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Reminder: If your email program cuts off the bottom of this email, click “View this email in your browser” up top to see the whole thing. Sorry about that – email programs keep changing stuff.
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How our lakes are changing. 👀
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Came across this super interesting [!!!] Eric Morken write-up in the Echo Press doing a Q&A with a MN DNR area fisheries supervisor. Definitely recommend you get the full scoop here, but I dropped a few excerpts below:
A little background info on who the info is coming from:
> Alex Letvin got an environmental science degree with a specialization in fisheries from the U of MI before going to SDSU to earn a fisheries science master’s degree. He’s now the Glenwood Area Fisheries Supervisor for the MN DNR.
First what stands out to him at a broad level in MN:
> Alex: “(The lakes) are changing. They’re going through a transition process. That’s not something specific to the Glenwood area. It’s happening across MN and the upper Midwest, but we really are noticing it here. Some people are welcoming those changes, and other people are kind of dreading them.
> “What you’re fishing for might be changing. Lakes that have historically in this area been ‘walleye factories,’ some of them just appear to be losing their ability to support walleye and are really becoming clearer, more vegetated, more dominated by bass and whatnot.
> “Pike overabundance is really becoming a problem in a lot of our lakes and how we’re going to manage that. Lakes are becoming warmer and clearer in general, more dominated by vegetation.”
Now talking zeebz:
> Alex: “With the expansion of zebra mussels, that’s kind of the big thing that we believe has been essentially hurting the walleye populations. They’ve been clearing up the water. They’ve been reducing the amount of chlorophyll in the water. Chlorophyll is kind of the basis of the food chain in these lakes. Zooplankton feed on the chlorophyll, which is essentially phytoplankton.”
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Just kidding 🤣 I dig this stuff and it’s important. Back to it:
> “If you lose that food source at the base of the food web, you have this effect that goes throughout the food web that you can’t necessarily support the fisheries you used to. With the expansion of zebra mussels, we have been seeing a decline in some of these lakes.
> “It’s really too early to say this, but Chris Uphoff, one of the specialists who works in our office, he’s been looking at some data, and it looks like we might be getting over the hump in that we’re kind of getting passed the initial phase of zebra mussel invasion.
> “It does seem like chlorophyll levels are starting to increase on some of these lakes. With the increased chlorophyll, we have been seeing some increases in juvenile walleye abundances. We’re hoping we’re actually reaching a turning point, and it has been shown that lakes that get invaded by zebra mussels, for the first 7-10 years or so, the water clarity goes up and up and the zebra mussels expand, expand, expand. And at a certain point, it seems like they reach a carrying capacity and their numbers start to decrease.”
Another great Q that Eric Morken asked, and something I’ve always wondered:
> Eric: “With your standard lake surveys, I know nets are placed in the same locations within a lake when they are sampled so you can see trends in fish populations over many years. With the changes to many of the lakes – clearer water maybe leading to fish avoiding nets better, changing habitats potentially driving fish deeper – do you worry you are not getting an accurate picture of the populations due to some of those changes?”
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Sorry (again) I had to lol.
> Alex: “That’s a fair question. I would say that if we didn’t trap fish at varying depths, I’d be more worried about it. In our standard lake surveys, we have two kinds of nets that we use. Trap nets which are set in shallower water, but they can go out pretty deep. Then we also set gill nets in deeper water too. If fish are moving deeper, we may see fewer of them in the trap nets, but then we’d be seeing more of them in the gill nets.
> “And our nets, we do set them in the same locations every year, but they’re set all around the lakes. One location might be a net that is in an area that historically did not see a lot of fish, but we still would set the net there every year. Now if fish are moving to different parts of the basin, maybe those nets are actually getting more fish in them now. We space the nets out across the basin, so I feel like spatially we are covering a pretty representative part of the basin. I don’t really believe that fish are going so deep that they’re evading our nets completely. It is a valid concern, but I do still feel our methods are accurately sampling the fish populations.”
Fascinating stuff! And there’s a whole bunch more in the full Q&A, including: Bait fish populations, panfish growth, some key things Alex would like to see get done in the next couple of years, changing vegetation and the bassin’ explosion:
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Stop vertical-jigging on lakes with zebra mussels. 🛑
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Will you catch a few? Maybe. But you can catch waaaay more by getting that bait out away from the boat in clear, zeeb-filtered water…especially on sunny days when there’s shadows down there.
A few years back, fish-head Jon Thelen went out jigging for post-spawn walleyes on a northern MN lake that’s chock full o’ zebra mussels and walleyes. Said no doubt zeebz have changed the bite, but can still pluck fish outta that shallow 12-14′ stuff if you switch up the way you’re targeting ’em.
