1September 2014

September 20142

Niagara Musky Association, Inc.Catch & Release

NewsletterVolume XX Issue IX

Editor-in-ChiefScott H. McKeeEditor EmeritusAnthony Scime

The Catch & Release Newsletter is published by the Niagara Musky Association, Inc. as a service to our members. No part

of this document may be reproduced, photocopied, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, translated into any lan-guage in any form by any means without prior written consent

of the Board of Directors of the Niagara Musky Association, Inc.This documentation is Licensed Information Proprietary to: The

Niagara Musky Association, Inc.PMB 383, 733 Delaware Rd.

Buffalo, NY 14223niagaramuskyassociation.ning.com

3September 2014

Next Meeting:Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 2Tuesday, September 2ndnd • 7 • 7 PMPM • Eldridge Club • Eldridge Club

17 Broad Street • City of Tonawanda17 Broad Street • City of TonawandaSince our club is celebrating its twentieth birth-day this year, I have been fascinated with Top 20 lists. Tony ScimeTony Scime has been kind enough to com-pile several of these lists for us: Our All-Time Top 20 Largest Fish, Our All-Time Top 20 Anglers, and this month’s jewel, Our All-Time Top 20 LuresOur All-Time Top 20 Lures. Thank you, Tony! These articles are awesome and they are befi tting of our club and our twenty years of dedication to the protection, preservation and enhancement of the Niagara River and Lake Erie muskellunge fi sheries.

I’m glad Scott KitchenScott Kitchen has twenty on the brain as well. Last week I didn’t have a speaker for our September Meeting. Scott E-mailed me saying he’d like to discuss his favorite twenty musky his favorite twenty musky spots in the riverspots in the river, and the most effective tech-niques to fi sh them. Bring your notebook and your questions, gang! This will be a fantastic presentation! Thanks, Scott! •

September 20144

Top 20Top 20‘Ski Gear‘Ski Gear

WWhile trying to sell Knipex at our meetings in the past I’ve mentioned that these hook cutters are the most important piece of musky equipment in my boat. They were until I thought about it a bit. After some

consideration I determined stainless steel leaders are the most important pieces of equipment. Like Knipex, I would never consider fi shing for muskies without them.

After some more pondering, I dropped Knipex to my third most im-portant piece of equipment in favor of really strong super line. Can you see the direction I’m going here? Before I need to cut hooks, I will need to get a fi sh to my boat without a chance (or as close to certainty without affecting performance drastically) my line will break or a fi sh will bite through whatever it is attached to.

With that in mind, I thought I would list my top twenty pieces of musky gear. I am not including my boat, rods, reels, motors, elec-tronics, safety equipment, appropriate clothing, beverages or boat snacks, which of course are all indispensable. I am not going to dis-cuss individual lures, but I will mention lure groups. Of course lure preference is different for every angler. I will just include my own. I want to stress that I would never throw or pull a musky lure with inferior construction or weak split rings. After I ranked the tools I felt were absolutely essential to musky fi shing, I ranked the incidentals based on my own preferences; would I rather have this than that? For instance, would I rather have jigs on board or rod holders? Would I rather have a long billed hat or sunglasses? Would I rather have a headlamp or bucktails on board? I’ll explain the answers to these questions below:

1. Stainless Steel Leaders: I’ll stir up the hornet’s nest if I have to. Muskies can’t bite through stainless steel. Muskies can bite through fl uorocarbon leaders. I, and many other anglers, have witnessed this happen. Please use steel.

2. 80#-plus Superlines: As far as I’m concerned the advent of superlines was almost as huge to musky fi shing as gas powered engines. They allow us to cast longer, fi sh deeper with larger and heavier lures and their tensile strength allows us to land big fi sh quickly.

3. Knipex Cobalt Bolt Cutters: Why not have the best? Ripping hooks is not acceptable, and muskies have a tendency to return the favor and impale us with hooks as we release them. With a hook in you during this process, after “owwww”, the fi rst thought that will go through your head will be “Knipex”. I used other cutters before I learned about Knipex and they all stunk.

4. Needle Nosed Pliers: After you cut the hooks you have to remove the pieces left. Do you really want to stick your fi ngers in a

musky’s yap or near a bunch of treble hooks?

5. Jaw Spreaders: I only use spreaders when I absolutely have to. When a lure is deep in a musky’s mouth a bit of surgery may be re-quired. Since speed is important when releasing muskies, spread-ers are a very specifi c tool to expedite the process.

6. Beckman Fin Saver Plus Net: Beyond its role as a landing device, the Fin Saver with its huge bag provide a “live well” of sorts while you remove hooks. The small, coated mesh doesn’t take its toll on musky fi ns.

7. Crankbaits: They dominate my tackle box. 95% of all my trolling locally is with a crankbait, obviously. More than 75% of all my cast-ing is with a crank. Shallow to deep. I love them. I should jig more than I do, but I can’t get enough of gunning crankbaits around.

8. Hook Sharpener: Now that I’ve fi nally listed some lures, I’ll need to keep the hooks sharp. If you want to catch more fi sh, make sure every lure you throw or troll has sharp hooks before you get them wet.

9. Artifi cial Light: Without it, I wouldn’t be able to fi sh at night. If you head out at night you can’t beat a headlamp. And under no cir-cumstances should you venture into the darkness without properly working navigation lights.

10. Rod Holders: Try running a spread of more than one line with-out them.

11. Plano 3730 Utility Boxes: Hanging lure boxes drive me crazy. I hate it when the lures get wedged in, or a hook gets caught under the hangers. Plano 3730 boxes hold a bunch of stuff. They allow me store lures by individual lure types and techniques. Removing lures may take a bit of untangling, but they help me maintain the little bit of sanity I have left.

12. Cooler: Warm drinks in the summer just don’t cut it for me.

13. Long Billed Hat with a dark under-bill: Long billed caps might look goofy on everyone except Flip Pallot, but I think they’re great. I’m half-blind as it is and need all the help seeing I can get.

14. Hair: I don’t use this lure group much on the Niagara, but who doesn’t love fi ring around bucktails and spinnerbaits.

15. Split Ring Pliers: When you catch a musky and cut the hooks, don’t you want to get your lucky lure out again as fast as possible? Spend the money and get a nice pair.

16. Jojo Balls: I love these little cannonballs. Nothing keeps a four or fi ve rod spread untangled on turns like Jojo Balls. They are a down rigger you can keep in your pocket.

17. Replacement Hooks: They made it this far down the list since you can always cannibalize other lures.

18. Sun Screen: This should be higher on my list, but I’m not too bright, and I don’t like fi shing when the sun is.

19. Jigs: I hate jigging, but you’ve got to once in a while.

20. Top Waters: I’ve caught one small musky ever on these lures, but fi shing them is mesmerizing and they are a bit addictive.

Notables missing the list: jerkbaits, creatures, bump board, camera, lure tuner and the little rubber ducky that lives on my dashboard. •

5September 2014

September 20146

HHyperbole and I have been good friends for years, but please take me at my word when I say Lake Nipissing is the clos-

est thing to Heaven I can imagine. Like pictures from this Canadian Shield desti-nation, my words cannot adequately de-scribe her honestly; not even close.

7September 2014

September 20148

Editor’s Note: Carrie’s contributions to this article will appear in the playful font, Comic Sans, and mine will appear in boring old Arial. We hope you enjoy this, and thank you again Charlene and Frank!

Since I met Scott in 2006, he has gone on at least one “boys only” fi shing trip a year. Many of those trips have been to Lake Nipissing and until 2010, most of those trips were spent at Memquisit Lodge.

While I had no desire to go on any sort of trip with 8 or more messy, smelly guys, I was a little jealous that he kept re-turning to this, from his description, beautiful spot that was his favorite place in the world, without me.

So at our 20th anniversary banquet when I was the lucky girl whose number was called to pick the next

table, I ran right up and grabbed the Memquisit gift certifi cate. “HA!” I thought, “now he has to take me!”

Fast forward 3 months and I decided that if we wanted to use this certifi -cate we need-ed to book immediately. Both Frank and Charlene Daoust (the owners) were extremely helpful with booking our stay for the time frame we wanted (we couldn‛t stay the entire week this time) and

answering any questions that I had both by phone and e-mail. In fact, from the moment we arrived they made us feel like family. I have never met owners of any business that are such genuinely kind and down-to-earth people, truly willing to go out of their way to help you with anything you could pos-

9September 2014

sibly need to make the most of your stay.

So, now I am going to throw out some random thoughts (bullets) about our trip:

• Pictures do not do justice to the beauty of Lake Nipissing. I have seen countless pictures that Scott has taken on his trips and while I would admit they were pretty, the beauty can only be grasped in person. After we returned and I was looking through the pictures, I realized unless you were there, you just couldn‛t understand how beautiful and open the scenery is. Although it was a holiday weekend and Memquisit was com-pletely booked, on the water it felt like we were the only people in the world.

• Do yourself a favor and check if there is a Canadian holiday weekend scheduled for your travel day before you book your trip. Scott and I left at 7am, fi guring that with a stop in Parry Sound we would make the (6 hour) trek and arrive at Memquisit before 2pm. Then we got stuck in (unbeknownst to us) holiday traffi c for 2 ½ hours on the 400. This was NOT at all fun. If it‛s a holiday weekend leave early; really, really, early.

• We were running late due to traffi c, but if you are early and especially if you have your wife or girlfriend with you, there are lots of little shops in Parry Sound that seem like they‛re worth a look around. Also, if you‛ve never been there, you should check out Georgian Bay. We took a quick drive-by and it is gorgeous. *NOTE: Parry Sound has the last full-fl edged (at least to us city-

September 201410

slickers) grocery store before you reach Memquisit. There is a smaller store in Noelville and they have the basics of what you need, but if you want a Wegmans-esque butcher, deli, olive bar experience make sure to stop in Parry Sound. *Also: if you still manage to forget something, Memquisit‛s store carries pretty much all the ba-sics you might have forgotten. *For you fellow drinkers, the closest LCBO is in a very small corner store in Lavigne. (They also sell fi reworks if you are so inclined, we declined.)

• Fishing totals: Scott caught a 51” musky on our fi rst full day at 8:45 am. I will let him give you those details. Other than the one musky, we caught about 20 small (12”-27”) pike. What I noticed, and found strange, is that the little pike seemed to love the bigger lures, especially the big musky spinnerbaits. We caught way more pike on the musky lures than we did on the bass and pike lures.

• I have never seen so many stars as I saw while on Lake Nipissing. It is a truly breath-taking experience just staring at all those little memories of light. The only way I can think to describe it is the beginning of an old-school space movie, one where it shows nothing but stars and you seem to move forward until you are sur-rounded completely by stars. There are THAT many stars in the sky that you never see with all the lights in the city/suburbs.

• I have never been to a Ca-

nadian Lodge before, but have stayed at several places in the good ‘ole US and never have I stayed somewhere that they pick up your garbage and deliver fi rewood on your dock daily. Memquisit does this (garbage is free and fi rewood is for a nomi-nal fee), and I found it extreme-ly convenient.

• I would highly suggest bring-ing DVD‛s, playing cards, board games, books, or whatever you do in your spare time. Firstly, in case of rain, which we were lucky enough not to have. Sec-

ondly, because they will kill the little bit of time while cooking dinner and during the quick unwind-ing period before bed.

• Bring bug spray and sunscreen. This may seem like a no-brainer, but the key is remember-ing to apply them. We were pretty good about sunscreen, and we remem-bered the bug spray at night. The deer fl ies dur-ing the day got me really good. I should have put bug spray on for all bugs and not just mosquitoes.

Learn from my mistake! Also bring aloe and either After-Bite or Benadryl cream, just in case you forget about the fi rst two.

• Although this wasn‛t my fi rst time in Canada, it was my fi rst vacation there and I noticed that Canadians as a whole are very friendly. One such friendly lady in Sobeys in Parry Sound struck up a conversation with us about the traffi c on the 400, and our cashier informed us that we could get a shopper‛s club card even though we weren‛t Canadian (HaHaHa!) Also, ev-eryone on the water at Nipissing waves to everyone else. Don‛t

11September 2014

ask me about the rubberneck-ing and parking lot traffi c on the 400, because other than that, I love Canada!

• One of the afternoons during our trip, Scott and I decided to go into town to do a little shopping. On our way back we let curios-ity get the best of us and decided to tour (via drive-by in our car) some lodges on the West Arm. I can honestly say you could not pay me to stay at those other lodges. At Memquisit almost every cabin is on the water with your own pri-vate, or shared with only 1 other cabin dock, and you are far enough away from other people to have privacy. All the other lodges had cabins packed in like sardines so close that (pardon my example) you could hear a quiet fart in the next cabin, and you were not even remotely on the water.

• Between Scott and the 10 or so mutual friends of ours who have stayed at Memquisit I have heard so many stories over the years that I could prob-ably repeat most of them verbatim. One thing that always stuck out was their constant praise for their hosts Frank and Charlene. Part of this may be re-petitive from my opening statement, but I can-not express enough how absolutely wonderful they are. From the moment we set foot in the main lodge door and they recognized Scott (from 4 years prior) and basically fi lled him in on the previous 4 years, to the moment we checked out and they hoped they would see us again and drive safe, it was one helpful moment

to the next. You need ice, fi re-wood, gas, fi shing spots (seri-

ously, they will show you on the chart where the last big one was caught), directions to the nearest town, something to do, an apple pie (ask Scott), seriously I am missing a ton of stuff, but they are so helpful and amaz-ing I cannot say enough good things about them. Just like the scenery it is something you have to experience yourself in order to believe and understand.

• As I was reviewing my trip notes/diary I no-ticed that at the end of

our fi rst full day I wrote: “I already want to book a trip for next year.” Nipissing and Memquisit got me. Scott and I are already choosing our dates (a full week this time) for next year. You cannot possibly beat this vacation, even for couples, even if your signifi cant other

is picky, it is “glamour camping”. (I think it‛s called “glamping” or something equally ridiculous now.) You are in a cabin with in-door plumbing, fridge, freezer, stove, 3-4 piece bathroom, grill, basically a house on vacation. If your sig-nifi cant other is always upset about you going on fi shing trips with the “boys” this is defi -nitely the place to go, even if they only enjoy the beauty of the out-doors. I was more than

September 201412

happy to spend most of our boat time taking pictures of our surroundings. I had a lure in the water, but for once, I honestly didn‛t care what I caught. If we had been on the Niagara I would have been hyper-competitive, and really agitated at not having caught a musky. However, up there, I was more than happy to take in my surroundings and just enjoy the ride.

• • •It’s almost always easy to recognize someone who’s been to Memquisit Lodge or the West Bay before. Their body language changes when “Memquisit”, “West Bay”, “Nipissing” or for my friends, “The Rock” is mentioned. A glimmer appears in their eyes. Their facial expressions change to a combination of awe and joy.

Tony Scime has been going to the West Arm and West Bay for over thirty years. Tony is a smart guy. There must be a reason he’s been going there for so long.

Take Andy Hector and Jim Spadafora for example. At musky or outdoor shows, Memquisit and Nipissing are always our topic of conversation. Fish we’ve caught, locations, lures, the cabins, the lodge, Frank and Char-lene, etc. Do you know the shoal by (insert island

here)? You should have seen the cabbage in (insert bay here)! You know that tricky rock in (insert bay here), I popped a 50” there. How do you get into this creek? How close can I get to that shoal? Did you hear the boathouse burned down? You should see Sebas-tian! He’s huge! We get legitimately excited talking to each other. Sharing our experiences from this wonder-ful place is a two-way street. You want to know what the other person has to say and are not just waiting for your turn to speak. After these discussions one of us will invariably say, “Man, I need to get back there.”

When Jim found out that Carrie and I were headed to Memquisit this summer, he got excited. He loaned me a bunch of lures and for two weeks we had almost daily conversations by phone, text, E-mail or in person. Memquisit and the West Bay get into your soul. They enrich you. This enrichment comes at a cost. Nipissing and Memquisit will singe your soul a little. They provide such wonderful experiences, and only by returning will the burn abate. It’s as if the islands and shoals become part of you. Corny? Yes, but it’s true. The place is addictive. Memquisit and the Bay are a bit like kicking drinking. You stop (or go home), but there is always

13September 2014

that little voice inside your head that wants you to take just a little sip. Memquisit and Nipissing talk always makes those who have been there want to return; it is that little sip. I felt bad for Jim during these talks. You could see it on his face. Not going with us hurt him a little. I’ve said this for years: The day you leave Memquisit is the single worse day of the year. You have to take the bad with the good, because the previous however many days you’ve been there have been your best.

Fortunately, and thankfully, Memquisit is only 6 hours away.

Man, I need to get back there.

There are more glamorous fi shing destinations through-out the muskies range. Places where you will catch a lot of them. Places where you will catch larger. There are places where you will do both. Many of these places are not too far away. Many are. For me, the West Bay is my ideal musky spot. It offers scenery only

accessible by a twenty-plus hour drive. It is not easy to fi sh. The reward is usually big, but you are not always rewarded (far from it). Beyond its beauty, success and failure is how Nipissing gets you. How it leaves its mark on you. How it forces you into wanting to return. You want to catch another huge, crazy musky, or you want to settle an old score.

As for musky fi shing the West Bay or Arm, you don’t need much. A trolling and casting combo, a few shallow diving crankbaits, maybe one to get deeper, a jerkbait or two, a topwater, some rubber things, a couple of bucktails and a few spinnerbaits you have confi dence in will do the trick. The Bay and Arm are not easy musky fi sheries, but they tend to pay off big. Fishing Nipiss-ing is rarely a numbers game. You are looking for that one… big… bite.

I was lucky enough get that one big bite. Forty-fi ve minutes into our fi rst full day, the fi fty-one pictured on the next page smashed the white and orange Shumway Funky Chicken spinnerbait I was trolling about 100 feet

September 201414

back. My 8’6” heavy action rod doubled over and pumped wildly as she shook her head. She surfaced, dove, ran under and around our boat and was gener-ally a very upset large fi sh during the whole tussle. And she did all this in a supremely beautiful place.

That’s what makes Nipissing so special. It is a lake touched by a higher force, graced with indescribable beauty in any direction you happen to gaze. It’s like Tony says, Nipissing is what musky fi shing is sup-posed to be, the way it was glorifi ed so in the past. It is the exploration, the experimentation, the hunt and hopefully the success you read about in musky sto-ries. If you’ve been there and caught a big fi sh, you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, you should really experience it for yourself. I wouldn’t want to imagine a life without Nipissing.

My favorite place in the world has a headquarters, Memquisit Lodge. I have been to many, many fi sh-ing lodges over the years. Memquisit is the best I’ve been to by far. If you take one thing from my seg-ments in this article, remember that.

When Carrie called me to say she had booked a trip to Memquisit for us, the fi rst thing that popped into my head was, “I can’t wait to see her face when she fi rst sees The Bay.” Carrie’s face at that exact mo-ment when she fi rst saw The Bay was more excited than mine was after popping the 51”. That is a fi sh-ing destination.

If I had not caught the 51” my feelings for Nipiss-ing and Memquisit would still be the same. I would have written exactly what I did minus the fi sh details. The 51” is only the cherry on top. The bulk of the treat is the place itself and in the sharing of such a wonderful place with her for the fi rst time, and with my friends over the years. It is having those ex-periences in common, that make Nipissing, Nipiss-ing.

My God, I need to get back there. •

15September 2014

September 201416

SSo many lures, so little time. What lures will give you the best chance at catching Niagara River muskies? Well, this

article should give you some clues. Actually, these are the lures that have caught the most fi sh during our fi rst twenty years. Use the top two or three, and you won’t need much else. They are proven producers.

Note: You will see that I combined cer-tain models of some brands. For in-stance, Legends include both Perchbaits and Plows; Red October Bait includes Monsters, Ninjas, and Twisted. The main reason is that anglers often didn’t differ-entiate in their submissions. Also, all lures include both jointed and straight models (if they have both), and more than one length (if applicable). Finally, I respectively grouped all bucktails and jigs because anglers often simply stated that the lure was a bucktail or a jig, without further description.

17September 2014

If there was an NMA Lure Hall of Fame, the Depth Raider would be its fi rst and leading member. The Raider started gaining favor in the late 1980s, a decade previ-ously dominated by Bagleys, and then “owned” the 1994 to 1999 catch. Many fi sh. Big fi sh. Harbor fi sh. River fi sh. An almost inde-structible lure which can be cast or trolled. Can be bounced on the bottom, trolled high at night, cast shallow, or sent deep for harbor monsters. It did, and still does it all. Not a more versatile, dependable musky lure for the Niagara River/Buffalo Harbor. And it’s relatively affordable, too. The only lure to record muskies for each of our twenty years. If you were a troller in the 90s, you had your favorite. Maybe Tom Page’s night shiner,

Tony Scime’s hot perch, or Jon MacSwan’s Gold and Chartreuse. These lures caught fi sh, after fi sh, after fi sh. Little known fact: Jon MacSwan lost a fi retiger Depth Raider named Amber Lynn on a buoy. He paid a diver to retrieve it, um…. her.

