Portable storage hack, Glazed window fix, Panfish too big for pans

Sorry for the later-than-normal send. Kiddo has had the bug so trying to navigate the no daycare thing. But all good and getting better!

Heads up this might be the only Target Walleye email this week as I’ll be heading out of town for the St. Paul Ice Show. Make sure to hit up the Target Walleye Instagram page as I thoroughly enjoy kicking out a bunch of stories in the moment.

Thx much for reading! Now, here we go…

Pretty cool fix from The Short Rod Show on FB:

> “Pretty amazing what 4 yrs of abuse can do to ice-shelter windows! Luckily Meguiar’s PlastX restored them back to like new. Now we can see who’s trying to sneak up on us to get our spots!”

Here’s the before-and-after shot:

Should be easier to see those flags pop now!

Sort of funny how a lot of folks (myself included) couldn’t care less about catching bluegills or crappies for the other 8 months of the year…but soon as there’s fish-able ice we’ll hoof it 4 miles down an old logging road to try and catch ’em. Half the time not even knowing if that backwater slough even has fish in it or not!

But it’s worth it if/when they’re fish of THIS caliber…

First up we’ve got Ashley Holmgren, the better-er half of Devoted Outdoors (sorry John! lol). She just crushed her new PB crappie with a giant 17.25″ slab that engulfed a Clam Swirl Drop Jig in northern MN. 🤯 Fish had some serious shoulders, too!

Btw if you haven’t seen those Clam Swirl Drop Jigs yet, they have a little gem on the nose to help reflect light. I can confirm they catch:

No doubt that catching seriously BIG ones runs in the Holmgren’s family…. Just the other day, their daughter Braelyn iced her new PB bluegill that was just shy of 11.5″ [!!!] on a Clam Pinhead Pro Spoon. The bluegill of a lifetime – especially thru the ice up north – and she did it solo aside from dad helping to pull the “Vexy” cord during the fight. 👏👏👏 Outstanding!

Get this: John is on the quest for a 12″ bluegill and has caught multiple bump-boarded 11.5″ fish! Most of which have come on his go-to Clam Swirl Drop Jig. And these fish are NOT some high-fenced private slobs…they come out of big, public waters.

I was fortunate enough to hit the ice with John a couple of seasons back, and despite a “tough bite” I ended up catching some of the plumpest ‘gills I’ve ever laid my hands on. Know you caught a fatty when its scales are all stretched-out like this lol:

Oh, and about an hour before that John went back-to-back on tanks, including this freakishly round 11-incher. 😳

Just saw a new AnglingBuzz video posted yesterday called “Chasing Mega Bluegills” with John and Ashley Holmgren talking a little about their strategies for catching the biggest bluegills in the lake. Something John mentioned that I found really interesting is how he rarely sees those true giants mixed in with a school of fish…they’re usually roaming by themselves.

That’s spot on to what I noticed when hitting the ice with him that day. If we were on a school and seeing lots of fish, they were average ones. Sliding away to adjacent structure – even just a few hundred yards from the schools – then we’d have those big “onesie twosies” come thru, but had to be patient. #WorthIt

Dude knows his stuff! Thanks again for the incredible day, John!! I think I still owe you a 10-lb burbot hahaha. 👊

– Funny comment under this In-Depth Outdoors’ post showing the crack-age that opened-up on Upper Red Lake in northern MN the other day. I dropped a little arrow so you can see where the ice bridge (top photo) is located at in the bottom pic:

Happens nearly every year out there early-on. Basically if the entire ice sheet isn’t locked in (meaning ice covering every inch of Lower and Upper Red lake) a big blow day 🌬 will shift the ice sheet around and something has got to give. Usually folks can get back across thx to resorts “bridging the gap” or sometimes (air)boat rides from one of these fine specimens:

> The Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Kelliher Fire and Rescue, Red Lake Nation Fire, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota State Patrol, Blackduck Ambulance, Lake of the Woods Sheriff’s Office and local resorts. A number of apparatus were deployed including airboats, water rescue boats, ATVs, drones and a temporary bridge.

Glad everyone was good and big thx to all that helped coordinate it all. 🙌

Now folks also need to remember that once it freezes back over – and a bit of snow falls – there’s going to be areas with 6-9″ of LESS ice than the rest…that you may not be able to see. So always recommend working thru a resort to know where to go or to not go.

We’ve shared a bunch of ice tourney pro Lawrence Luoma’s tungsten ice jig modifications in the past, and always get a bunch of great feedback. One thing that’s asked (over and over again!) is how the heck Lawrence ties a snell knot with those tiny, goofy-shaped tungsten jigs…?!

First: Why the snell knot?

He says it helps keep the bait perfectly horizontal, and that horizontal ALWAYS gets more bites from fussy bluegills. Like how Dave Genz always shows to straighten your knot by sliding it back on the eyelet…. When you snell, even the fish can’t move the knot – the jig bounces right back how it’s supposed to hang:

Lawrence shot us a little how-to video while at deer camp a couple years ago. If you’re having trouble seeing the specifics in the vid, he also hipped me to this Akara diagram that might help walk you thru it:

Thanks again, dude! 👊

Posted by Adam Ford on The Book of Face:

Now send that lawn mower up for a nap!

1. It’s been 2 years since we lost Ron Lindner.

Tough to believe – man, time flies but he’s forever in our thoughts.

2. MN: Private investors bet $20 mil on Lake of the Woods. 🤯🤑

A pair of Minnesota business partners, Joe Swanson and Pipasu Soni, just invested roughly $20 MILLION into the future of fishing on Lake of the Woods:

> “In a major behind-the-scenes deal finalized this year, the two Minnesotans bought out 4 owner-operated resorts in the Wheelers Point area. Sportsman’s Lodge, Border View Lodge, Wheelers Point Resort and Rainy River Resort now provide fishing vacations under the same corporate umbrella while trying to maintain their distinct charms.

> [They] have hired MN-based Leisure Hotels and Resorts to operate the properties and the new general manager is Jeff Andersen of Warroad, a highly regarded fishing pro. Andersen will be on hand at the St. Paul Ice Fishing and Winter Sports Show at RiverCentre. He’ll oversee 2 booths, each representing the 4 resorts.

3. ND: What are you doing Dec 9-11?

Lol! Talkin’ the Fargo Ice Fishing Show happenin’ at the Scheels Arena Dec 9-11 that’s full of great deals on gear, lots of giveaways, and loads of fishing seminars on some killer topics. They also have an “indoor wheelhouse display that’s over 20,000 sqft and gives you the chance to walk inside of the different units to see the latest in wheelhouse luxury.”

And I just heard some BIG news if you’ve been following the “Game of Inches” ice-fishing competition that’s been going down on YouTube between some heavy-hitters:

That’s right! 🔥

And if you haven’t heard of the “Game of Inches” ice-fishing competition:

> “An ice fishing competition spread across the ice belt. 5 days of ice fishing, 6 teams, 1 winner! Longest fish from each of the 7 categories (esox, walleye, panfish, whitefish, burbot, lake trout, other trout) give your total, most inches wins.”

Each team is posting their own video (every Monday night) from each day of the competition. If you’re prepared to get your binge watching on 🍿 I’ll get you started with a link to the day-1 video from each team below:

• Team Catch And Cook (Jay Siemens + Josh McFaddin) – day 1
• Team Fishin’ Geeks (Adam + Sean Konrad) – day 1
• Team Clayton Schick Outdoors (Clayton Schick + Adam Crawford) – day 1
• Team Cast And Conquer (Andrew Walker + Alex Peric) – day 1
• Team Frostbite (Joe Cooper + Dave Winters) – day 1

4. MN: Hey Twin Cities folks….

Twin City Walleyes Unlimited is having Jason Mitchell speak at the Thur, Dec 1 meeting from 7-9pm at the Bloomington Event Center.

5. MN: Reminder the St. Paul Ice Show is this weekend.

Dec 2-4 at the St. Paul RiverCentre. Here is the show’s floor plan and seminar schedule.

6. ND: Folks are already ice fishing on Devils Lake…

…and some surrounding waters:

> Mainly East Devils Lake, the south end of Black Tiger bay and the north end of Six Mile bay all with about 3″ of ice. Lakes to the north like Irvin and Pelican have 7-9″ where walleyes are biting. 3-5″ of ice cover most of the main lake, with a few patches of open water….

And fish numbers are up. 📈

> Perch numbers in summer net surveys exceeded averages with 15.3 perch per net, above the average of 12. The 10-12″ perch showed up at 4.1 of this desired size per net – the average is 2.4 per net.

> Fisheries biologists recorded 35.3 walleyes per net this summer, an all-time high. The average is 21.5 per net. They have been conducting and utilizing the same methodology for 31 yrs. The 15-20″ walleyes also posted a record of 12.3 per net, double the average of 6 per net.

More info here.

7. These new hard-bait cases look slick.

Fom FishMore Company who makes ’em specific to the baits:

WAY more info and additional styles/sizes/layouts on FishMore’s site. And their “Favorites Bar” is a cool hybrid idea for leaving some trays open to stack a pile of baits in, but protecting those go-to gems you always want at the ready. 💯

8. SD: “Hooked on Hardwater” is happening 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.

Here’s a little video they put together from last year’s event and you can tell they had an absolute blast on the ice – love to see it!

9. Flaming Gorge Rez “Burbot Bash” happenin’ Jan 27-29.

Last year they gave out over $52K in cash + prizes. Burbot Bash = annual tourney (and non-profit event) to help rid the western fishery of the invasive species while also “generating some biological data to further understand the population in the reservoir (diet and creel data collected).”

Yup, this is real life…. Have a shot at winning this Garmin LiveScope Plus Ice Fishing Bundle LI! The term “game changer” gets thrown around a lot in the fishing industry, but LiveScope Plus is SERIOUSLY mind-blowing stuff!

Allows you to see fish swimming in real time 🔥 I have learned soooo much from watching the fish’s moods in how they’re reacting (or not reacting lol) to the presentation. Drill a single hole and scan for fish/structure in ANY direction, see which way the fish are moving, and know exactly where to drill your next hole to stay on ’em = yes please! 🎯

And the new LiveScope Plus (LVS34 transducer) kicks things up another notch with…

> “…35% more target separation over the existing system [which is already insane] with sharper resolution, reduced noise and Garmin’s clearest images.

> “…capable of identifying and separating targets as small as 14″ at distances 100′ from the boat [or ice hole] so anglers can see exactly what they need to with improved stitching, reduced noise and fewer on-screen artifacts….”

Bonus points for “LI,” meaning lithium battery = lighter and longer runtime.

Takes 10 seconds to enter by clicking the pic below, and can share the link you get for bonus entries. 👊 Good luck!

Tony Roach deadsticks with a dropshot rig. 

Tony likes the extra range of motion it gives the minnow, and that dropshots don’t get tangled up on the drop as often…something that happens when using bigger split-shots.

Also gotta love always knowing exactly how far the bait is sitting off bottom – without using a flasher or depth bomb – while resetting the line after a fish catch…or miss. 😉

Check the Wired2Fish video here:

“Find a fishing buddy who will carry his weight.”

– That was NPAA’s caption under this Mike Sandoval shot.

No doubt. And gotta say, those are a couple fellers I’d love to buy used gear from…’cuz 99% of folks would be ripping that Jet Sled across the rocks.

Oh, and I see a gas auger in there so hope those dudes were lifting with their legs lol.

This shot from @julian_dicke is actually a zander (muscle-bound, European cousin of walleye) but too good not to share. Thing looks absolutely squirrely and somehow slightly terrifying:

Shout-out to Britney Magdal who baja’d over to SD to hit up some early-ice walleyes, and landed this one that clearly hadn’t been missing any meals. Sounded like they said it was 28″ long x 19″ girth in the video – sheesh!

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH