Fantasy football fishing, Walleye eats snake, Lake Erie tsunami derby

Never know what I’m going to find in the Target Walleye email inbox. 😳 The good, the bad and the ugly…LOL. Here’s one I just couldn’t keep to myself…

TW reader Jason Chodorowski said he and his family went on a Lake of the Woods fishing trip out of Sioux Narrows, ON in early-Aug. He caught this 17” walleye that “looked weird and smelled funny.” When he went to fillet it, he found a dang snake in its belly! 🤯

I’ve seen a few pics of bass taking down a ‘nope rope’ here and there, but this is definitely the first time I’ve ever heard of a walleye eating a ‘danger noodle.’

Maybe Savage Gear really is onto something with their 3D Wake Snake. 😅

You might not know this, but I am obsessed with fantasy football. I have a few more drafts lined up this weekend – legit get giddy like it’s fishing opener or something lol – so it has 110% consumed my brain and I cannot stop creeping on all things FF. 🤷‍♂️ If you know, you know.

So I guess this is just my random thought of the day…because if you think about it, fishing and fantasy football have so many things in common. 💭

• Random draft orders are just like boat draws…out of your control and might force you to completely change up your game plan last minute.
• Sleeper picks are just like secret spots…there’s NO worse feeling than seeing them go to someone else. Gut wrenching. Rattled. Ahhhhh!
• Usually come into the day (matchup) with lofty expectations, and leave embarrassed about your (team’s) abilities 🤣. Once in a great while the stars align, and you’re feeling on top of the world. But usually you’re just trying to hang on for dear life.
• When you’re hot, you’re hot! Confidently making moves and the decision making is on point.
• But look out when the wheels fall off LOL. Then you’ve obviously gotta start daydreaming about the good ol’ days when everything fell into place.

• You might be great friends with your opponent, but you want to – NEED to – crush them.
• You’ll always have that arch enemy in your fantasy or fishing league. You know their name just popped in your head while reading that!
• The more time you spend doing research, learning, really diving in…the better you do. BUT then your line breaks or an injury pops up and you realize it’s all over. 😫
• And when it comes time for weigh-in, half the folks have already left.

Just wanna say good luck to everyone out there drafting these next few days!!! Stay strong in those ruthless group chats! 🤣🤣🤣🤦‍♂️

Oh, and if you needed any more incentive to draft Charger’s QB Justin Herbert in fantasy football this year, this pic posted on SportsCenter’s IG should do the trick hahah!

At the Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge out of Dunkirk Harbor, NY. Despite some straight-up gnarly conditions, Captain Craig Sleeman’s family-filled team put together a 6-fish bag of 31.44 lbs to take home the $7.5K payday. Big congrats!

Craig has a BIG rig by walleye-fishing standards (Ranger 621 with a 400 hp) but the Great Lakes are a different breed. Here’s what they had to say about their wild day, and how they caught ‘em…

> Captain Craig Sleeman: “We took a huge wave over the stern, which killed the main engine. We were about 10 miles out, but we didn’t panic. We had been fishing for only 90 minutes when that happened. We already had 6 good fish in the boat, good ones for this time of year.

> “There were some 8’ waves out there! We called for possible help, but our 15-hp trolling motor was working fine, so we headed toward the harbor and hoped to make it in.”

It took them 4.5 hours to get back in! So they only had 1.5 hours to fish, but obviously made the best of it!

> “We had been fishing in 110’ of water…. Our bites came early and often on 8 colors of lead rigged with Walleye Nation Creations Reapers custom painted by NFP Customs. …it’s a shad-style lure…longer and wider than most stickbaits normally used locally.

I don’t have a picture of the exact color they were using, but here’s what the fish-sexxy WNC Reaper looks like:

> “The fish we caught were spitting up smelt all over the floor. My brother Eric was slipping and sliding.

