Giant greenback walleye, Pike eats 83 sunfish, Biggest ice muskie ever

Merry Christmas everyone! This will be the only Target Walleye this week – not sure if we’ll get 1 out next week…but I can’t stay away from this stuff for that long so fingers Xd.

Just wanna say THANK YOU to everyone taking time out of their day to read these emails every Wed and Fri. Also a big thank you to all the companies and folks that support TW – literally none of this craziness would be possible without you.

We hope you and yours have a blessed Christmas and start to 2023. And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or Happy Holidays to you and your fam.

SHEESH did Petro Hrynda ever kick off his hardwater season right on Manitoba‘s Lake Winnipeg! This 30″ greenback went over 13 lbs and crushed a…you guessed it: Rattlebait.

🙌 Big congrats, Petro!

This Scott Charles Beck pic from a few years back recently resurfaced in the Ice Fishing Minnesota FB group. He Jared Allen’d himself a pike that wa chock full o’ 83 sunfish [!!!] yet still had the audacity to hit a spearing decoy:

That fish is the opposite of “svelte” 👀 which I recently learned meant “slender and elegant” thx to a funny YouTube comment on the TW channel hahaha!

Btw – I also love this comment from Matt Karlsson under the Ice fishing Minnesota post:

> “Honestly it speaks volumes on how pike bigger than this are vital to keep 4-5″ sunnies in check and allow the 7-8″ sunfish to grow to 9-10″. Lakes that have big pike gone usually have stunted sunfish populations.”

No doubt! The predator-prey relationship can be fickle.

How about THESE dimensions: 55.25″ long x 24″ girth!!! And estimated to be between 40-45 lbs. 🤯 Some insight posted in this Grand View Outdoors write-up along with a link to the full Cast and Conquer YouTube video of the catch:

Note: This fish was caught in Mar 2022, but Walker decided to hold onto the video and release it now, when anglers are hitting the ice in the North.

> Andrew Walker guides for winter muskies in Quebec’s zone 8, where it’s legal to target the species in Jan, Feb and Mar. He and his clients will jig with large artificial lures, but most muskies are caught on large dead baits, specifically 12-18″ mackerel on quick-strike rigs, suspended below tip-ups. These rigs have smaller trebles which tear free from the bait on the hookset, yet they do a good job penetrating a muskie’s mouth.

Can be tough to keep up on all the regs…but you’ve gotta! This was a Q that I really wasn’t too sure about, so did some digging and came across this post specifically talking about MN’s Lake of the Woods, and breaks it down in fish-English:

Individuals may not possess fillets in their day/sleeper houses unless:

1. They are in immediate preparation of a meal (the oil is heating) and carcasses are available for inspection

2. Or a licensed fish packer has filleted and packaged them to be consumed while their guests are on the lake. If a licensed fish packer filets your fish, make sure to have proof (which they can provide) and know you have to cook and eat the fillets while on the ice. It is unlawful to return to shore with filets from a licensed fish packer. 

Any filleting for transport should be done on shore or at the resort just prior to individuals traveling. This means if you have fish you want to bring home, you cannot clean them on the ice. Bring them to shore whole and clean them on shore for transport.

For those who really like to dig into state law, click here for the MN link.

And of course every state is probably going to be slightly different, so do your digging.

– That’s Ross Grothe coming in clutch – in a very NoDak way – and getting his little man to the big dance no matter what. Also, if you’ve been trying to convince your significant other that you absolutely “need” to get a set of tracks for your side-by-side, showing them this FB post can’t hurt lol. The things we will do for a girl:

Btw when Roger isn’t dancing it up, he’s winning AIM Championships with his dad like this day when he put 4 of the 5 fish on their card, including doubling-up on a pair of 27″ tanks:

Way to go, fellas!

1. WY: Two bodies recovered from Keyhole Reservoir. 😔

After their UTV broke thru the ice. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families.

2. OH: Lake Erie walleye hatch = above average AGAIN.

> “ODOW fisheries biologists reported an unprecedented 5th straight excellent walleye hatch documented by late-summer trawl surveys. This year’s walleye reproductive success couldn’t match the record-setting spawning season of 2021, but it will add large schools of catchable walleye in 2 or 3 years.”

> “Five good walleye hatches in a row in the warm, shallow OH waters of their prime spring spawning grounds is unusual. High water might be the trigger for the amazing spawning success. Lake Erie was experiencing a high water period in 2003 when OH waters experienced their best walleye hatch in modern history.”

3. SD: Chamberlain/Oacoma have new all-season fish cleaning stations.

> The city of Chamberlain and SD GFP teamed up to bring the first all-seasons fish cleaning station that was ushered in by the community on Mon during a ribbon cutting ceremony.

> The fish cleaning station…is equipped with a high-capacity grinder and heated floors…the new station’s ability to provide ice fishing enthusiasts a place to clean their fish along the shores of Lake Francis Case.

4. VT: New Chittenden Reservoir walleye regs begin Jan 1.

Folks will be allowed to keep 1 walleye between 18-20″ per day.

> These changes were made to address a decline in the size of walleye in the reservoir. It was also noticed in a Nov survey that the walleye there appear to be reproducing.

> “We have been stocking walleyes into Chittenden Reservoir since 1993 and on an every-other-year basis since 2001. Past fisheries surveys concluded that walleyes were not successfully reproducing. All walleyes collected and analyzed since stocking began in 1993 were hatchery fish, based on marks we apply to the fish in the hatchery for later identification.”

BUT…the Nov survey saw 327 walleye between 5-7″ in length, meaning they would have had to have hatched in the spring. And they didn’t stock any walleyes in 2022. So:

> “We will monitor this emerging wild spawning success on the reservoir over time and determine if it continues, if it is consistent and if it is able to sustain the population and fishing pressure.”

5. MN: This father/son welding team makes some incredible spears.

I think every single spear I’ve ever seen has basically looked the same…until I came across this MN duo of Loren and Scott Hjelle and their works or art. 🔥

6. NY is doing a creel survey on Lake Champlain again.

> “Anglers are important partners when it comes to the management of the Lake Champlain fishery. By participating in programs like the ice fishing creel survey, anglers provide us with information that ultimately benefits both our environment and the future of quality fishing in New York State”

> Data gathered during these surveys will help DEC fisheries biologists better understand angler use and expectations, while also informing management actions on Lake Champlain.

7. OH: Port Clinton “Walleye Drop” getting new attractions.

> During Walleye Madness at Midnight, Wylie Walleye will drop from the sky to kick off the New Year, followed by a fireworks display over the water. Wylie, a 20′ long, 600-lb fiberglass walleye, has been ushering in the New Year in Port Clinton since the 1990s.

> Among the new features this year is an ice sculpting demonstration by Elegant Ice Creations of Broadview Heights. The Elegant Ice Creations team, which includes world champion ice carvers, will bring pre-cut sculptures to the event and perform a live ice-sculpting demonstration beginning at 7pm.

> Also new to the Walleye Drop this year is a photo booth that will be set up in the vicinity of Port Clinton Fish Company.

Bunch more festivities going on here.

8. St. Croix has a new show and staff coordinator.

> The key Marketing Team role places [Cristian] Simpkins as primary point of contact and administrator for St. Croix’s extensive pro staff, guide, and scholastic programs. Additionally, Simpkins will assume responsibility for the logistical aspects of St. Croix’s presence at trade and consumer shows.

9. WI: DNR wants you to report any “mudpuppy” catches.

> Mudpuppies are WI’s only fully aquatic salamander and can be found in streams, rivers, ponds and lakes year-round. Due to their elusive behavior, surveying can be difficult and labor-intensive. However, because mudpuppies can be a common bycatch during the winter ice fishing season, officials are hoping that anglers will share their mudpuppy observations with the DNR this winter.

> …snap a picture of it, then gently remove the fishing hook and release it back into the water. Try not to touch the mudpuppy too much, because amphibians have sensitive, permeable skin.

> Data collected from these sightings will help determine the distribution and range of the species statewide.

10. UT: 10 ice fishing tourneys/events happening this winter.

11. PA: Recycle your Christmas tree as fish habitat…

…at Woodcock Creek Lake. Type of thing you would only find on the fishing black market 😂 where I’m at in MN.

Have a shot at winning this $250+ spread of ice-fishing goodness from JB Lures!!!

Over 80 lures [!!!] including Gem-N-Eyes, Weasels, Varmits, Big Bad Bo jigging spoons, panfish jigs, tungsten, and of course waaaay more baits because you can never have enough…am I right? 👊

Oh, and don’t forget a handful of Fish House Floats and Lighted Fire Floats. Those tall 10″ versions are super cool – you can see your bobber from basically any angle inside your wheelhouse or when hole-hopping around your deadstick outside. 🔥 LOVE them.

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

Paul Delaney’s NEW jigging tactics for Green Bay walleyes.

Some really interesting info in this AnglingBuzz video with Green Bay captain Paul Delaney talking clear-water walleyes. More specifically, talking about how some fish are feeding/looking up in the water column (on shad, smelt, etc) while others are now feeding/looking down thx to the presence of gobies (which don’t have an air bladder and stay tucked down fairly tight). 🎯 So Paul goes over a little something they’ve been doing differently to target those downward feeding fish:

This right here is gold!

Okay Jadyn Thomas 👀 we see you LOL. A 15″ slab that weighed 2+ lbs and was “thicker than a Snicker dipped in peanut butter.” 😂 Yes please!!! Iced with 4-lb Clam Frost fluoro on his Elliott Rods 32″ The Odyssey Super Noodle. Congrats on the new PB, bud!

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH