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“It was foggy and dark, I lost my sense of direction and rolled into the open water. I really can’t tell you how I got out there – I thought I was following the shoreline. I wasn’t.”
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– That’s a quote from this powerful story about a quick-acting ice fisherman, Ethan Witthoeft, that saved a man who went thru ice.
> A man is lucky to be alive after his ATV went through the ice a few days before Christmas. Danny Erickson, an active 80-yr-old, lost his way in dark, foggy conditions and drove into open water in the center of Middle Cormorant Lake [MN] on the evening of Dec. 22.
> He was saved by another ice fisherman, Ethan Witthoeft of Vergas, who was about a 1/4 mile away, packing up his gear to leave, when he heard Erickson yelling for help.
> “It was more than luck,” said Danny’s nephew, Wayne Erickson, who lives near Fergus Falls. “There were quite a few angels out there that night.”
> Danny knew the ice was thin and there was open water toward the middle of the lake. After he packed up his gear and put his portable fish house on its trailer behind his little Polaris 500 ATV, he was heading to his home on the north side of the lake when he saw lights.
> “He saw a kid (Witthoeft) ice fishing and warned him about open water in the middle of the lake,” Wayne said.
> “He was just a nice old guy being nice to other people on the lake,” Witthoeft said.
> They chatted a little, Witthoeft thanked him for the warning, and was finishing packing up his own portable fish house when he heard the ATV “go real quiet, real quick,” he said. “I thought he must have got home – then I heard him screaming for help.”
> Witthoeft grabbed a long ice chisel and a pair of hand-held ice picks and ran toward the yelling….
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European perch caught in the states? 🤣
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There’s jumbo perch, and then there’s JUMBOTRON perch…and then there’s whatever the heck you’d call this thing LOL. Caught by fish-head Spenser Samplawski (owner of WI-based Big Bite Adventures) and went 16.75” long x 13.5” girth and 3.25 lbs! #MadeInTheUSA
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Most lakes with FAT jumbos are stuffed full of freshwater shrimp, but this one has a different menu:
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If that thing was caught in WI waters (?) it would have tied the current state record of 3 lbs 4 oz that was caught outta Lake Winnebago in 1954. But we’ll never know because released ‘er to get even more bigger-er. Incredible fish, man! 👊 And awesome release.
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Ice fishing for aggressive, shallow-water walleyes. 😤
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We just got back from a quick trip over to Devils Lake, ND (much better ice conditions than back home) where we were ice fishing for some jumbo perch and walleyes.
The perch seemed scattered and fussy…but we did catch a bunch of smaller ones, picked up a few jumbos, and then one reeeeally good one that scarfed-up the euros packed on the business end of my “glow pink fire UV” color VMC Rocker Spoon:
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Weirdness seems to follow me around sometimes…so it’s only fitting that I also caught a 🦄 LOL while working a 3/16-oz VMC Rattling Roach Spoon (glow orange fire UV) in about 8’ on a shallow rock-to-sand transition
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Definitely a unique specimen! And was super cool to see if fly in and crush the bait just 3’ or so under the ice. 😳
While the jumbo perch bite seemed a bit off, the real highlight of the trip was getting onto a wild shallow-water walleye bite at sunrise/sunset. The flurries were crazy, sometimes having 4 fish on the graph at once, fighting over the bait. Even had one walleye get off in the hole, then watched it swim back down and bite my buddy’s bait.
This new Target Walleye YouTube video is a long one at 31:54…so I included chapters in the video’s description on YouTube if you want to jump to any certain parts.
Thanks SO much for taking time out of your day to watch and comment on these videos – it means a lot!!! 👊 Hope you dig it:
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Btw all of the gear I use (sizes, weights, rods, you name it) is always linked in the video’s description on YouTube.
More videos coming soon-ish…. 🤞
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“Shoutout to all the folks that came here to hear Al say, ‘fluorocarbon!’”
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– Funny comment from Nick Lindner under this YouTube video giving Al Lindner a little grief about his Chicago accent. Nick is family, so he’s allowed to poke fun hahaha.
Btw the fluorocarbon comment totally has to be a reference to the old-school Uncut Angling YT videos where Manny would do impressions that were strikingly similar to Al Lindner (and some other northerners). 😅
Anywho, this new video has Al comparing mono, vs braid, vs fluoro fishing line. Each has a time and place – here’s the 🐐’s take on each of ’em:
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1. Uncut Angling talks (more) about barotrauma.
You’ll want to check this one out if you’ve been following the “barotrauma drama.” Aaron hopped on Sporting Journal Radio and had a good conversation with host Bret Amundson.
> “He addresses some of [Sporting Journal Radio’s] concerns and questions regarding his latest video on the barotrauma study from the Minnesota DNR. He tells us about a discussion he had with the Minnesota DNR, why he was concerned, and what he feels we all need to do better as anglers.”
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2. Great Lakes: Record low for ice cover on New Year’s Day.
> On Jan 1, scientists recorded the average ice cover across all five bodies of water at 0.4% – an all-time low for the day since researchers began officially measuring Great Lakes ice cover in 1973.
> Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario were completely devoid of ice, while just 0.1% of Lake Michigan was covered on Monday. Lake Superior had ice covering 1% of its surface.
3. Rapala VMC Corporation sells injection molding business.
> Rapala VMC Corporation has sold group’s entire injection molding business to a Finnish mold and injection molded parts manufacturer Muottituote Group Oy with an agreement signed on Dec 22, 2023. With the transaction, Muottituote Group Oy acquires Rapala VMC Corporation’s subsidiary KL-Teho Oy’s real estate located in Korpilahti, Finland, along with the injection molding operations, equipment, and personnel.
> “The completed transaction is part of Rapala’s strategy to focus on core business and release capital. Rapala has been collaborating with Muottituote Group for decades, and with this deal, the collaboration is further intensified. We have entered into a multi-year procurement agreement with Muottituote Group, ensuring timely deliveries of components to the Rapala VMC Group. This supports the new One More Turn strategy, aimed at accelerating inventory turnover and improving cash flow,” says Rapala VMC Corporation’s CEO, Lars Ollberg.
> Tuomas Akkanen, a member of Rapala VMC Corporation’s Global Management Team and Executive Vice President, Head of Group Supply Chain, adds: “Rapala wants its own factories to focus on the production of finished products and acquire components from contract manufacturers. Muottituote Group can focus on developing quality and efficiency in its area of expertise, better than us.”
> As part of the business transaction, approximately 20 employees will transfer to Muottituote Group as existing employees. The factory’s operations will continue without interruption, maintaining the same functions as before. The transaction has no impact on the ice drill manufacturing of KL-Teho Oy.
4. Rapala VMC completes the acquisition of 13 Fishing.
> Rapala VMC Corporation has bought James Coble’s remaining 40% shareholding of DQC International, the owner of the 13 Fishing rod and reel brand.
5. ND: 40th-annual DLVFD Ice Fishing Tournament is last weekend in Jan.
Over $325K in prizes. Proceeds from the tourney are used to buy equipment for the Devils Lake Volunteer Fire Dept = awesome.
Heads up: Tickets for the event have long been sold out….
6. MI: Huk sponsors the 2024 Michigan Walleye Tour.
No link, but there was an email from Source Outdoor Group sent out this AM about it.
Btw here’s Michigan Walleye Tour’s 2024 schedule:
- Mar 16-17: Saginaw River
- Apr 13-14: Detroit River
- Jun 8-9: Saginaw Bay Au Gres
- July 13-14: Lake Huron Alpena
- Sept 7-8: Burt/Mullet Lake (championship)
7. Not all mussels are bad.
The invasive ones get all the talk…but there are native mussels that actually play an important role in the ecosystem.
> “This 2-tank demonstration shows the incredible filtration capacity of freshwater mussels. After only 30 min, the aquarium with freshwater mussels contains crystal clear water while the one without mussels is still very cloudy and turbid”
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8. NPAA conference livestream this weekend.
> The National Professional Anglers Association (NPAA) Annual Conference gets underway in Fort Myers, FL, in just a couple days, and the organization wants the angling world to know its featured seminars will livestream (Facebook and YouTube) on Sat, Jan 7 [beginning at 9am est] free of charge for all to take advantage of and enjoy
9. MN: DNR looking to fill 200 paid summer internships.
10. MN: URL resort owners feeling financial impact of slow ice.
11. MN: Youth ice fishing day to be held Feb 3…
In honor of Adam Parnow.
> The first annual Get Kids Outdoors Youth Ice Fishing Day will take place on Saturday, February 3. The event is for kids ages 11 to 15 with minimal ice fishing experience. The kids will board a bus at Crookston High School and head to Island Lake in Lengby, MN. The event is free, and kids will go home with a new ice fishing rod combo, tackle box, and other prizes.
The event will take the first 40 applicants.
12. VA: RBFF hiring stakeholder marketing manager.
> Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation is looking for a stakeholder marketing manager to join its team in Alexandria, Virginia. We seek a forward-thinking team player with experience managing marketing and outreach programs. If you are resourceful, a “gets it done” kind of person with a drive for excellence in search of a job that promotes fun, quality time with friends and family, and conservation, RBFF would love to have you on board. They’ll even invite you to go fishing.
> The manager will develop and implement marketing programs and materials to support current and future stakeholder marketing and angler and boater recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) programs.
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Would probably go straight to jail for sending down a lil’ Christmas tree here in MN. 😂
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Tony Roach’s 1-2 punch 🥊 for hardwater crappies.
Tony runs down when/why he hits crappies with a spoon vs small tungsten jigs. He’s primarily talking about targeting fish on the edges of basins, but the same info applies whether you’re on the top edge or setup in the middle of the deepest hole:
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“Some say the history of ice fishing is essentially divided into BG and AG, Before Genz and After Genz.”
– Love that throwback quote talking about “The Godfather of Ice Fishing,” Mr. Dave Genz. It’s tough to imagine where the ice industry would be without all Dave has done…so a big thank YOU, man!
And in case you’re wondering what Dave has been up to lately…oh, ya know, just casually catching 10″ bluegills!
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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, Jay Kumar, Chris Philen, 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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422 Laurel Street
P.O. BOX 541
Brainerd, MN 56401
(218) 824 5026
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