My start as a musky guide on Pewaukee Lake began in 1990 after I guided Ron Leys, the former editor of the Outdoors section of the Milwaukee Journal.  Ron had tried for years to hook up with a muskie on Pewaukee Lake and had just about given up on his quest.  To make this long story short, I called Ron, made an introduction, and almost guaranteed him a legal musky!

The day of our trip was blustery for July, but I had a strong pattern going that involved trolling with downriggers.  Ron got his first Pewaukee legal that day, and 5 other muskies ranging from 39” – 30”.  We lost several other muskies that were larger but that didn’t matter because Ron’s Pewaukee Lake curse was now history.

The article of our trip appeared the following Sunday in the Milwaukee Journal and my phone started to ring asking for my services.  At the time I was working a full-time job, so I guided on the weekends and evenings after work.  It’s hard to believe I will have begun my 15th year as a guide on Pewaukee Lake and my 10th year as a full-time musky guide.

Fishing legends both national and regional cut their teeth fishing Pewaukee Lake.  As a kid, I witnessed the days that a Joe Erhardt, Musky Bill Klancher, Louie Krueger, Roger Stack, Dan Sura, and Dick Wanasek devoted to hone their skills.  These men were inspirational and I am still grateful for the knowledge they shared with me.

From 1977 – 1987 I fished the Waukesha Co. lakes for bass, walleye, and pike.  Occasionally, a muskie would magically appear out of nowhere and flash like summer lightning past my lure, or sometimes steal my lure away from me.  In 1986 my fishing partner and close friend Mike Borucki decided to actually go musky fishing.  Mike also had taken a beating from the esox on Pewaukee while bass fishing, so he got properly equipped, set out for Pewaukee, and vowed not to return unless he boated a Pewaukee muskie.  I figured Mike could last a few days out there with it being summer, so the physical thing wasn’t an issue but mentally, he surely would be scarred for life, learn his lesson, and come crawling back to us bass and walleye fishermen.

Much to my surprise, Mike landed a 35” musky the same day.  Mike broke the ice, his confidence spilled over to me, and I believed that a musky could actually be caught by a regular guy WITHOUT CREDENTIALS.

At the time my musky equipment was somewhere between nil and laughable, so I had to wait until the summer of 1987 to launch my invasion of Pewaukee.  Being of Norwegian ancestry helped me prepare my muskie arsenal during the winter months.  You know the Vikings just didn’t wake up with the bears in spring, they were busy fixing the dragon ships, sharpening battle axes, and laying out forays during their off season.

My first Pewaukee legal was a 36” caught on the 4th of July, 1987, speed trolling along the north shore.  The fish was promptly released and I let out a scream that would rival Mel Gibson’s best from Braveheart.  Mike and I caught about 30 muskies that year, all trolling, we knew we were one dimensional but we were catching fish.

1988 was the year when I became a muskie addict.  My casting skills sucked, but trolling made sense to me – the lure spent a lot of time in the strike zone.  Back then there were many good trollers competing for the coveted 20’ edge, the open water looked inviting, mainly because there wasn’t much pressure from other trollers.  Now, I’m not saying I innovated downrigger and planer board fishing for muskies, but I was one of the first to catch a musky on Pewaukee Lake with a planer board and I was one of the pioneers to troll the deep water basin for suspended muskies in the late 80s on Pewaukee. 

The casting game was harder for me to grasp – so much water to throw at.  Gradually, the experience came from time on the water and so did the catches.  In October of 1995 I caught and released a 52 ½” musky casting a crank.  Now I prefer to cast rather than troll, but I won’t ever discount the effectiveness of trolling.

From 1990 – present I’ve guided hundreds of fine anglers for musky on the Waukesha Co. lakes.  All skill levels and all ages have been welcomed aboard.  Nobody can promise a boated musky every day; what I can promise is this: a safe, informative, lively day on the water with thousands of hours of experience to help you grow as a musky hunter.  My clients and I have caught and released over 1200 muskies from Waukesha Co., my thanks to all the great people for those 1200-plus memories.