Possible ND record, Blade baits still overlooked, Cane pole walleyes

The current ND state record walleye (15 lbs 13 oz) was caught May 2018 by Neal Leier on the Missouri River near Fox Island. Been a few fish since that maybe could’ve kicked it outta the top spot, but they either weren’t verified or were DQ’d from state record status after the Game and Fish Dept said they’d been foul hooked….

BUT Jared Shypkoski’s 16.39-lber (33″ long) is looking like the real deal – check it out!

> The fish weighed 16.42 lbs on the scale he had in his boat, and 16.39 lbs on the certified scale at Cash Wise Foods on the Bismarck Expressway. A game warden for the ND Game and Fish Dept met Jared at the grocery store to witness the fish being weighed.

The fisheries chief said it isn’t an official state record yet, but they’ll “make that determination in the weeks ahead.”

Caught her about 1 hr before dark last Saturday – trolling crankbaits in the “Cannonball” area of the Missouri River south of Bismarck.

I reached out to Jared to confirm some deets and found out he caught it with a Smithwick Perfect 10 Rogue custom-painted by Team Ultimatum Customs in their “neon glow shad” color. He said they were running their baits in 3′ or less [!] when that freakazoid bit. Using Off Shore Tackle Planer Boards so they could run 4 rods off each side and of course not spook those skinny-water slobs. 🎯

Working on getting a pic of the actual bait from Jared (will follow-up) but in the meantime, this snap from Team Ultimatum Customs shows what the custom pattern looked like:

> Jared: “It’s pretty surreal, still, I guess….I can’t believe it, that’s for sure. It’s been my goal for a lot of years, and I actually didn’t ever think I would achieve it.

> “…had a buddy tell me he thinks [the record] could be broken a couple times this spring, so we’ll see what happens. If it is, good for them.”

Huge congrats on the fish of a lifetime, man! 🙌 Straight-up earned that one.

Btw dude is no “average Joe Jared” who stumbled into a record – he and his buddy Tyler Genre have been specifically targeting BIGS and on a mission for THAT caliber of fish.

Couple weeks back they even took a trip to the Columbia River and stuck some absolute monsters. Not state records (lol) but they each caught their then-PB walleyes, with multiple fish breaking that magical 30″ mark, including a 31.75″ and a 31″:

Amazing. 👊 Keep grinding, fellas!

Oh, and pretty sure Jared owns 97% of all the custom-painted cranks in ND lol:

🤤😍🤯🤩 Looks like that walleye cost about $623/lb.

– That line ^ is from a pretty funny Kim Fundingsland write-up tackling a topic I’ve spent more time thinking about than I’d like to admit. Makes my brain hurt:

Reminds me of the never-ending “musky” vs “muskie” debate. When in doubt:

Imo “muskie” is a fish and “musky” is a smell…. 🤷‍♂️

Gotta bring this trip back from memory lane ‘cuz it’s still one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. Full TargetWalleye.com write-up here, few excerpts below:

Craziest thing I saw while pre-fishing the Wolf River (for the Winnebago NWT a few years back) was for sure the fishing rafts…. Sort of like an ice-fishing village except set-up along the river. Some are just “shacks,” but others have $30K wrapped into ’em with solar, propane, full kitchens, you name it:

They get permission from the landowner to tie up to the tree and leave the rafts out for the spring walleye run. Placement is a pecking-order thing – it’s a tight-knit community so the guys that have been doing it the longest get the best spots.

Shacks set-up on the shallow side of the river while fish are running upstream to spawn…fish take the shallows upriver since there’s less current.

Move the shacks to deep holes in river bends for the post-spawn run. Big females will ride the current back down to the main lake…and they CRUISE.

Troy Peterson caught a fish in Lake Winnebago that had been tagged in Shiocton 24 hours earlier – approx 84-ish miles upriver!

He compared it to:

It gets crazier….

Fishing-rafters use old-school bamboo cane poles [!] with Rapala Original Floaters on 3-way rigs with a 3- to 5-oz bell sinker. Cane poles ‘cuz of the forgiveness – fish clobber the baits.

Usually a night bite so they rig bells, reflective tape or a wiffle golf ball on the rod tip for a strike indicator.

Can run multiple lines in WI, so they’ll set one 2-3′ off bottom, another 4-5′ off, and the 3rd just a few feet under the surface. Don’t fall asleep ‘cuz a log or sturgeon will roll through and wipe everything out.

Some even run Off Shore Tackle Planer Boards on their cane poles (if they have the room) to take the 3-way rigs out to the middle of the river. Imagine seeing that?!

Lot of folks keep a catch-tally on the wall: word is the average raft lands 200 walleyes on the season and 20+ fish nights are possible when the bite is on.

I was actually able to sneak out on one of these “floating fish houses” for an evening – for sure an experience I’ll never forget – luckily I got it all on video:

Can’t thank all the guys enough for letting me in on such a unique experience, and my buddy Troy Peterson for lining it all up. Mike, Luke, Pete, Jacob, Tom – hope to see you all again sooner than later.

Rippin’ blade baits is still one of the most overlooked and not-talked-about techniques for cold-water walleye. Learn ya some knowledge in this throwback MidWest Outdoors write-up from Walt, few excerpts below:

> Thin metal wobblers like B-Fish-N Tackle B3 Blade Baits [left] and Wolf’s Big Dudes [right] cast like a rocket and sink like a rock. You’d think this would spook a shallow walleye, but it attracts them.

> Blades are “reaction” baits and fish have a split second to react to something resembling fleeing baitfish, so they attack.

> Never tie directly to a blade bait – some makes will have several attach points or holes at the top (which give wider or tighter wobbles). It’s best to use a snap or split-ring on top to prevent line cutting.

> Prevent snags in stumps, fallen timber or rock bottoms by cutting off the front barb of the front hook.

> Shallow-water trick: A sidearm cast low with a snap of your wrist will sometimes get the lure to skip along the surface, resembling fleeing bait.

> A slow, steady retrieve of a blade is popular, but you should try it with a stop-and-go and high-speed retrieve. I also like to rip-jig the blade up with a fast rip of the rod followed by a slow reel to pull up the slack.

More cold-water tips on crankbaits, plastics and bucktail jigs here.

1. Pure Fishing is buying Plano.

Be…aggressive, B-E aggressive! Deal is supposed to close in April.

2. I don’t think anyone hates LiveScope as much as this dude LOL.

From this opinion article:

> “In a very short time, modern sonar has obliterated fair chase boundaries for certain types of fishing.”

 

> “You can actually identify a fish onscreen that you want to catch. The sonar is so precise that you can watch your bait drop to the fish, and you can watch the fish take the bait. It is said to be much like playing a video game.”

 

> “…LiveScope Panoptix [that’s backwards, but okay] tilts the advantage to the angler in a quantum leap. Especially for anglers with advanced skills, it has taken fishing out of the equation and practically automated catching.”

Lol yup just press 1 button and BOOM you’ve got your limit. Heard the next-gen models even fillet ’em for you.

> “Nobody throws back a legal-size walleye or crappie.”

Nobody? Reeeeally….

> “The technology is popular and affordable….”

Okay, you lost me at affordable. 🤣

I agree live-imaging units are a big advantage – and could (maybe should) lead to daily limits being adjusted one day – but I can absolutely tell you that owning a LiveScope unit will NOT guarantee you catch anything. Thx for the chuckle tho!

3. New federal kill switch law effective Apr 1.

4. Abu compiled a list of the top 100 fisheries in the U.S.

And the top 10 were just announced today. Not just for the bass-heads…includes some walleye factories like Lake Erie (3), Green Bay (14), Mille Lacs (17), Devils Lake (18), Lake of the Woods (42) to name a few on there too. Pretty cool.

Btw congrats to Abu Garcia on turning 100 yrs old! 💯💯💯

5. MI DNR is looking for sponsors.

> With less than 15% of the DNR’s annual budget coming from general tax dollars, new and creative revenue sources are vital to fulfilling the department’s mission.

> “We are open to a wide variety of sponsorships and partnerships to help people enjoy and appreciate MI’s natural and cultural resources and, at the same time, highlight the many businesses that are growing the outdoor recreation industry and the state’s economy.”

6. MN: Gull Lake Spring Walleye Classic, May 22.

Lots of fall derbies happen on Gull, so pumped to see a big ol’ spring bash. Limited to the first 75 boats that sign up. Entry is $400 if registered before 5/5 and $450 after that. 1st place = $7,500 based on a full field. More info here.

7. Closer look at Northland’s “Rumble Series” cranks.

Nick Lindner talks sizes, running depths, etc…and what time of year he says each model shines:

8. WV: Mine blowout blasts Cheat River and Muddy Creek……with highly-acidic water:

> Several million gallons of highly-acidic water began discharging from the former mine site, peaking at around 6,200 gallons per minute (gpm).

> …the sudden increase resulted in damage to the conveyance pipe carrying acid mine drainage to the treatment facility and caused a section of the manhole to separate, which allowed 300-500 gpm to bypass the treatment system [and dump into Muddy Creek].

> “We can assume the fish swam downstream to the Cheat. Or they swam to the headwaters of Muddy Creek, or they have perished. We won’t know until we can take a survey.”

9. PA: Woodcock Creek Lake water level dropped 21.5 ft!

> The dam’s floodgates remained open when automated equipment used to monitor the level of the lake’s surface froze. Ice also prevented water from receding within the control tower well used as a manual backup, resulting in the same faulty reading.

10. OH: Crews already ramping up for next year’s “Walleye Drop.”

Forget the “ball” drop in Times Square…Port Clinton, OH does a walleye drop with a custom-built 20′ fiberglass walldawg.

11. Corporate marketing site shouts out fishing.

> During lockdown, interest in fishing reached new levels and new demographics as people looked for fresh air, fun and the allure of catching the big one. 3 mil more fishing licenses were sold in the US last year compared to 2019 – this accounted for 40% increase in sales…. And 90% of new anglers say they plan on sticking with the sport.

12. I had to chance to hop on the Smackdown Outdoors Podcast.

Reminder: Podcasts are sorta like talk radio shows, except you can listen to ’em anytime and anywhere you want. Sometimes they’re audio only, other times (like this one) there’s video, too.

Host Doug Glimmerveen and I chatted for nearly 2 hours! Of course about fishing, but a little bit of everything mixed in there. My daughter, Maisie, even made a cameo appearance. Still shocked my wife was able to keep her occupied and downstairs as long as she did = #SnacksOnSnacksOnSnacks lol.

Thx for the chat, Doug! 👊 Next time let’s do it in the boat.

Jason Mitchell’s jig + plastic tricks for river walleyes.

It’s mind-boggling how much info J-Mitch can pack into a 5-min video. Alberto knots, and super glue, and current cutters, oh my!

Good news: Tourney SZN is coming in hot!

Bad news: Entry fees 😳.

🤣 Pumped to get back into the swing of things with some friendly competition, but ouch!

What’s cooler: This sauger’s camo pattern or the fact that it’s a real-life unicorn? Awesome catch from Head2Head Fishing PWS pro @isaaclakichfishing:

> “Some people speculated the driver did that so he can use the truck for ice fishing.

> “One woman said the idea is genius because the driver is ready for a campfire any time.”

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH