Target Walleye/Ice email

Where Al finds post-spawners, What Tom Boley’s throwing now, Insane zander double

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Today’s Top 4

What Tom Boley’s throwing right now.

Tom’s been “pop jigging” swimbaits on 7-8′ sand flats in northern WI — great way to catch a little bit of everything right now, including big waldos:

 

The fish are more lethargic this time of year in the colder water…so he’s not “rip-jigging” like he would in the summer but instead doing little 1′ pops — making sure the bait hits bottom in between each pop and not giving it any slack on the drop.

Been throwing the new Kalins 3.8″ Tickle Tail swimbait on a 1/4-oz Google Eye Swimbait Head — likes the 1/4-oz size when fishing in 5-12′. Throwin’ it with 10-lb braid mainline and a 10- or 12- fluoro leader (tied with a double-uni knot) on a 6′ 9″ medium fast-action Elliott Rod.

Said all the little appendages on the side of the swimbait give it a lot of movement while the bait’s not moving that much. Also makes it airplane off to the side when you pop it.

When he’s fishing with lighter 1/8- of 1/4-oz jigheads, he pulls some of the appendages off of the back end to get a little better roll out of the bait. Fishes it as-is when you get up to a 3/8- or a 1/2-oz head as the water temps warm up.

Tom’s a walleye You-Tuber…love his stuff….

Al’s 30-day post-spawn rule.

Gotta bring back this awesome tip from Target Walleye’s Al Lindner on where he starts his search for post-spawn walleyes.

> One of the things we learned about early-season walleye is what we call the 30-day rule. This rule primarily applies to smaller and medium-sized natural lakes and reservoirs. This rule DOES NOT apply to the Great Lakes or other huge bodies of water where massive schools of walleye migrate great distances….

> The 30-day rule in these smaller bodies of water: If you know the precise time that the walleye spawned, you can almost bet that 30 days later, groups of walleye will be on the first lip of the large shallow flats extending out into the main body of water.

> These are fish that have already gone through their post-spawn, are regrouping and feeding heavy. There can be other groups of fish deeper, but many of the good-sized fish will be relating to that first lip.

> The lip could be a 3-5′ drop, either weed-edged or sparsely weeded. In other bodies of water that break might occur at 7′ to 10′, and still others at 12′ to 15′. But in all cases the lip is what is considered the main break for that body of water.

> It helps if there is vegetation — however sparse or thick, the walleyes will likely be relating to it. It’s important to realize that the fish will most likely be up on the flat, rather than down the drop.

Full tip here on TargetWalleye.com.

Absolutely INSANE zander double! 
Last weekend, Hannu Vesaranta went off exploring new zander water with his Garmin LiveScope and found the land of the giants. Hannu tied on a 17 cm Westin ZanderTeez and hooked into a massive 94 cm (37″) and 11 kg (24.25 lbs) zander that took him straight down to bottom:

 

Was Hannu’s new PB (personal best)…until about an hour later….

This time an even bigger one hit his 18 cm Westin BullTeez — a 97 cm [38.19″] and 12.3 kg [27.12 lbs] freakazoid:

 

Only had the 2 bites all day but they combined for 51.37 lbs!!! Unreal. Only thing I have left to say is:

“What does it mean when this light comes on on the trailer?”

And Kyle McAfee’s not talking about his brake lights:

 

Bummer! But glad no one got hurt. Guess that’s why some folks say B.O.A.T. stands for Bust Out Another Thousand…. Hope you get back on the water soon, dude!
News

1. We lost Al Kalin.

Passed away from cancer at the age of 71. Al started Kalin’s soft-plastics, which at one point “had 29% market penetration nationwide.” Kalin’s is now owned by Acme Tackle.

Rest in peace fishing brother.

2. Here’s the video of J-Mitch’s 34″ walleye.And his 1-armed-scooping skills are impressive:

Sheesh. Keep catching ’em that big and you might have to step up to the muskie-size Clam net!

Scheduled for Apr, then postponed, now gone:

> “We are working on updates for the 2020 NWT season and will release information as soon as it is available.”

As of right now they’re moving forward with the July 23-24 event outta Oconto, WI (Green Bay).

4. MN: Fishing license sales EXPLODE.

> “Sales of all types of MN fishing licenses through Monday hit 354,080, up a whopping 45% over this time last year and the highest early-season sales in at least the last 20 years.

5. IA: PFDs save a family of 4…

…after 35-mph gusts capsized their rig on Green Valley Lake. Could’ve been seriously bad. Great to hear all are okay — take it as a reminder to rock those vests!

6. Check the Rap-V Blade underwater.

A coming-soon hybrid called the Rapala Rap-V Blade that “combines the best of a lipless crank with a blade bait.”

> The extra-wide metal dorsal (top) fin of the Rap-V Blade features 2 line-tie positions. When anglers tie their line to the front tie hole, the lure will provide a slower, lazy fall action. If they tie their line to the rear hole position, they’ll achieve a faster fall, head-down action. …distinctive loud BB rattle system….

