Recently posted by Muddy Waters Guide Service on FB:

> “The Boys came all the way from Nebraska in search of a fish of a lifetime. Casey absolutely shattered his personal best walleye today!! An absolute [Mississippi] river GIANT!! This is the biggest walleye we have landed so far this fall!! Will it hold the title the rest of the season!? Time will tell....”

Must have been using a balloon full of helium for bait.

> “We did not weigh this old river walleye, but she taped-out at 30.5”!! We were guessing she was in that 15-lb range and she is still swimming!!”

He also said:

> “The scary part of this whole deal is Casey’s dad, Butch, lost an even bigger walleye at the boat 5 minutes before this one was landed!!”

Sheeeeesh. Pls let us know when you catch her too!

- Believe it or not (believe it!) that’s Jason Mitchell talking how he “can still remember how terrified [he] was to get up and speak in front of a bunch of grown men” when he first started doing fishing seminars.

> “This old pic popped up on my memories from 13 years ago. Not a lot has changed. Some of these dudes are still going hard, some have slowed down or retired. I often joke that I have too much fun to retire. For most of my career, I was usually one of the younger guys giving seminars. Still love this industry as much today as when I was a bright eyed 22 year old kid.”

Jason went on to say:

> “If you spend a bunch of time fishing, there is always so much to talk about. I soon realized that most fishermen would rather listen to a guy who just got done fishing and trying to learn how to put together a Power Point and publicly speak than a professional orator trying to learn how to fish. After a while, big crowds no longer intimidated me and I became more comfortable around people.

> “This weekend, I will be driving to see many of you. I will be kicking off the Fargo Scheels Ice Fest with a seminar Thursday evening and will be at the Fargo Scheels on Friday. I then drive to the Eden Prairie Scheels for Ice Fest on Saturday and will be giving another seminar on Saturday.

> "No, I haven't yet prepared my seminar on ice fishing walleye but there will be plenty to talk about!”

And speaking of Jason Mitchell...

Some awesome info in Jason Mitchell’s full Virtual Angling write-up and video here, few excerpts below:

> When it comes to early ice fishing, anglers often face the challenge of intense winds before freeze up that stir up sediment and create turbid, muddy waters, especially in small, shallower bodies of water. In this video, Jason Mitchell discusses how to adapt your tactics for success in these conditions and make the most of the limited visibility, especially when it comes to walleye fishing.

> In regions like the Dakotas, you’ll run into a lot of those small, shallow dish bowl lakes, often less than 10’ deep, that freeze quickly after a 30-mph wind. That colder water can suspend particles for longer periods of time, causing the water to remain cloudy for weeks after freeze-up. This dirty water can have a negative impact on fishing, even in significant bodies of water like Lake of the Woods and Upper Red Lake...along with backwater areas on Devil’s Lake and small dish-bowl sloughs. If you get really strong winds with lakes freezing over immediately afterward, you might find yourself facing several weeks of tough fishing.

> So, what can you do to improve your chances of catching walleye in these challenging conditions? One key strategy is to modify your jigging strokes and tactics. Keep in mind that in these murky waters, fish have limited visibility and can’t see their prey from a distance. To address this, you’ll want to make your presentation more enticing by using sound and vibrations.

> One effective technique is to focus on pounding your lure in place with a hard, but short, jig stroke or quiver. This hard and deliberate motion creates vibrations in the water that fish can detect even when they have limited visibility.

> Using spoons tipped with minnow heads can be especially productive in dirty water. Jointed spoons like the Clam Jointed Pinhead Pro can be really effective in these conditions by creating extra noise and vibrations to attract fish. Rattle spoons are another option that can work well in these conditions. The key is to use lures that produce a lot of noise and vibrations and focus on a hard cadence keeping the bait in one place so the fish can hone in on its location.

> Avoid high jigs strokes and baits that need to make larger runs like glide baits. Fish might have limited visual detection, but they can still hear and feel what’s happening in the water and keeping your bait in one place can help them navigate to it quickly.

Full scoop here:

By breaking up the ice at the ramp so you can take one last rip in your Lund Pro Guide hahaha. Shot from a few Novembers back when Randin Olson of Lock Jaw Guide Service was proving he was all about that #TillerLife:

I mean ya gotta do what you’ve gotta do lol.

Plus if the boat sits still for too long up north, mother nature will hit it with one of those free boat wraps that are a pain to remove.

Love this PiP shot (from fish-head Drew Aspinwall) of the Al Lindner getting his fall walleye on! Believe he was chucking an X-Rap:

Btw here's a few other epic pics from Drew's Insta:

1. Northland Fishing Tackle moving out of Bemidji

They were recently bought by GSM Outdoors, who will be moving Northland’s HQ down to Irving, Texas.

> ...GSM plans to retain a few key sales, marketing, and product managers in a satellite office in Bemidji, but the company will have to vacate their 20,000-sq-ft facility in Bemidji’s industrial park by June 26th of next year.

> [Northland Fishing Tackle's founder, John Peterson] adds that they worked hard to find a buyer who would keep the business in Bemidji and retain their current employees, but those plans did not materialize. He says he knows this acquisition will no doubt have an economic impact on the area, but that he’s immensely proud of the contributions Northland has made to the community over the past 50 years.

2. MN: Study finds high mercury levels in fish...

...that were caught in lakes with zebra mussels.

> Average-sized walleyes sampled from mussel-impaired lakes such as Gull, Pelican and Tenmile were more than twice as likely to exceed mercury thresholds tied to human health, the [University of Minnesota research] study found. They contained 72% higher mercury concentrations compared to walleyes in uninvaded lakes. The study found even higher concentrations of the neurotoxin in perch taken from the 12 study lakes impaired by zebra mussels, an invasive species.

3. New episode of Tour level Gold just dropped!

From the National Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Huron.

4. Just saw that FishUSA got Mooch Minnows in stock

Rapala couldn’t keep the new CrushCity Mooch Minnow a secret with all the folks dominating big bass derbies throwing it...and then Duane 'Dewey' Hjelm won the Lake Sakakawea NWT event (winning details) using it as a part of his 1-2 punch.

> Poured out of super TPE material [the stretchy, super durable stuff] to allow the bait to float and hover in the water column...subtle upright swimming action.... Built with Rapala’s Smart Injection Technology...combines custom colors with flake, salt, and scent precisely where needed to deliver the perfect small forage-imitating presentation.

I was able to get my hands on a pack of "perch" color ones early and can confirm they crush!

I caught a pile of fish throwing ‘em on numerous lakes this season (Mille Lacs, Gull, Pelican, North Long, little sloughy bass lakes , etc) and my confidence is sky high. Can’t wait to play with some other colors and stock up!

5. MN: Jason Durham is doing an ice-fishing seminar in Brainerd.

Great FREE event put on by the Walleye Alliance on Thurs, Dec 12 at Yesterday’s Gone Bar & Grill. I believe there’s a social hour from 6-7pm with Jason talking hardwater from 7-8pm. Prizes, raffles, and kids are encouraged to attend (I'm not just talking about Nick Lindner).

6. Wisconsin Ice Fishing Expo moves to EAA grounds

The Dec 13-15 ice show is moving to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) grounds in Oshkosh.

> Now in its second year, the expo venue change was needed because the show outgrew the previous facility its first year and is now nearly twice the size at more than 65,000 sq ft indoors while also gaining more parking area with easier access.

> “We were hoping for about 5,000 visitors in our first year and were amazed that we put around 12,000 people through the doors,” said Jeff Bast, one of the owners of the expo. “It’s been several years since WI has had its own dedicated ice expo and it’s clear that having one in Oshkosh right next to Lake Winnebago was a great area to produce it....”

7. DC: Outdoor Recreation is a $1.2 trillion economic powerhouse

> The industry generated a record $1.2 trillion in economic output in 2023, supporting 5 million American jobs and accounting for 2.3% of the nation’s GDP.

> ...the outdoor recreation economy has grown 36% in real terms since 2012. These new figures reveal that the outdoor recreation economy contributes more to the U.S. economy than farming, mining, and utilities.

8. MN: ‘Fishing to End Hunger’ registration is now open

Next year’s BIG Gull Lake derby will be on Oct 4.

9. MN: Walleyedan is selling his Premier Sunsation Angler

10. MO/KS getting aggressive on Asian carp

> ...have resorted to extreme measures to control the spread of invasive carp, patrolling the Lamine River with an electrified dozer trawl that is geared to stun the carp and more than 3,000 feet of net to catch them....

> Their efforts were reportedly a success, netting 43,000 pounds of carp in eight days of fishing.

11. CO: Milfoil found in Runyon/Fountain Lake State Wildlife Area

12. ME: Temo electric outboards opens first US office

In Portland.

13. Yamaha's electric outboard brand in Europe is called HARMO

14. Reminder: Special early-ice baits and gear issue!

In case you missed it, that ^ Target Walleye is a special issue jammed FULL of new ice baits and gear for the 2024/2025 szn.

Common mistakes to avoid while ice fishing.

There’s some solid quick-hitters from northern-MN guide Jason Durham in this AnglingBuzz video. He’s primarily talking panfish, and hits things such as: Shaking vs jigging the bait, sloooowly making fish rise to bite, where your knot should be positioned on the baits’ eye, etc.

Another gem from meme magician Josh Johnson on Instagram.

Who else is dreaming of snatching giant Lake Winnipeg (Manitoba) greenbacks through the ice? @ppetroh fooled this one with a Frostbite Tantrum Rattlebait last January:

This incredible Humminbird shot proves that not all sunset fishing pics have to be cliche (when ya don't catch 'em lol). Glorious:

Have a great + safe weekend, Target Walleye fam!

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH

Target Walleye LLC

422 Laurel Street

P.O. BOX 541

Brainerd, MN 56401

 (218) 824 5026