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Heads up: This might be the only Target Walleye email this week – I’m clicking send and then hitting the ice to chase lake trout (and maybe walleye?) on Fort Peck Reservoir in MT for the next few days. I’ll have camera rolling and will be bringing some fresh vids to the Target Walleye YouTube channel soon-ish….
👊 Hope YOU get the chance to set the hook this weekend, too! Thx so much for reading!!
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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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“Old truckers never retire, they just go fishing.”
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Pretty cool! Funny enough the guy whose fish house it apparently was, Adrian Belden, saw the pic and commented under the original post with a couple snaps of the inside:
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Swear that a sawzall + Catch Cover Hole Covers = can turn anything into a fish house lol!
Btw Adrian isn’t the only one with this type of homemade semi-sleeper rig. 🚚 From top to bottom we have pics shared by Nick Erickson, Dustin Wagley, and Jesse Heckman:
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Best LiveScope memes EVER! 😂
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The water’s still a little cold, but I have the sudden urge to dig my snorkel outta storage:
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No doubt you’ll have to cough up some serious coin to get your hands on a Garmin LiveScope Ice Fishing Bundle – believe me, I can still relate to this meme:
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But after using one for several years now, I actually feel silly for not snagging one earlier. It’s seriously THAT insane. The term “game changer” gets thrown around a lot in the fishing biz, but IMO Garmin could’ve actually named LiveScope the “Game Changer” instead and I’d be 100% good with it.
If you’ve been on the fence about “investing” in one, you absolutely won’t regret it. The last time I felt that type of way (straight-up giddy and mind blown!) about catching fish was when I was watching burbot come up and eat the bait right in front of an underwater camera. #RealLifeVideoGames
If you do run one – or plan to “invest” in one – just promise me one thing: You won’t ever turn your nose up on others who are trying to enjoy this sport we all love so much!
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Now folks like Bradley Parnell (from down in Alabamie) can just be like, “Oh hey, there’s an alligator over there” LOL:
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“He used the optical illusion of placing the fish far out in front of the human head, which makes the fish appear much larger than it actually is.”
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– That’s a line from this Gareth Dillistone write-up talking about a guy named Bron Nurkowski who built a giant snow sculpture in his front yard of a guy long-arming a walleye LOL:
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Haters will say it’s Photoshopped. 🤣
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Lake Erie tagged walleye movements! 🎯
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I have shared a link to this quick 30-second video before but always have a lot of requests to bring it back. It’s an acoustic-telemetry study from 2016/2017 on Lake Erie that tracked walleye movements for an entire year.
It’s always been a dream of mine to tag-and-release a bunch of fish to see where they disappear to throughout the season…so I always find this stuff fascinating:
[Heads-up there’s a little bar along the bottom with dates]
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Wish there was one of these for every lake!!!
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World’s best used ice auger ad?
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I came across an ad for a used ice auger on Kijij a few years ago…which I think is like the Canadian version of Craigslist? Obviously the ad has since been removed, but not before I could screenshot it – WAY too funny not to share again. 🤣 Summarized version below:
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> “This Jiffy isn’t just any regular auger…it drills dreams. It bonds relationships between fathers and sons. It smells like 2-stroke gas fumes, and you know what 2-stroke gas fumes smell like, Terry?!? They smell like lifelong friendships.
> “She’s a model 76, which contrary to popular belief actually stands for the amount of hi-fives per minute you’ll be dishing out to your mates due to all of the fish you’ll be catching on every single ice-fishing adventure.
> “This beast of a drilling machine was once rejected by the diamond drilling industry because it was simply too powerful and actually melted diamonds during the drilling process. You can own THAT drill!!
> “USER WARNING: Do NOT hang out with friends who have a low self esteem when using this auger. They will be jealous of how well it cuts through ice – like a lightsaber through a stormtrooper – and probably attempt to talk more about how strong the little battery is on the new electric auger their wife got them at Claire’s.
> “MUST HAVE HUGE ARMS TO OPERATE!
> “This thing runs on love and a 50:1 mix as accurate as one beer drinkin’ fella on a Saturday afternoon can mix it. She may need a little cleaning internally but has a brand spanking new recoil that bounces back into position promptly.
> “Haven’t had it running in over a year, but it won’t take much more than a little fresh fuel, a few kisses and a plethora of F-bombs within hearing distance of the kids to get ‘er goin’.
> “Bought it for over $5,000 from a Tibetan monk who harnessed its powers to connect with the 5th dimension to battle demonic powers, but willing to let her go to the right angling wizard for the low-low rate of $250 OBO…plus a couple hi-fives and a couple cans of your favourite craft beers (craft beers NOT optional).”
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1. Husband/wife have passed-on after an ice fishing accident. 😔
Ugh. Always hate to hear it. Prayers to the Chaney family.
2. MN: They’re paying $20K for the biggest fish caught…
…at the Fishing for Ducks tourney on Mille Lacs happening Feb 18.
