Winnebagoland Musky Club

  Focused on conservation and the pursuit of the elusive Musky

What a morning stocking MUSKY in Big Green Lake...
Way to go Winnebagoland Musky Club!!!

It was a beautiful 39 degree morning on Big Green Lake.  The WMC members were out in force.  We had 10 boats and so much help.  The muskies could even feel the love.  Members got together on April 6th at Dodge Memorial County Park and spread over 400 hold over muskies around the lake. Social Distancing was maintained by all except the musky. Thank you to everyone who provided support. 



Check out the videos of the event.  Even a bit of background music by Engelbert Humberdink.  Can you guess the song?


PLUS.. A little bit of underwater camera to watch the muskies swim away.

Underwater video of musky releases...

Videos of my son and granddaugher's musky releases...

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2019 Salute the Troops / Winnebaglonad Musky Club Veteran Musky Fishing Outing

On September 6th - 8th, veterans were once again treated to musky fishing on the Three Lakes chain.  Twelve veterans from across Wisconsin shared the camaraderie of other veterans and seven guides from the Winnebagoland Musky Club.  Arriving on Friday to enjoy a meal and a bonfire at the Triangle Motel, they were ready for fishing in the morning.  Four muskies were caught on Saturday and two on Sunday.  The musky were moving so multiple muskies were hooked, seen and lost with an occasional northern pike and largemouth bass mixed in.  The biggest caught was a 45” musky caught by Jim Erskine, Salute the Troops President, veteran, and first time musky fisherman. Also a 41" was caught and released and the rest were in the 30's. As was often noted at the traditional Saturday fish fry and bonfire, a great group of veterans and guides makes the camaraderie better than the awesome fishing.  A special thank you to our WMC guides: Scott Klapperich, Mark Klapperich, Dave LaPine, Jerry LaPine, Chuck LaPine, Paul Klein, and Steve Critchley (also a veteran) and the support staff: Tracy Qualmann, Mary LaPine, Bailey LaPine and Richard Feustel.  This event is also sponsored by the Fond du Lac Marine Corps League, Navy Club - Ship 75, Natural Stone Veneers, Thrivent, and other personal donations such as Paul Klein's awesome chocolate chip cookies. 

 

2019 BANQUET:  Some pictures from the 2019 Winnebagoland Musky Club Annual Awards Banquet

Harlan presents some awards...

 

Banquet Lure Makers - Scott Klapperich (the girls), Dave LaPine, and Jordan Peebles

Mike Mueller caught this 46.5" musky on the Bay of Green Bay November 3rd.  Luke, his son,  was the netman.  Released to be caught again.


 

The Club had a few brave souls laugh at the elements and fish Lake of the Woods, Canada in late October. They did very well. Here are few pictures of members Mark and Terri Klapperich and Dik Suzek and their big fish.

2018 Veteran Musky Fishing Outing

Salute the Troops, www.salutethetroopswi.org, a local non-profit organization in Fond du Lac with the very special help of the Winnebagoland Musky Club has been hosting this musky fishing trip for veterans for the past 6 years. We take 12 veterans musky fishing for a weekend on the Three Lakes chain. Six volunteers from the Winnebagoland Musky Club provide guide service for the 12 veteran participants. The trip is fully funded by generous donations so there is no cost to the veterans.  Dave LaPine and family, , Charlie Lapine, Richard Feustel and a few others catch a 100+ white bass earlier in the year for a big fish fry (prepared by Mary LaPine) and campfire on the Saturday night of this outing. The veterans and guides love it every year. The outing gives the veterans a chance to unwind, share a few war stories and bond with other vets and guides who are often in tears from the stories. One of the younger veterans who brought his dad musky fishing last year, also a vet, remarked how this was the first time he had ever heard his dad talk about his military experience. A real touching moment. Last year we seemed to have a large number of Viet Nam veterans and a Purple Heart and Bronze Star combat veteran who shared some challenging times in Afghanistan. Richard’s 90-year old great uncle, a WWII Iwo Jima Marine and Purple Heart recipient, caught his first musky during our first year running this outing. He smiled from ear to ear all week and still talks about it.

