There almost never seems to be any info out there talking specifically how the best walleye pros in the world get it done on game day…. 🤷‍♂️

Usually we’re lucky just to get one little line such as: So and so “won trolling crankbaits.” Or so and so “caught their fish on a jig.” Cool, thanks? I’ll have to try that 🥴 LOL.

So we decided to have Target Walleye friend Brett Carlson (thx man!) track down the ‘Full Scoop’ on how the top-3 pros at the Lake Erie NWT caught ’em better than the rest. 📝

And no doubt you’ll recognize the hammer who came out on top:

Ever since he arrived on the pro scene in 2016, John Hoyer has been known as an intelligent, but unconventional tournament angler. Before moving over to the walleye world, he cut his proverbial teeth as a Minnesota musky guide. As an apex predator, muskies often need to be triggered with an aggressive, yet detail-orientated approach. So wherever Hoyer goes, he brings with him an apex mentality while constantly reinventing ways to make walleyes strike.

While he was highly successful before the launch of forward-facing sonar, Hoyer’s ascension to the top of the sport undoubtedly coincided with this revolutionary technology.

> “There are no boundaries with this,” said the three-time National Walleye Tour Championship winner. “The ability to dial in a pattern so quickly with ActiveTarget is amazing. It’s constantly giving me feedback with my decision-making process. It’s to the point where I know I can catch them if I find them.”

The 2024 NWT season opener was held on Lake Erie’s Western Basin, with fish in all three stages of the spawn. Because it’s largely featureless, the Western Basin is one of the few venues where 2D sonar and traditional trolling still dominate – until Hoyer arrives.

The Berkley pro did experience some success trolling during practice, and the conditions for casting, both in prefishing and in the two-day tournament, were far from ideal.

> “I figured out this presentation on a fun trip to Erie last March. I call this a Detroit River bait, and I knew it was going to work, but I didn’t think I could win casting. There was only one day in practice where I caught big ones – I’m talking fish 6 pounds and bigger.”

The Detroit River setup was jigs and fluke-style baits. Hoyer would use both 5″ Berkley Power Jerk Shads (left) and 4″ PowerBait Minnows (right). Both baits were rigged with standard 90-degree ball-head river jigs – 3/8-oz in calmer conditions and 1/2-oz in the wind. His best colors were Smokin Shad, Albino, Magic Man, and Chartreuse Shad. When the sun was out, he would opt for the brighter colors.

> “The deeper fish liked the Smokin Shad with the blueish color. Magic Man was a great color to go back on them with.”

He was throwing them on a 7’ 1” medium, extra-fast action Fenwick World Class with 10-lb Berkley FireLine and a 12-lb Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader.

With his presentation set, the elephant in the room was location. Water clarity is of the utmost importance on Erie, which means yesterday’s waypoints might have no value.

> “After several days of Small Craft Advisories, the cans area was the cleanest water I could find. There were still prespawners too. I knew I could drive around and find fish, but a pod of big ones was still a needle in a haystack.”

On day 1, Hoyer drove straight north out of Port Clinton. When he got north of D can, he started to see the greenish water he sought. Slowing his Ranger to 20 mph, he marked three big ones and stopped to investigate, even though he had yet to arrive at his intended destination.

> “They didn’t bite in the morning, but that was normal. They started biting at 11, and it was game on. I had two prespawners that went 8 and 7.5 (pounds). The rest were postspawners that weighed just over 6 pounds.”

Day 2 started calm, but then blew relentlessly out of the northwest. Hoyer again visited the cans, stopping when he observed the right visibility. Never did he travel more than 10 miles from the ramp.

> “It was the same thing. There was some aggression where they would follow the bait, but the bite didn’t really start until 11 or so. It was blowing like crazy, so it was hard to land casts accurately. At times, there were 3-, 4-, and even 5-footers.

> “I finally got a 27-incher, and then some smaller fish. I returned to the top of my drift and spotted a big one. It took about 20 casts in the wind, but when it finally committed, it was touching the back of its throat. It was a 29- or 30-inch 9-pounder. Forty-five minutes later I caught another 8-pounder after again returning to the top of my drift.”

On the way in, Hoyer upgraded once more with a short, but plump 6.75. The end result was 10 walleyes over 2 days that weighed 69 lbs 13 oz. With a 5-lb margin of victory, Hoyer earned a total prize package valued at over $116,000.

> “Battling those conditions was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done in tournament fishing. I learned a lot this week. The prespawners were floating west in the undertow – hugging on the bottom out of the current. The prespawners were heading west, and the postspawners were heading east and generally sitting up higher.”

Not surprisingly, Hoyer described his cadence in the dirty water as aggressive.

> “It was still a reaction bite, but a reaction bite within a small strike zone. The bites either happened instantly, or they denied it. It’s like you were forcing them to make a decision.”

Hoyer’s latest run might be the most dominant stretch in the history of professional walleye fishing. He won the 2022 championship on Erie’s Eastern Basin, the 2023 championship on Devils Lake, the 2023 Angler of the Year, and now the 2024 season opener.

> “When we go to these places, I know what I should be doing, but this approach is like a never-ending challenge to me – it’s almost personal, and it’s so entertaining to interact with the fish. You find yourself absolutely captivated by what you’re learning on the screen. Then you get to watch how a walleye assaults a bait. To get to feel that all the way up through your wrists and hands, it’s indescribable. There’s never been anything more fun.”

Like pro champion John Hoyer, Hunter Nitti headed east to Lake Erie thinking it was possible to execute a successful casting program on the famed Western Basin. Like many other Minnesotans, Nitti is an ace with forward-facing sonar, having honed his scoping skills on Lake Mille Lacs.

> “I brought everything, both casting and trolling gear. In my mind, I knew I could do it – I knew it would be possible. I just didn’t know what exactly they would eat.”

Nitti quickly discovered they would eat almost anything, just as long as they could see it.

> “Even though we’re scoping, every lake is very different. At Erie, they are constantly moving, and there are huge schools. It gets a little crazy. Where I was at, there were a lot of prespawn fish, and the water temperatures were still cold. I think that was the biggest factor. It could be a plastic – it could be a heavier hard bait. They were just reacting to it.”

By tournament time, Nitti had it nailed down to a #7 “perch” color Rapala Jigging Rap, a “legendary perch” color Jigging Rap Magnum, and a CrushCity Freeloader. The best color for the Freeloader was gizzard shad, and it was rigged on either a 1/2-oz or 3/8-oz VMC Hybrid Swimbait Jig.

> “My go-to rod for forward-facing sonar is nothing longer than a 6’ 10”…I can make more accurate casts with a shorter rod. I tend to use a medium-light, fast-action rod…nothing heavier than that. Paired with a 2500-sized reel rigged up with 15-lb Sufix 832 braid and a 14-lb Sufix Advanced Fluorocarbon leader.”

The Rosemount, MN native ventured 11.5 miles north from Port Clinton to an area in between B and C can. At times, he was within sight of Hoyer, although the two never communicated on the water. Nitti said he learned to identify prespawners on his electronics, not simply by size, but also by behavior.

> “All the guys that live out there have been cranking their whole lives. Cranking is what they do, and they know more about cranking than we do. We’ve now brought forward-facing sonar out there, and the change is going to be noticeable.”

Nitti finished the event with a 2-day total of 64 lbs, 10 oz.

> “I’m very happy with 2nd place. If the weather was different on day 2, I think I possibly could have won the event. I was around the right fish, but it was just a constant battle on day 2. All you could do was keep casting.”

Lake Erie local Ryan Buddie was surprised, but not stunned to see casting take 1st and 2nd at the trolling capital of the world.

> “I wouldn’t have bet on it, but I thought it could be done. If there was going to be a time, this was going to be it. The Western Basin is fairly shallow, and you can hit those fish with a bait that doesn’t have to fall super fast. But what really surprised me, is that they were able to do it on day 2 in those winds. To hit a moving target in conditions like that is really impressive to say the least. It’s inspiring what they did.”

Buddie considered fishing the same general area as Hoyer and Nitti, but instead opted to head east to Loraine Harbor, which is where the Black River dumps into the lake.

> “I had thought the prespawn thing was kind of a lottery this time of year, so my mentality was finding the thickest postspawn fish, and those are located to the east. I thought I had a chance to win, especially with what the casters faced on day 2.”

The Delta pilot and part-time charter captain traveled 45 miles to reach his area. On day 1, that was no problem. Getting there on day 2 was manageable as well, but he knew getting back would take time.

> “I told myself I would have to leave at noon. That would give me three hours to get back.”

Buddie’s pattern consisted of flatlining crankbaits on day 1, and running snap weights to get deeper on day 2.

> “My best crankbaits were #12 Berkley Hit Sticks, Deep Bandits and #11 Flicker Minnows. I would run two of my rods with firetiger and two with white-based colors. With sun, the white colors were best.”

He was running 7’ 6” medium, moderate-action Fenwick HMGs and old-school Abu Garcia Alphamar LC-16s spooled up with 10-lb Berkley XT.

In addition to bait tweaks, day 2 also required a slight change in location.

> “In general, the bait is attracted to the Black River’s warmer water, and then the walleyes follow suit. It took me a while to find them on day 2. They were in the same general area, but had stacked up where the current from the lake was hitting the break walls. At 10:45, we only had two fish, but we ended up catching a dozen.”

Buddie used a Fish Hawk X2 to monitor his trolling speed.

> “I think one of the huge things was understanding the speed and the current. You can do that by watching your boards, but it’s not precise enough. With the Fish Hawk, you can see the speed that the baits are pulling through the water. My display said I was going between 1.2 and 1.4 mph.”

> “Not only does it tell me the lure speed, but I could also find the key current seems and eddies, which were the ambush points for the walleyes. It was almost like fishing a river over there with all the wind we had funneling water.”

In 2 days of competition, Buddie weighed 10 walleyes worth 64 lbs 5 oz.

> “I’m thrilled with 3rd, and I guess I won the trolling tournament. I never even fished this place in practice because I didn’t want to draw attention to it. I was just going on a hunch. I tried this area back in 2017 and totally tanked. It was definitely a risk, but I also knew the potential.”

1. Great tribute to Mille Lacs legend Dickie Gadbois.

Who we lost last Jan. He was out checking ice conditions on the lake when his small SUV broke thru. He was wearing a flotation device but unfortunately did not make it.

Dickie had been plowing ice-road systems, running rental houses and launches on Mille Lacs for over 40 years. He also helped start the now famous “Perch Extravaganza” on the east side in the early 1980s, among helping many other non-profit groups, and much more.

He is greatly missed by many, and Focused Outdoor Promotions recently put together a great tribute to him in this YouTube video.

> “Old School Cool. That would be Dickie. Hollywood could not cast a more perfect image of a quaint Northwoods resort owner. No glitz and glitter here. More like minnows, leeches and lunches. As it should. Enjoy this truly touching tribute!”

2. I mentioned a couple weeks ago…

…that the cheating walleye fishermen were featured on a TV show called True Crime: Smugshot – the episode is titled Fishing for the Truth.

> Adding insult to injury, these individuals have now found themselves in the spotlight once again as stars of a documentary-style TV show called “Smugshot.” You can find the documentary on Sundance Now through Amazon Prime….

> It is interesting to watch and learn new things about these guys from other tournament anglers’ perspectives after all this time, and the show definitely doesn’t make you like the duo at all.

I just saw a new write-up chatting with some of the other Lake Erie Walleye Trail competitors to get their take on it all.

3. Minnesota fishing facts. 💯

Some interesting MN fishing facts gathered from the 2022 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (30-page PDF) conducted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and others.

> 1.7 million anglers fished in Minnesota in 2022. Of these, 1.2 million were Minnesota residents while 508,000 were nonresidents.

> An estimated 26% of Minnesota residents aged 16 and older went fishing in 2022. A closer look at participation by race and ethnicity found that 21% of Black, 26% of Hispanic, and 27% of white Minnesotans aged 16 and older fished in 2022.

> An estimated 38% of male and 14% of female Minnesota residents fished in 2022.

> Among Minnesotans who did not possess a fishing license in 2022, 36% expressed an interest in fishing in Minnesota in the future.

> The most frequently reported barrier to fishing – for Minnesotans interested in fishing – is lacking friends and family to fish with.

> Minnesota anglers spent $5.9 billion dollars on angling related expenses (for example, angling trips, equipment and licenses) in 2022.

> Fishing supports 28,000 Minnesota jobs….

4. Ranger laid off 176 people.

Ouch! 😖

> 70 jobs have gone at the Flippin plant…85 at Lebanon, MO and 21 at Bolivar, MO.

> “…we needed to make adjustments to our operations in response to the current soft demand for marine products and the overall economic climate.”

5. MN: Interesting read on Mille Lacs creel data #s.

6. WI: Minocqua Chain could resume walleye harvest 1 yr early.

> The WI DNR is considering an emergency rule to allow walleye harvest on the Minocqua Chain this year. …has been catch and release only for nearly a decade and was meant to re-open to harvest in 2025.

> The Lac du Flambeau Tribe has declared its intent to harvest during the spear fishing season this spring…. If that harvest occurs, the DNR wants to open the chain to the public for walleye harvest a year early. …will promote fair and equitable use of the walleye resource during the 2024 fishing season.”

7. MN: Mississippi River NWT coming up May 23-24.

Out of Red Wing.

8. MI DNR developing walleye, yellow perch plan for Saginaw Bay.

They’re seeking public input – have until Jun 1 to submit written comments.

9. IA: Walleye szn opens May 4 on IA’s Great lakes.

Spirit Lake, and East and West Okoboji lakes.

10. Shimano fishing global sales down 11% in Q1.

Year over year.

11. MN: HOF’er Tom Neustrom will be speaking…

…at the next Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited club meeting, May 2.

12. Sturgeon NOT placed on endangered species list.

13. FishUSA has 15% off all Berkley baits right now.

14. Heads up: FishUSA has a bunch of…

…Kalin’s Google Eye Tungsten Search Baits in stock right now. They were sold out most of last season, and if I had to guess, they will be this season to about the time folks go to get ‘em!

> With advanced electronics changing how we find fish, take advantage of the technology by using baits designed for them. …cover water quickly and always stay in front of the fish! Kalin’s Google Eye Search Baits are “Seek & Destroy” models built on a tungsten jig head and feature a custom spinner blade that reflects light and adds additional visual dimension and action.

> The 2/0 hook attached to a swivel lets your live bait or soft plastic swim wildly in the water, and you can swap a slow death-style hook with a straight shank hook without interfering with your bait’s extreme action. The Rattlin’ Google Eye glass rattle thru-construction adds more allure to call in fish. Get with the times and the most from your fishing electronics by using baits built for them….

I’m sure you’ve seen the videos by now – we’ve shared some here – but Tom Boley absolutely lit walleyes up all last season throwing ‘em. So this is just your friendly reminder to snag a few before they’re gone…again….

Why is the walleye Minnesota’s most popular fish?

Sounds like the consensus is because they’re considered the best eating.

Tough to argue with that! But for me, I just really like the challenge of finding and catching ’em. There’s something crazy-rewarding about catching even just 1 walleye on a new spot or technique. I sometimes get that same feeling when bass fishing…if I catch 30 or 40 (lol).

Some great side imaging snippets from Jason Mitchell.

First thing that immediately stuck-out to me in the vid, was when J-Mitch was talking about making sure your SI transducer is level…NOT level based on how your boat sits on the trailer, but level based on how it sits in the water. It’s amazing how a little tweak like that can take your SI images from fuzzy to sharp.

Imo the best way to do it is to take one for the team – hop in the water and eye that baby up face-to-face. Seems to be the only real way to know your ‘ducer is 100% level based on how the boat floats. #ButWorthIt

Lot more SI tips in Jason’s full 7:58 video below:

“Post-spawn male walleyes behave like teenage boys who have been coerced into taking a buddy’s fat sister to the high school prom: After the dance they can hardly wait to collect on the promised beer and pizza reward….”

– Opening to Ted Peck’s post-spawn walleye article. Gotta hand it to him for originality! Maybe something in Ted’s past he needs to work on…lol.

Yes, we’ve run this before but it’s still funny as heck….

If you think Cody Solberg’s Walleye Nation Creations WNC Reaper “pops” in this picture, wait until you see it in the water. 💥

Chad Bullock (@guide_chronicles) was casting a big ol’ Bondy Bait for pike when he had this surprise guest enter his boat. 😳 Took down a bait 3/4 of its size!

I can relate…to the fish! 😅

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH

Target Walleye LLC

422 Laurel Street

P.O. BOX 541

Brainerd, MN 56401

 (218) 824 5026