Target Walleye/Ice email

Greenest greenbacks, Lipless crank tips, Never mess with Bro

Today’s Top 5

Green(est)backs of the week!

First off: What’s a greenback and how do they get that way?

A “greenback” is an emerald/iridescent green walleye people believe is unique to Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba. Here’s one I pulled outta the Red River (tributary to Lake Winnipeg) last fall:

Supposedly their b-e-a-utiful greenish coloration comes from the limestone-rich waters of the northern basin…or maybe it’s from all that Mountain Dew they chug before making the trek south? Lol either way they’re cool to look at and FUN to catch.

Case you need more convincing…here’s Winnipegonian Josh McFaddin showing why Manitoba greenbacks should be on every fish-head’s bucket list:

S’more emerald goodness, this time from Pierre Tessier (@canadianhunter88) with a couple o’ sour apples he plucked off the Lake Winnipeg tree:

This greenie had some bonus “protein” goin’ on:

That fish ^ was caught by @i_fishtomuch, who’s been having one heck of a season. Snatched himself this greenback blimp ripping a white tube jig (on purpose), which he says is “way too overlooked for walleyes.” Agreed:

Early-ice walleyes on lipless cranks.

Be pretty weird if cranks had lips…. Anyways….

The rumors are true: You don’t need live bait to catch walleyes…especially during early-ice while oxygen levels are high and fish are active. One of the “fake” options that really shines in shallow water is a #4 (3/16-oz) Rapala Ultra Light Rippin’ Rap.

Use big rips to call fish in, then slow down — but never stop moving the bait — when they show up on the graph. Great way to cover water and search out biters:

Diggin’ that white-on-white wheeler too, fellas (#ballin’)! Maybe next year you can add one of these to yer on-ice arsenal:

What happens when you try to take Bro’s hot hole….

Always knew Brian “Bro” Brosdahl was a Grumpy Old Man. 😉

Merps of the week!

Multi-species addict JP DeRose whacked this merped-out buttah ball fishing a Jackall 2.8″ Rhythm Wave Swimbait on Lake Simcoe. Awesome shot:

Joel Nelson’s kiddo Isaac (left) may have caught the first fish…but Joel’s (right) was definitely more, um…unique?

Forgot to post this one from earlier this year, so will drop her in now….Alexandria, MN merp pike (somehow?!) caught by Mark Grussing. WTHeck:

“This is pretty typical this time of year, hand-lining…bacon…for walleye.”

That’s Troy “visor-game-strong” Lindner talking about a stupidly-good walleye bite outta Wilderness North, Ontari-yo. He pops a half dozen walters in a row using bacon [!] for bait. Can’t make this stuff up:

Ridiculous. It’s all fun and games until the rest of the camp realizes:

News

1. IN: We lost another fishing brother.

Was trapped under the ice for 10+ minutes after breaking through in NW Tippecanoe County. Getting to be a disgustingly-common headline this season. Prayers to the family and please BE SAFE everyone.

2. 11-yr-old catches 2 trophy ‘eyes on same day.

And only a half hour apart, including this monster 31-incher!

Was fishing just north of Pine Island on Lake of the Woods with a Lindy Rattl’N Flyer jigging spoon. Congrats dude!

3. How sweet is this?

New Otter XT Pro Lodge Lock & Ride shack for Polaris Ranger UTVs:

Wonder if it doubles at a tonneau cover when folded down?

Says it will be available sometime this month — might already be at your local dealer. Here’s In-Depth Outdoors host James Holst getting out-fished in one (lol kiddin’ man!):

4. Canada approves use of Asian carp as lobster bait.

Less Asian carp + more buttery lobster tails = yes please.

5. Catch Cover Safety Covers on sale.

For today only — just gotta add ’em to your cart for the sale price to hit. Have never seen ’em go on sale before, so would jump on it if you’re getting the wheelhouse ready for the season.

Your keys, dogs, kids or cell phones will thank you. #CheapInsurance

6. Johnson Outdoors has another record year.

> …flagship fishing division, which includes Humminbird and Minn Kota, helped the group deliver record results for the second year in a row. Strong demand for its products…propelled an 11% increase in sales. Operating profit for the year grew 38%.
#SpotLock

7. Dick’s may close their Field & Stream stores.

Just dropped our first-ever Target Walleye/Ice Ugly Fishmas Sweaters! Super-limited quantities…believe only 20 total (sorry!). So ordering mine quick before I fire off this email lol:

Gonna have a little giveaway coming up for the best fish pic we see rocking one — stay tuned….

Tip of the Day

Ice Team pro Mike Raetz uses the crowd to his advantage…hits the outer-edge of shanty towns ‘cuz the pressure/noise can push bigger fish off the spot.

Also keeps his bait higher in the water column to specifically target bigger-than-average slabs:

Quote of the Day

It’s not possible for a man to strap down any load to a trailer without saying “that’s not going anywhere.”

– A couldn’t-be-more-true caption under this Catch Cover photo of Joel Nelson turning his Yetti Traxx Edition into an enclosed trailer. #DoWant

Today’s ‘Eye Candy

Perk alert! The F.IN Outdoors Media crew is out searching and destroying on Mille Lacs with their Garmin Panoptix Ice Bundles. Drake Herd Panoptix’d this finned-out razorback on an 11-17′ rock finger:

Second Dose of ‘Eye Candy

Doesn’t get much prettier than this male tiger trout iced by Ryan Ginter somewheres in Manitoba. #OrangeCrush

Can’t wait to get back up there to try and catch one of those ^ super-colorful males. The fish my wife and I caught last year were all females — prettiest fish I’ve ever seen — yet considered the “ugly ones” lol!

Sign up another fish-head!

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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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