Sorry I was little light on TWs the last couple of weeks. Had some doctor appointments and could only get in when I'd normally be typing these bad boys up. All good, and getting back right. So let's keep on rolling.

FishDonkey tourney winners update: If you haven't received your prizes yet, many apologies. I have been assured that everything was shipped by Sept 15. Give it a couple weeks from there and pls let me know if you haven't gotten it. Thank you!

Man, this is a really great little tip from 🔨 Korey Sprengel talking how to dial in your crankbait speed while casting.

Folks are (rightfully) uber picky when it comes to crankbait trolling speeds – a couple tenths of a mph can make all the difference in an okay day vs a great one. So why don’t we pay close attention to our crankbait speeds when casting? 🤔 I suppose it’s because there isn’t a # on a screen staring you in the face that you can adjust up or down with the click of a button....

Korey says more often than not you're actually reeling waaaay faster than you'd think while casting cranks...hitting speeds you’d be appalled by if you were trolling – especially in the fall.

SO here’s a quick trick on how he dials in that crank speed while casting by focusing on the feel of the bait and the load in the rod tip:

Couple more crank-casting nuggets from Sprengel...

How he casts with the wind to maximize his crank’s running depth and cover more water:

And here’s another vid with Sprengel running through some of his go-to crankbaits for CASTING and the depth ranges he likes ‘em in: He throws the #6.25 Berkley Money Badger when fishing in the 8-12’ range...the smaller #5 size for 7-8’...and a #7 Flicker Shad when a little shallower in that 5-7’ stuff:

Tombo Slice breaks down a couple of his favorite early-fall patterns on small, natural lakes as water temps finally dip into the mid- to lower-60s. And it’s pretty cool that it’s two very different scenarios:

1. Pitching Kalins Pendu Jigs on shallow flats, and

2. Dunking Acme Hyper-Rattles and 1/2-oz Kastmaster spoons 🤫 on deep, hard-bottom areas.

Watching vids like this makes me want to drop everything I’m doing and go try to find similar spots/bites around home:

I recently posted a new "Top 5" video (episode 89) on our YouTube channel. Big thx to our friends at Sea Foam and Scheels for making this video series possible! We're having a ton of fun with 'em and hope you are too!! Here she be:

We’ve got another new video for ya....

This one’s a little different, and short at just 1-min long...but it might just scratch an itch in the back of your fishy brain. I call it “The sounds of walleye fishing.” #ASMR

WARNING: You are now entering arguably the best fishing of the season. 🍂 Lot more new vids coming soon.

Stumbled across this video on Alex Timm’s YT channel from The North Metro Ice Show’s portable ice fishing shack competition last season that included some wild DIY transformations.

Thought you might get a kick out of some of these mods – bunch of good excuses to hide in the garage and tinker around with your own setups:

This year’s North Metro Ice Show is happening Oct 25-26 at the Adrenaline Sports Center in Ramsey, MN. They’ll be holding the Modified Portable Ice House Show again this year 💯 which is happening from 10am to 4pm on Sat if you want to see some of these wild creations in person!

Per usual, Tom does a good job of explaining the “why” and “how” and not just the “what” in this video. He says 3 tips, but there’s more like 100 in here hahaha. Little table of contents for you in case you want to jump to specific parts...

• Really good jig-fishing breakdown starting at 4:01 to about 10:45. Talks lots of specifics.

• Around 13:26 he shows some Humminbird MEGA Side Imaging examples showing exactly what he's looking for and what the fish are relating to this time of year.

• From around 20:57 to 24:16 there’s a GREAT rundown of Tom’s 2 favorite jig-fishing rod – very different setups for very different types of jig fishing. Those are the Elliott 7' 3" ML-F (lighter, finesse-y) and the Elliott 6' 9” M-F (snappier, aggressive).

Here’s the full video:

1. MN: Hernesman/Colter win AIM championship on Cass Lake

David Hernesman and Sean Colter won 'er with a 2-day total of 54.13 lbs, caught pitching jigs and minnows during a TOUGH bite in 20-35 mph winds.

2. MN: Wolden/Leininger = AIM Team of the Year

3. ND: Ristow/Hertz win AIM state championship on Sakakawea

With a 2-day total of 52.42 lbs. Sounds like Matt Ristow and Kyle Hertz were throwing the kitchen sink at ‘em and picking one up here and there, including: Casting jigging spoons, #9 Berkley Finishers, and snapping jigs paired with flukes.

4. ND: Martell/Leintz = AIM Team of the Year

5. SK: Tobin Lake 'Vanity Cup' is Oct 4-5

Guaranteed 1st-place prize of $100,000! 🤯

6. OH: Largest Lake Erie walleye derbies start Oct 18

Of course I’m talking about the Fall Brawl and the Walleye Slam: Two massive fall derbies where the biggest walleye wins a brand new boat – they actually coincide with each other, so you could potentially win both at the same time if you were registered for each.

7. MI: Saginaw Bay walleye spawn theory debunked

> Despite legendary spawning runs in tributaries, new research shows more than half of the Bay’s walleyes are spawning in open-water areas.

8. MN: Walleye Alliance Fall Classic on Pelican Lake...

...(just north of Brainerd) is coming up Sat, Sept 27. They’re doing a guaranteed $5K to 1st place again this year! It’s a $300 team entry fee and they’re capping it at 50 boats.

Such a fun, well-ran event by a team of folks who work their tails off to better walleye fishing in the Brainerd Lakes Area. 🙌 I’m already signed up to fish it with my buddy Christian Hoffman – hope to see you there!

9. MN: Fishing to End Hunger charity derby is Oct 4

There’s already 103 teams registered for this Gull Lake (Nisswa) derby that’ll be trying to fish their way into a top-15 finish for their slice of the $36K pie.

This fishing tournament is about two things: Walleyes of course, and raising donations to support The Outreach Program of Brainerd Lakes:

> Outreach BLA provides meals to soup kitchens, food shelves, community meal programs, shelters, churches and wherever there is a need for food. No child – regardless of age –should be worried about where their next meal is coming from. ...80-90% of the meals they package will be distributed in MN. The remaining 10-20% will be used for disaster relief and/or international distribution.

> They buy ingredients in bulk, package them with community volunteers and distribute them for FREE to area food shelves, community meal programs, shelters, mobile meal distributions, school backpack programs, take-one-need-one carts, etc. 

This year a local company, National Conductor, has issued an incredible fundraising match challenge: For every dollar the fishermen/fisherwomen raise, National Conductor will match it $ for $. 🙌

Team Target Walleye (here’s our fundraising page) will be out there chasin' some gold ones – hope to see ya there!

10. MB: Red River Greenback Classic is Oct 3

18th-annual derby on the Red River with hundreds of folks registering their single biggest fish of the day for a chance at thousands of $$$ in prizes. I can’t wait to see the biggest “greenback” walleyes that come in!

11. MB: Selkirk Walleye Championship is Oct 18-19

On the Red River. Catch-photo-release format, 2-person teams, with a 5-fish bag of their longest walleyes each day. $12K to 1st place! 🤑

12. New Rapala USA president coming

As of Jan 1. Current prez Marcus Twidale is going back to Europe to be VP of Rapala Brand Group Strategic Brand Management. The new Rapala USA prez will be Travis Tuma who is currently head of sales.

13. Nick Lindner's 5 fall walleye mistakes (vid)

14. MI proposing a daily 5-fish limit on burbot

Good!

How to target WARM fall walleyes

Seems like most years just as water temps are starting to dip, Mother Nature shows up and kicks a stretch of summery-feeling days back into the forecast. Here’s some quality info to consider from Jason Mitchell on how he targets scattered, transitioning walleyes:

> When the water is cooling, you can focus on a spot or location. When the water warms during the fall, you need to cover as much water as possible. Many fish will be transitioning, and trolling crankbaits can be a great way to target them.

> As fish transition and travel between point A, and point B, they typically take the shortest and easiest route. What this means is that primary main lake contours and the old river channel on reservoirs essentially become underwater highways....

> Cover water over big locations. For specifically targeting big fish...don’t be afraid to double the length and profile from what you would typically use the rest of the year.

> Don’t get hung up on an icon or waypoint...or troll until you find the fish and then assume that you will catch more from the same location. Instead focus on your fish per hour. On a tough bite, I’m happy with a bite an hour...2 would be considered good in some cases.

> Scattered fish often have a more difficult temperament...they’re not competing with other fish and in some cases are stressed from the distances traveled.

> This is exactly why I love to troll crankbaits in the fall when dealing with tough conditions. Not only do I cover water and contact more fish, I can also do a better job of getting a reaction strike by using speed to trigger fish.

I about spit out my coffee when I saw this one:

I guess it’d still be a monster 12-pointer if he held it behind his back? 😂

Yo Harvey Heath - your dinner is getting cold:

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH

Target Walleye LLC

422 Laurel Street

P.O. BOX 541

Brainerd, MN 56401

 (218) 824 5026