When you think of world championships you probably first think of football, then baseball, right? Perhaps the BASSMasters Classic if you are a fishing devotee. Well, what about the world championship of musky fishing? There actually is one and it was won by a Virginian and a member of the W2 Pro Team.
Veteran Roanoke fishing guide Ken Trail, along with Michael Handlogten, won the 2024 Professional Musky Tournament Trail’s Recon Boats World Championship. The Professional Musky Tournament Trail (PMTT) World Championship took place in Eagle River Chain, Wisconsin on September 27-28-29, 2024.
The most high-profile musky tournament in the US, the PMTT (www.promusky.com) is comprised of a series of qualifying events, as well as the year-end World Championship. Anglers taking part in the PMTT compete for cash and prizes totaling over $220,000 throughout the year. Committed to developing the sport of musky fishing and promoting musky conservation, PMTT, the first and only National Musky Tournament Trail now in its 26th year, was founded in 1999.
During this year’s World Championship, Trail, 50, and Handlogten boated three muskies, measuring 46.5 inches, 36.5 inches and 31 inches, earning them the World Championship title, as well as the title of TTAP Bonus Team and top honors for the biggest fish of the tournament. 260 anglers competed in this year’s PMTT events.
Trail, a native of Salem, said of the win, “I could not be more excited about our win and have to give thanks to my fishing partner, Michael Handlogten, literally for doing so much of the heavy lifting during the tournament, as I was dealing with an injury. While pre-fishing, Michael and I found fish and actually caught a couple of nice fish prior to the tournament. Pre-fishing allowed us to get a good read on the water, and we formed a game plan and stuck to it. Fortunately, our game plan paid off against some of the best sticks in the musky game. Red October Baits proved to be the winning ticket and we saw action on SloFlo Glide Baits and Hot Tail Gliders, as well.”
W2 caught up with Trail at the recent Richmond Fishing Expo and asked him about the experience and his guide service. We asked what got him interested in muskie fishing tournaments?
“I started fishing some regional tourneys and just loved that competitive feeling. Although admittedly the regional tournaments were just an excuse for me to take off guiding for the weekend and have fun and fish for myself some. It was enough for me to get the bug to go fish on the professional trail, where I take that much more seriously.
“In the Professional Musky Tournament Trail, it’s you and a partner. There are three qualifying events, and if you qualify in the top 50 in points, you are eligible to fish the World Championship. The qualifying events are two-day events, and the championship is three days. In the championship you have to catch at least one fish Friday or Saturday to fish Sunday. This may sound like an easy task, but it is not. Typically, over 50% of the field doesn’t even make it to the final day, Sunday.
“Score is by length. All of these tourneys are catch and release, so you catch, lay the fish on a bump board, snap a picture, and also have a ‘hero’ shot with the fish. You try and catch as many ‘legal’ fish (each state and region is different, typically 30” plus) as you can!”
We also asked Trail what about Virginia muskie fishing prepared him for the pro trail?
“The fishing is similar no matter where you are fishing for the musky. It’s the same baits, styles, etc., so just the hours I’ve spent here in Virginia on bait presentations; figure-eighting, netting monster fish, the pressure of converting fish from follows to having hooks in the fish, etc., all played a part in preparing.”
Since Trail guides on rivers, we asked what the difference was fishing for musky in big lakes during the trail.
“Very rarely are you fishing a river on the trail. If you are it’s a small stretch that connects lakes that are part of a chain of lakes. So, we are fishing lakes and big chains of lakes. Most of the stops on the trail are lakes that have 10’s of thousands of acres of water. So, it’s vastly different than hole-hopping on a river system.”
Of course, we asked what his go-to lure was on the trail.
“We caught almost all of our fish on Red October Baits. We were fishing the 10-inch tube, and the just over six-ounce rig and really moving it in the water. We were fishing above weeds, so keeping it above and ticking the weeds was the ticket.”
As a musky and smallmouth guide and now a national champion musky tournament angler we wanted to know what Trail likes to fish for most.
“This is a really, really tough question for me. From my teenage years, when I could finally drive myself to fish, I was a serious smallmouth guy. I loved it and still do! Although we musky fished when I was young a little, I really didn’t get the bug for that until later in life. When the guide business first started going on I was primarily smallmouth guiding and the musky craze hit our area and honestly musky fishing just blew up even nationally. Quickly my business, and what I became known for, switched gears to musky. Back to the question, I still love to smallmouth fish, but I enjoy the hunt for the musky, so the needle tilts that way a little.”
We asked Trail what his advice would be to someone looking to learn how to muskie fish.
“First off get all the tools, this is essential for your safety and the fish’s. Large net capable of landing a musky, hook cutters, long and regular pliers, and jaw spreaders to just get started. Honestly, I recommend folks going with a guide a time or two before getting into fishing for musky. It’s so much different than anything you normally fish for. It’s worth it to learn the equipment that you have to have to be able to fish for them. There’s so many musky killed every year because folks just aren’t prepared to deal with them once caught.”
Musky gear isn’t the same as bass gear, so we asked what the W2 Pro Team member’s rod and reel combos look like.
“I have SEVERAL different rod and reel combos on the boat when I’m fishing. A couple that I use most frequently are a 9’ Chaos 20/20 Swat (3-10 ounce) rod with a Shimano Tranx 400 and a 9’6’ Chaos Shock and Awe rod (4-24 ounce) rod with a Shimano Tranx 500.”
Lastly, we asked Ken what his plans were for 2025.
“I just had rotator cuff surgery in December, so I’m sidelined until March or April. But I plan to start guiding for my trophy smallmouth season in late March through April. In May I transition back to musky. Our first tourney is in Kentucky the last weekend in April, then we are off to Wisconsin in June, Detroit in July, Minnesota in August, and hopefully back to the world championship in Iowa in September.”
Ken Trail is a member of the W2 Pro Team and owner of Rock On Charters, LLC, a full service fishing guide service focused on the waters of southwestern Virginia and the High Country of North Carolina. A native of Salem, Virginia and lifelong Roanoke area resident, Trail is an accomplished outdoorsman who served in the US Marine Corps.
Trail guides primarily on the James and New River for both smallmouth and musky. He loves both the James and New equally and guides where he feels like clients have the best chance at that time.
