Bottom transition walleyes, Easy leadcore knot, Muskie skeleton caught

Eric Scrivner (@scravner) stuck his new PB walleye FROM THE ‘YAK! The northern-MN brute went 30.25″ and scarfed a Dirty Jigs Guppy Swimbait Head + 2.8″ Keitech…what he calls “the ultimate all-purpose/all-species combo.” 👊 Congrats man!

No doubt #FishFlopFriday gets a whole lot scarier when the fish has meat to throw around:

By Gord Pyzer’s grandson Liam. Went 42″ and weighed just zilch lbs:

Said they weren’t positive what dragged it up on shore, but that it was found under an eagle’s nest. 🧐😳

Don’t worry, Liam’s been getting plenty of heavy hook-sets in too:

Came across this awesome shot from outdoor influencer Ryan Pinkalla of what might be THE most dopey looking walleye possible lol:

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Couldn’t help myself and just had to “memify” it:

Or maybe:

My go-to “joiner” for fluoro leaders has always been the double-uni knot ‘cuz it’s 1) the easiest to tie and 2) hasn’t failed me yet. So not really sure why I’ve never used it for my leadcore setups? 🤷‍♂️ If it’s good enough for Dylan Nussbaum, it’s good enough for me:

Here’s a little diagrammatic help for those of you rockin’ the “cheaters” aka reading glasses. Of course need to remove the lead from the line first:

Viral pic that’s been making the rounds on social media. The caption on this Everything Wild post said:

> “A pike jumped out of the water likely chasing prey and got stuck in a branch and died. Now, a bird has made a nest in its mouth. One of the most interesting things I’ve seen.”

Not real sure that’s actually how that freshwater gator wound up limb-locked…but pretty dang cool shot regardless. #CircleOfLife

1. Scott Peters passed on.

Manager of Nitti’s Hunters Point on MN’s Mille Lacs Lake. 🙏 RIP fishing brother.

2. ND: Krieger/Ellingson win AIM team of the year…AGAIN.

#Consistent

3. New SIMMS fall collection announced.

🤤 Quick glance:

4. Shimano sales were up worldwide for the 1st 6 months.

> …sales remained favorable in the Japanese market, while in North America sales of mid-range and “popular” price products like rod and reel combos for beginners and families, as well as…fishing lines, were positive.

5. T-H Marine buys its 12th company.

> …Designer Tool & Products Inc. Prior to the acquisition, Designer Tool served as a leading supplier for T-H Marine, providing high-quality hatches, deck plates and seals. For over a decade, T-H Marine brought those products to market under its “Designer” brand.

6. MN: Randy Moss had a Straight Bass Classic at Minnetonka.

In memory of media guy Sid Hartman. Here’s Randy “Straight Cash Homie” Moss talking:

> “The only thing he had to do was just continue to keep it real with the players, and I think that’s what he was able to do. Where I come from, we call it ‘keeping it real.’ In common terms, you call it loyalty. He was a loyal man.”

7. MN: Betzler and Christensen win St. Louis River/Lake Superior AIM.

8. MI: St Mary’s River MWC happening right now.

9. WI: European frogbit found in the state.

> …growing in an unnamed stream and throughout the adjacent drainage ditches just north of the city of Oconto.

Sorta looks like tiny lilypads that overlap on each other:

And that’s why the bassin’ crowd has 1.5-oz tungsten flippin’ weights!

10. WY: 2 new invasives found in Flaming Gorge.

Curly pondweed and New Zealand mudsnails.

11. WI: More invasive New Zealand mudsnails found.

12. Will American companies be bringing back US manufacturing?

> A report revealing that 83% of US manufacturers are planning to add North American suppliers to their supply chains within a year will make interesting reading for a fishing tackle industry battling to keep pace with rising consumer demand.

13. Rapala CEO says some new anglers already moving on?

In Europe anyhow:

> …Warchalowski noted that consumers have begun returning to other pre-pandemic recreational activities and this could slow down future sales.

14. Huk signs NBA rookie Keon Johnson.

> “My message to the younger generation of anglers and athletes would be to fall in love with the grind, no matter how hard times get.”

“Weather and walleyes, ya know, roll the dice. Who cares, right? It’s all just – WHO KNOWS.”

– That’s Tom Boley spitting what might be the truest statement ever spoken about walleye fishing LOL. 😂 The way he frustratingly emphasized “WHO KNOWS” had me rolling.

Seems like every time there’s some weather moving thru and I think the walleyes are going to be snapping – they’re not. Then it’s bluebird skies and glass calm – can’t keep them off. 🤷‍♂️ Could be the exact opposite of both those scenarios the next time out.

Super frustrating of course, but also feel it’s part of that challenge that makes it so rewarding when you finally do crack the code.

Which brings us too…

It ain’t much, but it’s honest work:

Find deep, bottom transitions for late-summer walleyes.

The “Quote of the Day” a couple spots up was from Tom Boley’s newest YouTube video called the secret walleye spot no one is fishing, and has some interesting info on why it can be more important to pay attention to your Side Imaging than it is your map/GPS this time of year….

That secret location where he’s finding late-summer walleyes stacked = hard-to-soft bottom transitions. Stuff in that 30′-or-so range where massive pieces of structure taper off into the soft-bottom basin.

He’s spot-on. And I’ve noticed that a similar thing can be #money in the springtime if you can find similar hard-to-soft transitions in shallower 10-15′ water. I’ll completely ignore my map once I’m on one, and follow that brighter vs darker return or line on my Humminbird Side Imaging.

But hey, it’s not springtime, so I’ll save that for another day LOL. Now let’s get into Tom’s late-summer talk:

Here’s @thehorseshoekid bringing you a little weekend motivation. 🔥 GREAT shot:

Thx much for reading 🙌 and good luck this weekend if you’re getting out!

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH