Super-sketchy ice spot, Columbia river giant, Massive crappie wins derby

That’s a big “NOPE” for me:

That picture was posted by Brandon Timlin on Facebook, who said he was driving on his way home, and HAD to turn around to snag a pic.

And Brandon knows that spot well, because he fishes it too, and even his POV photo on foot has me plenty sketched out:

I love ice fishing, but I’m just not THAT mad at the fish.

Disclaimer: This is a throwback catch from Feb 10, 2018…but to this day it’s one of the craziest, heaviest, biggest-framed walleye I have seen in recent years. So I’m bringing it back to light.

This 17.19-lb behemoth had elite proportions of 35″ long x 21.5″ girth! 🤯 It was caught by Andy Fiolka on the Columbia River. Here we go!

Andy caught (and released!) her trolling a #10 Rapala Down Deep Husky Jerk in the “pink tiger UV” color. Bait looks like this:

Whoops – blaming that one on the Google machinez. Here’s what the bait actually looks like (before teeth marks):

Big shout-out to Andy for releasing the beast!! Imagine how big she’d be if someone caught her right now. 😳 Look at this thing power off:

Just amazing. Congrats again, man!

Earlier this month, there was a 1-day virtual derby thru the FishDonkey app – called “Americas Ice Fishing Tournament” – where folks could fish any public water in the US.

And Shawn Riesgraf won the whole dang thing with the crappie of a lifetime. I’m talking a 17.75″ long hubcap (with the mouth closed) that had a 14″ girth!

He caught that behemoth on a #12 Lindy Tungsten Bug (chartreuse/orange) tipped with a single waxworm. I believe that jig has been discontinued, and that’s too bad because it’s Shawn’s favorite finicky panfish bait.

Especially right now because he said “the big crappies (15″+) have switched to eating exclusively bugs over the past month,” and that staying small with the presentation has been critical in triggering ’em to bite.

He also said they were fishing the edge of a mud basin in 15′ directly adjacent to a small feeding flat.

Apparently they had 100s, or even 1,000s, of fish working the same area…so they use LiveScope to single out the largest fish in the schools.

But don’t you LiveScope haters worry…Shawn lets those big ones go, including this one that literally filled-up an 8″ hole and was released healthy to spawn in just a few months:

I just got back from Fort Peck, MT chasing lake trout for a few days – more on that later….

A couple days before I left, I decided to pull my 4-yr-old daughter, Maisie, out of daycare early so we could spend some quality time together before I hit the road. I rented a SICK sleeper thru Ice Camp Outfitters on Mille Lacs Lake in central MN, and we had a ball!

Quick photo tour for those of you that didn’t see the stories posted on the Target Walleye Instagram page:

1. Some of my wheelhouse must-haves 😅a fat 1+lb ribeye, Crocs (duh!), LiveScope to watch what’s going on in all holes at the same time, and Catch Cover Hole Covers and Safety Covers…which saved my phone twice, portable power bank once, and my daughter about a zillion times LOL.

2. Swear I offered to share that medium-rare goodness with Maisie, but she insisted on pizza rolls…which I also ate for dessert.

3. I completely spaced on bringing my Engel cooler, but luckily had one of those new R12 Lithium Aerators stashed in my truck. It runs on the same 2Ah Lithium ION battery that my Heavy-Duty Lithium Fillet Knife Combo runs on.

Already had a SmartHub Bucket Mount slapped on the side of my trusty 5-gal bucket…dumped out all the random stuff I had thrown in there, and voilà I had fresh minners getting O₂ for 35 hours straight on that single battery. My first time using it, and it worked slick!

Oh, and I’m pretty sure my daughter would rather play with a bucket of minnow over an iPad anyday – literally couldn’t keep her out of them, but I bought plenty extra for that exact reason. Loved it.

4. Had some bites on rattle reels, but our best jigging bait was an 1/8-oz VMC Bull Spoon. Best colors were: Daytime = “Shiner” and “Gold Juicy Lucy.” After-dark = “Glow Black Wonderbread” and “Glow Tiger.”

5. It was the coldest day/night of the dang year! It got down to -25°F real temp, and the wind chill was outrageous…but it was 70°F in that cushy Yetti Fish House! Usually those kind of temps are just asking for trouble, or things not working right…but we never had a single hiccup!

6. We both snuggled-up in the queen lift bed and it was the best night of sleep I have ever gotten in a wheelhouse (other than a couple of those pesky rattle-reel alarm clocks HA!). Thank goodness for new “shacks” having actual mattresses! Maisie thought waking up to the on-ice sunrise was the coolest thing ever. I agreed.

7. But first: Coffee. Always coffee.

8. These are always welcome to interrupt breakfast.

9. TONS of these to stay busy with and some quality ones mixed in! They grow fast on Mille Lacs, and the new crop of jumbos in there are no joke. You didn’t hear it from me 🤐 but I think by next year you’re going to be hearing a big buzz around ’em…. I’ve already said too much lol.

10. Man, I am so stinkin’ proud of this girl. She’s already asked me about 47 times when we can go again next. Not sure exactly when, but I do know that it won’t be soon enough. It seems like way more work to bring the little ones with on fishing excursions…and, well, it is…but these are the memories that I will hold onto the longest. And hopefully she does too. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Obviously it makes it a lot easier to be able to hop into an already-warm wheelhouse with the holes drilled, and I couldn’t be happier with our experience using Ice Camp Outfitters. We will definitely be back!

Cold temps and nasty travel conditions sure do put our gear to the test. Shoot, even polar bears can break from being in that -30°F stuff hahaha.

This relatable Top Item was inspired by a recent FB from Jason Mitchell that said:

> “We always joke that if we run out of gas or break down, we just hope to be on a decent fishing spot. We’ll worry about everything else later!”

> “Every day is a gift but some days are better than others. Here’s to being broken down and beat down but no matter what…you can always smile.”

And it was very, very easy to see under the original FB post that he’s not alone LOL.

1. NY: Firefighters respond to 3 rescues on Oneida Lake in 24 hrs.

2. Great Lakes ice coverage is just 6.6%.

Significantly below the normal of 40% for this time of year.

3. IGFA announces 2023 Fishing Hall of Fame inductees.

IGFA = International Game Fish Association. Big congrats to Roberta G. Arostegui, Kay Brodney, Dean Butler, Gerald A. Garrett, and Bill Shedd!

4. A new Rapala film explores the story of Helen Lerner.

> …Helen Lerner, the intrepid angler who broke some of the earliest records in big game fishing and turned the sport into what it is today.

> Helen Lerner (1902-1979) is one of these quiet legends. According to the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA), this record-breaking angler and marine scientist was the first woman to take a bluefin tuna off the European continent, the first ever to take nine tuna in one year, and the first to catch a broadbill in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

> Wanting to share her knowledge and create a global community of anglers, Lerner founded the IGFA alongside her husband and fellow expert angler, Michael Lerner, in 1939. Today, the organization is regarded as the leading authority on angling.

> A pioneering figure, Lerner brought big game fishing to new heights and paved the way for generations of anglers to come – both male and female. And yet, her story is rarely told.

> A new film by Rapala, Lady’s First: A Rapala Story, uncovers the story of this incredible angler and transforms the narrative around the role women play, and have played, in the development of big game fishing and marine science since the dawn of the sport.

5. WI: “Battle on Bago” is happening right now.

Over $345K in prizes.

6. MT: New boat validation decals required.

> The current red decals expire Feb 28. [Boat owners] need to get new, free 2023-2026 validation decals for their watercraft….

> …permanently registered boats…must still obtain two free boat validation decals every 3 yrs at FWP regional and area offices, or by going to the FWP website….

7. MN: Sounds like forward-facing sonar was brought up…

…at the DNR “Panfish Workgroup” meeting last week?

8. The ONLY ice-fishing cookbook in existence?!

Let’s be honest: For 99% of us it’s ‘the ushe’ 👀 fried or baked fish…every…single…time….

The Crappie Chronicles’ chef Ryan Pinkalla just dropped The Frozen Kitchen on Amazon. It’s 88 pages of tasty goodness and NOT “bogged down in useless information and impossibly complicated recipes.”

> “This book gives simple instructions to make delicious food that anyone, from any skill level, can confidently cook with. As outdoorsmen/women, let’s raise our wild food skills to the next level and create food as exciting and fun as the sports we love.

> “The Frozen Kitchen is the culmination of 3 yrs of work on the YouTube series ‘The Crappie Chronicles’. This book is a true shoutout to the fans of this show who have built a community of not only passionate ice anglers, but fish-loving foodies. It’s time to change the way we cook with fish….”

I just ordered a copy (you can snag your own right here). Runs $27.99 but Amazon was running a sale, so my after-tax total was just $19.86…which is less than what I pay for a 32-page children’s book with like 12 different words used in the whole dang thing lol. 🙌 Can’t wait to get my hands on it.

9. Clam is hiring a Digital Marketing & Social Media Specialist.

Clam = GREAT people, awesome brands and products. Incredible opportunity for someone! More info here.

10. MN: Jeremy Woinarowicz = DNR Conservation Officer of the Year.

🙌

11. New 3.5″ size Storm Largo Shad.

I’m pumped about this one, because imo it will be the best all-around size for swimbaiting open-water walleyes. But also…

Just got my hands on some, and ended up sticking my first-ever Fort Peck lake trout using the “French pearl” color 3.5″ Storm Largo Shad paired with a 3/8-oz VMC Swimbait Jig.

Had 20-lb Sufix 832 main line with a 17-lb Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon Leader rigged up on a 42″ Tuned Up Custom Rods LTP (aka Lake Trout Precision) and holyyyy smooookes was that ever a blast! More on that coming soon-ish.

12. Yamaha added 14 trails to their Power Pay program.

Including the Wyoming Walleye Stampede and Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout.

13. WI: Ice shanty blows away on Lake Winnebago (video).

It blew several miles before he was able to stop it and move it back towards shore.

14. New “Top 5” video coming in hot! 🥵

Just posted episode 36 on our YouTube channel. Big shout-out to Sea Foam for making this fun video series possible!

I dig little DIY hacks…

…like this one posted by Matt Jacobson, who riveted a Clam Precision Bump Board to his Eagle Claw Ice Rod Case. #SlickRick

My buddy Jason Durham hit burbot fishermen/women right in the feels with this one:

60% of the time, it happens every time.

Guess those Busch Light ice-fishing cans weren’t wrong – long rods are in lol. Here’s the 🔨 Stephen Roller bouncing around and tracking down mid-winter walleyes with his Elliott Rods “Evolution Ice Series” 42M-F = a 42” solid carbon, fast-action blank that’s a master at working rattle spoons, Jigging Raps or any reaction lure presentation:

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH