Captain
Jim Hirt

Member since April 2016 Milwaukee, United States
Background
Captain Jim Hirt has more than 30 years experience fishing for Salmon and Trout on Lake Michigan. He works with his wife Anita to provide exciting fishing adventures from Milwaukee as well as relaxing cruises around the local area. The couple make every effort to ensure that your trip is both safe and enjoyable. Blue Max Charters’ claim to fame: a line class world record of the somewhat rare Atlantic Salmon was caught during a fishing tournament with this outfit!
Techniques
Motor Trolling

Hey, I'm Captain Jim Hirt

Milwaukee, United States
Background
Captain Jim Hirt has more than 30 years experience fishing for Salmon and Trout on Lake Michigan. He works with his wife Anita to provide exciting fishing adventures from Milwaukee as well as relaxing cruises around the local area. The couple make every effort to ensure that your trip is both safe and enjoyable. Blue Max Charters’ claim to fame: a line class world record of the somewhat rare Atlantic Salmon was caught during a fishing tournament with this outfit!
Techniques
Motor Trolling
Anglers Choice
Verified

My Charter Listing

Excellent
4.9 / 5
(117 reviews)
Angler's choice
Milwaukee
 Instant Confirmation
Trips from US $540

Fishing Reports

Milwaukee Fishing! Starting To Roll!
Milwaukee Fishing! Starting To Roll!
May 26, 2019 Milwaukee
Milwaukee Fishing! Starting To Roll! By Milwaukee Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt Lake Michigan Salmon Fishing Report 5/29/2019 Hello all thank you for reading my reports. Amanda and Jesse worked together to land this 15 pound 4 ounce Chinook and a bunch of Coho. It was great to fish with them. Join us in Milwaukee! We had our ups and downs the past week. However I see improvement as we progressed through the week. The water is warming up and there is pods of forage from 70 feet of water to shore. The recent changes has brought some Chinooks and Coho in. Most of the fish came in the top 28 feet. I tried north of Milwaukee but did better going south. We have been fishing the temp breaks in front of the harbor gaps and south of the green can marking fish at all depths. Our best presentations are Church Walleye planer boards with 25 foot leads behind the boards and downriggers 20 to 35 feet down. The way I set up a planer board is with 20 lb. mono to a 1/2-ounce bead chain sinker. Use 6 feet of 15 lb. fluorocarbon leader from the sinker to a size #1 Cross Lock snap and lure. The fish have been particular. Some of our best producers have been Vulcan Silver Sky and Orange Slush. Silver blue spoons worked best for us running 60 feet behind the ball on downriggers 8-15 feet down. Our best boat speed was 2.2 mph. Slide Divers are producing very well set to #2 with 50 feet of line out. Have a great fishing season. Let's go fishing!! James J. Hirt
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Milwaukee Fishing! Gaps For Success
Milwaukee Fishing! Gaps For Success
May 12, 2019 Milwaukee
Milwaukee Fishing! Gaps For Success By Milwaukee Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt Lake Michigan Salmon Fishing Report 5/15/2019 Hello all thank you for reading my reports. Join us in Milwaukee! Early May fishing is good. Most of our charter trips are catching 8 to 10 fish. Mostly Browns with some Rainbows and Coho. Not much has changed since the last report. Plenty of cold weather and rain has slowed catch rates with fewer anglers on the water. We fished sunny skies on Sunday with the wind out of the northeast at 5-10 mph to start. The wind came up and blew us off the lake. We still managed 6 for 10 in 3 hours of fishing. Most of the fish came in the top 18 feet or on the bottom. The water flowing into Milwaukee harbor is 54 degrees. We have been fishing the temp breaks in front of the river mouth and harbor gaps marking fish at all depths. Our best presentations are Church Walleye planer boards with 25 foot leads behind the boards and downriggers 20 to 35 feet down. The way I set up a planer board is with 20 lb. mono to a 1/4-ounce bead chain sinker. Use 6 feet of 15 lb. fluorocarbon leader from the sinker to a size #1 Cross Lock snap and lure. The fish have not been too particular. Some of our best producers have been Vulcan Silver Sky and Orange Slush, Michigan Stinger Natural Born Killer and most of their silver orange spoons are working. Inside the harbor and depending on wind direction the north and south gaps are producing fish. The fish at the north gap came on small spoons. Silver blue spoons worked best for us running 60 feet behind the ball on downriggers 8-15 feet down. Our best boat speed was 2.2 mph. Slide Divers are producing very well set to #2 with 50 feet of line out. Have a great fishing season. Let's go fishing!! Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. Copyrightยฉ 2019, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
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Milwaukee Fishing, Always Hot In Spring!
Milwaukee Fishing, Always Hot In Spring!
May 5, 2019 Milwaukee
Milwaukee Fishing, Always Hot In Spring! By Milwaukee Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt Lake Michigan Salmon Fishing Report 5/6/2019 Hello all thank you for reading my reports. Join us in Milwaukee! Early May fishing is very good. Most of our charter trips are catching 10 to 12 fish. Mostly Browns with some Rainbows and Coho. We fished sunny skies on Saturday with the wind out of the northeast at 5-10 mph. Sunday a southwest wind cooled down the water and the action moved higher in the water column. Most of the fish came in the top 18 feet. The water flowing into Milwaukee harbor is 54 degrees. We have been fishing the temp breaks in front of the river mouth and harbor gaps marking fish at all depths. Our best presentations are Church Walleye planer boards with 25 foot leads behind the boards and downriggers 20 to 30 feet down. The way I set up a planer board is with 20 lb. mono to a 1/4-ounce bead chain sinker. Use 6 feet of 15 lb. fluorocarbon leader from the sinker to a size #1 Cross Lock snap and lure. The fish have not been too particular. Most 3-4 inch spoons and Shad Raps are taking fish. Some of our best producers have been Vulcan OL Sherbet and Orange Slush. Michigan Stinger Natural Born Killer and most of their silver orange spoons are working. Inside the harbor and depending on wind direction the north and south gaps are producing fish. The fish at the north gap came on small spoons. Silver blue spoons worked best for us running 60 feet behind the ball on downriggers 8-15 feet down. Our best boat speed was 2.2 mph. Slide Divers are producing very well set to #2 with 40 feet of line out. Have a great fishing season. Let's go fishing!!
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Customer reviews

Rating summary
Excellent
4.9 / 5
out of 5 stars from 117 reviews
Boat
Excellent
4.9 / 5
Crew
Excellent
4.9 / 5
Experience
Excellent
4.8 / 5
Photos & videos by reviewers (121)
Will book again
Good trip
Rewarding trip
+118
Angler rating
107
4
5
0
0
Anglers claimed
Good experience
91%
Friendly captain
100%
Recommend this charter
96%
Appropriate for children
97%
Satisfied with the boat
99%
Caught fish
88%
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Showing:
5 of 117 reviews
Chris B.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Very knowledgeable and experienced captain.

VERIFIED   NEW  8 Hour Trip on June 6, 2025
Captain knows his stretch of water like the back of his hand. Seemed to n ow every trick in the book to maximize reeling in...
Chris B. recommends Blue Max Charters Salmon Fishing
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Ben S.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Epic trip on Lake Michigan

VERIFIED   6 Hour Trip โ€“ Weekday (PM) on September 12, 2024
Captain Jim and his wife were amazing hosts. Communication was great during the booking process. They explained everything...
Ben S. recommends Blue Max Charters Salmon Fishing
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GERALD J.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Rewarding trip

VERIFIED   6 Hour Trip โ€“ Weekday (PM) on June 27, 2024
These guys are great for family trips.ย  My nephew and I are experienced fishermen, my two grandsons 12 and 13 knew nothing...
GERALD J. recommends Blue Max Charters Salmon Fishing
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Brad B.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Great day on Lake Michigan!

VERIFIED   7 Hour Trip โ€“ Weekday (AM) on May 6, 2025
We had a great day with Blue Max charters on Lake Michigan in early May. It was a beautiful day and the Coho were very active....
Brad B. recommends Blue Max Charters Salmon Fishing
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Miladin K.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Great experience with Jim and Anette

VERIFIED   6 Hour Trip โ€“ Weekday (AM) on September 11, 2024
Jim is the best captain Iโ€™ve ever had. Heโ€™s got a ton of knowledge, his equipment is in tip-top shape, and his boat is...
Miladin K. recommends Blue Max Charters Salmon Fishing
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