Kids in Hayward catch a record 68 Muskies In 2.5 day
For 2.5 days leading into Hayward's beautiful Fall season, over 60 kids (boys & girls ages 5-17) with their families participated in a Youth Muskie Hunt on Moose Lake in Hayward. The event now in its 6th year, was our largest ever with many new families participating and well over 100 people. Youth from all over IL, WI & MN came out for this program and ended up catching (and releasing) an astonishing 68 Muskies in just 2.5 days Bushnick said.
The Youth Conservation Alliance and Muskies Inc. were the primary sponsors of this event. The program is lead by Kevin Bushnick, Vice President of Youth Activities for Muskies Inc. Kevin is also the Founder & Chairman of the Youth Conservation Alliance, a charity purpose-built to teach youth environmental sciences through fishing programs. Carl Philips, President of Muskies Inc. was also present. Dave Carlson joined us (TV Host, Producer and now freelance writer) spent time on the water documenting the event with Bill Nuyttens, the YCA’s 4-time Emmy winning NBC field cameraman. The footage captured during these events is used throughout the year during various community and school presentations. It’s a critical component to our “on-going” environmental education effort Bushnick states.
In the years ahead, Muskies Inc. (www.muskiesinc.org) and the Youth Conservation Alliance (www.theyca.org) will place a major emphasis on teaching children about the environment through the sport of Muskie fishing. This is being done not only to ensure the future of the Muskie fishery, but also to provide youth with a tremendous opportunity for environmental education outside of the classroom. This event also provides parents with a golden opportunity to connect with their children. Bushnick states this is probably the most valuable aspect of what we do during these family oriented programs.
On the education front, Prof. Michelle Groves, head of education for the YCA worked with the kids to collect water samples from various locations on Moose Lake. The key measurements taken here were "PH" & "Dissolved Oxygen." Initial testing concludes that Moose Lake is within normal ranges for a very healthy fishery. This was evident as not only Muskies were caught, but Walleye, Small-mouth Bass and Crappie too.
It needs to be noted that this year above ALL other years, the fish were in a rare feeding frenzy. I think we are all scratching our heads as to why. Moose Lake was down nearly 3 feet this year due to DAM repairs. Several of the guides commented that the fishing has been very challenging all summer; especially for Muskies. The water was warm for this time of year and the weather was mild; but that in itself doesn't explain the numbers of fish caught and the number of bytes and fish lost. It was like nothing we've ever seen before. Most of the fish were caught in the main lake too since the rivers were shallow and not safely navigable. Just a few observations and ZERO complaints that's for sure!
The Youth Conservation Alliance continues to use high-power biology microscopes as we deploy sophisticated tools to examine the environment while "keeping it simple" through the sport of fishing. This is way-cool stuff on the educational front Bushnick states and it represents a "practical application" which keep the kids highly interested in what we're trying to teach them.
Several Hayward area businesses supported the event through donations or by providing items like tackle, life preservers and beautiful pictures of Muskies! Key sponsors included the Round Lake Marina, Lures of the North in downtown Hayward, and the beautiful Mystic Moose Resort run by Jim and Barb Onarheim. Great food for the event was served up by Charlie's & Louie's Landing Restaurants in Moose Lake.
Thanks to our Hayward area guides who supported the kids Muskie fishing program including legendary Muskie fisherman and Guide Master Larry Ramsell, also John Myhre, Daryl Neibauer and Rog Williamson. Other volunteer guides included Mike O’Rourke, Brian Corcoran, Glenn Zaroski, Dan Koniewicz, Tim Crews, Kevin Underwood, Trevor Bushnick, Diana Nuyttens, Nate Shillington and Hayward’s Mary & Al Reinemann. In many cases, these guides drove 800 miles round trip at their own expense and vacation time to take “someone else's” kids out fishing. This is extraordinary Bushnick states.
A special thanks to LAX REPRODUCTIONS (http://www.laxreproduction.com/) who made a custom rubber Muskie which allowed us to SAFELY teach each & every child how to properly hold a Muskie. This special Muskie included fanned out gills and gill-plates that show the kids (and adults) where to specifically hold the fish without hurting it prior to release.
Closing ceremonies were held Saturday evening at Louie's Landing where ALL the kids were recognized for their extraordinary effort and achievements both catching & releasing all the fish they caught.
Watch for details on next years program on the YCA's website at www.theyca.org or Muskie Inc.'s website at www.muskiesinc.org
Additional information from Jim Onarheim
The Youth Musky Hunt is now history. We had the largest group of young fisherman and fisherwomen this year than we have ever had over the past 7 years of the event. A total of 60 kids proved to the area that when people say Musky fishing is tough on Moose Lake the kids just ignore that conversation and fish that much harder. These fantastic little kids worked very hard to create over 200 follows and missed fish but still managed to boat 68 muskies in 2 1/2 days. All 68 were released without any harm.
One neat thing happened during our event. Dave Carlson came up to do a story on the event for Wisconsin Outdoor News. At lunch on Friday at 1 PM Emmett Brown was present and made an announcement that Dave would be inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame next March at the Northwest Sport Show in Minneapolis, MN. He was totally caught off guard and surprised by this announcement. Also the National President for Muskies Inc. Carl Phillips was present all day on Saturday. He drove in special just to be with the kids and see the awards ceremony Saturday night.
We also had a drone flying above taking photos. This was very cool. Excellent photos from the air. I will have more information next week on the Youth Musky Hunt in my Moose Lake News for the Sawyer County Record. Jim O
Kevin Bushnick
YCA Founder & Chairman