Every year I am able to spend some time with my good friend Rob Meusec fishing for Musky on the Chippewa Flowage. This year was an exceptional treat since, due to Rob’s knee transplant, I was concerned that Rob would have to take a pass on our annual outing.

Late June is usually an active Musky time but this year we have been held hostage to high temperatures causing Musky fishing to be tough…so it was with great expectation, based upon overcast and stormy conditions, that Rob and I hit the water on this June day.

The wind was from the West, giving us the opportunity to use the wind to cover large expanses of good Musky water. We took a short motor trip from the Indian Trail Resort dock and set up the boat to cover the complete Church Bar. This is a huge subsurface piece of structure with a rolling bottom that ranges from 18 feet to 1½ feet at its shallowest. This year the weeds are classic for Musky with clean crisp cabbage and isolated clumps of flat weeds, both of which can usually be relied upon to hold a fish or two…the problem being that there is one heck of a lot of water where Musky could be lurking.

I put a bucktail on my 7 foot Guide Pro rod and Rob put a Best American Topper on his rod. It is not uncommon for two fishermen searching for Musky to use lures that cover below and on the surface.

The wind had the water whipped up a bit and we had to deal with 2-3 foot rollers and the occasional white cap. Squalls of rain were advancing from the West and the overcast provided a pleasant break from oppressively hot temperatures…it was actually quite pleasant to be on the hunt.

We spent about 40 minutes beating the water of Church Bar without any action and as we got to the bog that marks the boundary between outer and inner Church Bar, I asked Rob if he wanted to try another spot or continue to cover inner Church Bar using the friendly West wind. Rob turned to me and said: "You’re the guide".

Inner Church Bar has produced some really nice fish over the years but it is not hit very hard these days. I looked at the water where the wind would take us and told Rob that we would take a chance on the reputation of Inner Church Bar.

The wind and occasional shower were persistent as we made our foray into inner Church Bar. I was casting my bucktail with the wind and Rob was casting his surface lure against the wind. We did this in an effort to get the best coverage we could as the wind moved us briskly along.

We had fallen into the groove of casting, so it was a shocker when Rob’s surface lure became the object of a violent assault. As I looked over my shoulder in the direction of the commotion, I saw Rob dealing with a Musky that had the wind driven water foaming at the surface.

It became obvious that if that lure had been actual prey it would have been torn apart from stem to stern. This fish was on the attack and that topper was bearing the brunt of the teeth and aggressive behavior that motivates us to do what we do.

Rob was holding on for dear life as this fish sounded down and then shot out of the water like a rocket…a total of three times. I had the net at the ready waiting for Rob to bring the fish into scooping range. A few more runs and the fish was finally in the bag.

Now the work to free the fish from the lure and the net started. Rob coaxed the lure from the fish’s jaw and finally freed him from the net. I had the camera at the ready and took a photo of Rob’s 35 inch Tiger Musky. Rob placed the fish in the water and it immediately splashed a bucket worth of water in Rob’s face as he flipped us the fin and headed off into the depths of the Chippewa Flowage.

Rob and I congratulated each other and then rearranged the chaos caused by the catch. We looked at each other and, almost in unison said ‘Lets Get Another’.

Tight Lines