For a 28-year fishing tournament, Lake of the Woods was top venue

Lake of the Woods drew a top international crowd for a record 28th season of the Professional Musky Tournament Trail, culminating with the championship Sept. 17-19 at the Northwest Angle. Tim Widlacki, who took over directing nearly three decades ago, called this year’s event possibly the best ever by numbers and big-fish size: 117 muskies were caught over three days, with 18 measuring more than 48 inches. The Northwest Angle again proved its pull, with a run of teams traveling 20 to 30 miles daily for shallow rocks, weeds and slop. Oregon’s Jarod Donar and Wisconsin’s Pete Blicharz won 728 points on nine fish, earning over $58,000 including a Recon 2085T boat with a Mercury outboard.