> “Also on fire was our dipsy and harness program using a mix of Colorado and Willow blades from WNC…pink-orange-silver blade colors were best. We tie our homemade spinner rigs using a size 1/0 Owner hook with a short lead to a #6 treble hook, and they work great.

> “Our Fish Hawk X2 Trolling System kept [our baits] at a consistent speed of 2.5 mph and really made the difference in getting those key bites.” 👀

Lure speed vs boat speed is something I’ve been hearing more and more about the last couple of years from diehard trollers 🎯 so let’s dive on in…

Did you know your baits could be trolling at a different speed than your boat’s running?

That’s why some guys measure lure speed at trolling depth, instead of watching the boat speed. Makes my brain hurt too (lol) so gonna bust out a quick example:

Ever noticed when you’re pulling a tuber/skier/wakeboarder/etc behind the boat, how when you make a turn you can whip ’em super fast outside the wake? Or how they’ll slow waaaay down when you turn the other way and they stay inside the wake??

Same thing happens to your baits underwater. Can also happen from currents, thermoclines, wind, etc.

A company called Fish Hawk actually makes speed and temp probes just for that so you can make sure you’re consistently running baits at the exact speed that’s getting ‘em bit.

Check out this Gerry Bourgoin shot of his Fish Hawk where the boat’s going 3.8 mph, but the lure’s running 2.5 mph at depth:

> Gerry Bourgoin: Without knowing ‘down speed’ I’d assume my ‘surface speed’ would be the same as my lure at depth…so I’d go 2.5 mph at the surface which would barely be moving my spoons at 1.3 mph…and not fluttering properly.

Now you know….

Another shot of uniqueness coming in from a TW reader. Derrek Leapaldt said he caught the “ultimate DERP” out of Pelican Lake (Devils Lake, ND) while trolling #7 Berkley Flicker Shads. It’s so dang tough (but fun) to picture this thing tracking down and engulfing a crankbait. Love it:

1. ND: NWT Championship, Devils Lake, Sept 6-8.

The Super Bowl of walleye fishing! Lots of great in this Insider Report, and I’ll be diving in a bit deeper next week.

2. ND: Grassroots effort finally kills onerous tourney tax.

> A decades-old law said that 10% of all entry and participation fees for fishing tournaments and derbies be paid to the government, calling it a “conservation fee.” That same law also required that events pay 75% of the gross receipts back to the participants. So…that leaves 15%.

> The rule kept major fishing tours like the National Walleye Tour (NWT), Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC) and some of the large bass tournaments from [going to] in ND.

> The new rule…tournaments and contests will pay a $75 permit fee. That’s it. Event organizers will have 100% control over the money. …an additional $5 conservation fee for out-of-state anglers….

3. More rods bought at stores vs online in 2022 vs 2021.

Makes sense to me. Fishing rods might be the hardest dang thing to buy online without feeling ‘em in your hands first. And you can’t easily return them like clothes if they don’t feel right haha.

Usually the only way I’m comfortable buying one online is if I had previously felt it in person before, or if someone whose opinion I trust tells me why it’s their preferred tool for the job.

4. Scoop on the Youth Coastal Fishing Program Act.

> Studies indicate that children that spend time fishing receive substantial physical and mental health benefits compared to other children. Studies also show that 86% of anglers have gone fishing before the age of 12, meaning that if you don’t go fishing while you’re still a kid, the odds are low that you ever will.

> Earlier this year, Congress introduced legislation to create a [$2 mil] grant program to fund community-based programs that take children on fishing trips in coastal or Great Lakes waters. This bill will give access to the water to youth who otherwise may never learn to fish or appreciate the outdoors [priority given to projects that serve under-served communities]. It is a great first step towards encouraging kids to fish and we need your help moving this legislation through Congress.

5. MN: Brad Juaire’s speaking at the TCWU meeting Sept 7.

TCWU = Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited.

> Brad specializes in teaching anglers how to catch big suspended walleyes on Lake Mille Lacs, by conducting “On The Water / Open Water Trolling Clinics”. This method consists of deep diving crankbaits, planer boards, line-counter reels and long trolling rods.

> He has been trolling the open basin of Mille Lacs for over 20 yrs from Memorial Day weekend up to Labor Day weekend. “In fact, it’s all I do. I have not put on a leech, crawler or minnow in the last 12 yrs.” The focus of our seminar will be on learning the open-water trolling system so you can go back to your boat and be successful.

6. MN: See if you can nail this Jeopardy clue…

I’ll take “Walleye infested destinations” for $800, Alex:

What is the Northwest Angle. 😎

7. MN: Border View Lodge has midweek specials thru Sept 30.

The Lake of the Woods lodge will be running 20% off fishing charters and lodging midweek (Sun-Thurs) now thru the end of the month.

8. Daiki Sugiura is new Suzuki exec VP sales and marketing.

> “Sugiura brings with him 21 years of leadership experience with Suzuki Marine and the global boating business. His recent background includes three years based in Germany, where he was responsible for German and East European outboard motor markets, and another three years in Belgium, where Sugiura was charged with setting up Suzuki Marine’s European Liaison Office.

> “Suzuki Marine is growing and will continue to grow as we stake our claim in the US outboard market. We have aggressive plans to expand the power of the Suzuki brand and capture even greater market share in the coming years.”

9. ND: Interesting study on using catfish to control nuisance bullheads.

10. MN: Some invasive updates…

• Zebra mussels confirmed in Moon Lake (Douglas County).
• Starry stonewort confirmed in Clearwater Lake (Wright County).
• Starry stonewort confirmed in Long Lake (Hubbard County).

11. Gunpowder’s Ryan Chuckel now in the venture cap biz.

> The innovative minds behind three leading enthusiast lifestyle agencies – Gunpowder Inc., Bodhi and Rockhouse – are announcing the launch of Moonshot, a new venture studio that is designed differently to build and invest in purpose-driven brands to accelerate growth.

> Co-founder Ryan Chuckel: “We started Moonshot to give us an infrastructure to truly invest in businesses we believe in, accelerate growth in a way traditional agencies can’t, and share our insights and resources with purpose-driven brands who share our passion for growth.”

Gunpowder is one of the best PR companies in the fishing/hunting business. I’ve had the chance to meet Ryan a couple of times – super nice and seems like one brilliant dude.

12. Low-light thermal imaging coming to more boats?

Sionyx just bought Amigent to combine their imaging products and software:

> “We envision a future where digital and thermal night vision becomes as ubiquitous as the mobile phone camera.”

13. New “Top 5” video coming in hot! 🥵

Just dropped episode 56 on our YouTube – hope you dig it!

Last chance to have a shot a winning an Okuma prize package including their new Dead Eye Classic “A” rod paired with a 2500 Ceymar HD spinning reel, Line Cutter, and more!

Takes just 10 sec to enter and can share the link you get for bonus entries. 👊 Good luck!

Aaron Templin: 3 Rods for Fall Fishing

> Fall Fishing is here! Aaron Templin of Two Brothers Innovations breaks down three rods that would work perfect for fall fishing:

> First off is the 2B FISHING Ceres 6’8″ Medium – Fast [$139], perfect for reactionary type baits like a glide bait or heavier jig/plastic.

> Next is the 2B FISHING Genesis 6’3″ Medium Light – Fast [$189], your jig and minnow rod. Using a little bit of meat in the fall is always a go-to and staying controlled with a shorter rod might be the difference between a good or a bad day on the water.

> Lastly, the Elliott Fishing Rods IDENTITY Jigs/Plastics rod [$375]. Fall is known for swimming a swimbait deep or shallow, this rod aids all aspects of a jig and plastic.

Take advantage of that time on the water this weekend:

Also if that were the case, I’d probably use the extra funds to fire-up a bunch more Underdog Fantasy Best Ball drafts before next week. 😂

Hope you have your hands full this weekend! Posted on @npaa_net’s Insta:

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH