Target Walleye/Ice email

Biggest ice crappie ever, Spoon hacks, Wine cork tipup trick

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Everyone welcome Woodland Resort to Target Walleye/Ice! They’re home to the world-famous Perch Patrol Guide Service on Devils Lake, ND. For sure a bucket-list destination I’m hoping to scratch off soon-ish.

If you’re getting this Target Walleye/Ice email for the first time, a friend probably signed you up!

Today’s Top 5

Biggest ice crappie ever?

Not sure there’s ever been a bigger crappie plucked through the ice than this slabradoodle caught by Darren Stokes. Fish weighed a paunchy 4.68 lbs, went 19.25″ and inhaled a Rapala Jigging Rap with its bass-sized mouth. Check it:

Incredible fish dude! Will be a tough one to beat…luckily the Chiefs just opened up your next few weekends for ice fishing (lol).

Add an extra split ring to your jigging spoons.

Here’s a simple but super-effective spoon hack Brad Hawthorne uses to ice more of the fish he sees on his graph. Read the full Joel Nelson write-up here — that also talks about adding blades and swapping out stock hooks for Glow Resin Trebles — but here’s few split-ring tweakin’ excerpts:

> At first I started tinkering with creating some separation in my baits, mostly on account of seeing bites where walleyes focus so heavily on whatever you tip your spoon with.

> Long dropper-chains work well for perch, but are often overkill. Adding just one more split ring — between the existing split ring and hook on most spoons — can dramatically increase the number of fish you’ll convert.

> The action was just incredible [thanks to the] freedom that extra split ring gives the business end of your lure and bait.

> This is a go-to for lethargic fish. With stamped metal spoons that flutter or wobble on the drop [like the VMC Tingler Spoon], the effect can be even more impressive.

> Most of these spoon types have a bend in them, creating that wiggle. Add another split ring to these baits, and you can still get that motion, but dropping on a tighter line causes the same bait to coast off past the edges of the hole…enticing fish that aren’t directly below you.

> Multiply the extra couple of feet you cover off to the sides by the number of holes you cut in a day, and you’re really getting at more fish in the same water. I really like these baits when fishing new areas or scouting.

Lots more info from Joel and Brad on spoon tweaks right here.

Caption this fishin’ pic….

Did this guy show up early or late to Woodland Resort on Devils Lake, ND?

Guess his Lund was feeling lonely in the garage? Few of our favorite comments on the post:

  • Ice fishing: you’re doing it wrong….
  • No, I’m NOT stopping to ask for directions
  • He’s “winterizing” his boat
  • No wake zone
  • Right place, wrong time
  • First boat on the water 2018
  • Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore
  • Couldn’t find the key to the trailer lock….
  • I told my wife, “if we bought it, we could use it year round!”
  • Heard a crack opened up….

If you’ve got another good one, let ’em know here….

DIY tip-up organization hack.

Wine corks and hot-glue guns? Here’s a quick (30-sec) DIY mod to keep your tip-ups tangle-free and organized:

Southern ice gator vs northern ice gator.

Here’s something you don’t see everyday. Yes, those are actual alligators….

Remind anyone else of March tip-up fishing on Lake of the Woods?

News

1. MN: Sorenson/Bradshaw win Big Marine UPL.

Ryan Sorenson and Mitch Bradshaw took home the “W” at the first Ultimate Panfish League event of the season on Big Marine Lake:

It was a crazy-tight finish with the top 10 teams all being within about 11 oz of each other [!], but their 15-fish bag (8 crappies and 7 ‘gills) weighing 8.42 lbs was enough to get it done.

> Mitch: “Most of our fish were caught on 4mm Kenders tungsten jigs with plastics and euros. Some of the bigger sunfish were fooled by a Jeff’s Jigs and Flies Zoo Bug.”

Nicely done, fellas!

2. MN: No ice fishing allowed on Lake George.

Public lake, but guess there’s a city ordinance cuz:

> “…the city doesn’t want a bunch of holes that could trip up [ice] skaters.”

Yup, for real….

3. Sneak peak: Bagley Balsa Diving Stick.

Coming this spring:

4. MN: “Take a Kid Fishing Weekend” Jan 13-15.

Residents can fish or spear without a license when accompanied by a kiddo age 15 or under.

5. New ice-fishing “HotPocket.”

The Tundra Tackle Co “HotPocket” is not edible (lol), but can: recharge your phone/camera/etc, has a built-in LED flashlight, and also has a hand-warmer function that gets between 109F and 120F. Slick-looking gadget:

7,200aH it should recharge an iPhone from dead roughly 2-3 times otherwise the hand-warmer function is supposed to get up to 6 hours of use. More info here.

6. NH: Free ice seminar 7pm TONIGHT…

…at the Fish and Game Department in Concord. Bit too far of a drive for me (lol), but would love to hear Tim “Sets Records” Moore talk anything ice related.

7. ND: Darkhouse spearfishing workshop Feb 3.

8. Berkley ice gear 25% off.

9. There’s a new Aqua-Vu vid up…

…for those of you stuck at work daydreaming. Shot by the Icefishing First team — on muddy Mississippi River backwaters — with the Aqua-Vu HD700i. As many as 14 ‘gills on the cam at once. #HoneyHole

10. FishUSA has Rattlin RPMs in stock.

Believe the Custom Jigs & Spins Rattlin Rotating Power Minnow is the first “balance bait” (aka hard-bodied jigging bait) with a rattle chamber built into the tail. Killer for shallow stained water and expansive flats where walleye have to find the bait:

11. Anybody checked out the Lund fishin’ pontoons yet?

New Lund LX Series pontoons look pretty sweet and are actually designed for fishin’. Wondering if any of you have had the chance to fish out of one yet?

12. Ice fishing opportunities in UT?

We don’t hear much about ice fishin’ in UT over here in the Midwest, but guess there’s some solid, hardwater fishing opportunities in a state that touches: NV, NM and AZ. #MindBlown

Tip of the Day

Chris Granrud of Rainydaze Guide Service goes over how he calls BIG panfish in from a distance, before changing up his jigging cadence to seal the deal. Works:

Today’s ‘Eye Candy

Fishin’ guide Bret Setterholm sent us this shot of his wife Leslie with a mondo 30″ walter she rattle-reeled in somewheres in Otter Tail County, MN. Guess we know now who catches the biggest ones. 😉

Sign up another ice-head!

If you’re forwarding Target Walleye/Ice 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.)

Check this stuff out!

Who is Target Walleye/Ice
Target Walleye/Ice — walleye during open water and all species during hardwater — is brought to you by Al and Ron Lindner, Jim Kalkofen, Brett McComas and other diehard fish-nuts like you! #fishheads
Brett McComas is the main man for Target Walleye/Ice. 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

To send us walleye pics, ice shots or whatever, just respond to this email or click here to email us. Or post it on the Target Walleye Facebook page.

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