Musky Curse
Broken On First Cast

KEITH KARLS

White Bear Lake resident Keith Karls believed he was cursed.
He had tried for years to catch a musky, fishing Leech lake a half-dozen times, as well as the renowned musky waters of Hayward, WI. However, each day of fishing would yield only a few “follow ups”.

With so many hours invested in musky fishing and no hook-ups, Keith began to suspect that he had a muskie curse — that no matter where he went or what lure he used, he was not going to catch a musky.
He had just about given up.

Keith came into Blue Ribbon this spring to book three guide trips with me — one in the spring, and two in the summer. He wanted to chase bass first, muskies second, and then return to bass on the third trip.
On our first fishing trip, Keith caught almost 100 white bass. On our second trip, as planned, we fished for muskies. Keith had three different “follow ups”, but none of them would bite.

It was then that Keith revealed his explanation: it was the “musky curse.” After hearing that, I was inspired to help him break the curse, no matter what it took. So although Keith and I were originally going to fish smallmouth bass on the third trip, I convinced him that we should go for muskies again. He agreed to change the plans and start time. I was on a mission!

That morning, we gunned it in the dark to the spot. We did not have any competition and the weather was perfect. An almost full moon was just setting, and there was fog on the lake. It was time to break out the surface baits.

I quickly hoisted my trolling motor into the water and we sneaked up quietly on the first spot. Keith got off a nice first cast in the direction I had suggested. The creeper lure bubbled in the water. It was not even three cranks of the reel when I heard what sounded like a bomb going off in the water: Ka-Boom! Keith had a huge musky strike on his first cast! We could not believe it! The very intense, wake-you-up-in-a-second moments that followed had our hearts racing.

Keith started to battle the fish in. Although it was dark and we could not see much, I knew after the fish’s second long run that Keith had a big one. He eventually got it close enough for me to net it. It was not only Keith’s first legal musky, it was also a big one! We were ecstatic. It was as if we had just downed four cups of coffee all at once. We were fired up!

After taking a quick measurement, getting a picture, and high-fiving each other, we gave the fish a great release. Keith and I were so happy. The first thing Keith said to me was, “I guess my curse is finally over.” Even though our mission to break the curse was successful, we continued to fish. Keith now had the “musky shakes”, but he managed to start casting again. He switched over to a top-raider surface bait, since the muskie had destroyed the creeper.

In the next two hours Keith had a follow up, a boat side blow up, and caught a nice northern. We fished a little past that, but we knew that our day was complete so we decided to go in early. Keith and I both were eager to get the photo developed.

An experience like the one Keith and I shared is essentially what makes guiding so exciting for me. It is neat to think that although Keith had gone up north so many times to get his first musky, all he really had to do was fish ten minutes from his house in the Twin Cities. Over the years, I have been lucky enough to take out people of all ages and backgrounds on fishing trips.

During these times, I have had many opportunities to witness great and rare catches and to hear some great stories. I will not forget anytime soon the day that Keith came with me to fish muskies and his curse was broken in one cast.

To Book a guide trip with Josh Stevenson call him at:
651-335-2118
or email him at
josh@mightymusky.com

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