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Super sorry for the late send – ran into some technical difficulties. I think it might be time to go computer shopping considering there's smoke coming out of this one...knew I shouldn't have done the last couple of updates lol. I swear that's how they get ya, with computers AND for sure with phones...
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If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry about that – email programs keep changing stuff.
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TJ Erickson’s go-to presentations to catch fall walleye on ANY lake
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Dude is a certified hammer! So when he talks specifics – I listen:
> “Fall is one of the best times of year to chase big walleyes, but having the right lures makes all the difference. In this video, [TJ] breaks down go-to baits for fall walleye fishing, when and where to use them, and why they shine as water temps drop.
> “From aggressive reaction baits to subtle presentations, [he covers] the key lures that consistently put more fish in the boat this time of year.
> “Whether you’re fishing deep structure, weed edges, or chasing suspended fish, these lures will help you dial in the bite and stay on active walleyes all fall long.”
The video runs thru his what/where/when/why of each:
1. Jigs and plastics
2. Reaction baits
3. Jigs and minnows, and
4. Rigging big minnow
As always, TJ does a GREAT job of showing real sonar + map examples to help folks duplicate on their own local waters:
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Temps are dropping and it’s about that time of year where we start seeing some ridiculously hefty fish. #feedbag
Love seeing bigguns from all reaches of the walleye belt, but I’m eagerly waiting for the next barrage of Lake Oahe specimens to get sent in because they’re built different. 🫨
So in the meantime I’m going to throw it back to last Oct when Jeff Hulke caught his new PB to the tune of 13 lbs (30.5”) while trolling a “watermelon” color Walleye Nation Creations Reaper on Lake Oahe:
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Now imagine that stature on a 33” or 34” frame.... It’s bound to happen.
Btw here’s a little closer look at that “watermelon” color Walleye Nation Creations Reaper that Jeff was using...this time attached to a 28-incher’s face. 😎
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A few clear-water tips from a recent Tom Boley vid
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Tom Boley is back with another intense "Hunt for the One" quest (love this series! 🍿) chasing that magical 30” mark in Lake Michigan's clear waters – tackling tough conditions and testing techniques. Here’s a few clear-water nuggets plucked from his vid:
1. Work the low-light windows
Walleye bite best at dawn and dusk when the light's low. Get out early or stay late – those are your money hours. Midday sun on clear water like this makes fish finicky, so plan your trips around those edges of the day.
2. Mix reaction and finesse baits
When the fish are sluggish, throw reaction baits like Shiver Minnows to trigger strikes. If they're actively feeding, switch to a finesse setup like a 1/4-oz Kalins Pendu jig or Kalin's Sho-W Tungsten Jig paired with a nightcrawler.
3. Run a milk run
Don't sit on one spot too long. Walleye get spooky after seeing your bait a few times. Cycle through a handful of key spots – think big rock ledges or reef crowns – and hit fresh fish. Keep moving to keep the bites coming.
4. Use light leaders in clear water
In gin-clear water, go with a long, light leader (like 15' of 10-lb fluorocarbon). These fish are wary, and a subtle presentation can make the difference between a follow and a hookup.
5. Fix twisted line on the cheap
Shiver Minnows can twist your line like crazy. To fix it, cleat the line to the boat, let it drag behind while moving, then cut and retie to reverse the spool. Gets you fresh line without respooling.
6. Respect the resource
Let those big walleye go. Places like this are special, and catch-and-release keeps the giants around for the next trip. Save the eater-sized fish for other spots.
Per usual, his full “Hunt for the One” vid makes me want to drop everything and go exploring:
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For your viewing pleasure 🍿
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Big things are happening every day in the walleye and ice-fishing worlds, and nobody seems to know about it. 😎 We're here to change that.
