Target Walleye/Ice email

Speed trolling for eaters, Gifts for dad, Fish of the week

Posted on

Today’s Top 4

Speed troll Shad Raps for a zillion eater walleyes.

Water temps are in the mid-60s. Common thought would be to slow down, but speed trolling Rapala Shad Raps up to 4 mph [!] can put a limit of eaters in the boat while the other guys are still baiting their hooks. Here’s how James Holst does it:

> James: I don’t have an answer for why these fish respond well to trolling fast, but they do. We’re trolling 2.75 to 3.0 mph and only get faster as the water temp increases…we’ll be pulling upper-3s by the time this bite dies off mid- to late-June.

> You’re covering so much ground at that speed — putting baits in front of so many fish — you’re bound to load the boat.
> I’ve used this on Mille Lacs Lake, Lake of the Woods, just about everywhere you go this time of the year. Perch, firetiger and crawdad #5 Shad Raps are top producers year after year.
Make SURE to bring orange-colored ones with to Lake of the Woods….more info on that here…now back to our regularly-scheduled program:
> I like 6-lb diameter, 20-lb strength Sufix 832 braid. I could get a lot more depth out of these crankbaits with a 2- or 3-lb diameter line, but I don’t want to do that because we’re fishing in such shallow water, I want to get the baits away from the boat.

Here’s James Holst and Joel Nelson practicin’ what they preach:

Razorbacks of the week!

Nick Huckson cracked this ON 30-incher while pitching a 3.5″ Impulse Core Swimbait:

TW fan Jason Orawiec crawler-harnessed this Lake Erie slob. Looks like there’s another waiting on bottom for you man!

Ian Langdon stuck this perky 30-incher feeshin’ the Waswanipi River in northern QB:

Father’s Day stuff for fishermen.

Father’s Day is coming up! We put together a “wish list” of 20 Father’s Day gift ideas for fishermen — with something for every budget. Stuff he’s sure to love…we do! Check the full write-up here, few items below:

1. Rapala Touch Screen Digital Scale – ($49.99)

No more exaggerating fish catches lol. Love that it lets you store the weights and add up your total bag. Makes culling way easier for the tourney guys.

2. Northland Tackle Pro Walleye Crawler Harnesses – ($3.49)

The crawler bite is just heating up and only going to get better. These harnesses have an optically brightened UV blade and SuperGlo beads, making them a killer dark-water option. Also sports a speed clevis for quick blade changes. #Money

3. Lund Retro Neon Sign – ($150.00)

Perfect for the garage, cabin, anywhere, everywhere. Buddies will for sure be jealous.

4. Off Shore Tackle Tadpole Diving Weights – ($7.29)

Simply put: lets you troll your crankbaits deeper…like up to 50′ deeper if need be. Easy to use, inexpensive and underutilized. More info in today’s tip at the bottom.

5. Drotto Boat Latch from Boat2Trailer – ($229.00)

Makes loading/unloading the boat MUCH easier – especially those with roller trailers! No more walking in the water, or hanging upside down trying to reach the latch:

#NeedWantMustHave

Would you eat this walleye?

Nope:

Caught by Justin Bailey in central, MN. BTW that’s a skin virus called lymphocystis.

Forrest Leitch caught this one wearing a lymphocystis top hat and said: “Slice the chunks off – fry in butter or oil – cook until golden brown.” We’ll take your word!

News

1. Ron and Al talk about the early years.

THE fishing brothers chat about the “seed” they planted which grew into In-Fisherman. Didja know Al hand tied all of those original Lindy Rigs? No wonder he prefers artificials now….

2. MN: Mother/son team win Gull Lake Fishing Challenge.

Kathleen and Philip Yeh weighed a stout 15.07 lbs on 3 fish – great bag! Said they could see the “white tips” cruising up shallow, and were tossin’ Rapala Shadow Raps in 12-15′ off the edge of the weeds:

3. MN: Freed/Hasse win Leech Lake tourney.

Jason Freed and Chuck Hasse won the 9th-annual Leech Lake Walleye Tournament with a 2-day bag of 31.48 lbs, taking home the $15,200 payday:

> Jason: The first areas [we fished] were shallow flats where the walleyes come in at 8-12′ to feed on small perch and crayfish during early-morning periods.

> We pitched [semi-secret] artificial baits, as well as 1/8-oz KenKatch Long Shank and 3D Eye Jigs until we found an active school of fish.

> Once those fish slowed down: we worked underwater points or bars in 24-28′, rigging redtail chubs and leeches. It was a great 1-2 punch that produced both quality unders and an over 26″ each day.

Way to get it done, guys! Keep it rolling.

4. Maybe win ya a pile of BaitCloud.

They’re giving away an entire case of BaitCloud (fish-attracting super balls!) each week the rest of June. Deets on how to enter here.

5. Gander Outdoors expanding fishing tackle?

The remaining Gander Outdoors (buh-bye “Mountain” word) stores will be smaller and:

> …will only have a handful of handguns and shotguns to sell, while fishing gear is going to be greatly expanded. [New Gander owner Marcus] Lemonis believes that’s the sort of store customers really want to shop in….

Tip of the Day

Use Tadpoles to troll crankbaits deeper.

Off Shore Tackle Tadpole Diving Weights are a weighted device to get your lures deeper, and an easier alternative to downriggers and divers. This In-Fisherman write-up has a ton of great info on ’em – few excerpts below:

> The Tadpole gets its name from its shape, resembling a larval frog. This in-line diving device is weighted and dives like a crankbait…allows anglers to fish deeper [as deep as 50-60′] at a range of speeds while using shorter leads.
> A 1-oz Tadpole fished 150′ back at 1.5 mph runs at 25′. This makes it a great option for most trolling applications because a greater range of depths can be achieved with moderate lead lengths.
> Rig the Tadpole by attaching the line to a snap that clips onto the tow arm. Then tie a 4-6′ leader to a snap-swivel on the tail of the Tadpole with 12- to 15-lb fluoro for spinners, spoons, and stickbaits.
> …Can be fished on a flat line or with an in-line planer board. Using a line-counter reel lets you duplicate effective lead lengths.

Quote/Meme of the Day

Love at first bite:

Today’s ‘Eye Candy

Insta user @megs_et10 says, “Beauty is in the wall-eye of the beholder.” Good one for sure! Caught while trolling Berkley Flicker Minnows – ever tried ’em?

Random

Did you know that catfish eat opossums? We’ll just leave the semi-gory link right here for those of you that want to see the proof….
Sign up another ice-head!
If you’re forwarding Target Walleye/Ice 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 ’em for spam, etc.)

Check this stuff out!

Who is Target Walleye/Ice?
Target Walleye/Ice — 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/Ice. 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 quit sports in high school because they were interfering with his fishing 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.

Related Items:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Recommended for you

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

To Top