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Everybody welcome Someday Isle Tackle to Target Walleye/Ice! They make Water Puppets: a jig you can match up with live bait or plastics that’ll dart off horizontally, or swim in a figure-8 motion. Can’t wait to try ’em this ice season. If you’re getting this Target Walleye/Ice email for the first time, a friend probably signed you up!
Today’s Top 5
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How Al feels about ice fishing.
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Asked Al Lindner if he was excited about fishin’ the hard stuff and he said:
Okay, not really…probably would be a verrrry similar response though. That was actually a cropped-in pic from this hilarious Al photobomb:
> Brian Tommerdahl: “My daughters sent me a picture of Al Lindner, texting, ‘Dad, who is this guy. He looks familiar.’ I smiled. They watched In-Fisherman with me as little girls. And since I was a young man, Al has been famous to me.”
Awesome! If we had to guess what Al was actually feeling in that moment:
Lol
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Some of our fave ice-fishing hacks from last season.
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Anyone else have a cell phone charger in their portable shack? Pretty cool hack for that old flasher battery — never miss a Snapchat again lol:
Guide Cody Roswick says the formula for being efficient on ice is pretty simple: clamp + hair tie = rod holder. Awesome idea:
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New “snack-size” bait for BIG-‘ol crappies.
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The new “snack size” #3 Ultra Light Rippin’ Rap weighs just 1/16-oz soakin’ wet and has a slightly larger profile than your thumbnail. Wait ’til you see it underwater:
If you come across any #3s in the “pink tiger UV” color…buy ’em. Pretty sure Brad Hawthorne bought out every online retailer in the Midwest.
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First-ice safety tips from Joel Nelson.
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We’ve all seen the charts on how thick the ice should be before you go on it, but some ice-heads still lose their mind and take crazy risks. Do NOT be THAT guy:
A few guidelines from Ice Force pro Joel Nelson that’ll help keep you dry/alive:
Testing
> All first ice should be chiseled, punched or otherwise struck…. If you don’t have a chisel, then buy one, or wait until the wheelers and sleds are driving on before you dare walk out. It’s that important.
> Every step or two, swing a weighted and aggressive chisel downward. For the first few steps offshore, chip a hole and observe general thickness. Do this several times in the next few feet.
> Just because you see someone else out there, doesn’t mean it’s safe for everyone. Inlets/outlets, channels or narrow spots in a lake can freeze at a much slower rate.
> With good ice in most places and poor ice only in some, that first ice can be the most dangerous.
Why a rope?
> If you do go in, having a throw rope handy not only helps to save you, it helps to keep others at a distance necessary to not go in themselves. Without a rope there’s no safe way for a friend to help you out.
Picks when all else fails
> If you don’t have a rope handy, it’s too short or not throwable, ice picks are your last line of defense.
> However, they’re far less effective for thin first ice…typically the ice around you is easily breakable once there’s a big hole in it. Still, if they’re on you, they’ll be able to provide some grip to perhaps make your way closer to shore or up onto the ice.
Slow down
> Use all the tools at your disposal, and allow time to properly chisel and check each of your pathways. First ice isn’t a place for children or those who are inexperienced. It’s simply too easy to forget where you’re safe and where you might not be.
> From experience, there’s a big difference between ‘making-ice’ and ‘cracking-ice,’ so go with your gut on that one, but at least think about it. Ice can bow a great deal under your weight, and if it feels like it’s ‘giving,’ it probably is.
> Macho rants about fishing on 2″ or less are best not brought out onto the ice with you. Take your time and fight the urge to be the very first person out there. Be the safest, and live to fish another day.
Also make sure to wear a life jacket and/or a float-assist suit.
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What to do if you break through the ice.
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We’ve gotta talk about it, ‘cuz this video could for sure help save a life…maybe yours. Mad props to Capt. Adam Walton for taking one three for the team and showing everyone how it’s done:
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News
1. MN: Mille Lacs winter regs finalized.
> Walleye fishing will open on Dec 1 with no bait restrictions and a limit of one walleye 20-22″, or one longer than 28″.
Remember: Still no targeting walleyes or using live bait until Dec 1, even if she freezes over before that. Some more info on how/why the limit was set:
> “The DNR selected the size regs to protect [the] spawning population, which is largely comprised of walleyes hatched in 2013. Those fish currently range 15-19” and represent about 40% of the walleyes sampled during this fall’s population survey.
> “The DNR and members of MLFAC discussed setting the large fish limit at 26″, but feedback suggested that keeping those fish in the lake was preferred because the possibility of catching walleye 26-28” makes Mille Lacs an attractive destination.
> “There also was concern that a 26″ limit could result in a higher harvest level that would count against the 2018 allocation.”
Bite should be insane since those fish haven’t seen a bait in months.
2. MN: Can keep an extra ‘eye on Upper Red Lake.
Upped the ice limit to 4 walleyes with only 1 over 17″.
Those of you in SoDak already know what this is all about, so we’ll try not to keep bringing it up. #SensitiveSubject
4. SD: Poinsett walleye length limit nixed…
> The walleye population has a large year class present. Fish growth is slow and walleyes are succumbing to natural mortality prior to attaining 15″ and being available for anglers to harvest.
5. Strike King SOLD.
Didn’t see that one comin’. Swiped up by the same folks that bought Lew’s:
> Peak Rock Capital, based in Austin, TX, is a lower middle market private equity firm that targets companies covering consumer goods, food and beverage, business and tech-enabled services, energy, healthcare, manufacturing and industrials, metals, and technology. The firm typically invests between $20 mil to $150 mil in companies with up to $1 bil in revenue.
> Peak Rock acquired Lew’s in Nov 2016, when the firm’s managing director Peter Leibman said Lew’s would serve as “an excellent platform” to make add-on acquisitions and investments for product development.
Word is things will carry on as usual….
6. New St. Croix Black Ice Rods.
7. Maybe win ya an Aqua-Vu!
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TargetWalleye.com Highlights
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Tip of the Day
> Ice Team pro Matt Breuer: “A lot of guys find fish on breaklines, but those are going to be your ‘flash bites.’ I don’t want to just catch fish for an hour in the morning and evening — I want to be on fish at all times, so I’m going to target deeper structure.”
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Quote of the Day
Do you really think a man wants to sit in -10 degrees staring at a hole? We need some alone time!
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Sign up another ice-head!
If you’re forwarding Target Walleye/Ice 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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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
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