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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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“Next time you’re thinking about downsizing, keep this image in mind.”
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That fish looks 38 weeks pregnant and still reaching for its fourth pint of ice cream.
Sounds like they were using a combination of big PK Rattle Spoons and Berkley Snap Jigs (yup through the ice!) to stick some absolute giants. 💯 |
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Ice fishing for crappies after dark. (shallow weeds!)
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Nothing’s more frustrating than hearing about a good daytime bite while you’re stuck on the clock…work seeeeriously cuts into fishin’ time 😭 but without it you couldn’t buy that basketful of new baits…or pay the mortgage lol.
What you might not know is some of the best hardwater crappie fishing happens about 45 minutes after everyone else has already packed up.
We had TW friend Will Stolski track down MN metro native Matt “Waldo” Waldron to help us get the scoop on after-dark crappies. Waldo spends a pile of time on the ice – especially during “workin’ man’s hours” – and has a soft spot for some salt ‘n pepper.
Here we go:
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> Matt: “I started pursuing this deal simply ‘cuz I couldn’t fish during the week until after 4:30 (work gets in the way) and I wanted to spend more time on the ice than just the last-light bite window.”
Location
> “When picking a lake, look for clear, clean water that supports solid weed growth…those clearer-water fish seem to bite better after dark anyways.
> “During early-ice I’m looking for larger weed flats in 6-10′, specifically areas that have coontail and milfoil mixed together. Mid-winter I’ll fish the same areas, but a little deeper (10-14′). Seems like the mid-winter fish like having access to deeper water, so steeper breaks are better…or depressions in the weed flats.”
Right now, green means go:
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> “Regardless of time of season, finding living green vegetation is key. Don’t waste your time on the dying or dead stuff. Living weeds give off oxygen which equals bait and fish.
> “I drill out a grid pattern over flats about 5′ apart from each other, sometimes can visually see weeds otherwise I check [each hole] quick with my Vexilar.
> “Start by fishing the sparser weeds first (easier to read on your unit), then move to the thicker clumps if you don’t get bit.”
Gear
> “Beefed-up…big crappies will dog you into the weeds and break off if you get too light on your gear.
> “M or ML rods…like ’em a little longer (at least 32-36”) with a more moderate action (think parabolic bend).
> “4-6 lb mono spooled on a 1,000-size spinning reel because they have better drag systems than most inline reels…important when pulling big ones (14- to 16-inchers!) out of thick cover.
> “I use a 1/8-oz Clam Blade Jig or something similar like an original Demon – any color as long as it glows, and has white or chartreuse in it.”
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> “These weed crappies are usually eating baitfish – not bugs like basin dwellers. I tip my jig with a full crappie minnow hooked through the back.”
Cadence
> “Big sweeping jig strokes (2-3′), letting it free fall on the way down – gotta get their attention. When I do mark a fish, I speed up my cadence into quicker and shorter strokes. If the fish react negatively I’ll switch to a complete deadstick.
> “Sometimes I have to tighten up my ‘calling’ strokes in the real thick weeds.”
Timing
> “Pre-frontal days are my favorite. Typically if I can get out within a few hours of a front moving in is when I catch the biggest ones.
> “I think the moon phase plays a big role in early- and late-ice situations. Full or new moons seem to fire them up more than any other phase.”
Thx for all the info, fellas!
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Are big walleyes sterile?
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First off: Sorry I don’t have a direct link for this post. Came across the info on some random FB group and can’t seem find the link anywhere. But really interesting info from a MN DNR fisheries biologist that I felt was worth sharing:
> “Old school thought was the old fish produced less viable eggs and weren’t all that important. Newer research suggests that those eggs are larger and have better survival. They are still helping the population and probably most important to have big eggs when food is scarce or there is a dip in temps after hatching so the fry can live longer off the yolk sac when a smaller yolk sac fish might die. The relative contribution from large fish is low compared to the large numbers of small adults but increasingly important when those environmental variables negatively impact the year class that just hatched.
> “The most overplayed concept is genetics of a large fish. If a fish has the genetics to get large, those genetics exist immediately. The only thing that changes is how many times that fish with the big genes gets to pass them along.
> “Over harvest of large fish is the fastest way to drive down population size structure. Look at bluegill. You can have a lake that has no bluegill over 6″”, take a bunch out, put them in a pond with little to no competition, and the fish respond by getting bigger. Our FiN program does just that, then net them and stock the bigger fish for anglers. Bluegill can also get crowded and stunted, but the second they reach a size desirable to an angler, it is removed from the system. Not the same as walleye, but kind of an extreme example to demonstrate my point.”
Now you (we) know….
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Diehard Lund owner spotting.
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Off Shores can take a freakin’ beating!
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Was sent this from TW fan Paul Quiter:
> “On a trip to Lake Erie my friend lost control of his boat, ran over his lines and one caught the kicker motor. It pulled the Off Shore Tackle Planer Board in and stalled the kicker! But true to Off Shore products it’s still fine!”
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2. MN: World’s largest charitable ice-fishing contest happenin’ Jan 28.
Of course I’m talking about the Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza – just up the road from us on Gull Lake’s Hole-in-the-Day Bay. About 10,000(ish) people come from all over to try and catch a fish and maybe win a new truck, or a bunch of other $200K in prizes! Something everyone’s gotta experience – it’s an absolute blast.
Little insider info for you…. 🤫
Every year, more than half of the prize-winning fish caught are tullibees (aka ciscos, lake herring, whatever you wanna call ’em) so last year we went out on a little Gull Lake tullibee mission of our own after checking out the contest area.
Those darty little buggers can be an absolute blast to catch thru the ice! Also a great way to kill time during the day while waiting for the evening walleye or burbot bite. Here’s what I look for and how I target ’em. Really hope you enjoy the video!
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Funny enough the more I think about it the more it makes sense. If my fishing rod was sitting there and got bit…I would never wait 30 seconds to set the hook, I would grab it as fast as I could and pop ’em. But then when a tip-up or rattle reel goes off, I’m always overthinking how long to wait…. |
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“And on the 12th day of Christmas the Red River gave to me, a nice greenback suspended at 20 feet.”
– That’s Jessica Duffy’s #money caption along with this pic of a Manitoba greenback she wrassled in with her 42″ Fenwick Elite Tech Ice Rod – rockin’ and rollin’ a Jackall TN lipless crank in the fish-sexxy “RT holo bluegill” color:
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This sick Joshua Schave snap of a “Minnesota Lambo” is giving me all sorts of ice-rig envy. #Dialed |
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The last time I drove a sled didn’t go so well…probably time to finally get back on one. |
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Hope you get the chance to get out and chase some fishes this weekend! Be safe!!
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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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