Target Walleye/Ice email

Burbot spawn ball vid, Ice proposal, Behemoths of the week

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Today’s Top 4

 

Ice behemoths of the week!

March on Lake of the Woods = BIG freshwater gators…and lots of ’em! Cody Sjodin made the trip to soak sucker minnows and said they wrastled with 100-ish heavy-hitters over a few day. #BusyWork #HeavyLifting

This paunchy Manitoba greenback makes that Rapala Rippin’ Rap look like an Ultra Light version. Word is the “chrome blue” color’s been HOT lately — might wanna grab a few if you’re heading up:

Gorgeous ON laker IDO’s Cal Svihel caught on a Storm 360GT Searchbait — first time I’d heard of them being used through the ice, but probably not the last:

Seen plenty of burbs with black “mottling” (spots/blotches) but never an orange-spotted one like Logan Waidelich caught. Saw another last week too. Know there’s a few fisheries biologists that read this…what say you?

This one wasn’t caught through the ice…but you know that water is dang-near as cold! Walt Matan cracked this “mamasaurus bigfatus” (his words lol) on Mississippi River Pool 14 fishing a small hole off the main river channel:

> “Was using a Dubuque rig with a 1/2-oz B-Fish-N H20 Jig and 4″ AuthentX Moxi in the ‘oystershell’ color. Had a #4 hook with a minnow on the trailing line…had been catching the eater-sized walleye and sauger, but the big mamas prefer the Moxi!”

Healthy-lookin’ fish dude! Those Moxis are deadly.

Wow! Seriously INSANE burbot underwater footage!!

The prime burbot spawn has either come, gone or is on its way depending where you’re at in the ice belt. Hays Baldwin nabbed some of the craziest underwater footage I’ve seen of — any fish, especially burbs [!] — using an Aqua-Vu HD underwater camera in central MN last week.

Vid has plenty of fish catches, misses and camera bumps…but the “spawning ball” with dozens of burbot was grotesquely-awesome:

Tough to put the rod down when there’s that many on the camera.

New planer board storage system???

Easter is comin’ up next weekend and walleye nut Joe Knowles has an interesting way to store Off Shore Tackle treats:

Dang! Hope the Easter bunny visits my place too!

Walleye pro Keith Kavajecz has a bit more-practical way he rigs/stores Off Shore Tackle planer boards. Dude is dialed in:

> I rig my Off Shore Tackle Planer Boards 2 ways. The setup with 2 clips on the arm is for pulling “heavy” items — deep-diving cranks, lead core and cranks with snap weights. If one clip lets loose you can reel in the board by the other one.

> Putting both clips on the arm also makes it easier to read bites — the board reacts more erratically and will actually do a wheelie when a fish hits.

> The other way I rig them has the tattle flag system. I use the snapper release for this since one clip has to hold the line.

> Board Stor makes a nice system for storing boards in my ZV21 back compartment.

On-ice proposal. Yup…this guys wins.

Hope the family had a few “flags” set while carving it out:

Those size 6 VMC (split-)rings are shinier than I remember…. Lol congrats to both!!!

News

1. MN: Tiger muskie caught on LOTW?

A hybrid pike-muskie cross. Sure looks like it. Alan Gregerson caught the 39-incher while tip-up fishing for pike near Morris Point. You just never know, man!

2. Aluminum boat prices getting jacked?

Maybe. Two different aluminum tariffs (10% and a whopping 60%) could mega-impact the marine industry…. Good excuse to buy that new rig this spring lol.

3. MN: Northwest Sportshow this weekend…

…at the Minneapolis Convention Center. It’s dang near impossible to miss the Lund booth — better drive down a tow vehicle:

4. MN: First NWT stop coming May 10-11.

I’m jumping in as a co-angler this season, traveling with Michael Olson of Fish Addictions TV. Plan to bring you a pile of content from pros on tour and maybe even catch a few fish while doing it….

5. Vexan working on prototype ice rods?

Gave us a peak in this FB post:

Updating their rods for the ’18-19 season, so their current short-sticks are up to 50% off. Haven’t personally tried ’em, but do know that you can barely buy an energy drink for that price now-a-days so tough to go wrong.

5. Ever fished a “clear” crankbait?

We’re talkin’ 100% translucent. Some guys paint ’em, but can also be killer bait in super-clear water on sunshiny days. This “clear” Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow Walleye Deep Diver is designed for trolling and needs ZERO TUNING out of the box.

6. Why one fish-head uses Sea Foam Motor Treatment.

Props from @cobi_pellerito:

> “I spend a lot of time on the water using my outboard to get me from spot to spot, covering dozens of miles a day sometimes. Being that I have an older boat with a 1995 115hp Mercury, this amount of wear and tear eventually catches up.

> “I’ve been using Sea Foam as a fuel additive for 2 seasons now, and it has made a significant impact on how smooth my motor idles, powers up and powers down. It runs cleaner and faster with less issues overall. This in turn allows me to spend more time catching fish!”

Reminder that Sea Foam has a big rebate til the end of this month.

7. “School of Fish” got loaded up.

With 500+ fishing rods from the NPAA and Future Angler Foundation:

> Our goal is to educate, excite and equip fishing’s next generation, and supplying each student a reliable rod and reel is obviously important to that goal.

#Stout

Tip of the Day

> My favorite ice-out walleye rivers feed into larger bodies of water, like the Rainy River at Lake of the Woods. Start your search at the river mouth where walleyes gather in late winter and work your way upstream.

> Virtually any current break can hold fish, but I concentrate on main-channel holes, which attract waves of fish moving upriver. Current seams and shorelines eddies also hold fish…particularly smaller males as the spawn draws near.

> Vertical jig from an anchored position or while slipping with the current. I like long-shank leadheads like the Northland Slurp! Jig and round-head RZ Jig…although the new Swivel-Head Jig really gives trailers a life of their own.

> Tip [your jig] with a 3-5″ scented softbait like an Impulse plastic…adds bulk, movement and taste. Experiment with different shapes including ringworms, boot tails and minnow designs. And don’t overlook old-school creature baits. Add a skull-hooked fathead or shiner minnow for extra scent and flavor.

> Minimal jigging is best, ranging from a simple hold to slow and methodical lift-drop maneuvers of a few inches or so. When walleyes move shallow, pitch the same jigs toward the bank and swim, drag and pendulum them back to the boat.

More early-season river walleye tips from Al Lindner, Mark Courts, Ted Takasaki and Bill Shimota in this AnglingBuzz write-up.

Quote of the Day

Depending on your photo, you may end up sharing more than just a picture.

– Fisheries biologist Jason Seiders talking about why your secret spot might not be so secret anymore…social media.

Today’s ‘Eye Candy

Cheralyne Gibson found this Canadian pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow. #StPaddysDaySpecial

If Eskimo’s ever looking for a great contrasting color to go with their pop-up shacks, they should consider “jumbo perch.”

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Who is Target Walleye/Ice
Target Walleye/Ice — walleye during open water and all species during hardwater — is brought to you by Al and Ron Lindner, Jim Kalkofen, Brett McComas and other diehard fish-nuts like you! #fishheads
Brett McComas is the main man for Target Walleye/Ice. 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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