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Balsam Lodge and Hugo Landgraf.
As it turns out Blake's Muskie fishing heritage comes from both sides of his DNA. Blake's great grandfather on his mother's side, was also a Muskie fisherman. Hugo Landgraf fished Muskies most his life in the Hayward, Wisconsin area. In the early 1900's he was also contracted to build a fishing camp on Little Spider Lake. It would be called Balsam Lodge, owned by Lawrence Robbins a well to do businessman from Chicago. There were no roads to the lodge, so everything had to be brought in by boat or over the ice in winter. After its completion Hugo would manage the lodge and moved his family into the upstairs of its equally beautiful boat house.
Hugo landgraf on left mid construction.
The completed Balsam Lodge in 1920
Moving in the Piano
Hugo also hand made much of the furniture from birch logs.
This was the boat house where Hugo and family lived. Could a Muskie fishermen have a better place to be.
Inside the boat house
The channel into Big Spider lake.
Going to town mid-winter, over the ice.
View from the Lodge. You can see the boat house in the lower right.
Hugo was also the fishing guide for the lodge, but in his spare time, he loved going out by himself to fish Muskie. He caught many nice fish but only kept a couple over the years to put on the walls in the lodge.
We only recently discovered these photos and the history of Blake's great grandfather Hugo Landgraf, craftsmen, carpenter and musky fishermen. He built Balsam lodge, lived in the boat house with his family for almost 20 years until sadly the lodge burnt down. Hugo ended up buying a farm and soon found out, dairy farming wouldn't allow him time for Muskie fishing. In his later years he could only reminisce of those special days he had at Balsam Lodge. Note to all Muskie fishermen, don't buy a dairy farm.
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