Late-fall cranking tips, Pontoon walleye fishing, Giant cisco eaters

I snuck out to do a little bass fishing over the weekend (don’t judge lol) near Brainerd, MN and ended up catching a 5.84-lb giant! My biggest largie of the season and it came on the smallest bait…a Rapala CrushCity Ned BLT on a 3/16-oz VMC Ned Rig Jig:

This time of year the greenest weeds hold the most fish. Any clumps/patches that were still standing in 9-10’ were loaded. I’d pick off the dumb ones with a big Terminator jig then work back thru ‘em with a Ned Rig. Funny enough I caught about a dozen walleyes too…although I wasn’t targeting them for some strange reason. Gonna need to go back!

Okay, I promise there’s only one more mention of bass in today’s email 😅 but it’s a super unique one! Here we go…

Smacking walleyes in a pontoon!

It was a super fun afternoon on the water despite mother nature not wanting to cooperate! We borrowed a Premier Sunsation Angler, pointed the bow into 25-mph winds, and got to catching. I love seeing pontoons getting fishy-er! 🤫 And Premier always has a bunch of cool new innovations in the works….

How we caught ‘em

No doubt there’s lots of different ways to catch fall walleyes…but it’s tough to beat live-bait rigging with big 4-5″ creek chubs or redtails when it comes to sticking a bunch of future fish tacos. Lots of variations to the technique – you can make it as simple or difficult as you want.

One of the tweaks is tail-hooking your chubs to get more action out of ’em, which seems to work especially well any time you’re squatting in a high-percentage spot and/or getting turned down by multiple marks on the graph.

Now here’s the vid! 🥶

Next time (with warmer weather) we’re bringing the kiddos with!

Is this considered ice fishing?

Apprently Wade Jones Sr. came across this feller “ice fishing” on Manitoba’s Red River yesterday:

Some folks were quick to chirp…but funny enough the guy who was in that Clam Fish Trap, Monteo Machado, came to his own defense in the comments section and said, “We had a better day than the rest of you 😂” LOL. Had the greenback walleye pic to prove it, too:

You know, maybe he’s on to something:

Did you know that tullibees spawn in the fall?

Believe the magic happens at about the 42°F mark, but by then pre-spawn tullibees will have already slid into the shallows “so they can eat minnows and ripen their eggs before spawning.” Just one more reason you get another movement of BIG walleyes pushing up shallow in the fall.

In-Fisherman’s Doug Stange put together an awesome write-up called “Paddletail Swimbaits for Late-Season Walleyes” that’s chock full of golden cisco-eater nuggets. Way too much info to fit it all in here, but it’s for sure worth a read, so click the pic below if it interests you:

Check out this “calico smallmouth” caught…

…by Lindner Media’s Gary McEnelly. Amazing specimen!

Looks more like “brindle” to me. 😅

Fishing meets Halloween. 🎃👻🧟‍♂️

If you’ll be celebrating All Hallows Eve with the kiddos this weekend – or you’re a big kid at heart – send in those pics of your fishy Halloween costumes! In the meantime, click here or on the pic below for a little inspiration = a bunch of faves we’ve seen floating around the interwebz the last few years:

And this right here is how a couple of fish-heads (Eric and Leslie Ann Allee) do a Halloween date night!

Although Eric could’ve just worn use usual attire and passed as Paul Bunyan:

I wear the same “costume” 5-7 days a week hahaha. 👊

1. The newest “Top 5” video! 🎥🍿

In case you missed it on YT over the weekend, here’s episode 60. Hope you enjoy!

Big shout-out to Sea Foam for making this fun video series possible! 👊

If/when you’re storing your boat for the season…make sure you give your rig a healthy dose of Sea Foam Marine Pro = cleans and lubricates your motor, helps prevent corrosion caused by ethanol and water, and stabilizes tank fuel up to 2 yrs! It’s easy.

If you can’t find Marine PRO near you, original Sea Foam still works great in ’em to dissolve fuel residues AND for fuel stabilization. May be the #1 automotive additive in the US, but it was originally invented for outboard motors.

2. Outdoor industry jobs have grown 13% since 2020.

3. 2024 AIM Rivers Division schedule is set.

AIM Pro Walleye Series is catch-photo-release format. Here’s the schedule:

• April 7: Guttenberg, IA (Pools 10-11)
• May 5: Genoa, WI (Pools 8-9)
• June 23: Hastings, MN (Pools 2,3 and the St Croix River)
• Sept 22: Dubuque, IA (Pools 11 and 12)
• Oct 4-5: Championship – Hager City, WI (Pools 3 and 4)

4. MN: Tuned Up Custom Rods “open house” is Sat, Oct 28.

From 10am – 4pm in Coon Rapids:

> “Tour the shop, chat with the pros, enter raffles, see how our rods are made, and view part of the build process.

> “We will have a large selection of rods ready to purchase, as well as reels and apparel, with some great deals to be found!

> “Come meet Tuned Up Pros Brad Hawthorne and Nick Lindner, as well as other top guides, pro-staff, and rod builders.”

Swing in on your way to/from the North Metro Ice Show in Ramsey this weekend.

5. Clam is having a coloring contest…

…to design your own Tikka Flash or Rattlin’ PT Spoon for a chance to win a $250 Clam gift card.

Can’t wait to see some of the designs.

6. Did you know Amped Outdoors offers discounts…

…for current and former military, first responders, educators and more?

7. St. Paul Ice Show’s biggest giveaway ever.

Doing it up big for their 30th anniversary!

8. Gill names Sportco Marketing as its sales group.

9. Academy Sports + Outdoors announces president transition.

> Sam J. Johnson promoted to President. Eric Friederich promoted to Senior Vice President of Retail Operations. Michael P. Mullican steps down as President to pursue other personal and professional opportunities.

10. Rapala’s Ultra Light Rippin’ Raps get 4 new colors.

Tasty little treats! 😍

And FishUSA already has ‘em in stock.

11. MN: Beacon Harbor Resort has new owners.

On Upper Red Lake.

12. Have you seen Eurotackle’s Live Spoons yet?

If you’ve tried one, let me know! They look super unique:

> Made from ABS plastic, the Live Spoon is unlike any fishing spoon on the market. Its design and composition provide a unique fluttering action…actually swims through the water….

> …features an internal rattle chamber…and is finished off with a custom treble hook. Sort of a hybrid of the rattling spoon and the flutter spoon.

> Being that it’s ABS, the paint jobs like to hold up better than your typical metal spoon – no chipped up spoons from bouncing around in your tackle box. …many of the color schemes come from the Z-Series lineup.

Comes in 2 sizes: a 1/16-oz (1.25” with 8 colors) and a 3/8-oz (2.25” with 5 colors).

13. These ice rod + gear cases look awesome.

Made by 2B Fishing and were super popular last season. Almost like a hybrid between a hard and soft rod case thx to the full-length PVC tubes to protect the rods and keep ’em from tangling. The regular size holds four rods up to 36” and the XL holds four rods up to 46”.

And new this year they have a limited-edition Elliott XL Rod & Gear Case:

14. If you’re looking to test your pumpkin carving skillz 🎃…

 …there’s still time to enter 13 Fishing’s 12th annual pumpkin carving contest. Gotta enter a pic of yours by Oct 31 for a chance to win – up for grabs is:

– The Meta 7’3” Medium Heavy Casting Rod

– The Inception G2 Casting Reel

– A Standard Issue Dark Hat

– And a Prize Pack of baits featuring The Ladyfish!

If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out the winners from last year’s contest:

Walleye aren’t bad fish, just the wrong fish for Idaho

Feels like one of those “it’s not you, it’s me” breakups lol.

Trolling crankbaits for shallow fall walleyes.

There’s still plenty of fish to be caught if you’re willing to bundle up and get out! 🥶 The shallow, fall walleye trolling bite is an absolute blast! A lot of times they’ll eat shallow crankbaits all day this time of year, but you’ll also probably have the entire lake to yourselves once the sun sets….

Here’s an on-the-water video breakdown of the what/where/when/why if you’re diehard enough to be getting after it again soon:

Meme of the Day

The docks were pulled at the lake I hit up the other day, but I’ll gladly pack a pair of rubber boots to get out while the gettin’ is good…especially when there isn’t another boat on the entire lake. 🙌 Sorry “John!”

Awesome fish and pic from Capt Frank Kohlbach that was caught on a Walleye Nation Creations WNC Reaper. Someone please slap a saddle on this thing and see if you can hang on for 8 seconds. 😂🐂