I recently posted a new "Top 5" video (episode 90) on our YouTube channel. Big thx to our friends at Sea Foam and Scheels for making this video series possible! We're having a ton of fun with 'em and hope you are too!! Here she be:
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1. Jason Przekurat earns Hall of Fame induction
Into the 2026 class of the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame. 🙌 Well-deserved, man!
2. OH: Largest Lake Erie walleye derbies start Oct 18
Of course I’m talking about the Fall Brawl and the Walleye Slam: Two massive fall derbies where the biggest walleye wins a brand new boat – they actually coincide with each other, so you could potentially win both at the same time if you were registered for each.
3. 2026 AIM (tentative) schedules released
For their WI, MN, ND and Rivers divisions.
4. WI: Thompson/Seidel dominate Mississippi River AIM
Pools 7 and 8 out of La Crosse, WI. Matt Thompson and Brad Seidel crushed it with a 2-day total of 58.24 lbs (nearly 11 lbs ahead of the 2nd place team). Here’s how they did it:
> Thompson and Seidel’s primary spot was a rock ledge in the lower reaches of pool 8 – only two miles from Thompson’s home in Stoddard, WI. While the spot is a well-known favorite of Thompson’s, it’s especially good when the water is low...exactly the conditions they encountered for the tournament. So, it wasn’t a huge surprise when they discovered the spot was “on” upon arrival Friday morning.
> But there’s “on” and then there’s the kind of day Thompson and Seidel had. Sharing a spot with soon-to-be-crowned Team of the Year winners Jordan Fluekiger and Maddy Berg, they anchored adjacent to the rock ledge and Thompson, casting a Rapala DT10 crankbait, caught fish on his first, third, and sixth casts of the day.
I’m not sure which exact colors they were throwing...but a few Mississippi River staples are (clockwise from the top left) red crawdad, disco shad, fire tiger, and hot mustard:
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> They stuck with crankbaits until day two, switching to willow cats when the crankbait bite died and the wind kicked up. “Willow cats are a little more forgiving in the wind”, said Thompson.
> As good as their start was (they estimated that between them and the Fluekiger-Berg team they caught 60-70 walleye by 9:45am Friday morning) it could have been even better because they lost several other big ones. “We’ve never seen so many fish in that particular area. We stopped fishing by 10am and spent the rest of the day watching our FFS. You could just see the fish everywhere”, said Thompson. Now that’s how you start a Division Championship!
5. Fluekiger/Berg = AIM ‘Rivers Division’ Team of the Year
That's Jordan Fluekiger and Maddy Berg, with an average age of 22 👏👏👏 cleaning up all season long against the river rats. Congrats!
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6. MN: Looks like the Upper Red Lake walleye limit...
...is going to be the same as last winter, which would be a 4-fish daily possession limit with only 1 walleye longer than 17” allowed.
7. Omnia and Thorne Brothers partnering up
8. Should live bait be banned in walleye derbies?
An interesting (and hilarious) chat in this short vid snatched from a recent Past The Barb podcast. 😅🔥
9. MN: North Metro Ice Show happening Oct 25-26
At the Adrenaline Sports Center in Ramsey. They’ll be holding the Modified Portable Ice House Show again this year 💯 which is happening from 10am to 4pm on Sat if you want to see some wild DIY creations in person!
10. MN: St. Cloud SCHEELS Ice Fest, Oct 31 - Nov 2
Over $10K in prizes being dished out. Will be 25+ vendors, dealers and partners on-site. Seminars with Jason Mitchell and Garmin's Bobby Steinbach. Youth activities, and more.
11. The Pflueger Trion got upgraded
> The redesigned Trion spinning reels maintain the unmistakable smoothness Pflueger is known for, now enhanced with the Total Line Control System, allowing anglers to confidently use all types of fishing line while minimizing line twist and wind knots.
12. TUCR added to their hardwater lineup 🔥
First is the all-new Custom GTA:
> ...redefines walleye ice rod design. Crafted on a sleek, glossy root beer colored carbon fiber blank with Gold REC Recoil Ice guides, the GTA combines stunning looks with top-tier performance. Designed for spoon anglers, the GTA excels with 1/8- to 3/8-oz spoons, featuring a medium-light, fast-action tip that seamlessly transitions into a powerful backbone.
Action-wise, it’s going to fall between the Power Precision and the Precision.
Next up is the QT2, which is built from the legacy of the QuickTip:
> The ALL NEW QT2 takes panfish rod design to the next level. Built on a solid carbon fiber blank, the QT2 features a sensitive, quick tip that transitions into a strong backbone. Feel even the lightest bites and have the power to haul in whatever’s on the other end.
13. Merc is giving away up to 300 ponies
14. New 13 Fishing "Baitstriker" is here
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> Deadsticking perfected. Fish smarter beneath the ice with the BaitStriker Combo. The BaitStriker reel features the exclusive BaitStriker Switch, letting you fish hands-free without missing a strike. It’s paired with a precision-engineered rod that balances comfort and control, while featuring the perfect action for Dead Stick techniques. Trusted tech and perfectly matched performance make this combo a must-have for anglers who demand results.
This short hype vid actually made me a little excited to see the bird bath frozen over this morning lol.
15. New episode of the Fish House Nation Podcast
A podcast for you ice-heads that are already pacing the shoreline out there. 🥶
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Have a shot at winning a $350+ spread of walleye-catchers from Northland Fishing Tackle!!!
Including a pile of Eye-Candy plastics…tungsten jigheads that pack a natural, irresistible profile and fish heavy for their size so you can get down fast and stay in the strike zone…plus Deep-V Jigs which are built with a keeled design that tracks straight, locks plastics tight, and keeps hooks riding true. 💯
Takes just 10 seconds to enter and can share the link you get for bonus entries. 🤞 Good luck!
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The last green weeds hold the most fall walleye
Solid info from Brian “Bro” Brosdahl and Mike Gnatkowski in a throwback Game & Fish write-up, few snippets below:
> “Walleyes can be more difficult to find at this time of year because they’re on the move and transitioning from deeper to shallow water. You can count on the last green weeds to attract baitfish and walleyes.
> “Look for the greenest weeds you can find at the outside edge of bays that face deeper water. Eventually, those weeds die too and baitfish and panfish have to either slip off the first dropoff, or they migrate to the safety of the shallows.
> “Locate the outside and inside edge of the weeds by using your polarized glasses or your electronics. Make note of the depth where the weeds end because that should be the same all around the lake. Avoid any [weeds] that are beginning to brown.
> “Walleyes will position at different locations along the dropoff depending on conditions. They might be right on top, along the slope or at the base of the dropoff waiting to intercept minnow schools. Most times the walleyes will be at a very specific depth, but will move up and down the contour.
> “After a month or more, the migration reverses. The shallows begin to chill and fall wave action mixes and re-oxygenates the water. Walleyes can now go wherever they want. Baitfish move back to the extreme shallows and walleyes will be right on their heels.”
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Of all the different things that could potentially mess up an outboard (rocks, stumps, rope, etc) I’ve got to say that a bike was not on my list. 😳
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Sign up another fish-head!
If you're forwarding Target Walleye to a friend who loves to walleye fish or want your fishing buddies to get these emails, just send us their email addresses and we'll take care of it! (We won't sell the addresses, use them for spam, etc.)
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FRIENDS OF TARGET WALLEYE
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Target Walleye – walleye during open water and all species during hardwater – is brought to you by Al Lindner, Jay Kumar, Chris Philen, Brett McComas and other diehard fish-heads like you!
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Brett McComas is the main man for Target Walleye He was discovered in Brainerd, MN after years of wondering how in the heck people break into the fishing biz. He's in it now, but still can't answer that question.... Brett is one of those guys who majored in marketing, only because there was no such thing as a "fishing degree" at the time.... Get him at brett@targetwalleye.com
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