[19:59:52] ebijack: Please Welcome our guest tonight   RALPH MUCCILLI  !!!!!!!!!!
[19:59:54] Juls (WI): clap clap clap clap clap clap clap welcome Ralph!
[19:59:59] ebijack: clap clap clap
[20:00:09] river king mi: welcome ralph
[20:00:09] ang: hello ralph
[20:00:16] Ralph M: Hey gang
[20:00:17] Cutthroat/UT: Hello
[20:00:51] Juls (WI): So Ralph, how was your season with the MWC?
[20:01:20] Ralph M: Good , actually very good
[20:01:22] ang: pardon me for bein blonde but what is mwc
[20:01:33] Ralph M: Masters Walleye Circuit
[20:01:37] ang: thank you
[20:01:44] ebijack: ralph, can you tell us about rumors about the MWC being dropped?
[20:01:57] Ralph M: Max and I qualified 33rd, despite a little serious adversity
[20:02:28] ebijack: congrats ralph!
[20:02:29] Ralph M: Not true Ebi. The MWC is now an entity of the Wildlife Forever
organization
[20:02:46] Ralph M: Kaz and Bev have oficially retired
[20:02:48] Juls (WI): congratulations Ralph...way to go! ;-)
[20:02:52] river king mi: i heard nafa is folding anybody else here that, are you a
member ralph
[20:03:02] ebijack: they have a scheduled curcuit for 2000 ?
[20:03:09] Ralph M: No not a member, but it’s true
[20:03:27] Ralph M: Juls actually knows more about Nawa than I do
[20:03:31] Juls (WI): nawa is folding the pro/am and team event...river king
[20:03:40] Ralph M: See, told you
[20:03:44] river king mi: i could not see those guys paying that money for nothing
[20:04:02] Juls (WI): but will have specific species tourneys tied into some of their
regional stores (Cabela's)
[20:04:08] Ralph M: It's a shame, cause the Nawa concept was a good one
[20:04:10] Juls (WI): lol Ralph
[20:04:26] ebijack: ralph, tell us about your sponsors
[20:04:35] Ralph M: Sure
[20:04:49] Ralph M: There are several really good ones for us.
[20:05:18] Ralph M: Bait rigs, Ranger Boats, Mercury, 
[20:05:35] ebijack: ralph, are you sponsored as a team?
[20:05:53] Ralph M: Then we have some super duper yooper friends that are our
sponsors, Bayshore Resort in Kipling
[20:06:26] Ralph M: Marble's Knives, UP Prop and Sales Car Quest and I know I have
missed a few
[20:06:40] Cutthroat/UT: What is your favorite way to fish for walleye?
[20:06:49] Ralph M: Kipling is just North of Gladstone, Right on Little Bay de Noc
[20:07:09] Ralph M: And yes, Max and I are a team to all our sponsors
[20:07:31] Ralph M: \Jigging whenever possible Cutthroat
[20:07:43] river king mi: how many tourneys did you fish this season Ralph
20:08:12] Ralph M: All 5 MWC and 3 smaller tourneys in the Escanaba area
[20:08:50] Ralph M: Oh yes, must get in MW MARINE in hales corners WI
[20:09:14] river king mi: hi eyetaker
[20:09:18] Cutthroat/UT: I am looking for some techniques for fishing for spawning
walleye in a shallow river, any suggestions?
[20:09:38] Ralph M: Shallow is the key there Cutthroat
[20:09:38] Cutthroat/UT: Jigging wise
[20:09:38] ebijack: ralph, would you recommend the MWC as curcuit to get started in
for a new tournament team?
[20:10:03] Ralph M: Yes I would , and for any pro's that want to try their luck too
[20:10:39] ebijack: ralph, what are the entrant fees?
[20:10:44] Ralph M: Yes, in the Spring I regularly fish in water as shallow as 2 feet,
especially on cloudy days or at night
[20:11:18] Ralph M: Next year the fees are going up slightly, but it costs around 350 a
tourney to get in
[20:11:54] ebijack: ralph, how far out would you keep your boat if your fishing in 2 ft of
water
[20:12:14] Ralph M: Cutthroat, find some shallow gravel and slightly moving water. If
you can find some wood there , even better
[20:13:08] Ralph M: The spot I am talking about it is about 6 feet where the boat is, but
just a good cast away will do, and make sure you keep boat noise and movement to a
minimum
[20:13:18] Cutthroat/UT: We cannot use live minnows here in Utah, can I tip with
dead minnows and have success
[20:13:27] ebijack: ralph, how important do you think having a team member is
compared to the pro/am tourneys
[20:13:55] eyetaker: yes
[20:14:09] Ralph M: Probably, but dont pass up Power baits. I am really partial to 4 inch
power rib worms and 3 inch jig worms in lieu of live bait
[20:14:12] ebijack: would you anchor? ralph
[20:14:40] Ralph M: No anchor for me. If the current is too strong for you, the fish will
be difficult to connect with
[20:15:00] river king mi: do you tip jigs and plastic with live crawlers in the fall
[20:15:07] Ralph M: As far as tourneys go, I prefer to fish with someone I know and
trust, and to have a good time
[20:15:22] Cutthroat/UT: When the fish are spawning and not eating much would you
hop the jig or just crawl it along the bottom?
[20:15:49] Ralph M: Not if it is power bait , But I will tip regular plastics and Fuzzy Grub
type baits
[20:16:19] Ralph M: Swim it along the bottom Cutthroat, and very very light jigs
[20:16:32] Ralph M: touch the bottom only occasionally. 
[20:16:42] ebijack: ralph, what's your best technique on bay de noc
[20:16:57] Ralph M: Lately, I dont know.LOL
[20:17:06] Juls (WI): lol
[20:17:06] ebijack: :)
[20:17:22] Ralph M: Max and I pulled a double Goose egg there this year. On his home
waters!!
[20:17:36] river king mi: do you fish bay de noc a lot
[20:17:39] Ralph M: we caught fish, but no keepers
[20:17:43] ebijack: did trolling take the tourney?
[20:18:00] Ralph M: yes, I spend lot's of time there, thats why the zip confused us so
much
[20:18:08] Juls (WI): Ralph...where is the championship going to be held next year? do
you know yet?
[20:18:22] Ralph M: Pulling spinner rigs was the ticket Ebi, and we were doing it too
[20:18:42] Ralph M: On the Mississippi above Red wing Juls
[20:18:42] river king mi: anyplace but bay de noc right ralph
[20:18:50] Cutthroat/UT: Thank you, I am a trout flyfisherman that has just gotten the
walleye bite. There are large walleye caught her in the spring, but I had no idea on how
to do it. This has been a problem no one could give a good answer or didn't
understand my question.
[20:19:07] Ralph M: ??????? river king
[20:19:22] ebijack: this is the place cutthtroat!!
[20:19:51] river king mi: you zeroed there anyplace should be better
[20:20:00] ebijack: :)
[20:20:02] slip-bobber(MT): lol
[20:20:10] Ralph M: you’d think, but I still love it there
[20:20:32] Ralph M: Max and I fished a small tourney there 2 weeks later and took
10th with 4 fish
[20:21:02] Ralph M: I am still happier on the front deck with my jigging rods
[20:21:32] ebijack: do you prefer a fast tip or softer tip for jigging ralph
[20:21:41] Ralph M: fast tip, 
[20:21:45] Cutthroat/UT: I have learned more from this site and In-fisherman, and a
Minnesota trip, than anywhere, this site is the first thing that comes on now.
[20:22:25] river king mi: we might not know much cutthroat but we know walleye
[20:22:26] ebijack: good to hear cutthroat
[20:22:34] Ralph M: I use a medium light 6 foot fast tip, with Berkely 6 lb 2 pound
diameter Fireline as my primary jigging rods, I have two rigged at all times
[20:23:10] Cutthroat/UT: I would love it.
[20:23:50] Ralph M: Did I miss any questiuons so far?
[20:24:05] ebijack: ralph, do you use the bright green fireline?
[20:24:11] ebijack: not yet ralph
[20:24:19] Ralph M: Not often, only in dirty water
[20:24:45] Ralph M: just my hangup I guess. I figure if I can see it so can the fish
[20:25:01] ebijack: medium light ..berkley lighting rod?
