WALLEYES FOREVER

E-NEWSLETTER

From www.WalleyesForever.com

No. 8: 3-11-07

Nothing stirs a fisherman's soul like the view of one of the first

open-water walleyes of the season. Mark Jones caught

this 6.6-pounder on Bighorn Lake on March 4 while

fishing out of Ok-A-Beh. The photo has been added

to the Walleyes Forever Photo gallery.

Plenty of 2007 derbies and tourneys in Montana

for walleyes, pike, bass, catfish, lakers, salmon

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Here are the approved fishing tournaments and derbies across Montana for the open water season in 2007, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks:

March

March 16 - April 14: Spring Mack Days, Confederate Salish & Kootenai Tribes, Barry Hansen 406-883-2888, Flathead Lake, lake trout

April

April 21: Tough Guy Tournament, Walleyes Unlimited Jordan Chapter, Joe Herbold 406-557-2383, Fort Peck Reservoir at Hell Creek, walleye and largest northern pike
April 21-22: Montana BASS Federation Qualifier, Montana BASS Federation, Curtis Spindler 406-544-4968, Noxon Rapids Reservoir, bass
April 26=28: ABA - EMBA Tongue Reservoir Invitational, Eastern Montana Bass Association, JD Adkins 406-245-5541, Tongue River Reservoir, smallmouth/largemouth bass


May

May 5-6: Noxon Open Team Tournament, Montana BASS Federation, Curtis Spindler 406-544-4968, Noxon Rapids Reservoir, Bass
May 18-19: Fresno Challenge, Fresno Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited, Jim Rettig 406-378-2176, Fresno Reservoir, walleye, perch, northern pike
May 19: MontanaCats.com Yellowstone River Catfish Tournament, Montanacats.com, Jason Flaten 406-591-3528, Yellowstone River, channel catfish
May 19-20: Koocanusa Resort and Marina Fifth Annual Fishing Derby, Koocanusa Resort and Marina, Randie Burch 406-293-7474, Lake Koocanusa, rainbow trout, salmon

June

June 2: 8th Annual Milk River Catfish Classic, D&G Sports & Western, Brenner Flaten 701-290-7277, Milk River, channel catfish
June 2: Canyon Ferry Carp Safari, Montana Bowhunters Association, Joelle Selk 406-457-9565, Canyon Ferry Reservoir, carp
June 2-3: ABA-EMBA Hell Creek Tournament, Eastern Montana Bass Association, JD Adkins 406-245-5541, Fort Peck Reservoir at Hell Creek, smallmouth/largemouth bass.
June 2-3: Rock Creek Walleye Tournament, Wolf Point Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited, Kris Keller 406-653-3320, Fort Peck Reservoir at Rock Creek, walleye
June 8-10: Loma Fishing Derby, Loma Café, Greg Bouchard 406-853-2139, Missouri River, game fish
June 9: Misterpike.com Classic, Ron Zachariasen 406-721-7052, Salmon Lake, Seeley Lake, northern pike
June 9: Savage Volunteer Fire Dept. Catfish Tournament, Savage Volunteer Fire Department, Jim Miller 406-776-2334, Yellowstone River, catfish
June 9-10: Tiber Walleye Tournament, Great Falls Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited, Doug Rohlf 406-452-8003, Tiber Reservoir, walleye, sauger, northern pike, perch
June 9-10: Montana BASS Federation Qualifier, Montana BASS Federation, Curtis Spindler 406-544-4968, Fort Peck Reservoir, bass
June 16: Western Bar Summer Derby, Western Bar, Augusta, Dave McTaggart 406-562-3262, Willow Creek Reservoir, rainbow trout
June 17: White Sulphur Springs Lions Club Father's Day Derby, White Sulphur Springs Lions Club, Gerald Zarr 406-547-3802, Newlan Creek Reservoir, rainbow trout
June 23: Ross W. Merzke Memorial Fishing Tourney, Ron Manning 406-862-0093, Whitefish Lake, lake trout, rainbow trout, whitefish
June 23-24: 7th Annual Pikemasters Tournament, Montana Pikemasters, Bob Dolly 406-656-4761, Fort Peck Reservoir, northern pike
June 23-24: Canyon Ferry Walleye Festival, Townsend Area Chamber of Commerce, Doug Breker 406-266-5279, Canyon Ferry Reservoir, walleye, carp, northern pike

July

July 7: Archer's Den 2nd Annual Carp Shoot, Archer's Den, Tony Peres 406-452-1921, All Fishable waterbodies in R-4, carp, bigmouth and smallmouth buffalo
July 7-8: Annual Tobacco Valley Rod & Gun Club Fishing Derby, Tobacco Valley Rod & Gun Club, Rose Carvey 406-297-3378, Lake Koocanusa, rainbow
July 12-14: Montana Governor's Cup Walleye Tournament, Glasgow Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, Diane Brandt 406-228-2222, Fort Peck Reservoir at Fort Peck, walleye
July 14: Livingston Kids Trout Derby, Livingston Fire and Rescue, Kevin Harrington 406-223-0340, Livingston Lagoon, rainbow, cutthroat
July 14: Broadwater Rod & Gun Club Walleye Derby, Broadwater Rod & Gun Club, Doug Breker 406-266-3812, Canyon Ferry Reservoir, walleye, carp, northern pike
July 14-15: IEBC Bass Club Tournament, Inland Empire Bass Club, Shaun Starnes 509-499-8043, Noxon Reservoir, bass
July 14-15: ABA-EMBA Bighorn Lake Invitational Tournament, Eastern Montana Bass Association, JD Adkins 406-245-5541, Bighorn Lake, smallmouth/largemouth bass
July 21: Annual Hell Creek Ladies Fishing Tournament, Walleyes Unlimited Jordan Chapter, Luann Pluhar 406-557-2809, Fort Peck Reservoir at Hell Creek, walleye, northern pike
July 28-29: Hell Creek Walleye Tournament, Walleyes Unlimited Jordan Chapter, Clyde Phipps 406-557-2209, Fort Peck Reservoir at Hell Creek, walleye
July 28-29: Tri-State Tournament, Clark Fork Bass Anglers, Rick Breitenbach 406-827-4760, Noxon Rapids Reservoir, bass

August

Aug. 3-4:4th Annual Fish Contest, Cooke City Community Council, Florence Zundel 406-838-2153, Fox Lake, Kersy Lake, Lake Abundance, Long Lake, Lower Aero Lake
brook, rainbow, yellowstone cutthroat trout
Aug. 4: John Arnold Fish Derby, Upper Missouri River Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited, Tim Frederick 406-475-3381, Hauser Lake, walleye, perch
Aug. 4-5: ABA - EMBA Big Horn Lake Invitational Tournament, Eastern Montana Bass Association, JD Adkins 406-245-5541, Bighorn Lake, smallmouth/largem outh bass
Aug. 4-5: Fall Classic, Nemont Beverage, Ted Toavs 406-392-5558, Fort Peck Reservoir, walleye, northern pike
Aug. 4-5: 9th Annual Great Montana "Mac Attack," Dels Bar, Gene Fincher 406-261-6445, Flathead Lake, lake trout, whitefish
Aug. 11: Douglas E. Crowell Memorial Perch Assault, Chancy Jeschke and Mike Howe, Chancy Jeschke 406-257-5705, Middle and Lower Thompson Lakes, yellow perch
Aug. 18: Mc's Kids Fishing Derby, Dave McTaggart and Ethel McBerny, Dave McTaggart 406-562-3262, Willow Creek Reservoir, rainbow trout
Aug. 18: Walleyes Unlimited Women's Walleye Tournament, Walleyes Unlimited Glasgow Chapter, Mary Humbert 406-228-8740, Fort Peck Reservoir at Fort Peck, walleye, bass, northern pike
Aug. 23-24: Fish for a Cure Tournament, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Lavern Peterson 406-259-0628, Canyon Ferry Reservoir, walleye
Aug. 24-26: Whitefish Jig Fest, Vista Linda, Gene Fincher 406-261-6445, Flathead Lake, whitefish

September

Sept. 15: 5th Annual Fort Peck Lake Salmon/Lake Trout Derby, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, Diane Brandt 406-228-2222, Fort Peck Reservoir, chinook salmon, lake trout
Sept. 22-23: Billings Yellowtail Fall Finale, Billings Walleyes Unlimited, Rod Putnam 406-259-9507, Bighorn Lake, walleye
Sept. 28-Oct. 20: Fall Mack Days, Confederate Salish & Kootenai Tribes, Barry Hansen 406-883-2888, Flathead Lake, lake trout.

The tourney and event calendar is available on WalleyesForever.com by clicking on the Chapter news, calendar link. Tourney info is also available on the Tournaments page.

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Walleyes Forever at the MORE Show

Walleyes Forever will have an exhibit booth at the MORE Show at MetraPark in Billings on March 16-18.

WF will have membership forms and logo caps available along with logo T-shirts and hooded and zipper-front sweatshirts for sale at the booth. There will also be a rod and reel raffle.

Stop by and visit and learn what Walleyes Forever is all about.

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Walleyes Forever Banquet set for March 31 at Elks

Walleyes Forever’s first annual banquet will be held Saturday, Mar. 31, at the Elks Club in Billings, with seating planned for 400 and plenty of prizes including a three-day, four-night fishing trip to Last Mountain Lake in Saskatchewan.

Only a handful of tickets are left and are available from WF members for $20 for adults and $10 for children aged 4-11. Youngsters 3-under eat for free. The banquet will begin with no-host cocktails at 5 p.m. Dinner will begin at 6 p.m. The meal is an all-you-can-eat walleye dinner.

For tickets, contact a Walleyes Forever member or Treasurer Linda Granholm at 652-2605.

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WF logo caps are in – members get one free

As part of your $25 annual membership in Walleyes Forever, each member will receive one, free WF logo cap. Our first cap order of the embroidered, khaki-colored caps was completed recently by Sutton's.

Caps will be available for members to pick up at the Mar. 8 WF meeting at the Elks Club or at the Walleyes Forever exhibit booth at the Mar. 16-18 MORE show at MetraPark. If possible, we'd like to distribute these by hand to save what would be a considerable postage cost for the club.

If you'd like to purchase additional WF logo caps, they'll be on sale for $8 each at club meetings or from WF Treasurer Linda Granholm.

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FWP’s TIP-MONT line stops crimes year-round

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Montana’s TIP-MONT "crimestopper" program is at work year round because wildlife crimes and vandalism occur year round. It is a good idea to keep the TIP-MONT number handy. It is 1-800-TIP-MONT, or 1-800-847-6668.

The TIP-MONT program rewards callers who report natural resource crimes, hunting and fishing violations, or vandalism in a Montana State Park or on U.S. Forest Service lands. The caller may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 if the information leads to an arrest.

To report violations or suspected violations call: 1-800-TIP-MONT.   For more information, visit FWP’s web site at fwp.mt.gov and seach for TIP-MONT .

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Minnesota Conservation Officer Tales for March

Minnesota DNR

YES, YOU DIDN’T THINK

While checking anglers, CO Pat Znajda (Karlstad) encountered two juveniles in a shelter that had eight lines in the water. When the juveniles were asked about the extra lines they said two of the lines belonged to their father, but he had gone home to feed the cattle. The other two lines belonged to their grandfather, who had left to make lunch. About 15 minutes later the grandfather returned and confirmed the story. After enforcement action was taken on the grandfather, he said he didn’t think leaving his lines in the water was that big of a deal since he wasn’t gone that long and the fish weren’t biting.

FEELING GUILTY

CO Mike Shelden (Alexandria) had an individual admit to spearing a large muskie in Lake Miltona a couple of days after Shelden had initially checked him. At that time the man said he had not seen any northerns while spearing in the location of his fish house. The officer then noticed a large amount of blood outside the house and questioned the man about that. The man admitted he had speared a large muskie.

PLEASE, TEND YOUR TRAPS

CO Larry Francis (Remer) received a phone call from a citizen about a dog being caught in a trap. The party was not upset his dog was caught in the trap, but was very upset that whoever set the trap was not tending it. The party estimated his dog was in the trap for at least five days before being released, presumably by the trapper. The dog’s leg had to be amputated.

WOLF PACK ALLOWS CO TO PASS

CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) encountered a wolf pack on a snowmobile trail. The wolves stepped off about 30 yards allowing the CO to pass. The pack then went on their way down the trail.

THREE-LEGGED CRITTER

CO Brian Buria (Bigfork) reported investigating calls concerning a three-legged coyote in a horse barn.

ACT 2

CO Cary Shoutz (Crosslake) reported ice conditions continue to be unpredictable and despite the recent cold weather a vehicle went through the ice in the lake channel between Rush and Lower Whitefish lakes. The responding tow truck then went through the ice in another channel between Island and Loon lakes.

A BATHROOM BREAK

While working snowmobilers, CO Sarah Backer (Cambridge) stopped a speeder going 85 mph. When asked why he was going that fast he said, “I have to go to the bathroom.”

GLAD HE’S NOT PART OF THE MENU

CO Mark Fredin (Aurora) had a large timber wolf walk within 20 yards of him with the leg of a freshly killed deer in its jaws.

ONLY YOU CAN STOP THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE SPECIES

CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) walked into a remote designated trout lake and watched three men fish for a period of time. He determined they had extra lines and were using live minnows. As Fagerman approached them one man kept pouring his minnows into the lake. Some minnows were still swimming around in the hole and live minnows were found on the extra lines. Hopefully there were no invasive species or minnows that will be a detriment to the brook trout in the lake.

REMEMBER, COs ARE ALWAYS ON THE JOB

CO Bob Mlynar (Aitkin) stopped a group of snowmobilers riding on the Mississippi River at speeds of more than 80 mph. When asked why they were going that fast they said, “We thought

All DNR officers would be working the Arctic Blast event on Mille Lacs Lake.”

SHELTERS BECOMING POPULAR PARTY SPOTS FOR TEENS

CO Jason Jensen (Forest Lake) reported checking anglers and shelters on area lakes. Jensen found one shelter that was a large tarp with wooden girders underneath, creating a large party hall for local youth on the lake. Judging by the alcohol containers around the area, it would seem that fish shelters are increasing as popular party spots, since access inside the shelters is illegal.

GIVE ME SHELTER

CO Lloyd Steen (Ray) found a fish shelter occupied by eight students, six of whom were handed over to a deputy sheriff who cited them for illegal consumption.

TRAPPER SNARED

CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) located more than 50 untagged traps and snares belonging to one trapper. The investigation ended with violations of untagged traps, failing to check traps, illegal snare height and loop size, driving on a state trail and possession of a car-killed deer without a permit.

BE PET SMART

CO Marty Stage (Babbitt) observed several wolves that appeared to have little fear of vehicles or humans. He also advised people in the area to keep close control of family pets to avoid any attacks.

A CHANGE IN DISPOSITION

An angler complained to CO Mike Lee (Isle) he had not had a walleye bite all day. However, while speaking to the officer the man had a hit and brought up a nice 24-inch walleye (that was released). The party stated the CO had either had driven some fish to him, or was good luck. When the officer asked him about the third line that he was using, and trying to hide, the angler’s feelings changed, and stated, “Well, at least I caught one walleye.”

