muskiedreams

Mark, Correction: the NMA meetings are held at the Eldridge Club, 17 Broad St., Tonawanda.

I was in Clayton with several other members of Muskies Inc. Chapter 69 on Sat and Sun. The guys in the other boat had a couple rips on Sat but we got nothing that day. Sun was very windy so we tried up by Chippawah (spelling may be off) Bay for a few hours but it got too rough and we called it quits early since we were taking a few waves over the bow. No luck that day either. It was my first time up there. The guys I was with had been there several times before. Were you at our meeting at Obrien's in Clayton? We had our monthly Muskies Inc. Chapter 69 meeting there and Bob Walters of Water Wolf Charters did a presentation. We also did a presentation about our Muskies Inc. chapter. There were several charter captains and local musky fisherman in attendance including Rich Clark and Dave Berger (who came up with the Berger King rig and former owner of Thousand Island Bait Shop). Bob Walters brought a few mounts inclusing a beautiful 59.5" and a gorgeus double replica mount. It was a good time and a great opporunity to meet and talk to the local musky fisherman. I would like to thank all who attended and participated. We must all stick together in order to preserve and enhace our state's precious musky fisheries. Steve

Very beutiful and healthy looking fish. She should have the potential to add on a few more inches. It must have been a serious adrenalin rush.

Chad, was that 51.5'" on Friday before the tournament? Friday I got a blowup on a Top Raider at dusk bit it didn't hold on to it. The day of the tournament, I got nothing as usual. I have been in all seven of them and havn't entered a fish yet. Today I got a 36" and one about 33" on a Chinese Shad Rap imitation in perch. I caught them within 100 Ft of each other but about 2 hrs apart.

Years ago we used to troll in the Niagara river and Buffalo Harbor in the fall and catch purebred muskies at night. There are still some angles that catch them at night in the river during the summer and fall. It can be very productive sometimes.

The anual Mark Troy Memorial Musky Tournament will be held Saterday October 5th. It is put on by Jim Reynolds, Bob Saucke and Captain Ed Cragg in memory of Jims friend and fishing partner, Mark Treau, who passed away several years ago with cancer. I beleive this will be the 6th anual. Last year we had a great tournament and the anglers kept Ed and Jim very busy since they were in the only judge boat. This year there should be two judge boats as usual. Last year there were 41 anglers and close to half that number of fish entered. It was a very good day with continuous action throughout the day. The first and second place fish were caught in the final minutes of the tournament for an exciting finale. The cookout with awards presentation and raffle table was a great time with lots of stories, good conversation and comarederie. This is a catch and release tournament. Judge boats are used to verify your catch. Tournament hours will be 7 am til 3:30 pm. Morning fog could delay the start. Registration will be at the boat launch between 6 and 7 am. The entry fee is $25 per angler and this is a cash tournament with prizes for first, second and third place. I do not have all the rules but I beleive they will be the same as last year and will be provided to partisipants before the start of the tournament. We will have the cottage at Swarthout point where we will have the cookout and awards presenation immediately following the tournament. Bring your own drinks. We still have some space available in the cottage for Friday and Saturday nights for anyone who is interested, for $25 per person per night per person. Respond here or call Jim in advance if you are interested. If you stay at the cottage, there is a boat launch on site and docks to use. If you have any questions, you can call Jim at 585-670-0422 or post them here. If you are planning to attend, please let us know here or call Jim so we can get an idea of how many will be there. I have fished this tourney every year since the first one and it has always been a great time even though I have yet to enter a fish.

If you live in Tyrone, you must be famillir with Waneta lake. There is a healthy population of muskies there. Eddie Cragg of Reel Rippin' Charters lives out that way and charters for muskies on that lake. I belong to both The Niagara Musky Association and NY Muskies Inc. Chapter 69. There are members in both organizations that can give you advice on fishing Waneta. It is a little different than the big waters of the Niagara and the tactics are a little different. Since it is a small lake it is a good place to get started.

They should be partnering with recreational boaters and anglers to be their eyes to report suspicious activities. Instead they are alienating those who are no threat to security. US Homeland Security is talking about instituting new border regulations that will complicate things even further. I wonder if citizens and local, county and state governments will even have a say in what they decide to do. I would like to think so but it seems we are loosing our voice and rights all the time.

Passport is not needed at this time. Also you don't have to check back in with US Customs if you did not land (or anchor) or connect with another boat in Canadin waters. The US border patrol is currently considering requiring vessels to check in at a video phone (which may not be conveniently located) when returning from Canadian waters. Supposedly having a Nexus card ($50 and good for 5 years) will allow you to call in. I don't think it will come up for discussion like state fishing and hunting regulations. It may be totally up to the discression of Homeland Security. So it may become more expensive and inconvenient to fish in Canadian waters. You will need: 1)Canadian outdoor card 2) Canadian fishing lisense 3)Nexus card (unless there is a convenientty located video phone which still might not be very convenient) You will have to go through the motions of getting these things. Then you will have to report when you enter Canadian waters and report back into US when returning. Everyone on the boat will have to have these things. It may not be worth the expense and agrivation unless you intend to fish Canadian waters on a regular basis.

1-888-CAN-PASS. Call this # just before or as you enter Canadian waters. They will ask you a bunch of border type questions, including your boat #, passenger names and B dates, weather you have alcohol (illegal in Canada) firearns, weapons, etc. They will give you a confirmation # you will need if you are stopped by Canadian authorities. If you go over another day, it will go a little faster because they will already have your information from before. If you are just traveling through Canadian waters, without stopping, to get to another location in US waters you don't have to call in.