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If you’re getting Target Walleye for the first time, a friend probably signed you up!
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Ron Lindner officially inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.
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The 2020 Induction Banquet had to be cancelled because of the pandemic, so joint induction ceremonies for 2020 and 2021 Hall of Fame inductees were held in Springfield, MO last Thursday. Two of Ron’s kids, James and Dawn Lindner, were on hand to accept the award. 🙏✝️
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Found out they had live-streamed the ceremony on Bass Fishing Hall of Fame’s YouTube channel ( Ron’s from 23:52 to 31:20). James delivered an incredible speech, and the standing ovation gave me goosebumps: |
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Top 30 fishing superstitions. 🍌🙅♂️🤞
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Superstition [sü-pər-ˈsti-shən] noun: A widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event, or a practice based on such a belief.
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We asked Target Walleye fans to drop a comment with their biggest fishing superstitions – good or bad, something they HAVE to do or something that’s NOT allowed on their boat…. Full list on TargetWalleye.com, little 5-piece McPreview below:
- Don’t fill the livewell until you catch one.
- Always dip the net when I start the day.
- Never harvest fish while pre-fishing for a tournament. Never.
- The last numbers on all the line-counters need to be the same.
- Can’t end an open-water or ice season with a pike.
😂 I love these – they make me feel less weird about my habits. Make sure to check all 30 fishing superstitions here.
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Anyone been out pulling cranks at night?
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Getting to be that time of year! I mean it’s always that time of year (for trolling crankbaits at night) but fall can be a great time to stick quantity + quality fish.
A buddy and I snuck out for a couple hours of after-dark trolling in MN’s Brainerd Lakes Area the other night. Water temps were still about 65 degrees [!] so it’s still a little early for what I’d consider the best bite, but we were able to find enough action to keep us out waaaay too late on a “school night.” 🥱☕️
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We went to the edge of a big weed flat where walleyes had been piled in 27-34′ during the daytime. Didn’t see a whole lot happening there around sunset, so we decided to try pulling cranks up top. We trolled all over: From out on the 12-18′ edge, zig-zagged across the juicy 7-8′ top, to as shallow as 4-5′ on the inside edge = NOTHING.
Finally hooked up after I set my Minn Kota iPilot Link to follow the 9′ contour at 1.8 mph, so we decided to ride that line the rest of the evening. Right on the edge of the depth-highlighted green before the contours tighten up:
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We tried switching up multiple different brands/styles/sizes/colors of cranks, but the only one that ever ended up getting bit was a #11 Rapala Original Floater in the “silver fluorescent chartreuse” color. Only had 1 of ’em with so we ended up taking turns with that rod LOL! Ordered a couple more this morning – she’s a classic: |
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I ended up keeping a few chunky 18-19″ waldos for a fish fry this weekend. Between 1) the stars being the brightest I’ve ever seen ’em around here, 2) bleeding-out my fish in the livewell, and 3) rocking a heavy flannel…I’ve never felt more alive hahaha.
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Made me wonder why I don’t bust out the headlamp more often? Hope you get the chance to sneak out for a nighttime (s)troll sometime soon! Before fall turns to winter. 🥶
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This is what a $5K walleye 👀s like:
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See the little yellow tag behind its second dorsal fin?
My bud Jay Siemens and his better-er half Sam Wallin were invited out to help tag fish for the Dryden Trailblazer Tagged Fish Contest that’s happenin’ on the Wabigoon Chain of Lakes. The biggun Sam’s holding in the pic is worth $5K [!] and they also tagged 5 other fish (2 walleye, 2 crappie, 1 smallmouth bass) with $1K tags. So a total of $10K is now swimming ’round the chain.
Believe it’s $20 for a ticket to fish from now thru Dec 31, 2022 for your chance at catching a cash cow fish – pretty cool idea! Who’s down for a road trip?
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Looks like another one for the fishing bucket-list! The “walleye world” expands further than you’d think….
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Little info on Lake Chautauqua:
> “…a 17 mile-long glacial kettle lake in western New York. At over 13,000 acres with a maximum depth of 75′, the lake is rimmed with weedlines, while sharp breaklines and rocky points make up the shallow structure. Because of its depth, it has a thermocline which could be a player if the lake is in the middle of turn-over. The south basin, at a maximum depth of 19′ does not thermocline.”
Whole thing will be live-streamed on Head2Head Fishing’s FB and YouTube channel.
3. OH: Last chance to get in on the Fall Brawl!
The Lake Erie Fall Brawl kicks off Oct 15, make sure to register by 11:59pm Oct 11.
Costs just $30 and can fish any time during Oct 15 – Nov 28 in the OH waters of Lake Erie…from the bank or in a boat. Cool thing is you only need 1 bite to get in on the goods = biggest fish wins.
They’re giving away a decked-out Ranger Boat to both 1st and 2nd place – combined that’s roughly $250K going just to the top 2 spots. Cash prizes will be awarded for 3rd thru 5th place based on the # of entries, which in 2020 was another $195K cash. Insane.
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Yup, this can (and does) get even crazier! Big thx to Eric Fritz for the heads-up:
There’s a new kid on the block called National Fishing Expos WALLEYE SLAM. They’re giving away a 2022 Warrior 238 with a 400hp Merc and 15hp Pro Kicker loaded with Lowrance, Recon rod holders and other sponsor gear. Get this: The derby actually coincides with the Fall Brawl so you could potentially win both at the same time (🤯2 boats!) if you register for both.
They’re paying down to 10th place and I think it’s super cool they’ll have separate classes for shore and kayak anglers, but of course you can still win the main prizes as well.
Same deadline: Gotta register by 11:59pm Oct 11. If you’re a local, they’re actually having sign up party at Erie Outfitters this Saturday, Oct 9th from 1-3pm. Bunch more info here on their site or can check out the Walleye Slam FB page.
4. MN: The bass vs walleye war continues on Green Lake???
Or at least that’s what folks were thinking when they found a bunch of dead smallmouth bass floating…apparently looked like someone had been “slicing and killing” them on purpose. A fishy war the lake had already been thru in the early-2000s.
But this time it sounds like the floaters were actually hit with a virus and secondary bacterial infections that “can eat away the skin in a way that looks like a knife wound.” Definitely an interesting read.
I remember hearing about this bass-vs-walleye war back when I worked at Christopherson’s Bait & Tackle in Alexandria – approx an hour away from Green Lake. But I vividly remember old-timers coming in to buy redtails (chubs), and them complaining – legit ticked – that smallmouth bass were “eating my expensive minnows before a walleye would even have a chance to see it.” I mean, I get it…but embrace the hookset man! Glad to hear this time around it’s not some vigilante smallmouth hit-man doing wrong that he thinks is right. 🤦♂️
5. Brunswick completes acquisition of Navico/Lowrance.
6. Dave Chanda named new RBFF president and ceo.
RBFF = Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation. He joined the RBFF team in 2017 as vp of state & federal engagement.
7. Skeeter introduces new WX2060F deep v for ’22.
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> The new WX2060F deep V builds on the popular WX2060 design, which makes it ideal for handling deep water and big waves. The new layout includes jump seats in the rear cockpit area allowing the boat to accommodate more passengers. This seating configuration creates a versatile, family friendly space with even more leg room. The WX2060F comes standard with a 250-hp Yamaha V MAX SHO outboard.
8. Outdoor industry “workforce assessment survey” ends today.
> The voluntary Workforce Assessment Survey is seeking participation from leadership and management teams of companies and organizations in the outdoor recreation industry to create an accurate picture of workforce needs, goals and efforts across the industry, and help establish benchmarks for ongoing evaluation of progress on key issues. The deadline for survey responses is this Friday, Oct. 8.
9. AFTCO funding helps battle Asian carp invasion.
> “Aside from a $10K donation [AFTCO made] to the War on Carp organization, $5 from all funds made from the War On Carp T-shirt will be donated as well to the fight. Support the fight to stop the carp from taking over our lakes.”
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Fall walleyes move from shallow to deep…to shallow.
Old school write-up from Mike Gnatkowski, but still a good way to catch your biggest walleye of the year…IF you’re willing to bundle up and get out late-fall. Also some interesting snippets to keep in mind on the fall-to-winter walleye migration.
> Weeds begin to die as winter approaches, depleting the oxygen in the water and fish are forced to deeper water.
> Baitfish flushed from the weeds relocate to the first available structure…dropoffs, stumps, wind-swept points, gravel bars or reefs.
> Look for spines and fingers that act as roadways leading to rockpiles, humps, gravel bars or boulders in 10-15′ in the main lake. Watch for the reverse later in the fall when the shallows cool and become re-oxygenated.
> A great way to target ’em then is to stealth troll after dark. Work up and down the contour, trolling slowly and quietly at 1.0-1.2 mph. Big Rapala Husky Jerks, Storm ThunderSticks and Smithwick Rattlin’ Rogues interest the biggest fish.
> Keep noise to a minimum and lights off the water because the walleyes are on edge, but you’ve got a chance of catching a pig.
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> From Future Angler Foundation: “Help us pass the sport of angling on to future generations! Your donations go directly toward our mission to “Create New Anglers” by working with individuals and organizations throughout the United States to expose potential new anglers of all ages to the sport of fishing and educate them on how to catch fish and protect the resource.”
Moments like this are what it’s all about:
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My favorite “season” isn’t a season at all. It’s any point in time throughout the year when you can comfortably wear the shorts + hooded sweatshirt combo. And judging by this @2b.fishing shot, it looks like Stephen Roller knows what I’m talking about: |
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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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