> You go to TargetWalleye.com and see all these pictures of big walleye up to 34″, but pay attention to the big-water systems they’re coming from. If you fish the Great Lakes, western reservoirs or a handful of lakes up in Canada…8-lbers are common.

> You would say, “Well a big fish to me is a 10- or 12-lber.” Well in these smaller, natural walleye lakes — that are peppered all over the heart of the walleye world — a big fish is simply a 6-lber. A giant fish (which you see rarely out of these lakes) is a true 8-lber. So everything is relative.

> In these smaller natural mesotrophic, slightly eutrophic lakes, we have a lot of 1.5- to 3-lbers, but when you get a 4, 5 or 6 that’s really good fishing. Now and again if you’re fishing a tournament or in the fall, you may see an 8-lber, but it’s rare.

> You’ve got big lakes like Lake of the Woods, Red Lake, Mille Lacs, Leech Lake, Winnebago — well-known walleye lakes, but even in smaller lakes 8-lbers are really-really, big-big fish. The reality check for most of us is that a bunch of walleyes from 16-20″ is a great day on the water.

> Dave: In late fall huge numbers of giant walleye migrate from Lake Ontario into the Bay of Quinte, where they stage for the spring spawn. This process starts in early Sep and carries through all winter. Some of these schools of fish can be in the hundreds! Imagine knowing you’re lure is about to intercept a bunch of pigs with fins!!

> A huge factor in this migration is the abundance of gizzard shad that can be in schools of thousands….why these fish look like sumo wrestlers…they’re lined up at the smorg all day and all night!

> Often these walleye and gizzard shad can be within a few feet of surface — the boat itself can spook them out to the sides — making planer boards an essential part of the set up…allows you to get your lines as far away from the boat as possible.

> At times we had planer boards 150′ away from the boat [!] when we were alone on a spot…if you’re around other fishermen…respect their space as well.

> Our key lures were the Bagley Rumble B, Deep Diving Minnow B, Rapala Deep Tail Dancer, and Down Deep Husky Jerks. The ability to stagger multiple lines gives you opportunity to try different models and colors at the same time.

> Don’t be scared to use some wild-looking stuff (start with a good variety)…most of our big fish came from crazy-colored lures.

> Some days they want it slow — others they want it fast…experiment from 1.2-2.2 mph. My belief is the later in the year it gets the more you want to slow down.

> Let it hit bottom then pick it up a foot or so. Snap the rod up about a foot and continue that with a nice steady cadence. Snapping the bait up causes it to dart off to the side. On the end of that snap not only does it glide out, but it also rolls on its side.

> One of the keys to using the Shiver Minnow vertically is to use high-vis line. Not only can I see when that bait touches bottom, but when I’m giving it the snap…I can pay attention to any sort of bites I get on the drop [the line gets slack]. Also lets me pay attention to what the cadence is and be able to duplicate that when I get a bite.

Better to be Shiver-rolled, than #RickRolled

> “Setting up your planer boards with spring-loaded flag systems not only makes it easier to see when you’re getting a bite, it makes it obvious when your lure has hooked onto a piece of floating weed or other debris.”

> “It’s amazing how often when trolling with Tattle Flag kits I see the flag fold down, then pop back up quickly before the board even moves. When a walleye or other fish strikes at your lure — but doesn’t get initially hooked — the Tattle Flag will telegraph that missed strike.

> “If you react quickly, it’s even more amazing how often you can tease that fish into biting again and with more enthusiasm. Simply open the reel bail and let that board stall in the water while continuing to troll forward. After a few seconds flip the reel back into gear and watch what happens as the line pulls tight.

> “Most of the time when that board begins to plane out, the flag will snap down and the board immediately starts rocketing backwards. Teasing fish into biting like this is highly effective and without the Tattle Flag kit you would’ve never know a bite occurred in the 1st place.”