Today’s Top 4

When walleyes are being fussy, Mike Frisch of Fishing the Midwest will use a vertical-jigging bait like the Northland Tackle Puppet Minnow to turn sniffers into biters — especially when there’s concentrated pods of fish. It’s a simple technique, but one that will put more walleyes in your boat yet this late-summer and fall.

Mike first let’s the bait settle into the bottom — then snaps it up quickly so it swims around before plummeting back down. Now’s where he does a slight pause — before ripping the bait again — because walleyes will actually come in and pin the bait to the bottom.

Here’s a quick vid on specifically how/when he like to get the drop on ‘eyes:

We all know that Fishing Hall of Famer Ted Takasaki wins plenty of walleye tournaments, but he’s also got a mad poker game:

Yup, that’s real life. Ted recently won the MSPT Grand Falls poker tourney to take home $52,360 in fish chips.

A few weeks back we ran a “Four-wheel drive trolling” tip from Ted — a push/pull technique that’s similar to driving your vehicle in 4WD. A lot of people commented that they loved it and wanted more. Here’s Ted in action:

Grizzled Northern MN guide Greg Clusiau finally found a good use for that old clothesline:

> “Some of the baits we used during the AIM Pro Walleye championship on Lake of the Woods. It was rough enough that water came over the bow a time or two. Also had a heavy downpour. I’ll let these baits dry out and then wipe out the tackle boxes they were stored in.”

We’ll take a few of those Rapala Tail Dancers off your hands if you run out of room to hang your trousers….

All the deets on Dan and Rod Pfeifer’s championship win will be in Friday’s Target Walleye email. To give you an idea of how ‘swell’ it was out there, check out Scott Seibert’s vid from on the water:

#SurfboardStatus

As the man who pioneered the sport of ice fishing, we’ve always “looked up” to Dave Genz, but this takes it to a whole new level:

He can walk on water AND float through the air, so earning a nickname like “the godfather of ice fishing” only seems fitting:

The crew in blue will be at the MN State Fair until Sep 5th — stop by to check out all the new gear and awkwardly stare at Dave Genz with lovey-dovey eyes lol.

Bob Jensen: Fall jig selection.

Water temps are on the drop — we’re now in what’s known as the post-summer period of fishing. The fall bite is just around the corner where traditional jig fishing is the ticket when it comes to catching numbers of fish. Here’s a few of Bob Jensen’s must-have jigs and why he uses each:

> “I really like Northland Fire-Ball Jigs when using minnows. Fire-ball Jigs have a short shank/wide gap hook. Put the hook in the minnow’s mouth and out the back of its head. By doing so, we get outstanding hook-up percentages, and the minnow stays on the jig longer.

> “Another jig that’s really been getting the attention of avid jiggers is the new Swivel-Head Jig from Northland Fishing Tackle. The hook isn’t molded into this unique jig — it’s attached with a swivel — so the minnow is completely free to move. It also has a stand-up head, so it can be fished slowly.

> “If you choose to use plastic, and more and more walleye anglers are, try a Rock-It Jig. It has a longer, sharper hook and a holder that keeps the plastic from sliding down the hook. It also has a stand-up head so it can be hopped or ripped along the bottom very effectively.”