PA record walleye caught 🤯, MEGA school of crappies, Open water burbot

Richard Nicholson pulled the 18.1-lb blimp [!!!] out of < 10′ of water while soaking a creek chub from the bank of the Youghiogheny River. She went 34″ long x 21.1″ girth and took him 20-25 minutes to reel in on 6-lb line. Sheesh!

Make sure you check out the full scoop from PA outdoor columnist Brian Whipkey on GoErie.com. The handle of the net actually snapped when his son netted the tank. Oh, and his son also stopped him from eating the fish after looking up the current record and realizing there’s could top it lol. Kept the fish alive in the bathtub and all – amazing little read. Congrats on the fish of a million zillion lifetimes!

Little fyi…

> Sgt. Mike Walsh of the PA Fish and Boat Commission said Monday morning that Waterways Conservation Officer Scott Opfer did confirm the size of the walleye and “right now it does beat the record.”

> What has to happen is that Nicholson needs to file the paperwork with the agency and staff in Harrisburg will review and research it before making a ruling on the record. “It has to be checked and double-checked.

> The PA record for walleye was set in 1980 [41 years ago!] when Mike Holly of Bradford reeled in a 17-lb, 9-oz fish from the Allegheny Reservoir. Nicholson’s fish is about a half-pound heavier.

Everything does, so not surprised…until you tell me it was an open-water burb…. 👀 Couple falls back, Wired2Fish’s Ryan DeChaine came across something special:

> We saw fish boiling near the surface over an 85′ hole…figured they were tullibees – and they likely were – but on the edge of the hole in about 65′ there were some solid marks suspended at 25′. Dropped down a #7 Rapala Jigging Rap and 2 hops later the rod doubled over.

Jealous! No doubt he’ll be back there late Feb to track down 25 or 30 of its slimy friends.

Speaking of Ryan DeChaine getting his J-Rap on….

Ryan DeChaine is an equal opportunity hook-setter. This time he was dropping a mini Rapala Jigging Rap (likely a #3 or maybe #5) to catch crappies on every…single…drop…. Awesome seeing that Humminbird MEGA Live in action! #RealLifeVideoGames

Btw I saw in the comments section (which can be a very scary place on any and all social media platforms LOL) that someone was asking why you “would need the MEGA Live when you can see them on regular [2D] sonar and catch them just the same.” I thought Ryan had a really good response that was worth dropping below for educational purposes:

> Ryan: “I use Forward Mode to scan out ahead of the boat to see where the school is at. While this video was filmed when I was on top of the school, I had to find them first and Forward Mode the tool to do it.

> “After locating the school, I then head my boat toward the fish. Given how deep they were and the limited water clarity, I was able to vertically fish them without spooking. I can’t use 2D on the bow to find the school nearly as efficiently as I can with Forward Mode. It’s also often the case where fish spook if you park on top of them. Forward Mode lets you cast away from the boat and still ‘video game’ them like vertical fishing.

> “Lastly, 2D sonar doesn’t provide you a complete picture of how far or fast the fish are moving in response to your bait. You get way more of this info with live imaging. This technology is by no means a requirement – as you allude, 2D is still an excellent technology, but live imaging provides you with more info to find fish quicker and make smarter lure and technique adjustments.”

Thx much, Ryan!

And yes, you can get that same technology in an ice bundle. If you wanna find out more info, there’s a TON of it here breaking down Humminbird MEGA Live Imaging and MEGA 360 Imaging bundles designed for hardwater.

…and target(s) acquired! 🎯

Water temps had dipped into the upper-40s, and we found ’em stacked around the edges of a deep hole just like this:

Didn’t get on the water until 5:15pm, and a buddy and I proceeded to whack our limit of 10-12″ crappies before dark on #3 Rapala Jigging Raps. #PowerHour

Btw every fish that comes up out of water that deep is going to die whether they swim off or not. If you’re plucking ’em out of that deep stuff, catch what you need for a meal and then move on.

Usually I’d try to find some shallower fish tucked up on the edges of the weeds just inside of that deep hole, but this was a quick “harvest mission” for an evening fish fry. I was craving another round of double-battered crappie bites thx to my new favorite = Catch + Cook coatings! Yup, I even shared a couple pieces with my GSP, Vexi, if you can spot her:

Some re-spool the short sticks…others charge their flashers…this guy:

That’s one way to stay focused on fall chores!

Gone too soon. I had the chance to meet Jeff a number of times at local events – extremely nice guy who contributed a ton of his time and resources to better the local community and get more folks hooked on fishing.

Here’s the GoFundMe account if you can spare a few bucks to help their family financially. If you’re the praying type, please send a few their way. 🙏✝️

2. OH: New Lake Erie “Fall Brawl” leader.

Ronald Masal with a 12.665-lb (31″) freakazoid!

Gonna be a tough one to beat!

3. IA: Walleye length limit changes coming Jan 1.

To IA Great Lakes, Storm Lake and Clear Lake.

> …changing the protected walleye slot limit to 19-25″ at Big Spirit Lake, East and West Okoboji Lakes, Upper Gar Lake, Minnewashta Lake, Lower Gar Lake and Storm Lake.

> At Clear Lake, there will be a 17-22″ protected slot limit.

> These changes start Jan 1, 2022. Daily bag limits will remain the same (3 walleyes) and 1 walleye over the slot limit can be harvested each day.

Good news for protecting those big breeders.

Gotta mention that I’ve heard/seen some grumblings from locals who want protection added to IA’s interior rivers because apparently there’s no length minimum or slot limit for walleyes? Luckily a lot of folks are practicing selective harvest, but obviously not all….

4. MN: Mille Lacs and URL winter regs announced.

Upper Red Lake: A 4-walleye bag limit, with only 1 walleye > 17″ allowed, went into effect on Nov. 1.

 

Mille Lacs: Effective Dec 1 thru Feb 27 winter anglers on Mille Lacs may keep 1 walleye between 21-23″ or 1 fish > 28″.

5. ID: Lake Cascade perch forecast looks promising.

> Initial reports look good for another year of perch fishing on Cascade based on gill-net surveys, and despite decreases in the number of jumbo perch, overall populations are still showing to be in the 10-12″ range on average.

Crazy considering 10-12″ is the AVERAGE. This is the place where 2-lb jumbos aren’t out of the question 🤯 and they can even get waaaay more bigger-er. Like the new state record at 3.22 lbs (16.25″ long with a 15.5″ girth) that Adam Mann caught last March:

6. MB: Winnipeg Ice Fishing Show, Nov 6-7.

7. This has to be the biggest 5-fish bag of MN largies ever?!

Sacked-up by the one and only Seth “the 🦙” Feider. I don’t even know what else to say other than “ridiculous.” 😳

I honestly think If I reached out to every die hard bass-head I knew in MN, and got each of their biggest MN largemouth ever caught in their entire life, and put together the top 5…they wouldn’t add up to 30.33 lbs. And Feider does it in a single afternoon…SOLO.

8. Is this a soft plastics world record?

Get this: The legendary Ned Kehde caught 238 fish on a single “green pumpkin” Z-Man Finesse WormZ! That “ElaZtech” is absolutely insane. Btw Z-Man makes a bunch of walleye-specific stuff now too, with more on the way. 🤫 More info coming.

9. Gary Parsons spills ALL of the beans…

…on designing the perfect walleye lure. Pretty fascinating listen while hall of famer Gary Parsons opens up on Another Fishing Podcast:

10. Dude wants the OH state fish to be the Scioto madtom.

I hadn’t heard of it before either, which is something I can appreciate.

> The Scioto madtom is – or was – a tiny nocturnal catfish once found only in the Big Darby Creek. It isn’t a sport fish, and it isn’t especially pretty to look at. But then, the handful of specimens that exist are all dead.

Did you know that tullibees spawn in the fall?

Believe the magic happens at about the 42°F mark, but by then 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.

That’s just one of many nuggets in this Lindner’s Angling Edge video talking cold-water walleyes on artificials. Al Lindner and Ty Sjodin brave cold temps + high winds = for big walleyes.

The docks were pulled at the lake I hit up yesterday, 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!”

Sounds like MB’s Red River (Lake Winnipeg tributary) is en fuego! 🔥🔥🔥 This is 1 of 2 massive #greenback walleyes Brady Kingsland caught the other day that broke the 30″ mark – said he caught this 32-incher vertical jigging with a @bigskyfliesandjigs and minner. Congrats man!

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH