The Frank Suick Story By: Todd Koehn © 2013 When the name Suick comes to mind most musky hunters think of "Muskie Thriller" jerkbaits. Frank Suick was born in 1899, a month before the turn of the century. In the 1920's he started fishing Pelican Lake in Wisconsin every summer. Making the 28 mile trip was not simple in those days. Most travel was with Model T Fords and in the late 20's, Model A Fords. The trip involved traveling on poor and many times impassable roads, with time commonly spent fixing flat tires and other repairs. Frank's parents owned a tavern in Antigo, Wisconsin where many of the local Chicago & Northwestern railroad workers would come to exchange railroad stories. Antigo was a in hub of this railroad line. It tracked north along the east shore of Pelican Lake to Monico Junction just north of Pelican Lake. Frank developed a close relationship with many of these railroad workers, and this opened an opportunity for easy travel to Pelican Lake by steam powered freight train. Once he made the one hour trip he would rent a boat from Guths Bay Resort or Otis Bait Shop. In these early days most Muskies were caught by casting or trailing suckers behind a rowboat. This was a tedious, time-consuming method. When a fish finally hit the bait a long wait was required before setting the hook. This waiting process is what Suick wanted to eliminate. One day in the early 1930's he began whittling with a jack knife on a piece of cedar. His
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