They had water temps in the high-50s to low-60s and found walleyes on the first edges and flats out from where the fish spawned. Really like when folks take the time to map out the type of spots they’re fishing so I can duplicate it around home:
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Two spinning rods that can do everything. 💯
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I’ve said it before – it’s hard to get a bad fishing rod nowadays. SO many great options out there that are light-years ahead of what would have been considered the best rods available even just 8 to 10 years ago.
Of course you can spend as much, or as little, as you want…so here’s a pair I’m in love with that I’d consider to be somewhat in the middle of that range ($199):
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I’m talking 2B Fishing’s “Genesis Spinning Rods” series. Bunch of great sticks in their lineup, but if I had to narrow it down to 2 specific models, here’s what they’d be and why:
Power fishing: 2B Genesis 7′ 1″ medium, fast-action:
> Paired up with 8- or 10-lb Sufix Advance Mono = my go-to rod for Rapala Jigging Raps, Acme Hyper Rattles, Moonshine Shiver Minnows, Rippin’ Raps, etc. IMO it’s the perfect power for ripping these heavier baits with mono, and I have absolutely kept way more fish pinned (and in the net!) since running this specific setup.
> Throw on some 8- or 10-lb Sufix 832 braid with a fluorocarbon leader and you’ve got the perfect snap jigging stick for swimbaits and other plastics. That powerful rod is important for being able to snap those baits out of cabbage/coontail weeds, and for getting a good hookset on those shallow-water fish out away from the boat.
Finesse-y-er stuff: 2B Genesis 7’3″ medium-light, fast-action:
> That ML fast is crazy versatile, what I’d consider a do-it-all rod for a ton of different walleye techniques. That little bit slower load is the deal for pitching a jig and a minnow when you want to “mush” the rod tip up and feel the fish chewing on the bait before the fish feels you.
> It’s also a great option for Ned Rigs. Most of the time the jigheads have tiny, sticky-sharp little hooks…and your hook-up percentage can drastically go up if you do a sweeping, reeling hookset after “mushing” up that tip a bit.
> And this rod gets bonus points for also being a quality stick for live-bait rigging and even throwing slip-bobbers.
Need a new spinning reel?
Same dealio – there’s a pile of great options out there nowadays, really can’t go wrong.
My go-to “budget friendly” option: I’ve been super impressed with the Pflueger President XT. Looks like they finally went up a bit in price this year (now $99 most places) but it’s still a straight-up amazing reel for the coin. I LOVE the larger 30-size for my walleye setups:
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And in case you’re curious, like I was…here’s a few things that are different on the XT:
- Faster gear ratio (6.2:1 vs 5.2:1) so you can pick up about 6″ more line per crank.
- Weighs about 10% (or 1-oz) less.
- And more durable ‘cuz of its aluminum main shaft and pinion gear.
- Oh, and they look freakin’ gorgeous lol! I love the bigger cork handle too.
Slick upgrades. FishUSA has ’em in stock right here.
Only negative thing I can say after running them for a year, on both open-water and ice, is that the little red cap on the cork handle likes to unscrew and fall off. It’s a decorative thing that doesn’t affect the performance. But I’d add a drop of Loctite if it bugs you.
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How Max Wilson catches post-spawners on hair jigs.
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NWT Champion 🏆 Max Wilson is fishing WI’s Green Bay in this video, but it’s got a bunch of info that’ll help you do more catching anywhere you’re dealing with clear water and calm conditions: |
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Proof muskies aren’t eating all “your” walleyes…. 🤷♂️
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Some folks still think muskies will ruin a walleye fishery by “eating all the good fish….” But have you ever noticed that many of the best walleye lakes around have muskies in ’em? Where I’m at in MN those would include Lake of the Woods, Mille Lacs, Leech, Winnie, Vermilion, Rainy, Miltona, Bemidji, Cass, the list goes on…. |
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Now there’s some more hard evidence to back that up thx to a 2-yr diet-sample study done by the MN DNR, and:
> …research so far has shown that walleyes are not an important food source for muskies. “It’s not zero, but it’s close to that.”
Hmmm…. 🤔 So if they aren’t eating walleyes, what are they eating?
> …general patterns confirmed in other lakes so far show that perch and ciscoes are very important prey across the board. When ciscoes aren’t available for muskies, they feed more heavily on bass and sunfish. Crappie predation is less common, and muskies will occasionally prey on northern pike, but it’s not super-duper common….
They also found a gull [!!!], muskrats and a couple of large bullheads so far. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the full results/breakdown from all the lakes in the study.
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1. Little background on ND’s year-round walleye season.
And why biologists say science supports it. They used to have a “fishing opener” too until they made the switch in 1993.
2. WI: Researcher says walleye fishing will get harder and harder.
> …the number of walleye across the state has been declining for a few reasons: climate change leading to warming lake waters, loss of habitat, starvation, larvae not reaching adulthood and chemicals. He says that most likely, the main force keeping their numbers low is the rising water temperatures.
> Based on some climate change models, Feiner and other researchers believe that walleye numbers will decline by 2060.
3. MN: Southern MN has its own strain(s) of walleye.
> …the “Spicer” or North Fork of the Crow River strain. The other is the lower Mississippi River strain.
> …researchers don’t fully know what attributes of the Spicer and lower Mississippi River strains help them perform best in southern waters. It may be that they are more tolerant of the warmer temperatures in the shallow southern MN lakes. Or, perhaps they are better adapted to the darker and more turbid waters in these lakes.
4. MN: 10 lakes account for 40% of state’s annual walleye harvest.
According to this write-up:
> Cass, Kabetogama, Lake of the Woods, Leech, Winnibigoshish, Upper Red, Mille Lacs, Pepin, Rainy and Vermilion.
5. What dramatic year-to-year swings in ice-off dates…
…mean for lake ecosystems and walleye spawning:
> We are seeing within the last 10 years, that year-to-year variation in ice off date is almost 5x higher than it’s been in the last century.
> “The idea is if you think about a 30-day change for something like algae or the little plankton in the water, they often will have a whole generation in a day or 3. When you contrast that with something like a long-lived fish, they’re going to be feeding on those plankton and depending on those resources for their life cycles and for their growth. What can happen is what’s called a trophic mismatch where you have things that are feeding on other things and the timing of those peaks and needs becomes offset.”
> …can ultimately lead to unhealthy aquatic populations and slower growth and reproductive rates.
> One recent study showed walleye were less successful spawning in years with both really early and really late ice-offs. “The walleye are spawning and succeeding into the next generation much better if you have an average ice off year.”
6. NEW New York Walleye Derby happening Jun 25 – Aug 7.
Derby boundaries will be the NY waters of the Upper Niagara River and Lake Erie. Tickets are $35 and they have a bunch of weigh locations at tackle shops around the lake.
7. IA: Clear Lake Walleye Classic is this weekend.
8. WI: DNR collecting data on St. Louis River walleyes.
> “…down at Chamber’s Grove this morning gathering information on the walleye population such as their age, sex and length. The information gathered gives the DNR an idea of what kind of population is out there along with how they can better manage and sustain it.
> “The fish were collected using a low power shock, but they recover from it quickly and all were released back into the river once the data was collected.”
9. MN: Interesting look at the life cycle of a stocked walleye.
> “If you catch a walleye this season on one of about 1,000 lakes enhanced by hatchery-raised fry or fingerlings, there’s a good chance it was born in a jar.”
10. Engel has a new rechargeable aerator pump.
Rechargeable lithium-ion battery (standard USB-C charger) with a 36-hour runtime. And it’s possibly the quietest pump on the market:
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15. Yup, real people actually win our giveaways….
Jon P. from Helenville, WI was the randomly-drawn winner of our 2B Fishing giveaway. He’s already claimed his prize and says he’ll be putting ’em to good use asap! 🔥
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Planer boards aren’t just for multiple-line waters.
If you’re not running Off Shore Tackle Planer Boards in places you’re allowed to run multiple lines, you’re not catching as many fish as you could/should be.
That being said, there’s lots of other reasons to use ’em in places you’re only allowed 1 rod. More info in the full Jon Thelen write-up, few excerpts below:
> Shallow: Typical MN lakes have a weedline which forms in 9-12′. Early in the season running small crankbaits along and over this emerging weed growth can be deadly. I can get my bait to run above the weeds – out to the side of my boat – without spooking the baitfish…or walleye.
> When fishing weedy areas…the Tattle Flag Upgrade Kit is a must…no better way to tell if you have a fish on than being able to watch a flag go down. I can tell if my lures have picked up any debris…when fouled, the flag will slightly pull down or pull down and pop back up.
> Deep: With water clarities being what they are, schools of roaming walleye suspend as if they were transplanted from the Great Lakes. There’s a simple rule of thumb here: The clearer the water, the more a walleye is apt to rise up and use the whole water column to feed.
> Suspended fish can be both the most aggressive and yet the most spooky at the same time. Aggressive, in the sense that they will explode in chase of a fast swimming crankbait from long distances away…spooky enough that the shadow of a boat or noise of an outboard can send them on an equally explosive retreat.
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Hope your weekend is full of fat walleyes, big mustaches and 2B Fishing rods doubled-over. 🙌 Apparently all things that guide Cody Jorgensen does on the daily: |
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Sign up another fish-head!
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Friends of Target Walleye
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Who is Target Walleye
Target Walleye – walleye during open water and all species during hardwater – is brought to you by Al Lindner, Jim Kalkofen, Jay Kumar, Brett McComas and other diehard fish-heads like you!
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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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