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April 2024 BLC Newsletter

Hello Everyone,

I would like to thank everyone for coming out and helping make our annual banquet a success. I would also like to personally thank the Young/Gohman crew for all their hard work and long hours they put into the planning. Along with that I would like to congratulate them on their husband and father Jeff Young being inducted into The Muskie Inc Hall of Fame!!!

Coming up in June, we will be hosting a youth muskie tournament on Gull Lake. We are looking for some volunteers that would be willing to be a boat captain, if we get some kids interested in fishing that do not have a boat or captain for the day. If this is something you’re interested in doing please reach out to Jadyn or myself.

The next few monthly meetings are scheduled and are going to be a good time. Coming up in April we have John and Ashley Holmgren, a husband-and-wife fishing team out of the Bemidji area. Then in May we are having our annual lure swap and membership drive.

We have extended our lake access clean up till May due to last week's snow storm. So, let’s get out and clean-up our local access. Take a pic when you’re at the landing and get entered into a drawing for a $50 Fleet Farm gift card. On the topic of spring cleaning, now would be a good time to go through your boat and do any upgrades and rigging so you're ready to hit the water when the time comes. 

Levi Stifter

April 9th Meeting - John & Ashley Holmgren - Guest Speaker

John and Ashley Holmgren from Devoted Outdoors will be joining us this month. John and Ashley are multi species anglers who have a strong passion for anything outdoors. Not long after getting married the two wanted to take their passion to the next level and started Devoted Outdoors!

They, along with their now two daughters, travel all across North America chasing their favorite bites and hunting big game. June through November is their favorite time of the year as this is Musky Season! The two have shared the musky bug together and are now teaching their daughters all about it!

Bemidji is their home and they spend a lot of time in this area running around to all the musky lakes in the area. If they are not chasing them here in MN they can usually be found chasing them somewhere up in Canada. These two are going to share how their season progresses through the year and also talk about raising kids in the outdoors!

Meetings are open to the public and FREE to attend! Chance to win various prizes from lures or maybe a rod in our meeting raffles. Come to hear and share fish stories and more. One random door prize drawing for those in attendance. Bring your friends!



* 2nd Tuesday of the Month - Nisswa American Legion - 7 pm *

April 9

Monthly Meeting - John and Ashley Holmgren - Guest Speaker

May 11

Fishing Opener

May 14

Monthly Meeting - Lure Swap and Membership Drive

The Future of Minnesota Muskies

Please take some time to provide MN DNR with your opinions on the status of our fisheries and what you would like to see for the future. As always, please be respectful in your comments!

Take the Survey

DNR Spring Nets - Help Needed!

The DNR will be running nets on both Roosevelt and Cedar Lakes this spring for their muskellunge population assessments. As always, they are looking for volunteers to assist. If you haven't done this before, this can be a super fun experience to see all of the fish species they find in the nets and perhaps learn a thing or two about the lakes along the way.

To learn more about what information the DNR needs from you and to get on their schedule of volunteers, contact either Mike Knapp for Roosevelt or Rick Bruesewitz for Cedar Lake. It's best to contact them ASAP, as getting on their approved volunteer list can take a little bit of time.

Mike Knapp: 218-203-4301 or michael.knapp@state.mn.us

Rick Bruesewitz: 218-429-3031 or rick.bruesewitz@state.mn.us

2024 Sportsman's Banquet - THANK YOU!!!

Our 20th Annual Sportsman's Banquet is a wrap and we can not thank all of you enough!

Our sponsors—we couldn’t do this without them! Please support these businesses in any way that you can.

Our patrons—you’re the reason we put this event on! Thank you for joining us on such a fun night. Your dollars go to help stock fish, keep kids fishing and to put on great events like these.

Our volunteers—they worked tirelessly to secure donations, make sure things came together, set up for the event and throughout the night.

Banquet feedback? We'd love to hear from you! Talk to any board member or respond to this email. Let us know what you liked, what you didn't like, any suggested changes or improvements.

Meet Terri and Harlan Fierstine. If you were lucky enough to join us at our banquet, Terri was the one taking pictures for us. Enjoy the slideshow from the event that we have put up on the banquet page of the website. Thank you, Terri!!!

Muskies Inc Hall of Fame Inductee

Earlier this year, it was announced that Jeff Young was selected as an inductee into the Muskies Inc Hall of Fame. This was publicly announced for the first time during a special moment at our banquet on March 23rd.

Congratulations to the entire Young family and especially to Jeff. We miss you dearly and only wish that you were able to accept this very well deserved honor in person. 

Lake Cleanup Challenge

Do you want a chance at a $50 gift card to Mills Fleet Farm?  Here is all you need to do; simply take a picture of you cleaning up the trash at any of our area waters and send the picture to us via email or Facebook message. brainerdmuskies@gmail.com 

So that we can share with our community where we have been, we ask that pictures include a lake access sign or other visible landmark at a public landing.

The winner will be chosen at our May 14th monthly meeting. Need not to be present to win but your attendance is encouraged:) Our goal is to help improve our local lakes and help promote great stewardship.

High School Muskie Tournament

When: Friday, June 14

Where: Gull Lake - Gov't Point Access

Time: 6 am to Noon

Cost: FREE

Do you have a high school student or know someone that might be interested in fishing in this? Contact Jay at jayhunteryoung@gmail.com or 218-821-9964 for more details. We'd love to have as many area high school kids as possible joining us! No cost to fish in this event and every angler goes home with new fishing gear.

Lunch and awards to follow the event back at the landing. 

Youth Member Spotlight - Declan Wickham

Grade: 3rd

Favorite fish: Muskie

Favorite lake: Alexander

Favorite lure: Spinnerbait

Favorite boat snack: Chex Mix

How many Muskies have been caught: none yet, but has missed a couple

Favorite person to fish with: my family

“We went to “Lake X” and fished at the big dock. We saw a Muskie and it bit. I had to do a figure-eight but it got off. I caught a northern after that and it was 18”-20”.

I’m excited to go fishing this summer in the boat with the new rods that I’ve won.”

We’re looking for more youth members to spotlight for our newsletter! Contact Jadyn at naturelover0224@gmail.com to be featured! 

** NOTE: Muskies Inc is a proud supporter of getting youth outdoors and on the water. Photos and stories can be about any fish that your youth finds exciting! **

Jeff Young Memorial - 2024 Muskie Shootout

Registration for the 2024 Jeff Young Memorial Muskie Shootout is officially open and we already have 24 teams signed up!

We will once again be headed back to Agency Bay Lodge on beautiful Leech Lake. Clear your calendar for the weekend of October 5 - 6, 2024 and register your team today. Remember, starting positions are determined by the order of registrations. So it pays to sign up early!

2024 BLC Muskie Hunter of the Year (MHOTY) Schedule

June 23

Lake Bemidji - Northwoods Access - 7am to 3pm

July 20

Virtual - Any lake in Minnesota - 6am to 11pm

August 6

Lake Roosevelt - Ladies/Kids get double points for muskies caught - 4pm to 9pm

August 11

Lake Pokegama - 7am to 3pm

September 3

Cedar Lake - Sponsorship night - fish must be caught using a BLC sponsor's lure - 4pm to 9pm

September 21

Leech Lake - 7am to 3pm

October 12

Lake Waconia - 8am to 3pm

October 26

Lake Roosevelt - 8am to 4pm

** Schedule subject to change **

** Potluck following most outings **

BLC Memorial Outing

September 14

Mantrap Lake - 7am to 5pm

This is separate from the MHOTY schedule and is run a bit more like a tournament style with prizes for the winner as well as big fish pot and raffles afterwards.

Save 10% at Musky Tackle Online

Orders placed with Musky Tackle Online that are delivered at monthly meetings are eligible for a 10% discount (and no shipping charge, of course). You need not be a member. You simply need to show up at the meeting to receive your order. It's that simple!

How does it work?

1) Register an account at Musky Tackle Online.

2) Email Aaron at MTO to let him know that you would like to have your order delivered at the next meeting.

3) He will set your account up to receive the appropriate discount.

4) He will let you know when you can proceed with putting in your order. Discount will apply automatically in your cart.

The BLC will get paid too! For every order that is placed this way, MTO will match the discount amount in the form of a donation to the chapter in the same amount. So not only will you get a great deal on some gear, but you will be contributing financially to the BLC!

CHAPTER SPONSORS



Please support our great sponsors that support us. We wouldn't be able to do the things that we do without their help!

Connect with us

BLC Photos of the Month

Lake Cleanup Pictures from 2024

Dan cleaning up at Middle Cullen Lake

Middle Cullen Public Access

Let's see what our fellow members are up to! Would you like to have your pictures featured in the next monthly newsletter? Send your fishing or outdoor related pictures to us at brainerdmuskies@gmail.com. Include a brief caption if you would like anything included with the picture.