This angler spotlight is fishing guide Matt Peters.  Matt is a professional angler that grew up on the south shore of Lake Waconia.  It was there that he honed his skills with a rod and reel.  By the time he was 4 years old, he was found on the dock fishing more often than not.  Matt is the youngest of 9 and has 5 older brothers of which showed him all the ins and outs of fishing. When one of his brothers was going fishing, he was always tagging along.  At the age of 11 his Mom and Dad gave him an electric motor and battery for the family’s 12 foot jon boat.  His mother vividly remembers him coming home from school and never opening his back pack, instead he would head out on the water.  At this point the seed was planted; Matt had a passion for fishing!  He wanted to gain the knowledge it would take to conquer every fish that swam in Lake Waconia.  Little did he know that this passion would reach much farther than Lake Waconia and go on to be his career. 

As Matt grew bigger so did his boats.  By the time he was 14, he was fishing out of a 14 foot boat with a 15 horse motor and a custom made casting platform.  He traded up again at the age of 16 for a 16 foot lund with a 50 horse motor.  That same year Matt started to fish a local bass league on Lake Waconia.  He wanted to put his knowledge and skill up against some of the area’s best.  After two years, Matt was convinced the only reason he wasn’t winning the tournaments was because his boat was not as fast as the competition.   Therefore he traded up for a faster boat.  It was an 18 foot Ranger bass boat with a 150 horse motor.  During this same time Matt started to take clients out fishing and passing along his knowledge.  He found more and more people willing to pay for a day on the water.  Matt thought it was a fun way to pay for the tournament events and put gas in his boat. 

The first year Matt had his faster boat he won the “Angler of The Year” title in the Waconia bass league.  Winning this title sparked a fire under him to compete at a higher level.  The following year Matt signed up for the MN Pro-Am Bass Tour as a pro angler to again test his skills against the state’s best.  The very first year on tour, Matt finished 20^th overall in points and qualified for the tournament of champions.  When he wasn’t on the road for tournaments he found himself guiding more and more. 

Over the next 7 years Matt built quite the resume on the tournament trail and grew his list of sponsors from 1 (his mom and dad) to 10.  At the same time, he continued to grow and develop his guide business.  His list of clients got to be very extensive and included the likes of Darby Hendrickson, Eric Rasmussen, Randy Moss, Jack Brewer, Michael Bennett, and many other celebrities.

Today Matt operates a successful guide service, fishing business, and a unique fish blogging website.  He continues to work hard and chase his passion.  80% of his clients are return customers.  Whether you are a novice or a seasoned vet, Matt will work with you to make sure you have a good time in pursuit of your species of choice.  Lake Waconia is still his home turf with Lake Minnetonka coming in a close second.  Matt is proud to represent some of the industries finest companies including, Ranger Boats, Evinrude Outboards, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Lowrance Electronics, Maxima Fishing Line, and Flambeau Outdoors.  Tournament fishing and guiding has exposed him to many lakes across the whole country.  His adventures have taken him from the far reaches of the Florida Keys to some of the best ice fishing in the world in Ontario Canada.