A muskie can be a gray ghost appearing as a shadow behind your lure only to fade and disappear, making you talk to yourself and wonder if you really saw something after all.”Ray Ostrom, bait dealer and muskie expertIt was after five when Osborne finally got home. He eased the two bags of groceries down onto the kitchen table, then reached into the tall wicker basket standing just inside the kitchen door.“Sit!” he commanded Mike. The black Lab stopped bouncing and settled his butt on the floor, eyes eager with anticipation. “Now, what do I have to do to get Lew to look at me that way?” Osborne flipped the dog biscuit into Mike’s mouth.“Cook her a steak, light a candle, and touch the woman, for God’s sake.”“Thank you, Mike. I knew that.” Osborne got a kick out of ventriloquizing with his dog. Sometimes he surprised himself with the words he put in Mike’s mouth. “I can do just fine with your first two instructions, but I’m not sure about that third step. I don’t think she’d let me.
