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We’re back! Sorry about the mini hiatus – we took a little time off during Christmas/New Years, but we’re getting back in the swing of things. Hope the holidays were great for you and yours, and that 2026 will be your best year yet! 👊
Oh, and we may not have been sending out any TW emails during that time...but we were out playing with new gear and chasing some different bites around home – with cameras rolling. Hope you enjoy the new videos down below! More to come.
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Ice fishing for JUMBO PERCH on Mille Lacs 🎯
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This past Sunday, we ventured out ice fishing on Mille Lacs in central MN, and set up shop to intercept roaming schools of nomadic jumbo perch, which are gorging in buggy, soft-bottom areas.
Mother Nature was up to her gusty/sleety/nasty ways again, so after doing a little scouting, we hunkered down in the Clam X200 and poked a bunch of portly ones!
Most were in the 11-12” range (which is AWESOME for around here) but we did stick a few that were the next caliber up. 😳
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Interesting factoids: Yellow perch populations are cyclical (up years and down years). They have a short life span, lasting about 7 years...females reach maturity and begin reproducing between 2 to 3 years old and males usually mature 1 year earlier.
Now back to the catching...
My best bait this day was a 1/16-oz VMC Tungsten BugBite Jig – here’s a couple buggy colors I would recommend for playing in the mud:
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Did our best to capture the afternoon on camera. Hope you enjoy the madness [!] and maybe even learn something in the process. 🍿
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Thank YOU for taking time out of your day to watch and leave feedback over on YouTube. I seriously appreciate it, Target Walleye fam! 👊
Per usual, all of the gear I used (specific sizes, weights, you name it) is linked in the video’s description on YouTube.
One of which I’m gonna call out here...the Tuned Up Custom Rods 36" Bullwhip (in stock right now at SCHEELS if you don’t want to wait for a custom build). It’s an absolute riot to fish with – perfect for jumbo perch, crappies, bluegills, tullibees, etc. And has the backbone to handle those incidental big bites. It’s hard to put that thing down!
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Ice fishing for FINICKY after-dark CRAPPIES on clear lakes 🌿
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A couple buddies and I went on a "Go Big or Go Home" mission to a lake where IF you catch a crappie, it’s likely going to be a 12”+ fish...with a shot at much bigger....
They were super fussy this night – I'm blaming the camera curse 😅 – but we were able to fool a few of the right ones.
Hope you’re able to snag a few tips from this video (location examples, structure, depth, presentations, etc) and put ‘em to use on your owl local waters:
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Ice fishing with MICRO baits for _________?! 👀🤔
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We did something a little different this day....
And of course Mother Nature had to throw yet another curveball with some BIG winds out of nowhere haha! Wouldn't have it any other way.
I know this blur isn't fooling some of you...or is it? 😎
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Thx much for watching! And I seriously appreciate all of your feedback under each vid – both positive and negative....
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More coming your way soon-ish....
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Co-owner as part of the Schluter family, passed away unexpectedly last week at 61. Worked 35 years there and spearheaded a bunch of stuff, including materials. Bless you fishing brother.
Please pray for the Schluter family and friends. ✝️🙏
2. OH: 2025 Lake Erie walleye hatch results 📈
> Results from the 2025 Lake Erie trawl surveys revealed the walleye hatch as the 6th largest of the past 38 yrs....
That makes above-average hatches in 8 of the past 11 yrs. And they grow up quickly:
> Walleye from the strong 2025 hatches should reach catchable size, surpassing the 15” minimum length requirement, as early as spring 2027.
3. ND: Unoccupied fish house must be able to float?!
Says right in there regz that: “Any fish house left unoccupied on North Dakota waters must be made of materials that allow it to float.”
The easiest fix to that is just never leaving lol! 🤷♂️
4. John Hoyer caught his PB sauger
Gorgeous 24.5” specimen [!] that scarfed-up a Berkley PowerBait Bonefish on a 3/8-oz jig. Caught on the Yellowstone River, MT during an early-Dec trip:
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Wowza. Congrats man!
5. Leadership change happening at Shimano North America
> Dave Pfeiffer will step down from his role on March 31, concluding an extraordinary 38-yr career with the company. Pfeiffer will remain involved..a new role as vice chairman, executive advisor....
> Jason Livermore, currently senior VP...will assume the role of President on Apr 1.
6. IA: Winter community trout stockings start Jan 10
They'll be releasing rainbow trout into 9 different locations across IA this winter – bring the kiddos!
7. OH: Lake sturgeon released in 3 new rivers in '25
> As part of a large, regional partnership, the 6-8” long juvenile [state-endangered lake] sturgeon were released in the Cuyahoga, Sandusky, and Scioto rivers for the first time, as well as in the Maumee River as part of ongoing restoration efforts.
> The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Toledo Zoo reared the fish for release. 2,000 sturgeon were released in the Cuyahoga River in Oct as part of a widely attended public event. Also in Oct, 3,000 sturgeon were released in the Maumee River during Toledo’s annual Sturgeon Fest, while an additional 750 went to the Sandusky River. Finally, 30 juvenile sturgeon were surgically implanted with monitoring tags by The Ohio State University and released in the Scioto River in Nov.
8. MN: DNR has 175+ paid summer internships to fill
Accepting applications thru Feb 2. Positions will start in May and June.
9. DC: Fishing info/regs for public waters will "soon" be digital
The MAPWaters Act was signed Dec 26. "Soon" because I have yet to see bureaucracies move fast! Unless they’re reducing the limits on Mille Lacs midseason (lol).
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Are you maybe interested in helping us with content for the TW email? If so, please hit us up at walleyenuts@targetwalleye.com with why and how, and maybe a link or 2 to a couple things you've done. If you don't hear back, apologies – sometimes we don't get to everything. Thank you!
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Just saw this one resurface again – makes me chuckle every single time:
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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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Target Walleye – walleye during open water and all species during hardwater – is brought to you by Al Lindner, Jay Kumar, Chris Philen, 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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