Inject your baits, How Hoyer swimbaits weeds, Summer wingdam tip

And I don’t mean spraying it on or soaking ’em…I mean literally injecting your bait like it’s about to go on the Traeger for 4-6 hours:

That post from Gibson Tilley on Insta was too cool not to share again. He’s injecting some yum-yum juice (Gulp! Alive! Recharge Liquid) into that Berkley PowerBait Hollow Belly Swimbait. 💡 Fish-heads LOVE to tinker!

I guess that’s how Gibson and his buddy Colin (@streamsideoutfitters) get their fishing-version of Breaking Bad on in Colin’s boujee pike trailer hahaha:

Was just talking about this kind of thing with my buddy the other day. Not about injecting baits with scent, but just how half the fun in fishing (and 3/4 of the time 😂) is the prep work: rigging shenanigans, gear tweaks, studying lake data, you name it. And all of it to just try and fool a critter with a pea-sized brain LOL.

But we wouldn’t have it any other way. #obsessed

Couple more golden nuggets sent in from Target Walleye readers!

1. Jonas W. caught this walleye out of a shallow prairie lake in SW Manitoba trolling a Berkley Flicker Minnow (firetiger) in 10-14′ earlier this season. I could be wrong, but I believe that’s a big mudpuppy it had in its belly?

That or it’s something from that Stranger Things Netflix series…. 🕰

2. This 29-incher still ate Mark W’s jig + minnow appetizer even though it had already scarfed a 14″ [!!!] meal 😳 so nearly half its body length. Said the fish didn’t make it so he “had to keep it sadly.” But I’m sure it went to good use. #FishTacosForTheWholeBlock

Okay now here’s a couple of walleyes that ate exactly what you’d expect ’em to….1. Hunter Sigette got himself a dirty-30″ trolling #7 Berkley Flicker Minnows upstream on the Missouri River in Bismarck, ND. Said he released it to hopefully get caught again. Your pupdawg might not be impressed, but we are!

2. Brent C’s 11-yr-old son, Brycen, thwacked his new PB walleye (26.5″) while trolling Rapala X-Raps on the pontoon. 🙌 It doesn’t get much better than that – big props, buddy!

NWT pro Korey Sprengel talks how/when walleyes migrate to a wingdam, and where they position on ’em in this quick video from The Next Bite. It’s incredible how much knowledge he can drop in 60 secs:

Lots of walleye guys/gals prefer “bass-style crankbaits” – like Berkley Diggers and Dredgers – when fishing wingdams because they do a better job of getting down quickly and can be easier to cast.

Seems like there’s also something special about their wobble…. Asked Sprengel about it and he just smiled:

– Hadn’t heard that one before, but if it’s a rule John Hoyer goes by, I will too. Was John’s caption under this pic from pre-fishing for the Mississippi River NWT event outta Prairie du Chien, WI. How’d you like to try and get your Berkley Flicker Shads back from this greedy bugger that ate both at the same time?!

Reminds me of that time Theo Toliver swore he had the biggest walleye of his life on the line, but instead was slapped with the disappointment of hooking into a giant “barn door.” 🐑 You’re not alone, man!

Throwback post on bassin’ pro Lee Livesay’s Insta. That little sun-be-gone number is called the Shade Tree Umbrella from Millennium Marine. Gotta do what you’ve gotta do to extend your time on the water!

1. NWT: Max Wilson is leading after day 1…

…of the Mississippi River stop outta Prairie du Chien, WI. He weighed-in waaaay early (by 10am!) with 5 for 16.66 lbs:

I believe there’s a 20-27″ protected slot, and Max’s 1 “over” was that ^ 9-lb brute. Crazy enough he caught the same freakazoid during pre-fishing on Tues, and knew it was her because he said she only had one good eye.

> …believes his best spot is only going to get better as the post-spawn walleyes leave the sloughs and dump into the main river channel. His 1-2 punch is rigging willow cats and casting “something you wouldn’t normally cast.”

Now you’re speaking my language!

It’s a super-tight race and will be anybody’s game. I’ll follow up next week with the winning details. In the meantime, you can hit the live leaderboard here otherwise the livestream’d weigh-in just started at 3pm CST.

2. MN: AIM is headed to Mille Lacs this Sunday.

Sounds like folks are thinking it’ll take around a 25-26″ average to win this year.

AIM uses a length-to-weight conversion in their catch-photo-release tournaments. Believe (but not positive) this is the current chart:

3. It’s the National Fish Hatchery System’s 150th birthday.

> …on June 10, 1872, the National Fish Hatchery System was established by Congress to “remediate the decreases of food fishes of the seacoasts and the lakes of the US.” Over the years, the system has evolved to meet the changing needs of conservation. Hatcheries are a vital partner in the agency’s effort to recover listed species, restore declining species, and support wild aquatic populations.

Btw walleye were #2 on the list of top species they raised in ’21. Chinook salmon were #1.

4. New security sensor for outboard cowlings.

> “We have seen a significant uptick in electronic component theft, particularly of the easy to remove and conceal ECUs that control outboard motors.”

Insanely sad that we even have to invent stuff like this.

5. If getting “skunked” were a bait.

This pic posted on Simm’s Insta sums up the feeling quite nicely haha:

Also…bet I could catch 5 largies for 20 lbs on that thing 🤣 but highly doubt I could get 1 walleye to eat it. 🤔 Just saying….

6. MN: It’s “Take a Kid Fishing” weekend.

MN residents can fish without licenses if they take children 15 or younger along.

7. DC: ASA not happy about proposed fed lead tackle ban.

American Sportfishing Association (ASA) is a fishing industry lobbying group. This ruling is about the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service bending to an environmentalist lawsuit, instead of fighting it:

> The entire foundation of USFWS and its management of our fish and wildlife resources is meant to be based on specific data and science, yet the proposed rule would arbitrarily ban lead fishing tackle in several refuges based on unfounded and overgeneralized assumptions.

> This proposal provides no evidence that lead fishing tackle is harming any specific wildlife populations in the proposed areas.

8. NMMA hires new VP of business intelligence.

> Mildred Robinson…will drive NMMA’s data, analytics and insights department to enhance and expand research critical to the success of the recreational boating industry.

NMMA = National Marine Manufacturers Assn and is “the nation’s leading trade association representing boat, marine engine and accessory manufacturers.”

9. RI stocked 800 northern pike fingerlings into Worden Pond.

> These pike were obtained as fry back in Mar, at approx 1cm in length…were raised to 4-5″ before being stocked….

Shoot, someone tell RI to drop their shipping addy 👀 we have a zillion 18-21″ snot rockets in MN you can have FO’ FREE. 😅😅😅

10. New AnglingBuzz episode is out now.

Called “Summer Walleye Strategies” in case you need to kill some time waiting on 5pm:

Hoyer’s jigging cadence for swimbaits in the weeds.

Quick tip on how THE John Hoyer snaps his Berkley PowerBait The Champ Swimmers to snatch walleyes out of the veggies.

Same technique Hoyer used to land a 2nd-place and two 4th-place finishes on Mille Lacs last June “against some of the liveliest live bait on the planet” lol.

Know anyone who finds “their spots” like this?

How ’bout Karlee Tower showing her Feyoncé 😜 Stephen Roller how it’s done?! That fish + hat + hoodie = are all fire emojis:

Hope you get out this weekend! 👊 Thx much for reading!!

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH