Hometown: Makanda, Illinois
Family: My main squeeze is my Australian Shepherd, Ely. She loves standing next to me while doing a figure eight boat side, often seeing the mighty musky before I do. I grew up fishing in the Minocqua area of Northern Wisconsin and Sioux Lookout, Canada, each summer with my father, “Musky Mike.” My three brothers and two sisters all enjoy fishing, and I have the privilege of sharing my guide boat with them each year. You could say fishing is in my blood.
Age: 35
Education: Bachelor of Science, Recreation and Leisure Service Management, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Occupation: Owner/Operator of Shawnee Expeditions Guide Service. I’m also the Independent Living Supervisor at OPTIONS Transitions to Independence, a post secondary transition program for students with complex learning disabilities.
Website: http://www.shawneeguides.com/
Contact: Esoxdonovan@yahoo.com
Hobbies: Musky fishing, mountain biking, camping, canoeing and music festivals.
Fishing Background: I’ve been chasing muskies for almost 26 years. I started at a young age, and always knew I wanted to make a career teaching others my passion for fishing. My first musky came from Long Lake in Northern Wisconsin in 1988, and the addiction continues to this day. In addition to my guiding business, I have also been a seminar speaker at many local musky clubs, a professional tournament fisherman, and an advocate for local musky stocking programs.
Llungen Lures was one of my first sponsorships while fishing the Professional Musky Tournament Trail and the Illinois Musky Tournament Trail. I truly believe this is why Chris Riebe and I did so well year after year.
Tournament Success:
- 1st Place : IMTT 2013 Spring Classic
- 3rd Place: IMTT 2012 Spring Brawl
- 1st Place: PMTT 2010 Chippewa Flowage
- 1st Place: PMTT 2009 Top Gun Award
- 4th Place: PMTT 2009 Cave Run Lake
- 6th Place: PMTT 2009 St Croix River
- 2nd Place: PMTT 2008 Lake Shelbyville
- 3rd Place: PMTT 2008 Top Gun Award
- 4th Place: PMTT 2008 Championship Lake Bemidji
Primary Fishing Strength: I really do not have a primary fishing strength, as I let the daily conditions dictate what type of structure, habitat, and depth I will be fishing each day. If I had one primary style of fishing I enjoy the most, which puts a ton of muskies in the boat year after year, it would be precise break line casting on deep weed edges.
Go To Bait: My go to bait is the DC-9 Llungen Tail in any Shad Pattern, Natural color, or Lemonhead. Time after time this bait has produced under a wide array of fishing conditions. A close second would be the Nut Buster spinner bait in white/nickel.
