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We’re freshening some things up around here – hope you like the new look! 👊 Here we go…
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Airplane ice fishing shack?!
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They removed its insulation, wiring, wings, and wheels…
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…and installed skis on the bottom, had a buddy spray foam it, installed Catch Covers, bench seating (with storage underneath), and a pair of portable diesel heaters to keep the plane at a comfy 68°F with room for up to 18 people:
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They believe it weighs just under 4,000 lbs, or about the same as a truck. Sounds like they currently have it sitting on about 22” of ice on SK’s Last Mountain Lake and will be trying fish in it every weekend until early-March.
They said it’s a work in progress and that they’ll be making upgrades to the plane for next year, but that “it’s kind of top secret right now.” 👀
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Local MN guide wins new truck…
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…at the 34th annual Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza. The charity event typically has 10,000+ people fishing [!] and is held on Gull Lake near Brainerd, MN. But due to the ice conditions they had to switch things up, and put on a virtual derby thru the FishDonkey app where folks could fish any Brainerd area lake.
> Dustin Erickson, a guide with Walleyedan’s Guide Service in Nisswa, told the Dispatch he was fishing with friends and family out in front of a friend’s cabin on Pelican Lake when he caught the walleye.
The prize order was randomized (full leaderboard here). Dustin’s 25.5” walleye landed him in 24th place where he won a new truck. Caught soaking a shiner under a tip-up in about 20’.
> “I put that on there and dropped it down. I don’t know, had to of been 20 minutes, half hour later that tip-up went up. And with all the kids and everything, I was actually lucky to get a chance to even take a tip-up because the kids were catching all the little northerns and everything. I walked over and took that one and landed that walleye. It was pretty, pretty nuts.”
No doubt he’ll put that new rig to good use! The before-and-after truck pic is awesome:
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In 1st place place was Chhorn Chhang of Brooklyn Park with a giant 14.5” perch 😳 that won him a new Ice Castle fish house.
Northern, walleye, crappie, sunfish and perch were judged on a point-based system by converting fish length into points to provide every species with an equal opportunity to be on the leaderboard.
The Jaycees recorded 3,856 contestants who entered into the hybrid event thru the FishDonkey app. Here’s a super cool map showing where all of the registered fish were uploaded from:
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Props to all involved for doing their best to still make this event happen despite all the hoops to jump, and also to those supporters who still showed up to fish despite the changes. 🙌 Remember: This is a charity event. They have raised and donated over $4.3 mil to more than 75 different charities since the event has started!
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It can be a painfully long wait (sometimes a lifetime!) to join the “dirty-30 club” aka catching a walleye that’s 30” or better….
*Trey Fridgen has entered the chat*
Trey said he has dedicated thousands of hours – and countless trips across the Midwest – to catching a fish of this caliber. And that he’s had “an unfortunate amount of ‘so close’ fish…heartbreak…and close calls.”
BUT he was finally able to join the “Dirty-30 Club” with this 30.25-incher (11.49 lbs) that engulfed his spoon on Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba.
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Yuuuuge props, man! 🙌
Trey caught that behemoth on a Clam Peg Spoon, which is a big-profile (5/16 oz) flutter spoon and said he was using the “parrot” color that’s the second from the right down below:
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You know it’s designed for bigguns when it’s named “Peg,” after Lake Winnipeg…land of the greenbacks. The way that spoon dances on the drop caught my attention – few seconds of that in this video talkin’ about it. Bright colors on a big profile flash ’em in from a distance.
I’ve had some REALLY great luck with it on shallow fish, and also when targeting bigger suspended fish out deeper. I like doing big 2-4′ rips, letting it flutter down on a semi-controlled slack line, then dancing it in place for a few seconds – repeat if necessary.
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Tom Boley’s secret FFS strategy for BIG, basin-roaming walleyes.
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Little description from Tom’s newest YouTube video:
> “…showing a unique pattern that works very well for big walleyes on pressured lakes. In this video I talk all about fishing for basin-roaming walleyes using Humminbird MEGA Live. This is a super unique pattern that works very well, especially mid-winter on larger fish!”
Basically he’s doing the same thing lots of folks are doing in the open-water with FFS but duplicating it best he can thru an 8″ hole…. He’s targeting big, nomadic basin fish that have been pushed off structure and are roaming no-man’s land in the mudflats – sounds like he was fishing 400-ish yards away from any structure.
Involves drilling a giant grid of holes (literally can’t have too many) like folks used to have to do when targeting basin crappies, and is instead chasing walleyes around with his FFS unit. Absolutely exhausting way to catch ’em, but super rewarding when it works out! I’ve done the same thing on Mille Lacs and it can be lights out. 🤐
He’s using a heavy Acme Hyper-Rattle to head-off the fish and get down to ’em as quickly as possible before they go past. Would switch up to an Acme Kastmaster (heavier 1/4 or 3/8 oz) if he had fish turn him down, but most of those walleyes haven’t seen a bait out in the abyss and will rocket up to crush it. 🚀
Now, here’s the vid:
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Random thought of the day…. 🤔
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Had someone ask me what my “bucket-list walleye fishing destinations” were and I realized that several of them are out west (Canyon Ferry/Holter Lake, Columbia River, Fort Peck, etc) and that I know almost nothing about ’em…other than they kick out some absolute giant walleyes!
Got me thinking how anything out west-ish seems to fly under the radar in the walleye world…just don’t see a whole lot of info or media coming from that way.
I heard it’s because those cowboys and cowgirls are still trying to learn how to dial-up their internets, kick start an interwebz browser and shift into the Facebooks 1st gear (lol).
Actually, I think this is the real reason:
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🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Anywho…if you come across some interesting stuff out west-ish that you think Target Walleye readers should see, shoot it my way! ‘Cuz I feel like I’m looking in all the wrong places and coming up empty handed.
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1. RI: Dude shatters state-record rainbow trout…
…after taking the day off of work to go ice fishing! Hopefully it was a vacation day and not a sick day LOL.
Zachary Taylor’s new certified state-record rainbow weighed 15 lbs 12 oz (3+ lbs more than the previous state record). Congrats man!
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I would have loved to see that thing squeeeeeeze thru his hole considering the circumference of a 6″ circle is 18.85″ and this thing had a 21″ girth!
2. IA: Statewide CPR walleye challenge, March 30 – June 30.
> The IA DNR is partnering for a 3rd year with MyCatch by Angler’s Atlas to conduct a statewide walleye fishing challenge starting March 30 through June 30.
> This year’s walleye challenge has been expanded to other states across the Midwest and into Canada as part of a larger fisheries research project funded by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
> The Midwest Walleye Challenge uses the MyCatch mobile app to record the length of a fish. Participating anglers take a picture of the fish on a measuring device using the app. Once the fish is reviewed by the catch team and meets the rules, longest fish and most waterbodies fished entries appear on a live leaderboard.
> The mobile app maintains anonymous location data, so anglers’ secret spots stay secret. IA DNR fisheries biologists receive only generalized lake and river catch data entered to assess and manage walleye populations. Specific catch locations from anglers are not listed on public leaderboards.
> IA anglers compete only against other IA anglers for biweekly prizes, while all catches from across the Midwest qualify for the grand prize drawings at the end of the event. Grand prizes for 2024 include a week-long fishing trip to Lac Seul Evergreen Lodge in Canada, as well as equipment from companies….
> Anglers can register for the Midwest Walleye Challenge here. New this year, participants can choose the free entry option to qualify for non-cash prizes or pay a $25 fee to qualify for all prizes including cash payouts.
3. FishUSA has the 8” SM Lithium 24v over $100 off.
That’s the StrikeMaster Lithium 24V Ice Auger. I’ve been running the snot outta mine the last few seasons and LOVE it! Think of it as a lightweight (8” weighs 14.3 lbs) run-and-gun version of the ’benchmark’ StrikeMaster Lithium 40v.
And what a perfect ice-fishing season it’s been to have this compact unit in the arsenal!
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Tough year for ice, but boy is it shaping up to be a good year for deals on ice fishing gear….
4. MN: Poles ‘N Holes ice derby happenin’ Feb 10.
Over $30K in prizes up for grabs on Little Detroit Lake.
> “This is our 14th annual Poles N Holes Ice Fishing Derby. Sponsored by the Detroit Lakes Breakfast Rotary Club, this derby has raised over $225,000 in funds to support area literacy, youth sports, senior citizens programs and community projects.”
5. MN: Northwest Sportshow happenin’ Mar 14-17…
…at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
6. MN: 2024 “Fishing for the Cure” event canceled.
7. 13 Fishing has a bunch of “buggy” panfish plastics.
You already know 13 Fishing makes a ton rods/reels, but did you know they have softbaits designed specifically for ice fishing?
> “…that are 10x tougher and last longer than the competition. …infused with 13 Fishing’s ‘Donkey Sauce,’ a proprietary formulation of amino acids and proteins that stimulate feeding and aggression in predatory game fish.”
Here’s a look at a few of ’em (from left to right): Bernie, Paralyzer, Tetrad, Squidworm and BAMF:
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Jason Mitchell’s deep-water perch presentations.
> A quick video explaining dropper spoons, hanger weights, and pencil rigs for fishing deep-water for perch. These lures are designed to drop down into deep water FAST while still enabling a more delicate or finesse presentation. These deep-water lures are popular on ND’s Devils Lake and WI’s Madison Chain, but work well whenever targeting perch in water deeper than 25’.
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“It turns out that walleyes are mildly terrifying when you are nose to nose with them.”
– That’s Eric Scrivner talking about this MN walleye that has all them teeth, but no toothbrush. #ornery
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Eric’s IG caption went on to say:
> “Those teeth are the last thing that many a minnow, perch, and crayfish have seen. But – hear me out – if my thumb fits between those two bottom fangs, I should be able to safely lip a walleye, right?”
Let us know how that works out for you. 😅
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Here’s Warren Fisher with an absolute hole-plugger! 😳 Dude is gonna need to invest in a 10” bit if he keeps THIS up:
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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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