My parents grew up in Wisconsin.

Before I was born, they moved to Indiana. So even though I was born here in Hoosierland, I still spent a couple weeks each summer in northern Wisconsin visiting relatives - and muskie fishing.

I got hooked on muskie fishing from the first time my dad introduced me to it when I was just 9 or 10 years old.

You know they call Minnesota the land of 10,000 lakes. Up around the Flambeau Flowage in northern Wisconsin, where I learned to fish for muskies, they called them the fish of 10,000 casts.

Muskie fishing is more like hunting than fishing, in a way. They are very cagey creatures.

They seem to be pretty smart. And when you do finally manage to hook one, they fight like tigers.

I know some people are averse to having dead creatures hanging on their walls. Too bad. I have three. Two muskies and a walleye.

The muskies I caught during a two-week period in the summer way back when I was in college, more than 20 years ago.

They were both around 40-inches and 20 pounds. I had them mounted with their backs arched, facing each other.

We fished the Big Elk River, which, at its deepest, was only about 12 feet.

We spent most of our time casting large topwater plugs like mud puppies, Buchertails and injured minnows, large floating/diving plugs like Suicks and bobbie baits and shallow-diving baits like jointed pikie minnows.

We usually dragged a live 12-inch sucker around behind the boat while we casted.

My dad, brother and I spent hours every summer doing this. It was an obsession.

I can still remember how disappointed I was every year when we had to leave that place. I just loved it up there.

I have even dragged my own family back up there a couple times.

So what?

Well, several years ago, imagine my surprise when the state started stocking muskies in Webster Lake.

I have been fishing over there a few times, not near as much as I'd like, but there's only so much stuff you can shoehorn into your life.

I've caught a couple undersized fish and had some really nice follows. (That's where a muskie follows your lure all the way to the boat. You can tell because the fish makes a big "V" wave behind the lure. Depending on the size of the fish, the wave can be quite impressive.)

I've taken a couple buddies over to Webster to introduce them to muskie fishing.

And every year I tell my wife, "I'm gonna do some more muskie fishing this year."

Well, this just may be the year.

You see, I was sitting in the office the other day and in walks this guy named Darren Conley from Warsaw.

He starts to talk about muskie fishing and this Webster Lake Muskie Club and then, almost as an afterthought, he pulls out the picture you see here on this page and says, "Here's a picture of a fish I caught on Webster this month."

Ah, yes. A mighty monster muskie. I have seen those fish before, just never on the end of my line.

It was the kind you see on one of those fishing shows like Al Linder's. You know, the guys with the Scandinavian accents that make big bucks by showing all us amateurs how to catch big fish.

Conley's fish, which was released, was 49 inches long. It had a girth of 24-and-a-half inches.

The fish wasn't weighed.

When I saw the fish, I asked, "Are you sure that wasn't a new state record?"

Conley said no, he wasn't sure and he was only thinking length. The state record muskie, according to the DNR, was caught in our county in James Lake (the west end of Tippecanoe Lake by Oswego). The fish was caught by a man named George Webster in 1994. That particular muskie weighed 35 pounds, 8 ounces.

But Conley and his fishing partner happened to know that fish was more than 50 inches long, so when their fish came up an inch short, they figured the old record would stand.

Problem is, the records are only listed by weight.

I have seen lots of muskies. If that fish didn't exceed 35-8, I'll eat my baitcasting reel. We'll just never know.

While Conley was in the office, he told me about his friend Vince Weirick, who does the public relations for the brand new Webster Lake Muskie Club.

The club just started in the middle of January and already has 100 members.

Here's a rundown on the club's activities for 2002:

March 30 - 3-Way Iceout Challenge between Michigan Muskie Alliance, Hoosier Muskie Hunters and Webster Lake Muskie Clubs

April 27 - Spring Trophy Hunt. Pete Maina will be guest for the trophy hunt and will speak at the meeting following. A four-day fishing trip for two donated by Cat River Outfitters in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, will be raffled off.

May 25 - Tippecanoe/James lakes Challenge.

June 29 - Fish fry at the Mermaid Festival in North Webster for a fund-raiser.

July 27 - Iron Man Classic. A 24-hour fish outing.

Aug. 17 - St. Clair Outing, Michigan.

Sept. 21 - Troll-A-Thon.

Oct. 5 - Guide For A Day. Fishing time will be from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Distinguished members of the club will be guiding for the day on Webster Lake. Open to public.

Nov. 2 - First Annual Webster Lake Tournament.

Dec. 7 - Silent auction and election for the board of directors.

For more information about the club, call Vince Weirick at 269-9420.

I'm glad Conley stopped by. His visit brought back a lot of fond memories.

Maybe I'll try to make a couple trips to Webster Lake this season. [[In-content Ad]]