PROS: Proven. Affordable. Al-most indestructible. Can be cast or

trolled. Catches fi sh of all sizes.

CONS: The lure is packaged with three 3/0 hooks. Early on we found that this set-up caused us to lose a number of big fi sh. This was no longer a problem when we switched to two 5/0 hooks (front and rear). Some anglers prefer us-ing a bigger lure for harbor giants.

September 201418

I always thought it was Marc Arena, or Josh Ketry, or Hans Mann who started this craze. But no. When we check to see who recorded the very fi rst musky caught on a Red October Bait it was the venerable Franklin Stachowiak, Esq. Defi nitely a man before his time.

But seriously (sorry, Frank), we all know that after having good success with Lindy tubes in previous years, that Marc, Josh, and Hans were determined to make a better, tougher tube – and the Red October Bait was born. Although there were those who jigged and even tubed before the ROB, those efforts were always secondary to trolling techniques. The ROB tube, on the other hand, revolutionized the way many musky anglers fi sh on the Niagara River. It absolutely dominated the catch from that fi rst Frank Stachowiak catch to the present.

PROS: Can be cast, jigged, or dragged. Several jig set-ups allow you to fi sh all depths. Proven fi sh catcher, including big fi sh. Has caught more 50 inchers from the river than any other lure. Very affordable.

CONS: The tube comes back with slashes you never felt. Many fi sh get off. Tubes eventually become shred-ded and unusable from either musky teeth or dragging bottom. Snags. But the benefi ts of the Pros greatly exceed the Cons.

19September 2014

*Note: J. Boulden recorded a 34 incher on a Legend in 1997. I do not believe this was a Perchbait. The fi rst Legend lures were not Perchbaits, but were a believer shaped lure with “hammerheads” at each end. Mark Maghran and I used those lures in the late 1980s. The lure had a back and forth jerk-ing motion and not a side to side wobble, and failed to attract the interest of anglers.

Legend Perchbaits, made by NMA alumni Brian Boyer, fi rst gained notoriety on the Niagara Frontier on opening day, 1999. That is when Jon MacSwan, at 9:30 in the morn-ing, during an NMA tournament, hooked and landed a behemoth 52.5 incher in the harbor. Ever since, the Legend lure, either the Perchbait or Plow, has been a main-stay for Niagara River and Buffalo Harbor trollers. I always considered the Perchbait a Bagleys on steroids. Where the Bagley failed, the Leg-end excelled. It was stouter, it dove deeper, it was wired through, and it was almost unbreakable. Legend is a notable big fi sh lure, with 44 fi sh of 50”+ recorded by NMA members using either Plows or Perchbaits. Second closest is the Depth Raider, with 19.

Pros: Tough and proven big fi sh lure. Almost unbreakable. The Perchbait can be both trolled or cast effectively and is an excellent bot-tom grinder.

Cons: On the expensive side (es-pecially the Plow). Plows are hard to cast and retrieve.

September 2014rr20

The Believer caught the longest muskie ever recorded by an NMA member, Dick Millonzi’s 56” caught in 2006. It is basically a copy of Homer LaBlanc’s (the legendary Lake St. Clair troller) Swim Whizz and has been around since the 1970s. I used to use Believers often, and one of my most memorable harbor days was using a Believer. It was early September (1990, I think) and I took out a co-worker trolling. He fi shed for walleyes and I for muskies. We hooked 12 muskies in 4 hours, all on Believers and all in the low 40-inch range (the school hadn’t grown up, yet). The aver-age size of a Believer caught fi sh is actually a tad longer than a Legend’s.

PROS: Has been catching muskies for decades. Straight lures are excel-lent bottom bouncers. Jointed lures have erratic action that triggers strikes. Good night troller and was John Hen-ning’s favorite lower river lure (in or-ange). Deep enough for harbor giants. Many colors.

CONS: After many years of service they will fi ll with water which deadens their action. Although rare, the connection on the jointed lure has broken off on fi sh or even without provoca-tion.

21September 2014

The HI-Fin excelled in the 1990s. Almost half its catch came in one year (1997). It was (is?) Larry Jones’ favorite lure. It lost favor as the fi shing got tougher and more anglers gravitated to the Legend and oth-ers. Only the Hooker, with 200 less fi sh, has a longer average size than the Hi Fin’s 41 inches.

PROS: Proven big fi sh lure. Affordable.

CONS: Hasn’t caught many fi sh in the 21st century (other than Cullen’s beast pictured below), but that is not the lure’s fault. Most anglers just have more confi dence in Leg-ends, Depth Raiders, and Believers.

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Storm Swim Shads have been around for quite a while, but didn’t become commonly used in the Niagara River until 2003. After Mark Reichert caught several muskies casting a modifi ed (treble hook rigged from the bottom) Swim Shad in 2003, the lure really took off locally in the 2004 jigging boom and it is responsible for many catches and some impres-sive fi sh. Although it has been out-fi shed by the Red October Bait tubes starting in 2005, it has remained a consistent producer

to the present. Its most impressive catch was made by its favored angler, Scott Kitchen, in 2009. You can read Scott’s re-telling of one of my favorite true fi sh stories in the March 2014 Newsletter, Top Twenty, Part II.

PROS: Effective fi sh catcher. Easy to fi sh – casting or drifting, and just dragging bottom. Very affordable.

CONS: Like the tube, will eventu-ally be shredded by either musky teeth or the river bottom. Also like the tube, it is not uncommon to lose fi sh.

23September 2014

Bucktails have always had a place in the Niagara musky fi shery. It has been effectively used by casters, and, surprisingly, trollers. Old-timer and NMA Hall of Famer, the late Benny Thomas, caught many of his muskies trolling bucktails including his beloved Comet Killer. In fact, Benny and his fi shing partner, Joe Szaller, caught two of the top fi ve largest bucktail muskies while trolling. Those fi sh measured 45.5

and 45 inches, respectively. In-terestingly, they were caught in relatively deeper water (14 and 20 feet). The top bucktail is the MEPPS spinner with 52 fi sh.

PROS: Tradi-tional and proven casting lure. Great for trolling over and along weeds. High hooking percent-age.

CONS: Only lure in our top 10 not to catch a 50 incher. Usually limited to shallow water presenta-tions

September 2014rr24

The Niagara River Musky Bait was a creation of NMA alumni Joe Mundier. Joe constructed the bait to dive very deep very quickly and used it as a bottom bouncer for trolling the deep edges of the east river (Tonawanda Channel). The lure was intro-duced in 1996 and experienced an explosive but brief popularity in the late 1990s and caught nu-merous big fi sh for NMA mem-bers. When the fi shing slowed anglers switched back to their more traditional favorites (Dep-thraiders and Believers) and

the new hotshot (Legend).

Pros: Gets deep fast and catches deep water muskies.

Cons: The lure had a design fl aw – the line attachment snap was secured to the diving lip through two holes and nothing more. Because the NRMB was a hard shaking lure, the attach-ment would wear through the lip and would even-tually fail. Sev-eral failed with big muskies on. I don’t believe the NRMB has been available for purchase for many years.

25September 2014

Mr. Toothy was fi rst introduced by NMA mem-ber Jim Reyn-olds in 2001, but did not gain popularity until 2008, when downstream trolling re-gained a mod-est measure of renewed popu-larity. Since that time the “Toothy” has become the NMA’s most productive troll-ing lure with 122 muskies. Mr. Toothy is a solid bait ideal for bot-tom bouncing (or grinding, as some anglers call it). It is a tough, afford-able, depend-

able lure ideal for bottom trolling the Niagara.

PROS: Afford-able, tough, unbreakable lure suited for grinding the Niagara. It can also produce casting. Avail-able through NMA member Jim Reynolds in any color you can think of.

CONS: As a trolling lure, I know of none, except some harbor troll-ers may prefer a bigger lure (which Jim Reynolds also constructs).

September 2014rr26

Wiley was one of the NMA’s top lures in our fi rst year, 1994 (sec-ond only to the Dep-thraider), but then lost angler enthusiasm. Anglers deemed the Wiley a shallow run-ner which wouldn’t provide the needed depth to effectively fi sh the deeper waters of the Harbor and River where the larger fi sh were thought to reside. Accordingly, anglers opted for Depthraiders, Believ-ers, and Legends. However, it should be noted that in 2002

several large muskies were caught in the harbor trolling Wileys.

PROS: Solid lure out of the box capable of handling any musky thrown its way. Great shallow to mid-depth runner.

CONS: Doesn’t get deep enough to satisfy most deep water trollers. Can be hard to fi nd. Will eventually need repair after prolonged use. Often loses tracking ability with repeated catches.

27September 2014

I started making Tonylures sometimes in the 1980s. The fi rst few prototypes are actually quite rough (some may say that the later models are, too). I actually made them fi rst to fi sh Lake Nipissing. I think that catching fi sh on your own lures is a natural evolution for some of us in our musky fi shing experi-ence. By the late 1980s I had already caught a lot of fi sh, and I had caught big fi sh. Big pikies were quite expensive (for the day). I needed something to keep the challenge alive. And that something, at that time, was to catch muskies on my own lures. Also, I felt I needed a tougher replacement for the failure of Bagleys. Finally, I wanted to prove that there was nothing special about a musky lure. It’s a piece of wood (or plastic), with a plastic or metal lip and a number of hooks securely at-tached. The lure just had to be the right size, run true (the hardest achieve-ment) and be tough enough to hold up to big muskies. By 1994 I had already

caught a lot of muskies on Tonylures in the harbor, river, and Nipissing. Why I gradually strayed from my own lure? Well, I stopped making them and I really preferred Depthraiders (hot perch) and Believ-ers for a lot of the night fi shing I was doing. And maybe all the success anglers were having on Raiders, Believers, and then Legends was playing games with my head. But I also wasn’t interested in supplying lures to anglers who wanted one (they were too much work to make, I didn’t have that kind of time, and they weren’t for sale). But I still stuck to Tonylures for my limited returns to the harbor and caught my three biggest with them. Because they’re irre-placeable, I’d hate to lose them.

PROS: They catch fi sh and have lasted 25 years.

CONS: Some don’t run true the fi rst time and need lip adjustments or replacements. Not readily available and no longer in production.

September 2014rr28

In the 1970s it was the 2600 Creek Chub Pikie Minnow. But in the 1980s the lure which likely caught the most muskies on the upper Ni-agara was the Bagley, both the DB08 and DB06. I believe that it was the fi rst lure

on the Niagara which anglers used as a bottom bouncer. Before the Bagley, most anglers didn’t bottom bounce (one highly regarded angler actu-ally thought that it was for the untalented be-cause it took no skill. Tuning and running Pikies took skill, he said). Mark Maghran liked to call them snaglies, because they snagged so often. I started bottom bouncing mostly by accident. My angling partners and I generally caught 5 to 7 fi sh almost every time out (things were much different then, and the fi sh were much smaller). This was more than most anglers of the time caught. What I noticed is that most of our fi sh were caught after bouncing bottom. At fi rst, this was an accidental occurrence, you really didn’t want to bounce bottom too much because of the moss and snags and things. But after more than a few bottom-bounced muskies, we incorporated it into our technique. I experimented with many different lures for bottom-bouncing, but soon settled on the Bagley as the best. I probably caught at least a couple hundred muskies on Bagleys in the 1980s (catch rates in the 1980s were actually twice as high as they were in the 1990s before the crash). In fact, my fi rst Niagara River 30 pounder was caught in November 1986 on a Bagley DB06 (nobody else fi shed Novem-ber back then, because the Top Twenty contest ended on the last day of October. I was not in the contest).

But then we discovered an improving fi shery in the harbor - a fi shery where the fi sh seemed to be getting bigger every year. That was the beginning of the Bagley’s demise. In the fall of 1989 Mark and I were trolling the North Gap, and we caught six muskies in a short time (one after another) on Bagleys. They all were upper 30-inch fi sh. That harbor school hadn’t grown yet. Then I hooked a seventh, and this was a much larger fi sh. I was fi ghting this heavy-weight to the boat when all of a sudden it came off. The hooks came out, I thought. But when I reeled in the line the lure’s lip was still attached to the snap – it had pulled out of the lure. I tried rectifying this problem by putting screws through the lip and into the wood to secure the lip. That seemed to work, but subsequently both Jon MacSwan and I lost big river fi sh when the hooks pulled out – that is they pulled out of the lure and not the fi sh. The problems with Bagley’s failing – either the lip or hooks pulling out of the lure on big fi sh – became a recurring problem. Anglers quickly real-

ized that Bagleys could not dependably hold up to big muskies, and when a better, more dependable design arrived in the form of the Depthraider, Bagleys were mostly abandoned.

PROS: Great fi sh catcher. Affordable. Lots of great colors.

CONS: Lips and hooks would pull out on big fi sh. Lips would break bouncing bottom. Didn’t dive as deep as quickly as some anglers would have liked. Paint peeled on some lures.

29September 2014

A number of anglers sim-ply described their lure as a “jig”, without any fur-ther description. Although not a preferred method pre-tube, jigs did catch a fair number of fi sh over years, the most being in 1996. The most catches on a named jig were made by Shmos (made by Joe Wilczewski) with 35 fi sh.

PROS: Easy to fi sh. Drop it to the bottom and jig. Affordable. Can at-tach reapers, twisty tails and things.

CONS: Never a high producer. No fi fty inchers.

September 2014r30

The Hooker lure mod-eled after the legendary Perrywinkle and was produced by NMA alumni Geoff Het-rick. It was a solid, wired-through, effective musky lure. It actually pre-dated the Legend by a couple years. The Hooker was as good as any musky lure of its time, including the Legend Perchbait. However, it just wasn’t as easy to obtain as the Legend, so was unable to compete. It’s 50” ratio is 1:9, every bit as good

as the Leg-end’s 1:10. It also had the highest average size of any lure in our Top Twenty, at 42.3 inches.

PROS: As good as any musky trolling bait. Big fi sh catcher.

CONS: Not as readily available as the Legend. Price point a bit high for the time. We still looked to pay $10 or less for a musky lure, and the Hookers cost about $20. Lip will loosen with repeated bot-tom bounc-ing.

31September 2014

The Lindy Tiger Tube was the precursor to the Red October Bait Tube. Truthfully, the Tiger Tube plays a pivotal role in the transformation of the Niagara River into a tube fi shery. But for the Lindy, would Marc Arena, Josh Ketry, and Hans Mann ever have developed the Red October Bait?

I fi rst fi shed the Lindy Tiger Tube at Lake Nipissing. I read somewhere (Fishing Facts or In-Fisherman magazine) that it catches muskies. I tried casting at the big Nip (I was actually a caster before I was a troller). The pike destroyed a bunch of tubes in short order. For that reason I realized it wasn’t a good lure for Nipissing. When Tom Page and I took a trip to Buckhorn Lake (no pike!), we tried the Lindy Tubes. On a calm, sunny October day, fi shing was slow. Tom and I simply tried dropping some tubes into the weeds and jigging them. The muskies ate ‘em up! We spent the rest of the week throwing a lot of Lindy Tiger Tubes and caught a lot of muskies (and a bonus big bass) on them.

But I wasn’t the fi rst to try a tube on the Niagara. There were actually 2 tube fi sh recorded in 1996, a 34 incher caught by Kihm McMullen, and a 44 incher by P. O’Mara. Neither tube description offered the brand of tube. But there were no more tube catches until 2002 when Scott McKee latched onto a 42 incher using a Lindy Tiger Tube. However, tubes still didn’t gain much of a following until 2004 when 36 fi sh were caught on Tiger tubes. Marc Arena, Josh Ketry, and Hans Mann boated most of those fi sh. But the trio recognized the defi ciencies of the Lindy Tiger Tube – it was just too fragile for the Niagara River (and muskies). During the winter of 2004/2005 the trio worked to develop a bigger, thicker, tougher tube, and the Red October Bait was born and trans-formed the way many of us fi sh on the Niagara. But it all started with the Lindy Tiger Tube.

PROS: Great fi sh catcher. Affordable.

CONS: Too fragile. Easily ripped up by muskies and the Niagara River substrate.

September 2014r32

Bondy baits are mostly a Lacko thing. Dan and Andy Lacko, that is. Father-son team Dan and Andy started using Bondys in 2011, and their 41 Bondy muskies help put this lure at number 16 in only three years. Bondy’s can be cast, but are usually used in a straight up and down jigging fash-ion. I don’t own any Bondys. If I recall correctly (a big if), Bondy was selling

his lures at the Erie County Outdoor Show when they fi rst came out. I think they were only $5 or $6 dollars apiece. I should have bought some then, be-cause now they go for around $20!

PROS: Tough, heavy lure. Gets down deep fast. They catch fi sh. Indestructible.

CONS: Almost strictly jigging. A bit pricey.

33September 2014

Baby Raiders have been inter-mittently used since 1994. They are strictly a casting or shallow trolling lure. Their average size of 30.6 was “exceeded” only by the Rapala. No wonder they call Scott McKee “King Dink”.

PROS: Quality shallow water casting and trolling lure. Good multi-species lure. Decent suc-cess opening week in the past.

CONS: Limited to shallow water and mostly smaller fi sh. Not a trophy getter.

September 2014r34

Like the Baby Raider, the Rapala has been used consistently since 1994 as a shallow water casting and trolling lure. Its average size is the smallest of any of our Top Twenty lures. Does that make Jojo “King Dink II”?

PROS: Effective shallow water casting and trolling lure.

CONS: Don’t expect any big fi sh, at least not big muskies.

35September 2014

The Frankiebait is a product of NMA alumni Frank DiMar-cantonio. It is the “Cadillac” of our Top Twenty. A mas-terfully crafted lure, it is not only a beautiful piece, but is indestructible and a proven big fi sh catcher. Check Josh Ketry’s story of his 53.5 incher caught on a Frankie-bait in the February, 2014 Newsletter (Top-Twenty, Part I).

PROS: Beautifully crafted big fi sh catcher. Tough and indestructible.

CONS: Cost. Availability.

September 2014r36

The Grandma was originally crafted by legendary Pennsylva-nia angler Jake Satonica. It was especially popular and effective in Chautauqua Lake, and has a rabid following on the St. Lawrence in the fall. It’s rather surprising that it has not been used more in the Niagara River/Buffalo Har-bor. Although not thought of as a deep diver, it can get down to 20 feet. Also, not an effective bottom bouncer, which may deter some Niagara River trollers, but should be an effective night lure. Tom Reinhardt uses a Storm Flatstick, which is a Grandma / Jake copy. Can also be effectively cast. Carrie Keane’s 52” from 2013 is the sole 50” caught on a Grandma.

PROS: Can be cast or trolled. Proven fi sh catcher.

CONS: Not known as a deep diver. Not effective as a bottom bouncer.

There’s a lot to learn here. Accu-mulating and sorting this data was not an easy task. So please take advantage. Next? How about the “Top Twenty Days”. There were some good ones! •

Editor’s Note: On behalf of the entire club, thank you, Tony! I know how long it took to lay this article out. I can only imagine how much work went in to compiling this beast. Awesome job.

37September 2014

September 2014r38

HOME DEPOT STORE 1228 & CLASSIC FENCE CO.

AID BEAVER ABATEMENT

PROJECTThe Beaver Project re-sumed activity in earnest on

August 6 and a crew of spirited volunteers used up the remain-ing inventory of fencing from last year. So far that is 30 rolls of fencing – 1,500 feet! We also used quite a bit of chain link fenc-ing as the weight of that type fencing is ideal to drape around very large trees.

Jojo Wilczewski sent out a call for help and Frank Stachowiak contacted his friend Chris Liebler at Home Depot Store 1228 at the Thruway Plaza, only to learn that management has changed. Chris introduced Frank to new store manager, Mike Hammoud. After a briefi ng on our project, Mike Hammoud said that Home Depot Store 1228 would be happy to help out again. We were able to purchase ten more rolls of wire at a reduced price, saving us $185.30.

Classic Fence Co., 3030 Niagara Falls Blvd. has made used chain link fencing available to us. A great donation, just in time.

330 trees are thriving now that they have been protected by our volunteers. There are still more trees to wrap and the need for volunteers is never ending. Even though this wrap-ping season may wind up shorter than last year due to nesting changes, help is always appreciated. Jojo is at the helm of this project as an able captain. Step up and join the crew.

AUGUST MONTHLY TOURNAMENT UPDATEMember Length PointsCarl Schenk 49” 10Cullen Veiders 43” 9Scott Kitchen 43” 8 Riley Himmrich 42.5” 7Tony Scime 42” 6Joe Wilczewski 41.5” 5Josh Kane 38” 4Carrie Keane 33” 3Scott McKee 32” 2 Monthly tourney report August 2014 . What a week of catching. I’m not sure what got the fi sh going whether it was the super moon, or the cold spell (it with a 5° water temperature drop) or just more boys and girls out wishing but was a great week to be out fi shing.

Totals for 2014Scott M, 12; Carl S,10; John P, 10; Cullen V, 9; Scott K, 8; Riley H. 7; Tony S, 6; Jojo, 5; Josh K, 4; Carrie K, 3. •– Submitted by Joe Wilczewski

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39September 2014

September 201440

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