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Today’s Top 4
How to rig big chubs for fall walleye.
Since live-bait rigging with giant creek chubs and redtails is one of the best ways to snag a trophy fall walleye, we tracked down central MN walleye nut Travis Sorokie to get the ins and outs of soaking big minnows. You can read the full write-up at TargetWalleye.com, but here’s a few excerpts:
> “You can catch fish all year doing this, but I really get excited for the big-minnow bite once the water has cooled down to 62 degrees…ideally 58-60.
> “Even fishing in deep water such as 35-50′ the fish will still typically be stacked on the windblown sides of underwater points, bars and breaks.”
> “Creek chubs and redtails work best because they’re hardy minnows that will often swim right along with the boat. Sometimes you’ll even feel them ‘getting excited’ the moment before a walleye smacks them.
> “I run a 1/2- to 1-oz egg sinker depending on minnow size, wind and depth. The 3/4-oz seems to be good all around, but I bump up to a 1-oz anytime I’m fishing 30′ or deeper. I’m trying to fish the sinker like a jig. Keep it 6-18″ off bottom and as vertical as possible.”
> “Trolling between 0.3-0.8 mph covers most scenarios. When it’s calmer…slow down and stay right over the tops of fish. I pick up the speed if the wind is blowing.
> “I start out giving them a 25-30 second count before I set the hook. I’ll even wait 35-40 seconds on days that they’re sluggish. That gives them more time to turn that minnow around in their mouth after they t-bone it.
> “A lot of guys do a low sweeping hookset, but I pick up the slack and set the hook straight up vertically. It helps to drive the hook right into the roof of its mouth. I feel it gives me a better hook-up percentage and I lose less fish….”
Great info Travis! Good luck this weekend at the Fishing to End Hunger tourney on Gull Lake, MN.
How to catch Lake Ontario blimps.
Too big of fish and too good of pic to not have it’s own top spot…. Heeeeeeeere’s Robbie:
Now THAT’S how you hold a walleye!! Here’s how he done it:
> “I always run a couple shallow-running baits higher in the water column when trolling for walleye. I’ve seen them suspend just a couple feet below the surface. All my fish but one came high this day.
We’re starting to think that Rob Henry would eat purpledescent cereal, use purpledescent line and wear purpledescent undies if he could lol…but hey, it works. Here’s the bait in his all-time favorite color:
> “With 30 km winds and 3′ waves…we ventured out on Lake Ontario in the 14′ Lund. She handled the big water great and put us right on the fish — call us crazy, but we can’t get enough of it!”
Careful out there man…. And where’s that life jacket at? #SafetyFirstFishSecond
Your ice-fishing lures can catch fish right now.
Snap-jigging for deep fall walleyes has really caught on (because it works!!), but don’t be afraid to switch it up…. You can bust out your favorite ice-fishing baits and fish ’em the same way:
Plus if you chase those fish around this fall, you’ll know right where they’ll be at for first ice.
Rare perchzilla caught on video.
It’s a perch-eat-perch world:
They don’t get that big on this side of the Atlantic…but they come pretty dang close out on Devils Lake, ND.
News
1. MB: Montgomery/Wikstrom win Walleye Masters Cup.
Red River. Ryan Montgomery and Tracy Wikstrom cracked 25- and 26-inchers just 30 seconds apart — late in the day — to take home the 1st place pay day of $6,600.
2. SK: Report any tagged walleyes caught.
Helps the University of Regina with their study on how fish respond after being released, and how to minimize stress on fish during tourney.
3. WI: Middle schoolers stock Fox Lake.
Hands-on science lesson that the School for Ag and Environmental Studies has been doing for 20ish years. They put in about 4K walleye this go-around.
You know how lucky you kids are nowadays?! Used to be if you talked about fishing during class you got to wear the dunce cap…or worse:
#SchoolRocks
4. MN: Whitefish/tullibee sport-netting opener.
Try and catch ’em before the big ol’ gravel lizards do.
5. MN: DNR tackling starry stonewort.
The Rice Lake (Stearns Co) access is closed for the next month:
> “A floating curtain has been installed to confine the affected area for treatment. Contractors will use a suction dredge to remove the vegetation and a layer of mud…where starry stonewort fragments may be present.
Lake Sallie, Andrew, Lac qui Parle and Big Birch…. No stopping ’em now:
7. Pluckin’ pike from the weeds.
Chip Leer shows you how to go in and get ’em. Same technique can stick some pig walleyes.
8. New Northland Tackle packaging…
…for their Impulse Micro plastics. Should make things easier for ice fishermen:
9. Five new chrome Kwikfish colors.
10. Custom Rapala Jigging Rap colors…
…from our friends over at FishUSA. Betcha haven’t seen these ones before! Get ’em now right here.
Here’s your last shot at winning all this stuff from Rapala — including a giant Original Floater! Same thing: enter your email addy, then share the link you get for more chances to win. Giveaway ends tonight — good luck!
Events
Gull Lake. First place takes home $10k!!
2. Across the Ice Belt TV season premier, Oct 1.
This crew can straight-up catch ’em! Fun to watch.
3. MB: Voyageurs Walleye Classic, Pine Falls, Oct 8-9.
Full field of 110 teams. Should be a big fish shootout.
Tip of the Day
Frog fishing for fall walleyes.
Target Walleye’s Jim Edlund hooked up with Devils Lake guide Jason Feldner to get the deets on a little-known technique: frog fishing for walleyes. You can read the full write-up at TargetWalleye.com, but here’s a few excerpts:
> “I typically look for cattail areas, which have a softer bottom and is where frogs are going to hibernate. If you see frogs crossing the road towards water, just follow them.
> “The first frost is a good marker for the frog bite, which could happen here tonight.
> “Although the old-timers mostly fished at night from the shore, there can be a good frog bite during the day from a boat, too. I just trim up my big motor, use my bow-mount Minn Kota and Talon down in the soft-bottomed bays.
> “As far as the night fishing goes, fishing a couple days before or after the full moon is hard to beat.
> “Some days the walleyes like the Lindy Rig, other days they like ‘Kermit’ on a jig. You’ll cover more water with the jig head and stinger hook, but there’s something to be said for letting that frog swim on a tether around a bell sinker.
> “I hook the frog through the top lip only, sometimes with a weedless-style hook so the frog can still breathe but stays impaled to the hook.
Quote of the Day
We routinely see fish up to age 15-20 every year — not a lot of other lakes have that.
– DNR large-lake specialist Tom Heinrich talking about some of the giant mud lizards they get in the nets each year during their annual fall gill netting on Lake of the Woods. You’re going to need a bigger auger this winter….
Today’s ‘Eye Candy
The iceman cometh:
#Stout
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