This right here is what it’s all about!
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Props to Duane ‘Dewey’ Hjelm for giving back in more ways than one:
> Dewey: Last year Timmy Peterzen reached out and asked if I would be interested in donating my 2023 NWT tournament jersey to be auctioned off with the proceeds going to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I replied with the obvious answer, absolutely!
> ...the highest bid for the jersey ended up at $3,500. Absolutely crazy!!! As a thank you, I offered the winning bidder a day of fishing with me on beautiful Lake Oahe!
> Robert Kolthoff was the winning bidder. After speaking a few times throughout the year I knew we were going to have fun. He asked if it would be alright to bring his son Landon along. I simply replied yes – please do!
> ...finally able to find a day fitting our schedules where there wasn’t 30mph winds. We were blessed with a cool fall day, zero wind and let’s just say the walleyes cooperated!
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Way to go, Landon!!! 💪
> Dewey: We will be doing the jersey auction again later this fall or early spring. I’ll keep everyone posted when the time gets closer.
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We have some fresh, new Target Walleye YouTube content coming your way! Decided to switch it up a bit....
This new series is called “The Walleye Cup” 🏆 where Nick Lindner, TJ Erickson and myself battle it out: 3 rounds, no live bait, and the biggest 5 walleyes from each round go towards the total length. Whoever has the most inches at the end of the day wins The Walleye Cup.
My round 1 video is live now – I hope you enjoy it! Go big or go home:
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Another reason you NEED to have a MONO (vs braid) Jigging Rap setup in the boat. 😳
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I’ve mentioned a bazillion times that I prefer using 8- or 10-lb Sufix Advance Mono on my Rapala Jigging Rap setups because I know for a fact that I land more fish. I wasn’t necessarily thinking that I got more bites because of it, but that I would actually put more of those bites in the boat thx to mono being a shock absorber and tearing less hooks out.
But then....
* Al Lindner has entered the chat *
I was sitting in my office last fall when the 🐐 walked in with a big smirk on his face and spark in his eyes.... Both are usual things when it comes to Al (which is incredible) but this time they were even kicked-up another notch of sparkyness.
Got to chatting with him about what he said was THE best big walleye bite he has been on in years and years and years. And one of the fascinating things about it was that mono absolutely crushed braid. His buddy Tom had gone up something like 8 fish to 0 on Al...same baits, same rods, same jigging cadence, same everything except Al was running braid and could not get bit on it.
No doubt the mono was making that Jigging Rap act differently:
> Al: “Mono is softer and spongier...it’s more forgiving of what it does with a bait. The bait does not move as fast. When you move anything with braid, it moves, the bait reacts. Those fish knew the difference.”
Once Al switched over to his mono setup, he proceeded to whack numerous reeeeally big walleyes, including this ridiculous 31.5-incher:
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But also got to say that Al has seen days where it was the opposite, and the braid setup drastically out-fished mono. Just goes to show the importance of having BOTH a braid and mono setup ready, even when throwing the same bait.
In case you missed it, here’s the vid of Al talking about that special bite:
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Speaking of Jigging Raps...
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Sneaky Jigging Rap tweak for walleyes. 🤐
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In case you still haven’t seen the VMC Bladed Hybrid Treble (where ya been?!) it has a resin-sealed swivel with a BLADE for flashy goodness:
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It has been my #1 crankbait tweak for walleyes...but it’s just as deadly paired-up on Rapala Jigging Raps, too. Here’s a slow-motion look at the flash and flutter it can add to an already deadly technique:
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This simple tweak WILL get you more bites. Sometimes it’s 2:1...sometimes it’s 7:1...and so far worst-case scenario it’s been 1:1. I’m sold and have been adding the VMC Bladed Hybrid Treble to nearly all of my hardbaits.
This day, I found a pod of BIG, fall walleyes cruising shallow water (7-10′) up on the top of a very sharp breakline with my Humminbird Side Imaging:
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I threw jigs, dropshots, sucker minnows, chubs, ‘crawlers – you name it – at ’em and couldn’t get bit. Started to think it was a school of big suckers moseying around....
BUT first cast into ’em with a bladed-out #9 Rapala Jigging Rap (purpledescent) and I got smoked by a giant on the drop. She took me for a wild ride [!!!] but graced the camera with her presence for a brief moment before sending her back
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The #6 size VMC Bladed Hybrid Treble is the one I use probably 90%+ of the time on my hardbaits, and it’s perfect for #9 Jigging Raps. And it’s usually the same size I swap out on my #7 Jigging Raps, but if you prefer smaller hooks you could get by with a #8.
Btw this is also a reminder that sometimes they want that reaction bite! So many folks get stuck throwing little jigs and crawlers, leeches, or minnows at walleyes and think: “If they won’t eat that, they won’t eat anything” – especially since forward-facing sonar joined the party. But I have seen MANY times these last couple seasons where they deny that finesse-y stuff and then wallop a Jigging Rap. 🎯 Gotta read the mood of the fish and rotate thru your arsenal.
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This huge, blown-glass tiger muskie is incredible! 🤯
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Sheesh! Martin Gerdin Glass is an absolute wizard at his craft:
> The fish of 10,000 casts, and the piece of 10,000 hours. It has taken decades to build the skill and develop the techniques that went into this river monster....
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> Coming in at 38", this is the biggest blown-glass tiger musky ever made. I'm in awe that we made this at our own studio, as I've had to travel to make anything larger than 32" in the past. This is a taste of what's to come – bigger, better, and unmatched....
Sounds like it sold for $9K almost instantly. 🤑🔥 Somebody please order a walleye just so I can see the pics/vids of it lol.
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1. New Tour Level Gold out TONIGHT @8pm
Ahhhhhhh yeah!
2. Lund redesigned their Impact XS
Lots of new updates: Completely wood-free construction...consoles that can support multiple locators...improved storage with water mitigation...added bow space with a recessed foot pedal for the trolling motor...more and longer rod storage...insulated livewell/cooler up front...carpet-free options...and more:
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And it looks like the biggest model (previously a 2025) got bumped up 8” longer to a 2075 and can now take a 225HP (instead of a 200HP). But all models grew some. More details in this vid:
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3. MN: Only couple spots left in the Walleye Alliance Fall Classic
Happening on Pelican Lake (just north of Brainerd) this Sat, Sept 28.
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.
4. MI: Ice expo gives back to the community
The U.P. Ice Fishing and Hunting Expo. Check it:
> In lieu of a set admission price, guests were asked to bring an item to donate – either a canned food good or something for the Delta Animal Shelter, which is always in need of cleaning products and pet food. The shelter collected most of their haul – $558.25 in cash, wet and dry dog and cat food, treats and toys – immediately after the event on Sunday, thanking the expo organizers at the Daily Press for selecting them as a beneficiary.
> On Monday morning, when an employee from St. Vincent de Paul arrived at the fairgrounds to pick up the food donations, he had to leave and return with a bigger truck after seeing the eight shopping carts filled with 28 boxes and totes of cans, boxes, bags and bottles of shelf-stable food items.
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The last green weeds hold the most fall walleye.
Solid info from Brian “Bro” Brosdahl and Mike Gnatkowski in a throwback Game & Fish write-up, few snippets below:
> “Walleyes can be more difficult to find at this time of year because they’re on the move and transitioning from deeper to shallow water. You can count on the last green weeds to attract baitfish and walleyes.
> “Look for the greenest weeds you can find at the outside edge of bays that face deeper water. Eventually, those weeds die too and baitfish and panfish have to either slip off the first dropoff, or they migrate to the safety of the shallows.
> “Locate the outside and inside edge of the weeds by using your polarized glasses or your electronics. Make note of the depth where the weeds end because that should be the same all around the lake. Avoid any [weeds] that are beginning to brown.
> “Walleyes will position at different locations along the dropoff depending on conditions. They might be right on top, along the slope or at the base of the dropoff waiting to intercept minnow schools. Most times the walleyes will be at a very specific depth, but will move up and down the contour.
> “After a month or more, the migration reverses. The shallows begin to chill and fall wave action mixes and re-oxygenates the water. Walleyes can now go wherever they want. Baitfish move back to the extreme shallows and walleyes will be right on their heels.”
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Warning: You are now entering arguably the best fishing of the season.... So get your life right, John! 🤣
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But when you do eventually store your boat for the winter, don’t forget to use Sea Foam! Their Marine PRO product is designed just for marine engines – cleans and lubricates your motor, helps prevent corrosion caused by ethanol and water, and stabilizes tank fuel up to 2 years!!
If you can’t find Marine PRO near you, original Sea Foam still works great in ’em to dissolve fuel residues AND for fuel stabilization. May be the #1 automotive additive in the US, but it was originally invented for outboard motors.
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Thx much for reading! 👊 See you back in a couple...
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Sign up another fish-head!
If you're forwarding Target Walleye to a friend who loves to walleye fish or want your fishing buddies to get these emails, just send us their email addresses and we'll take care of it! (We won't sell the addresses, use them for spam, etc.)
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FRIENDS OF TARGET WALLEYE
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Target Walleye – walleye during open water and all species during hardwater – is brought to you by Al Lindner, Jay Kumar, Chris Philen, Brett McComas and other diehard fish-heads like you!
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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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