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July 2023 BLC Newsletter
Meetings are the 2nd Tuesday of the month, 7pm @ American Legion Nisswa
Greetings BLC Members,

I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable 4th of a July. Summer is in full swing and there are a number of members I know who have been catching fish. July marks a seasonal transition of muskies to larger traditional structure so hope you’re able to get out and net a few. 

We have a number of upcoming activities in the next couple of months so hope to see you at some or all of them. Our July MHOTY event will take place Saturday, July 15 from 7 am to 3 pm. This will be a virtual event so you can fish any MN body of water that you want. Just check in with Jay, our Outings Director, and call in any fish that you catch for the day. This will also be our sponsor event so fish must be caught on a bait from one of our many sponsors to be eligible.

This is a great time of year to get signed up to fish in our upcoming Gil Hamm Chapter Challunge. We are hosting this years event and are excited to be on Lake Vermilion and having Vermilion Dam Lodge as our headquarters. Dates for the event are August 22-25, 2023. It’s also a perfect time to get signed up for this year’s Jeff Young Memorial Leech Lake Shootout which will be held October 7-8, 2023. This years event already has a near record number of anglers signed up so register today to be a part is this fantastic event. 

Our July monthly meeting will feature our annual lure making night sponsored by J3 Tackle. Come create your own bucktail and yes this lure can be used in our sponsorship outing in July. It’s a great way to get creative and it’s always satisfying to catch a fish on a lure that you made. Hope to see you there. 

Get the net! 

Jim Kath
July 11th Meeting - Lure Making - 7pm
This month's meeting we will be building a bucktail for the fraction of the cost of a new one. If you have a bucktail that's a little beat up and needs to be redone, bring them and we'll show you how to do it. J3 Tackle will have components and tools on hand to help you build.

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!
BLC Youth Event - DATE CHANGE - August 8th
Due to some scheduling conflicts, the BLC has rescheduled the previously announced July Youth Event date and moved this to Tuesday night, August 8th. This is the night of our normal monthly meeting and will take place at the Nisswa Community Center. Once we lock in the time we will be sending out more information and FREE registration details. Stay tuned!
July 11
Monthly Meeting - Lure Building

July 15
Virtual Outing - Any Minnesota muskie water; Sponsor's Outing - Fish must be caught on a sponsor's lure to count in this one! - 7 am to 3 pm

August 8
Monthly Meeting - Youth Night - Nisswa Community Center

August 22-25
Gil Hamm Chapter Challunge

October 7-8
Jeff Young Memorial Muskie Shootout
BLC 2023 Outing Schedule - MHOTY
June 18 (Sunday) Lobster Lake (Alternate lake option: Cedar) - 7 am to 3 pm

June 20 (Tuesday) Lake Shamineau - 5 pm to 9:30 pm

July 15 (Saturday) Virtual Outing - Any Minnesota muskie water; Sponsor's Outing - Fish must be caught on a sponsor's lure to count in this one! - 7 am to 3 pm

August 1 (Tuesday) Lake Alexander - Top Water Challunge - Fish must be caught on a topwater to count! - 5 pm to 9 pm
August 13 (Sunday) Woman Lake - 7 am to 3 pm

September 16 (Saturday) Leech Lake - 8 am to 3 pm

October 14 (Saturday) Lake Alexander - 8 am to 3 pm

October 28 (Saturday) Roosevelt Lake - 8 am to 3 pm
NEXT UP: Virtual Outing - Any Minnesota muskie water - 7am to 3pm - July 15 - Sponsor's Outing - only fish caught on lures from our sponsor's will count in this one!


  • Are you looking for someone to fish with? Are you without a boat and wondering if someone has an open seat? Just looking to fish with someone new? Let us know and we will post this information on the website to help facilitate this for you. Likewise, if you are fishing an outing and would be willing to have someone new join you, please keep an eye on the website. You never know, it might result in a new lifelong fishing partner! At the very least, fishing with someone you haven't fished with before always results in learning something new.
2023 Release Contest
The first chapter release standings for 2023 should be available for viewing soon. Check the standings through the link below for updates.


If you would like to participate in our 2023 release contest or be eligible for a free replica, please make sure to check out the above link and scroll down for requirements. Also remember that it can pay to participate in our release contest. All fish registered the previous month will go into a monthly drawing at our monthly meetings for a $25 Musky Tackle Online gift card. Must be present to win!
2023 Gil Hamm
Chapter Challunge

As winners of the 2022 Gil Hamm, the BLC is responsible for selecting the destination and hosting the event for 2023 and we will be heading to Lake Vermilion out of Vermilion Dam Lodge. About a decade ago, the BLC helped the Star of the North Chapter host the Gil Hamm at this same location. And people are still talking about that as the best Gil Hamm event they have ever attended. So the bar has been set high and we are ready for that challenge!

August 22 to 25, 2023
Lake Vermilion
Vermilion Dam Lodge

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are thinking about fishing the Hamm, call or text Jody at 218-821-3727 to let her know. Even if you don't know if you can make it work for your schedule, just knowing that you are considering it will be very helpful. We know it's early. But the sooner we know these things, the more helpful it will be.
2023 Jeff Young Memorial Muskie Shootout
We will be heading back to Agency Bay Lodge for the 2023 Jeff Young Memorial Muskie Shootout. Save the date and start making plans to join us on October 7-8 on beautiful Leech Lake!

Registration opened up in January and many teams have already signed up to secure their starting position. Sign yourself up on the BLC website today!
One of our Shootout contestants from last year (Aaron Kriens) shot some very cool drone footage from the event and was kind enough to share those with us. Check them out here. Thanks for sharing, Aaron!
New Sponsor Spotlight - Stifter's Mowing & Landscaping
Another great new sponsor to the BLC this year is Stifter's Mowing & Landscaping, based out of Aitkin. If you're in the need of some mowing or landscaping work, give Levi a call. And although we hate to think of the white stuff in July, he can help you out in the winter if you have snow removal needs as well.

Thank you Stifter's Mowing & Landscaping for your support of the BLC!
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!
Please support our great sponsors that support us. We wouldn't be able to do the things that we do without their help!
Stifter Mowing & Landscaping