Minocqua, Wisconsin Fishing Guide Service

Captain Matt Raley guides the waters of Northern Wisconsin during the May through October months, specializing in muskies, walleye, and bass. He guides in Vilas, Oneida, Iron, and Forest Counties, around the towns of Eagle River, Woodruff/Minocqua, Manitowish Waters, St. Germain and Boulder Junction. A well-accomplished national and regional musky tournament angler and champion on the PMTT circuit, Captain Raley is eager to host new and experienced anglers.

ABOUT YOUR TRIP

Many people wonder where we fish. Captain Raley fishes all over Northern Wisconsin’s Vilas, Oneida, Forest, and Iron counties. One great thing about living in this area is that there are lakes around every corner, nearly 4,000 to be exact, with over 200 lakes in Vilas county alone containing muskies. There are more musky lakes in Vilas county than there are in the entire state of Minnesota.

Besides hosting highly-acclaimed musky trips, Captain Raley prides himself on being a great walleye and bass angler. He frequently likes to switch things up and target a variety of species throughout the year outside of musky season, and in-between. Plenty of walleyes roam the numerous lakes in the region. We’ll put you on a limit of eater walleyes, or target trophies depending on the lake choice and what you’re looking for. For bass fishing, we have many lakes in the region that grow big fish and rear huge numbers of both largemouth and smallmouth bass. Want bluegills, perch and crappies? We’ve got them too!

Nothing in fishing comes guaranteed, but we’ll get you on the species of your choice and be able to teach you a few tricks to increase your fishing success.

MUSKIES

Wisconsin musky season in the northern zone is open from Memorial Day weekend Saturday through December 31st. We fish muskies from opening day through October. We know most of all well-known and public water musky lakes in the area, and we pick and choose which ones to visit on trip day depending on the day’s conditions, seasonal considerations, and your skill level in order to achieve a high success rate. Of course, we can also fish the water you choose if you have a specific body of water in mind you want to better learn.

If you can choose when to visit the northwoods, we recommend during the first week of July through mid-October. There are peaks and valleys in success throughout the season but muskies can be a little slower during the month of June as water warms. If fishing in June I still should be able to put you on fish but colder water means smaller feeding windows. Afternoon feeding windows seem to be best when water is the warmest. Usually starting late June through the first week in July usually offers a full moon and the start of good summer musky patterns developing. This is when success rates are a bit higher along with a better average size.

Moon phases matter. This means coming two days ahead or behind a full or new moon. Full moon phases are some of the hottest bites of the year but new moon is not far behind. During these periods average catch rates and average size of fish goes up. Weather trumps moon on a daily event but a good starting point is coming during a good moon phase.

ALL TROPHY FISH MANDATORY CATCH AND RELEASE POLICY

My boat, my rules. We have a no kill policy. All muskies and large gamefish caught get released. If looking for a wall mount, all muskies and other fishes will be photographed, measured and accurately documented. This will allow you to have a replica made by a taxidermist of choice or done by our recommended taxidermist, Lax Reproductions.

WALLEYE

Walleye season typically starts the first Saturday in May. We fish for them all season long as well. We catch walleyes on a variety of waters in the region all season long.

May and early June are the suggested months to fish where we visit a wide variety of lakes during this time. As summer progresses into July and August we narrow our walleye waters down, but still have plenty of destinations to choose from. During the middle of the summer when days are long and hot seems like early mornings, evenings, and night bites are the best but virtually every trip we catch numerous walleyes.

We are proponents of lake hopping in order to stay on the best bites throughout the season ,depending the time of year, to keep walleye catch rates at highest possible number.

SMALLMOUTH BASS

Bass catch and release season is open year-round in Wisconsin. May and June are top months for anglers seeking HAWG smallies, or to really bang up the numbers. Fish are shallow and a lot of the deeper clear lakes the fish will be in a cycle of pre-spawn, spawn, or post spawn patterns. This is the best time to come for smallmouths. Lots of days are spent chasing trophy class fish. I can also get on some of the most intense bites of the year. Beginning in July, smallmouths become more challenging where we focus on deeper, clear lakes and have to focus on greater depths. Many quality fish are caught while walleye fishing.

We also target largemouth bass on a year-round basis too, and we’ll go for them on shallower, weedier lakes. Depending on the lake and its water clarity, they do move out the the edges and deeper water but as a whole we usually can get them up shallow throughout the year.

NORTHERN PIKE

Northern pike fishing opens with walleyes as well in early May. Their bite can be good through the end of June. After water warms and stratifies, their fishing goes downhill on a lot of area lakes as they seek cold and deep water and are more challenging to target. We generally do not fish for them after July 1st, but there are some lakes where we’ll frequently run into them later in the season.

PANFISH

God created panfish for dates and times when other species aren’t biting. Panfish are a pleasure to catch year-round and there is no closed season. Depending on time of year, species you want to target, or waters, we’ll let you know what is best. We fish for crappies, bluegills, and perch, and strongly and strictly adhere to selective harvest principles and strict bag limits.