Welcome to The Professional Musky Tournament Trail

The Professional Musky Tournament Trail events are the most high profile, exciting, educational and entertaining musky tournaments in the country.

The PMTT's high energy format has been developed not only with the Pro's in mind, but also the dozens and dozens of other excellent musky anglers who may have the desire and ability to become Pro's or just enjoy a little competition and want to have a good time. Success in the PMTT can take you down many roads, no matter what your skill level. Come join the PMTT and have fun.

Anglers have the opportunity to compete in as many qualifying events as they choose, whether it is just one event or the entire tournament trail. The PMTT contestants will be competing for a cash and prize value that could total well over $220,000 through out the year. With the possibility of winning over $21,000 at every event and over $40,000 in cash and prizes at the year-end Ranger Boats World Championship, the PMTT is taking musky fishing to an all time high, developing the sport and promoting musky conservation.

Good luck to all this coming year and hope to see you on the water.

Take care and good fishing,

Tim Widlacki
Tournament Director

Our Mission

It is our desire that we bring to you the same kind of first class, challenging and exciting tournament, that we had always hoped to fish in.

Tournament Directors & Coordinators

Tim Widlacki
Tournament Director
Professional Musky Tournament Trail, Ltd.
Tim’s first musky encounter was at the young age of 15. The musky bug took hold instantly and uncontrollably. It had gotten so bad, that in a short time it seemed that he had given up on all other species in order to pursue musky. He had fished many lakes and rivers across the U.S. and Canada during the next 18 years. including in this journey were many tournaments with several high finishes. Observing more and more tournaments start up and grow quickly, one question kept coming to his mind. “Why hasn’t somebody organized by musky tournament trail?” After a few years of awaiting the opportunity to fish in one, the thought occurred to Tim, “Why not start one?”

After discussing it with his father for over a year, he finally convinced him to join in. With many good starting ideas and the help of a few good people, a few meetings were held and the PMTT was born!

Bob Widlacki
Secretary/Treasurer & Managing Director
Professional Musky Tournament Trail, Ltd.
Bob was born with a pole in his hand; okay, so it was a cane pole. Fortunately for him, his father was a true pioneer who not only liked to roam the wilds, but also enjoyed his fishing. One of his very first trips to the Hayward, Wisconsin area, he and his father were camping on the “Chip” (Chippewa Flowage) when a musky started to feed right in front of their camp. Bob’s father quickly grabbed his rod and was lucky enough to have the fish strike on his very first cast. After a short battle, he was able to beach the fish. It was Bob’s first meeting with “Mr. Musky,” and he was impressed.

Bob would like to say that was the start of his musky career, but at the age of 10, he was still a “cane pole guy.” However, as Bob relates, when you have a vacation home in Hayward for more than 30 years, you know sooner or later it is going to happen. It happened to Bob one day when fishing with son Tim, who Bob considers to be a “musky fanatic.” On that fateful day, Tim hooked his first musky, and Bob having nothing but a small walleye net, managed to get the lure hooked onto it while trying to fit Tim's big fish into it. Tim’s musky did a quick flip-flop and was gone. Maybe it was the look of frustration on Bob’s son’s face, or the blow to his ego that the “big one got away,” but from that moment the battle was on. For the next twenty years, Bob and son Tim have battled Mr. Musky in many U.S. and Canadian waters from Lake of the Woods to Georgian Bay. They haven’t won all the battles, but Bob says they are not through yet.

For the past ten years or so, like so many other musky anglers, Bob has been fishing in musky tournaments with some moderate successes, finishing in the “money” several times.

It is Bob’s hope and desire that with many years of experience both in the business and musky fishing world fishing for fun as well as “competition,” he can help assure that the PMTT offers up the kind of tournaments all serious-competitive musky anglers have been looking for.

Jim Saric - Operations Manager
Editor and Publisher of Musky Hunter Magazine; feature editor of Midwest Outdoors; contributing editor of Fishing Facts, North American Fishermen and In-Fisherman. Feature host of Midwest Outdoors Television.

James Stella - Visual Effects Director & Webmaster
Jim first started fishing for muskies as a kid, with his father, in the late 70's. They would make a couple trips a year to the Chippewa Flowage in Hayward, Wisconsin. In the early 80's their interests turned to bass fishing and they replaced their muskie fishing trips with bass fishing trips throughout the 80's & 90's. But one fateful day in April of '97, while Jim was exploring different bass lakes in Illinois, he went on a trip to southern Illinois's Lake Kinkaid, for what he thought would be a weekend of bass fishing. During that trip he was reacquainted with his old nemesis, Mr. Esox. This time the muskie bug took complete control over him. After that trip, he got rid of everything bass related in his boat and hasn't looked back since. His dad still tries to get him to fish bass tournaments with him, but as Jim likes to tell his Dad, "The lures I throw, are bigger than the fish you catch."

Jim is very involved in the muskie community.  He does Multi Media, Audio/Video & Website work for muskie clubs, tournaments, seminars, expos, schools & clinics as well as other things. He is VP & webmaster of his Muskie Inc.'s South of the Border chapter, a delegate to the Illini Muskies Alliance (IMA) and he also ran the Extreme Muskie Expo shows. Jim is also on the pro staff's of Ranger Boats, Evinrude, G. Loomis, Frabill, Llungen Lures, Sennet Tackle Company & Cortland.

Jason Summers - Rules & Ethics Committee Director
Jason's father introduced him to the outdoors at an early age. Fishing became an enjoyable way to spend time, and a few years later he encountered his first musky. Instantly Jason devoted his energy to pursue this great fish. He developed techniques fishing throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. Jason's instinct to compete was cured in 2000, he entered The Professional Musky Tournament trail. The trail has taken him to many new waters, and Jason has proven he can fish with a couple top ten finishes. The people encountered during the journey are the most memorable and enjoyable.

Ed Haagenson - Judge & Set up Coordinator