secretary
Muskies, Inc
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George's Minnesota Muskie Expo
April 4, 5 & 6, 2014
Featuring: Retailers, Resorts, Tackle Manufacturers,
Guides, Factory Reps, Seminars, Boats, Reproductions,
Muskies Inc, Media and More.
Ganglehoff Center
Concordia University
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2014 League Final Results
| Member Name |
Points |
| Steve Sorgenfrei |
59 |
| Nick poppler |
54 |
| Jason Wegwerth |
44 |
| Chris Cochran |
36 |
| Pat Miller |
22 |
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| Muskies Caught |
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| 44" Steve Sorgenfrei |
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| 41" Doug Elliot (caught before legue hours) |
| 37" Nick poppler |
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| 34" Jay Aigner |
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| 30" Jason Wegwerth |
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| 27" Tagged Fish Steve Sorgenfrei |
Jason and Pat are veteran anglers of the muskie league. Both fished many league nights and each caught a nice muskie for 3rd and 5th. The biggest fish of the year was a 44" by non-member Steve Sorgenfrei.
Congratulations to our top five finishers. Your prizes will be awarded at the banquet February 8. Also thanks to everyone who fished in the league and made it a success. I hope you had fun and had a chance to meet some other North Metro members.
Chris Cochran
Muskie League Director
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Annual Sportsman's Banquet
SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2013
MINNESOTA VALLEY COUNTRY CLUB
The Annual Sportsman's Banquet is a fundraising event for the Twin Cities Chapter of Muskies Inc. There will be over $20,000 in prizes to be given away at this year's banquet including:
- Resort Stays on Premier Muskie Waters
- Guns
- Shimano Reels
- Rods from St. Croix, Gary's Custom Rods and others
- Just Encase Tackle Boxes
- Custom Painted One-of-a-kind Lures
- Guided Fishing Trips
- Several High-Value Surprizes
- Loads of Tackle, Storage and Other Gear
Purchase a Platinum or Gold Bonus Package when you make reservations and save up to $70!! The Platinum Bonus Package, a $225 value for only $155, includes dinner and $190 in "Muskie Bucks". A Gold Bonus Package, a $125 value for only $105, includes dinner and $90 in "Muskie Bucks". Use your "Muskie Bucks" to purchase tickets for the raffles. Dinner only is $35.
Twin Cities Chapter President Tom Keith and I both invite you to participate in both of our Chapter Banquets that support the finest metro area Muskie fishery in the nation.
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Our Chapter’s purpose is:
To promote a high quality muskellunge sport fishery;
To support selected conservation practices based on scientific merit and carried out by authorized federal and state agencies;
To promote muskellunge research;
To introduce the species into suitable waters;
To support the abatement of water pollution;
To disseminate muskellunge information;
To promote good fellowship and sportsmanship among men, women and children;
To encourage and support youth involvement in muskellunge fishing for our future.
Join the North Metro Board or as an Event Chairperson or as a Volunteer. The Board meets for only two hours once a month on the first Tuesday, September through June. You can help influence the direction of the Chapter and help the Metro Muskie Fishery.
We are trying to make our Chapter an overwhelming success but need your help with a variety of small tasks and projects. Contact me or any of the North Metro Board Members to assist us!
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Next Meeting December 17 with Josh Borovsky
Josh has been featured in over twenty articles nationwide including some of the world's most prominent outdoor publications. Josh also appeared numerous times within the outdoor columns of major metropolitan area newspapers across the Midwest such as The Chicago Sun Times, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. In addition to print media, Josh also appeared in over a dozen outdoor TV show episodes including The Lindners' Angling Edge, The Next Bite, We Live Outdoors, Ron Shara's Minnesota Bound, and Keyes Outdoors.
Josh Borovsky is a MN muskie guide, outdoor writer, and pro tournament angler with a PMTT Championship title and Top Gun points record to his credit. Learn more at www.promuskieguide.com.
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Website Administrator Needed
North Metro Muskies needs a volunteer responsible for maintaining our website. The duties of the webmaster include updating the website monthly, ensuring that the web servers, hardware and software are operating correctly.
It currently runs on Joomla! 1.5.10
Please contact robbmeyers@mail.com
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Meeting Winners
The winners of the Thorne Bros. Gift Card Raffle at our November Meeting were Todd Palashewski, Mark Weiss and Tom Kenefick. The winners of the Door Prize Drawing were: Robb Meyers, Bob Wagner, Greg Ide, Steve Wernersbach, Pat Miller, Mike Riha and John Van Ingen.
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Red Wing Lodge
August 9-16, 2014
On Sabaskong Bay
Lake of the Woods
Book Trip Early, Enjoy Planning All Through the Hard Water Time
Again muskie water turns hard on us. Equipment gets shuffled, stored and sometimes restored. The past season’s memories are retrieved, the fun is relived, extended. Yet those big-time muskie trips extend fun on the front side as well: the planning, the map checking, the selecting of new “secret weapons.†That front side activity enhances the “chess game†part of the sport. Book now and enjoy the fun of specific planning and its detailed muskie talk all through the hard water time.
The annual Muskie Inc. Trip to Red Wing Lodge on Sabaskong Bay, Lake of the Woods, is a great choice for that first Canadian trip or for the veteran’s extra trip. Dates for the coming season: August 9-16, 2014. Save your surprises for muskie action, you don’t need them at base camp. Red Wing Lodge offers a resort base that has been family owned and operated for more than 45 years and is clean and comfortable where everything works. The Bartlett family has hosted Muskie Inc. outings for years with personal and friendly service, so they understand what muskie people need and like.
