An Outdoorsman’s Journal: Operation Musky: A barrel of laughs - recordgleaner_20260916_trg-2026-09-16-0-019_art_0.xml
An Outdoorsman’s Journal: Operation Musky: A barrel of laughs Mark Walters Hello friends, From 1981 to ’87, I did a six-year enlistment in the Wisconsin Air National Guard with the 115th Tactical Fighter Wing out of Madison. I was a jammer driver on a three-man weapons loading crew. At first, it was OA-37s and then A-10s. I got out to attempt to canoe up the Mississippi River when my enlistment ended in ’87 and basically stayed outside and on adventures since then. For the last 26 years, I have been a part of what we call Operation Musky, which includes a group of six men that are still left from that era and my deer camp, also known as the Red Brush Gang, and a few other really fun people. We stay at the Hiawatha Motel in Eagle River and fish the Eagle River Chain of Lakes. I highly recommend the Hiawatha as a clean, friendly, and very laid-back place to hang your hat and tie up your boat. Friday, Aug. 28 — High 77, low 52 Perhaps the most fun day of this three-day outing is day one. No one really fishes, as the fishing runs on Saturday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday until 11 p.m. Last year, I got real lucky and caught one each day. On day two, my second musky was landed, photographed, and released with four minutes left. The real joke — and everyone knows it — is that I suck in this tournament but got lucky, and my partner Jeff Moll and I won. When it comes to the Friday fun, we all hang out in front of the Hiawatha, cook really good food, most people make fun of me, and we laugh a lot. and have a beverage with our friends as we tie our boats together and drift. Most importantly, we laugh. As long as a person was dressed for the conditions, the weather was superb. For Jeff and me, the fishing was slow. We did have a nice talk with one of my bosses from back in the day, John Meier, and his son Robb and grandson Garrett. Minutes after that ended, Robb had a good fish hit the green-and-yellow Swimmin’ Dawg that he was throwing and his 14-year-old son Garrett netted a 38-incher, which would be Robb’s first-ever musky in this outing. The following morning, Robb would land a 34-inch northern pike which would earn him first place with that side bet. This evening our group had a very cool party in front of the Hiawatha and all we did was sit in lawn chairs and visit with each other. Sunday, Aug. 30 — High 77, low 53 The mood was excellent for all teams this morning and some musky were caught. Jeff and I had several experiences, none of which included catching fish. First, we came across a kind of family member, Kenny Schuster, and his 34-year-old grandson Jade Tylinski. The 20-hp motor Kenny was running had a serious problem and it was dead on the water. I mentioned him working his way back to the landing and casting, as he was over some good water. Kenny is in his mid-seventies and the definition of a seasoned outdoorsman, as he spends a lot of time each fall chasing elk and has a good-sized chunk of land near Mazomanie where he raised his family. Kenny was throwing a black Top Raider and had a dandy hit it. Jade ended up netting a 43.75-inch musky, his first ever in this event, which would earn him top prize. Moments later, Kenny had another dandy hit but the fish got away. Bottom line, Kenny and Jade won Operation Musky this year. The next event was seeing my brother Mike and his partner Chris Grinde. It appeared they had a problem and they did, as in Mikey had a good-sized treble hook in his thumb, which Mr. Moll removed. With six minutes left to catch a fish, I had a dandy hit my Creek Chub Pikie 3000, clear the water by 2 feet, and sail across the top of it for 8 feet as it threw the hook. What a cool way to end a great outing. Tommy Gilbertson was my immediate boss back in the day, and he runs this event about as perfectly as possible. We fish, laugh, and enjoy life! Sunset If you would like to advertise your business while sponsoring this spot on School Sports Calendar Mark Walters’ column, An Outdoorsman’s Journal, Granton Greenwood School Sports Calendar Loyal spencer Saturday, Aug. 29 — High 62, low 48 My partner was a bit on edge, as we did not start fishing until 7:30. I was well aware that we would not get out of the boat until 8 p.m. and my mood was excellent. There was off-and-on rain all day and the conditions were like fall, not summer. This kept 90% of the people not with our group off the water and we loved it. What Mr. Moll and I do is fish, chat with others a few times a day, please call 715-223-2342 Granton Greenwood Loyal spencer An Outdoorsman’s Journal: Operation Musky: A barrel of laughs Mark Walters Hello friends, From 1981 to ’87, I did a six-year enlistment in the Wisconsin Air National Guard with the 115th Tactical Fighter Wing out of Madison. I was a jammer driver on a three-man weapons loading crew. At first, it was OA-37s and then A-10s. I got out to attempt