About the North Metro Chapter of Muskie's, Inc. Chapter 21
North Metro Chapter of Muskies, Inc. is a local chapter of Muskies, Inc. (MI). Muskies, Inc. was founded in the Mpls/St Paul metropolitan area in 1966. In great part because of MI’s promotion of catch and release and its work with the Minnesota DNR, the state of Minnesota now provides the finest Muskie fishery in the United States. MI is committed to continuing that improvement both in Minnesota and across the nation
Our charter is to promote the Muskie fishery in this area, support Research and introduce Youths to Muskie fishing and support Muskies, Inc. and other chapters across the country. We accomplish this through the volunteerism of chapter members and through financial support to the national Muskies, Inc. organization, the Minnesota Muskie & Pike Alliance, the Minnesota DNR and other fishing and conservation organizations.
The North Metro Chapter of Muskies, Inc. represents many parts of the Twin Cities, including the suburbs on the North, East and West sides of the Metro Area, as well as many other areas of the state. Members are welcomed from throughout the country and physical location is not a requirement of Chapter membership. Here are some details about the club:
Meeting Place/Time – We meet at the Coon Rapids VFW Post 9625, 1919 Coon Rapids Blvd NW, Coon Rapids, MN 55433which is just off of Coon Rapids Blvd NW and Hanson Blvd NW. Our General Member meetings are held at 7pm on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, October through May with the exceptions of June through September. We’ve found that attendance is low during these months due to members out enjoying our wonderful Minnesota Muskie fishery and the other sponsored NMMI events.
Communications – We distribute an electronic newsletter monthly to North Metro Chapter Members that provides information on our Fishery, Research and Y0uth efforts, upcoming events and generally lets you know what is going on with the Chapter. If you would like to receive the electronic newsletter, please send an e-mail to Newsletter@NMMuskies.com or go to WWW.NMMUSKIES.COM and click on Newsletters.
Membership – Our current membership is around 225 people.
Here are some of the events and efforts that we have going on in our Chapter:
General Meetings
General Meetings are open to the public and you do not have to be a member to attend. We meet at 7pm on the 3rd Tuesday of each month (October through May).
Location: the Coon Rapids VFW Post 9625, 1919 Coon Rapids Blvd NW, Coon Rapids, MN 55433.
Board Meetings
Board Meetings are open to Members to attend. We meet at 7pm on the 1st Tuesday of each month (September through June).
Location: the Coon Rapids VFW Post 9625, 1919 Coon Rapids Blvd NW, Coon Rapids, MN 55433.
Our Annual Fish Fry our main fund raiser and marquee event of the year for our Chapter. The Annual Fish Fry includes a number of things: short award
presentation for our Member’s Only Contest; some of the most recognizable anglers in our sport, games, raffles, and silent auctions. Each year we give away thousands of dollars worth of great
prizes and all enjoy a great All-You-Can-Eat Deep Fried Fish Dinner. This is currently scheduled to be held on Saturday February 20th, 2021 pending MN Governor's Covid-19 orders on
large gatherings
Location: the Coon Rapids VFW Post 9625, 1919 Coon Rapids Blvd NW, Coon Rapids, MN 55433.
Rod Building Class
Gary Wicks from Gary’s Custom Rod & Reel donates his time to help you learn how to build your own custom rod (Muskie to ice fishing rod of your choice). Gary offers the North Metro Chapter a great deal on custom blanks. You actually start with a plain rod blank and build the handle, add guides and add in your favorite colors. This event is typically held on a Saturday in March/April.
This is the year-long contest for catching fish as a North Metro Chapter Member that runs from January 12th thru Dec 1st on legal waters. Members keep track of their fish by logging them at the Muskies Inc Website. Awards are handed out at the North Metro Banquet for the various Division Winners. Divisions include Masters for Men and Women, Men’s, Women’s and Junior's girls and boys, so everyone can participate.
The North Metro Chapter hosts a tournament in the Luck, Wisconsin area in Western Wisconsin. There are 8 local waters to fish, including Deer, Bone, the Apple River and more. This annual event is scheduled for the second weekend after the Minnesota Muskie Opener.
The North Metro schedules weekly outings for various metro lakes for our League Night. The lakes change weekly and you get points for catching fish and for fishing with various partners. The main focus of this event is to get out on the lake, fish with new people, build comrade and just have some fun. Lure Awards are awarded to the top three persons with the most points at the end of the year. There is a participation drawing; each night a person fishes they receive one chance at the end of year drawing for prizes including a St. Croix Tournament Legend Rod.
Our Annual Members Picnic will be held at Bald Eagle Regional Park. The Chapter supplies hot dogs, chips, and beverages. We try to get in a casting game and do a Lure Swap where people bring baits and either swap or sell them. It’s a casual afternoon outdoors and building friendships which hopefully the weather cooperates.
North Metro Members John Van Ingen and John "Geno" Genosky coordinate a big group of people from the Twin Cites and North Metro Chapters to head up to Red Wing Lodge on Lake of the Woods for a yearly event. All members and non-members of Muskies Inc. are welcomed to participate in this great trip.
This full one week trip comes at an incredibly good price. Large numbers of fish are caught every year by the people that attend and they all have a great time! Outing occurs in August.
This week long event is an International Muskies Inc Event. Chapters typically send 1 or 2 teams to battle for the Lunge Bucket and the bragging rights over the two and half day tournament. Each team is made up of 6 individuals, with each chapter being able to send as many teams as they want. This event is a great way to meet other chapters and their members. This usually occurs in August/September and the winning Chapter determines the date and location for the following years Challunge.
Donations/Fisheries Improvement Efforts:
The North Metro Chapter works to help improve the musky fishery and other worthwhile efforts in many ways. We help provide funding for some of the DNR needs, promote Scientific Research, Muskie Stocking, Youth Activities, Veteran activities and more. Here are some of the efforts that have been accomplished by the North Metro Chapter of Muskies Inc:
Provided $7,000 of Acoustic Transmitters and batteries in 2015 to expand the tracking of Muskies in the St. Croix River as part of the larger St Croix Tracking Study.
Donated $6,000 of Acoustic Transmitters in 2014 to add Muskie tracking as part of the larger St Croix Tracking Study.
Pit tags and Pit Tag readers for Metro Stocking study in 2014.
Stocked White Bear with $5,000 of yearling Muskies in partnership with the Hugh C. Becker Foundation in 2013
Stocked Forest Lakes with $3,000 of yearling Muskies in 2013
North Metro State High School Qualifying and State Tournaments
Stocked fish in Lake Owasso, Eagle Lake, Lake Independence with yearling Muskies in 2012
Purchased PIT Tags, Software and Readers for the DNR for long term stocking information
Purchased Release Nets, Tanks, Custom Rebar, Aeration and Netting Equipment
Memorial Bench installed at White Bear Lake in memory of Mary Vilnow, long time North Metro member who died of cancer
Purchased Camera, Depth Finder and GPS Units for DNR
Purchased Minnows to feed baby Muskies in the DNR rearing ponds
Donated to Operation Muskie – Effort to take War Vets out Muskie Fishing at Baystore Camp on Lake of the Woods
Purchased Microscopes for DNR to continue fish studies
Donated prizes to St. Francis Student Organization for their fundraising efforts
Lake Cleanups on Lake Independence prior to Ice Out
Purchased Automatic Pond Feeders for the DNR
Purchased portable Canopies to protect the Muskies and DNR Personnel during egg taking operations
Purchased Chemicals to assist DNR in rounding up fish in rearing ponds
Donated to George Wahl Memorial
Donated to Minnesota Muskie & Pike Alliance
All are welcome!
NMMI meetings are free and open to the everyone! Please join us and learn more about our chapter and membership benefits.
Please join us at our general meetings the 3rd Tuesday of each month (October through May). We provide guest speakers at every meeting to speak on various topics, from local metro area tactics to the basics of reel cleaning to updates from the MN DNR. You DO NOT need to be a member to attend our general meetings as we welcome everyone to attend.
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When: |
3rd Tuesday of the month 7pm – 9pm |
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Where: |
Coon Rapids VFW - 1919 Coon Rapids Blvd NW |
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