Bass fish for bigger walleyes, Gravel lizards of the week, Dogs fish too

The duo just won the AIM State Championship and Team of the Year…oh, did I mention they won EACH of those titles last year, too? #BackToBackEverything

Reminder: These are the bass-heads that converted to fishing walleye derbies a couple years back, and have been lighting it up ever since using off-the-wall techniques. They have literally won national-level walleye tournaments throwing TX-rigged crawfish-profile bass baits at shallow riprap, fishing under and around DOCKS, you name it….

> “…successfully married both bass and walleye fishing tactics, mixing both artificial and live bait and fishing in all areas and depths, even spots overlooked for walleyes. It’s why he’s picked up the reputation as something of a trailblazer on the NWT.”

At their recent state championship win on Lake Superior, they caught ’em on an unnamed “funny looking” bass bait…. No idea what it is, but here’s what they said about it:

> “So I put on this bait, and it was so funny looking. I took a photo of it and sent it to Nate, saying I’m really scrambling to find a bite. My first cast, I caught a 22” walleye. Three casts in a row, three walleye. I had to sit down in my boat shaking, saying, my gosh, I just figured this out. Not only was it the bait we were using, but also the presentation. If you presented it any other way, it would not have worked. When Nate figured that out, he texted me from his boat saying, ‘this is crazy.’

> “People think bass are dumb. I think bass are the most educated in the water. They get thrown at more than any other species. They get taught lessons. Whereas with walleyes, we’re the ones up here who think we have to throw live bait to get them to eat.

> “They’re both predatory fish. Just look at the Bassmaster Elites who were just on Lake Oahe, SD…. [Lee Livesay] caught his personal best walleye, almost 14 lbs, and he caught it in 70′ on a bass bait. You watch the bass guys on the tour catching walleyes, and the walleyes they catch aren’t small….“

Btw that fish he’s talking about is this 13.86-lber that Lee Livesay caught while dropshotting in 74′ with a Net Bait Crush Worm:

Obviously the barotrauma is real with that wall-EYE coming outta the depths. But Lee said he “didn’t catch anymore that deep so [he] wouldn’t have anymore die,” and obviously didn’t want this one to. Walleye was definitely on the menu the rest of the week lol.

Any-who…. I just find all this stuff super fascinating, because we think we (sometimes) know so much about how to get walleyes to bite, but we don’t. There’s still a ton to be learned about these critters, and how utilizing some off-the-wall “bass fishing techniques” might not catch you as many fish, but could help you catch the biggest walleye of your life.

Clearly it’s working for Tom Huynh and Nate Wolske – keep doing your thing fellas! I’m enjoying the show 🍿 and it’s definitely got my brain running wild and looking forward to each time I hit the water to explore new techniques on days when the old-school stuff just isn’t getting it done.

Justin Stephenson went back-to-back casts 🙌 on a pair of giant gravel lizards while fishing in the Huron Bass Tour out of Spanish Harbour. Said he caught ’em on a 1/4-oz WOO! Tungsten Ned Head rigged with a Z-Man Hula Stickz off a main-lake hump:

And despite being in the middle of a bass derby, he said walleyes are “always a welcome surprise for me.” Plus they were still able to sack-up 5 smallies for 21.62 lbs before the walleyes moved in 😂 which was good enough for 2nd place. Eventful day! Love it.

1) Look at the shoulders on this 30.5-incher Danny Bacon snatched outta some shallow boulders! Said he was sharpshooting with Lowrance ActiveTarget and she ate a 1/2-oz Meegs Jig tipped with a minnow:

2) Ryan Busche LiveScope’d this Lake Sakakawea slobeye with a Northland Long Shank Fire-Ball Jig paired with a creek chub:

Btw I heard a rumor those long-shanks are being discontinued (?) so if they’re your jam, you might wanna stock up before it’s too late.

3) Will Pappenfus just caught his longest walleye to date, which is saying something because that dude can catch ’em! This one went 31″ and came outta MN’s Leech lake. If I had to guess he was rigging big chubs, but you know what they say when you assume something…. Congrats bud!!!

4) Warren Fisher has been on the Green Bay gold 🔥 running Northland Rainbow Spinner Harnesses (“parakeet” color) slow and high:

1) Brittany Peeters has been enjoying the dog days of summer in northern SK, and said she caught this one on the “Canadian Classic” aka jig + minnow:

2) Forrest Leitch and “Hank” had themselves a day 🙌 dropshotting with a half of a nightcrawler. Forrest said, “Never know what you’ll stumble across in these tiny [few hundred-ish acre] northern-MN lakes! I knew this lake was home to a few walleyes, pleasantly surprised to find out there were some big ones.” Pleasant surprise is right:

Start ’em off young. 👊

3) Riley Dalzell’s pupdawg, Rip, figured out a new way to cool off – that or he’s trying to catch the fish that Riley already threw in the well haha:

