MidWest Outdoors Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

To mark the milestone, we sit down with a friend of the show and flat-out elite angler — Matteo Toronto. Matteo just wrapped one of the most impressive seasons in recent memory, capping it off with a great showing at RedCrest! Jim and Matteo dig into his Kentucky Lake learning curve, how live scope changed his shallow water game, the state of the fishery (spoiler: it's bouncing back), and what it really takes to compete — and win — at one of the highest level of bass fishing.

We are talking about the most historic and legendary fishery in the Midwest: Hayward Lakes. Mindy Simon, the Executive Director of Hayward Lakes Visitors and Convention Bureau, walks us through what makes the Hayward area so special. Then we are joined by Capt. Louie Dazzo of Louie's Get Hooked Guide Service to talk about what to and how to fish the lakes of Hayward. From the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, to untouched wilderness, to some of the best inland lakes for fishing and fun, the Hayward area has you covered.

 #hayward #musky #wisconsin 

This week we are sitting down with a legend in walleye fishing and long time friend of MidWest Outdoors, Ted Takasaki. We cover it all; from his surprising beginnings, to leading Lindy Tackle into new frontiers, and how fishing has changed in his decades in the industry. We learned a lot from Ted and you will too!

This week we are talking to the angler who is now a back-to-back champion. Tom Hyunh for the 2nd year in a row is The National Walleye Tour Champion. We go over strategy, technique, and current technology that led him to 2 championships.

This week we are out of the studio and up north in La Crosse, Wisconsin for the final tour stop of the Bassmaster Elite Series. First we review all that La Crosse has to offer from fishing to family picnics. Then we are joined by a few of all-stars from the Seaguar Fishing team. We discuss all things Seaguar line and how it helped these pros to victory!

There is a lot of work that goes into taking care or epic fisheries and prime hunting ground. This week we talk with Alex Koepke of McCloud Aquatics and Chrissy Shaw from The American Forest Foundation about what we can do as hunters and anglers to improve our fishing holes and hunting grounds for year after year fun! If you like the show make sure to subscribe to our YouTube and find us on all social media platforms!

We are at the Milwaukee Muskie Expo talking to Jeff Van Remortel, Colyn Kotlowski, and Rick Lax. They walk us through where to find muskie, what you can use to catch them, and how you can preserve the fishery and your memory through reproduction mounts. Then we hit the red carpet for the premiere of "Muskie Man;" a film from Aluma Craft about Larry Ramsell, the Muskie Man himself.

We are joined by Easton Fothergill on this special episode to talk with him about his incredible win at the 2025 BASSMaster Classic. He gives a look into the mindset, tactics, and drive needed to win the ultimate bass fishing tournament. Again, we want to extend a huge congrats to Easton for winning the Classic in historic fashion!

The ice is starting to melt and we're already thinking about open water. This week we're sitting down with some of Jim's friends who are avid anglers to talk about their best fishing memories and at what moment we all realized this is more than a passion for us.

This week we are on the ice coming to you from the fishing utopia that is Green Bay Wisconsin. We see for ourselves how hot the Whitefish bite can be through the ice. We sit down, in the pop-up, to talk with Capt. Alec Nickel about what species you can expect up on The Bay. Then we're joined by Nolan's Top Gun Charters in a blizzard to talk about what to look for in guide's when you're planning your next trip.