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
 Last booking: 5 days ago
 Instant Confirmation
Trips from US $540

Fishing Reports

Chinooks and Coho on the Golden Diablo
Chinooks and Coho on the Golden Diablo
Jun 12, 2018 Milwaukee
Chinooks and Coho on the Golden Diablo Milwaukee Fishing Lake Michigan Salmon Report 6/13/18 By Milwaukee Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt Had limits on Coho Salmon and the Chinook are there if you can keep the Coho off the lines. How Let me tell you about the new Golden Diablo spoon. When I started running this spoon I couldnโ€™t believe how many fish it caught. I didnโ€™t want to release it for purchase until all the testing was done. You can run it bare on lead core or 48 inches behind a dodger or flasher in any presentation for salmon or trout. I have had Chinook to 19 pounds on them. Fellow anglers are using them for Walleye and Bass with excellent results. The spoon is genuine Gold plated and comes in two sizes at this time. The Golden Diablo may be trolled, jigged and casts a country mile. Your probably thinking what do I need another spoon for. You wonโ€™t be disappointed. On with the fish report. The small Reaper Peacock and Fish n Chip has been hot on the lead cores. Six inch flashers or dodgers with green or blue Howie peanut flies must be part of your presentation for Coho. A hot presentation for us was a size O orange dodger with a 22 inch lead to a medium size blue fly. Coho are in the top 35 feet and Chinooks are 60 to 85 down. Steady action on Slide Divers set to #3 no ring and 35 feet of line out. Run 4 and 5 color Cortland lead core and downriggers 60 to 95 feet down. Speed has been very critical with the 47 degree water. I use the Depth Raider to measure speed at the ball. The big Chinook are hitting on the Golden Diablo both sizes. The boat speed of 1.9 to 2.2 has been best. Tie your flies 16 inches on 6 inch dodgers, 18 inches for 6 inch flashers. All orange dodgers and flashers. I hope this helps. Where! Fish are from 80 feet and all the way out east of Milwaukee to 170 feet. It can be a zoo in close with all the traffic and it may be better to head out the Main gap Milwaukee 85 degrees. Fish east out to 100 to 140 feet of water for the best action. Have a great fishing season. Let's go fishing! Copyrightยฉ 2018, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
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Milwaukee, Pounding Coho On Flies!
Milwaukee, Pounding Coho On Flies!
Jun 6, 2018 Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Pounding Coho On Flies! By Milwaukee Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt Coho and Chinook Report 6/6/2018 How It was mostly a 00 dodgers and Howie fly bite with a few fish on spoons. The pattern hasnโ€™t changed. A mixed bag of Coho, and Chinooks with limits possible. The big Chinooks are also in. Chinook are coming on small or magnum size spoons. Reapers and Vulcans have been working for us. The small silver Vulcan in green, blue or orange has been hot on the downriggers. Run them 50 feet behind the ball 25 feet down to the bottom. Six inch dodgers with green or blue Howieโ€™s peanut flies also caught fish. Tie your flies 14.5 inches on 6 inch dodgers. Use all orange dodgers and flashers. I hope this helps. Slide Diver are producing with flies set at 3 no ring 35 feet of line out. No Lake Trout today. No Browns today. No report of any Rainbows Speed For all fish speed has been very critical with the warmer 55 degree water. I use the Depth Raider to measure speed at the ball. The Chinook are hitting Reaper Magnum Glow spoons at first light and blue or green with silver back all day. The boat speed of 2.0 to 2.4 has been best. The faster speed triggered the Chinook action. Where! Fish are in the colder water out over 80 feet. We fished east west out to 160 feet with steady action all day. We did not get out over 160 feet of water yesterday. Have a great fishing season. Let's go fishing! Copyrightยฉ 2018, James J. Hirt All Rights Reserved.
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Milwaukee, Coho Season Has Arrived!
Milwaukee, Coho Season Has Arrived!
May 18, 2018 Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Coho Season Has Arrived! By Milwaukee Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt Coho and Chinook Report 5/21/2018 Salmon are here! Join us in Milwaukee! Great fishing morning for Kris and company! Limit of Coho not bad. We had a great time. Two 17 pound Kings on Saturday morning trip How It was mostly a 00 dodgers and Howie fly bite with a few fish on spoons. The pattern hasnโ€™t changed. A mixed bag of Coho, and Chinooks with limits possible. The big Chinooks are also in. Chinook are coming on small or magnum size spoons. Reapers and Vulcans made by **hidden content** have been working for us. The small silver Vulcan in green, blue or orange has been hot on the downriggers. Run them 50 feet behind the ball 25 feet down to the bottom. Six inch dodgers with green or blue Howieโ€™s peanut flies also caught fish. Tie your flies 14.5 inches on 6 inch dodgers. Use all orange dodgers and flashers. I hope this helps. Slide Diver are producing with flies set at 3 no ring 35 feet of line out. No Lake Trout today. No Browns today. No report of any Rainbows Speed For all fish speed has been very critical with the warmer 51 degree water. I use the Depth Raider to measure speed at the ball. The Chinook are hitting Reaper Magnum Glow spoons at first light and blue or green with silver back all day. The boat speed of 2.0 to 2.4 has been best. The faster speed triggered the Chinook action. Where! Fish are hanging in close to shore or the break wall. We did not get out over 50 feet of water yesterday. Follow the shoreline working 40 feet of water. Have a great fishing season. Let's go fishing! Copyrightยฉ 2018, James J. Hirt All Rights Reserved.
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Milwaukee Fishing, Multi Species Action!
Milwaukee Fishing, Multi Species Action!
Sep 24, 2017 Milwaukee
Milwaukee Fishing, Multi Species Action! By Milwaukee Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt Lake Michigan Salmon Fishing Report 9/25/2017 Hello all thank you for reading my reports. Join us in Milwaukee! To get my fish reports and how to videos first go to **hidden content** By subscribing you will keep ahead of the other anglers. When I post you will get it fast! How The fishing was good last weekend. We are finding colder water and schools of baitfish in 30 to 100 feet of water The temp break was down 25 feet to 47 degrees. Chinook numbers were down this last weekend with some five to seven pound Lake Trout picking up the slack. Lakers were active on the bottom in 90 feet of water. Coho are still coming on flasher flies on the wire divers 3 set 130 feet on the line counter. Brown trout were solid on 2,3,4,5,6 and 8 color lead core on boards with regular size Vulcan spoons. The OL Sherbet color was best all season. Chins went for Vulcan spoons in blue/silver or green/silver. Downriggers on the bottom with size 0 dodgers and Spin n Glows are taking the Lakers. Reapers and Vulcans made by **hidden content** have been working for us. The small silver Vulcan in green or blue has also been good on the lead cores for exciting Rainbows. I hope this helps. Lake Trout action was a big part of our catch all week on magnum spoons 100 to 130 down or Spin n glows. Brown Trout action was hot on small spoons on lead core. Rainbow Trout were slow hitting Vulcan Dolphin Green and Silver spoons in the top 40 feet. Coho have slowed down most of them came 70 down on Magnum Reapers Fish N Chips spoons or flasher flies. Where! Bait fish are in 30 to 100 I fished anywhere inside of 100 feet in Whitefish Bay. Near shore action on McKinley pier has improved the black Chinooks and a few Browns being caught. Head northeast and set lines in 30 feet. Troll northeast have a great fishing season. Let's go fishing! Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters. Copyrightยฉ 2017, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved. Fish,report,salmon,lake,michigan,Milwaukee
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Milwaukee, Fishing Kings And Huge Coho!!
Milwaukee, Fishing Kings And Huge Coho!!
