Walleye hammers Scott Rohloff and Lance Busse won the National Team Championship on Lake Erie with a 2-day total (10 fish) of 80 lbs 14 oz! These are the same fellas who won the NTC on Green Bay last year! #BackToBack

Besides the ultimate bragging rights of beating out 286-ish other teams (full results here) they also took home $25,000 AND a new Ranger 620FS with a 250hp Mercury Pro XS. Wow! BIG congrats, fellas!!

These dudes see your “bass thumb” and raise you walleye hands oh, and some fishing tan lines you’ve got to earn HA!

But obviously it was worth it in a BIG way:

Here’s some bait details from Lance Busse:

> “...we caught all but 4 of our fish this past week, casting with various baits and Garmin LiveScope. Early in the week, a jig and plastic were working best, that was until we tried throwing the new Berkley Finisher. These baits are the perfect design for throwing at suspended fish...they sink fast, show up well on LiveScope, and can be worked with a variety of cadences depending on the mood of the fish.

> “When the fish were fired up, they would sometimes eat it on the initial drop right over their heads. Most times, the key was to drop it down on them, watch to see them react to the bait, and then mix in small rod twitches with harder snaps followed by free-falling the bait on slack line. There were even times when the fish would follow it all the way back to the boat and circle the lure over and over before finally committing to bite. It was so fun to play with this bait and try different ways to coax the walleyes into biting it.

> “The picture of the Finisher is from before the tournament started. I bet that one bait easily caught 300 walleyes this week!”

That bait was the largest #9 size Berkley Finisher in the "OG blue" color:

Scott said they would use the "OG blue" color when it was sunny, and switch to the "French pearl" color when it was cloudy out or first thing in the morning. I LOVE those little details.

Here’s Scott Rohloff talking a little more about the Finisher:

> “It's no secret what we used in the NTC on Lake Erie. The Berkley Finisher is truly an amazing bait. From the visual appearance on LiveScope, to the versatility in different jigging applications. One thing we did do was change the back hooks out for #6 Berkley Fusion19 trebles [I believe it comes stock with #7 Fusion19 trebles]. This bait is by far my favorite bait for casting at suspended fish. Berkley really knocked it out of the park with this bait.”

Some more info on exactly how they were working the baits in this short FB vid from Scott:

Congrats again! And thank YOU for putting some details out there on how you caught ‘em.

The Finisher is one of Berkley’s newest “FFS Optimized” baits. BEFORE anyone gets all worked up, just know that you don’t need forward-facing sonar (LiveScope, MEGA Live, ActiveTarget) to catch fish with these baits.... But of course they can be even more effective/efficient when paired with it.

That’s because we use FFS technology to interact with fish. Read their moods, see what fish like – or don’t like – by studying how they’re reacting to baits in real-time, and adjust on the fly from there.

Most folks are used to the idea that ‘this bait does this’ or ‘this bait does that’ or ‘this bait only works for THAT scenario....’

But that’s where baits “optimized for use with forward-facing sonar” are different. Imo a great way to describe what “FFS Optimized” means would be “angler control.”

FFS optimized baits can be fished throughout the entire water column (top to bottom), they stay in the strike zone longer, and you can manipulate the actions of the bait (from finesse to aggressive) to get fish to commit to biting based on your interpretation of the fish’s mood that your watching on the screen.

Bonus points for being easy to cast INTO the wind, showing up well on the screen, and getting down to fish quickly.

Couple comments from Berkley’s Senior Project Engineer of Bait and Terminal Tackle, Dan Spengler when the Finisher was just being released:

> “The Finisher is the first of its kind, a hovering hard bait we call it. It truly gives anglers ultimate control of their bait. Being able to manipulate it in several ways based on what fish are responding to, especially when pairing this bait with forward-facing sonar.

> “What makes this bait unique is that it has no fin structure, which can allow it to do a multitude of actions. From erratic darting to natural minnow-like tail movement, what makes the Finisher deadly is its flat bottom which allows it to hover or hang in the water column. A bait with such diversity truly allows anglers to have control of how they’re interacting with fish on forward-facing sonar.”

