BLC February Newsletter

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February 2025 BLC Newsletter

Meetings are the 2nd Tuesday of the month, 7pm @ the Brainerd Eagles Club 287

New Location

Hello Everyone,

I hope we are all surviving this winter well. I would like to thank everyone that showed up to the tip up challenge a few weeks ago. Not many fish were caught but everyone seemed to have a good time. Keep an eye for something later, possibly perch fishing on Mille Lacs. With the colder temps coming next week. It will be a good time to swing on into the Brainerd Eagles Club for our monthly meeting. This month Luke Ronnestrand is coming in to give a seminar on pressured muskies.

Last month we had Jeremy Smith come and talk about FFS. He is working with many different organizations in the Leech Lake/Walker area on coming up with some ways to help restrict the use of FFS to keep the fair chase aspect and the health of the muskie fisheries in good standing and here for future generations. There is lots of work to be done in this area and there are many different opinions, but we can all agree we don't like to see dead muskies. In our last board meeting we voted unanimously to support Jeremy.

We have lots of events coming up this year. Stay tuned for those, we will have them posted shortly. The Jeff Young Memorial Muskie Shootout is now open to sign up. It is the first weekend of October at Agency Bay Lodge on Leech Lake.

Lastly, GET YOUR TICKETS NOW for the 2025 annual sportsman's banquet. This is our biggest fundraiser we do as a chapter. We limit the amount of tickets we sell, so get yours before they run out.

Tight lines and fair chase.

Levi Stifter

February 11th Meeting - Luke Ronnestrand - 7:00 pm

Luke Ronnestrand will be joining us this month. He brings many years of experience fishing some of the most pressured waters in Minnesota, including Lake Vermilion as his main stomping grounds in recent years. Luke will be focusing on helping you achieve more success on pressured waters from all that he has learned.

Meetings are open to the public and FREE to attend! Chance to win various prizes from lures or maybe a rod in our meeting raffles. Come to hear and share fish stories and more. One random door prize drawing for those in attendance. Bring your friends!

* 2nd Tuesday of the Month - Brainerd Eagles Club 287 - 7 pm *

February 11th

Monthly Meeting - Luke Ronnestrand

March 7-9

Minnesota Muskie Expo - State Fairgrounds

March 11th

Monthly Meeting - TBD

March 22nd

BLC Sportsman's Banquet

BLC 21st Annual Sportsman's Banquet

March 22, 2025

The Brainerd Lakes Chapter is excited to be planning for the 21st Annual Sportsman's Banquet and we are only 6 weeks away. Tickets are available on the BLC website!

Buy Tickets Here

Last year's event sold out in advance and we thank you for the incredible support. Buy your tickets early so you don't miss out before they're gone!

Banquet Photos Needed!

We would love to share your pictures at the 2025 Sportsman's banquet! If you have pictures from this past season that you would be willing to share for our banquet slideshow, please send them to Levi at levistifter1@gmail.com. Pictures of your own catches, your kids, etc., all are welcome.

Jeff Young Memorial Muskie Shootout

October 4-5, 2025

Registration is now open! It's never too early to start planning for our annual tournament! The Jeff Young Memorial Muskie Shootout will once again be heading back to Agency Bay Lodge on Leech Lake. Agency Bay Lodge has been a great partner for us and they help us put on a great event. He hope you will be able to join us on October 4th and 5th this year.

Youth Member Spotlight - Josh Tucker

Grade: 9th

Favorite fish: Muskie or Walleye

Favorite lake: South Long

Favorite lure: Rabid Squirrel

Favorite boat snack: Whatever Nana brings in the boat

How many Muskies have been caught: 0

Favorite person to fish with: The Young’s (my family)

Tell us a story: “We went out ice fishing for the tip up challenge a couple weeks ago on Middle Cullen and it was kind of boring at first but every time a tip up went off, like 2-4 people would run to it. One of the times Finley was running and completely biffed it and it was funny but we ended up playing games like try to cast into the bucket or bags. **cough cough** not trying to brag but I won all my bag games and won a prize, but yes it was really fun.”

If you missed the tip up challenge a couple weeks ago, you missed a good time, as told by Josh!

We’re looking for more youth members to spotlight for our newsletter! Contact Jadyn at naturelover0224@gmail.com to be featured!

** NOTE: Muskies Inc is a proud supporter of getting youth outdoors and on the water. Photos and stories can be about any fish that your youth finds exciting! **

Bump Boards for Sale

As a board (no pun intended) we made the decision to invest in some new bump boards for the Jeff Young Memorial Muskie Shootout that we hold every fall on Leech Lake. We did this to add both the chapter and shootout logos to the boards. But we also wanted to support an operational bump board company in Muskie Bumper. The original bump boards for the Shootout were from T's Tackle and they have not been in business for a number of years now.

So that means we have a bunch of bump boards that we need to find new homes for! Are you in need of one for yourself or know someone that is? These are all in excellent condition, with the majority still looking essentially brand new. And we are selling these for just $70 each. A similar bump board purchased brand new will cost over $120. So this is a great deal and they will be first come, first served.

We will have a few available at each of our monthly meetings until they are gone. If you would like to reserve one to make sure we have one for you at our next meeting, just respond to this email to let us know.

Save 10% at Musky Tackle Online

Orders placed with Musky Tackle Online that are delivered at monthly meetings are eligible for a 10% discount (and no shipping charge, of course). You need not be a member. You simply need to show up at the meeting to receive your order. It's that simple!

How does it work?

1) Register an account at Musky Tackle Online.

2) Email Aaron at MTO to let him know that you would like to have your order delivered at the next meeting.

3) He will set your account up to receive the appropriate discount.

4) He will let you know when you can proceed with putting in your order. Discount will apply automatically in your cart.

The BLC will get paid too! For every order that is placed this way, MTO will match the discount amount in the form of a donation to the chapter in the same amount. So not only will you get a great deal on some gear, but you will be contributing financially to the BLC!