Snapping SZN is here, Strangest pike teeth ever, Trolling motor maintenance

Yo! Quick note: If you’ve sent me an email…sorry I’m SO behind on replying. 🤦‍♂️ Trying to get caught up on some stuff and will get back to you soon-ish! Not trying to ignore anyone. Thx so much for reading! Now here we go…

Something you might hear when someone catches a skinny one…but here’s a completely different reason from Dick van Hattem on Insta:

Yikes! That thing is more 🐍y than an actual snake:

Big ones are sometimes called “water wolves.” Maybe a little inspiration for this pike pelt mount??? First I’d ever seen one like it. Came across the pic on @sloanjay’s Insta who said “not my style, but unique.” Spotted in northern WI of course 😏:

…Tom Boley is back on the ACME Hyper-Rattle program. 🎯

Wanted to touch on a couple things before I jump into his newest video.

Said he’s been flip-flopping his rod/line setups, but has recently landed on the Elliott Rods 6′ 9″ medium fast-action with 10- or 12-lb mono. If you’re using braid, then you’ll want a little whippier rod since you lose the line stretch (shock absorber) of the mono. Need that “sponginess” somewhere in your setup to lose less fish once they’re pinned.

He’s slinging the biggest 2.5″, 1-oz size ACME Hyper-Rattle the majority of the time. Warned you a couple months back that they sell out FAST this time of year – looks like FishUSA is already cleaned-out – so if you see some, I’d strongly recommend snagging ’em. Could probably move them on the fishing black market for a pretty penny lol.

Okay, now here’s Tom’s newest vid marking fish + catching ’em like a walleye magician:

And I’m talking about signs more obvious than just moping ’round the house.

Posted by Bill Bonoffski in the Lund Boat Owners FB group. Bill sees your cobwebs and raises you mallard:

Or how would you like to fight these things off the fishing spot?? 🤣

And then you have this contraption spotted by Larry Dale Chandler on Lake Overholser, OK. 😳 I do 10/10 recommend watching the vid just to hear the sound of that thing!

1. MT: Eggebrecht/Lien win Governor’s Cup…

…on Fort Peck Reservoir with a 2-day bag of 74.47 lbs. #HeavyLifting

Jason Eggebrecht has now won it 3x [!!!] and sounds like he took big fish of the derby (out of 201 teams) with a massive 13.69-lber.

From the results I saw, there were literally dozens of fish over 10 lbs caught – and more than one that broke 13 lbs – but it’s always tough to track down actual fish pics from the wild west…? They probably don’t want anyone coming to visit that walleye factory lol.

Was able to find this GREAT pic of Carly Rush’s (3rd place) mondo 32-incher. Insane!

2. Johnny Morris donated $2 mil toward…

…houses for wounded veterans. Awesome. Especially love this line from the Bass Pro founder: “How could we ever do enough? We can’t….” 🙌

3. Brunswick/Merc’s electric goals.

Reminder that Brunswick is public company that owns Lund, Mercury, Crestliner, MotorGuide (plus way more), and they just bought Navico/Lowrance:

> Mercury and [Brunswick’s] Advanced Systems Group together will launch 5 electric propulsion products by 2023, with the first one launching in 2022.

> Advanced Systems Group expects to have installed 15,000 advanced battery systems replacing internal combustion engine generators by 2023.

> Brunswick Boat Group will have launched electric boats in 4 different segments by 2023.

> Brunswick plans to showcase its Next Wave strategy during the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES)….

4. MN: It took nearly a 10-lb avg (5 fish) to win…

…the Minnesota Tournament Trail on Lake of the Woods. Isn’t that mind blowing? I mean the 5 biggest walleyes I’ve ever caught in my life combined (from any lake, anywhere) probably wouldn’t add up to that 🤷‍♂️ and these folks do it in a single day!

5. H2H PWS is happening right now on the Mississippi River.

The top-8 folks (out of 32 pros) have moved on to a 1v1 bracket format, fighting for a chance at a $35K 1st-place payday + ultimate bragging rights.

The bite has been slow, but some giants are being caught. Word is that Pool 2 is at its 3rd lowest level ever since they began keeping records. And on river systems, typically no current really hurts the bite. The good news is that makes it anybody’s game.

Watch LIVE on Head2Head Fishing’s FB or YouTube again tomorrow morning.

6. ON: Weigh-ins still looking different.

This story is from a bass derby, but still sorta interesting how they had to go about it:

> [Covid] safety measures prompted organizers to use the dock of a private home to allow participants to submit their live catches and have [them] weighed before leaving to release the fish back into the lake without having to leave their boats.

7. KY: Pitman Creek distributor is expanding.

Sales are up 80% and they’re moving to new 206,000 sq ft distribution center in Stanford this Oct:

> …providing 1-stop purchasing for several thousand retailers of fishing products in 49 states and a few foreign countries, including all the major sporting goods chains such as Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Dick’s and Walmart. It benefits from KY’s logistically advantageous location to fulfill orders to the majority of customers in 1 or 2 days.

8. Gotta give props to some tasty goodness! 🤤

Called Catch + Cook = amazing coatings for those that like to have their cake fish and eat it too. Fried up a couple smaller walleyes earlier this week and wow. The pic in the middle were double-dipped bites (thx to a tip on the back of the package) that had the tastiest crunch I’ve ever experienced on stove-top fish:

What’s even crazier is my daughter, Maisie, told me she did NOT need any ketchup, which has literally never been a thing…ever…. She even asks for it with her mac and cheese lol. And as you can see in the pic ^ she didn’t even touch the tomato sauce.

Keep doing your thing, Catch + Cook fellas! Only downside is it’s gonna be waaaay harder to release any 15-17″ walleyes that land in my boat….

9. US congresswoman visits border-locked NW Angle.

1. Can you fish off the bank?

Yes.

2. Fishing line matters.

Definitely do need it.

3. Bluegills provide hot summer fishing action.

Always do whether you’re targeting them or not hahaha.

10 trolling motor maintenance tips.

Minn Kota’s full write-up goes into detail on each, quick table of contents below:

– Check and Tighten Battery Connections
– Properly Charge Your Trolling Motor Batteries
– Clean Trolling Motor Prop of Weeds and Fishing Line
– Remove and Inspect Trolling Motor Prop Drive Pin
– Wash Your Trolling Motor – Especially When Fishing In Saltwater
– Lubricating Your Trolling Motor
– Tighten Mounting Bolts
– Prolonged Storage Prep
– Trolling Motor Cable Management and Inspection
– Steering Cable Tension Adjustment – Cable Steer Motors Only
– BONUS: Weedless Prop Performance

Learn how/why for each right here.

“Only 4 yrs old and up at 3AM with us this morning…I’d say she has the fishing bug!”

– That’s Pat Conroy talking in this Blackfish Gear post about this next-gen fish-catcher = LOVE it!

Sheesh! Most kids (some adults lol) can’t even handle trying to catch a walleye or 2, let alone hang thru a muskie grind…so MEGA props little lady!!!

Know you’ve got the right bait tied on when they T-bone it with a vengeance – that Berkley Hit Stick ain’t no slouch:

Wanna give a big shout-out to my bud 📸 Christian Hoffman for making this plus-size model look soooo good. Hope you get to watch a few wave goodbye soon, too!

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH