Editors: Tom Raschke (tomraschke50@gmail.com) or 608-219-9243 Club Web site: http://www.yaharafishingclub.org Stan Nichols (sanicho1@facstaff.wisc.edu)

2012December

Notes by Stan The Man Nichols

The only thing you need to be a musky guide is $40. That gets you a guides license in Wisconsin. Everything else is what you want to put into it. That can be a lot. To give an idea of what it takes to be a fishing guide, John Stellflue, a “retired” guide gave the club an overview of his career as a guide in Oneida and Vilas Counties. He told us how he got started, the ups and downs of his career, some interesting people he met, and why he quit.

John originally came from western Wisconsin, which isn’t prime musky country. He got started fishing muskies because he couldn’t catch other fish. It is sort of embarrassing not being able to catch a bluegill, but not embarrasing when you can’t catch a musky. You count success at musky fish-ing differently. How many strikes, follows, swirls, etc. did you have in a day? That can be success.

But, over the years John perfected his “craft” of catching muskies. He spent a lot of time at fishing shows, bait shops, going out with guides, and got a lot of information off the then new technology - the Internet. He also spent a lot of time fishing and finally felt competent in his ability to catch muskies. He may even be able to teach others how to do it. In the mean time he also relocated to Rhinelander, in the heart of Wisconsin musky country.

He decided he could be a guide, so he went into business and he looked at it like a business. He wrote a business plan and approached guiding as a business would. He created a brochure, a website, had a guide shirt, etc. for advertising. He didn’t say so, but it also sounded like he didn’t entirely give up his “day job”. To grow his business he decided to go “solo”. He didn’t join a guides association. He also charged a little less

So You Want to be a Musky Guide?

and fished a little longer than other area guides. He targeted families and kids. He didn’t care if they had ever fished before. He would teach him. His plan was a success and he was busy, but in some cases other area guides didn’t like it. They felt he was stealing their business. He also taught at Esox “University”, did sports shows, wrote magazine articles, put out information on the Internet, and helped design fishing gear.

How did this all come to an end? He was spending most of his time away from his family- either guiding, at sports shows, writing articles, updating his website, or other needed tasks. His oldest daughter finally said she wanted to see him more, so he quit guiding and never looked back. The risk to family was too great. He still enjoys recreational fishing but the pace is different.

So what does it take to be a musky guide besides knowing how to catch fish, having a guide license, and a fancy boat? You have to have an understanding and supportive family and significant other; hopefully one with a good income and benefits. You also won’t get rich. If a musky guide in Wisconsin has 100 days of fishing at $400 a day he is doing very well. Most don’t come close to that income. John said he never started making a profit until early to mid-July. You also have to be a people person; you don’t pick your clients-at least the first time. If you have the dream, go for it. It can also be rewarding for the people you meet and the connections you make. Who was the best angler he guided? - A seven year old that knew how to cast and caught a 48-inch musky the first time out.

Yahara Fishing Club

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YFC Forum Tip

If you already use an email that ends with @Yahoo, you can stop reading.

If your email ends with something else, and you are not being notified of the messages posted on the forum, you may need to go to the forum and change your email.

First, at the top of the screen, click on “Edit Mem-bership” (circled). Then click on the words to add another email account, and click the button to make the new one primary. Any questions give me a call. Tom Raschke, 219-9243.

I caught this 33 inch 22 lb Brown Trout trolling in Milwau-kee Harbor on Feb 4, 2012 with my brother Kenny. Thanks for “Global Warming”. It’s not very often that you can fish from your boat in February in Wisconsin, and be comfortable.

Gene Whitford

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V.F.W. Post 1318133 Lakeside St. Madison 53715

Yahara Fishing Club

608-255-5955

At the Dec. potluck meeting, you can begin signup for the whitefish outing out of Sturgeon Bay on Feb 8 through the 10th, and also the Reelfoot outing April 7th through the 10th. Both of these outing require a NON REFUNDABLE deposit to secure shacks and lodging. The Whitefish deposit is $40 made payable to the YFC, for those sure of going to Reelfoot, be prepared to deposit $100 payable to Bluebank Resort by early Jan. I can collect checks at the Dec. meeting and hold until Jan 1 at which time I will send all checks to Reelfoot to secure our existing reservation.

The WFC derby on Waubesa January 19th will replace the original outing scheduled for Perch. Jim Kloth and Duffy may need volunteers to help with this.

I would like to finalize the White fish outing sign up at the Jan. 8th meeting. On February 8 -10th we will be icing Whitefish out of sturgeon Bay. This extravaganza was great last year in spite of tough ice conditions and an arctic blast. The conditions have got to be better this year. This is a stay over Friday and Saturday with special rates at a Sturgeon Bay motel. A neat outing looking down 20 plus feet in crystal clear water and seeing schools of whitefish circling our baits – all in the comfort of a heated shack.

The rest of early 2013 is as scheduled, March 16 or 23 Clements’ barge on the Mississippi, April7 -10 Reelfoot Lake, TN, May 18th weekend (?) Walleye on Green Bay.

Tom K, outings chair

Final Outings update for 2012

Here is our fishing seminar schedule. As usual, these are free to the public, are on Thursday evenings at 7:00pm at the store at 1411 Northport Dr, Madison (608)241-4225.

12/06 Roman Ryan will talk about Lake Mendota Perch

12/13 Lee Tauchen will talk about Monster Fish thru the ice

12/20 Jim Kusuda will talk about Icing Bull Bluegills

Any questions, give us a call at 241-4225.

Sandy at D&S Bait

D&S Bait Speaker Schedule

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Yahara Fishing Club

Back in the day, YFC sponsored the Percharee. I wasn’t a member then, but I think what happened is it got to be too big so it got to be too much work for the membership to handle. It was a good moneymaker for the club. But why should kids have all the fun so YFC is sponsoring an Ice Fishing Derby. Mark your calendar for January 19, 2013. Registration is from 6:00 to 10:00 A.M., with weigh-in is at 2:00 P.M. It will be held on Lake Waubesa off the Green Lantern Restaurant. 4412 Siggelkow Road, McFarland. There will be many door prizes and the money raised will be used for YFC kids events. There will be prizes awarded for the largest, by weight of walleyes, bass, pike, and 10 panfish. For kids there will be a prize for the largest single panfish. First place for each species will be $75 and second place will be $25. Kids prize (12 and under) will be merchandise. There will be a professional style weigh-in with Gary Engberg hosting it. YFC encourages catch and release so release holes will be readily available. All Wisconsin fishing rules apply. The Green Lantern will have food specials all day. There are many sponsors for the door prizes. Jim Kloth is “heading it up”. He will need plenty of help. You can contact Jim at 608-636-0116 or jkloth62@charter.net.

YFC Ice Fishing Derby

Mike Mohr and Brother In-Law Don Dixon {with fish} were jigging with minnows for Walleyes & Saugers on lake Wisconsin last month when this 29 lb Flathead Catfish hit. Don said he could hardly lift the pig into the boat {Don netted it for Mike}. So back it went!

On a more resent trip Don was fishing with Mike & caught a large shad. He threw it back in hoping the resident Eagle sitting near by in a tree would take it. Once the fish landed in the drink, the Eagle focused on it, but wouldn’t come in for the scoop with all the boats so near. I turned back and witnessed a very large Musky swirl & slash as it hit the shad. The Eagle was chirping some strange noises before & after that! I guess he was waiting for his opportunity, but that Musky made earlier plans.

Go Pack,Kevin Tvedten

Fisherman’s PrayerI pray that I may live to fishUntil my dying day.And when it comes to my last cast,I then most humbly pray:When in the Lord’s great landing netAnd peacefully asleep,That in His mercy I be JudgedBIG ENOUGH TO KEEP.

Lake Wisconsin Cat

Yahara Fishing Club

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Notes From the Prez

December has arrived and it sure feels warm out there. It makes you want to get your boat out and do some fishing. I just put mine away for the winter. They are all tucked in until spring. I am getting ready for ice now so it can get cold anytime now. I am really looking forward to our events in January.

I hope those of you who hunt enjoyed this past month and got plenty in the freezer. I know my family was able to fill a few of their deer tags.

Our December meeting is our Christmas party. Please bring a dish to pass to share with all. It will be a good time to sit and visit and catch up with plans for next year. I will do my best to keep the meeting short so we can get to eating.

We will be announcing the new club officers as well as giving one of our hard working members the Pete Froland Award. Also we will announce the fish contest winners. We will discuss the Kids Ice Fishing event, the Fishing Derby and a few outings coming up. During the meal we will have a guest speaker talk briefly about some new lures they are making and their plans for next year.

