Live sonar banned, My biggest walleye mistake, DIY hook removal

Long story short, I NEED to start “pre-fishing” all the time, meaning run-and-gun with my electronics if the bite I think should be going isn’t. Stop fishing memories – even if those memories are from just an hour earlier – and be better at making on-the-water adjustments to fish the current conditions in the moment.

In my newest YouTube vid, I take you along to a lake I haven’t fished all summer and try to show my process of breaking down what the fish are doing and where they may be set up.

After spending several hours running thru a dozen-ish spots, you can see the moment (starting at 11:01) where all the scouting finally paid off: Actually first saw the school of walleyes on my Humminbird’s 2D/DI sonar, then swung around ’em with Side Imaging to see how they were set up on the main-lake hump.

The walleyes were fired-up and chasing around schools of baitfish. Literally looked like piranhas on my LiveScope when I threw a bait in the middle of ’em:

Fired-up as those fish looked, I had to cycle thru 3 different baits to get ’em to go…

First cast I rolled a 3″ Storm Largo Shad thru ’em…they followed but didn’t commit. Crazy.

Second cast was with a 3/16-oz VMC Ned Rig Jig paired with a Z-Man BIG TRD (green pumpkin goby). It’s the clip above where they rushed up to it on the drop and then chased it down to bottom…could NOT believe one didn’t scarf it!

So my third cast I figured it was reaction bite time – chucked a #9 Rapala Jigging Rap (glow green tiger) in there and leaned into one on my 5th rip of the bait.

The day was also kind of eye-opening in the importance of cycling thru a handful of baits/presentations based on the fish’s mood. And their mood seemed to change more quickly than a toddler’s LOL.

One minute they would only eat a super-snappy reaction bite…then the next they wouldn’t even look at it, but would instead eat on the very first cast with a dropshot craw (for real!) that was barely moving.

But to me it’s that challenge of finding ’em AND tricking ’em into biting that makes walleye fishing soooo dang rewarding.

Okay, okay, I’m done blabbing! You can check out the full video below if you’ve got some time to kill – hope you dig it!

There have been some seriously heated debates on social media about this the last few weeks. Honestly they’re pretty fun to read thru – from a distance lol.

Random factoid: Did you know that this FF sonar technology has literally been out for over 4 yrs already? Of course more folks are using it now and getting way more dialed with new techniques.

I’ll try to follow up with some more details soon-ish ‘cuz it’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes out!

Speaking of muskies….

I follow this dude on Instagram whose name is Kamden Glade, a fisheries research specialist at Bemidji State University who studies fish diets in MN…or as he likes to call it: #fishpuke hahaha.

> Kamden: “…we’re working on a research project where we collect diets from muskies and other predator fish to see if they’re competing for food and how what they eat varies among lakes with different prey availability.”

And he’s always posting fascinating schtuff from their field research. Like muskies eating birds, muskrats, bowfin, or a white sucker that was 46% of the length of the muskie that ate it:

But Kamden said that northern pike have been the most common:

> “Life at the top of the food chain means everything is on the menu, including other predators! Most common in muskellunge diets has been northern pike – super abundant and no spines makes this a great meal. Plus, the long, slender shape of pike means muskie can consume large individuals – the example from the video was just over 26″!”

Crazy! Of course it’s not just muskie diets they’re studying. You might remember this post of a largemouth bass that had a rather interesting appetite:

> Kamden: “We’ve seen lots of interesting diets throughout this project, ranging from common (fish and bugs) to unique (small mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles). However, this has to be the weirdest yet! The largemouth bass that gave this sample went through the buffet line and got a fish (tadpole madtom), a small snapping turtle, and a DANG CHICKEN LEG. Just when you think you have fish figured out, they go and do stuff like this. Just another reason that I absolutely love my job!”

Quite the combo! And proof that bass will eat anything lol. But who am I to tell Mr. Bass that those foods don’t go together…? I can think of a few other combos I’d run from, but others will tell you are the deal!

 • Apple pie and cheddar cheese (sorry dad! 😂)   • Peanut butter and mayo sandwich
   • White rice and ketchup
   • Pizza and bananas
   • Chocolate and avocado

These people ^ walk among us hahahaha!

If you’re the Instagrammy type, I definitely recommend giving Kamden a follow. Super cool of him to share these behind-the-scenes happenings with the rest of us. 🙌

DIY hook removal.

‘Cuz sooner or later it happens to everyone:

> To remove a hook that’s penetrated the skin beyond the barb, loop a piece of cord or heavy line around the bend…press down firmly on the shank of the hook…pressure opens up the wound channel vertically, clearing the barb.

> While maintaining steady pressure, take a firm grip on the loop of cord and snatch the hook out in one quick motion.

Here’s the Fish Addictions crew putting it to good use on Mike Olson’s phalanges – sometimes those #7 Berkley Flicker Shads bite back:

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH