Wo'nt be long now.

Best of luck to EVERYONE!!!

Phil

Hope you guys have a great time! Catch some good fish and thanks for the service to our country!!! We all appreciate it more than you know.

James

boat is packed for a couple days of "pre-fishing" in northern MN...now i've just got to pack the clothes and suffer through 2 more days of work!

Good luck to all. Have a safe and enjoyable trip. And above all else THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE.

It was great, even the muskies thought so!

Many thanks to the Vets for their great work and many sacrificies.

Hope we can do it again!

Doug Johnson

It was AWESOME!!! I had a great time! Saying "Thanks" to everyone involved can't even begin to express the way I feel! I am humbled to have been one of the luck "Vets" chosen to be part of this! I will remember last week for the rest of my life!

SALUTE!!!

Dave

A tremendous time! I've never felt better coming home from a fishing trip. Great folks and a great event. It was an honor to be involved and to meet all the veterans.

Thanks to all who put forth efforts in organizing and supporting this great event. (Like Doug Johnson mentions, even the muskies seemed excited to be involved.)

Pete

Like Doug, Pete and every guide or Vet that I talked with has said, it was the best muskie fishing trip we have even been a part of. All I did was show up and drive the boat around and say "cast there". So much thanks to those who really invested the time and efforts to make this possible. Just an outstanding experience for all involved and I hope and pray it happens every year because our Veterans sacrifice so much and they deserve it!

You men stay safe and keep your bait off the rocks!

LOL

Ed Spoerl

There were a great many people that were touched by Operation Muskie. We have received many emails and phone calls at the ofices of TNB - Esox Angler Magazineabout the event. The most recent was an email from Rick Hanke of Appleton, WI. Rick said that a great time was had by all... that you couldn't, "wipe the smiles off our faces." And he asked us to thank everyone who donated time and money to make Operation muskie happen. He commented that, "the vets are proud to serve and protect people like you."

There is no doubt that the event required a tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes work and numerous months of planning and coordination. To everyone involved in making this event a success, congratulations!

And to veterans everywhere... it is you that make us proud. You have our deepest respect.

Teresa Webinger

TNB - Esox Angler Magazine

Op M was a wonderful success.Everyone seemed to have a great time and it's starting to appear it will have legs and happen again.(a few legal 'changes'may be necessary and are in the works)

A few 'thank yous'are due:

First of course to the Vets for their service and for participating in this event.We were honored and privileged to be involved with you.

Next,and most of all,to Frank and Laura Walsh for donating Baystore Camp to us free of charge.Way above and beyond-the world is full of talkers but they are doers.There's a reason its the 'best little muskie camp'in the world.

The 'organizers'worked their ***** off for a year or so to make it happen.Thanks Bret,Doug and Frank!

The guides-well all I can say is thanks!Job well done-mission accomplished.Awesome!

A few unsung heros need to be mentioned.Vonnie Johnson,Dougs wife,is our treasurer.She did,continues to do,our 'banking'and bookkeeping-lord knows we need her there.Thanks Vonnie!

Jim and Pam Best who were always ready with a helping hand,recall Jim cooking with smoke in his eyes while we feasted and partied?Not to mention opening their beautiful cabin(palace?)to the guides.

Baystore staff.Job well done Travis,Jake,Mary and all!

Paul Kleins wife Dianna worked hard while on 'vacation'-ha,quite a vacation!Thanks Dianna.

A selfish thanks to my wife Bets who was there and pitched in.She's been involved behind the scenes since my initial contacts with Bret Wold.As usual,a real trooper.Love ya Dear!

Finally a special thanks to all our contributors.Simply would not have,could not have,happened without you.What can I say?'Thanks'seems so inadequate.God bless ya.Folks,support all the contributors who helped with this event.They deserve it!

I sure hope I didn't miss anyone.I appologize if I did.

As mentioned,Operation Muskie Two is being considered as I type so stay tuned.Meanwhile,nothing stopping anyone from helping a vet or two in other ways.They deserve it.Take care,

Dick

Damn,I did forget a very important contributor-and friend.Bret Miller took a week off to help with Op M not to mention advance help with the menu,food ordering,and many other things.Thanks Bret!

PS He also showed his 'boat'how to catch muskies on the way to Wileys Point for lunch.:-)

is it okay to breathe yet?

Op Muskie 2 sounds like a go. let me know if there's anything i can do to help support it and "pay it forward" so someone else can have this awesome experience too!

Like Mike Winther said... If there is anything I can do to help "Pay It Forward", please let me know. This was definately the best Musky experience I have ever been a part of. I even got along with the Packer fans that came up from wisconsin! Thanks to all who had a part in Operation Muskie 2008. Hope to be a part of the years to come.