And just ‘cuz I know how much walleye fisherpeople (and walleye!) love them some “firetiger” baits:

7. MN: Don’t want stunted bluegills in your favorite lake??

Then you gotta release the bigger ones [!] and keep the smaller ones. According to this MN DNR news release. Know that might be a tough pill for some of you to swallow…but times they are a-changin’.

> “We really want to get the public’s opinion on these regulations. A regulation only works if people support it. We believe that through the use of reduced bag limits we can definitely maintain our high-quality bluegill fisheries, and maybe even improve some of those that have slipped over the years. And it’s going to benefit anglers.”

> The DNR has posted a list of proposed lakes designated for changes, as well as how people can provide input [here]. People can provide input now into this fall. The DNR will post informational signs at water accesses on lakes included in the proposal.

8. These Gruv Fishing “Launch Pads” look sick.

Shane Boeshart (@walleyesmasher87) shot:

Called the Gruv Fishing Big Jig Launch Pad — they’ve got one designed for crankbaits too. Sorta makes me feel bad for always sticking my “used” jigs in the boat’s carpet, or cup holder lol.

9. Lund Boats is going Facebook live w/ Jeff Andersen…

…tomorrow (May 7) at 7pm CST. Primarily talkin’ all things muskies, but “Jiggy” said he might be willing to share a few of his favorite opener walleye tactics, too.

10. Have you tried Bladed Puppet yet?

Made by Someday Isle Tackle in the USA. Sort of a jig + spinner hybrid. Here’s a look at the “mellon spinner” color:

11. Clayton Schick’s going full-time YouTube.

Like many, Clayton’s guiding biz has been shut down thx to COVID-19…so he’s gonna make a run at becoming a full-time fishing YouTuber. Clayton puts out a lot of quality content on his YouTube channel — I’ll definitely be hitting it up.

12. Have a look at the new-ish MotorGuide Katana prop.

Vid (click the pic below) says they added a hydrofoil to the blade shape — based on NASA technology:

13. WV: “Free fishing” extended another month.

> “The requirement to possess a fishing license to fish in state-regulated waters has been waived for state residents through May 31. Anglers are asked to continue practicing safe social distancing measures.”

14. NY: Bass Pro Shops’ credit downgraded again.

By Moody’s:

> …now has a negative outlook, down from stable in Sep 2019…. That means Moody’s expects the company’s credit rating to change for the worse in the next 12-18 months.

Headline of the Day

Is an electric boat in your future?

Likely not right now…but maybe one day?

> “Like electric automobiles, the current initial price for electrically-powered outboards is 2X or 3X what a conventional unit costs, but as technology develops for better motors and batteries, that cost is coming down.”

TargetWalleye.com Highlights

Tip of the Day

MN fishing guide Scott Seibert talks shallow, early-season walleyes in this throwback Jason Mitchell write-up. SOLID info, here’s a few excerpts:

> Early-season walleye patterns on northern MN fisheries often occur in less than 12′. While classic deep-structure patterns will emerge as the summer progresses, many anglers miss opportunities by looking too deep, too early.

> Fisheries such as Lake Winnibigoshish and Leech Lake hold tremendous walleye populations. Both share a common popularity, and have a shallow-weedline bites that often occur in less than 10′.

> The shiner spawn — which often coincides with blooming lilacs — is a major trigger that creates shallow-walleye bites. Sand or fine gravel is usually preferred, but there’s also usually weed growth (pencil reeds, cabbage, etc) in these areas on natural lakes.

> Many of these fisheries offer extremely good water visibility. Wind can trigger aggressive fish to move up into shallow water and feed aggressively, where a lack of wind can shut down some of these shallow bites.

> If the wind lays down, be prepared to slide out over the next break. Cold fronts and major weather systems can also push fish slightly deeper, but as a rule of thumb: you can expect some very aggressive fish up in less than 10′ during stable weather when there’s wind.

> Sharp breaks adjacent to shallow flats and weedlines will often concentrate fish when they do slide out into 12-20′. Use your electronics to look for fish and anticipate shadows by where the angle of the sun is. Sharp breaklines that cast deep dark shadows will often hold fish.

Meme of the Day

Anyone else excited to finally see some dang grass again?! Heck, I might not even cut it for the first month-ish of the walleye season…. #priorities

Today’s ‘Eye Candy

Sending her off with this awesome AuthentX Moxi-eater from Steve Meyer that hit the 12-lb mark:

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Friends of Target Walleye
Who is Target Walleye
Target Walleye — walleye during open water and all species during hardwater — is brought to you by Al and Ron Lindner, Jim Kalkofen, Brett McComas and other diehard fish-nuts like you! #fishheads
Brett McComas is the main man for Target Walleye He was discovered in Brainerd, MN after years of wondering how in the heck people break into the fishing biz. He’s in it now, but still can’t answer that question…. Brett is one of those guys who majored in marketing, only because there was no such thing as a “fishing degree” at the time…. Get him at brett@targetwalleye.com 
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