This years outing was another great success.  Four musky were caught with vets boating a 41’ and 38” muskies and Greg Stubbe catching two muskies.  A few pike and bass were caught as well. Bart Waters, fishing with Paul Klein, caught the largest musky and was awarded a traveling trophy with a miniature musky replica made by Joe Fittante (Fittante Replica & Taxidermy). All of the vets had a well-deserved good time.  In all we had 14 veterans, 6 club guides, and 2 wonderful staffers. Club members Scott Klapperich, Mark Klapperich, Dave LaPine, Dik Suzek, Greg Stubbe, and Paul Klein provided boats and guiding services for the event.  Further support to this event was provided by Richard Feustel, Tracy Quallman, and Mary LaPine.  Brian Eisch, the owner of Tricky Phish Baits donated a few bags of poured bass baits.  Monetary support was provided by our Club, The Marine Corps League, Thrivent Foundation, Mount Calvary American Legion, and Dennis Buechel of Natural Stone Veneer Company of Fond du Lac.  Veterans exchanged war stories around the campfire Friday and Saturday nights which brought some to tears. A heartfelt thank you to all of the above-mentioned for making this “thank you event” a huge success.  

Bart Waters and his winning 42" musky with Paul Klein.

Greg Stubbe caught a couple of musky while training the veterans.

Dennis Drew and his 38" musky with Mark Klapperich

Dave Mace and Emma Klapperich at the Beaver Dam Car Show (June 18th, 2017) selling raffle tickets for the Club.


Also thanks to Dik Suszek, Pat Michelson, and Scott Klapperich for helping out.


That's a sweet boat!

Winnebagoland Musky club members helped out at the Foot of the Lake Fishing Club 3rd Annual Kids Fishing Outing on May 21st, 2017.  96 kids registered and fished for a lot of prizes.
 

May outing at Little Green Lake and Fox Lake (May 13th)

23 Winnebagoland Musky Club enthusiasts attended the May WMC outing with lunch at Vandy’s Resort on Little Green Lake. The water was cold and the fish were colder. No fish were registered but there were several sightings on Little Green. The lunch and socializing at Vandy’s was excellent. We have not given up on these waters. We will do it again.

5-2-6 Tournament

Click the boxes to the right for the rules and registration form.

The Annual Awards Banquet was held Saturday April 1st. We hope all had a good time. It was a fun social event with many raffle prizes to go round.  The donation of non-perishable food items was donated to a newly formed veterans’ project in our area (The Warrior House) which is run by Salute the Troops, a local non-profit veterans support organization.



The Winnebagoland Musky Club participated in a chili cookoff contest on February 10 to benefit Fishing Has No Boundaries. The event was held February 10th on the ice on Lake Winnebago to kick off the sturgeon spearing season. Dave Mace and Dave LaPine cooked up some awesome Fire Tiger Chili which place 2nd as far as we could tell. It was a great event for a wonderful cause.

The 3rd annual Veteran Musky Fishing Outing was held September 9-11 on the Three Lakes chain.  The “Salute the Troops” organization along with Marian University and the manpower, boat power, and financial support of the Winnebagoland Musky Club provided a weekend of musky fishing and fellowship for 12 military veterans. Guides for the outing were; Dave LaPine, Jerry LaPine, Paul Klein, Dik Suszek, Greg Stubbe, Scott Klapperich and Mark Klapperich. Scott guided Veteran J. P. Braker to a nice 42” musky, his first. There were several other short muskies caught and several northerns. The veterans were thrilled to be on a trip like this and it showed by their comments and on their faces. They were provided lodging at a motel, meals, and of course expert guiding services for the weekend. On Saturday night, we held a fish fry managed by the master fish fryer Mary LaPine (fish caught earlier on the Wolf River by Dave LaPine and Dik Suszek). The evening was capped off with a campfire and a lot of touching stories that made us proud and brought a few tears.

42" musky caught by Marine Corps Sergeant  J. P. Braker

2016 Casting Contest was held at the September club meeting.  


    • 1st Pace -  Scott Klapperich (a ringer who obviously practiced for hours before the event) 
    • 2nd Place -  Jerry LaPine
    • 3rd Place -  Charlie LaPine and Lynn Wells 

The second outing of the 2016 was another success with 13 members plus a couple families making the trip up north to Lac vioux Desert. The weather was amazing and a few muskies made their appearance along with a few northern pike, bass, perch, bluegill, sunfish, and even a 27' walleye.


The Sunrise Lodge accommodations were exceptional and many members talked of returning next year. Let's book early. They have some great cabins and family activities.

Again, we had a winner of the "First Musky of the Outing" with Dave LaPine catching two muskies on Lac vioux Desert, June 17 and 18th.  A 36" musky (left) Friday evening on a top raider and a 41" musky (right) Saturday morning on a black bucktail.

Look who caught the first musky of the 2016 season...

Dik Suszek caught the first musky for the May Club outing winning the coveted "First Musky of the Outing Trophy." This was the first musky of the 2016 season for the Winnebagoland Musky Club.  He looks like a happy man standing there at the get-together at Hayes Resort.

Dik Suszek with his 35" musky caught on Little Green Lake, May 7th, 2016.

2016 WINNEBAGOLAND MUSKY CLUB ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET

The Winnebagoland Musky Club Banquet was held March 12th, 2016 at the American Legion.  A good time was had by all and many people walked away with some great prizes. The club’s annual gala event awarded our members trophies for their 2015 musky fishing efforts. Our bountiful dinner was catered by Eden Meats.  Below at pictures of the musky catch winners.


One March 5th the Club supported the Sportsman's Rummage Sale at the Fond du Lac Fairgrounds. The Club did this as a fundraiser and fun was had by all.  ...Just look at those Club members working hard.


The special guest speaker at the February meeting was Matt Raley from the Minocqua, St. Germain, Eagle River Area. His outfitting company is known as Hideaway Hollow Outfitters (HHO), a mobile hunting and fishing operation based in Wisconsin. Raley’s guide service pursues the best hunting and fishing opportunities Wisconsin has to offer.  HHO started operations guiding turkey and waterfowl hunts.  His guiding expeditions have expanded rapidly.  Raley is one of only a handful of U.S. Coast Guard licensed Captains operating in Northern Wisconsin, the Mississippi River, and Green Bay. When everything is frozen, Matt heads to South Texas and guides duck hunts with the Castaway Lodge.  Matt presentation emphasized Musky Hunting and discussed his other areas of expertise including fishing for other Wisconsin species and hunting.

Want to learn more from our discussion at our January meeting... click the picture link.



Winnebagoland Musky Club Banquet


March 12th, 2016


This member event is our club’s annual gala event where we awarded our members trophies for their 2015 Musky Fishing efforts. Our bountiful dinner was catered by Eden Meats The evening included several valuable raffle tables including a gun raffle, fishing raffle, jewelry raffle, cash raffle, musky lure raffle, and 2 large sportsmen/sportswomen tables including everything from guided fishing trips, and meat from local butcher shops. Let’s not forget the bait bucket raffle where an attendee donates a lure, receives a raffle ticket for each lure donated with the winner taking all the baits. Don’t forget the charitable side where attendees donated non-perishable food items which were donated to a local food pantry. It was a fun evening with some great prizes. We hope you can make it next year. It will be another good time!




2016 Musky Club Outings 
Come join us for your chance to win the TROPHY

 


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Veteran's Fishing Outing - September 2015

September 11 – 13 was the Club outing at Three Lakes. This outing was coupled with a musky fishing trip to thank our military veterans. The veteran outing was sponsored by Salute the Troops, the Navy Club - Ship 75, Marian University, Natural Stone Veneers, and our Winnebagoland Musky Club. Six Club members (Scott Klapperich, Paul Klein, Dave LaPine, Dik Suzek, Greg Stubbe, and Harlan Hopp) volunteered their time and boats to be guides for 12 veterans. All Club members were invited to join in the outing. The vets, guides, and guests were treated to a fish dinner and campfire Saturday night with a wonderful exchange of war stories and camaraderie. The fish were provided by Dave and Mary LaPine with a little help from Richard. A special thanks to Tracy Qualman and Mary LaPine for their coordination of the event with additional help from Tuesday Klapperich and Chris Stubbe, and Judy Hopp. Dave LaPine reported that as he was packing up on Sunday, a car full of vets pulled up next to him and gave him a formal military salute as a gesture of gratitude. Dave said he was moved to tears. The Club and sponsors hopes to continue this veteran musky fishing trip tradition next year. Contact Scott Klapperich or Richard Feustel to participate.


While the musky fishing was not very good, Greg Stubbe managed to pull in a 38" musky Friday, capturing the elusive First Musky of the Outing Trophy.  The rest of the weekend only came up with a few small musky, northern pike, and a 5 pound bass.

Lake of the Woods, Canada - August 2015

Six Club members ventured to Lake of the Woods, Canada in search of musky in the first week of August. The group consisted of club members Scott Klapperich, Dik Suszek, Dave LaPine, Richard Feustel, John Bartow, Mark Klapperich, and a friend. The eight-day adventure had beautiful weather, with fishing all day, every day. The group caught 12 musky, with John and Dave catching 4 each, and John catching the largest at 47” (left). Green spinners and various double 10 black bucktails were the bait of choice but there was no sure thing. The group ate well with a steady supply of walleye, northern pike, crappy, and perch. The large northern pike were especially plentiful with nearly two dozen netted in the range of 35 – 41”.

Scott Klapperich with his 42" musky caught at Lake of the Woods, Canada August 4, 2015 on double 8 bucktail.  Below is Dik Suzek and Richard Feustel, and Dave Lapine with their muskies caught at Lake of the Woods the first week of August. Along with a few good size northern pike that were plentiful.