View this email in your browser

Apologies the Target Walleye schedule has been all jacked up lately due to travel. Then ran into some major technical issues with our email sender while trying to get this out yesterday afternoon. So hopefully it (finally) lands in your inbox....

Have a ton of new content coming your way asap, but in the meantime this TW will be a little preview of what’s to come, and then of course plenty of new goods mixed in. Here we go!

Like I mentioned above, I apologize that the TW schedule has been jacked up lately...but we’ve been on the road knocking out a pile of new content you won’t see anywhere else – coming your way soon-ish. In the meantime, here’s a little sneaky preview of what we’ve been up to....

I caught my first Iowa walleye ever! Came throwing a #7 Berkley Finisher on IA’s ‘Great Lakes’ with Kyle Peterson (Bait Project Engineer at Berkley). I learned a few new ways to work ‘em, and the walleyes were CRUSHING it – more on that later:

Then I finally had the chance to visit the Berkley HQ in Spirit Lake, IA and all I've got to say for now is WOW. I’m flat-out blown away. I couldn't fit everything I learned and saw into 147 TW emails, but will do my best lol. In the meantime here’s a few quick pics:

BUT as amazing as that all was, it was time to hit the road towards some walleye-infested waters in SD – to meet up with some tourney pros – where we got a first look at a bunch of new Berkley baits that are being released this fall. I’m just gonna give you a quick glance at a few down below right now, but will break down the what/where/when/why of each in the next TW emails.

Will have SO much info headed your way in the next week-ish going thru all of it right meow and stuff you’re not going to see anywhere else.

Oh, and then I’m not even sure If I had gotten to sleep in my own bed yet before hopping in the boat with this fishy feller:

Will have some tippy nuggets from Tom Boley coming right on up – dude is such a beast!

Thought we were done here (for now ) but almost forgot that I hopped out of Tom’s boat and quickly zipped home to grab my rig so I could try to make it in time for ‘take-off’ at our local walleye league last night.

My buddy Nick Lindner and I were able to put together a 6-fish bag for 16.06 lbs (only 2 fish over 20" allowed) which was good enough for 2nd place and also stuck 'big fish' of the night with a 27.25-incher that weighed 6.2 lbs:

Big props to Logan Peterson and Jake Larson on dominating with 18.19 lbs! Dude’s are straight-up hammers.

So, anywho, that’s a little preview of what we’ve been up to this last week. But of course will have way more details coming your way soon.

Couple new on-the-water Target Walleye videos coming your way....

First up: Slinging jerkbaits for shallow-water walleyes. No joke, we were sitting on a massive school of fish that flat out would NOT eat anything: Ned rigs, glide baits, ‘crawlers, swimbaits – you name it!

Thought they must be suckers...until I threw a "metallic yellow perch” color Rapala PXR Mavrik 110 Jerkbait thru ‘em and got whacked. Couldn't believe it! But had to be working the jerkbait a very specific way:

As always, all of the gear I used in this specific video is listed in the video’s description on YouTube. If you have a specific question on anything, drop a comment over on YouTube and I’ll do my best to get back to you in a timely fashion – I really do read every

Walleyes love windy days, but 40 mph gusts make bait delivery, bite detection, and boat control a nightmare! Here’s a complete breakdown on how I’ve been boating fish when Mother Nature turns “walleye chop” into a small-craft advisory.

Here’s a rundown of the setups I was putting to work that day – which is always something I include in the video’s “description” over on YouTube – but going to drop some of that info down below ‘cuz I wanted you to know that I include all of the specifics...

My Rippin’ Rap setup this day:

‣ #6 Rapala Rippin' Rap

‣ 7' medium-heavy fast Abu Garcia Zenon

‣ Pflueger Supreme (size 35)

‣ 10-lb Sufix Revolve (main line)

‣ 14-lb Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon (leader)

‣ #0 VMC Crankbait Snap

My swimbait setup this day:

‣ 3/8-oz VMC Tungsten Moon Eye Jig

‣ 3" Rapala CrushCity The Mayor

‣ 7' medium fast Abu Garcia Zenon

‣ Abu Garcia Zenon MG-X (3000)

‣ 10-lb Sufix Revolve (main line)

‣ 10- or 12-lb Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon (leader)

My Ned Rig setup this day:

‣ 3/16-oz VMC 'RedLine Series' Tungsten Ned Head Jig

‣ Rapala CrushCity Ned BLT

‣ 7' 2” ML fast Fenwick Elite Walleye Spinning Rod

‣ Abu Garcia Revo SX (size 30)

‣ 10-lb Sufix Revolve (main line)

‣ 8- or 10-lb Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon (leader)

My Jigging Rap setup this day:

‣ #7 Rapala Jigging Raps

‣ Abu Garcia Revo Rocket (size 30)

‣ 7' medium fast Abu Garcia Zenon

‣ 10-lb Sufix Advance Mono (main line)

‣ 12-lb Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon (leader)

‣ VMC Bladed Hybrid Treble

‣ #0 VMC Crankbait Snap

‣ #10 or #12 VMC RS Swivel

My jerkbait setup this day:

‣ Rapala PXR Mavrik 110 Jerkbait

‣ 7' 6" ML fast Fenwick Elite Walleye Spinning Rod

‣ Size-30 Pflueger Patriarch

‣ 10-lb Sufix 832 (main line)

‣ 12-lb Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon (leader)

‣ #0 VMC Crankbait Snap

1. We lost Tom Mackin

Longtime prez of Rapala VMC USA and well-known in the fishing business. He retired in 2021. Our thoughts and prayers are with Tom’s family during this difficult time.

2. Beckwith/Lakich win AIM National Championship

With an outrageous 2-day bag (10 fish) of 101.05 lbs outta Duluth’s St. Louis River, taking home a $113K payday! Wow!!

3. ‘MN Fishing Challenge’ raised over $700K!

For Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge (MNTC) who has a long history of helping people break free from the chains of addiction and restoring broken families:

> When you combine fishing, faith, and freedom from addictions, amazing things can happen. The Minnesota Fishing Challenge is one of the largest fundraisers that help fund this good work each year. Leading up to this event, anglers set another annual record by raising more than $702,000 to support MNTC drug and alcohol programs statewide. The cumulative amount generated via this family-friendly tournament since 2008 exceeds $6 mil. 

Absolutely incredible!

4. MN has a new boater education law

Folks are essentially going to need to get the boating-version of a 'drivers license' to operate a boat.

People born after June 30, 2004 will need 'em starting as early as this July – but the permit requirement will gradually apply to older age groups over the next few years.

• June 30, 2004 (starts July 1, 2025)
• June 30, 2000 (starts July 1, 2026)
• June 30, 1996 (starts July 1, 2027)
• June 30, 1987 (starts July 1, 2028)

More info here.

5. I hopped on the 'Past The Barb' podcast...

...to chat about a little bit of everything – never know where the conversation is going to go with these fellas and I love that:

Thx much for having me on, fellas!

6. It’s Eagle Claw's 100th year of hooking fish

Amazing. Huge congrats!

7. PA high-schooler developed biodegradable soft-plastic...

...and won an award for it.

8. Folks ticked about wake boat-caused erosion

9. Yamaha names Larry Price Manufacturing Manager

10. PA: New Bass Pro Shops coming to Muncy

In 2027.

11. 3 new Academy stores opened this quarter

1 each already in FL and VA, another opening in WV.

12. Sportsman's Warehouse Q1 was up YOY

13. Pitman Creek bought another distributor

> ...has entered into an agreement to purchase Sports Specialists of Milwaukee Inc. The date of combined operations will be Jun 23.

> This acquisition expands Pitman Creek Wholesale’s operations in the Midwest and Great Lakes, nearly doubling its presence in the region. It also marks Pitman Creek’s first acquisition since 2000.

14. New OluKai x AFTCO footwear collab

15. New DuraSafe lock for Garmin Force Kraken trollers

16. AGLOW has a fresh, new webby

AGLOW = The Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers.

17. New site promotes safe boating and conservation edu

18. ASA testifies before House Natural Resources Committee

Shallow June walleyes on the Ned Rig

Fish-head TJ Erickson runs thru his skinny-water Ned Rig program for June walleyes. He’s fishing up on MN’s Rainy Lake in this vid, but there’s plenty of fishy nuggets that’ll help you to catch Ned Rig walleye no matter where you’re fishing:

"Let’s find deeper fish today...."

- That's walleye tourney pro Joe Okada doing some "bass guy stuff" at the AIM National Championship Shootout on the St. Louis River.

Man, I fricken LOVE this picture of Kyle Peterson (Bait Project Engineer at Berkley) spending some daddy-daughter time on the water – what it’s all about!

They caught 'em too! Way to go, dad!!!

Back atcha on Friday with some juice! Thanks SO much for reading!

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH

Target Walleye LLC

422 Laurel Street

P.O. BOX 541

Brainerd, MN 56401

 (218) 824 5026