Sketchiest ice ever, Jason Mitchell hooks minnows weird, Massive jumbo caught

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If you’re getting Target Walleye for the first time, a friend probably signed you up!

Today’s Top 5

Bigguns of the week!

1) Pierre-Philippe crushed his new PB (personal best) walleye to the tune of 13.5 lbs while fishing with Anthony John Badham. Said it was caught running a #12 Rapala Down Deep Husky Jerk custom-painted by JB’s Fishing Depot…150′ behind the planer board with a 2-oz snap weight half way back. Congrats dude!

2) How’s THIS for a bonus bite while chasing Devils Lake, ND jumbos?! Local guide Tanner Thomas whacked and released himself a 29-incher:

3) Skyeler Ritza has been icing Bay of Quinte gravel lizards up to 30″ with Custom Jigs & Spins Slender Spoons. If you ice fish for walleyes, you probably already own ’em. If not, they’ve got a killer fluttering action that can be the deal when walleyes don’t wanna bite:

Oh, and don’t worry dude: I never know what to do with the hand not holding the fish either lol. Sorry ‘cuz now that I mentioned it, you can’t not notice it in all fish pics.

4) Lake of the Woods is more than just zillions of walleyes…has also become a world-class pike fishing destination – especially during the Mar/Apr late-ice period. Ryan Blasko must’ve been using a 14″ auger (lol) to get this 42-incher through the hole fishing out of Arnesen’s Rocky Point:

5) Go big or go home, and Lunkerhunter JB’s not going home! #ArmSpreader

Here’s my “NOPE” of the day!!

Sent in from iceaholic Craig Oyler:

> “This was after 3 days of 60-80 mph winds. Blew what ice was formed into a small cove on Pactola. I wonder if the ice looked that sketchy at eye level? Sure looks insane from this perspective!”

Yikes! 🤯 Hope the dude made it off okay….

Since when do suckers eat Rapala Rippin’ Raps?

Apparently since now:

> Chris Brahan: I recently caught a white sucker ice fishing using a Rapala Ultra Light Rippin’ Rap. I was using an underwater camera at the time and saw it come up and eat the bait 3′ off the bottom. I have never heard about these being caught ice fishing before on minnow-imitation baits. The fish sure put up a good fight on 3-lb line!

Who’d a thunk!

“If a perch could score on the Boone and Crockett scale…this one would be in the books!”

– That’s the caption under this Striker FB post talking about Andrea Bricko getting it done in a BIG way on ID’s Lake Cascade. Of course it’s a “generous” hold, but that fish would still be 15.5″ and 1 lb 13 oz if she held it behind her back:

Would you eat this perch?

Okay, who wants to take a crack at this one? TW fan Thomas D. caught a jumbo perch that was orange-ish INSIDE and out. What in the creamsicle is going on here?

News

1. We lost another fishing brother.

Tyler Ballance (23) broke through while fishing on the Bay of Quinte and didn’t make it out. He normally wore a floating suit but apparently it was soaked from duck hunting the day before. Hate to hear it. Prayers to the family.

Tyler was a super-passionate young angler and as you can tell by this growing-every-day memorial, he made a big impact on many lives:

> His parents and siblings will now raise money to buy safety suits and fishing gear to help young anglers in his name.

> A fishing derby will now be held annually in Tyler’s name, organized this year by Bay of Quinte Bate and Tackle on Feb 13.

🙏🙏🙏

2. MN: The NW Angle ice road is open.

Case you didn’t know:

> The Angle is part of MN, but just barely. To get there by road…customers have to cross into Canada, drive north for about an hour, then cross back into the U.S. – 2 international border crossings – both of which are closed right now in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

So til the border opens back up (no one knows when that will be) the only way to get to and from the NW Angle has by boating 40-ish miles across Lake of the Woods – staying on the U.S. side of water.

So resorts came together to make an ice road from the south end of Lake of the Woods to the Northwest Angle mainland.

The amount of hours…days…that are going to be spent behind the wheel of a plow truck to keep the road open are mind-blowing! I’m planning to head up there early March…but might just have to sneak in another trip before that.

3. Are you subbed to Head2Head Fishing on YouTube?

You should be! Even in the off-season they’ve been uploading content like crazy. They’re actually doing a live-streamed podcast with every PWS pro = a super cool way to get to know each of the sticks. Hit their YT channel right here.

4. Best ice-fishing boots ever made.

Imo (in my opinion) of course. Not a sponsored post or anything, just hoping to help if you’ve been looking for THE boot.

I don’t even want to admit how many different pairs of boots I have tried over the years — and how many hours I’ve spent researching ’em online…. It’s easy to find warm boots. And it’s easy to find lightweight boots. BUT try finding lightweight boots that are crazy warm!

These Baffin Control Max are the perfect hybrid. I always have cold feet, and can say that after 3 full years of running ’em, my feet have never been cold. And they are super lightweight which is a big deal for hole-hopping.

Really the only downfall is they are super spendy – believe retail is like $250-ish. But if you look hard enough around the interwebz you can find a waaay better deal, especially if you’re okay with getting the “brown” ones instead of “black.” I ended up getting my pair for $139.

No matter what boot you run, I definitely recommend getting some Thermolite Liner Socks to use as a “base layer” under a pair of merino wool socks. Merino because it isn’t scratchy like “regular” wool.

5. Abu Garcia wants input on the top 100 fishing locations.

6. New PK Ridge Rattl’r is out now.

> We think we created the ultimate weight-forward design with incredible vibration and wounded bait-like action…along with a super glow paint! Even our metal colors have a super glow added!

7. Chance to win a fishing trip with Al Lindner!

Just gotta sign up for Lindner’s Angling Edge’s free email newsletter and you will be automatically entered.

8. Shout-out to the Fish Addictions TV crew…

…for teaching ’em young! And pretty sure Jake did a better job cleaning up that slab than I could do lol:

9. New online submission portal for IGFA world records.

10. New Someday Isle Tackle Water Puppet color.

Limited-run of “blue goblin” with a glow-white base:

11. Millennium Marine introduces B-Series boat seats.

12. Buck has a bunch of new knives coming out in Mar.

Love that Buck has new school, old school and everything inbetween. Here’s some of the new cutters coming:

Doh!

I shared a write-up from Minot Daily News in the last Target Walleye email saying that Lake Sakakawea, ND had iced-over on Jan 18. Buuuut I’ve got a pile of messages from locals saying it’s still 90% open. And now looks like they pulled the write-up down? See…that’s why you always need to check the ice for yourself lol! Thx all.

Tip of the Day

Couple Jason Mitchell deadstick tricks.

Crazy how many ways you can hook a minnow, and J-Mitch has one I hadn’t seen before. Skin-hooks it just behind the gills, and runs the hook forward to help with the hookup percentage since most of the time walleyes seem to eat the bait head first.

Also really like how he shows what the minnow looks like underwater, and can see how slightly pinching its tail off can be a difference-maker when walleyes don’t want to chase:

FishUSA still has a few of those 36″ Dead Meat rods in stock if you’re shoppin’.

Meme of the Day

Too funny not to share – from NPAA’s FB page – apolitical!

> “I am once again asking you to get out the snacks.”

Okay, one more – from @infishermanmagtv on Insta:

> “This time of year you always have to be aware of the Bernocline.”

Today’s ‘Eye Candy

Yup, my girl Maisie found her new favorite nappin’ spot!

Guess my dog “Vexi” did too….

Check this stuff out!

Friends of Target Walleye

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH