(photo by Shane Akin) Matt Ahrenholtz with the 37.75-inch musky he caught on Day 2 of the PMTT World Championships.
By Steve Weisman
Shane Akin, local guide and musky pro fisherman, and his partner Matt Ahrenholtz recently competed at the Professional Musky Tournament Trail’s Ranger Boats World Championship at Cave Run Lake in Kentucky on October 23-25 finishing seventh overall during the three-day championships.
“We just came up a little bit short,” noted Akin. “The bite was very similar to the one we had at the qualifier on Okoboji/Big Spirit in August. It was a shallow weed bite. We caught nearly every fish that bit in August, but that luck just didn’t continue for us at the Championships. That’s the way it is with musky fishing.”
The final tournament results found Akin and Ahrenholtz boating two muskies on Day 2 – a 37.75 incher and a 36.25 inch. “On Day 1, we lost three fish at the boat, which really hurt our chances. Then in the early morning on Day 2, we hooked what we figured was a mid-40 incher that got off at the boat. That one really hurt!” Still they bounced back with the 37.75 and 36.25 incher, which got them back in the hunt and qualified them for the final day of the Championships. However, they know they were behind the 8-ball, so to speak.
The final day proved to be like Day 1 with two more hook-ups, but with both fish getting off. “One miss was really crazy,” said Akin. “Matt was casting a jerkbait and right at the boat this musky came out from under the boat, took a swipe at the jerkbait and came right out of the water. I mean it was like eyeball to eyeball. It was so close, but it was one of the ones that got away.”
The winning team totaled eight muskies good for 360 points, while Akin and Ahrenholtz totaled 101 points for seventh place. At total of 44 muskies were registered (caught and released) over the three days with the largest muskie measuring 49 inches.
Good game plan
Even with their struggles, Akin still believes their game plan was right on. “During the pre-fishing on Monday through Wednesday, we found five different spots that held active fish. We caught five during pre-fishing, but we mostly just left them alone for the tournament. So, going into the Championships, we felt that we had a good game plan. After it was all over, I still feel good about our preparation. Unfortunately, in tournament musky fishing, there are times when the fish will hit a bait and just plain miss it. They take a swipe, and you either connect or you don’t. It’s exhilarating and disappointing at the same time.”
This is how close, yet so far away Akin and Ahrenholtz came to being World Championships. On Day 1, they had five follows and lost three fish close to the boat. On Day 2, caught two legal fish and lost one in the mid-40’s. On Day 3, they hooked two more muskies that eventually got off close to the boat.
“That’s musky fishing!” noted Akin. For the entire circuit, Akin and Ahrenholtz ended up in fifth place for the Team of the Year honors. “In four tournaments, we landed 14 legal muskies. In each tournament, we put ourselves in the position to finish at or near the top. At Okoboji/Spirit Lake, it all came together for us. Overall, we wouldn’t change a thing in our strategy or presentation for the entire year.”
