By Adam Lavigne
Deep through the heart of Middle Tennessee flow numerous rivers that comprise some of the finest bastions of southern muskies. They prowl timber, weed beds, sand bars and ledges, looking to ambush every other species that swims in (and on) the same waters, causing anglers to fumble with their line and turn jittery as their massive silhouettes rise from nowhere behind a well-thrown fly. Last year, Todd Gregory of Towee Boats and Brad Bohen of Musky Country Outfitters realized an idea of gathering far-flung musky fly fishermen in one place; thus, the inaugural Musky Fly Fishing World Championship was born at Rock Island, TN, with much welcomed enthusiasm. This year, the decision was made to hold the Musky Fly Fishing World Championship this fall in Hayward, WI, the epi-center of trophy musky waters, while still putting on a spring tournament in Tennessee to continue musky awareness efforts and provide an opportunity for some great camaraderie.
May 3-4 saw fly fishermen from around North America come together in Rock Island, TN, for the Southern Classic Musky Weekend put on by Towee Boats. To make full use of all the fine musky waters found in Tennessee, anglers had to decide whether to chase this elusive predator on the big waters of Melton Hill Lake or in the rivers and tributaries of the Collins and Caney Fork system on Friday, May 3. It turned out anglers couldn’t go wrong with either choice; several fish in the mid 30-inch range were quickly brought to net in Rock Island while Cody Daniels of Team Smith wrangled his first ever fly-rod musky over on Melton Hill, an enormous 48-incher. The Collins/Caney crew wasn’t finished that first day as Steve Seinberg of Team S.C.O.F. enticed a 42-inch musky to inhale his fly. Many more muskies were seen, hooked up with or lost as they weren’t meant to be caught that day.
All anglers were required to fish the Rock Island waters on Saturday but, to be honest, few were eager to launch their boats. A cold, steady downpour caused teams to stand at the end of boat ramps and think twice about what they were about to do. None the less, the prospect of musky overcame the rain and most strung up their rods and went about slinging big flies into tiny holes. Cast, strip, strip, figure-eight, repeat, was the mantra of that day as folks pushed through. Perseverance paid off as more fish were boated. Team Frazen tangled with, and won, a 41-inch fish while Team Maybush pulled a 42-inch musky out of a smaller tributary. By the end of the weekend, nine muskies were netted and safely released, Cody Daniels and Chuck Smith held onto their lead to win the Southern Musky Classic and an excellent weekend was had by all. Towee boats topped it all off with a Saturday night awards dinner where anglers traded tales of their home waters, missed fish, epic days and phone numbers with the intent of tackling new challenges.
The Musky Fly Fishing World Championship, Oct. 25-27, in Hayward, WI, looks to be nothing less than a great tournament with great sponsors that will support the Jose Wejebe Foundation, Wounded Warriors in Action and the local musky conservation efforts of the Wisconsin DNR.
Adam Lavigne is Co-publisher and Editor of the Middle and Eastern Tennessee editions of The Angler Magazine. For more information, visit www.muskychampionship.com or contact Todd Gregory at Todd@toweeboats.com.