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I love a good BBQ but don’t want to forget what Memorial Day is all about: Remembering and honoring those that made the ultimate sacrifice. Hope everyone has a great + safe weekend and thx for reading!
Today’s Top 4
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Gargantuan water pigs of the week!
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Been awhile since we’ve done a parade of pigs…so:
Jacob Zipperer knew this was the biggest walleye of his life right when he set the hook, but wonder if he knew it would be a freakin’ 33.5″ monster?!?! Said it left him shaking like the fishing-version of “buck fever.” No doubt!
Not sure if @erik_lennartz_fish_guru ever sleeps…’cuz he’s always posting pics of after-dark bruisers like this 31.75″ slab o’ Green Bay gold:
Another Lake McConaughy, NE bruiser — this time it’s @sage_konicek trolling his way into a Master Angler on the always-fishy Salmo Hornet. Congrats man!
My bud Sam Hellekson (@samhellekson) got his new PB walldawg — broke the magical 10-lb mark! — vertical-jigging a VMC Neon Moon Eye Jig on MT’s Fort Peck:
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There’s now $100K [!] swimming in ID’s Lake Pend Oreille.
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Last year, ID Fish and Game dumped 50 tagged walleyes — worth $1K each — into Lake Pend Oreille. Why? ‘cuz they want the non-native fish wiped out:
> “These tags…injected in the snout…are invisible to anglers, but turning in heads [!] from legally-caught walleye offers anglers a chance at 2 types of cash rewards. Anglers will receive $1K for a head that’s turned in from a tagged walleye, [and] every walleye head turned in enters anglers in the monthly drawing for 10 cash prizes of $100 each.”
That’s according to this press release sent from this unnamed IDFG employee:
> Walleye were essentially non-existent in Lake Pend Oreille 10 years ago, but numbers have been rapidly increasing since 2014…likely from an illegal introduction into Noxon Reservoir in the early ’90s….
> Biologists fear walleye may cause a decline in kokanee and other high-demand sportfish, such as rainbow trout, native bull trout, cutthroat trout and bass.
Soooo:
> …anglers are encouraged to catch the fish, remove the heads, and deposit the heads in IDFG freezer locations in Kootenai and Bonner Counties.
They gave away nearly $9K to the 200-ish folks that participated last year, but said that ZERO of the $1K-tagged fish were brought in…so believe they dumped another $50K worth of tagged fish in for this season = there’s now $100K in gold swimming around!
Road trip anyone?
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| Warmer temps have (finally) got walleyes on the move, and fishin’ YouTuber Tom Boley says this is usually what pushes walleyes to the first piece of structure adjacent to spawning areas. In typical Tom-Bo fashion, one of his newest videos does a great job of breaking down the lake map so you know what to be looking for right now:
Tom’s Side-Imaging breakdown at 7:43 is #money. |
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If you see a dude in the middle of Mille Lacs roaming aimlessly in a kayak…just leave him alone, it’s Troy Lindner lol. Guy can catch ’em from anything, anywhere:
Man, are those kayaks ever getting “fishy” now. This Old Town Topwater 120 PDL looks like a blast. #DeckedOut
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News
1. OH: Lake Erie’s expected to kick out record #s of walleye.
> “…an estimated 116 mil walleye over the age of 2 yrs old are believed to be found in Lake Erie — many are expected to reach the 15″ minimum size length for the daily bag limit of 6 per angler.”
2. This “gold chrome tiger” Rap-V Blade looks killer…
…but did you notice the MASSIVE walleye flopped down like a 2×4 behind it? Would love to know how big that thing is!
Those new Rapala Rap-V Blades are supposed to combine the best of a lipless crank + a blade bait. Just hit stores and already selling out crazy fast.
3. MN: “Walleye stamp” sales up 60% this year.
> “…amazing because purchase of the $5 add-on is wholly voluntary and not always mentioned as an option by sales clerks. Proceeds help pay for the stocking of walleye fingerlings in lakes that lack natural reproduction or need a boost.”
I got mine — awesome way to support MN walleye fishin’.
4. MN: LOW charter boats fire back up Jun 1.
> “Capacity on charter boats should be limited to no more than the max # of people who can safely maintain…social distance of 6’…both crew and passengers. If all patrons are members of the same immediate household, the charter or launch may be for the full legal load/capacity of the boat.”
5. New Moonshine schtuff comin’.
New #2.5 (3/4-oz) size in all colors of the Shiver Minnow. Also a new “Fat Bottom Series” that’s supposed to have some crazy gliding action. More on that later….
6. MN: Charity ‘MN Fishing Challenge’ going digital.
Last year team’s raised more than $421K to support MN Adult & Teen Challenge drug and rehabilitation programs statewide…so you can see what an incredible impact the event has.
Of course they had to make a few changes, but glad to see they were able to keep this year’s fishin’ fundraiser running. Happenin’ May 30 and can fish from your favorite MN lake, uploading/logging your catches in an app to compete.
7. Check out baby “Gussy.”
> Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson: “Was going through some old photos for a writing project I was working on last night and found this sweet old photo from the 1999 Kenora Bass International on Lake of the Woods. Jess Swenson and I finished 2nd that year, when we were 16 yrs old…here is a good shot with one of our angling heroes Ron Lindner.”
Dude’s been a hammer since the day the stork dropped him off. And pretty sure Ron probably invented the stork.
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TargetWalleye.com Highlights
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Tip of the Day
Tricks that work no matter what size outboard you have.
Here’s Chase Parsons on how tilting the motor up and down, or putting it into gear (while off), can adjust your trolling/drifting speed:
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Quote of the Day
“I only love walleye and momma, I’m sorry.”
– That’s @bbrandon_van_dusen keepin’ his priorities straight…bouncing a 1/4-oz Northland Gumball Jig with a minnow along a steep 19-22′ break line:
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Today’s ‘Eye Candy
Normally I’d say catching one on your first cast is bad luck, but can’t really argue with results like this…. TJ Frude (@filthyfisher) first-casted his new PB rock melon outta one heck of a secret spot. Congrats dude!
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Sign up another fish-head!
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