1. MN: Dan Eigen benefit happenin’ Friday.
If you haven’t heard, professional fishing guide Dan “Walleyedan” Eigen has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma…a rare type of blood cancer that originates in bone marrow. He’s a couple months into chemotherapy and will eventually receive a bone-marrow transplant.
The benefit is happenin’ Oct 11 in Shakopee, MN. If you can’t make it but still wanna help Dan and his family financially, hit their GoFundMe page here. If you’re the praying type, please send a few his way. Stay strong, brother.
2. Walleyedan’s rig is for sale.
Fully decked-out Larson 2020T w/ 150-hp Merc. #TillerLife
Minn Kota Vantage, bow mount Terrova with i-Pilot Link, 2 Humminbird HELIX 12s with Side and Down Imaging, a 15′ Talon, onboard chargers, you name it. More info here.
3. OH: Lake Erie perch showing up…
…in the western basin. Lots of talk how Lake Erie perch (and walleye) populations are at record levels, but sounds like fishin’ folks were still having a tough time catching ’em…until now.
Apparently water temps are running 3-8°F above average — just finally dipped below 70°. Been a weird fall all over….
4. MN: Steinhoff/Czech win Gull Lake derby…again.
Bob Steinhoff and Ryan Czech won the 7th annual Fishing to End Hunger tourney — for the 3rd time! — with 17.48 lbs on 5 fish. That bag can only include 1 fish over 20″, and theirs was an 8.41-lb kicker. What’s all that mean? About a $15K payday for the duo:
Couldn’t track down the guys on social to find out how they caught ’em, but I’ve heard they like to rig big chubs on reeeeally long leaders…talkin’ up to 10-12’…. Congrats fellas!
5. OH: 106-yr-old bait shop is on the move.
R&R Bait and Tackle has been in downtown Columbus since 1913! Owner Bill Wentzel is passing the biz on to his son, who will be moving it to Buckeye Lake. Hopes it’ll boost winter business (currently sees almost zero) while cutting down his morning commute during rush hour (ugh). Best of luck!
6. Online fishing license scams are a real thing.
Guy in the link got scammed outta $39…but I’d be even more worried about them using your pmt info to steal way more after the fact. Make sure you’re only buyin’ direct from the DNR sites, or better yet hit a local bait shop if you’ve got the time.
7. How slick is this?
Called the Eskimo Bucket Caddy and helps organize the disaster typically found in the bottom of 5-gal buckets from Nov thought Mar:
8. WI: It takes 30-ish years to grow a 50″ muskie.
Says this write-up talking about the DNR’s muskie stocking/aging project.
9. Great Lakes: The real Asian carp threat.
> If the carp get established in the lakes, the next logical step is they’ll vacuum out enough algae, plankton and the rest of the stuff at the bottom of the food chain to starve the sport and commercially important fish. Eventually, they will eliminate $6 bil worth each year.
> Except for one thing, the invasive mussels have already done that….
> If the mussel invasion already sucked the life from the bottom of the food chain, would the Asian carp exacerbate it? Hardly, most Asian carp, were they to freely swim upstream from the Illinois River into Lake Michigan, would quickly starve to death. There’s not enough algae and plankton in the lake to keep them healthy for long.
The write-up goes on to talk about how the biggest threat of letting Asian carp gain access to the Great Lakes would be them infiltrating much of the northeastern US and southeastern Canada.
Speaking of carp…here’s an online guide for how to tell what’s what. Funny the post is on Bassmaster.com yet they don’t have “green carp” in the diagram. 😉
10. PA: Snakehead caught in Monongahela River.
> The snakehead bears a striking resemblance to the native bowfin in WV waters, but it has a much larger and more bony head. They’re also voracious eaters and will quickly devour a lot of the potential forage for other game fish like walleye, smallmouth, and other species native to our rivers and streams.
> The fish is native to the Far East and is known to inhabit northern China, Korea and Russia. How it got to America is a subject of lore.
> “The story goes a Chinese guy had a sick sister and bought a couple of snakeheads to make soup for her, but she got better. So in honor of her, he released them alive into a local pond…. From there, they spread and proliferated and now they’re all through the Potomac drainage.”
11. DC: Administration wants more ethanol.
> …seeks to pump more than 15 bil gallons of ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply beginning in 2020….
Sounds like it might be a good time to invest in Sea Foam stock…we’re gonna need it….