Target Walleye/Ice email

Special Holiday Issue: Gotta Have Walleye/Ice Stuff

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Hope your day is filled with family, food and fishing…or at least fishing stories…. If you are sneakin’ out on the hard stuff…be safe out there!!

Anyone else servin’ up walleye, instead of turkey? Know this guy is:

 

Only one Target Walleye this week, but it’s jammed FULL of new-ish ice baits and other schtuff you absolutely “need” lol! Hope you dig it.

We can never have enough baits!!!

Spoons, rattlebaits, jigs…we’ve got you covered! [drool emoji]:

1. Spoon feed ’em!

Simple but interesting design seeing as fish love them some eyeballs. Basically a bullseye for ’em to target:

Has a quick-change clevis on the rear to swap out hooks or bead colors. LOADS of action with a nasty side-to-side wobble on the drop. #Flashy

It’s no secret how well jointed baits can work during the open-water season — gives the bait an extra little wobble — this is the first I’d ever seen one designed specifically for ice. And that face-down design is for upward feedin’ fish….

> “Uniquely weighted to offer ultimate action and vibration. On the drop, the counter-weighted system gives these spoons an erratic action that triggers fish to strike.”

I’ve said before and I’ll say it again: Every walleye fisherman/woman should own a 3/8-oz PK Spoon in the “red dot glow” color. It’s that good — especially when fished aggressively:

And PK just came out with a new rattle version I’m hoping to test out this weekend.

2. Be aggressive, BE-E aggressive.

A tasty 1-5/8″ (3/16-oz) size for you ice-heads. 12 different colors, 4 of which are UV and designed specifically for ice fishing:

Can be vertical-jigged through the ice or open water, but also a casting bait with a “finesse fall and strong BB rattle.” In typical Phantom Lures fashion they nailed the colors:

Sorta like a hard-bodied jigging bait + a rippin’-style bait combined. Pop a glow stick inside the bait and the entire thing glows — not just the glow stick — since light radiates in the color of the lure:

A new ‘vertizontal’ bait design that’s coming out SOON:

> “…features and industry first sliding head rail…allows the bait to sink vertically at incredible speeds, and with one twitch of the rod, the lure transitions to a horizontal presentation. The unbreakable polycarbonate lip gives the lure an erratic darting action and the feathered tail draws fish in.”

Designed to “mimic baitfish better than any other vertical jig.” Great on pressured fish and big smart ones! The realistic patterns allow you to slow the bait way down when there’s a fish staring at it, without scaring ’em off:

3. Tungsten panfish treats.

A must-have bait for fussy panfish. Has a compact profile that weighs the same as lead jigs twice its size. What else makes ’em different:

> …has a longer and bulkier body with goose-feather tail and wings. …VMC Power Gap hook offers a 5% wider gap than traditional jig hooks for a higher-efficiency hooking rate. Additionally, a 90-deg hook eye ensures the optimal horizontal position and maintains the perfect strike angle.

> The shape of these jigs is similar to that of a disco ball, allowing light to be reflected in all directions for greater notice-ability. …unique wide-gap design perfect for double-up baiting techniques.

New tungsten jig that’s molded after the Custom Jig & Spins Ratfinkee. Designed to fish deeper, get down quicker and keep your line tighter. #PanfishCandies

Its “eyes” have a built-in glass rattle that reflects light, adds sound and movement to seal the deal when it’s getting the once-over from a big pannie:

Really diggin’ the colors, too:

Gear it up for under $20.

‘Cuz it is possible to ball on a budget…

Slick unit that turns the top of your propane tank into a seat. Made from heavy-duty rotomolded plastic that atually gets stronger as the temps drops. #SpaceSaver

Btw – they’re made right over in Pembina, ND. Hit ’em up here, or gets your hands on one from their booth at the Fargo Ice Fishing Show Dec 13-15.

Soooo dang handy for popping those tiny tungsten hooks out of a crappie or bluegill’s mouth. Also works great for popping a deeply-hooked walleye off without turning ’em inside out…. Attach the lanyard to your bibs or jacket and don’t look back:

Attaches to a cordless drill so you can peel off a pile of line right quick. Still trying to figure out how I ever managed without one. Work smarter, not harder:

You hardhouse guys/gals are gonna love the JB Lures Fish House Float (weighted and unweighted versions). Has a 10″ fiberoptic stem so you can see your bobber from basically any angle in the shack:

They’re not just for inside permie shacks…I had the chance to try one during late-ice last season and loved it. Soaked a fathead under one as a deadstick for crappies — while I hole hopped around it — was freakin’ awesome watching ’em take it.

Only problem with these things…work so well they always seem to be sold out everywhere lol.

> “PolyPro construction with cellular foam inserts. These boxes are perfect for storing your spoons securely in place and protected.”

The large box holds 81 spoons [!] and the small 46. No more tangled hooks or chipped paint:

Bonus points for making a killer Jigging Rap box for the #7s and smaller.

You hard-house guys/gals have probably been “driveaway camping” for weeks now. Case you’re out there wrenchin’ — getting ready for things to thicken up — here’s a rod rack that’s actually made for ice rods. Can even store ’em up on the ceiling, outta the way:

> “A high-performance line designed to stay manageable even in frigid water. Constructed with special additives to deter water absorption, this line won’t freeze or accumulate ice build-up.”

That says it all!

 

Btw – I almost exclusively run “clear” but folks like that “neon orange” color for tightlining. If you’ve never heard of the technique, here’s how ice-nut and NAIFC tourney pro Anthony Rodriguez describes it:

> “Tightlining is a style of detecting your bites by watching the coils in your line as you pound the jig — watching as far down the hole as you can see on finicky days.

> “When you think you have a bite, drop the tip of the rod to see if the line floats…if it does, set the hook!!!”

Gotta watch Anthony’s vid to really understand what the bite looks like:

 

He prefers a shorter 18″ to 22″ rod to be able to sit closer to the hole, and chooses one that’s: “Stiff enough to pound the jig – yet soft enough to not lose crappie.”

Some more ice-fishy goodness.

Now that I’ve ran a set for a full season, I’d consider this a must-have item for flip-over shacks. Heard the newest model now comes with hub-shack attachments, too. Literally turns darkness into daylight when dialed-up to 1,200 lumens.

I’m the type of ice-head that prefers to fish in bibs and no coat. Ran this top all last year and absolutely fell in love with it. Spendy, yes…but you can’t fish all day if you don’t start in the morning you’re not comfortable, and you won’t regret this piece.

> …has a two-layer weave to keep the heat around your body. Shaped for ease of motion…thumbhole cuffs to keep your sleeves around the wrist — integrated hood and neck gaiter design block the cold from creeping in.

Roughly half the weight but twice the power of standard 12v flasher batteries — heck of an upgrade for you dieahard hole-hoppers:

Safely (and legally) refill your own 1-lb propane cylinders for pennies on the dollar…so you’re not spending $3+ per cylinder, just to be able to use about $0.30 worth of propane. Oh, and those cheaper adapters you might be using to refill cylinders in your garage are actually illegal and rather sketchy….

No cords to get in the way — makes filleting quick and easy. #FishTacos

Get 30% off Target Walleye/Ice gear starting Black Friday thru Cyber Monday! The code is BLACKFRIDAY but should automatically be added to your cart. Click here or on the pic below to check out the goods:

Go big or go home…and we ain’t goin’ home.

Has “synthetic resin-molded flighting” to make it super light (6″ weighs 4.4 lbs — 8″ weighs 5.3 lbs) but it’s also craaaaazy fast thanks to those twin serrated Lazer blades. Throw it on a brushless 18V cordless drill — or even your regular powerhead — to shave a ton of weight and make hole hopping great again.

Already have a HELIX on your boat? Check here ‘cuz you might be able to convert it to an ice unit — gotta love year-round use.

> “Enjoy the simplicity of having your sonar and GPS devices together in one compact, waterproof unit that’s ready to use on the ice. The SwitchFire Sonar offers better control over your sonar returns, while the Dualbeam Plus Sonar gives you options to use either the narrow or wide beam.”

 

This year Humminbird brought AutoChart Live to its ICE HELIX units. Can drill a handful of holes on a piece of structure and the unit will create a custom map of the spot with 1′ contours! Crazy cool.

ION G2 electric ice auger:

All-new ION G2 lithium ice auger is lighter, faster, smoother and runs longer. Check THESE stats:

> Lightest power auger ever made at just 17 lbs.
> Cuts a foot of ice in just 6 seconds.
> Drills up to 2,000″ of ice on a single charge.
> Easily re-drills old holes.

First off: There’s nothing wrong with doing it the old-fashioned way…

 

That being said, times they are a-changin’! The term “game changer” gets thrown around a lot in the fishing biz, but LiveScope is seriously mindblowing stuff. If you haven’t heard of it, here’s a 3-second preview from Uncut Angling:

 

Can now get that ^ same technology in a ready to rip ice-fishing bundle:

> …live-scanning sonar allows you to see fish swimming in real time [!] and structure up to 200′ in any direction. …locate schools of fish and know exactly where to drill your next hole.

 

For sure ain’t cheap, but can you reeeeally put a price on outfishing the snot outta your buddies???

Of course can’t fit every cool new thing in a single email…so we’ll keep sprinkling ’em in upcoming Target Walleye/Ice emails. Thx much for reading!

Who is Target Walleye

Target Walleye — walleye during open water and all species during hardwater — is brought to you by Al and Ron Lindner, Jim Kalkofen, Brett McComas and other diehard fish-nuts like you! #fishheads

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

To send us walleye pics, ice shots or whatever, just respond to this email or click here to email us. Or post it on the Target Walleye Facebook page.

Note: The FishUSA links in this email are affiliate links, meaning if you go through them to make a purchase we might earn a commission…at no cost to you. Click here if you want to learn a little more about links in TW.

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