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If you’re getting Target Walleye for the first time, a friend probably signed you up!
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Easiest way to tell if someone is rigging redtails or creek chubs?
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The “sky rats” are a dead giveaway lol:
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Although you can’t believe everything you see…. There are some shysters out there, like Lake Erie guide Ross Robertson, who fashion up a marker buoy using a landfill chicken (seagull decoy) and an old-fashioned “Schooley” ice reel. Said it helps him to catch more fish, and a lot less fishermen – you’ve gotta see this #ingenuity: |
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Fishing meets Halloween. 🎃👻🧟♂️💀
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They said a Rapala fan did some “surgery” on the lure, and that it’s from his personal collection and not for sale…but I think we all know it was actually made when one of these critters took a swipe at it hahaha:
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Btw if you’ll be celebrating All Hallows Eve with the kiddos – 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: |
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How to choose the best ice-fishing line for panfish.
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With SO many options, it can be downright overwhelming to pick a spool of line off the shelf. 🤷♂️ So where should you start?
Well, there’s no one specific line type that’s perfect for all situations – each has its own time and place depending on how you’re fishing. Here’s a few things to consider the next time you’re spooling up for hardwater panfish and when/why I use each:
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The versatility of mono
> If I was heading to a lake I had never fished before – and could only bring one rod – I’d grab one that’s spooled up with 3-lb Sufix Advance Ice Mono. It’s lo-vis, has less memory than fluorocarbon (less coiling) and offers just the right amount of stretch to help keep fish pinned.
> That slight stretch is going to act as a shock absorber to the fish’s thrashing head. At the end of the day you’ll have less torn-out hooks and put more fish topside. Even better…mono is the cheapest option out there.
> For most situations you’re going to want to run a clear line. One exception to that rule is for a technique called ‘tightlining.’ The key component to this technique is running a high-vis line (neon orange, hi-vis gold, neon lime, etc) and detecting the bites by watching the coils in your line as you pound the jig.
Finesse ’em in with fluoro
> If fish are finicky or just straight up smart, I’ll reach for my rod rigged up with 100% fluorocarbon. Fluoro is going to be more ‘invisible’ than mono, making it one heck of a weapon in ultra-clear water, or when targeting heavily-pressured fish.
> Sufix InvisiLine Ice Fluorocarbon also sinks 4 times faster than mono, which allows you to get those tiny ice jigs back down the hole more quickly when there’s a hot school waiting below.
> The downfall to fluoro is that it needs to be replaced more often. The added memory means it’s going to get ‘the coils’ more quickly on the tiny spools of micro ice reels. You can make it more affordable by filling the spool with cheap ‘backing’ or old line, then put on just enough fluoro (say 50′ or 60′) to be able to fish for the day.
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Braided line in ridiculously deep water
> Braided line like Sufix 832 Advanced Ice Braid shines in ultra-deep water, say 30′, 40′, or 50′. Can come into play during early-ice when crappies (on some lakes) are still piled in the deep main-lake basins you left ’em in late-fall.
> Same can be true late-ice if you find ’em gorging on bugs in deep mud basins. But unless you’re fishing ridiculously deep water, leave the super lines at home imo….
> Personally, I think braided line is overrated in the panfish world. Don’t get me wrong: I love it for a ton of different applications, but most of the time hardwater panfish just isn’t one of them. The obvious disadvantage is that it’s much more visible to the fish.
> Also, braid is not your friend if you’re someone that likes to hole-hop outside the shack – it’s going to freeze up far more often since it absorbs moisture.
> Sure you have a little better feel thanks to the no-stretch qualities…also means you’re more likely to set the hook too early and/or rip the bait from the fish’s mouth.
> But again, you need braid in some deep-water situations…like this Devils Lake, ND jumbotron I plucked outta 38-40′ – couldn’t feel/catch ’em without it:
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How sick is this driftwood walleye piece?! 😍
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Another amazing work of art created by @georgianbaydriftwoodart is off to its new home, and I’m a little envious it’s not mine – dude nailed it! |
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He posted a cool behind-the-scenes look at the “build phase” on his Insta:
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1. Pete Harsh’s Celebration of Life…
…will be at the River of Life Church in Sauk Centre, MN next Friday Oct 22. 🙏
If you wish to send a card to Pete’s family, here’s the addy:
Sande Harsh
617 5th ST S
Sauk Centre, MN 56378
2. Josh Wiesner wins H2H PWS championship!
The first-ever PWS champion 🏆 for sure earned it after fishing his tail off all week on NY’s Chautauqua Lake against some of the top sticks in the walleye world.
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4. ON rolling out new rules for baitfish and leeches.
> Starting on Jan 1, 2022, ON will be divided into 4 Bait Management Zones (BMZs) – northwest, northeast, central and southern. …if you live in the zone where you are fishing, you will be permitted to harvest and use baitfish and leeches in that zone. If you are fishing outside the zone in which you reside, then you will need to purchase and use baitfish and leeches from the BMZ where you are fishing.
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Little bit of everything for ya in the newest Target Walleye giveaway! Takes just 10 seconds to enter, and can share the link you get for bonus entries. 👊 Good luck! |
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How Tom Boley is finding walleyes RIGHT NOW.
Fishing YouTuber Tom Boley just dropped a really good video breaking down EXACTLY how and where he finds fall weedline walleyes on the edge of flats. But first, how did we get here?
I don’t usually give “trolls” the time of day 🙄 but this time I’ve gotta shout-out Christopher [last name removed] in the comments section for lighting an absolute fire under Tom lol. Here’s what Christopher said under a recent video, and I refuse to fix any of the grammar or punctuation in his comment haha:
> “this video fell short of living up to previous Tom Boley videos, there’s no mention of the depth, how to break down the lake or detect the fish using the 360, what presentation, etc. it was just a couple of people catching fish., just watched a couple of people catching fish”
In Tom’s defense, the info has been sprinkled in several of his recent videos on location…but you would’ve missed it if you didn’t watch all of ’em. 🤷♂️ So here we are.
I really like how Tom includes Humminbird screenshots of what he’s seeing and what the rest of us should be looking for. Click on any of the pics below to watch the video:
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I was cruising thru some Pete Harsh posts on Facebook (🙏 RIP brother) and found lots of incredible comments shared by folks on his passing – just wanted to say thx to all who have been sharing memories and stories of how Pete positively impacted your life.
Got to cruising Pete’s personal FB page looking at photos and whatnot – saw that just about a week ago he had shared an old video meme that I made probably 4 yrs ago…when I clearly had too much time on my hands 🤣. Pete said, “Worth resharing IMHO. LOL!” So thought I’d bring it back in case it gives someone else a chuckle today:
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Sign up another fish-head!
If you’re forwarding Target Walleye to a friend who loves to walleye-fish or want your fishing buddies to get these emails, just send us their email addresses and we’ll take care of it! (We won’t sell the addresses, use them for spam, etc.)
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Friends of Target Walleye
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Who is Target Walleye
Target Walleye – walleye during open water and all species during hardwater – is brought to you by Al Lindner, Jim Kalkofen, Jay Kumar, Brett McComas and other diehard fish-heads like you!
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Brett McComas is the main man for Target Walleye 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
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