Stay ConnectedWisconsin northwoods musky Guide, Gus Mantey, his brother Max Mantey and their childhood buddy, Brian Eckle chronicle each week of Gus’s journey as a Musky guide. Hear real time fishing reports, stories from the boat, guest interviews, tournament results, tactics, and the occasional beer recommendation. We hope you enjoy!
Muskies on Tap – a division of Sug’s Fishing LLC
Copyright: © Muskies On Tap 2023
This week the fellas get Doug Wegner back on to chop it up. We chat all about Green Bay, Canada, opener/regulations thoughts, and some exciting things lined up with Next Gen Muskies. Tap in to level up your musky game!
https://www.nextgenmuskies.com/
Intro from the movie Hangover " We are baaaaack! We are getting Doug baaaaack!"
This week there's lots the fellas have to recap plus a great chat with Madison Chain guide Jeff Hanson. Jeff has been fishing the Mad chain since the mid 80s and has that place dialed! We go through some of the beginnings of his fishing, spring tips and the state of the fishery. Afterwards we get a recap of the Master's tourney and the most recent Spring Hearing that Gus attended in Vilas County. Lots of spiciness in this pod so tap in!
We hope you had the chance to get to Thorne Bros Spring Sale! If not, still go and check them out online or if you're in the MN metro area
Cold opener comes from Tommy Boy this week!
This week on the MOT pod we get Jimmy Gallant on from JG Outdoors guide service and YouTube channel to talk all things musky. We cover quite a bit on LOTW and Eagle plus plenty on northern Wisconsin and some spring tactics. Big fish stories are told as well! You know we all love those! Tap in!
Also on the calendar up and coming we have the annual WI DNR conservation congress spring hearings April 13th 6-9pm. f you'd like to vote to rescind the new musky regulation change you must attend IN PERSON to vote. Locations for each county here: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/about/wcc/springhearing
Thorne Bros Annual Spring Sale April 10-12th in-store plus seminars and new video watch parties going on! Online sale April 13-14th as well
Upcoming seminars for Gus:
- April 11th Capital Cities Muskies Inc Fundraiser starting at 9am, seminar starts at 11am located at The Mekong restaurant in McFarland
- April 18th American Marine in Chippewa Falls seminar at 10am
- May 6th Winnebagoland Musky Club seminar at 7pm
intro comes from an animated classic: "Barnyard". This is a cow farm... you're gonna have cows outside!!!!
This week the fellas show off their top 3 baits hauled in from expo season along with a few extra sneaky finds/baits we're pumped to throw. We get up to date with current events and Gus let's everyone know his upcoming seminar schedule. After a ninja trick discussed (and potential new ninja tricks to try) we get on Nick Amorose: the brains and muscle behind Hammer Custom Baits. We discuss the show and future of Hammer Customs
Also, big Spring Sale in person only happening at Thorne Bros April 10-12. If you want to get stocked up for the season on musky, walleye, bass, fly fishing, electronics, etc then I suggest you go!
https://www.thornebros.com/pages/spring-sale
Upcoming seminars for Gus:
April 6th - Wausau Area Muskies Inc @Dales Weston Lanes 7pm
April 7th - Northwoods Chapter Muskies Inc @Norwood Pines (Minocqua) 6:30pm
April 11th - Capitol Cities Muskies Inc Fundraiser @The Mekong in McFarland 9am (find details to sign up on Capitol Cities Facebook page)
April 18th - American Marine in Chippewa Falls, WI Alumacraft/boat Event
Intro comes from a classic Simpsons bit
Welp, here's the live recording in the Hammer Customs booth at the Wisconsin Musky Expo Saturday night. We get a large array of guests on so press that play button and find out who tapped onto the mic that night!
TPB - Bubbles talks about liquorball sandwiches
The fellas get some spicy questions in this one! We also get into details of some secret baits to look for at the Wisconsin Musky Expo this weekend March 20-22 that we have not talked about yet! Kyle Friedges from Beyond The 8 Media joins up as a co-host. Tap in!
https://youtube.com/@cabbagedragonmedia?si=0uyZSzYUqNJkMLMw
"The dude abides"
This week we chat it up with Jake Smith from Smity Baits. We talk about the origin of Smity started by his dad, Russ. Lots of great bait talk on new and old baits from Smity's lineup that we love or are excited to try! We also talk about early season musky strategies and live bait fishing. The fellas also get into details on the upcoming MOT March Madness Bracket Challenge and what's at stake for the winners! Great stuff from amazing brands we love. Gus also dropped a heater of a YouTube video so check that out on Muskies On Tap YouTube channel and smash that subscribe button please!
https://youtube.com/@muskiesontap?si=h7FYRXfydURnnN82
the classic wrap around from Jim Lahey for this weeks intro clip
This week the fellas chop it up with Rob Manthei who is based out of St Germain and owns Fibbers and St Germain Lodge & Resort. We talk about his early days of guiding and filming with John Gillespie. There's also a lot of talk on what changed the musky game for Rob with one being the Red October tube which we go into detail on. Tap in!
Intro comes from Ricky admitting to eating 9 cans of ravioli - everyone knows the first can doesn't count
The MOT crew gets on Mike Kramer this week to share some new baits Kramer Bros Tackle has to offer for 2026 and this weekends Minnesota Muskie Expo. We dive into details on his lineup for when, where, and how to use his baits. He's got a fresh bait lined up for the 2026 season that will be a must cop when it comes out. We hope you enjoy another week of a video format podcast! Tap in!
Intro comes from the show Trailer Park Boys - a MOT favorite - about the scene where Ray does not know the difference between wins and losses in gambling
This week the MOT crew gets on Taylor Flannery and Rich Reinert to talk all things WI Musky Expo coming up this March 20-22nd. We show these baits off in a debut of a live recorded podcast presented on YouTube to watch! We also dive deep into how to run certain lures that have been on the market that you won't want to miss like Red October tubes and BamBam swimfins. We hope you enjoy this one and get the chance to watch it on Muskies On Tap YouTube channel, tap in! YouTube link below
https://youtube.com/@muskiesontap?si=dQrgTbLDjCZ5U8Ee
Cold opener comes from a classic Simpsons scene about the name Bort
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