By Steve Weisman
(photo submitted) Jordan Weeks with a trophy muskie.
Wow! Has this last month ever dragged out, but we are finally seeing above freezing temperatures, and with them comes the itch for open water fishing.
If you are interested in learning more about muskie fishing, here is your opportunity. The Upper Great Plains Chapter 29 of Muskies Inc., is offering a free Muskie Fishing Seminar with Wisconsin native and muskie expert Jordan Weeks Wednesday, April 10, from 6-8 p.m. at the Pelican Ridge Clubhouse, 1200 Sunshine Run, in Arnolds Park. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
According to Travis Sweisberger, president of the club, the event is free and open to the general public. Sweisberger says, “We look for a good crowd for the seminar. We encourage anybody interested in learning more about muskies to attend. It will be a great opportunity for both those new to the sport and for the veteran muskie angler, too.”
Also on tap for the evening, Steve Horswell will be honored as the Angler of the Year. In addition, everyone that attends will get a free raffle ticket for the muskie rod that will be given away that evening.
About Jordan Weeks
Weeks, who is originally from Stoughton, Wisconsin, is a 1994 graduate of Stoughton High School. From 1994 to 1999 he attended UW-Stevens Point and received a BS, double majoring in both Fisheries and Biology. Weeks worked as a fisheries technician for the WI DNR at the Escanaba Lake Fisheries Research Station from 1999 to 2001 and for the WI DNR as a fisheries technician in Woodruff, Eau Claire, and Spooner, from 2001 to 2003.
In 2003, he began a graduate assistantship at UW-Stevens Point in pursuit of a Master’s Degree in fisheries. Weeks completed a comprehensive walleye and muskellunge movement project in 2005 and was hired as Inland Fisheries Biologist by the WI DNR in May of that year.
He is the WDNR West Central District representative on the Musky Standing Teams (Statewide Musky Management Team) and is Wisconsin’s representative on the Esocid Technical Committee (part of the American Fisheries Society) working with fisheries representatives from the Dakota’s, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Ontario, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio.
In addition, Weeks has been Musky Hunter Magazine’s Research Editor since 2006, authoring more than 60 articles. He began fishing for muskellunge at age 16 (26 years ago). Jordan uses science in conjunction with muskie biology, life history, habitat use, diet trends, and past angling experience to help shorten the time between catches. He also enjoys teaching others how to use science to catch more fish! Jordan works closely with Lake X Lures, TNA Tackle, St. Croix Rod, and Musky Hunter Magazine to make muskie catching easier!
Schweisberger
About the Chapter
Iowa’s first muskie club was started in 1968 and was called the Iowa Great Lakes Muskie Club. The club bought and stocked most of the original muskie fingerlings that were stocked in the Iowa Great Lakes for three to four years after the club began. In the mid-1970s, the Iowa DNR took over stocking in Iowa lakes. The club was chartered into Muskies Inc. as a chapter in 1978.
Since that time, Chapter 29 has been active in the Iowa Great Lakes promoting not only the sport of muskie fishing but also many other conservation programs. For more information, check the Upper Great Plains Muskie Inc., Chapter 29 Facebook page.