Membership dues should be taken care of this month. It remains for another year at $25 for single and $35 for family. The memberships run from January to December. Also, we will continue the fishing contest which is $5 for the year.

If there should be inclement weather be sure to check the web page for cancellations. Also we will try and get an email out. You can always call me.

See you soon, Karlette

Yahara Fishing Club

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As I conclude my second year as your treasurer, I wanted to share a few budgetary highlights. YFC continues to build on recent financially successful years. This is due to active members, careful spending, and effective fund raising . Although not all of 2012’s financial transactions have occurred, there are several items of note:

“ Membership in 2012 was similar to 2011. This includes over 100 single memberships and more than a dozen family memberships sold. Forty members participated in this year’s annual fishing contest.

“ In spite of a tough economy, there were several examples of financial generosity. These include:

o Partnering with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and Thrivent Financial netted fish fry income topping $3000. This was $347.48 more than 2011.

o Several one-time donations were received, including one for $1500 from Wal-Mart. o $500 was received via the Rodney Regel Memorial Fund. o The annual auction raised almost $200 more than 2011. o The Fishing Expo raffle netted almost $900 more than 2011. o 2012 in-house raffles, like 2011, ran about $200 over 2010 totals.

“ Be sure to thank advertisers you see in this newsletter for their continued support.“ On the expense side, nearly $800 in printing and mailing costs will be

saved by members willing to switch to the on-line version of the newsletter.Kudos to all of the volunteers and donators who helped make this possible. Happy holidays, Dennis Puser

End of 2012 Financial Update

Yahara Fishing Club

Yahara Fishing ClubMembership Application

P.O. Box 3271Madison, WI 53704

Name

Street

City State Zip

Email

Annual Dues: Individual.........................$25 Family..............................$35 Youth Member..................Free (with paid membership)

Except for special Summer “On the water” dates, meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at the Lakeside VFW Hall, John Nolan Dr, & Lakeside St. in Madison.

An Organization to Educate, Protect and Propagate the Interests of All Fishermen in the Yahara Basin Area Including all of Madison’s Lakes

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Muskie - Paul Zoch, 44.5Northern - Tom Wilke, 41Walleye - Paul Zoch, 27.5 -- Zock already won, no other entries

so no money for this categorySauger - no entriesLarge Mouth - Eric Olson, 20.875Small Mouth - Paul Zoch, 20.25 -- JeffWydeven get s money, 20Bluegill - Jack Hurst, 11.25Perch - Stan Nichols, 13Crappie - Jack Hurst, Stan Nichols tied, 11.5. Both previous cash winners so no cash for this category.Catfish - Paul Zoch, 31, no other entries no cash for this category.Brook Trout - Steve Hurst, 15.25,Brown Trout - Paul Zoch, 31 no other entriesRainbow Trout - Stan Nichols, 15. no other entriesWhite Bass - Jerry Paffenroth, 17

2011 Fishing Contest winners:

Meeting is the annual member potluck

Calendar of Upcoming Events

The Yahara Fishing Club’s doors are open to EVERYONE, so invite a friend to the meeting!

Yahara Fishing ClubP.O. Box 3271Madison, WI 53704

Check out our web page at: www.yaharafishingclub.org

President -Karlette Schoen ..242-8803Vice Pres. - Charlie Grimm .249-9694Secretary - Paul Nichols 309-335-6815Treasurer - Dennis Puser... ..576-0929

Director - Don Gostomski, 249-8250 Director - Paul Zoch ......... 241-5443 Director - Jesse Tougas ......831-3151 Director - Tom Klein .........225-4968

Director - Mike Hutchen ...234-1590Director - Don Hammes ... 836-1205 Director - Randy Winkleman 358-4885 Director - Larry Reed - 221-0362

January Events January 8th, regular club meeting.January 19th YFC derby on Waubesa

The next meeting is on Tuesday, December 11th, at the Lakeside VFW Hall (John Nolen Rr. & Lakeside St.)The Board Of Directors meet at 5:45 pm, The General Membership meeting starts at 7:00 pm.

December EventsDecember 6th, Roman Ryan will talk about Lake Mendota Perch at D&S BaitDecember 11th, regular club meeting. Potluck holiday Christmas partyDecember 13th ,Lee Tauchen will talk about Monster Fish thru the ice at D&S BaitDecember 20th, Jim Kusuda will talk about Icing Bull Bluegills at D&S Bait

February Events February 8-10th will be club whitefish outing out of Sturgeon