About Your Trip

My goals for the trip are going to be to help you to reach your goals. Whether that means a trophy hunt for muskies, a day with better potential for action and numbers, or a relaxing day of just fishing and being “out there”, I’m going to do my best to make your trip complete.

My style is to begin by fishing spots where I’ve been seeing or catching fish recently. As the day progresses, we’ll be fishing different types of structure: rocks, weeds, dropoffs, wind-blown areas, and open water. I’ll try to educate you on what I’ve learned over the years about individual lures and how to present them. I am sort of fanatical about boat control, and you’ll see how I come at fish and good fish spots from different directions to try to trigger them to strike. Using GPS and lake maps is a huge part of the boat control, and you’ll be able to see first hand how I use them to put us into position for action. Reading fish attitude is another important aspect that I am fascinated by, and we’ll talk about how to trigger strikes, whether to persist in trying to catch a particular fish, or whether to come back and try it again later. I love talking about fishing, and sometimes a trip turns out to be a long conversation of answering questions and telling stories while we fish…a pretty enjoyable thing to do. Finally, if you are able to get that good bite, I’m going to teach you what I’ve learned about capturing that fish, from the hookset through the battling, netting, unhooking, handling, photography, and release stages. For me, it’s all about capturing your memory, and releasing each and every fish as quickly and efficiently as possible to ensure that it can grow bigger, and be caught again by someone like yourself. An added bonus for you is that I own a photo lab, and you can expect professional photographs of you and your trophy shortly after our trip. Most likely, I’ll be printing your enlargements myself!

Gary releasing his Mille Lacs 55 incher

In order for us to be successful, possibly the two biggest variables in any given trip is time on the water (the more the better) and night fishing. Muskies have feeding windows that are often short and very spread out. Sometimes they bite during the day, and sometimes it’s at night. Often, it’s an either/or bite. Logically, the only way to figure this out is to be out there for a longer period of time. That’s why I’m going to recommend to you a full day trip, or even the marathon. It gives us a better chance to be there when the fish actually turn on. The more we can cover a larger period of time… sunrise, sunset, and the first couple of hours after dark, the more confident I am that I’m going to be able to get you on a fish. If the most you can do is a half day, I will work with you to set it up for the best timing based on what I have been doing recently, and other variables such as sun and moon activity. Night fishing can be absolutely fantastic! Muskies feed actively at night, and often, they have a sustained bite that last longer than during daylight hours. There is nothing quite like a boatside strike in the dark…you need to experience it!

You’ll be fishing out of my 2009 Ranger 620vs, powered with a Mercury 250 Pro XS, Minn Kota Terrova, and Lowrance Electronics. One of the things you’ll enjoy about fishing with me is that I control my boat from the back, so you’ll be up in the front getting “first water”, increasing your chances for a hookup (this is exactly why several of my boat partners have caught bigger fish than me). I provide all of the rods, reels, and tackle. But if you have some favorite gear that you’d like to bring along, I would encourage that. We’ll fish rain or shine, but we will definitely wait it out in the case of lightning or very violent weather.

Here is a list of what you’ll need to bring: 

• Hat
• Raingear
• Sunglasses
• Lunch and Beverages
• Sunscreen
• Valid Minnesota Fishing License
• Appropriate clothing and footwear

Rates:

• ½ day (4-5 hours) $275  (this is for the boat....not per person)
• Full day (8-10 hours) $450
• Marathon (12-16 hours) $550
• Follow boat $100

$100 deposit to hold your day

Visa and Mastercard accepted
30 days notice gives you a full refund
48 hours notice-move your trip to another date
24 hours notice-no refund

Maximum of two people musky fishing
Up to three people for other species

Consider a gift certificate for the fisherman in your life