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If you’re getting this Target Walleye email for the first time, a friend probably signed you up!
Today’s Top 4
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Where the heck did all the walleyes go?!
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This can be frustrating time of year to track down a limit of tasties. Fish are on the move, but they’ll be migrating to predictable areas and eventually schooling up hard.
> Baitfish will only stay in weeds as long as they’re very green. Once weeds start to die off…baitfish and walleyes start to leave those shallow-water weed areas.
> If you’re fishing summer spots and they aren’t there, start fishing the sand. As the transition is getting underway, it’s still common to find walleyes in 15′ and less.
> They start to move out to more open-water areas at first…sliding out around deep water: sand bars that come out from shore and drop to deeper water, sand flats, sand points, and sand humps.
> Walleyes begin to move deeper as water temps drop toward turnover (begins at 62 degrees F or so). Instead of looking for fish to be on top of structures, look deeper.
> They will be in spots like the sharper breaks or on mid-lake humps that top out at perhaps 20′, rather than 15, or in holes in soft-bottom flats where depth drops from 15′ to 20′.
> Walleyes become more selective about where they stage. They generally locate on a spot-on-a-spot. For example, if they’re on a mid-lake hump with scattered boulders, they will be on the boulders. If all rock, look for the patch of sand. If all sand, look for the rockpile.
> Because more and more walleyes show up on these few spots, more and more of the lake holds no fish. It’s easy to be skunked if you don’t pay attention to subtle differences on the structure.
Happens to the best of us, but still a great time to poke fun at your fishin’ buddies:
Keep reading the full write-up here for WAY more info and even the specific baits these fellas use to target these fish.
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How to make walleyes taste even better.
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Tips you won’t find on the Food Network! It all starts with making the right cut while you’re still on the water:
Bleeding fish is nothing new, but it’s something many still aren’t exactly sure how to do. Here’s Joel Nelson breaking down the super-easy process step-by-step:
You see the color difference between the two fillets? Dang!
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Crankbaits don’t dive as deep when it’s windy.
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Ever been trolling downwind and caught fish, turned right around and couldn’t get ’em to bite? Might actually be some truth to blaming it on the wind, though it’s got nothing to do with your poor boat control lol.
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Ever been to the annual emerald shiner parade?
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The spring Rainy River run is no secret, but here’s a zillion reasons why the fall walleye bite can be just as gooder:
That’s a mega pile of emerald shiners right off Border View Lodge’s dock — at the mouth of the Rainy River where it dumps into Lake of the Woods.
As temps drop in the fall, more and more shiners will pile into the river, triggering a walleye feeding frenzy.
Bonus points: there’s way less boat traffic this time of year. Which means:
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News
6. FishUSA has the new Okuma Epixor XT in stock!
The purrrrtty new Okuma Epixor XT has “torsion control armor” that helps reduce line twist, and a slower oscillation system that helps to evenly lay the line on the spool (especially lighter braids). Which in English means less this:
Felt like it should cost a bunch more than $64.99. Check ’em out here.
7. Bass Pro-Cabela’s deal finally official.
Been in the works for over a year, but the $4-bil deal was approved by the Federal Reserve and finally closed. Pretty much all that’s changing (for now) is who’s making the $$$ on sales…but still not sure how this can mean better prices for consumers? Few other deets:
> Both names will remain the same.
> Cabela’s purchases can be returned to Bass Pro Shops and vice versa.
> Customers can exchange a Bass Pro Shops gift card to a Cabela’s gift card for an equal amount and vice versa.
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TargetWalleye.com Highlights
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Tip of the Day
Trolling spoons to find fish fast.
Sort of surprised that Lake Erie guide Ross Robertson is letting his spoon-feeding walleye secrets out…. Wasn’t that long ago he would keep ’em hidden in the rod locker back at the access 😉 lol. #Works
> The Erie bite is unusually good for this time of year on both the central and eastern basins. Most fish are still very deep and being caught on spoons, spinners and cranks with heavy weights, jets and dipsy divers.
> The warm temps have caused fish to be active throughout the water column, causing adjustment each day, with most of the bigger fish deeper (5-10′ off bottom) and the annoying white bass higher (10-15′ down).
> I’ve been personally running the larger Silver Streak Mini Spoons behind #30 Tru-Trip or Jet Divers on Church planer boards and Dipsy Divers right at the boat. These faster moving presentations have made it much easier to find small active pods away from boat traffic. Speeds from 2 to nearly 3 mph have been the norm.
> Heavier braided line such as Sunline SX1 on the jets and FX2 braid on the Dipsy Divers make it much easier to get deeper with less line out as well as see light bites or junk fish.
> A heavy fluoro line of approximately 20-lb test is great for durability as well as helping spoons get a little extra kick in and out of turns. Leaders of 5-6′ allow for this extra kick and make netting and storage much easier.
> One of the biggest mistakes in spoon fishing for walleye is giant action-robbing terminal tackle. Use a simple #2 Duolock Snap at the spoon itself. The divers have enough swivels in them to help eliminate problems. > This time of year speed kills and the bigger the better with lure size.
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Meme of the Day
Slow…. It’s always slow….
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Today’s ‘Eye Candy
Alex Wiezbicki enjoys Escanaba in da moonlight while draggin’ around Smithwicks and ketchin’ 32.5-inch rock melons:
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Sign up another fish-head!
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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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