Target Walleye/Ice email

Golden walleye caught, Fall turnover explained, Night crank selection

It’s 9/11 today. Even if you forgive, never forget.

Today’s Top 4

Another “golden walleye” caught!

Was just sent this pic/info from SD fishing guide Joe Honer of a Glacial Lakes orangie he had a customer catch and release the other day. Said Sandy Stewart was casting to shallow water with an 1/8-oz white jig and 3″ Gulp! Minnow Grub (pearl white) when she popped the fish of 47 lifetimes:

 

How’d you like to see one in real life some day? In the meantime we’ve got your golden walleye fix right here — took every one we’ve EVER come across after yeeeeaaaars of scouring the interwebz and jammed ’em all into one TargetWalleye.com post. Enjoy!

How Joel Nelson chooses lures for night-trolling walleyes.

Don’t just tie on any old crankbait or stickbait this weekend! Let the water temps tell you which is best. Joel Nelson likes Shallow Shad Raps earlier in the fall…RIGHT NOW…until water temps dip below that magical 50-degree mark. Then he ties on big #12 and #14 Husky Jerks:

 

Case you didn’t know, we’ve gotta full moon comin’ up this weekend (Sep 14). Prepare yourself:

Bigguns are gettin’ their feedbag on!

Heading into that time of year where walleyes finally decide to cooperate…and eat that cheeseburger you’ve been dangling in front of ’em all the dog days long. Here’s a few greedy ones that are definitely eating more calories than they’re burning:

1) Rese McGaughey (@redbeardangling) was fighting a smallmouth bass in a tiny PA stream when a mondo 29.5″ rock melon came in and hammered the smallie…twice!

> Rese: The first time I had the walleye on for about 2 minutes without being hooked…had a lockjaw on the smallmouth and out of nowhere let go. …[next] time the walleye [came back and] ate the bass from the surface…. …the hook popped through the smallie’s mouth and into the walleye’s. You never know when things are about to get epic.

 

2) Check the magnum cisco tail stickin’ out of this walleye’s throat — caught by Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson on a Z-Man 5″ Scented Jerk ShadZ:

 

3) Was nice of this Lake Erie melon to bring its own boat snacks with during its trip with Cap’n Ross Robertson:

 

4) Fintastic Sportfishing (@fintasticsportfishing) has dialed in the smelt bite on Lake Erie with the “silver/blue” color LiveTarget Rainbow Smelt Jerkbaits:

Can’t tell if it’s just the angle of the pic, or if he upsized his back treble to a 6/0??

“Some days the fish just win…”

– That’s Scott Mathson’s caption under this Instagram post while prefishing for the NWT Championship on Devils Lake, ND:

Hah!!!

Check what Scott says they thought was going on down there — makes sense after looking at the pic again:

> Scott: “We think it’s the corner of an old fence line for the Hs, and the A was probably another post we just graphed mid turn. Dylan was up in the bow and I told him it might be time to head in…the fish are literally laughing at us.”

 

News

1. NWT Championship is happenin’ right NOW…

…on Devils Lake, ND. First flight was due at 3pm CST and they’re live streaming the weigh-in now. Don’t worry…your boss will be watching it too lol.

Here’s a link to the live leaderboard too ‘cuz I know how fun it is to try and find ’em on a cell phone.

Tom Keenan weighed-in 22.82 lbs before noon today, and not sure I’ve ever heard anyone so confident in a walleye derby.

Forecast says they’ll be fishin’ in the 45-55°F rain with 20-30 mph gusts each day = typical tourney conditions lol! Be a walleye pro, they said…it would be fun, they said…. Good luck all!

2. 2020 NWT schedule announced.

  • Apr 30-May 1: Missouri River – Wagner/Pickstown, SD
  • May 28-29: Lake Erie – Sandusky, OH
  • Jul 23-24: Green Bay – Oconto, WI
  • Sep 2-4: Championship – Lake Sakakawea – Garrison, ND

3. MB: Red River greenbacks are showing up early!

Was sent this pic from Darren Kush (@kush_fish204) who said some big ol’ greenbacks are already showing up north of Selkirk — including this thiiiick 28.75-incher he jig-and-minnow’d out of 28′. Nice!

4. MN/WI: Some border water reg changes comin’…

…in areas of the Mississippi River and Lake Pepin. First time in nearly 70 years and the DNR wants your input. The proposed rules would lower possession limits and change some length limits — some of the possible changes here:

5. MO: New state record brown trout caught.

Bill Babler caught this 40-lb 6-oz FREAK outta Lake Taneycomo “using a pink Berkley plastic worm.” Just a few pounds shy of the all-tackle world record too:

Paul Crews caught the previous record (34 lb 10 oz) outta the same lake just 7 months ago.

6. WI: Starry stonewort confirmed in 3 new lakes this summer.

Okauchee Lake, Pewaukee Lake, and Lower Nemahbin Lake.

7. Did you know Jason Mitchell has a podcast?

Podcasts are sorta like talk radio shows, except you can listen to ’em anytime and anywhere you want.

J-Mitch puts out a new podcast every week where he swaps stories and talks fishing with a different guest each episode. Check the episode lineup here.

8. IL: Gander Outdoors closing two more stores.

> “…closing its Rockford and Janesville locations, approximately 1 year after taking over for Gander Mountain, which went bankrupt in 2017.”

9. Great Lakes: Asian carp still a threat.

Probably always will be?

Tip of the Day

Understand the fall turnover!

Came across this Rick Olson write-up deeeep within the Fishing Minnesota archives. Timely stuff — make sure you understand it!

> “Water temps reach a seasonal high during the summer, causing a layering process to occur. The end result is an upper warmer layer and a cooler lower layer — separated by a quickly changing narrow band known as the thermocline.

> “You’ll actually be able to see the thermocline as a consistent narrow band on a quality graph. If it’s still there you could still expect to find quite a few fish clinging to deeper summer patterns. If not, it’s time to make some adjustments.

> “The turnover is a thorough mixing of the upper and lower layers of water in a system that had been separated by a thermocline — usually coinciding with the first hard frost of fall. Some years the change is so gradual that it becomes difficult to pin down. When the surface temp drops into the lower 60s and upper 50s, you can figure you’re in the turnover zone.

> “The quick cool-off of the turnover will shut fish down until they’ve had time to adjust. Even lakes that don’t experience a thermocline still go through a period of cooling off with tough conditions.

> “Lakes that experience the turnover first are more shallow and windswept compared to the deeper and more protected.

> “In the middle of a turnover you can avoid the negative effects by spending your time on a deeper lake. The shallower lakes may be a good choice after the cooling process has taken place everywhere because fish will have had more time to adjust.

> “The move to shallow water will depend on how much good shallow-water cover is available (shallow weed-choked bays, rocky bars/reefs, as well as larger weed flats). The food [baitfish] that has been hiding out in shallow cover is now getting pushed out into the open where it becomes extremely vulnerable.”

You can keep reading Rick’s full write-up here.

Meme of the Day

Groceries? We don’t need no stinking groceries. #Priorities

Today’s ‘Eye Candy

Chris Messerschmidt gettin’ his Bandit Walleye Deep Diver on — trolling with snap weights at 1.5 mph:

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