[20:25:16] ebijack: i just need to see   :)
[20:25:28] Ralph M: actually they are Berkely Safari Rods, they don’t make them
anymore
[20:26:00] Juls (WI): Ralph what do you do when your getting short bites?
[20:26:05] ebijack: what boat do you run ralph
[20:26:11] Ralph M: swear alot!LOL
[20:26:26] ebijack: :)
[20:26:39] Juls (WI): lol ralph
[20:27:03] Ralph M: Actually Juls, I slow down how I am working the jig, give the fish a
little longer on the take and as a last resort, use stingers
[20:27:14] ebijack: ralph, you even use fireline in 2 ft of water? you use a leader of
mono?
[20:27:21] Ralph M:  I run a Ranger 620 Ebi
[20:27:47] eyetaker: nice boat
[20:28:02] Juls (WI): do you ever go to lighter tackle when you get short bites? seeing
how eyes inhale their food......im thinking the tackle or line is too heavy??
[20:28:16] Ralph M: NO mono leader in anything but real clear water, and by using 6/2
Fireline, I can use 1/16 oz jigs where even Max needs an 1/8 oz
[20:28:56] Ralph M: Exactly what I said Juls. I use 1/32 oz jigs sometimes
[20:29:03] Juls (WI): ok..thanks ralph
[20:29:22] Ralph M: Another way to get a slower fall is to bulk up with plastics
[20:29:52] Ralph M: I frequently use only a jig and bait, especially in real clear water or
in the spring
[20:30:13] ebijack: live bait ralph?
[20:30:22] Ralph M: yes
[20:30:29] Ralph M: As a case in point
[20:31:08] river king mi: do you catch alot of fish a couple feet from bottom when
jigging Ralph
[20:31:21] Ralph M: Last spring at the Spring Valley MWC tourney, we used 1/8 oz jigs
tipped only with a minnow where all others around us used 3/8 oz jigs and huge
plastics
[20:31:43] Ralph M: I almost never lift more than 1/2 foot riverking
[20:32:28] Ralph M: If swimming a jig, I only let it tap the bottom occasionally
[20:32:51] ebijack: ralph, what about suspended fish in a river
[20:33:34] Ralph M: You know, I told some people that walleyes suspend in the Fox
River at Green bay before the first tourney there last year
[20:33:46] Ralph M: and they looked at me like I was speaking chinese
[20:34:00] Juls (WI): lol
[20:34:02] ebijack: i was out with king, and he was getting them 3 ft or so off bottom
[20:34:08] Ralph M: actually it was more like a dog looking at an answering machine
[20:34:14] Juls (WI): heheheh
[20:34:35] river king mi: i catch lots of fish in river a couple of feet from bottom its a real
burst of adrenaline when they strike like that
[20:35:13] ebijack: ralph, have you tried to catch fish in a river that are suspended
[20:35:21] Ralph M: Sure is, but then I usually cast a crank when I can find them like
that, or run a floater off a three way
[20:35:41] joe: ralph what do you think of  some of the new spoon jigs
[20:35:47] Ralph M: Trolling cranks works real well when there fish are up in a river
[20:37:43] ebijack: ralph, how many years have you been fishing the MWC
[20:37:56] Ralph M: I started in 1989
[20:38:29] joe: casting the new spoons that look like injured shiners also vertical jigging
with them
[20:38:36] river king mi: new jigging spoons some of the guys use work real good if lots
of fish present
[20:38:55] Cutthroat/UT: any tournaments out west?
[20:39:26] Ralph M: yes, but I still prefer to use jigging spoons or blade baits
[20:39:29] ebijack: MT has some good tourneys
[20:39:50] Cutthroat/UT: How about on the Columbia?
[20:39:59] Ralph M: Scott is always fishing something in Colo. or Wyoming
[20:40:03] bob (oh): do you have favorite blade baits, ralph
[20:40:22] Swat 1: Montana too
[20:40:25] Ralph M: I really like the Blitz blade
[20:40:51] bob (oh): any part colors??
[20:41:07] Ralph M: Looks like a sonar, but it only has one hole for the line and it is
made of die cast zinc
[20:41:50] Ralph M: Blue and white, or blue and chrome in stained water, gold anytime
or Cartruese and lime of hot pink in muddy water
[20:42:05] ebijack: ralph, would you like to see more MWC tourney's ?
[20:42:47] Ralph M: It would be neat, but I dont know how a guy could really fish many
more, especially me with my crazy schedule in the real world
[20:43:27] Ralph M: A couple divisions or some different water occasionally would be
nice
[20:43:41] Ralph M: But then, which do you take away?
[20:44:28] Ralph M: Hey , I fished 8 this year, not too shabby I guess
[20:45:39] river king mi: do you have a steady job besides fishing ralph
[20:45:56] eyetaker: steady job?
[20:46:02] ebijack: :)
[20:46:23] Juls (WI): ;-)
[20:47:02] Ralph M: Yes, I supplement my fishing addiction by working as a maintenance
supervisor in the real world
[20:47:20] ebijack: ralph, do you do sports shows for your sponors?
[20:47:30] Ralph M: Yes
[20:48:04] Ralph M: but I try to combine as many as I can with one visit, without
cheating any one out of my total effort
[20:48:20] ebijack: ralph, how many shows do you do and how far do you have to
travel
[20:48:43] Ralph M: I was at 5 or 6 last year and the farthest away was Chicago
[20:49:19] Ralph M: I also ran the Bait Rigs booth at the Bass Pro show outside
Chicago 
[20:49:33] Ralph M: Did 8 seminars at that one too!
[20:49:42] ebijack: wow
[20:52:20] ebijack: ralph, how do you prepare for a tourney lake
[20:52:32] Ralph M: I start with a good map
[20:52:49] Ralph M: and a few calls to bait shops and anyone I know from the area
[20:52:57] ebijack: where do you get these "good" maps  :)
[20:53:15] Ralph M: I like to jig, so I look for good looking spots on the map and go
from there
[20:53:46] Ralph M: Fishing Hot Spots are great ones, of course I may be a little
prejudiced there
[20:53:50] ebijack: ralph, have you started to use the internet to contact folks about
conditions on lakes your going to fish
[20:53:52] Cutthroat/UT: It was nice talking to everyone, and thanks for the help
Ralph, I really appreciate it.
[20:54:08] Ralph M: by Cuttthroat, nice talking to ya
[20:54:25] Ralph M: yes, I use the net more than I ever imagined
[20:54:56] Ralph M: from fishing clubs, to the corps of engineers to check river levels,
to all of us here on Walleye Central
[20:55:18] mikej: thats right!
[20:55:20] ebijack: ralph, how many articles have you written for walleyecentral mag
[20:55:39] Ralph M: one in every issue, and I have 5 or 6 on my pro page
[20:56:20] Ralph M: there are a few on the pro page where I specifically talk about jig
fishing
[20:56:21] ebijack: are there anymore questions for our host tonight?
[20:56:45] slip-bobber(MT): Do you ever fish FT Peck Ralph?
[20:56:54] ebijack: you have a link off walleyecentral to your propage, right Ralph
[20:57:23] Ralph M: Just follow the directions to the pro page from the mainpage
[20:58:01] Bur Head  (Mi): do you like to river fish, ralph?
[20:58:02] Ralph M: I have not been to Ft Peck slip bobber, but know several who
have been there
[20:58:20] slip-bobber(MT): Try to make it sometime. It's a blast.
[20:58:28] Ralph M: If I have a choice, I'll head for a river, preferably a medium to small
sized one
[21:03:18] ebijack: any more questions for our host tonight
[21:06:00] ebijack: I'd like to THANK our host tonight  RALPH MUCCILLI !!!!!!!!!
[21:06:10] Swat 1: Thanks Ralph
[21:06:13] river king mi: thanks ralph
[21:06:13] Juls (WI): clap clap clap clap thanks Ralph!!! ;-))
[21:06:21] ebijack: clap clap clap
21:06:30] mikej: Thanks Ralph
[21:06:36] Bur Head  (Mi): lol
[21:06:38] eyefish(mi): Thanks Ralph
[21:06:45] Ralph M: Thanks all