Today’s Top 5
Fattest walleye ever?
IG user @sunshineandsmallies switched it up for some @overcastandwalleyes and stuck this oddly-plump butterball:
She was only 22.5″ long but weighed nearly 5.5 lbs! Here’s another look at her:
Braid vs. fluoro vs. mono.
Everyone wants to know what the best all-around line is, but there isn’t one. They’ve all got their time and place. Here’s some advice from a guy whose nickname is literally “Tackle,” so no doubt he knows his stuff — Freshwater Fishing Hall of Famer Terry Tuma:
Fluoro:
> “With fluorocarbon, you’re getting low visibility, thin diameter, and good sensitivity. It has some stretch when you set the hook, but not as much as monofilament. It also tends to be abrasion resistant. All of which makes it great leader material for trolling and longlining.
> “Make sure you wet the knot when tying or it will fail. Fluoro sinks, so it falls much faster than mono — use that to your advantage when casting crankbaits or jigging.”
Braid:
> “Thanks to braid’s real thin diameter, it cuts through the water column and runs deeper, so you’ll find braids on my trolling and long-lining setups, and any situation where I’m cutting through weeds.
> “Braids have no stretch whatsoever, which can be good and bad depending on the situation. It’s not always best for tying directly to jigs: I’ve seen guys lose fish after the hookset because of that lack of stretch, which allows fish to shake off. Adding a fluoro or mono leader will solve that problem.”
Mono:
Al’s another man that’s watched the revolution of fishing line over the years. Here’s his take on it:
World record walleye bait.
Would you fish this crawler? Throw it on a 27/0 slow-death hook with a 3-lb bottom-bouncer and HOLD ON:
#Nope
Packing your permie shack for highway travel.
THIS is why you guys with permie shacks need to pile all the heavy stuff (generator, auger, bucket full of 15″ crappies lol) towards the front of your fish house — instead of in the back — when towing it home:
That or maybe a Mustang isn’t the best tow vehicle option out there….
Walleye hunting opener.
It was the MN deer opener last weekend, but the t-shirt weather had many heading to the lake instead. Here’s the kind of “blaze orange” Target Walleye’s Brett McComas rocked:
Luckily he had a doe tag:
Now get back to work, Brett!
News
1. Tommy Skarlis needs our prayers.Apparently Tommy fell from a tree while bowhunting over the weekend and suffered a broken neck. Word is he’s in good spirits, but needs to have emergency surgery. Firing off prayers, fishing brother.
2. MN/WI/ND: AIM Schedule announced.
Good lookin’ schedule. It’s a catch, photo, release format — can’t wait to see the bags these guys put together when the slots don’t matter.
Don’t forget you can sign up for the Leer Cover Cash program to earn extra $$$ in the AIM tourneys — just need to have a LEER truck cap or tonneau cover on your rig.
3. ON: Nipissing closed to walleye ice fishing?
Maybe for this season, but still no word from the MNR. The walleye population has struggled for more than a decade.
4. ND: Sakakawea’s bursting with forage.
It’s a walleye buffet of smelt and gizzard shad.
5. OSG seeks programming exec.
Marketing monster Outdoor Sportsman Group. Is your resume on point?
6. New show from Northland Tackle.
A weekly YouTube series featuring Northland staffers on hot bites and breaking down their favorite techniques. Get to know Tony Roach in episode 1 right here.
7. Custom Rapala Jigging Rap colors…
…from our friends over at FishUSA. Betcha haven’t seen these ones before! Get ’em now right here or by clicking the pic:
8. New Lund 2017 catalogs hot off the press.
Is it still called “window shopping” if you’re looking at tillers?
9. Eskimo staffer-exclusive hoodies for sale…
…after lots and lots of requests:
See, your vote does matter.
10. Scout panfish ice spots now.
You can cover more ground in the boat than on ice. Get pannies dialed in now and early-ice will be a breeze.
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Have a shot at winning a Frabill Bro Series Hub — an awesome insulated ice-fishing shack — just in time for first ice! Same thing: enter your email addy, then share the link you get for more chances to win. Good luck!
Events
1. MN: Hard Water Ice Fishing Expo, Blaine, Nov 18-20.
Tough to think about ice when it’s 70 degrees out!
2. WI: Milwaukee Ice Fishing Show, Dec 9-11.
Will you guys still go to this if there’s already ice on the lakes?
3. MN: Arrowhead ice-fishing show, Duluth, Dec 9-11.
4. MN: St. Paul Ice Fishing Show, Dec 2-4.
We’ll be there snooping on all the new stuff.
Tip of the Day
Late-fall walleye locations and strategies.
Water temps have barely dipped below 50 degrees — which means there’s plenty of fall fishing left, whether you ice-heads like it or not! Here’s a couple of key areas Dr. Jason Halfen (The Technological Angler) targets for late-fall walleyes and how he tricks ’em into biting. You can read Jason’s full write-up here, but there’s a few excerpts below:
> “Your favorite lakes have two different types of high-percentage, late-fall walleye locations: steep breaks that lead toward deeper water, and mid-depth flats that still support green-weed growth. These types of areas are easy to identify using a combo of your sonar and Aqua-Vu underwater camera.”
Steep breaks:
> “Look for contour lines on your Humminbird that are packed together tightly in a small region several hundred feet offshore. If the water is 25-35′ at the bottom of that sharp transition, then it will likely hold walleyes. Even better if it has a hard bottom, with scattered rock or gravel patches.
> “With the boat positioned over deep water, cast to the top of the break and work the bait all the way back to the boat, maintaining close bottom contact.
> “Early in the fall, you will be able to work baits down the break aggressively, using a snap-jigging retrieve — as water temps plummet towards first ice, a slower, steady retrieve interrupted only by a few pauses will be more effective.”
Mid-depth weed flats:
Today’s ‘Eye Candy
Pucker up:
Great shot from Cody Lukowich over on the Instamagrammy.
Random
Fishing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics? Maybe. And probably for carp according to this artical. Guess it actually used to be a thing:
> “…fishing was an Olympic sport way back in the 1900 Paris Games. That year, 600 people — 560 sporting berets and thin mustaches — and 40 anglers from five other countries competed, but no results were recorded.
> “That’s because a team of impartial observers was selected to judge the event. After eating several platters of croissants and escargot a gogo, they fell asleep, having consumed copious amounts of butter and wine. The scorecards were blotted by drool and had to be destroyed.”
Don’t know if that’s true, but if so…wow. Can’t see it being too exhilarating to watch carp being caught — unless they’re shaped like bacon-inhaling blimps:
#OinkOink
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