Craig Sandell © 2010 As Muskie fishermen, we all tend to go through periods when we are not catching fish. This is especially true if you are unable to 'butterfly' from lake to lake. Before the 2001 season opened, I was sitting around the kitchen table with John Dettloff. I mentioned to John that the Chippewa Flowage had not been as kind to me in recent years as it had been in the mid-1990s. John listened to my lament and then jumped right in the middle of my chest with some hard reality..."You've changed the way you fish from the way you used to fish", he said. "Remember that the Chippewa Flowage is not a 'run and gun' body of water. You can't fish it as though you were in Canada, and you have to pay attention to what the water is telling you about the prospects for fishing success". I came away from that kitchen conservation with John intent on recapturing the methods that had produced fish for me in the past. My good friend Rob Meusec and I exchanged ideas on strategy for the Chippewa Flowage. Rob observed that many times we tend to overlook the potential that is no further than the dock at which the boat is moored. He reminded me that Fred Hirsch, one of the trailer residents at Indian Trail Resort and owner of former Ghosttails lures, starts an early morning fishing adventure by sneaking
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