SHOW: Operation Muskie
DESTINATION: Lake of the Woods, Ontario/Minnesota
ANGLERS: Bret Wold, Keith Justin, Jeff Wiegand, Mike Breutzmann, Glenn Howell, Gary Ebben and Pete Maina
SEASON: Summer (Early August)
CONTACT: Walsh’s Baystore Camp, 800-214-2533; www.baystorecamp.com;
Operation Muskie www.operationmuskie.com

This was a very unique event. Actually, the most rewarding and most fun experience I’ve ever had while filming a fishing television show. Truly looking forwarding to doing it again. A quick story of the beginnings is in order here – a great event where a group of U.S. military veterans went muskie fishing: So, good friend and muskie-fishing legend Dick Pearson … after donating some of his DVD’s to troops overseas … chums up with Bret Wold, who at the time was serving in Iraq. Dick offered to take Bret fishing on Lake of the Woods. When Dick contacted Frank Walsh, of Baystore Camp, to ask about availability, Frank found out what Dick was up to … he and his wife Laura immediately decided to offer the whole camp to a group of vets. Dick then decided that (though a great one) – he had a pretty big project on his hands, so he contacted friend and fellow muskie-legend Doug Johnson for help. Lots of folks have helped bring this all together, including Dick & Betsy Pearson, Doug & Vonnie Johnson, Frank & Laura Walsh and many other fine folks I met up there at the event. Certainly, this includes all of the guides who also volunteered their time to help with this event. They are listed on the Operation Muskie website.
Fortunately, I was one of the first guys Dick contacted to bring a boat and take some of the vets out fishing and I felt lucky to be involved. In later discussions, we felt it sure made sense to film the whole event for The Next Bite. It was a great time, and I want to thank all involved – and certainly too – all the vets.

Show Preview:

PATTERN: The timeframe of early August is an interesting one on Lake of the Woods, as there are lots of options. A little later in the year, concentrating mainly on rock structures is a pretty consistent plan. Earlier in the season, weeds are probably the best bet … generally later summer is a time frame of a little of both. And that really seemed to hold true on this trip. It was truly interesting too – to have that many different boats fishing this huge body of water – and being able to compare notes daily. Some daily patterns did emerge, and certain sections of the lake seemed to be hotter at times, but action from muskies did come on a wide variety of structures, including everything from sloppy bays – to weed/rock structures – to all-rock reefs.
Presentations too, were fairly varied, and in some cases daily patterns emerged, but it mainly seemed to be a case of being on a good spot at the right time when the fish were firing up. Certainly too, many structures were holding fish fairly consistently, while similar structures weren’t. If fish were spotted a return visit was definitely in order; and I found myself giving up on some, even though they looked great and had produced before. Many fish were taken on bucktails and spinnerbaits – and as is typical for LOTW – many were taken at boatside on figure eights. In our (filming) boat we had action mainly on topwater, spinners and tubes. Erratic action with the tubes did produce some fish when it seemed action was slow otherwise, but topwater and spinners were the most consistent.
Essentially, we were looking for any obvious, classic Canadian Shield structures. Combinations of shorelines, islands, saddles in-between and connected to deeper structures … the more complex the better. Generally a combination of weed and rock was best, but plenty of action as well from either all-weed or all-rock spots.
It was a tremendous trip in the respect of having consistent action as well. While not every angler actually boated a muskie – nearly all did. And, all had opportunities and action. Lots of follows and close calls to go around, and this, of course, made for spirited discussions and story-sharing later in the day. Lots of fun and certainly a tremendous group of people – and with regard to the veterans involved – a group we all owe a great debt of gratitude to.
I have to say that I was struck by (and all of the guides and helpers commented as same) what great guys the vets were: polite, nice, appreciative, fun and hard-working at the fishing. I don’t know how many times I was thanked by vets for coming, and helping out, and … all the while I’m thinking man, the shoes on the other foot here. A great time was had by all.