Name: Luke Hofkamp
Age: 34
Birthday (Month/Day): April 20
State: Missouri
Region of State: Central
Day Job/Career Field: Emergency Medicine Physician
How Did you get Started in Fishing?
Started with my dad when I was very young. We had a little alumnicraft with a 9.9hp motor and trolled for trout in the reservoirs in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Caught my first large mouth bass and northern pike on that boat. The pike was on a Babe Winkelman series Lindy Joe Shadling.
How Long Have you been Fishing?
At least since I was 5 years old
How Often Do you Fish?
During the spring, summer and fall usually 3-5 days per week. I work a lot of night shifts and try to get out for the early AM bites.
What are your Ideal fishing conditions?
60’s to mid 80’s, light breeze with some clouds.
Who do you fish with?
Mostly by myself but I take my 3 kids out as much as possible. My oldest is starting to get into it more, just got his first baitcaster last year.
Where do you fish?
Pretty much anywhere around St. Louis. St Louis has a strong history of promoting fishing and lots of stocked public access lakes in the area. Pretty cool article from the local paper last fall https://www.stltoday.com/
news/local/metro/the-
surprising-story-of-how-
fishing-at-st-louis-parks/
article_6efa8daa-5e3a-5173-bfc4-f4dbd7548a01.html
How many months out of the year do you fish for?
9-10. Doesn’t get consistently cold enough down here for hard water fishing, but the water temp ends up in the 30’s so makes fishing for anything other than trout akin to snipe hunting.
What time do you go out fishing in the morning and what time do you get back?
I try to get out before sunrise and then spend a few hours there. If I’m camping I love night fishing with a lantern and old school topwater lures like Jitterbugs, hulla-poppers and such.
How do you target a new area?
Fan cast with spinnerbaits, buzzbaits or belly-bladed swim jigs with StrikeKing rage tail swimmers
What’s your go to fishing setup?
Regular -Daiwa CT-Type R 7.3:1, BPS Johnny Morris Carbonlite 2.0 7′ MH, Berkley Professsional Braid 20lb w/o a leader unless it’s absolutely crystal clear water then a 8-12lb Berkley Trilene XL mono leader
Heavy – Daiwa Daiwa Procaster-X 153iv, Cabela’s Tournament ZX 7’3 Heavy Fast, Spiderwire 30 lb, add a steel leader for musky or pike
Finess – Pfleuger President spinning reel, Abu-Garcia Vendetta 7′ medium fast, Berkely Trilene XL 6-12 lb mono
Do you have any additional sponsorships/pro staff/feild staff/ambasador/etc?
Field Staff: Gill Marine
Field Staff: Titan Tungsten
What is your favorite Style of Fishing?
Topwater
Shore fishing, don’t have a boat yet
What is your favorite time of the year to fish?
Spring or fall. Nice cool weather and fewer ticks.
What is your favorite Body of water to fish?
August Busch Memorial Conservation Area
Lake St. Louis
Whats your favorite species to target? Why? What Species do you target?
Largemouth Bass, always fun
Rainbow trout during the winter
Pike/Musky anytime I can hook into one
What is the biggest fish you’ve ever caught? (Or your PB of your favorite species)?
Big pike when I was about 12, got off my spinnerbait at the shoreline after it bent the hook.
Do you own and operate your own boat/kayak/canoe? If so for how long?
Nope, not yet.
Have you won any tournaments (local, Club, State, National, Online, etc)?
None so far, hoping to get into a few this year.
Do you have any fishing horror stories (Hook in the eye, boat motor dies 2 miles offshore, had to be rescued on a fishing adventure)?
When I was 10 my dad had me drive the boat from where we beached it at our camp site across the lake to the dock. I was about 1/4 of the way there when the motor ran out of gas. Made it about 3/4 of the way using our very little electric trolling motor until the battery died. Thankfully we had tossed in the oars as a joke earlier in the year so I could row it the last mile into the dock. This was about the only time I was wishing we had went camping over a weekend so someone could have towed me in.
Tell us something unique about yourself.
Still using my original baitcasting reel I bought when was 13. Daiwa Procaster-X 153iv. Old school but reliable.
Anything else you’d like others to know about you?
I’m a physician residency trained in Emergency Medicine. Also have a PhD in cancer biology and anatomical sciences. I love what I do, plus since I work next to a heavy fishing community it’s a great way to meet people.
Do you have any other social media links you’d like us to share (that are for you)?
Instagram: lhof99