It only makes sense that the largest Ducks Unlimited event in the world is actually a fishing derby 🤔😂 which happens on Mille Lacs Lake in MN every year. Awesome cause that dishes out over $100K in cash + prizes. Believe I heard the last event raised around $200K for wetlands conservation.
Last year (thx to the walleye slot limit) it was a 0.58-lb perch that won the $20K 1st-place prize. Means that little bugger was worth $2,155.17 per ounce hahaha.
Btw I had previously shared this image in TW wondering how in the heck they’re able to drill the holes in the shape of the DU logo?!
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I actually received a reply from TW reader Chad H. who provided a little insight:
> “I used to work for DU in the engineering department that serviced the upper Midwest, MN included. We would use our GPS equipment loaded with coordinates from a CAD or survey program that make up the shape of the duck head logo. I personally was never on site for the layout but have seen the drawings used for doing it. Same technology we use for staking the wetlands that are created or restored in the prairie as well!”
Now you/we know…. Thanks again, Chad!
3. ND: The “Take Someone New Ice Fishing Challenge” could…
…win you a new Clam hub shack:
> “…really encouraging people to get out there ice fishing, and bring someone new with you, whether that’s a kid or an adult. If you submit your story with us and maybe a couple of photos on our website…we are going to pick one winner to take home a fish house.”
The challenge runs thru Mar 31.
4. SK: Montreal Lake Walleye Derby grand prize = $100K!
5. MN: “Art Shanty Projects” returns to Lake Harriet.
> Art Shanty Projects is a 4-weekend winter art festival on a frozen lake in the Twin Cities…. Artists create temporary structures and interactive, engaging art experiences and performances, turning the monochromatic scene of winter into a vibrant, colorful, active village.
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> Erin Lavelle, the festival’s artistic director: “We’re inspired by ice fishing culture. You see the communities out on the frozen lake. We’re artists who make wacky, whimsical, interesting structures that are all interactive and we invite the public to play with us.”
Art Shanty Projects is free to attend and will continue thru the weekend.
6. SD: Hooked on Hardwater is happenin’ Feb 25.
60 pro anglers take out 60 underprivileged boys from the Rapid City Club for Boys for a 1-on-1 ice fishing experience in the Black Hills.
7. MN: The DNR wants folks’ input on a couple of fishery plans.
Near Grand Rapids and Duluth.
8. MN: 6.82-lb walleye wins Park Rapids derby.
Also gotta give props to my buddy DJ Lien for winning the perch division!
9. MN: “Break Your PB” St Jude Fundraiser happenin’ Feb 11.
The Crappie Chronicles crew is having their last meet-up of the year on Saturday at Giesenbräu Bier Co in New Prague from 5-10pm.
The event will be a $10 entry that will go directly to St Jude Children’s Hospital, along with proceeds from every beer purchased as well.
10. MN: Poles ‘N Holes ice derby happenin’ Feb 11.
Over $30K in prizes up for grabs on Little Detroit Lake.
> “This is our 13th annual Poles N Holes Ice Fishing Derby. Sponsored by the Detroit Lakes Breakfast Rotary Club, this derby has raised over $225K in funds to support area literacy, youth sports, senior citizens programs and community projects.”
11. JB Lures has legit 24K gold-plated lures. 🤑
> “Genuine 24K gold is by far the most expensive finish for a lure – so why do we offer so many products that are gold plated, when most manufacturers avoid [it] because of the cost? It’s simple really = gold-plated lures catch fish!
> “…NOTHING offers flash and visibility like genuine gold does. A fish can’t eat something it can’t find, and gold offers a flash and visibility that can’t be duplicated with paint or hologram finishes.”
Here’s a look at a couple of those, the Gold Back Weasels (left) and Gem-N-Eye Gold Backs (right):
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Spot-on-the-spot: Offshore structure tactics for walleye.
This quick In-Depth Outdoors’ video is talking a deep, clear body of water with cisco (tullibee) being the main forage.
> “Shoreline structure is not the only place to find roaming walleyes. James Holst breaks down how finding mid-lake areas surrounded by deeper water can lead to more hooksets. In this specific example, we found a hump with dense weed growth and used that weedline to ambush walleyes coming shallow to feed.”
I really like how he shows exactly where/why they set up their deadsticks on the hump:
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Every. Single. Time. 🙋♂️
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Something in the orange tells me Tyler Flynn isn’t done ice fishing on Little Bay de Noc – this one scarfed a #9 Rapala Jigging Rap in the “glow green tiger” color:
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Safe to say Shaylee Mazurek would get some funny tan lines if she held this pose long enough hahaha. 🙌 Oh, and congrats on the PB!
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Hope you catch your new PB (personal best) this weekend, too!
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Sign up another fish-head!
If you’re forwarding Target Walleye to a friend who loves to walleye-fish or want your fishing buddies to get these emails, just send us their email addresses and we’ll take care of it! (We won’t sell the addresses, use them for spam, etc.)
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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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