PMTT 2024 TOURNAMENT RESULTS

PMTT LIEF LABS SPRING SHOOTOUT!

CAVE RUN LAKE, KY

APRIL 27th &  28th,  2024

HOSTED BY MOREHEAD KENTUCKY TOURISM

Cave Run Lake, KY is a beautiful place to fish for muskies, especially this early in the year. With its Majestic Hills & Hollers and perfect weather this weekend, what better place to kickoff the 2024 PMTT Season. The Team of Nate Osfar from Marathon, Wisconsin & Brian Krelle Eagle River, Wisconsin took 1st Place with 3 fish a 37.25”, 36” & 34.75”. They were working rocks and wood deep with glide baits and jigs. Nate, who confessed to never having caught a musky before on jig, went to Crash’s Landing, a local bait shop and bought a jig Saturday night, after watching a Bass guy catch a nice musky on a jig, They said pre-fishing helped land their first fish, but then they had to change it up from their comfort zone and adapt to the changing conditions. Nate, who was working his baits aggressively on Saturday, felt the fish were not very active and somewhat lethargic, so on Sunday, after trying out a few other things, he decided why not try the musky jig he purchased the night before and caught a musky after 5 casts, just working it on the bottom and walking down the slope and that was just what they needed to help them secure the win and the $19,600 1stPlace payout.

Rounding out the Top 5 were Jason Summers from Centerville, Minnesota & Dan Wojtusik from Eagle River, Wisconsin in 2nd place with 3 fish also, a 37", 37" & 33.25". In 3rd Place with 2 fish, a 40" & 37" were Garrick Sobeski from Butler, Pennsylvania & Aaron Parise from Creighton, Pennsylvania. In 4th Place with 2 fish, a 39.5" & 37 were Dick Heckle from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin & Rory Tuff from Eagle River, Wisconsin. In 5th Place with 2 fish, a 37" & 36.25" were Robert Ornberg from Winter, Wisconsin & Tanner Rabelhofer from Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

PMTT Tournament Director, Tim Widlacki, acknowledged the Trail’s deep appreciation to our many outstanding Sponsors. For both their continuing support and the important part they have played and are playing now in our growth over the past 26 years as America’s 1st and only truly National Professional Musky Circuit. Leading the way with new, challenging, and innovative formats, featuring many of America’s top musky fishing destinations. Highlighting freshwater’s most elusive and challenging fish and the fast-growing community of extreme adventure anglers who give her chase. Special thanks to our Q-1 Event Sponsor, LIEF LABS and our good friends at MOREHEAD TOURISM. Also, the Official Boat & World Musky Championship Title Sponsor, RECON BOATS of IOLA, WI, MERCURY MARINE, THORNE BROS, MUSKY HUNTER MAGAZINE and to all of our wonderful Hosts and Site Partners for their support , Ligwood LLC, The Eagle River Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center and The Ramada Resorts, as well as our entire family of Contributing & Associate Sponsors. Please let them know how much you appreciate what they do whenever you get the chance… show them some Musky Love, returning their support when you can… they are a vital part our growing PMTT Family.

UP NEXT – Madison Chain, WI – June 8th & 9th, 2024. 

Let’s go Musky Hunting…Wahoooooooooo!

Daily Live Streamed Updates during the Event can be viewed using your Facebook APP or watch the posted Live Stream videos from our Facebook Page. 

To obtain more information on becoming a member of the PMTT, or to signup for any PMTT Event, please visit us on the web at www.promusky.com or call the PMTT office at 815-478-4092. 

PMTT MERCURY MARINE SUMMER CHALLENGE!

MADISON  CHAIN, WI

JUNE 8th & 19th, 2024

HOSTED BY LIGWOOD, LLC

The Professional Musky Tournament Trail made its second stop of the season with the Mercury Marine Summer Challenge on the Madison Chain of Lakes, Madison, WI. June 8th & 9th. This tournament seen almost 200 of the nation’s top musky anglers from twelve different states converge into the town of Madison to compete in this event. With the early spring and lots of rain, the anglers were hoping the frontal conditions moving in would help turn the musky fishing on from an unusually slow early season action on the chain so far. 

Mark Lijewski from Minocqua, WI and Jason Mollen of Lake Tomahawk, WI teamed up for this tournament season and were the only team to double up in the tournament under tough conditions. “It was all kind of crazy, because of the tough fishing we were just fishing for bites. One that might help us qualify for the Recon Boats World Championship” stated Lijewski. 

With fronts moving in and out all tournament long, air and water temps around 70 degrees and everything from cloudy drizzle, to bluebird and gusty winds, Lijewski and Mollen were just focusing on getting on the boar . “We literally fished for hours on the first day hoping for a change or a window and the slow fishing to open up,” stated Mullen. Lijewski and Mollen set themselves up to be throwing natural colored soft rubber swim baits off some deep break lines when there was a small pickup in action. We went from having nothing to netting two muskies in under ten minutes and had several others going’” stated Lijewski. 

Luckily for Lijewski and Mollen, the fishing got even tougher on day two and their day one lead was enough to give them the win. They not only left town with the first-place hardware, they also captured the Recon Boats $1,000 first place bonus, the Thorne Brothers bonus and the TTAP bonus to take home $20,000 in prize money!

2nd Place: Rob Kahl of Menomonie, WI. and Corey Pederson of Wheeler, WI. had the biggest fish of the tournament coming in at 49.75”. Like most that were successful this past weekend, they were also throwing soft rubber baits off deep break lines when the big fish ate. The big musky kept them in second place and they took home over $6,800 in cash.

3rd Place: Jason Summers of Centerville, MN and Dan Wojtusik of Eagle River, WI were also on the big fish as they boated the top fish of day two at 46”. They were also throwing natural colored soft rubber baits but more so over the main lake basin relating schools of baitfish and took home $4,000 in prize money. 

4th Place: Tim Barker and Shazana Hardy both from Maple Grove, MN. took third with a heavy 43” musky they caught trolling windblown shorelines with weighted crank baits. Rounding out the top 5 is the team of Bryan Wiitala of Rib Lake, WI. and Heather Acker of Stetson, WI. They boated a 42.50” musky while trolling crankbaits down wind-blown shorelines just off the breaks. 

PMTT Tournament Director, Tim Widlacki, acknowledged the Trail’s deep appreciation to our many outstanding sponsors, for both their continuing support and the important part they have played and are playing now in our growth over the past 26 years as America’s 1st and only; truly National Professional Musky Circuit. Leading the way with new, challenging, and innovative formats, featuring many of America’s top musky fishing destinations. Special thanks to our Q-2 Event Sponsor Mercury Marine and our good friends at Ligwood, LLC for hosting the PMTT in Madison. Also, the Official Boat & World Championship title sponsor Recon Boats, Thorne Brothers, Lief Labs, Sovereign Resources, Musky Hunter and to all of our wonderful Hosts and Site Partners for their support; Morehead Tourism, Ramada Inn, Green Mill, Eagle River Area Chamber of Commerce and our entire family of Contributing & Associate Sponsors. Please let them know how much you appreciate what they do whenever you get the chance… show them some Musky Love, returning their support when you can… they are a vital part of our growing PMTT Family. 

UP NEXT – Thorne Bros Late Summer Showdown - Lake Minnetonka, MN – August 23rd & 24th, 2024

Let’s go Musky Hunting…Wahoooooooooo! 

Daily Live Streamed Updates during the Event can be viewed using your Facebook APP or watch the posted Live Stream videos from our Facebook Page.

To obtain more information on becoming a member of the PMTT, or to signup for any PMTT Event, please visit us on the web at www.promusky.com or call the PMTT office at 815-478-4092. 

PMTT THORNE BROS LATE SUMMER SHOWDOWN!

LAKE MINNETONKA, MN

AUGUST 23rd & 24th, 2024

HOSTED BY: RAMADA

The Professional Musky Tournament Trail made its third stop of the season with the Thorne Bros - Late Summer Challenge on Lake Minnetonka, MN. just west of the twin cities. This tournament seen almost 200 of the nation’s top musky anglers from twelve different states converge onto the twin cities far western suburbs to compete in this event. With the cool nights and mild fronts moving through, the anglers were hoping the favorable weather conditions would help turn the musky fishing on.

Clayton Spiess and Nick Amorose both from Eagle River, WI overcame huge difficulties and trouble before the tournament even started. “On our way to launch on day one, we blew a tire on the trailer. Then as we were driving the boat over to the starting ease out, we had motor problems and could not go faster than a few miles per hour. So just to start the tournament, we lost almost an hour of time and could not get to any of our spots or use the patterns that we came up with pre-fishing” stated Spiess.

With the weather forecast looking good, with air temps in the eighties, cloudy to partly cloudy skies, 10mph winds out of the south and water temps in the low to mid-seventies, Spiess and Amorose decided to troll instead of casting as they had planned. “With the motor issues we decided our best bet would be to troll and keep out baits in the water as much as possible, “stated Amorose. Well, their adjustments paid off as they boated three muskies up to 46.5” while trolling black bucktails with nickel blades off the outside weed edges. They not only left town with the first-place hardware, they also captured the Recon Boats $1,000 first place bonus, the Thorne Brothers bonus and the TTAP bonuses to take home $19,000 in prize money!

2nd Place: David Kramer of New Richmond, WI. & Robert Wood of Champlin, MN. teamed up together for this tournament after Kramer went on a radio show looking for a partner and Wood contacted him. Because of a recent shoulder surgery, Kramer was limited on the size of lures he could use. They worked deep weed edges with black rubber and it worked out well for them. Not only did they get along together, they netted three muskies up to 44” and took home the second place trophies and $4,000.

3rd Place: Gregg Thomas of Morehead, KY. & Rick Hoover of Finleyville, KY. were also on fish. They worked deep weed edges with black tubes and caught three muskies up to 43.75”. and took home the third-place hardware and $3,000 in cash.

4th Place: Locals Ethan Stout of Plymouth, MN & Josh Dehm of Young America, MN caught the biggest fish of the tournament at 51.5” to go along with a 38.5” musky they landed using bucktails, targeting shallow weeds and inside weed edges. Rounding out the top 5 is the brother’s team of Gus Mantey & Max Mantey, both from Eagle River, WI. They boated two muskies up to 45.25” by working weed edges with bucktails.

PMTT Tournament Director, Tim Widlacki, acknowledged the Trail’s deep appreciation to our many outstanding sponsors, for both their continued support and the important part they have played and are playing now in our growth over the past 26 years as America’s 1st and only; truly National Professional Musky Circuit. Leading the way with new, challenging, and innovative formats, featuring many of America’s top musky fishing destinations. Special thanks to our Q-3 Event Sponsor Thorne Bros. and our good friends at Ramada Inn for hosting the PMTT in Plymouth. Also, the Official Boat & World Championship title sponsor Recon Boats, Mercury Marine, Lief Labs, Ligwood, LLC and Musky Hunter and to all our wonderful Hosts and Site Partners for their support; Morehead Tourism, Eagle River Area Chamber of Commerce and our entire family of Contributing & Associate Sponsors. Please let them know how much you appreciate what they do whenever you get the chance… show them some Musky Love, returning their support when you can… they are a vital part of our growing PMTT Family.

TTAP Bonus Big Fish Contingency Award – Clayton Spiess & Nick Amorose – 46.50”

TTAP Bonus Top Team Contingency Award – Clayton Spiess & Nick Amorose

Friday’s PMTT BIG FISH Award – Ethan Stout & Josh Dehn – 51.5” - $500

Saturday’s PMTT BIG FISH Award – Jeric Peterson & Ladd Wildeson – 45.5” - $500

MHM BIG FISH – Matt Leu & Corey Montgomery - 49”

FINAL RESULTS – 42 Musky up to 51.5”

DAY-1 Total - 29 Musky Registered

DAY-2 Total – 13 Musky Registered

UP NEXT – Recon Boats World Championship

Eagle River, WI – September 27th- 29th, 2024 

Let’s go Musky Hunting…Wahoooooooooo! 

Daily Live Streamed Updates during the Event can be viewed using your Facebook APP or watch the posted Live Stream videos from our Facebook Page.

To obtain more information on becoming a member of the PMTT, or to signup for any PMTT Event, please visit us on the web at www.promusky.com or call the PMTT office at 815-478-4092.

PMTT Recon Boats World Championship

Eagle River Chain, WI

September 27th, 28th & 29th, 2024

Presented by the Eagle River Area Chamber of Commerce

Jason Summers & Dan Wojtusik Win Top Gun Team of the Year

Ken Trail & Michael Handlogten Win Recon Boats World Championship

The Professional Musky Tournament Trail brought their amazing 26th season to an exciting conclusion this past weekend. The Top 36 teams, determined by points earned competing in a series of challenging national qualifying events, gathered on Wisconsin’s epic musky waters of the Eagle River Chain of Lakes. These anglers came for what has become the single most prestigious event in all competitive musky angling, the PMTT/Recon Boats World Championship with a top prize being a new 2025 Recon 2085T, with options, a trailer and powered by a 150hp Mercury outboard, with cash bonuses totaling almost $60,000.

An extended unseasonably warm week with sunny skies, calm winds and temps hovering around eighty degrees was seen throughout this championship tournament. The first morning started a bit slow, as fish were moving and though a few fish were hitting the nets, it wasn’t until late morning that the action picked up. The bite stayed steady as the anglers registered 11 muskies the first day with only one team doubling. Day two and three seen the same action as 17 more muskies were boated with the biggest going to the day one leaders at 46.5”.

1st Place – 3 muskies up to 46.5” – Ken Trail of Roanoke, VA & Mike Handlogten from Middleville, MI were dialed in throughout the tournament. After day 1, they were the only team with two muskies on the board. On day 2, they landed the biggest fish of the tournament on their first cast at 46.5” on a purple Red October tube. “We started out pre-fishing with glide baits in the morning followed by purple Red October tubes and small bucktails during day and this pattern held up throughout the tournament,” stated Handlogten. With the same weather basically unchanged for the last day, they headed back to the same area and pattern. “To be honest, we really didn’t move the entire tournament. We tried a couple other spots but that one weedy stretch of the lake was holding all our active fish and that purple tube was fire,” sated Trail. Well, that big musky was enough to push them over the finish line and earned them the 2024 PMTT/RECON BOATS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Title, the new 2025 Recon Boats 2085T, options, a trailer & 150hp Mercury Marine Outboard, with the Recon winners bonus $1,000 and other bonuses totaling almost $60,000 in prizes.

2nd Place – 3 muskies up to 35.5” – Nate Osfar of Marathon, WI & Brian Krelle of Eagle River, WI were also in the weeds but throwing jerk baits and crank baits. “We found the weeds

in relatively a small area and were moving muskies,” stated Krelle. “We caught them all on big baits, though the muskies weren’t that big, all of our action came on big jerk baits and crank baits,” stated Osfar. The three muskies were good enough to take home the 2nd place cash and trophies.

3rd Place – 42.25” & 32.75” – Brian Barker from Clearfield, KY & Marek Ball from Maple Groove, MN had to troll the entire tournament because their big motor wouldn’t run. So, they decided to troll the outside weed edges with fire tiger crank baits and caught two muskies up to 42.25” to seal the third-place finish.

4th Place – 40” & 34.5” – Ty Sennett from Hayward, WI & Tait Sennett from Princeville, IL were running and gunning hitting many weedy areas with jerk baits bucktails. They put two muskies in the nets and took home a fourth-place finish.

5th Place – 37.25” & 35.25” – Clayton Spiess & Nick Amorose both from Eagle River, WI were also working the shallow weeds with blades and a mix of other baits in natural colors. They targeted shallow weedy areas around bait fish to connect on two muskies.

PMTT TOP GUN Team of the Year Award – By far, the most prestigious honor in all competitive musky angling and something that every Touring Pro strives to earn. Skill, dedication, passion… and more, those earning “TOP GUN” Honors are indeed a cut above and our 2024 Winners are certainly no exception.

2024 PMTT TOP GUN - Team of the Year Award

1st Place - 479 pts. – Jason Summers & Dan Wojtusik

2nd Place – 468 pts – Gus & Max Mantey

3rd Place – 458 pts – Ty Sennett & Tait Sennett

PMTT Tournament Director, Tim Widlacki, acknowledged the Trail’s deep appreciation to our many outstanding sponsors for both their continuing support and the important part they have played and are playing now in our growth over the past 26 years as America’s 1st and only, truly national, Professional Musky Circuit. Leading the way with new, challenging, and innovative formats on some of the country’s top musky fishing destinations; Highlighting freshwater’s most elusive and challenging fish and the fast-growing community of extreme adventure anglers who give her chase. Special thanks to World Championship event sponsor Recon Boats and to the Host Site Sponsors, Eagle River Area Chamber of Commerce. And to all the trails sponsors, without whose help this memorable year would not have been possible: RECON BOATS, MERCURY MARINE, THRONE BROS, RAMADA by WYNDHAM, MUSKY HUNTER; EAGLE RIVER AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, WILD EAGLE LODGE; LIEF LABS; MOREHEAD TOURISM; LIGWOOD LLC. and our entire family of Contributing & Associate Sponsors. Please let them all know how much you appreciate what they do whenever you get the chance by returning their support when you can… they are a vital part of our growing PMTT Family

2024 RECON BOATS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL HIGHLIGHTS;

28 TOTAL MUSKIES REGISTERED & RELEASED

DAY 1: 11 MUSKIES

DAY 2: 11 MUSKIES

DAY 3: 6 MUSKIES

MUSKY HUNTER - BIG FISH AWARD – 46.25” – Tanner Rabelhofer & Rob Ornberg

TTAP BONUS BIG FISH @ 46.5” & TOP TEAM – Ken Trail & Mike Handlogten

RECON BOATS 1ST PLACE BONUS, $1,000 – Ken Trail & Mike Handlogten

Let’s go Musky Hunting…Wahoooooooooo! 

Daily Live Streamed Updates during the Event can be viewed using your Facebook APP or watch the posted Live Stream videos from our Facebook Page.

Sign up coming soon for the 2023 PMTT Trail and come check us out this winter at your local Musky Sport Show and follow us on our Social Media. For information or to view event photo album, please visit us on the web at www.promusky.com or call the PMTT office at 815-478-4092. Again, thank you everyone for following us through this rough year with the pandemic and all else in the world this year. We all here at the PMTT wish you good health and look forward to hitting the water again in 2023.