Sep 6, 2017 Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Fishing Kings And Huge Coho!! By Milwaukee Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt Lake Michigan Salmon Fishing Report 9/6/2017 Hello all thank you for reading my reports. Zach Britten joins a long list of happy anglers with a humongous Chinook weighing in at 25 pounds 2 ounce and 38.25 inches. Join us in Milwaukee! To get my fish reports and how to videos first go to **hidden content** By subscribing you will keep ahead of the other anglers. When I post you will get it fast! How The fishing Was good all week We are finding pockets of colder water and schools of baitfish in 100 to 180 feet of water. The temp break was down 80 feet to 51 degrees. A east to west troll worked best for us. The currents have been strong at times so watch your Depth Raider or downrigger cables. The blow back on your weights will tell you whatโ€™s going on down there. Chinook numbers were up this last week with some large Lake Trout also active 120 down. The big surprise was huge Coho. We havenโ€™t seen good numbers on this size Coho for a number of years. Chinooks went for Magnum Reaper spoons in blue/silver or green/silver. White or green Howieโ€™s flies also working well run behind a white flasher. The big 20 pounds plus Chinooks were again part of the catch. Wire divers 3 set with 200 feet of line out was the ticket for Coho. We also had some excellent days fishing them in the warm water with spoons or flies. Downriggers on the bottom with size 0 dodgers and Spin n Glows are taking the Lakers. Reapers and Vulcans made by **hidden content** have been working for us. The small silver Vulcan in green or blue has also been good on the lead cores for exciting Rainbows. I hope this helps. Slide Diver are producing with #3 silver J plugs set at 2 with small ring. Run them 70 feet of line out 70 behind the diver . Lake Trout action was a big part of our catch all week on magnum spoons 100 to 130 down. Brown Trout action was just ok on the bottom small spoons. One here and there. Rainbow Trout were slow hitting Vulcan Dolphin Green and Silver spoons in the top 40 feet. Coho caused a lot of excitement and became a regular part of the catch. Most of them came 80 down on Magnum Reapers Fish N Chips spoons. Speed For all fish speed has been very critical with the warmer 72 degree water. The temp break to 52 is down 75 feet. I use the Depth Raider to measure speed and temp at the ball. The boat speed of 2.2 to 2.6 has been best. The faster speed triggered the Chinook action. Where! Bait fish are in 80 to 120 I fished anywhere from 100 to out over 180 feet. Follow the temperatures and fish the zone. Near shore action on McKinley pier continues very slow with only a few Browns being caught. Head due east and set lines in 100 feet. Troll east have a great fishing season. Let's go fishing! Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters.
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Milwaukee, Fishing Big Fish Season!!
Milwaukee, Fishing Big Fish Season!!
Aug 21, 2017 Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Fishing Big Fish Season!! By Milwaukee Wisconsin fishing charter Capt. Jim Hirt Lake Michigan Salmon Fishing Report 8/21/2017 It was a special fishing day for Master Adam Schreiber. He boated this beautiful Lake Trout that weighed in at 11 pounds 15 ounces. This was an experience he will remember for a lifetime. Congratulations Adam hope to see you again next season. Join us in Milwaukee! To get my fish reports and how to videos first go to **hidden content** By subscribing you will keep ahead of the other anglers. When I post you will get it fast! How The fishing Was good all week We are finding pockets of colder water and schools of baitfish in 100 to 180 feet of water. The temp break was down 70 feet to 51 degrees. A south to north troll worked best for us. The currents have been strong at times so watch your Depth Raider or downrigger cables. The blow back on your weights will tell you whatโ€™s going on down there. Chinook numbers were up this last week with some large Lake Trout also active 120 down. Chinooks went for Magnum Reaper spoons in blue/silver or green/silver. White or green Howieโ€™s flies also working well run behind a white flasher. The big 20 pounds plus Chinooks were again part of the catch. Wire divers 3 set with 200 feet of line out was the ticket. We also had some excellent days fishing them in the warm water with spoons or flies. Downriggers on the bottom with size 0 dodgers and Spin n Glows are taking the Lakers. Reapers and Vulcans made by **hidden content** have been working for us. The small silver Vulcan in green or blue has also been good on the lead cores for exciting Rainbows. I hope this helps. Slide Diver are producing with #3 silver J plugs set at 2 with small ring. Run them 70 feet of line out 70 behind the diver . Lake Trout action was a big part of our catch all week on magnum spoons 100 to 130 down. Brown Trout action was just ok on the bottom small spoons. One here and there. Rainbow Trout were slow hitting Vulcan Dolphin Green and Silver spoons in the top 40 feet. Speed For all fish speed has been very critical with the warmer 72 degree water. The temp break to 52 is down 70 feet. I use the Depth Raider to measure speed and temp at the ball. The boat speed of 2.0 to 2.2 has been best. The faster speed triggered the Chinook action. Where! Bait fish are in 80 to 120 I fished anywhere from 100 to out over 180 feet. Follow the temperatures and fish the zone. Near shore action on McKinley pier has been very slow with only a few Browns being caught. Head north in Whitefish Bay and set lines in 100 feet. Troll north east have a great fishing season. Let's go fishing! Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters.
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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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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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Mark S.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

What a fantastic day!!!!!!

VERIFIED   6 Hour Trip โ€“ Weekday (AM) on July 17, 2024
We caught our limit in 3 1/2 hours. Captain Jim knew all the right spots to fish. Jim and his wife make a great team! I would...
Mark S. recommends Blue Max Charters Salmon Fishing
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