Jody Mills
aka: Steamboat
I grew up on the Muskoka Lakes (inland lakes that eventually flow to Georgian Bay via the Moon River) and took to fishing at a very young age, fishing off the dock with my father and younger brother James. In 1981 my brother and I discovered the local Lacustrian Musky population and proceeded to lay a severe beating on them until about 1995 when I succumbed to the natural progression of Musky Fishing. I was ready to trade numbers for size. So down-stream I headed, to the famed Moon River area of Georgian Bay. What a shock! I had to relearn how to catch Muskys! Never mind the much lower fish population, these riverine fish behaved nothing like the lacustrian fish that I had learned on.
With the only source of positive reinforcement being hooked fish, my learning curve was very slow and painful. But with dogged determination, my fishing partner and I persevered. By the fall of '97 I had put together a few things and my catch rate was showing it. A little inspiration from Moon River musky guide Bill Hamblin was all it took to hang up a shingle and start guiding Muskys in the spring of '98. *A very special thank-you to Bill Hamblin for the inspiration, sharing your knowledge and sharing the water that you mastered.
In July of 2001 I quit my full time job and started guiding full time. I guided the Moon River area exclusively until about the spring of 2002. On of my most memorable catches from that early era of my career was the capture of Todd Booth's 56 x 27 inch monster that won Muskies Inc. largest release for 2001. The next was Ed Barbosa's 49 inch registered Ontario record hybrid, followed by my personal longest, a casted 55 x 23.5 inch monster!
In the spring of 2002 I started exploring the many different areas of the Georgian Bay and North Channel. To date I have boated 40 lbs+ fish for my clients in all of the different areas that I guide.