Today’s Top 5
Honey-comb badgers of the week!
Ice is still holding on in some areas — if you can get to the walleyes, they’re THICK! This one munched a Rapala Jigging Rap. #Stout
Jason “bathes with burbots” Rylander caught this 10.5″ bull ‘gill on black Custom Jigs & Spins Majmun Tungsten Jig with a white Micro Noodel plastic:
Scott Crissler hauled in this 29.5-inch Lake Winnipeg bruiser on a LIVETARGET Golden Shiner Rattlebait. Released, so it’ll be a 30+ next year:
Colby James Paydli is hoarding pike! He’s gonna have to get a bigger shack if he keeps catchin’ fish like this:
Are you setting your tip-ups too deep?
The only reason you need more than 3′ of line on your tip-up this time of year is for when that big gator takes off screamin’. Here’s how ice guide Adam Walton likes to set his Beaver Dam Tip-Ups for late ice:
Seeing these flags flappin’ in the wind would make it worth the run:
Early-season river walleyes.
Tom Neustrom explains how to fish holes, eddies, mud lines and more in this TargetWalleye.com tip. Few excerpts below, full tip here:
> When it comes to early-season river walleyes, most anglers don’t put in enough time working holes. Sure you can drift through a hole, but you’re better off taking some time and working it from different angles.
> When vertical jigging is key, use your electric motor to slip the current. The key is to adjust your bow- or transom-mount electric motor speed and jig weight to keep your line vertical on the downstream slip through holes. It presents the bait more naturally.
> Keeps an eye out for in-flowing water like feeder creeks and storm drainage. That current attracts food and the walleyes follow — like on the Rainy River and the creeks around Clementson during spring high water.
> A lot of times just below where the water’s dumping in there’s a wash-out hole that can produce a heck of a bite. Walleyes will lay there waiting for food.
Is this still considered “ice” fishing?
Wanna make sure your in-laws never come up to visit? Just show ’em this video from Upper Red Lake, MN. Yikes:
FishUSA should start selling wakeboards…they’ve already got your waders covered.
Night-fishing flasher hack.
A mini LED light bar + toggle switch = let there be light!
News
The Mobridge Ice Fishing Tournament on Lake Oahe does it BIG, but usually has a huge waiting list just to fish it. A loophole: sign up to fish the Denny Palmer Memorial Classic this summer and you could win an entry.
2. New Humminbird LakeMaster phone app.
Costs some $$$, but crazy detailed if you’ve got a favorite lake. Here’s a couple quick screen grabs of Gull Lake, MN from this morn:
3. MI: Text DNR about poachers.
Cool idea. Bet they’ll love that flood of messages!
4. New Northland UV Whistler Jigs.
They look GOOD, especially for river fish. Here’s a few of our fav colors:
Not available at FishUSA yet. 🙁
5. In-Depth Outdoors: WI flowage crappies (video).
They pull a ridiculous average…usually do!
Think that’s serious…. If so, here’s the first guy on the waiting list:
7. BaitCloud partners with Smartfishing.
Their new central-distribution hub based out of The Netherlands. If you’ve never heard of BaitCloud, it’s a biodegradable fish-attracting “super ball.” FishUSA has ’em in stock here.
Fishing Reports
> The #1 question, “How is the ice?” It has been sloppy on top, but thankfully we had a good base of ice underneath…we are in good shape. Current ice thickness is 24-30″ depending upon what part of the lake.
> The snow on top has been greatly reduced and snowmobiles will have a hard time after the freeze up again as they tend to overheat without the snow. Ice fishing continues, and in most cases it has been good.
> We encourage folks to work through a resort as they know where the problem areas are each year: they monitor cracks, ice-heaves, and re-route ice roads if there is a problem area. It is safety first and they will determine what is allowed on their road.
Check the full fishing report here to see how Elizabeth is smackin’ the walleyes and sauger:
Tanner gives us a rundown of the current bite on Devils:
Headline of the Day
Tip of the Day
It’s spring-bobber season, best make sure you’re fishing ’em right! Matt Johnson demonstrates a jigging technique that’ll for sure help you ice more panfish:
Meme of the Day
Shots fired, BassBlaster:
Today’s ‘Eye Candy
What’s great about this shot is that rods and reels are the hardest things to make look cool in pics. Bro and Bill Lindner nailed it:
That’s a Frabill Bro Series 371 combo, FishUSA has has ’em on sale here.
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 quit sports in high school because they were interfering with his fishing time. Get him at brett@targetwalleye.com
TargetWalleye.com | Rapala.com | IceForce.com