4) Lindsay Martin and her furry friend Gus are cheesin’ with a solid, southeastern-CO saugeye! Pic posted on @eagleclawfishing’s Insta:

5) I think Scott Johnson’s co-pilots are ready for shore lunch:

BONUS: Graham Cloutier sees your fishing dogs and raises you a fishing goat! 👀 A goat who apparently has a soft spot for walleyes and nachos LOL:

– That’s guide Jeff Sundin talking about bass walleye fishing during algae blooms throughout Aug and early-Sept…but it’s actually one of his favorite scenarios to target ’em:

> “A lot of people take one look at these conditions and say, ‘Nope, I’m not doing this.’ But if you fish the right spots with the right tactics, algae blooms can produce some of the summer’s most consistent and enjoyable walleye fishing.”

Jeff goes over a whole bunch of specifics on how and where he hits ’em right now in this Dan Johnson In-Fisherman write-up. 🎯

1. Outkast Tackle owner Mike Dahl needs help.

Sounds like he has some serious stuff going on, here is the GoFundMe. 🙏 Prayers to him and his family.

2. NWT Championship is happenin’ right NOW…

…on Lake Erie out of Dunkirk, NY. The day 1 (of 3) weigh-in just wrapped up.

The first team of the day to weigh-in (around lunch time) was John Hoyer who had 39.81 lbs = SHEESH! He’s currently leading it. 💥 This one’s going to be a slugfest.

3. 2023 NWT schedule dropped.

• Mar 23-24: Spring Valley, IL
• May 18-19: Oshkosh, WI
• Jun 22-23: Pickstown, SD
• Jul 27-28: Sault Ste Marie, MI
• Sept 6-8: Championship – Devils Lake, ND

4. ND: Devils Lake walleye population at all-time high. 📈

> There have never been as many walleyes captured in Devils Lake fisheries nets as this season. Biologist Todd Caspers recorded 35.3 walleyes per net. The average is 21.5/net.

> Since studying this ND lake with the same methodology for the past 31 yrs, Caspers said the 15-20″ keepers…set a record at 12.3/net, double the avg of 6 per net. These will grow, as will the 10-15″, which averaged 16.4/net, above the avg of 10/net. The trophy sized walleyes 20-30″ showed up at avg counts.

Crazy to me how good this fishery is when it’s at its “average,” so I can’t even imagine when numbers are literally at record highs. 😳

5. Rapala has the world record, for most world records.

> Since the late 1980s, when the IGFA started to track artificial baits that were used in world record catches, Rapala lures have accounted for more world record fish than any other lure. According to the IGFA, Rapala lures have been listed for 615 world record fish.

I believe they added 9 new world records to that list again in 2021. 🏆

6. Voting is open for the first-ever Anglers’ Choice Award.

ICAST (the annual fishing biz trade show) has a “New Product Showcase” each year where companies show-off their new fishing products, and industry folks vote for their favorite “Best of Category” (there’s 30) and overall “Best of Show” award. That has already happened – the 2022 winners are here.

New this year, there’s a dealio where non-industry folks can vote for their favorite new products (from the 30 category winners) for the ICAST 2022 Anglers’ Choice Best of Show Award. Voting is open now thru ICAST’s website until Aug 27 – here’s how to jump on it.

7. OH: $400K in grants awarded to protect Lake Erie shores.

8. PA fishing licenses going up $2.50 in 2023.

First increase in 17 years.

9. Revital Outdoors is looking for pro staff.

Revital Outdoors is a high-quality CBD company – made in the USA (Fort Collins, CO) and are 100% THC free so workplace friendly. Tell me this snippet from their website doesn’t hit you right in the ouchy feels:

> You’re up, you’re excited, you’re prepared. Your intention is to have the best day possible on the water or in the field. You shouldn’t have to: Struggle with joint, bone and muscle aches…feel tired, groggy, and unrested…have your old injuries limit your performance.

CBD can seriously help some folks with all that. I have family members who swear by it, and were literally able to ditch the scooter and/or cane when consistently taking CBD.

10. Sportsman’s Warehouse appoints Nancy Walsh to BOD.

11. UT: DWR is hiring for a wildlife biologist.

How Brad Hawthorne trolls for “dog day” walleyes.

There’s more bait in the system right now than there will be at any other point in the year. Has the fish spread out, roaming and chasing grub. Here’s how Brad Hawthorne long-line trolls cranks to cover water and dial ’em in – video is LOADED with tons of info nuggets:

“Because they’re hard to catch we think they’re smart, but choking on a mallard doesn’t seem smart.”

– That’s Pete Maina talking about this greedy musky that took down a 🦆 but then got taken down itself. Pete said the bird’s head blew through the gills:

Brady Kingsland has caught a few walleyes in his day, but this was a first:

Mike Harris said he’s marked that fish on his Humminbird before… 🤣🤣🤣

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH