Outdoor Notebook: A musky fishing tradition
Saturday morning, at 7 a.m., Lee Bastian sent a group of musky anglers out from the boat landing at Boom Lake. The occasion is the 34th Curt Ebert Boom Lake Musky Tournament.
The Boom Lake Musky Tournament is a catch and release contest. It is a very relaxed atmosphere, and a lot of fun to participate in. Each year this event attracts anglers who we only see once a year. The tournament hours are from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday, and Sunday from 6 a.m. until noon.
Local businessman Curt Ebert participated in this event each year until his untimely death. Curt had a habit of switching lures frequently, and we all teased him that at the end of fishing hours his boat looked like a lure dump. Each of us who has participated in the Boom Lake Tournament over the years truly misses Curt. This is a low money event with a first place prize of $500 and $250 for second place. With the relatively small dollar amounts in this tournament, the camaraderie of the participants is more important than winning. My partner for the weekend is the “Osseo Jinx”, Tom Twesme.
Next weekend another popular musky tournament, the “Charley Baker Musky Tournament” will be held on the Moen Chain. Rich Hirman and his brother, Jerry, run that event.
Last weekend the Headwaters Chapter of Muskies Inc. held their Spring Tournament on the Eagle River Chain.
Originally when musky tournaments began, I was opposed to them. However, those anglers who are involved with sponsoring the tournament have set forth a series of rules that insure the health of the fish that are landed. If you wish to learn a body of water and there is a tournament on that water, sit out of the boat traffic and watch where the anglers are fishing.
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Let’s try as hard as we can to keep politics out of the process of regulating hunting, fishing and trapping. The preservation of our fish and game is much too important to allow politics to influence the rule-making process. The governor has requested that the rules regulating hunting and fishing should be simplified. Act 21 is the rule of the land at this time, and goes a long way to make the rule making process more complex. In my opinion, Act 21 needs to be replaced by the process we formerly had.
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As these thoughts are being put on paper, the meteorologist on television is warning that we may experience frost. These temperature fluctuations have confused the fish as well as the anglers.
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As we are talking with people who spend time outdoors, several topics seem to be addressed by them. At least five area residents have seen bears with three cubs. One Eagle River resident reported that he has seen a sow with five cubs.
Tom Cornelius said that he was watching a doe and fawn as they fed on grass on the shoulder of a woods road. All of a sudden the doe raised her head, stamped a foot and took off. The fawn ran in the opposite direction. Tom said that as the fawn left the road a large bear appeared. Tom was able to chase the bear in his truck, hopefully long enough to allow the doe and fawn to leave the area.
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If you take a dog into the woods, keep close contact with it. Several dogs have recently been attacked by wolves.
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At least one pair of loons with a chick has been reported on the waters of Boom Lake.
Enjoy our lakes but exercise caution when boating.
Longtime Northwoods outdoors personality Roger Sabota writes a bi-monthly column appearing in the Star Journal.
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