Target Walleye/Ice email

Line organization hack, How Tom Boley power-fishes deep, Double “plumbed” walleye

Today’s Top 5

Tom Boley’s favorite deep-water power-fishing tool.

As we slide into full-on summer patterns, fishing YouTuber Tom Boley’s weapon of choice is the ACME Hyper Rattle — a hard-bodied jigging/glide bait that has an “echo chamber with tungsten rattles.” His favorite size is the HR6 (2.5″, 1 oz) for its bigger profile and the fact it sinks so quickly…can fish it extremely fast. Will sometimes drop down to the HR5 (2″, 5/8 oz) when fishing shallower:

Probably spends more time driving around graphing than fishing with this technique — not dropping unless he sees fish, but has his setup ready to drop immediately when they show up on the graph.

In this screenshot from his “quickest way to catch summer walleyes” video, you can see why it’s so important to run DI (Down Imaging) next to your traditional 2D sonar…. Would you have missed this pod of walleyes otherwise?

 

Aside from fishing where there’s actually fish…Tom-Bo Slice says the next biggest difference-maker between “pretty much catching none, or being very successful with this” is how you work the bait…and that “it’s nothing like standard jig fishing.”

> “When I see fish…I’m dropping straight down on a slack line. Then think of it like fishing jerkbaits for bass — it’s all about speed. Hit the bait [with your rip] on a slack line. That bait darts different directions…real erratic.

> “They’re actually trapping/pinning it to bottom. More times than not you’re going to go to snap up again, and it’s gonna be like you’re snagged for a second…they got it.

 

Did you see the tip-to-backbone ratio ^ of that Elliott Rods 7′ 3″ ML fast-action? Great all-around walleye rod that Tom also uses for pulling spinners, slip-bobbers, some jigging, etc. Says he “relies on a ML rod to kinda hold those fish” and loses way less than if you tried this technique with a stiffer rod:

> “Although it’s a heavy bait, I do not like fishing it on a heavy rod. If it’s too tip-stiff, you’re gonna end up pulling a lot of hooks out of these fish. [And the] problem with running a moderate-action is the whole rods gonna basically fold up when you snap the bait. …needs to have a lot of tip load…load up relatively far down into the rod, but have a lot of backbone.

> “I like (for the most part) running 10-lb braid…. If you’re fishing straight mono you can get away with a little bit stiffer rod ‘cuz mono has so much stretch in the line…you can hit a fish hard and a lot of times those hooks are gonna stick better [with mono].

> Most time fishing vertical, I run 10-lb braid and just do a uni knot to a 12- to 15-lb fluorocarbon leader. If I was doing a lot of casting all day, I’d tie about a 2′ lead with a swivel [to reduce line twist].

> The line ties on these baits are meant for a snap…not meant to be tied [directly] on. I always kinda run it on the front one [bait has two connection points].

This bite is really just getting going, and should only get better in the coming weeks. Get the full scoop on all the above in this Tom Boley video:

Fishing dogs > hunting dogs.

Awesome fish caught by Blake Petrich while out with Skiez Outdoors Guide Service, but what I’m most curious about is what brand fish-finder that is up front?

 

Brittany Peeters and her blue-eyed beauty got in on a cloudy-day smashfest, she said the fish were “on an absolute feeding frenzy in 8′ along a windblown shoreline… bouncing a tube jig off the rocky bottom.” Nicely done, you two!

 

Jordan Lounsbury’s chocolate lab looks less than impressed it had to share the limelight with a big MB crankbait-eater:

 

Minn Kota Spot-Lock’d, and jaws dropped. Don’t worry pooch…those swimming fish tacos make my mouth water too:

 

@2manydabs’s furry fishing buddies have been hitting the water with him since day 1. Love that top-left shot where all you see are noses investigating the scene:

Fishing line organization hack.

I’m telling ya, if you still haven’t used this little line hack…you’ve gotta get on it!

WI fishing guide Troy Peterson showed me this trick a couple years back on how he uses Beadalon Spool Tamers (from the jewelry/sewing industry) to keep his spools of line, well…spooled.

Should be able to find them at your local craft store, but can sometimes snag a bulk 25-pack for super cheap online if you dig around hard enough. Great tip!

Walleye with “double plumbing” caught. 

Some more “you don’t see that every day” going on here…. This time sent in from TW fan Clayton Fletcher:

> “I always enjoy your emails and walleye pics! Here’s another odd one for you. This one came from Waubay Lake, SD last month. I’m no biologist but it definitely had 2 holes. The one in the middle of the belly had product coming out, and when we filleted it we could see “plumbing” going to both holes. I’m just guessing one was for digestion and one was for reproduction.”

Things that make ya go huuuughhhhh….

Independence Day fishing shenanigans.

Hope everyone has a great/safe 4th of July weekend!

What’s the 4th without a little watermelon? The Phantom Lures crew painted up, cut and prepped this custom treat:

 

Wonder if this stick o’ dynamite is legal to toss?

 

Saw these firecrackers on the Do-It Molds Facebook page. #’Merica

 

Can’t forget about our friends to the north — Greg Attard Canada Days super hard:

News

1. MN: Father/son duo wins GRAHA Walleye Shootout…

…on Lake Pokegama. Paul and Randy Erola sacked-up 43.21 lbs of gold. Still trying to track down how they caught ’em — check out their hardware spread in the meantime:

Congrats fellas!

2. NY: Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout happenin’ July 18.

Deadline to sign up is July 10. Believe it’s the highest paying 1-day walleye derby in the country, with over $250K in cash and prizes.

3. This new PK Dakota Disc looks crazy.

I couldn’t picture what it’d look like underwater, but the PK crew’s got that covered — click below for the full video:

Pretty cool! Already on PK’s site right here.

4. NY: Oneida Lake might be going to a 5-fish limit.

Now has a 3-fish bag limit, but they’re considering bumping it back up to align with statewide regz of 5 fish per day with a minimum size of 15″. Here’s why:

> “…the adult walleye population in Oneida Lake is now estimated to be over 1 mil fish, the highest it’s been since 1986. Large year classes in ’10 and ’14 have contributed to the walleye population increase…additional strong year classes produced in ’16 and ’18 which should help maintain the abundant adult population as they enter the fishery.”

DEC has a survey here if you wanna chime in on the proposed change.

5. CJS has a photo contest going on.

That’s Custom Jigs & Spins, who’s giving away $100 gift card to some luck winner who shares a pic using their bait on social media with the hashtag #CJSPhotoContest. More info here.

6. Troll Master just added 36 more cranks…

…to their Depth Calculator app — full list of lures here. Word is their price will be going up soon-ish, so maybe a good time to get in on the goods.

7. Look at this nasty pike…

posted by Musky Insider and caught by Eric Seeman — WTHeck?!

My 2 favorite comments about the “two-toned weasel” under the original post:

> Looks like it was squeezed out of a caulk gun.

> Half in the cooler and half out the cooler….

Lol yikes.

8. PA: License fees might go up soon.

First time in almost 20 years. Can you name anything that hasn’t gone up in cost during that time frame?

9. Hoyer’s 4-step program to catching ’em…

…with a Berkley Snap Jig — snagged from John Hoyer’s Instagram story:

Easy as that! Guy is always posting A+ stuff on his Instagram.

TargetWalleye.com Highlights

Tip of the Day

Which type of weight when?!

There’s a zillion different weights on the market — each has its own time and place. Here’s Brad Hawthorne talkin’ his favorites and when he uses each.

BONUS rigging tip at the end of the vid shows how Brad uses a Quick-Change Weight Clevis and Loop Snap at the same time to swap out most any weight:

Quote of the Day

“I’ve never run into a boat that doesn’t eventually get sold someday….”

That’s Joel Nelson talkin’ about getting married keepin’ his Lunds real nice and shiny-like. Vinegar + water + and 60 seconds of your time = no more scum lines. It’s a cheap and awesome habit to get into:

Today’s ‘Eye Candy

Welcome to SD, where the water levels are made up and the street signs are just a suggestion:

Only way that Jake Arlt’s shot could be better is if it were a horse-crossing sign.

Sign up another fish-head!

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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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