Today’s Top 5
Some o’ the craziest-colored walleyes we’ve ever seen.
Here’s something you don’t see every day, and may not ever again! Gino C. caught this orange ‘eye out of Shenango River Lake, PA. Word is it tasted like a Creamsicle:
Guess this St. Louis River walter has been eating too many Cheerios:
Lovin’ this gunmetal rockcrawler! Caught by Maxime Gilbert in Québec using an Okuma Dead Eye Rod rigged with a Northland Tackle RZ Jig:
Is this the best greenback shot ever?
Here’s what happens when you combine green/blue/orangish walleyes into one! Jason Rylander caught her somewhere up in Canada (eh?) on a 5/16-oz Custom Jigs & Spins Pro Glow Slender Spoon in the color blue glow tiger:
What to do if a musky comes into your spear hole.
[IF it’s in season — make sure to check your local regs!]
Charlie T. was spearing when he ran into this 48″ (36-lb) tanker, so he: “Grabbed the only rod I had and it just so happened to have a Rapala Rippin’ Rap on it. Was a great fight!”
Pretty cool you can get outta the Frabill Sidestep shacks without swimmin’.
How Aaron Wiebe Hyper-Glides for ice smallmouths.
Uncut Angling’s Aaron Wiebe is a sucker for unusual fishing shenanigans — he hammers 16″ crappies on roadkill, fishes for 39 hours straight, and catches arctic char with a drone. So of course he likes targeting neglected species like smallies through the ice.
Who wore it better?
If the lake is lacking deep-rocky humps, Aaron will punch a bunch o’ holes around points that stick out into the main basin, and use an Aqua-Vu HD700i to find hard-to-soft transitions.
He uses baits like the Acme Hyper-Glide because they call smallies in from a distance, but can also be fished slow when the bite is off. What makes the Hyper-Glide unique from other jigging baits is that it’s super lightweight and has way more glide. Did we mention it has wings?
Love that design, but for sure wouldn’t want to wait for that thing to glide all the way down in deep water…. That’s why it has something called the “VDrop System,” which is an elastic hook on the tail that you loop the line through and it will hang the bait vertically to “send it down like a depth bomb.”
Small-jaws love it — check Aaron’s full vid here:
WTHeck are “Canadian ape hangers?”
Heading up to Winnipeg soon? Don’t forget the auger extension for your StrikeMaster. Right, Cal Flander? #BottomedOut
Here’s why we like to call jacked-up augers “Canadian ape hangers:”
FishUSA has auger extensions in stock here.
Betcha can’t drill 3 holes quicker than this guy.
As seen at the Ice Auger World Championship in Breezy Point, MN:
Would love to see the shrapnel fly with an 8″ bit! A lot of people were commenting on the angle of that 2nd hole — maybe the guy REALLY knows what he’s doing:
Local boys Jeff and Grant Wirkus weighed 16 jumbos for 16.68 lbs to take home the “W.” They were fishing a spot in 28-30′ they had found a couple weeks prior, hoping no other teams would find it while pre-fishing…they didn’t. Congrats!
2. OH: Man steals $3,800 of fishing gear…
…from Wal-Mart. Must’ve walked out with everything…and had a big coat….
3. WI: Record year for stocking bigger ‘eyes.
> In all, 797,815 of the 6″ to 8″ extended-growth walleye were stocked in 150 WI waterbodies in 2016.
They also stock 1.4 million small fingerlings each year. Bigger = more expensive, but better chance of survival.
4. New Jason Mitchell jigging spoon.
Pyrex rattles, feather treble and hand-picked metallic colors from J-Mitch himself:
FishUSA has ’em on sale here.
5 Outboards are getting bigger-er.
> “The average horsepower of an outboard engine has increased 38.1% since 2010 and it reached an all-time high of 118.6 in 2016.”
The new Mercury Verado 400R should help pull that average up — imagine one of these on the back of a Lund 219 Pro-V GL [heart-eyes emoji]:
> “Did you know the mudpuppy is nocturnal, never leaves the water and is actually active this time of year? We have a study underway on these unique and threatened critters – so if you catch one by accident, snap a photo for us, release it, and let us know the location you caught it!”
We’re waiting for Savage Gear to make one — it’ll compliment their 3D Burbot:
7. MI: DNR says fish kills common and likely.
Fairly common:
> “Fish can become easily stressed in winter due to low energy reserves because feeding is at a minimum in winter. They then are less able to handle low oxygen and temp swings.”
Less common:
> “Fish also may be affected by rapid changes in water temp…leading to stress and sometimes mortality. This is likely the case with the record or near record temps coupled with the large rain MI experienced in Feb.”
Events
1. MN: NAIFC Championship, Mille Lacs, Mar 11-12.
Think we’ll see another 2+ lb crappie come outta “The Big Pond” this weekend?
2. IL: MWC opener, Illinois River, Mar 17-18.
Good timing for this one, the river is already kicking out some great fish.
3. WI/MT/IA: Johnnie Candle’s Walleye University, Spring 2017.
This is the 7th year Johnnie has been doing ’em, so you know he’s doing ’em right. Several different dates/locations this spring – more info here.
Tip of the Day
If you’ve never seen it before, it’s a semi-newish deal called the Clam Crank Weight. Been around a few years, but for sure flying under the radar. Awesome way to get double duty out of all your summer cranks and give the fish something they’re never seen drop through a hole before:
Meme of the Day
Did you hear about the tornadoes Monday?
If anyone was out there, hope you are okay!
Today’s ‘Eye Candy
Cal Flander popped this disgruntled greenback on a SOFT bait…the Storm WildEye Swim Shad. #Snarl
