Muskie Guide Recommendations

I’m looking to go out for a half day either on Mille Lacs or a metro lake. Prefer casting, not trolling.
Any muskie guide recommendations?

I’ve casted for musky on Mille Lacs until my arms fell off, I’m thinking next month when I go up there it will be trolling.
Not because I’m a wimp, but because you simply can cover more water trolling.
For the monsters you need to wait till the water gets cold enough for the tullibee to spawn. About 40 degrees.

fishingchallenged wrote:

I’m looking to go out for a half day either on Mille Lacs or a metro lake. Prefer casting, not trolling.
Any muskie guide recommendations?

For Mille Lacs, probably too much water to cast although it can and has been done. So much water, trolling is preferred. Gene Miller right now is the superstar up there and does 4 hour trips trolling. Being the superstar now he is already booked until next season. There may be others but you may have to look. seems like Mille Lacs is closing down except for private parties.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

I’m thinking next month when I go up there it will be trolling.

When were you planning on going next month? I too am planning a finale, like the weekend of October 13-15 ?!?
After that, the boat needs to be put away. My storage landlords leave for Arizona soon after that.

Jason Hammernick, Ryan McMahon, Lee Tauchen… Call Bobber at Red Door and see who he’d recommend…

Mark

mbenson wrote:

Jason Hammernick, Ryan McMahon, Lee Tauchen… Call Bobber at Red Door and see who he’d recommend…

Mark

Good recommendation for Jason Hammernick.

BTW, Bobber Bob Carlson is no longer at Red Door.

I’ve used Ryan McMahon once with good success. Don’t know the other fellas so I can’t compare.

Travis Frank with trophy encounters. Either mille lacs, Minnetonka, or waconia. The best their is!

Jason Hammernick would be my pick and it would be in early Oct if possible. I doubt he has much for openings around that time though, but I don’t know of anyone who has boated the shear number of pigs his boat has over the last decade out there.
I believe he had one repeat client that has caught 2 50# plus caliber fish with him. Enormous.
After seeing how Gene Miller handles fish there is no way I would give him any money.

CaptainMusky wrote:

After seeing how Gene Miller handles fish there is no way I would give him any money.

X2

Here would be my choices to spend time in the boat with in the metro area not in any special order.

Matt Seifert
Dan Altmann
Ryan McMahan
Travis Frank
John Hoyer

Joe Scegura wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>CaptainMusky wrote:</div>
After seeing how Gene Miller handles fish there is no way I would give him any money.

X2

He’s not very gracious is he….but hey fill a toon with people and have a ton of lines out, the odds go up.

Josh Stevenson or Jason Hammernick.

https://blueribbonbait.com/blogs/angler-education/kid-rock-calls-upon-blue-ribbon-owner-josh-stevenson-to-put-him-on-fish

Josh Stevenson. I really like the guy, I have been friends with him for years.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

Sorry, I’m clueless. I’ve seen Gene Miller out on Mille Lacs flying around blaring Thunderstruck. Always looked like people were having a good time. What does he do to the Muskie’s he catches that is so horrible. Like I said I’m clueless, never fished Muskies in my life.

gaspumpguy wrote:

Sorry, I’m clueless. I’ve seen Gene Miller out on Mille Lacs flying around blaring Thunderstruck. Always looked like people were having a good time. What does he do to the Muskie’s he catches that is so horrible. Like I said I’m clueless, never fished Muskies in my life.

I don’t think he handles the fish with the love they deserve. At least that is what I gather from the people that have complained about how he handles the fish.

bzzsaw wrote:

I don’t think he handles the fish with the love they deserve. At least that is what I gather from the people that have complained about how he handles the fish.

^^^This! 1) they have tons of lines out trolling. If someone hooks up he doesn’t slow/stop the boat so the fish many times are dragged in 2) nets the fish and literally plops them on the floor of the pontoon 3) hooks are removed while on the pontoon, out of the water = excessive time 4) the fish is then passed around for pictures by all who want 5) when done the fish is tossed in while the boat is still moving much like people throw in potato chip sunfish. Does he catch fish? yes, do people have fun? Most likely yes unless they hate thunderstruck. Does he exhibit care and many of the accepted proper handling techniques for fish of this size and rarity? No, not from what I or many others have seen first hand.

bzzsaw wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>gaspumpguy wrote:</div>
Sorry, I’m clueless. I’ve seen Gene Miller out on Mille Lacs flying around blaring Thunderstruck. Always looked like people were having a good time. What does he do to the Muskie’s he catches that is so horrible. Like I said I’m clueless, never fished Muskies in my life.

I don’t think he handles the fish with the love they deserve. At least that is what I gather from the people that have complained about how he handles the fish.

…or maybe it’s because he lets old ladies “handle” the fish?

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Helping little old ladies get their picture taken with a muskie makes for a nice story, but it has zero to do with whether or not the handling practices described above contribute to delayed mortality: fish on the floor, extended out of water time, etc. It’s all out there on YouTube if you’re so inclined.

There’s another story about him in the Star Trib today – this time the picture is a kid holding a muskie instead of granny – and it’s all rainbows and boasting with nothing at all about the problems or controversy. No one is jealous of 15 over 52″ or 2 over 58″, they’re worried about that fish not making it to be 59″. That guide is Thunderstrucking himself out of business by killing many of the fish he so enjoys catching. But hey, he’s 65 years old so it won’t matter to him, it’s just our kids that won’t get to do the same thing, right?

Call Thorne Bros and ask for a recommendation, they’ll steer you to success with someone who is more responsible.

Michael C. Winther wrote:

No one is jealous of 15 over 52″ or 2 over 58″, they’re worried about that fish not making it to be 59″. That guide is Thunderstrucking himself out of business by killing many of the fish he so enjoys catching. But hey, he’s 65 years old so it won’t matter to him, it’s just our kids that won’t get to do the same thing, right?

And you know how many he’s killing?

“If you’re so busy pointing fingers and finding fault in what you think others do wrong, you are being a hypocrite who is blind to your own flaws and faults. So before you decide to climb on your self righteous high horse, you best make sure you are totally perfect.” ~Anonymous

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

And you know how many he’s killing?

Exactly. And if he is killing a high percentage of the fish they catch, there are WAY more muskies in there than anyone thought….

No one knows with absolute certainty, that’s the “problem” with releasing fish.

And I’m sure that some of the fish I’ve released over the years didn’t make it even though they looked fine. And some that I dropped probably survived in spite of how much I suck.

So, without certainty, let’s use our heads! Both the scientific studies that do exist and regular old common sense tell us that MORE fish die that are poorly handled – put on floor of the boat where they loose their protective slime coating, dropped, kept out of the water for more than a minute to measure and take pictures and/or get passed around to multiple people for pictures, torpedoed back into the lake, etc – than the number that die after being handled well – unhooked in the water, quick measure and photo of less than one minute, placed back in the water and released when they can swim off upright on their own.

And of course, it’s the biggest fish – females – that get the most pictures, etc. and are the most valuable both for reproduction and for recapture.

Maybe he is just trying to help ouy the walleye population…lol