Red Wing Lodge was Chapter Challenge headquarters in ’83, ’86, ’93, ’97, ’03, ’04, and again in 2011 and 2012. Check out the muskie information, including the Red Wing Lodge Hall of Fame, as well as the first live cam in Morson, at www.redwinglodge.net
Cost per person in housekeeping cabins will remain at $325 (US Funds) for 2014, which breaks down to just $46.43 per day for big-time Canadian muskie fishing.
Included in the full value of the 2014 Muskie Inc. trip:
* Free Dockage ($72 value), Free Launch (both ways, $25 value)
* Free Dinner one night, courtesy of the Bartlett’s
* One Free Trip, given away in drawing, courtesy of the Bartlett’s
* Free Wireless Internet Service throughout the Resort
* Free Daily Bag of Ice; door prizes
Reservations require a $50 non-refundable deposit, made out to Red Wing Lodge. Deposits officially confirm reservation holds. First come, first served.
Early deposits are appreciated by the Bartletts, these funds are used to purchase materials for cabin improvements, most of which can only be made over the winter.
For e.g., the Bartletts recently completed installing A/C units in all cabins.
To make reservations, or any questions or suggestions for improving the trip, contact:
John van Ingen
(651) 699-5172
maxjo@mac.com
2108 Palace Ave
St. Paul, MN 55105
or
Pat Miller
651) 429-1629
donnapatmiller@gmail.com
1645 Ridgewood Ave
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
For answers to detailed questions regarding the Lodge, e.g., about the cabins, you are invited to call Mike and Anne Bartlett toll free at 1-888-488-5601.
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Join us for the
9th Annual North Metro Banquet
All-You-Can-Eat Fish Fry Dinner
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Grand Prize Raffles - $1,500 Total Value
Over $10,000 in overall prizes
50 Inch 1080P LED HDTV
One full-day Guide Trip with Jason Hamernick during the 2014 Muskie Season
Additional Raffles and Games of Chance
National and Regional Guided Trips - Resort Packages - Custom Muskie Rods - Lure Packages - Hunting & Fishing Clothes - Release Tools - Ladies Raffle - Wheel of Lures - Kids & Adult Activities & Much, Much, More!
Check out money saving ticket packages & early bird drawings for a custom rod.
Dinner & Raffle Ticket Packages
(Available only until January 24th)
$125 Muskie Bonus Package (over $175 value!)
Includes one dinner and $145 in raffle tickets plus a free Keg Kup*
$80 Pike Bonus Package (over $110 value!)
Includes one dinner and $80 in raffle tickets plus a free Keg Kup*
*Purchase before January 24th to receive entry into the early-bird drawings for an Old School Tackle custom rod. Ticket Bonus Packages only available until January 24th. Bonus Package purchasers over the age of 21 will receive a free beer Keg Kup. All individual dinner tickets purchased and packages qualify for one entry for a grand prize.
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Working to Preserve, Promote and Advance Muskie and Pike Education and Research in Minnesota
Hi everyone. John usually covers the newsletter, but I had a few things I wanted to tell you about. I got to be part of a really cool experience about a few weeks ago... My dad and I, along with a member of the North Metro chapter, were able to help the DNR with putting PIT tags into the muskie fingerlings being stocked into the Horseshoe Chain. The St. Cloud and North Metro chapters teamed up to secure a grant, through the Hugh Becker Foundation, to help fund a tagging study. PIT tags are little inserts, about the size of a grain of rice, that work kind of like a bar code scanner. The DNR will be doing a multiple-year study on the muskies being stocked in The Chain. These tags will help them assess thing like survivability and growth rates, and help them understand the best ways to manage muskie populations throughout the state.
For me, after being so involved with the whole process of starting The Chain's stocking program, being a small part of this study really brought the experience full circle. It was a long road, with a lot of up's and down's, but we accomplished something that we'll all be able to enjoy and be proud of!
Joe Stewig is the new Area Fisheries Supervisor in Montrose, and is in charge of managing the Horseshoe Chain. He spoke at our St. Cloud chapter meeting recently, and gave us some great information on the PIT tag study. Joe also talked about a couple other interesting things. One is a creel survey that will be done on The Chain during the winter of 2014, through the summer and winter of 2015.
Another was that the study "Fish Community Responses to Muskie Stocking in MN Lakes" has been published in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management. This is the biological study that we've stood behind as proof that stocking muskies has no negative impact on our fisheries. Having it officially published in the NAJFM means that it has been reviewed and inspected by other fisheries managers and biologists throughout the country, and found to be scientifically sound. This validates it as accurate and useful, and allows it to be used legitimately throughout the country as a guideline for fisheries management. This strengthens our use of the study to promote responsible muskie stocking in selected lakes throughout Minnesota.
Aaron Meyer, Co-Chair
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NORTH METRO OFFICERS
President.................... Dan Mruz
Vice President............. Steve Wernesbach
Regional VP................ Mike Riha
Secretary.................... Open
Treasurer.................... Jim Shannon
BOARD MEMBERS
Dick Hamann.............. 763-428-7789
Robb Meyers............... 612-791-6331
Dan Mruz.................... 763-535-4206
Mike Riha................... 763-607-2800
Jim Shannon............... 763-434-9729
Steve Wernersbach...... 763-242-2625
Membership Chairman
Robb Meyers .............. 612-791-6331
Members Only Fishing Contest
Dan Mruz ................... 763-535-4206
Eric Nelson ................ 651-398-1061
Newsletter Editor
Robb Meyers............... 612-791-6331
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