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Fish is WAY too big not to have it’s own spot…. Kevin Ruotsala stuck this 35″ [!] wally-gator on an F18G Rapala Original Floater, which is a 7″ stickbait! Not sure if it was an intentional catch or not, but does it really matter?!
That’s what dreams are made of! Imagine catching that one in a tourney:
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This 30″ slicked-out Rick ate a Northland Thumper Jig (glow watermelon):
The Dakota Hardcore Adventures crew left the Lund in the garage that night and Rapala Scatter Rap’d some SoDak sowbellies from shore:
Keagan Lyle stuffed this broom-tail while pulling bottom-bouncers and hand-tied spinners somewheres in AB (Alberta…not Alabamie):
TW fan Dallas S. (Star?) caught this mud lizard while rigging leeches on Mille Lacs. ‘Bout as calm as it gets out there. Great fish:
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Jigging Rap storage hacks.
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What’s your favorite way to store/protect your Rapala Jigging Raps? Let us know here. Here’s one trick from TW’s Brett McComas:
Boxes like the Clam Deluxe Spoon Box or the Plano Spoon Boxes are 3″ to 3.25″ tall and will hold Jigging Raps up to the #7 size. Haven’t tried the 7080-20 Plano Spoon Box yet, but it’s 5.25″ tall, so we’d guess the #9 Jigging Raps would fit too.
Careful when getting ’em in and outta the foam (or any box)…. Jigging Raps are like the walleye-version of a mouse trap. Just ask Al how sticky those hooks are:
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Sunset pics too good to be called cliché.
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Love this shot from the Dakota Hardcore Adventures crew. #PerfectNight
Big-fish specialist Spenser Samplawski has been cracking ’em on the Canadian side of Lake of the Woods:
Kaine Viegas goin’ fins up at sundown:
Nicely done, all. Sunset pics usually go something more like this:
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Catching walleyes during the mayfly hatch.
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We talked with a few of walleye fishing’s top sticks to learn how they catch walleyes during the dreaded mayfly hatch. Yes, we ran this before, but it’s time to learn up again…and maybe gitcha a blimp like this (no offense Perry):
> “I treat engorged walleyes like cold-front fish. I go for reaction bites with Jigging Rap or spoon. Or if I’m pulling spinners, I’ll speed up from 1.0-1.2 to 1.6-1.8 mph.
> “On a lake like Mille Lacs, it’s key to know which flats have the biggest bug hatches. If I see clouds of bugs on my electronics I don’t even fish it. I’ll move to the gravel bars where they don’t hatch.”
> “One of the things during a big hatch is go really light and run a stealth rig of nothing more than a splitshot and leech. I’ll either troll really slow or sit right on top of the fish….
> “The rig is simple: 4- or 6-lb Sufix Fluorocarbon with 32-38″ between a #4 VMC Octopus hook and the splitshot. On the business end, I use a smaller leech like a medium or large to emulate the larvae coming off the bottom.” > “I do things differently. I don’t compete with the mud buffet. I do downsize, but look for harder bottoms because there’s fewer mayflies. Even if it’s just harder mud bottom. There’s the spongy stuff and there’s compact, clay bottom. I go for the latter — areas where there’s less competition.
> “I’m either cranking or pulling spinners. I downsize blades and crankbaits, like going from Reef Runner 800s to Deep Little Rippers which are half the size. In terms of spinners, I drop one to two sizes in blades, like from #8 to #6, or #6 to #4 or all the way down to #3.” Check the full write-up here on TargetWalleye.com.
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Fishing Reports
1. MN: Lake of the Woods.
Pulling spinners in 30-31′ has been effective, but the shiner spawn is still on with walleyes and saugers chowing down in 5-11′ along shorelines.
Guide Curt Quesnell gives us 30.5 reasons to visit LOW, and they’re all in inches:
2. ND: Devils Lake.
Aggressive presentations (trolling spinners and crankbaits) are starting to shine.
3. SD: Lake Oahe.
100+ fish days right now pulling spinners super shallow (3-5′) at 1.0-1.5 mph.
4. MN: Leech Lake.
Fish are transitioning to main-lake summer spots. Get the scoop here.
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Tip of the Day
> Summer can be hard to pin down on a calendar…as far as fishing is concerned, it’s the part of the year when surface-water temps are > 70 degrees (in the AM before the sun hits the water).
> Many anglers consider bottom-bouncers with spinners the go-to presentation. It’s important to find the combination of bead patterns that gets the most bites or catches the biggest fish.
> Match [your bead pattern and blades of your spinner rigs] to the lake’s natural forage. The main forage species for walleyes in Leech Lake are perch, shiners, suckers and crayfish.
> Perch: green, yellow, orange and white. Shiners: silver and black, or gold and black with tints of red, pink, blue and emerald green. Suckers: gold, copper, white and red. Crayfish: brown, gold, copper and orange with tints of red and green.
> Two of the most common mistakes anglers make when fishing bottom-bouncers is setting the hook at every bump and letting out too much line, so the whole rig is dragging limp on the bottom.
> I’ll let out line at trolling speed and stop when I feel the sinker hit bottom, then take back 5-10′ of line, making sure the whole rig isn’t dragging on bottom.
Keep reading the full write-up here.
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Quote of the Day
…Try a different approach to fishing by wading chest deep to try and catch walleye or trout fish…
Trout fish? Lol! Anybody heading out walleye fishing for walleye fish this weekend? That was from the caption under this pic in a recent write-up:
Looks like the other kind of sight fishing where the fish see you first….
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Today’s ‘Eye Candy
Smile like/with a walleye this weekend:
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Sign up another ice-head!
If you’re forwarding Target Walleye/Ice 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 ’em for spam, etc.)
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Who is Target Walleye/Ice?
Target Walleye/Ice — 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
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