Comes in 3 sizes (5, 7 and 9 = 1/3, 1/2 and 3/4-oz) and 20 colors:

Quick preview of the Berkley Finisher being fished a little more erratically like most walleye folks fish glide baits, but also peep that tail swing:

And here’s another quick look at it doing some more finesse-y things, including that little tail wag you just don’t see other hard baits doing:

So back to angler control, and being able to switch-up the action of the bait mid cast based on how fish are reacting to it in real-time on FFS. That versatility – anywhere in the water column – has me absolutely jacked to throw this thing at big, suspended walleyes on FFS. The types of fish that would usually have you scrambling to reel in so you could rotate thru multiple different setups to figure out what they’re wanting.

One of the biggest “golden walleye” I’ve seen yet! Patrick Donovan said his dad caught 28.25-incher in Ontario (May 2023).

So what makes ‘em look the way that they do???

Funny enough I have heard two very different answers from fisheries folks:

The first being:

> Xanthism is a genetic mutation in which an animal’s typical coloring is replaced largely by yellow pigments.

But a different fisheries folk sort of said the opposite?

> “..normally the fish scales receive incoming white light – and different molecular structures – convert white light to blue or yellow, which make the fish look green. In the golden walleye, it’s likely that some spontaneous mutation occurred that prevented the scales from making the proper molecular structures to convert white light to blue.

> “Without the structures that convert white light to blue, the fish looks yellow (gold) rather than green (which is what you see when blue and yellow combine). It’s not that the walleye has gained a yellow pigment but rather lost the ability to produce the blue colours that make its scales look green.”

So which is it?!

No idea how they actually come about, but either way they sure are fun to look at!

Btw I just updated this TargetWalleye.com post with every yeller-belly I’ve EVER been sent or come across after yeeeeaaaars of scouring the interwebz! Hope you get to see one in real life some day, but in the meantime, enjoy!

Last weekend, Travis Johnson caught the walleye of 1,000,000 lifetimes when this 35.75” behemoth hit his deck in MT. The post-spawn freak weighed 14.25 lbs and was released to get even more bigger-er!

Travis said he caught ‘er throwing a 1/4-oz Northland Tungsten Jig Head (black) paired with a Z-Man Scented Jerk Shadz (perfect perch). Here’s a look at those treats:

Of course his favorite fishing buddy "Spud" had to give her a proper goodbye.

And here’s one more pic to help get your bearings as to just how massive a 35.75” walleye is! #stuffed

Sheesh...talk about goals! Amazing fish and props on the huge release!

1. Fishing brother needs our help.

From this post in the Metro-Detroit Walleye Stalkers FB group.

> Unfortunately last weekend, our founder and Captain, Wes Smith and his crew capsized on Lake Erie. They lost all their fishing gear, as well as his boat. Currently , Wes is still in the hospital recovering from serious hypothermia effects. The rest of the crew was treated at the scene and safely released.

> Anyone that knows him or follows him, is most likely aware of his passion and devotion to conservation and education of fishing and the outdoors, especially for children and veterans.

> We would love your help in helping us get him back on the water and continuing his stout devotion and passion that he so generously shares with others.

Here's the GoFundMe account if you can spare a few. If you're the prayin' type, please send a few his way.

2. UT: Fishers asked to kill and report all walleye...

...at Strawberry Reservoir:

> “There is a $5,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of whoever illegally introduced walleye into Strawberry Reservoir.

3. MN: Couple Mille Lacs MTT events THIS WEEKEND.

The ​​Minnesota Tournament Trail has two separate 1-day tournaments happening on Saturday and Sunday – both taking off out of Nitti’s Hunters Point. The bite has been absolutely on fire! But man, 36 mph gusts out of the west will make things interesting on Saturday tho Sunday is only calling for 10-15 mph from the south. Good luck to all!

4. MN: Big Stone AIM happening May 19.

Some nice insight there ^ on what folks are expecting.

5. MN: Mississippi River NWT coming up May 23-24.

Out of Red Wing.

6. WI: Lake Winnebago MWC kicks off May 31.

7. Lead fishing ban lifted on US federal waters.

8. SK: 31st-annual Vanity Cup happening Oct 5-6.

9. FL: Johnny Morris gave $200K to help revive Lake George.

10. Sunline now has sinking braids.

Apparently it's a thing in Europe for bottom fishing...now coming here because of FFS.

> A sinking braid helps reduce line drift and the bow in your line caused by wind and waves on a cast.

11. Wildlife Forever developed a new interactive mapping tool...

...called Expect to Inspect that helps boaters find state laws, invasive species decontamination, and watercraft cleaning stations.

12. SIMMS owner predicts tough year ahead.

> While the segment grew organically for the first time in nine quarters, Revelyst projects an approximate 2.3% decline in sales to around $1.3 bil for the year ended Mar 2025.

13. Johnson Outdoors posts 15% sales decline.

14. OR: Dr. Debbie Colbert selected as new DNR director.

15. FishUSA has 15% off all Bandits today.

16. MO: First-ever evidence of sturgeon spawning discovered...

...on Missouri River tributary:

> ...Missouri’s Osage River – an area where the species was wiped out more than a century ago. This comes after 3 consecutive years of successful spawning nearby on the Mississippi River as well.

17. CO: Massive (invasive) bighead carp removed from pond.

> Officials explained that an angler tipped them off to the presence of bighead carp in Jack B. Tomlinson Park in Arvada, CO last week.

> 14 bighead carp were found in total – and all of them were hefty. All the fish were at least 3’ long, and the heaviest was a whopping 46 lbs.

> "Bighead carp, part of the Asian carp family, are not native to CO and negatively impact the overall ecosystem as they are prolific eaters. They feed primarily upon plankton and compete with many native and sport fish species which depend on plankton as a food source."

18. MN: Clear Lake (Sibley County) opened to unlimited fishing.

> "The MN DNR has opened Clear Lake in Sibley County to unlimited fishing, allowing anglers to harvest fish that would likely not survive the upcoming winter during low water conditions on the 505-acre lake.

> “As part of a project to improve fish and wildlife habitat on Clear Lake, this spring the Minnesota DNR will begin to lower the lake’s water levels. The lake has been overwhelmed by large populations of common carp, causing turbid water and impeding aquatic plant growth. The lowered water levels mimic a drought, which can act as a natural “reset” to an ecosystem.

> “The drawdown will occur throughout the open-water season of 2024. Plans call for lowering water levels by about 4’ to create conditions for a winterkill and reduce common carp populations. The drawdown will also allow sediments to consolidate, which will allow new growth of submergent and emergent vegetation.”

19. IN: 26th-annual Indiana Muskie Classic this weekend.

20. Lund's "Set the Hook" sales event runs thru May 27.

Save up to $1,500 on new Adventure, IMpact XS and Crossover XS (2023 and 2024) models.  

> Save even more when you combine this promotional offer with Lund's Military Discount, Student Angler Discount, or Everyday Hero Discount.

How Tom Boley slip-bobbers walleyes like a pro.

"It's a dead sea...there's nothing out here...I dunno why we're wasting our time."

- That’s actually me grumpily (and VERY sarcastically) talking about the bite on Mille Lacs yesterday while setting the hook on another non-existent walleye with a “goby” color CrushCity Ned BLT. The bite has been outrageous since ‘fishing opener’ to the point you can often times call your shots:

And before there’s anymore comments about “do it without LiveScope” I promise you I’ve done plenty of that too.... Shoot, a lot of times you’re better off not staring at the graph when rip jigging plastics or slow-rolling swimbaits over the shallow rocks like we also did yesterday.

More on all of that soon!

This greedy Pulse-R eating walleye is doing its part to keep the “hammer handle” population in check:

Thanks SO much for reading! I hope your weekend is full of fish slime!!

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH

Target Walleye LLC

422 Laurel Street

P.O. BOX 541

Brainerd, MN 56401

 (218) 824 5026