G.R.U.B.

Schifty, our newest member to the GRUB shoved off from the docks at 5:00 a.m., July 10th, 2010, accompanied by myself, Vortex2theNeck, Capt. Chuck Smith(Premonition Charters) and soon to be member Josh, for the Annual MOMC (Michigan Ontario Muskie Club) Homer LeBlanc Classic Muskie Tournament.  Little did any of us know what kind of a weekend was in store.  Even looking back now, the Captain himself has made claims that Saturday could have been the best day he's ever seen on the lake.  If you consider that we fished nearly 15 hours Saturday and only 6 hours on Sunday, then Sunday could also be considered the best 6 hours he's ever seen as well.  For those of you that know the Captain, you know thats saying something based on the years he's been doing this.  He's much older than me:D Because we are still fishing tournaments currently, I have to be brief in my details for now.  We have all been sworn to secrecy regarding lures, spots, speeds, depths, the music playing on the radio, what we ate for lunch, boxers or briefs... So dont bother asking!  I will tell you this, we boated nearly 50 muskies, 6 of which were in the 30lb.+ range, we threw back the second place fish to catch the big one and went through a box of bandaids.  That's work'in y'all!!  Im not going to toot my horn yet, but watch out for the Premonition in the upcoming tourneys, cuz it's runn'in a grubby crew and it's gonna get ugly!

The Fish

So Schifty grabbed the right rod at the right time.  We had already thrown back what would later be determined the 2nd place fish.  I think we all knew this one could be the one and were anxiously awaiting a look at this one, since he was refusing to surface.  Schifty kept assuring us that it was something good and mentioned several times that the forearms were burning.  Finally, the captain got a look at the beast from the flybridge and proclaimed,"Boys, that's a good fish!  Dont get nervous, but nobody better screw this up!"  We handled it like clock work and the fish was in the livewell in no time flat.  Chuck immediately asked the all important question,"How long is he?"  We replied it's longer than the livewell.  "WHAT?"  Before we could repeat ourselves he was on the deck, with a scale in hand.  We gathered around and watched the digital scale flash 38.3, 38.4, 38.5..."REEL'EM UP BOYS!  Like a flash we were packed up and on our way to the weigh-in for what would be more than just a tournament victory. 

We got to the MOMC weigh-in station still high-fiving eachother after a lengthy trip across the lake (hint, hint).  The fish was measured at 56 1/4" and 38.5lbs.  Captain Chuck asked the weighmaster,"that could be the club record?"  He replied,"Maybe a tie."  As the two of them went inside the trailer to check the record book, we were happy to strut around for all the folks at the dock, still high-fiving and posing for pictures.  The best moment of the day came when the Captain danced, and I mean danced out of that trailer, grinning from ear to ear and said, "Boys, we just broke the club record for the longest fish in the clubs history!"  For those of you playing the home game, the club was established in 1954.  NICE!!!!!!  Congrats Schifty!!  I personally think Vortex should give up his biggest muskie of the year points in the "Top Grub" contest, but then again you should have been signed up prior to the contest.  And the season is not over.  Bring on a 60 incher!!!  Big thanks to congrats to Captain Chuck, the Premonition and all of the crew.  I hope it was'nt a once in a lifetime, but it was amazing.  Watch for us in the Muskie Bash Tourney, July 24-25.  There's a GRUB crew in town and we're gunn'in for YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A couple more pics from the end of year award ceramony: