November 2018 Newsletter Introduction I hope you are ready for Winter! The weather sure has changed in the past three weeks. On October 6th the water temperature was 78 degrees during the "Guide for a day" event. Two weeks later at the annual "Fall Brawl Tournament" water temperature ranged from 62 to a low of 59 degrees. Lake Kinkaid has started to turn over in some locations. Our waters turn over at a little higher temperature than other areas (about 60 degrees). The muskies will be headed for their winter staging areas and I hope you had a chance to catch some muskies before this cold weather hit. Here s a link to a good article about turn over: http://blog.fishidy.com/2013/10/understanding-fallturnover/ Please give serious consideration to serving a one-year term as either an officer or committee chairman. If you are interested contact Jim Beaty at (618) 971-7806. Elections are held in October and November. This year we have had a number of officers and committee chairmen retire. Some of them have served in the same capacity for many years in a row. We need new members to step up and help out so our club so we can continue to grow and perform at a high level. Right now only a few select members are carrying the load for the club. If you re down at Kinkaid, you will see this sign about the lake draw down. We got this note from Shawn Hirst about the draw down: I've been told the lake will be down 3-3.5 feet depending on rainfall. Both state ramps (Paul Ice and Mt. Joy) were functional during the last draw down. The spillway barrier has a center-piece that goes down to the bottom of the notch to prevent fish escapement. Exposing weed beds may reduce weed growth in the near future. Conservancy District is trying to come up with some type of floating barrier to prevent the water intake pipe at the water plant from becoming clogged in the future from floating plant fragments.
Recent Events On October 6 we had our annual planning meeting at the Bunkhouse. The primary goal of the planning meeting is to set the calendar for the next year. We removed several events we have held in the past because they were not well attended including the Banner Marsh (June), Prairie Lake (September), and Winter Trolling (December) outings. Also, sadly, our annual Border Wars tournament with the Pomme De Terre chapter has come to an end. Pomme De Terre Lake just doesn t produce fish like it used to. The 2019 calendar is listed below: January 4, 5 & 6, Let's Go Fishing Show, Collinsville, IL, (Chapter Booth #40) January 18, 19 & 20 Chicago Muskie Expo, St Charles, IL February 2, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Winter Meeting, Scheels, Springfield, IL, Noon 4:00 PM February 16, 17 & 18 Milwaukee Muskie Expo, West Bend, WI February 23, SMH Annual Awards Banquet, Swansea Community Ctr (Norman Lehr), Swansea, 5:00 PM 8:00 PM TBD, IMTT Jake Wolf Memorial, Spring Lake TBD, IMTT Spring Classic, Kinkaid Lake March 23 & 24 Region 4 Gil Hamm Tournament on Kinkaid Lake (Bunkhouse 22 & 23) April 13, 16 th Annual Kinkaid Lake Cleanup (Bunkhouse 12, 13) 8:00 AM Noon (Free Lunch at Marina) April 13, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Crappie Outing (after Lake Cleanup) and Fish Fry at the Bunkhouse, 7:00 PM April 21, Easter April 27 & 28, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Spring Fling Tournament, Kinkaid Lake May 4 & 5, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Spring Guide for Day, Kinkaid Lake (Bunkhouse 3, 4) May 12, Mother s Day May 19, 6 th Annual IL High School Muskie Tournament, Prairie Lake June 1, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Kid's Fishing Day, Murphysboro Lake (Bunkhouse May 31) TBD, IMTT Mike Sule Memorial, Fox Chain of Lakes July 19 & 20, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Trolling Outing, Lake St Clair, Ontario August 17 thru 24: Gil Hamm Memorial Challunge 21, 22 & 23, LOTW, Morson, Ontario TBD, Quad County Hawg Hunters @ Prairie Lake or Evergreen Lake TBD, IMTT Gregg Tichacek Memorial, Lake McMaster TBD, IMTT Fall Classic, Prairie Lake October 11, Shawnee Muskie Hunters 2017 Planning Meeting Friday 6:00 PM 9:00 PM, (Bunkhouse October 11, 12) October 12 - SMH Fall Guide for Day, Kinkaid Lake (Bunkhouse 11,12) October 13 Take a NEW MEMBER fishing day Kinkaid Lake October 19 & 20, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Fall Brawl Tournament, Kinkaid Lake TBD, IMTT Championship November 22, 23, 24 First Deer Season December 5, 6, 7, 8 Second Deer Season There are a couple potential events that are still in the planning stages. There is a proposal to change our Veterans Day Guide event into an event that would get Veterans residing in a Veteran s Home out fishing. We are still working the details on this event so we will update and more details become available. The Chapter Challunge is generally either in Ontario, Minnesota, or Wisconsin. This makes a very long trip for people down South, over East, and out West to attend. Muskies Inc would like to start Regional Chapter Challunges and we have received approval to hold the first on Lake Kinkaid. This is in the planning stages so plan to fish this early event! March 23 & 24. Also in the planning meeting Dan Johnson announced he would be stepping down as Secretary next year. If you are interested in taking over and would like more information you can contact Dan at djohns16@gmail.com and he can give you some information about what is involved.
Shawnee Muskie Hunters On October 6th and 7th we held our annual Fall Guide for Day outing. We had 6 boats on Saturday and 3 boats on Sunday. A total of 5 fish were caught over the two days with the largest a hefty 46 incher. Four of the fish came from Dan Johnson s boat. Craig Moser and Mike Jacob came out of retirement to cook some tasty meals and a good time was had by all!
On Sunday October 14th we sponsored the annual Illinois High School Musky Tournament at Prairie Lake. This particular tournament was one of the best we have had since its inception five years ago. There were eight teams representing seven high schools in attendance. All the teams stayed out there and fished hard during some tough cold weather conditions. The muskies did their magic act and decided not to come out and play! The winning team of Max Valkner and Vince Kilfoy caught a 19" bass in the morning on a whopper plopper to win the tournament. They represented Notre Dame High School. The second and third place team were drawn from raffle tickets. We had another drawing after the tournament for lures that were donated. All the teams had a good time and hope to return next year. I want to thank each member who volunteered their time to be judges on the water and the IMTT for donating the trophies for this event. The kids sure did eat lots of hot dogs after the tournament. A total of 96 hot dogs were consumed!
Shawnee Muskie Hunters Our Fall Brawl was held on October 20th and 21st on Kinkaid Lake. We had 22 teams that entered the tournament. On both days the weather was very cold. Day one was windy with gusts over 30 mph and on Sunday the air temperature started out at 25 degrees. A total of 19 Muskies were caught during the event. Saturday 13 muskies over 30" were reported with only three over 30" caught on Sunday. The winning team was Jim Beaty and James Dingus with two fish. The biggest fish of the tournament was caught by Jake Byer (42 1/2"). Only three muskies exceeded the 40-inch mark. Lots of fish in the 30-38" range were caught with a good number also under 30". This means the fishery is diverse and doing well. These muskie year groups will continue to grow based on the excellent baitfish population in the lake. The St. Clair raffle was held at the Saturday night dinner. This year's winner is Tom Krause. We had participants from Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri and Alabama that fished year's tournament.
Upcoming Events Veteran s Day Outing November 10 th Kinkaid Lake. We need volunteers to take some veterans fishing for a day. We have quite a few veterans ready to go fishing. Come out and enjoy a day giving back to your country by taking a veteran fishing. A very nice meal will follow the day's fishing. Call Jerry Ford (618 558-7932) or Ken Ryder (618 466 8220) if you can assist in this worthwhile event. Winter Trolling Outing: December 8th and 9 th - Kinkaid Lake. Come Freeze your Pants off with the Shawnee Muskie Hunters! Chapter Fundraising The Shawnee Muskie Hunters participates in escrip, a fundraising program where participating business partners contribute a percentage of your purchases to our club. If you are interested there is more information on our website here: http://www.shawneemuskiehunters.org/about-ourclub/escrip Trip Report If you would like to submit a trip report email Dan Johnson (djohns16@gmail.com).
Joke of the Month If you have a good fishing joke you think the rest of the club would enjoy send them to Dan Johnson at djohns16@gmail.com. This month s joke was submitted by Kurt Dorethy Why They Call It Snagger Island!
Member Profile We don t have a Member Profile this month. If you know anyone interested or would like to volunteer someone contact Dan Johnson at djohns16@gmail.com. Don t forget, our website is: http://www.shawneemuskiehunters.org. There is a lot of good information there. If you haven t checked out the Members Only section you should. If you don t have a username and password for the Members Only section contact Renee at renee.g.johnson@gmail.com and she ll hook you up.
2018 Officers President Jim Beaty (618) 971 7806 jbeaty@certapro.com Vice President Larry Owens (812) 449 2353 Treasurer Carrie Owens carrie.owens@twc.com Secretary Dan Johnson (618) 830 7163 djohns16@gmail.com Newsletter Editor Magazine Reporter Youth Director Walt Krause (618) 972-5584 krausewalter@att.net Membership Director Ray Wheelock (618) 234-7192 wheelock@yahoo.com Chapter #4 Representative Habitat Director Web Master Media Director Fundraising/Guide for Day/Tournaments Jerry Ford Jim Beaty Walt Krause Renee Johnson Jim Beaty Walt Krause (618) 558-7932 fordjk@sbcglobal.net (618) 971-7806 (618) 972-5584 jbeaty@certapro.com krausewalter@att.net (618) 655-0640 renee.g.johnson@gmail.com (618) 971-7806 jbeaty@certapro.com
2018 Committees Fundraising: Jim Beaty (Chair), Walt Krause Tournaments: Jim Beaty (Chair), Jerry Ford, Mike Jacob, Steve Krakowecki Guide for Day: Jim Beaty (Chair), Larry Owens, Ken Ryder Youth: Walt Krause (Chair), Cheryl Ford, Ray & Katie Wheelock, Dan & Renee Johnson, Shannon Beaty-Dingus Sport Shows: Walt Krause (Chair), Ken Ryder Lake Cleanup: Walt Krause & Jim Beaty (Co-Chairs) Social Events: Shannon Beaty-Dingus & Renee Johnson (Co-Chairs) Lake St Clair Outing: Shannon Beaty-Dingus (2019 Chair) High School Tournament: Jim Beaty (Chair), Shannon Beaty-Dingus Veterans Day: Jerry Ford (Chair), Ken Ryder Chapter Challunge: Jim Beaty (Chair)
2018 Calendar January 5, 6 and 7, Let's Go Fishing Show, Collinsville January 27, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Winter Meeting, Cabela s Hazelwood, MO, 1:00 PM 4:00 PM February 17, SMH Annual Awards Banquet, Swansea Community Ctr (Norman Lehr), Swansea, 5:00 PM 8:00 PM March 10, SMH Pomme Chapter Challunge, Kinkaid Lake (Bunkhouse 9, 10) March 24-25, IMTT Jake Wolf Memorial, Spring Lake March 24, Kinkaid Lake Cleanup (Bunkhouse 23, 24) 8:00 AM Noon (Free Lunch at Marina) March 24, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Crappie Outing (after Lake Cleanup) and Fish Fry at the Bunkhouse, 7:00 PM April 1, Easter April 21-22, IMTT Spring Classic, Kinkaid Lake April 28 & 29, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Spring Fling Tournament, Kinkaid Lake May 5 & 6, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Spring Guide for Day, Kinkaid Lake (Mudline Cabin 4, 5) May 13, Mother s Day June 2, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Kid's Fishing Day, Murphysboro Lake (Bunkhouse 1) June 9 & 10 IMTT Mike Sule Memorial Tournament, Fox Chain June 9 & 10, Shawnee Outing to Banner Marsh (Route 24 N of Banner, IL) 25 HP limit Wheel, Johnson & Shovel lakes July 27, 28, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Trolling Outing, Lake St Clair, Ontario August 18 25, Eagle Lake Ontario Chapter Outing (Jaeger s North Shore Lodge) August 25 September 1, Gil Hamm Outing, Red Wing Lodge, LOTW, Morson, Ontario September TBD, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Salmon Outing, Ludington, MI September 15, 16 Shawnee Muskie Hunters Prairie Lake Outing (TENTATIVE) September 22, Quad County Hawg Hunters @ Prairie Lake September 29 & 30, IMTT Gregg Tichacek Memorial Tournament, Lake McMaster October 6, Shawnee Muskie Hunters 2017 Planning Meeting Saturday, 2018 7:00 PM 9:00 PM, Bunkhouse October 6 & 7 - SMH Fall Guide for Day, Kinkaid Lake (Bunkhouse 5, 6) October 6 & 7, IMTT Fall Classic, Prairie Lake October 14 (Sunday), 5 th Annual IL High School Muskie Tournament, Prairie Lake October 20 & 21, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Fall Brawl Tournament, Kinkaid Lake November 3 & 4, IMTT Championship, Fox Chain November 10, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Annual Veterans Outing, Kinkaid Lake November 16, 17, 18 First Deer Season November 29, 30 and December 1. 2 Second Deer Season December 8, 9 Shawnee Muskie Hunters Winter Trolling Outing, Kinkaid Lake (Bunkhouse 7, 8)