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Final day of the NWT championship…
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…is happenin’ right now on Lake of the Woods. Only the top 10 pros/cos got to hit the water today, which for sure has the rest of the field Jonesin’ on shore. I’d wanna get back out there too when they’re catching fish like this:
Awesome day-2 snaps ^ (more here) from photog-magician Aaron Eickhorst.
Robert Blosser went into day 3 leading with a 2-day bag (10 fish) of 34.69 lbs. Seems “light” but with the slot all walleyes 19.5-28″ gotta go back. Shooting for 1 over 28″ a day…like this day 2 piggy:
> Robert: “My main spot is a big, 4-mile area…it’s a mud-bottom basin and I’m trolling crankbaits with leadcore. I’m using 1 specific crankbait…I don’t think many people are pulling [it]…think that’s helping me with the big bite.
> “There’s a lot of boats around (half the top 10 are fishing the same general area) but we’re not on top of each other. It’s a big area and it’s open-water fishing.
> “Winning the championship would be the holy grail because it’s the one thing I have left to do. I’ve taken 2nd in just about every championship out there. We’ve got some great sticks left in this one and anyone is capable of putting up a monster bag.
> “Playing it safe tomorrow is not an option: It’s time to shut the door, put this thing away and be done with it.”
Asked Robert if he’d tell us his secret crankbait after the tourney, and he was all:
Lol do your thing man!
You can watch the live weigh-in here, started at 3pm CST. Will have way more info on winning patterns and baits next week.
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Wow! Biggun of the week!!
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This right here is what it’s all about! Bryan Bogdan, the owner of Wekusko Falls Lodge in Manitoba, took his girls out for a rip (me trying to use a Canadian term) and they landed a monster 31″ walldawg. #Teamwork
Love it! Reached out to Bryan to get the scoop and he said they were snap-jigging the smallest Acme Hyper Rattles:
> Bryan: “Smaller profile makes them eat it — and much less fish lost — even being barbless. They engulf it so you don’t have to be in the ready position to set the hook…basically they slam it and set themselves as slack runs out.”
Got a chunk of the fight on video — still not sure what my favorite part is:
1) When she says, “I got it, don’t need to be frightened.”
2) Or when dad sees/realizes just how big the fish is lol.
Either way it’s FOR SURE worth a watch:
#DayMade
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Shore fishing for tailrace walleyes.
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Not this kind of tail-race:
This kind: “Angling immediately below natural or man-made dams…or restrictions to the flow of water on rivers, canals, streams or any other flowing current.”
> Pursuing trophy shore walleyes…you can access areas where fishing from a boat is difficult or impossible. Fishing these less accessible locations can pay huge dividends for shore anglers.
> With current, turbid water and a deep scour hole below most spillways, walleyes may feed throughout the day. For lure selection, think big and snag-resistant…plenty of debris collects below spillways. Large-profile lures that emit plenty of vibration….
> With large paddletails, swimbaits can be fished quickly for a more frantic action and slowed in slack current pockets to give chasing fish a chance to strike. Use dark colors that allow the bait’s silhouette to be seen from a distance.
> Rig swimbaits on a 1/2- to 1-oz Owner Bullet Head Jig or Kalin’s Ultimate Saltwater Bullet Jig tied to 15- to 30-lb braided mainline.
> …make long casts to the face of the spillway. The heavy jighead allows for greater feel and control as the lure is drawn out of the turbid water and swept along the current seam.
> On each successive cast, allow the lure to sink slightly deeper before commencing the retrieve. Resist the urge to make constant bottom contact because a swimbait that’s retrieved to mimic a large fleeing baitfish is often what draws walleyes to strike.
Lot more info here on big-river wading and chucking cranks from shore.
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Here’s another difference between walleye and their muscle-bound cousin: Zander make/protect nests whereas walleyes just sprinkle their eggs across rocky bottoms. Imagine fishing a minefield like this:
Don’t ever attempt to grab a handful of eggs from a Zander’s nest…. It didn’t turn out well for the last people who tried:
Lol! I’ve mentioned before we maybe need to take a closer look at what our European friends are throwin’ for zander, and bring some of that flavor over here — know the fish haven’t seen it…. Christian Drost from Holland started doing the reverse of that:
> Christian: “Unreal how many fish the Impulse Smelt Minnow has already caught. The slim profile, look and smell…they love it! I fished it on a 3/8-oz jighead with a #6 stinger — works great!”
Still want me a zander….
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Never know what’s gonna land in the Target Walleye inbox…like this message from Nick Carlson earlier this week:
> Nick: “James Holst taught me how to put a walleye to sleep by holding its belly…works on your head also!”
Lol! Drop us a link here if you come across something you think we should see.
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News
1. A message from Al….
When Al talks, we listen…especially when he’s talkin’ making a living in the fishing biz. The exact topic of the Fishing Careers Workshop this Oct 27, a full-day crash course on what the fishing industry is all about and the many opportunities in it.
You might not have known this, but I came over from the banking industry…seriously! Crazy to think how my job (writing these emails and fishin’ social media schtuff) didn’t even exist a few years ago….
Was fortunate enough to speak at the last Fishing Careers Workshop (thanks Al!) and still think about it daily. The connections made, stories heard and advice soaked in are seriously life changing. Don’t just take my word for it:
Check THIS lineup of speakers:
– Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson, Pro Tournament Angler
– Joel Nelson, Writer, TV/Media Personality
– Dan Johnston, St. Croix Rods
– Jason Mitchell, Businessman, TV Personality
– Jeff Kolodzinksi, Johnson Outdoors
– Jim Meister, Power Lodge
– Eric Haataja, Big Fish Guide Service
– Ryan DeChaine, Wired2Fish
– Tom Neustrom, Professional Guide/Promotions
– Brett McComas, Target Walleye/Ice
– Jim Stewart, Rollie and Helen’s Musky Shop
– Megan Christianson, Grand Rapids Tourism
– Barb Carey, Wisconsin Women Fish Woman Ice Angler Project
– Troy Lindner, AnglingBuzz TV
– Al Lindner, Angling Edge TV
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…to make it look “fresher.”
Can’t make this stuff up….
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TargetWalleye.com Highlights
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Tip of the Day
Ron Lindner: Understanding the fall turnover.
> Many natural lakes and some reservoirs in the upper portion of North America experience what is called a ‘temperature thermocline’ during the summer months.
> Simply put, a body of water stratifies into different gradient layers of temperature stacked one on top of each other, much like a cake. The warm water is on top, the cold or cooler water is on the bottom, and there’s an intermediate layer(s) somewhere in-between that separates them.
> These bodies of water experience a sort of homogenization when the top layers of water become the same temp as the bottom layers and they begin to mix.
> In the upper portion of North America, this “turnover” typically begins to happen somewhere at the beginning of Sept and is usually complete sometime during what is called the “Harvest Moon” (approximately Sept 28).
> During this period, lakes and reservoirs will cool from the warmest they’ve been all year, to temperatures that mirror the chilly water below the thermocline. When this occurs fish like walleye will follow baitfish into the newly opened depths, while others may move very shallow.
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Today’s ‘Eye Candy
WI guide Mr. Bluegill (but also Mr. WalleyesBigEnoughToEatBuegills) hoisting up a slab o’ sharp cheddar caught running #11 Berkley Flicker Minnows 20′ down over 42′. #SuspendedCiscoEaters
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Sign up another fish-head!
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