to canoe up the Mississippi River when my enlistment ended in ’87 and basically stayed outside and on adventures since then. For the last 26 years, I have been a part of what we call Operation Musky, which includes a group of six men that are still left from that era and my deer camp, also known as the Red Brush Gang, and a few other really fun people. We stay at the Hiawatha Motel in Eagle River and fish the Eagle River Chain of Lakes. I highly recommend the Hiawatha as a clean, friendly, and very laid-back place to hang your hat and tie up your boat. Friday, Aug. 28 — High 77, low 52 Perhaps the most fun day of this three-day outing is day one. No one really fishes, as the fishing runs on Saturday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday until 11 p.m. Last year, I got real lucky and caught one each day. On day two, my second musky was landed, photographed, and released with four minutes left. The real joke — and everyone knows it — is that I suck in this tournament but got lucky, and my partner Jeff Moll and I won. When it comes to the Friday fun, we all hang out in front of the Hiawatha, cook really good food, most people make fun of me, and we laugh a lot. and have a beverage with our friends as we tie our boats together and drift. Most importantly, we laugh. As long as a person was dressed for the conditions, the weather was superb. For Jeff and me, the fishing was slow. We did have a nice talk with one of my bosses from back in the day, John Meier, and his son Robb and grandson Garrett. Minutes after that ended, Robb had a good fish hit the green-and-yellow Swimmin’ Dawg that he was throwing and his 14-year-old son Garrett netted a 38-incher, which would be Robb’s first-ever musky in this outing. The following morning, Robb would land a 34-inch northern pike which would earn him first place with that side bet. This evening our group had a very cool party in front of the Hiawatha and all we did was sit in lawn chairs and visit with each other. Sunday, Aug. 30 — High 77, low 53 The mood was excellent for all teams this morning and some musky were caught. Jeff and I had several experiences, none of which included catching fish. First, we came across a kind of family member, Kenny Schuster, and his 34-year-old grandson Jade Tylinski. The 20-hp motor Kenny was running had a serious problem and it was dead on the water. I mentioned him working his way back to the landing and casting, as he was over some good water. Kenny is in his mid-seventies and the definition of a seasoned outdoorsman, as he spends a lot of time each fall chasing elk and has a good-sized chunk of land near Mazomanie where he raised his family. Kenny was throwing a black Top Raider and had a dandy hit it. Jade ended up netting a 43.75-inch musky, his first ever in this event, which would earn him top prize. Moments later, Kenny had another dandy hit but the fish got away. Bottom line, Kenny and Jade won Operation Musky this year. The next event was seeing my brother Mike and his partner Chris Grinde. It appeared they had a problem and they did, as in Mikey had a good-sized treble hook in his thumb, which Mr. Moll removed. With six minutes left to catch a fish, I had a dandy hit my Creek Chub Pikie 3000, clear the water by 2 feet, and sail across the top of it for 8 feet as it threw the hook. What a cool way to end a great outing. Tommy Gilbertson was my immediate boss back in the day, and he runs this event about as perfectly as possible. We fish, laugh, and enjoy life! Sunset If you would like to advertise your business while sponsoring this spot on School Sports Calendar Mark Walters’ column, An Outdoorsman’s Journal, Granton Greenwood School Sports Calendar Loyal spencer Saturday, Aug. 29 — High 62, low 48 My partner was a bit on edge, as we did not start fishing until 7:30. I was well aware that we would not get out of the boat until 8 p.m. and my mood was excellent. There was off-and-on rain all day and the conditions were like fall, not summer. This kept 90% of the people not with our group off the water and we loved it. What Mr. Moll and I do is fish, chat with others a few times a day, please call 715-223-2342 Granton Greenwood Loyal spencer
Medford’s Hope Bahire puts a hard swing on this return during the first set of flighttwo doubles play against Rhinelander Thursday on the MASH courts. Bahire and Nitara Faude were defeated 6-1, 6-2 by Hodags Alexia Corey-Luse and Addi Strobel. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS
Medford’s Hope Bahire puts a hard swing on this return during the first set of flighttwo doubles play against Rhinelander Thursday on the MASH courts. Bahire and Nitara Faude were defeated 6-1, 6-2 by Hodags Alexia Corey-Luse and Addi Strobel. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS
Rib Lake’s Slade Scheithauer keeps his balance while breaking out of Thorp tackle during the first quarter of Friday’s non-conference game which was won by the host Cardinals 66-26. ROSS PATTERMANN/THORP COURIER
