Target Walleye/Ice email

Fishy Halloween costumes, Beasts of the week, Fish-flop friday

Today’s Top 4

Gravel lizards of the week!

1)  TW fan @chrisdown2fish sent in this snap of an awesome “bycatch” while chasing muskies in northwest ON. Said he marked the fish on his Humminbird Side Imaging, dropped a waypoint on it and jigged a big ol’ Bondy Bait in its face. Was convinced it was a muskie the way it hit and stayed down. Love it, man!

 

Crazy how waldos will eat anything and everything when bulking up for winter…but I guess I can relate:

2)  Lex Tetrault (@alexade_vivo) cracked and released her new PB to the tune of 10 lbs! Slow-trolling a #9 Berkley Flicker Minnow in VT. Congrats!

 

3)  Shout-out to @4111garage on joining the 30″ club (10.4 lbs) throwing a Berkley Flicker Shad from the bank!

Fish-flop Friday is back!

Normally these types of shots get deleted from the memory card before we ever get to see ’em — lucky for us Nicole Stone is a good sport:

 

You guys silly? @dorrenbaby’s still gonna send it:

 

No doubt #FishFlopFriday gets a whole lot scarier when the fish has meat to throw around — @trevorseis_fishing shot:

 

All 3 of you ^^^ had your eyes closed, so you were gonna have to retake those pics anyway lol.

Everyone wins when fishing meets Halloween.

1)  Christian Lillyman says the bite on Manitoba’s Red River is “absolutely bananas right now” LOL:

 

Guess it’s time to stop blaming bananas for your lack of fishin’ skillzzzzz….

2)  Make sure you stop at any houses that carve up their pumpkins like these…. If they’re willin’ to cut Hummimbird and Minn Kota logos, they’re also probably diehard enough to pass out baits instead of candy corn:

 

3)  Mr. Jack O’Lantern better keep his orange mitts off my Salmo Hornets:

 

4)  Right time of year for the “zombie” color Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow Walleye Deep Divers to be the hot ticket:

 

Has anyone else noticed that for some reason darker, black-ish baits seem to catch more fish the colder the water gets??? No idea why, but I’ll keep tying ’em on.

Here’s a closer look at that “zombie” color:

 

Whoops. Let’s try that again:

 

That’s more like it.

Fishy Halloween costumes!

If you’ll be celebrating All Hallows Eve with the kiddos — or you’re a big kid at heart — send in those pics of your fishy Halloween costumes! In the meantime, click here or on the pic below for a little inspiration = a bunch of faves we’ve seen floating around the interwebz the last couple years:

News

1. H2H Fishing’s 2021 PWS schedule is out.

First off: If you haven’t heard of Head2Head Fishing yet, you’re gonna want to remember the name:

They had an awesome new 1v1 bracket-format walleye dealio this year (no live bait allowed) where they live-streamed the whole thing — been waiting a long time for live-stream tourneys to come to the walleye world!

They just announced their new “Pro Walleye Series” for 2021 where 32 anglers (roster’s already set) will be chasing a chunk of the $100K paid out at EACH event. Yes, LIVE STREAMED! Here’s the schedule:

Apr 9-16: Detroit River, MI
May 14-21: Stump Lake, ND
Jun 4-11: Mississippi River Pool 2, MN
Jul 9-16: Wisconsin River / Lake Wisconsin, WI
Aug 20-27: Mille Lacs, MN
Oct 8-15: Chautauqua Lake, NY

The top 8 in the standings at the end of the year get to fish in the Shield World Championship. Think of it like the the Bassmaster Classic of the walleye world — reminds me of B.A.S.S. Nation where you can fish Club-level events and move your way up to Regionals, then Nationals, and even fish your way into “the big show.”

Waaaay too much info to fit it all in a single Target Walleye email, but I’ll keep you posted on all this schtuff going forward. Super exciting stuff and pumped to see walleye fishing getting a bigger chunk of the limelight.

2. NY: Oneida Lake has 1 mil [!] adult walleyes.

Believe the DEC hasn’t seen #s like that since the mid-1980s. Sounds like the walleye limit might get bumped-up from 3 to 5. Lot more info in The Oneida Lake Bulletin (Fall 2020).

3. NE: Meadowlark Lake getting more saugeyes.

A sauger/walleye hybrid. G&P hatcheries raise ’em to 4-6″ before being released. First started stocking Meadowlark with ’em in 2016 and sounds like they’ve been doing really well, so gonna continue.

Thought it was crazy that Meadowlark is just 55 surface acres?! So gotta think it wouldn’t take too long to find yourself a couple of those saugeyes, but I’ve been wrong about that before lol! Lake has a 15″ minimum and “no live baitfish may be used or possessed” which definitely helps level the playing field.

Btw the NE state-record saugeye went 8 lbs 14 oz (28″) and was caught throwing a spinnerbait on Calamus Reservoir in 2003.

4. Heads up…

 

Called the YANMAR 8LV370 marine diesel engine and is the first fully-integrated diesel option in wake-sport boats:

> …features twin-turbos delivering high torque and ultra-responsive control. It has an exceptional power range of 550-3,800 rpm for easy maneuvering and high top-end speed. The 8LV engine is notable for its powerful low-end torque performance and features an 8 cylinder 90-degree V configuration for balanced and smooth operation.

> …greater fuel efficiency over a gasoline counterpart. …also allow for longer maintenance intervals…operating for 250 hours, or 5x longer than a gasoline, between regular services.

> The cost and time savings of reduced refuelling will benefit boat owners and families who are out on the water for long hours and multiple days in a row. The fuel savings and fewer regular maintenance disruptions will be especially critical for wake schools who want to maximize daily operations.

Great, now even on calm days there will be a never-ending walleye chop lol.

Speaking of which…. I never did hear an update on the wake-surfing bill that was headed to MN Legislature back in March???

> “…a bill aimed at keeping wake surfing — in which boats create waves big enough for people to surf without the need of a tow rope — 200′ from shore, docks, swimmers and other boats.”

Although not sure it’d make a big difference because 200′ still seems like nothing. That’s 66.67 yards…which I’m pretty sure is about one long cast with Berkley NanoFil line lol?!

I’m all for having fun on the water, but definitely seems like hard guidelines or regs need to be laid out for those wake-’em-up rigs. Then again the people causing the most ruckus on the water probably aren’t the type to read a reg book….

5. Jason Przekurat hopping on Chip Leer’s Wildside podcast…

tonight at 5pm CST to dish out the full details on his Lake Erie NWT win.

6. JB Lures has a new website.

And in case you need a little extra motivation to go check it out, they’re doing 10% off everything. Lots of ice-fishing goodies to snoop through — some new and others you’ve probably been using for years:

7. Aine Denari = new prez of Brunswick Boat Group.

> …joins Brunswick after spending the past 20 years in a variety of executive positions within the automotive industry, and in leadership positions at major global consulting firms.

Brunswick = Lund, Mercury, Crestliner, MotorGuide and way more.

8. MN: 4 silver carp fitted w/ tracking devices…

…and released in Pool 8 of the Mississippi River near La Crosse, WI.

> “The more we can learn about [the movements and habits of] these fish, the more effectively we can work to prevent their spread.”

9. Was sure nice of those Lake Erie walleyes…

…to bring their own boat snacks with during a trip w/ cap’n Ross Robertson:

 

Yup, it’s chow time!

10. SteelShad teaming up with Traditions Media.

SteelShad = blade bait perfectionists.

Traditions Media = an outdoors-focused (fishing and hunting) media company that calls themselves “The Anti-Agency…Agency” lol. Love that.

11. ID: Non-res license fees going up in ’21.

12. TN: New carp commission being formed?

> TN will form a special commission to study the growing problem of invasive Asian carp. The TN Wildlife Resources Agency is already investing considerable resources into combating the carp problem, and it is unclear what the new state commission will contribute.

13. AR: Duck hunters also gotta clean/drain/dry their decoys.

14. TN: Wade Bourne Nature Center opens on Sat.

Tip of the Day

Bob Jensen: Fall river walleyes before ice up.

Quick-hitter:

> “The key to catching fish in the fall on rivers is the same as always — you’ve got to keep moving and looking until you find ’em. Sand flats, wing dams, mid-river holes, and current breaks all hold fish. Keep moving around until you find the areas that have the most biters.

> “Slurp Jigs tipped with a 3″ or 4″ Impulse Smelt Minnow or a 3” Swim’N Grub will be productive much of the time. Plastics such as Impulse are usually a very good choice, but there will be days when the fish show a preference to minnows. This is when you want to tie on a Fire-Ball Jig and team it with a minnow. If the fish won’t eat that, find another area to fish.

> “When they are in the deeper areas, it works well to hover directly over them and hold the bait right in their face. These fish don’t want to chase a bait, but if it is wiggling right in front of their nose, they’re going to eat it.

> “There are times when you’ll see a flurry of activity early or late in the day, but much of the time the best bite will be from mid-morning to mid-afternoon.”

Meme of the Day

You’re either going to LOVE this or HATE it…. Weather-heads are predicting temps as low as 3°F [!] beginning of next week = the iceman cometh:

Today’s ‘Eye Candy

Incredible shot by Matt Addington Creative!! This Yetti Fish House served as an elk hunting base camp — they’re not just for ice fishing! — but the hardwater szn is for sure sneaking up on us:

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Friends of Target Walleye
Who is Target Walleye
Target Walleye — 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
Brett McComas is the main man for Target Walleye 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 majored in marketing, only because there was no such thing as a “fishing degree” at the time…. Get him at brett@targetwalleye.com 
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