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Today’s Top 5
Rock melons of the week!
Cody and Greg Walk (father-son duo) cracked a pair of 30-pluses while fishing Fort Peck Reservoir, MT. They caught ’em on Slow Death in 22′. Greg, with that hold you could’ve said it was 51″ lol:
Check out the shoulders on this 11.25-lb rock moose that Carlos Frigon wrassled in:
Not a blue, but love the coloring of this big rock melon that TW fan Eric caught while pulling a bottom-bouncer and leech in NW ON:
Dan Kruger has been whackin’ ’em in the Webster SD area — this thick 28-incher chowed his #7 Rapala Shad Rap:
Will “walleye” Pappenfus trying to figure out if he can hold his arm out any farther:
Lol just kidding man, great lizard.
Tipping your crankbaits.
The secret’s out…tipping your crankbaits with a piece of crawler or plastic is a surefire way to get more tooth marks on your favorite baits. Walleye pro Tommy Kemos has a couple different ways he goes about it:
Heeeeeeeeeere’s Tommy talking about it on the water:
Tiller vs. wheel boat debate…continued.
Scott Brewer is all about that tiller life!! Here he is talkin’ about some of the advantages of running a Lund tiller boat and why it helps him stick more fish:
How chill does Scotty look…. Lol #TillerLife
Magnum GA walleyes.
Humminbird field marketing manager Bill Carson has been catching walleyes on GA’s Lake Lanier in some pretty crazy ways. Yup, that’s GEORGIA:
> Bill says, “They dump about 20,000 walleye fry and fingerlings in Lake Lanier a year — and some of these fish are growing up.”
One walleye might be a fluke, but Bill says he’s caught quite a few trolling Captain Mack umbrella rigs while fishing stripers.
Recently, when Bill was on an episode of Blair Wiggins’ Addictive Fishing (a mostly saltwater show), Wiggins caught his 1st walleye ever while targeting stripers:
The fish hammered a live blueback herring on a #2 Trokar hook and split-shot rig in 35′. The rig allows the herring to free swim, which according to Bill:
> “Drives stripers wild when the water temp is high. If they’re there, they typically eat. The walleye was a real surprise but we’re catching more all the time.”
Maybe it’s time we bust out the herring rigs and magnum spoons up here in central Minnie!
If you’re the type that sits in your fish house on a hot July day, sticks your head in the freezer to pretend it’s December, or maybe you’ve already spooled up the short sticks and began to pace the shorelines…then you’ll definitely be able to relate to the crew at Fish Addictions:
Ice anglers are for sure a different breed. When they’re not hole-hoppin’ in their Eskimos, they’re probably sleeping in this bad boy with the rattle reels down:
News
1. Vet catches final fish as last wish.
> “Navy veteran Connie Willhite only asked for 2 things before he passed away in the Hospice Care Unit: To be baptized and to catch 1 more fish.
> “He caught 4 fish from his hospital bed. While he was catching those fish, Willhite’s face lit up and he was truly at peace.”
RIP fishing brother and thank you for your service.
2. MN: Looser regs on Vermilion walleyes.
Thanks to a super healthy population. The current protected slot is 18-26″ — say they’ll likely keep the bag limit at 4 but:
> “New options under consideration are a 20-26″ protected slot, an 18-22″ protected slot, or a rule that says 1 of 4 keepers can be over 18 inches.”
3. MN: MTT championship on Lake of the Woods.
Sep 15-16. The time of year when dreams come true!
4. MN: MWC finale on Cass Lake.
Your last chance to register is THIS Monday.
They recently announced their 2017 schedule, check it here.
5. ON: Nipissing commercial fishing closed…
…for the season. They’ve reached the ‘upper sustainable limit’ of walleye harvest. They also said: “A major drop in the number of spawning-size walleye were noticed several years ago.” Hmmmm.
6. The Technological Angler: Fall walleye techniques.
> “Spring walleye fishing gets all the press, but the fall bite is truly the most enjoyable time of the year to chase ol’ marble-eyes.”
Spot on brother! Get the tips here.
7. ON: Asian carp found in Erie was fertile.
No bueno.
8. ND: Des Lacs fish kill no threat to Souris River.
The fish kill was due to a lack of oxygen in the water — so no worries about anything “emptying” into Souris from Des Lacs.
9. No such thing as too much Sea Foam.
Guess you can mix it as high as 50/50 with gas engines and diesel can actually run on 100% straight Sea Foam. Spit-shine that outboard inside and out! #SeaFoamWorks
Fishing Reports
> “Fishing has moved to the bays and shallow water at the NW Angle with fish being caught in 10-13′ around Flag Island and in 16-27′ south of Oak. Drifting with spinners and bottom-bouncers in shallower areas has been the best option, but pulling plugs away from structure is also catching fish.”
Pete “Mr. Tiller” Harsh of Mitchell’s Guide Service:
> “The good fishing we have enjoyed all summer continues and so far the methods remain pretty much the same. Spinners/bouncers and trolling crankbaits are good bets….
> “You’ll want to change your presentations with the dropping water temps — jigging and trolling crankbaits…as the spinner bite fades.”
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Tip of the Day
Add flash to your crankbaits.
The full Jim Edlund write-up is on TargetWalleye.com, but here’s a few excerpts — “she” is diehard walleye angler Vicki Tennant:
> “A lot of people have touted that we’re only out for big walleyes — but for us, it’s simply a more active way to catch them than jigging or pulling bottom-bouncers. Just seems like there are often bigger fish in the shallows where we fish.”
Quote of the Day
I wouldn’t live anywhere else 8 months out of the year.
Today’s ‘Eye Candy
Big baits = big fish:
Yep that’s a real shot! It’s Andrew “no stranger to big fish” Slette who’s been on a role lately — get a load of this 57″ muskie he caught a couple months back that’s the new catch-and-release record in MN:
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