attend. This tournament not only helps teach youngsters about healthy competition and working with other sportsmen but how to
respect and properly handle wildlife.
When talking to Mike about the beginnings of the “Last Frontier Muskie Tournament” a twinkle lights up his eyes and he would talk
about being a young boy working at the lodge for a summer job. He happens not only to be one of the original fishermen in the
tournament, still fishing today, but was also present at the “kitchen table” where the tournament was first dreamed of 33 years
ago.
He describes a day in May 1983 that friends Nola Stephano of Blaisdell Lake Lodge, and Donald & Marian Heise of Maradon Resort
on Barker Lake discussed having a Muskie Tournament. Mike saw the dream become a reality and the tournament was soon held
alternating between the two; one would hold the tournament in the fall, and the other in the spring. This carried on for a number
of years until Blaisdell Lake Lodge closed and Maradon’s was sold.
The tournament was then held at the Wolf’s Retreat Resort which was the new name for the former Maradon Resort. The
tournament is now sponsored by the Fish Trap ~ Dave King and Connie. Although the tournament sponsor has changed over the
years, the tradition is still going strong and welcomes new entrants from near and far. Fishing is allowed on several local lakes and
an awards’ steak dinner is put on at the Fish Trap with trophies, several additional prizes, and lots of goodies for everyone provided
by Ron Bundy, Bob Berg, and Mike Heath as the tournaments organizers. They also receive several donated prizes from vendors and
local businesses as well.
I was fortunate enough to fish in the fall 2015 tournament with Mike
Heath and his son Nick Heath. In the buddy boat with us were
Duane Serck (left) of Illinois Muskies.com and Greg Kos (right) of Red
Eye Custom – Muskie Bait Finishing. I cannot think of a more fun
group of guys I could have spent three days fishing with. The scenery
was remarkable and learning tricks of the trade, lure action and rod
control, how to read the terrain, and even some characteristics of
the elusive Muskie, all of which added to the great respect I have for
this sport as well as everyone involved.
Nothing gets your heart beating faster than the anticipation of a
toothy fish hitting your lure when you least expect it…then the fight
begins. While writing about my own experience, I can stop and feel
my heart beat a bit faster too. I have heard stories of Muskies dorsal
fin poking out of the water as they follow the bait and I have personally had them follow my “8” at the side of the boat several
times only to watch them swim away. This held true for me during this tournament but Mike landed a beautiful 36 ¼” Muskie. It
definitely needs to be said that Mike holds the tournament record Muskie for the past 25 years at 52”.
During the final day of the fall 2015
tournament, typical fishing stories flew so
fast that I could hardly take notes. I
listened to everyone tell of their exciting
hits, catches, misses, and of course, those
that got away. Julian Martenson (left) and
Nate Stoll (right) have been fishing the
tournament since the beginning, since
about 1994. They look forward to fishing
in the tournament every year, driving up
together from Waunakee, WI. They talked
about placing 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd in 1999. “Not
too bad for a couple of old timers” they
said with a smile and a chuckle. I could have listened to their stories for hours. They look forward to fishing together in both the
spring and fall tournaments every year.
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