It’s official! Huge congrats to Ed Hatten Jr on winning the 2 largest walleye fishing tourneys on Lake Erie! His 31.25-incher weighed 12.30 lbs on the Fall Brawl scales and 12.27 lbs on the Walleye Slam scales:

That fish earned him TWO brand new boats valued at roughly $315K: A Warrior V238 and a Ranger 622 FS Pro.

He caught the prize-winning fish on a Bandit Walleye Deep Diver that was custom painted by Mike Chaffin at Erie Outfitters in a color he calls “antifreeze wonder bread.” Here she is (thx for the pics, Ed!):

I reached out to Ed to get a few details from him directly:

> Ed: “We were fishing over 40’ of water and I had this bait down 28’ using the 50+2 method with a snap weight. Speed was 2.2 mph on the Fish Hawk.

> “My fishing partner Len Heffron and I only had a 2-day window to fish and came into town with three other guys from NY. We launched at Huron and worked our way east during the day.

> “Five minutes before this fish bit, my wife had sent a text asking if we had found any better fish.... I said no. She said sorry. And I told her: ‘It's ok. We are fishing in November...only takes one fish, could happen at any time. Love you.’ Within 2-3 minutes she hit.

> “Fought for 15 minutes and then once in the net there were a ton of hugs and high-fives.... Weight was scaled and we were on our way to weigh-in. Surreal day and my PB. We’ve caught some big fish, but this one...this fish is the story of a lifetime! Super happy to have shared it with my fishing partner and our traveling friends!”

I haven’t met Ed in person, but he sure seems like a dang good dude after reading some of his comments in this nice Steve Featherstone write-up.

And Ed - Congrats on the fish AND memories to last a lifetime.

Few “bigguns” I’ve come across recently – both in open water and thru the ice...

1) This FB post from Woodland Resort on Devils Lake, ND just made me so dang happy!

> “Kicking off our fishing season with a memorable day! Our first group of the season, three generations of fishermen shared an incredible day when their 7-yr-old reeled in a whopper 11.05-lb walleye.

2) When the Bay of Quinte’s ON, it’s ON! Matt Duprau said they boated 50 walleye over 3 days of open-water filming with Rick Austin and crew for their new TV show premiering in 2025 on Sportsman Channel Canada:

3) Tim Tollefson iced an absolute tanker burbot out of Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods! Sometimes monsters do come out during the day:

Pretty incredible insight in this FB post from Angler's Edge Mapping – check it out:

> Lake Winnipeg [Manitoba] continues to surprise us. In summer 2023, we were out in the middle of the south basin, when we came across something VERY unexpected. In the vicinity of what we have referred to as "The Old Delta" since our 2019 south basin surveys revealed some off-shore structural complexity, we found deep gouges in an area that was formerly (as of 2019)...flat mud bottom.

> After many hours on the water gridding the area, it became clear that these are not small features – the gouges stretch over 1700 meters from northwest to southeast, and from their deepest point to the shallowest point the depth variation at the time of our survey exceeded 8-feet!

> The most plausible explanation: huge piles of ice that accumulated during winter as a result of pronounced off-shore ridging (a standard occurrence on Lake Winnipeg) were pushed by strong/sustained northwest winds during spring breakup. The ice piles scoured the mud, pushing it like a bulldozer would. Pretty crazy to think that such severe ice scouring can occur in water that is ~18-feet deep when Lake Winnipeg's water level is normal (~712.3 feet above sea level)!

> Theoretically this could have occurred at any time between 2020 and 2023, but after discussing with Bruin Outfitting and Guide Service (who spend as much time on Lake Winnipeg in the winter as anyone), there is good reason to suspect the scouring occurred in 2023. So we are referring to the area as “The Scours of ‘23”.

> The Scours of ‘23, and a bunch of additional south basin touch-up data collected in summer 2023 were quietly incorporated into our most recent Lowrance chip release (2024 Complete Catalog and Lake Winnipeg chips). So if you've already upgraded to 2024, you can check-out these remarkable features for yourself right now. If you haven't upgraded, but suspect these and the other features revealed by our surveys might be fishy...we offer unique chip upgrade options. If you aren't running Lowrance and are interested, we will be releasing a new version of our Lake Winnipeg south basin maps for the Avenza Maps app shortly. Perhaps just in time for Christmas...

1. Dolores Lindner has passed on

The matriarch of the Lindner family passed away peacefully surrounded by family on the morning of Dec 10. Her Celebration of Life Service was earlier today.

My heart goes out to the entire Lindner clan for their loss. No doubt that Jesus, her husband Ron Lindner and her son Michael were all greeting her at Heaven's gates with arms wide open.

Below are a couple of pics from back in the day, along with a couple from just last month when James and Bill were able to get Dolores out to do some catching.

> James Lindner: “Mom was an integral part and unsung hero of all the fishing related business the Lindner family was involved over the years. Lindy Tackle Company was started in the basement of our house on Gull Lake in central Minnesota. Mom rode herd on seven kids and the early building of rigs and lures."

2. ON fish hatcheries get $75 mil [!] upgrades

> Funding for new building to raise walleye at the Blue Jay Creek Fish Culture Station on Manitoulin Island will allow for a 600% annual increase in production of the popular game fish species, the provincial government announced this week.

> In addition to the Blue Jay Creek walleye project, the province announced improvements to the North Bay Fish Culture Station, which will allow for the stocking of more than 555K high-demand fish, including brook trout, lake trout and rainbow trout.

> Upgrades will also be made at the Hill’s Lake Fish Culture Station in Englehart to increase its capacity to raise and stock more than 530K popular fish, including splake and aurora trout.

3. MN: Keep an eye out for this stolen wheelhouse

Snatched out of a lot in Coon Rapids, MN early this morning. It’s super rare for a fish house to have a window built in to the back toy hauler door so should be easy to spot:

Not sure if they’re still driving the same truck or if that was stolen too? But if they are, it’s also super recognizable...

Looks like a 1994-2001 Ram. Dark tinted windows w/ black fender flares and window rain guards. Didn’t appear to come from too far away as there was still quite a bit of snow on the fenders, hood and roof that didn’t blow or melt off....

4. WI: New foundation seeks to improve walleye numbers

5. MN: Make sure to check ice thickness this weekend detect

Not just taking other people’s words, but instead actually checking for yourself. Here's some general recommendations:

6. MN: GREAT Mille Lacs ice reports

From Mille Lacs Area Tourism Council covering all corners of the lake.

7. MN: World’s largest charitable ice-fishing contest is Feb 1

Of course I’m talking about the 35th-annual Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza just up the road from us on Gull Lake’s Hole-in-the-Day Bay. The event has raised MILLIONS of funds donated to more than 75 different charities! Incredible.

8. MI: Lake trout now ‘fully restored’ in Lake Superior

> Fishery managers are declaring success in an almost 70-yr effort to rehabilitate populations of a native apex predator that was almost extirpated from the largest Great Lake.

> Lake trout, a keystone predator in the Great Lakes, is “fully restored” in Lake Superior according to a binational Great Lakes Fishery Commission announcement (pdf) on Wednesday, Nov 20.

> The commission’s Lake Superior Committee says today’s lake trout population is “at or above” abundance levels last seen in the late 1930s when populations began plummeting due to over-harvest and predation from invasive sea lamprey.

9. Great Lakes: Lamprey numbers are up

Says invasive sea lamprey #s are above target levels "following reduced control measures during the COVID pandemic....”

> Lamprey numbers began spiking after field crews which treat lake tributaries with lampricide were constrained by pandemic travel restrictions.

10. IL: Construction contract awarded in $1.15B invasive carp project

In the multi-year rebuild effort at the Brandon Road Lock & Dam near Joliet, IL.

11. IA: Storm Lake receives grant to improve water recreation

> The grant amounts to $160,800 and was awarded by the Iowa Natural Resources Commission. This marks the first time Storm Lake has received a grant from the program.

> The funds will allow the city to install a new restroom at the Sunrise Park Boat Ramp, purchase a new dock for the site and to add a water bottle filling station.

Funding for the grant comes from Marine Fuel Tax revenue.

12. MN: Arctic Cat to suspend manufacturing at 2 plants

> A spokesperson for parent company Textron confirms that operations are being suspended indefinitely at Arctic Cat factories in Thief River Falls and St. Cloud.

13. Fish Addictions is going sponsor-free ‍

> “I have long believed that the ice fishing industry needs people who can provide open and unbiased opinions on products. While there are some individuals out there, there are not enough.

> "I love fishing and I am passionate about teaching and informing others about techniques and products. So, follow us this winter as we share our adventures with the kids and give you our honest opinions on all things ice fishing! Let us know what you want to hear about as we travel the ice belt living the dream, we will be giving our opinions on gear, lakes, guides and anything ice fishing.”

Little more insight and their thought process and a nice message in this IG reel. Do your thing, fellas!

“My only complaint is that I didn’t have this sooner, as it sure could have saved me a lot of gas money and overthinking.”

- That’s fish-head Blake Tollefson talking about doing a little pre-trip homework with the onX Fish app:

> Blake: “I don’t think folks from other states understand how big of a deal onX Fish is to Wisconsin anglers. Heck, I don’t think some Wisconsin anglers even know how big of a deal this is to Wisconsin anglers.

> Growing up in Minnesota, I assumed that lake specific information was available for anglers in most states. Wisconsin has some data (emphasis on some) available to the public. That being said, arbitrary abundance estimates like “present” or “abundant” only get you so far. In some instances, you might get lucky and find a report with some more specific information, but those tend to be available on a limited basis.

> Historically speaking, it’s been a lot of trial and error, a lot of educated guesses, a lot of random reports, a lot of swinging for the fences, and a lot of striking out. In the 10+ years I’ve lived in Wisconsin, I’ve fished a lot of water. My rough estimates are in the hundreds of different lakes, flowages, rivers and streams.

> This tool is literally going to change the way we fish. Finding new water, confirming suspicions, and crossing lakes off the list.

Killer moonlit pic from Joel VandeKrol of an egg-laden specimen! Couple more months and she’ll be dropping those millions of kids off at daycare:

Korey Sprengel proving that not all sunset fishing pics have to be cliche (when ya don't catch 'em lol).

Oh, and I like how he keeps his rods on deck just like in the boat – rockin’ a mixture of Pflueger Trions and Presidents on the way to his Next Bite:

Good luck and please be safe this weekend if you’re getting out!

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH

Target Walleye LLC

422 Laurel Street

P.O. BOX 541

Brainerd, MN 56401

 (218) 824 5026