It all started one particularly cold and nasty winter in the early 2000s when fishermen across the northern midwest were cooped up in their homes, unable to venture to their favorite fishing holes or even the nearest bar to trade fish stories. In their desperation, they turned to the internet. After searching hundreds of pages, forums, blogs, photosharing sites, and other places in both the surface web and deep web, they miraculously found a refuge. While we haven't located the first gathering place of the early fishermen, we know that the 3rd annual Muske Nutz Tournament in 2006 was advertised in the forums of MuskieFirst (now Muskie Outdoors First).
The fishermen knew that in order to survive the coming winters, they would need to band together and support each other mentally and spiritually through the frozen, waterless winter months (their wives also appreciated that they'd have a place to trade brotherly banter!). Every year in the forums, they would document their observations of the muskellunge - how moon patterns affected feeding habits, how water and surface temperature affected the spawn, and movement through the various Northwoods lakes and waters.
As with anything done by men, there were occassional disagreements and arguements. "You really think Esox masquinongy would hit
