Dave Nicolai and M/G’s Rule at Muskie’s Inc. Tournament
By Ted Takasaki and Scott Richardson
Dave Nicolai believes he had an angel looking over his shoulder when he competed in the recent Frank Schneider International Muskie Tournament held in Northern Minnesota this past September, 2006. Schneider, who died last year, taught Nicolai much of what he knows about muskie hunting on the lake where they both owned cabins in the Walker, Minn., area. “I kept telling him, ‘Frank, I’m going to win that tournament (the International) one day.’ He’d say, ‘Dave, I know you will.’ ”  Nicolai did just that Sept. 8-10 when he caught three muskies measuring 53 inches, 50 inches, and 421⁄2 inches during the tournament renamed after his friend. All of the fish came on M/G Muskie Tandems, a spinnerbait which Nicolai has used for years.
“I said on the podium that I have more M/G’s in my tackle box than Lindy has in its warehouse,” said Nicolai who has placed 5th and 10th in previous years. Competitors could fish any of 21 lakes. Nicolai and his son, Evan, 14, chose Leech Lake, which is known as big-fish water. Day One was overcast with wind from the east. The pair focused on rocky wind-swept points. Evan raised the 53-incher first. Later, it followed his dad’s white M/G to the boat only to disappear for a moment. Nicolai thought it had veered off and was gone. Instead, the fish positioned itself for a run at the spinner. “The next thing I knew a nuclear bomb went off at the side of the boat,” he said. Day Two dawned in the midst of the cold front and the fish were sluggish. To compensate, Nicolai slowed the M/G down so much that it would just roll over the tops of the rocks. Indeed, he got hung up every third or fourth cast. But, the results were spectacular. The 50-inch fish struck first and the 43.5 inch fish came an hour later. The 3 fish outpaced over 700 other muskie anglers and muskie history was made! Nicolai credits Jack Burns of Esox Magazine by telling him to modify his M/G’s by cutting off the smaller spinner. He believes that the lure vibrates even more without it, Nicolai said  | Dave with his 50 incher |
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