YOU KEEP TALKING, I’LL KEEP WRITING

CO Bret Grundmeier (Mora) pulled over a snowmobile clocked going more than 70 mph on a lake. The driver had already received a speeding ticket from a different CO five minutes earlier. The snowmobiler also claimed it was nearly impossible to drive under 50 mph due to the snow packed conditions and because he couldn’t really see the speedometer on the snowmobile very well. A second citation was issued.

MYSTERY SOLVED

CO David Schottenbauer (Princeton) came across an angler who found a boat on the bottom of Green Lake with his underwater camera. The boat was reported to have sunk in May 2002. One could still read the registration number on the side.

THE LONG EYE OF THE LAW

CO Jason Peterson (Eagan) stopped two individuals after driving onto a lake and smoking marijuana. The driver asked Peterson how he knew they were smoking marijuana. The two were surprised when the officer told them he had followed them onto the lake and had watched them with high power optics.

READING ABOUT THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GOOD STEWARDSHIP

One of CO Nathan Barington’s (Litchfield) lunches was spent talking to a book club at Dassel Elementary School. The club had just finished reading a book about poaching and game wardens.

K9 HELPS APPREHED SPEEDING SNOWMOBILERS Two snowmobile operators, displaying expired registrations, decided to flee instead of stopping for CO Travis Muyres of Ham Lake. The fleeing snowmobiles were abandoned and the two operators decided to continue fleeing on foot. Both operators finally gave up after being warned that K9 Hunter was going to be sent to apprehend them. The operators were arrested for felony fleeing in a motor vehicle. Both snowmobiles were forfeited.

I WATCH COPS ALL THE TIME

CO Brad Schultz (Center City) noted a very erratic set of vehicle tracks on road. Then the officer encountered a vehicle stopped in the middle of the road. As the officer approached the vehicle, the driver got out, nearly falling into the ditch. Officer noted a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on the driver’s breath. A deputy was called and the driver was arrested for DWI, subsequent breath test of .31 BAC. As driver was being placed in squad he commented, “I know how this works, I watch COPS all the time.”

YOU NEVER KNOW WHO MAY BE LISTENING

Under the "you never know who can hear you" category, CO Jeff Johanson (Osakis) was monitoring the two-way radio traffic on Lake Osakis when he overheard two people talking about just catching a walleye. The anglers thought the season had closed, and one angler suggested said they better throw the fish back or they might get caught. The other angler replied he was going to keep the fish and take his chances. Johanson located the fishermen with the walleye and found out the person knew the season for walleyes was still open and they had just been joking around with the other person. The joke ended abruptly when it was found the walleye was under the 15-inch minimum size limit and enforcement action, and the fish, was taken.

ROD AND REEL DOWN THE HOLE

CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) checked anglers throughout the area. In one instance an angler placed his rod in a rod holder near his hole while he left his line down. The angler began digging in his wallet for his angling license when Mathy noticed the rod tip violently jerking up and down. The angler was told he has fish on, he hurried to grab the rod. The mysterious fish however pulled the whole rod and reel down the hole to the dismay of the angler. The next time a CO asks to see your angling license you may want to reel up your line.

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2007 Montana fishing banquet dates

March 31: Walleyes Forever Banquet, Elks Club, Billings, contact Linda Granholm at 652-2605 for ticket info.

To add your fishing banquet date to the list, just e-mail us at walleyes@walleyesforever.com

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And, finally……..

Counting the herd

A Montana cowboy was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.

The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"

The cowboy looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, Why not?"

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation system to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.

The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg , Germany.

Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored.

He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says the cowboy.

He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then the cowboy says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"

You're a Congressman for the U. S. Government", says the cowboy.

"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"

"No guessing required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about cows... this is a herd of sheep.

“Now, GIVE ME BACK MY DOG!”

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