BLC June Newsletter

If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing.

June 2026 BLC Newsletter

Meetings are the 2nd Tuesday of the month, 7pm @ the Nisswa American Legion

Hello Everyone,

The Minnesota Muskie Season is upon us. Hopefully you have your boat out before the muskie season arrives to get all winter gremlins ironed out. As you're loading your boat for the season, let's keep safety at the top of the list. There have been a few unfortunate deaths already this year in our area. So let's make sure we have all the safety gear at the ready should you find yourself in a less than ideal situation. We want to live to fish another day. Along with remembering all the safety gear, let's remember to keep an eye out for AIS. There have been a few muskie lakes that have been confirmed to have new AIS. We as muskie anglers don't want to be part of the problem, let's make sure to do our part and clean, drain and dry.

We have two MOTHY events coming up this month. The first is on the 13th and the second is on the 27th. For more information read below.

There is a youth event being held this Saturday at the Crow Wing County Fairgrounds. Jadyn and her crew will be there on behalf of the chapter. She is always looking for helping hands. If this is something you would like to help with please reach out to her.

Fair Chase and Tight Lines,

Levi Stifter

FREE Lifetime Fishing License

At our June monthly meetings we will also be drawing for our youth membership drive winner for a lifetime fishing license!

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!

June 6th

Muskie Opener

June 9th

Monthly Meeting - Eric from Little Falls DNR

June Outings

13th; Lake Alexander/Shamineau • 7am-3pm
27th; Bemidji Memorial tournament - Coincide with Bemidji tournament and all tournament lakes • 5am-4pm

July 14th

Monthly Meeting - Mike Knapp; Brainerd Area Fisheries Manager

July Outings

7th; Virtual (any MN lake) - Ladies & kids get double points for muskies caught • 4pm to 10pm
18th; Lake Miltona - potluck at Noon • 7am-10pm

High School Muskie Tournament

Registration info and rules can be found on the website.

The BLC Needs YOU!

We’re looking for volunteers, like YOU!

We have another upcoming youth event and we’re looking for volunteers:

Brainerd Everything Outdoor Youth Expo - Crow Wing County Fairgrounds - June 6th

Spend a few hours during the day teaching youth about fish and fishing at both of these events, and share with them the passion that you have for the outdoors.

If you’re interested in volunteering a few hours of your time please contact Jadyn at: 218-821-3728

Jeff Young Memorial Muskie Shootout

October 3-4, 2026

Registration is now open and we already have more than 50% of the field filled! 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 3rd and 4th this year.

2026 Gil Hamm Chapter Challunge

The 2026 Gil Hamm Chapter Challunge will be held on the Eagle River Chain in Eagle River, Wisconsin from August 26th to 28th. The winning chapter each year has the honor of hosting the following year. And the Bemidji Cass Chapter will be the host this year. Chapters can put together as many teams as they would like to fish (up to 6 anglers per team) and this cost is paid for by the chapter. You'll be responsible for lodging and there should be announcements soon on some discounted rates at the host resort. Stay tuned for more details!

2026 BLC Muskie Hunter of the Year (MHOTY)/Outings Schedule

June

13th; Lake Alexander/Shamineau • 7am-3pm
27th; Bemidji Memorial tournament - Coincide with Bemidji tournament and all tournament lakes • 5am-4pm

July

7th; Virtual (any MN lake) - Ladies & kids get double points for muskies caught • 4pm to 10pm
18th; Lake Miltona - potluck at Noon • 7am-10pm

August

1st; Lake Inguadona • 7am-3pm
15th; Virtual (any MN lake) - Sponsorship outing - fish must be caught using a BLC sponsors lure • 7am-10pm

September

1st; Virtual (any MN lake) - Topwater challenge • 4pm-9pm
19th; Leech Lake • 7am-3pm

October

10th; Gull Lake • 9am-3pm
24th; Lake Roosevelt • 9am-3pm

**Schedule subject to change**

** Potluck picnic to follow after most outings**

2026 Release Contest & Replica Eligibility

The 2026 season is upon us! Here is our annual reminder to everyone of our annual release contest as well as our replica eligibility.

Any BLC member that enters a fish into our release standings in a given month goes into a random drawing for a Musky Tackle Online gift card at the following month's meeting. MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN.
You can enter your fish online through the Lunge Log or submit in person at any meeting to our Release Chairman, Nathan Stifter. Submitting your fish electronically will save our release chairman a considerable amount of time.
If you would like to have your fish entered in the chapter contest but not be submitted to the national Lunge Log, you can download and print out a release form to be submitted to Nathan. Be sure that you check the appropriate box on the upper left hand corner.
NEW in 2025 - We have created our own electronic BLC release form for chapter release contest entry only (not to be included in the national Lunge Log). You can also submit your fish and pictures for replica eligibility this way.
Eligible fish for the BLC release contest must be caught during the Minnesota muskie season. Fish caught in other states or Canada still count, but only if caught while the Minnesota season is open.

2026 BLC Replica Eligibility and Rules

1. Must be a current member in good standing at the time of catch

2. Attend at least four (4) monthly meetings per calendar year

3. Attend at least one (1) Muskie Hunter of the Year outing

4. Must submit a clear photo of the muskie's length on a bump board

Receipt of the photo is your entry into replica eligibility

Submit your photo to Release Chairman Nathan Stifter at nathanstifter60@gmail.com

5. Fill out and turn in a MI Release form to the Release Chairman within thirty (30) days of catch

6. **REVISED** To be considered for replica eligibility, fish must be turned in no later than the date of our December monthly meeting.

Rules and Info:

1. The replica will be awarded to the winner with the largest (by length) release as per Replica Eligibility.

2. In case of a tie - the muskie that was caught first (by date and time) will be awarded the winner.

3. Winner of the replica will be ineligible for future BLC awarded replicas.

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 $75 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, fill out the below bump board request form.

Bump Board Request Form

Discounts for BLC Members

The BLC has worked hard to grow our list of sponsors. And we have partnered with several of them to bring you discounts through their companies. As a BLC member, you can get discounts through the following BLC sponsors.