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If you’re getting Target Walleye for the first time, a friend probably signed you up!
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Wow!!! 🤯 MT walleye record beaten with an 18-lber!
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And she’s an absolute blimp! 🤯
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That’s 18.02 lbs (32.25″ long x 22″ girth) of OH MY WORD! Jigged-up by Trevor Johnson, guide/owner of Kit’s Tackle, on May 10 while fishing Holter Lake near Helena, MontanYaaaa. The previous record was set in 2007 with a 17.75-lber from Tiber Reservoir.
Trevor caught that bruiser on a “lunch lady” color 1/4-oz Kit’s Tackle Glass Minnow – they hand tie ’em themselves! – with a Keitech Swing Impact paddletail on the back. And thx to his bud Jake Hammer ( @fish_aholic_365) for the heads-up, you’re seeing it here first:
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Here’s the scoop on those fish-sexy Glass Minnows:
> …incredible see-through transparent properties exactly mimicking juvenile baitfish and other aquatic forage. The unique reflective abilities of our secret material bring bright and subtle light together to create an effect that will call fish from extended distances. While in motion, the material stays tight to the jig creating a fleeing forage effect…then upon pause, the undulating characteristics of the material flares out just like natural fin flare on a frightened baitfish….”
Little more info on Trevor’s record catch in this Tom Kuglin write-up:
> “This spring has been a beast out there, not because there’s no walleyes, but it’s been cold and the flows have been way below normal. Trout have been great but the walleyes…are in there doing something different this year.
> “I bet I’m close to 120 hours out there this year and I’ve only caught 3 walleyes…. Most people would say, ‘What are you doing, you’re crazy,’ but it’s just knowing that potential is there.”
> Trevor says his dad [Kit] had been taking him to chase pre-spawn walleye before he can even remember. “The fact Dad and I are both guiding now, we’re both busy so we don’t get to fish as much as we used to…so it was pretty special to be able to get out there with him.”
Said he thought it was a burbot at first because he couldn’t raise it off the bottom, but papa Kit knew what was up. 😏
> “We just got a little glimpse and knew it was big. We’ve seen a lot of big fish so we’re thinking maybe it’s 13, 14, 15 lbs. She dove a few more times and then we were able to net her and get her in the boat, that’s when it got really big.
> “It was obviously a really weighty fish, but we just had no idea because we’d never seen a girth like that.”
> When it comes to keeping fish, the Johnsons like to practice selective harvest. That means letting the bigger and older fish go. Even though they knew the walleye could be the biggest ever landed in the state, they attempted a release by moving the fish back and forth in the water for a few minutes to force water through the gills. Unfortunately the fish with its epic weight and after the long battle did not survive.
> “You know there really are a lot of mixed emotions. It’s a potential state record but we’re catch-and-release guys. It’s an amazing fish and it shows people the potential of what you can catch around here. We both still preach selective harvest, but yeah, still some mixed emotions, but it’s a great honor especially here in the state of MT.
> “It doesn’t even sound believable. I almost feel like I’m undeserving, like does anyone deserve something like that. You joke about it but you’re not looking to go out and catch the new state record. I’m just out there looking to explore the unknown and I managed to bump into the fish of a million lifetimes.”
Freakin’ AMAZING and well-deserved, man!
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GREAT post on how to find spring walleye locations with your electronics.
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Man oh man is this Humminbird blog post and video ever jammed full of great info on how to use your Side Imaging and mapping to find quality walleye spots! Breaks down bottom transitions:
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How to fine-tune the spot-on-the-spots:
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And dives into different techniques to target (and catch!) these spring walleyes, plus WAY more. Too much quality info to fit in this email…so you’re gonna have to hit up the blog post below. And don’t forget to watch the full video, too.
Pay attention, read carefully, and take some notes! 🙋♂️ I did:
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Business in the front, party in the back:
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Okay that type of hair was more popular in the late ’80s to early ’90s – though some country saangers are bringing it back….
I’m talkin’ the type of walleye fishin’ “hair” that got popular in the late ’60s to early ’70s = bucktail jigs. Yup, they still catch fish – really they always have – but people seemed to forget about ’em with the rise of soft plastics. Now diehards are digging ’em back out and learning new ways to fish ’em.
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Donovan Aucoin’s making his own hair baits:
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Try explaining to the boss why you were late for work that day lol.
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I need one of these in my life:
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It’s Friday afternoon, so that little bugger better start watching out for icebergs….
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10. IA: No-limit fishing at Pickeral Lake.
> …to allow anglers to more freely harvest fish before the lake is renovated to eliminate an overabundant population of bullhead and restore water quality and habitat. The DNR will restock the lake in 2022 when water levels are adequate for stocked fish to survive.
Said if you have a valid license you can “harvest all sizes and unlimited quantities of any species of fish from Pickeral Lake by any means except by use of dynamite, poison, electroshocking devices or any stupefying substances.” 👀 Isn’t it amazing that they have to include that in there…’cuz you know someone would try something ridiculous lol.
Btw the DNR has no comment on whether or not Berkley MaxScent counts as a “stupefying substance” 😜
11. New U of M research shows how to…
…help stop the spread of spiny waterfleas. Basically stop using massive snap-swivels on your jigs:
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Okay, kidding…🥴 sorta:
> Based on new research, the MN Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center is asking anglers to wipe fishing lines, reels, bait buckets, and livewells in addition to draining all water from boats and equipment when leaving a spiny waterflea-invaded lake in order to ‘Stop Spiny.’
12. MB’s southern division fishing szn opens tomorrow.
Rest of the province opens May 22.
13. Gasoline shortage in some areas this summer?
Yup, according to the National Tank Truck Carriers…which says the industry can’t get enough drivers to deliver the gas to gas stations.
Better make sure your troller batteries are 💯!
Which btw, I’ve been hearing good things about X2Power = premium AGM batteries from Batteries Plus. Looked up a few specs from their site:
> 30% longer life per charge…lasts 3x longer and recharges 5x faster than traditional batteries.
> …28x more vibration resistant than conventional batteries [and] performs as both a starting and a deep cycle battery.”
> AGM Technology: non-spillable, non-gassing and maintenance free.
> 4-yr replacement warranty.
Also super cool to see them supporting walleye pros and catch-and-release walleye derbies. If you’ve ran ’em, let me know what you think!
14. MN: Gull Lake Spring Walleye Classic, May 22.
Hosted by the Walleye Alliance. Lots of fall derbies happen on Gull, so it’s about time for a spring bash! Limited to the first 75 boats that sign up. 1st place = $7.5K based on a full field. More info here.
Gotta share this again because it’s way too cool – would anyone else cry if they go to be the first one to bring home this SICK traveling trophy?!
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I mean technically if my wife wins (she’s fishing it with a DIFFERENT partner) I still sortaaaa get to bring it home? Lol.
15. PSA: Something to think about…
Saw this in Jay Kumar’s last BassBlaster email – a note he got from a dude talking about whether electronics can spook fish:
> We fish heavily-pressured near-shore wrecks out of various parts of FL. There are spots where that if you leave your electronics on, you get nothing. If you turn off your sounder and rely only on your charting/GPS to hit the wreck, you get bit.
> To me, there is absolutely no doubt fish have learned – at least in highly-pressured fisheries – to associate the sound of electronics with fishermen.
> Another interesting note – some spots are terrible for sharks. We can get snapper or grouper bites, but often can’t get the fish up before they get eaten by the “tax man.” When we leave our electronics off, we can get 2 or 3 fish off the spot before “the man in the brown suit” moves in. So the sharks…have also learned that the sonar sound = the dinner bell.
Pretty interesting, and one more thing to give me anxiety during tourneys! Another good argument for making LONG casts at fish…though I’d bet they can feel the “pinging” from a mile away.
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Why is the walleye Minnesota’s most popular fish?
Sounds like the consensus is because they’re considered the best eating.
Tough to argue with that! But for me, I just really like the challenge of finding and catching ’em. There’s something crazy-rewarding about catching even just 1 walleye on a new spot or technique. I sometimes get that same feeling when bass fishing…if I catch 30 or 40 (lol). Happy “fishing opener” MN peeps!
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Gotta bring back this awesome tip from Target Walleye’s Al Lindner on where he starts his search for post-spawn walleyes:
> One of the things we learned about early-season walleye is what we call the 30-day rule. This rule primarily applies to smaller and medium-sized natural lakes and reservoirs. This rule DOES NOT apply to the Great Lakes or other huge bodies of water where massive schools of walleye migrate great distances….
> The 30-day rule in these smaller bodies of water: If you know the precise time that the walleye spawned, you can almost bet that 30 days later, groups of walleye will be on the first lip of the large shallow flats extending out into the main body of water.
> These are fish that have already gone through their post-spawn, are regrouping and feeding heavy. There can be other groups of fish deeper, but many of the good-sized fish will be relating to that first lip.
> The lip could be a 3-5′ drop, either weed-edged or sparsely weeded. In other bodies of water that break might occur at 7-10′, and still others at 12-15′. But in all cases the lip is what is considered the main break for that body of water.
> It helps if there is vegetation – however sparse or thick, the walleyes will likely be relating to it. It’s important to realize that the fish will most likely be up on the flat, rather than down the drop.
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“Instead of a bass I caught an unrecognizable fish that had a mouth full of teeth. Not wanting to fiddle with a fish full of fangs, I cut the line and let it go.”
– That’s Oklahoman Ed Godfrey talking about catching a walleye outta Lake Eufaula back in the day. 😂 I always love hearing southerners talk about walleyes. Don’t worry, he knows better now:
> “These days…any fat walleye I catch now is a keeper for the skillet because the finely flaked filets of walleye are delicious.”
His write-up is loaded with a ton of info on the history of OK walleye stocking, and where they’re dumping more fish in right now…despite walleye being ranked just the 13th most-popular there according to a DWC survey.
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Gindian Dupuis ( @gindiandupes) is “holding on to what’s golden.” Hope you get into a gold rush 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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