The 2011 "Gil Hamm Chapter Challunge".

[bad esox]

Hello All,

The 2011 Muskies, Inc., Gil Hamm - "Chapter Challunge" is upon us!

This year the "Challunge" is on beautiful Lake of The Woods. LOTW borders Northern Minnesota and Canada... At last count there were 24 Muskies, Inc. Teams, 139 Members, and 14 Chapters participating for the next three days of hard-core Muskie fishing and M.I. Members Fellowship...

We have a pleasant surprise this year in that the State of Washington is being represented by Doug W., of the Spokane-Chapter 60, The Mountain Muskies! Way to go Chapter 60! Way to go Doug!! We wish you the best of luck from Chapter 57, The NW TIGER PAC! It costs a few bucks and takes a "ton" of commitment to fish this challenge, especially, when you have too travel from Washington State to be there. Doug, exhibits a true-passion indeed for this type of fishing...

We wish Doug all the muskie-fishing luck we can from here! I think Doug exhibits some of the behavior found in our Founder, Mr. Gil Hamm. Mr. Hamm, was once quoted as saying this about his muskie-fishing experience: "I began to fish at every opportunity. In fact, I fell out of bed twice trying to land big muskies".

All in all, the "Chapter Challunge" is a fantastic annual muskie fishing event that is open to all Muskies, Inc. Members... I hope to make it back there someday soon to fish this event myself! Hey, maybe next year with Doug!...LOL:thumright

[bad esox]

Hey, besides all the "bragging-rights" your team would earn etc.. should your team win the time-honored, Muskies, Inc. Gil Hamm-Trophy etc... This years raffle-items also include a One-Week-Stay at the Red-Wing Lodge on Lake Of The Woods, Ontario, Canada! (1-888-488-5601) That alone would make the trip worthwhile!:cheers: Big water, even Larger muskies, and Huge fun enjoyed by all!!!


*If you want to keep up with what is going on at the "Chapter-Challunge" in 2011... try this link:

http://www.gilhamm.com/Gil_Hamm/Home.html

[bad esox]

Well Everyone, the last day of fishing is complete for the 2011, Gil Hamm-Chapter Challunge. The unofficial results are in. It appears the winning Team consisting of six-anglers this year is the "Star Of The North", Chapter-Number #15...Team #2... They did enter two teams this year.

The contest, in total, was 30 hrs. long... covering three wonderful days on LOTW! The winning team was able to catch and release 14 Muskies in this time period!!! The largest being a 49 incher! Amazing... Great job by all... I hope the CC video works out... it should be a good one.

I am hoping that when Doug W. returns to Washington State he can also add a line, or two, to this thread and tell us all of his experience back there on LOTW... They don't call this body of water "God's Country" for nothing... It is truly beautiful. I highly suggest that every Muskie-Angler give this body of water a try sometime within their own life-time. However, give yourself a lot of time! It is a very large waterway...

I'm sure Doug must have a tale, or two, to tell... or possibly he may even post a picture? "Bravo-Zulu" to you Doug on a job well done...I hope the "Challunge" lived-up to your expectations, and your dreams, in every way.

[dougw]

Where to begin? I have returned from Muskie Heaven. Some of you already know the outcome of my trip. I ended up 150 miles south of the border for an eye problem, which kept me from fishing the first day. The second day was slightly better, although I was not exactly accurate with my casts.... Several times I found myself climbing not one or two steps onto shore to retrieve a lure, but upwards of 10-20 feet! All things considered, the trip was still mostly enjoyable, since I had good company. Without my company, I would still be there.....

My experience with the Chapter Challunge is very limited. The first night I was unable to attend, so my trusty partners went over in my stead. Not exactly being sociable, they signed up, met a few people and then left back for our camp. That was Tuesday night. Wednesday night, we didn't get back from Bemidji, Minnesota until about 9:00pm. We missed all of that night.

Thursday night, we made it over after fishing for the day. I met several people from various chapters, and had a great time with those folks. Wish I could have stayed longer. There was a raffle for a very sweet fishing rod and reel valued at close to $750. No win there, but with barely 50 tickets bought, a person has to try, right?

Friday we fished for a couple of hours, then had to head back for a follow-up eye appointment. The trip was good in a lot of respects, and disappointing from my health standpoint. I know now what fishing a place like Lake of the Woods entails, and I can't wait for another day to wet line there. I would go back in a heartbeat. Compared to what we have, here in Washington, there is no comparison. Take 30 days to fish any Lake we have containing Muskies and I know most would find success and know the lake rather well. Lake of the Woods could be fished for your LIFETIME, and you still would not know it intimately.

One other note, HAZARDS!!! One tournament participant found out the hard way that you need to get to KNOW your routes before steaming ahead. KNOW the charts, have GPS, and then have a spotter for rocks. They tore off their power trim, and ended up having to leave the lake to get it replaced.

I wish I could report more. All I can say is you have to experience a place like that for yourself. There are no words or pictures that can show you justice to the wonder of that place. If you like to fish.... IF you LOVE to fish, Lake of the Woods HAS to be on your "Bucket List", period.

If you have questions, shoot me an email and I can get you started on your trip one day.

[Rosann G]

Sorry to hear about your eye problems but glad you got medical attention for it. Sounds like you had a good time anyway since you say a trip to LOTW should be on everyone's bucket list if they like to fish. Glad you got some fishing in too.

[Natebg1]

Hey Doug,

I am glad to hear that you are doing better. I am sure that must have been tough to be so close to God's Country and yet so far away sitting in a doctor's office. I guess like you said, it gives you the motivation to get back to LOTW and do it again. I am in for going with you sometime in the future. I can tell you that a Canada trip is in the works for the future and I will certainly keep you posted if you are interested. So any results as far as Musky's in the boat? I am sure with such a vast amount of area to fish it was probably a lot tougher to actually locate fish. That is one thing that can certainly be a challenge on any body of water back in the Mid-West for sure. Well, now that you are back we certainly need to take a trip ourselves and exchange fish stories and then of course go catch some fish and talk about the good old days of fishing in Hayward and throughout the Mid-West Have a good one, Tight Lines, keep in touch.

Nate

[bad esox]

Wow Doug,

What an experience; a little good, a little bad, and a little just plain-ugly!

I'm truly sorry that things worked-out the way they did for you this year after traveling so far and making such a tremendous commitment... Maybe next year or sometime in the near future things will work-out better for you... We can only hope... I know there is a monster-muskie out there waiting for you!

I heard there were a total of 71 fish caught during the Chapter-Challunge! That fact alone is pretty amazing considering the time-frame of the CC. This beautiful place, LOTW this year, and the great-people that attended are just two of the fine-qualities that make this such an amazing event each year.

Talk soon...