The Ugly Pike Podcast opens 2026 with an unfiltered, wide-ranging conversation on musky fishing, experience, and long-term strategy.

Frank and Chris sit down with Johnny Dadson and Pete Bostelmann to reflect on the 2025 season and explore how mindset, conditions, and time on the water shape success more than predictions ever could. From travel fishing and adapting to unfamiliar water, to casting versus trolling and late-season decision-making, this episode focuses on perspective earned through decades of experience.

The discussion builds toward a memorable Georgian Bay story that underscores patience, preparation, and why sometimes one last cast truly matters.

This is part one of a two-part conversation, setting up a deeper dive into modern musky fishing and bait building in the next episode.

Chris and Frank take a look back at the 2025 year on and off the water, reviewing memorable events, interviews, and lessons learned

Chris and Frank take a look back at the 2025 year on and off the water, reviewing memorable events, interviews, and lessons learned

In this second part of our interview with Kory, the focus shifts to the fine details of fishing both conventional and unconventional water systems. Kory drills down on his approach to the various environments that we all love to tackle and provides essential details that will aid the listener to become a more diverse and adaptive angler. Topics include:

• Fishing shallow water River systems
• How seasonal water temperatures change your approach
• Winter "holes"
• Fishing Northwest Ontario shield waters
• Adjustment lessons learned from Jim Saric

Kory Maxfield is a genuine outdoorsman. In this episode, we sit with Kory and talk about the rituals that crafted his childhood as he grew up in a family that put the outdoors first. On his page, Slump Bust Outdoors, Kory displays his life lessons as they relate to muskie fishing and in this episode, we tie it all together. Points of discussion include:

• Growing up in an outdoor family
• Generational Commercial fishing and the wisdom passed down
• Fishing multimedia in 2025
• Backwater fishing lessons learned

In this second part of our discussion with Zach, we get into the details on how to catch fish. Zach breaks out tournament fishing tactics, as well as how to select and work baits. Zach gives tremendous detail in this second part and winds it up with a truly special fishing story. This was truly an amazing chat for us. Points include:

• Muskie tournament strategy vs casual angling
• Lure selection for tournaments
• How work baits to provoke a strike
• Are all muskies the same?

Zach Baker has been fishing muskies for decades. He is a unique person and angler that provided not only detailed information on targeting muskies in this part one of our interview, but wonderful stories. This interview exemplifies why muskie fishing, and the people we do it with, is so special. A truly remarkable interview. In this first part, we drill down on:

• Zach's origin story
• The evolution of muskie fishing
• Targeting strategies for inland lake fisheries
• When to target shorelines vs open water
• Depth vs speed vs colour
• Fishing your past

In this Full Moon Friday episode, the guys take a call from Kyle Carruthers, organizer of the juggernaut CANCAST fishing show. Kyle talks about the recent decision to merge with the Musky Odyssey and why he feels this will be a big positive for the muskie anglers in attendance. A great talk ensued about the origins of CANCAST and how his never-quit entrepreneurial spirit helped Kyle transform the show over the years. Following this, Chris and Frank discuss Frank's recent adversity on the water as he was challenged by horrific weather while in pursuit of a winter giant!