The 2022 Muskie Expo Chicago offers a wide variety of seminars and workshops for the entire family. All events are included with your admission.

Here is a list of the scheduled speakers and presenters at the 2022 Muskie Expo Chicago. Musky Hunter Magazine is sharing some of the about me’s of the speakers just for all of you!  Take a read! 

Emceed by Tony Grant, Co-Editor, Muskie Hunter Magazine

Saturday, January 8

• 10:00 a.m. – Gregg Thomas, Co-Editor, Musky Hunter Magazine

  • Gregg is a full musky only guide service that specializing in taking clients out on an enjoyable day on the water chasing giant fish. Gregg Thomas is fully insured and U.S. Coast Guard certified.  It will be his and his guides pleasure to take you on your next or first musky adventure.

    Every year we put hundreds of muskies in the boat for our clients with several trophy class fish.  We strive to put our clients first and pride ourselves on customer satisfaction.

    Battle the Beast Guide Service

• 12:00 p.m. – Spencer Berman
  • I am the owner and operator of Spencer’s Angling Adventures. Under this umbrella I fish tournaments, do sponsorship promotions, fishing shows, seminars, and TV/video appearances. In addition I run a very full guide schedule. As a young boy, I got started fishing on local ponds. Since I was a complete fishing addict, it seemed like I was always carrying my bucket and rod around to every pond and creek I could find. When I was ten I discovered the Junior B.A.S.S. program and began competing in local junior tournaments. I was district champion all four years I competed. As I got older, more fishing opportunities opened up to me, and I began to stray from bass fishing to chase my true passion, Muskies. I started fishing professional musky tournaments, mainly because Junior B.A.S.S. did not let me compete with the adults until I turned eighteen. Despite this I did do some Junior B.A.S.S. events with tremendous success.

    At sixteen, I started fishing on the Wisconsin Musky Trail and became the youngest boat captain to place in a tournament in trail history. Shortly after that I began to fish on the Professional Musky Tournament Trail and finished eleventh in my first event at age eighteen. I was the youngest boat captain to ever place in the money. That year my partner and I ended up placing in two of the four qualifying events and finished in the top twenty-five in the world. I have also fished in a number of Indiana tournaments including the Indiana Classic and the Webster Lake Cash Tournament, in which I had several top finishes and victories. My Tournament success hit its pinnacle in 2013 on the Professional Musky Tournament Trail when my partner and I won the prestigious Team of the Year award. We set a new record with three top five finishes in the four tournament events including a second place finish in the World Championship on Lake St. Clair. After taking a couple years off the tournament trail to focus on guiding, I rejoined the Professional Musky Tournament Trail in 2018. In the 3rd qualifier my partner and I set two new P.M.T.T. records for most fish in an event, 8, and for most points ever in an event. We won the event and from that qualified to fish the world championship that October. Here we broke our own record catching an amazing 10 fish in the two-day event and became the first team ever to win back to back tournaments, including a world championship, in the 20 year history of the trail. Our tournament winnings for that one year were over $75,000.

    

    In addition to fishing tournaments, I do a number of media appearances each year including TV shows such as Catch Ya in the Bluegrass, Badfish Outdoors, Top Predator Outdoors, Marsh Outdoors, Keyes Outdoors and The Musky Hunter. I am also a regular seminar speaker performing more then twenty seminars a year for various musky clubs and at fishing shows and expos. Lastly, I am a very active contributing writer for several high profile magazines including, Musky Hunter, Keyes Outdoors, Esox Hunt, Muskies Inc. and In-Fisherman.

    As for guiding, I start running trips on the Detroit River for walleye in mid to late March as soon as the ice goes off the river. After that I transition into smallmouth bass in late April to the end of May and then from June on I target strictly muskies on Lake St. Clair. We are blessed to have truly amazing water and my boat always sees lots of 10 to 13 pound walleye, 5-6 pound smallmouth bass and a ton of 50 plus inch muskies. Traditionally my boat catches 600 plus muskies per year with 50 or more over 50 inches and a handful of those fish falling in the 40 to 50 pound range. Although my current guide schedule involves only the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, I have also successfully utilized my skills in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Indiana.

    To sum it up, I love fishing and the outdoors, and I am passionate about helping people catch fish. I hope to see you on the water!

• 2:00 p.m. – Doug Wegner
  • Captain Doug Wegner has been running guided fishing trips since 2015, taking his clients on adventures all over the Midwest, including Canada. Growing up in South East Wisconsin, Doug started fishing at a very young age. Over the years, Doug had access to many lakes that he used to sharpen his skills. Most of his spare time was spent traveling to destinations all over North America chasing his favorite species: Muskies, Walleyes, Smallmouth, and Lake trout. Doug uses his electronics, experience, and instincts to be successful on the water.  His passion for the sport runs deep, this has inspired him to share that same passion with his customers on every guided trip. He also shares his education of fishing by speaking at sports shows, local fishing clubs, and large group events where he educates fellow anglers on how to be more successful on the water! With a positive attitude and stern determination he spends many extra hours on the water each week. Nothing can replace experience on the water and with over 200 + guided trips yearly, you can be rest assured your experience on the water with Capt. Doug will be a memorable one. Doug takes great pride in assuring everyone is comfortable in the boat and enjoying their time on the water! Return clients are a huge part of Doug’s business and goes to show the quality of his costumer service. Doug is a licensed coast guard certified Captain with CPR & First Aid training, preparing him for any situation that might come about on the water. He spends the majority of his time guiding on the waters of Green Bay targeting: Muskies, Walleyes, and Smallmouth but also guides on the most sought after Canadian Musky destination, Lake of The Woods. A trip with Doug is about much more than just catching fish, it’s a full experience of learning skills you can use in your future fishing endeavors! 

• 4:00 p.m. – Jeff Van Remortel
  • USCG licensed Capt. Jeff Van Remortel is a multi-species fishing guide specializing in musky and walleye angling in the waters of Vilas, Oneida, Iron and Price Counties.  During the musky season, Capt. Jeff is on the water 5 to 7 days a week guiding and fishing for muskies and other freshwater species.  Recent highlights include:

    2015 Muskies Boated From May 26th – October 20th: 143 muskies

    2014 Muskies Boated From May 24th – October 24th: 108 muskies

    2013 Muskies Boated From May 25th – October 22nd:   98 muskies

    2012 Muskies Boated From May 26th – October 25th:  115 muskies

    7 top 10 tournament finishes, including three 1st place finishes and a 2nd place finish, in the 2012 season.

    He spends his fall (mid October through season close in early December) as a full time waterfowl hunting guide on Green Bay/Lake Michigan (7 days a week) specializing in open water layout hunts and shore hunts for divers and sea ducks.