Heads up: This will be the only Target Walleye this week ‘cuz I’m headed down to TX for the Bassmaster Classic at Lake Ray Roberts. Excited to explain to these fellas/fellettes what a walleye is (lol) but also nervous since I’m someone who sweats when it gets above 55°F. 🥵 Luckily mother nature’s been helping me prepare for the heat: |
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Sounds about right! 😂 Anywho, just wanna say a big THANK YOU because none of this craziness would be possible without you and the companies that support TW. Have a great rest of your week and thx much for reading! 💯 Now…let’s get it started!
>>> If you’re getting Target Walleye for the first time, a friend probably signed you up! <<<
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Did you know a TX lake was stocked with 8 MILLION [!] walleyes in the ’70s?
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Had to do some digging’ on “The Lone Star State” since I’m heading that way ️🛩 right now. Apparently White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX was stuffed full of 8 mil ‘eyes back in the day…and some locals have been wondering where they all went, and why they dumped in so many in the first place:
> “For all other years from 1968 to 2017, the number of fish stocked into the lake doesn’t come close to that 2-yr total. Reportedly, not a single walleye was fished out of the lake in the years since millions of them were dumped into the reservoir….”
Info from here:
> 1st, the department wanted to increase the odds of establishing the species in the reservoir, so bumping up the number would help accomplish that.
> 2nd – and of more importance to the department – was the goal of controlling the number of yellow bass in the lake by introducing another predator fish. …the lake contained over 3,000 yellow bass per acre. The species was competing with gamefish, such as largemouth and hybrid-striped bass, for food and shelter.
One theory says that those same yellow bass they were trying to get rid of, are actually the ones to blame for eating all of the walleye fry!
> “So predation by yellow bass and largemouth bass, coupled with normal survival and the warmer temperatures, likely prevented the development of the walleye fishery in White Rock Reservoir.”
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Sounds like Lake Meredith is another TX lake that actually has a solid population of walleye, and according to the interwebz “6- to 8-lbers are common at times.” 👀 Same lake the 1990 state record came out of to the tune of 11.88 lbs.
And there’s still quite a bit of walleye stocking going on in TX:
> ’19: 1.71 mil fry stocked in Greenbelt, Meredith, Wheeler Branch and White River Rez.
> ’18: 2.75 mil fry stocked in Greenbelt, Meredith and Wheeler Branch Reservoir.
> ’17: 5.11 mil fry stocked in Greenbelt, Meredith and Wheeler Branch Reservoir.
> ’16: 3.24 mil fry stocked in Fryer, Meredith and Wheeler Branch Reservoir.
> ’15: 1.33 mil fry stocked in Palo Duro Reservoir, Theo at Caprock Canyon, Wheeler Branch and White Reservoir.
Enjoy ’em, snowbirds!
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A different kind of 2-for-1s…. 🤯
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Know you’ve got the right presentation going when you catch a walleye that eats BOTH baits at the same time:
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Of course it’s not just a Lake Erie thing…. 👀
Never know what you’re gonna run into checking Target Walleye Instagram DMs. Todd Furo (@furo1348) and his cousin managed to hook the same walleye…from different boats…at the same time. Can’t make this stuff up!
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Minn Kota has a 20′ Talon coming?
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Okay, not really…but it does look like he has a 15-footer on the back, which is pretty mind-blowing. Minn Kota’s gonna have to stop calling ’em shallow-water anchors, and start calling ’em medium-water anchors….
If you (somehow?!) still haven’t seen/heard of the Minn Kota Talon, it’ll pin you down with the push of a button in 8′, 10′, 12′ or even 15′ depending which model you have. #TalonDown |
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The newest models have Bluetooth to work with: the upgraded remote, Talon phone app, allows you to do software updates, and link to Humminbird units. Bonus LED light on the top cap for after-dark missions.
Can even get a Tilt Bracket for ’em if you’ve got a low garage door or find yourself sneaking under sketchy bridges/culverts to your favorite fishin’ spots. Pretty sure Brian “Bro” Brosdahl only has ’em ‘cuz it makes it easier to explain to visual learners how Talons work (lol) when he gets asked at nearly every gas station stop and boat access – comes with the territory!
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I’ve got a 10′ Talon on the back of my rig this year ‘cuz it was about the same height as my 200 Pro XS, and so I’m able to just barely sneak under my low garage door without messing with a Tilt Bracket. Between that and the Spot-Lock on my Minn Kota Ultrex, only reason I ever put an anchor in my boat is if the regs require me to…for instance some places in Canada where you either need to have an anchor or an oar/paddle on board: |
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No doubt spendy stuff, but honestly can’t imagine fishing without ’em now.
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“Merp” zanders are a thing!
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Seen a pile of merp walleyes, but this is still the first and only merp zander (close European cousin that grows to stupid-dumb-big sizes) I’ve come across. Crazy fish posted a couple years back by Jan Schoofs (left): |
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Jan had tagged a bait shop in that pic…so of course I got to snoopin’ and came across some sick looking baits they use to #TargetZander way over derr. |
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To this day, it still has me thinking that westernorthern Europe (Sweden, Finland, Germany, etc) is basically the Japan of walleye fishing….
Let me explain: In the bassin’ world, Japan is known for their crazy-detailed, durable, down-right exciting baits that catch the snot outta fish. Designs and techniques that we don’t see on this side of the Pacific until sometimes years later.
Just sayin’ we maybe need to take a closer look at what our European friends are throwin’ and bring some of that flavor over here. Know our fish haven’t seen it….
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Weirdest “no fishing” sign ever?
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Spotted in the BassBlaster email. Apparently there’s no trolling with/on/around camels: |
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Now how are we supposed to catch ’em?! 🤷♂️
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Not sure how long these tasty, limited-edition “HD Flash” patterns will be available 🤤 but on behalf of us folks fishing super clear water, I’d like to thank the Berkley scientists! |
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Gord Pyzer’s quick trick to finding transition ‘eyes.
If your fish haven’t made it out to their summer spots yet:
> …understanding the spring migration is a lot easier if you keep 2 things in mind. The 1st to remember is where you’ve been catching the fish since the season opened…. The 2nd is where you normally catch them in the middle of the summer. …right now you’ll find the walleyes somewhere in between.
> To…pinpoint your best options, grab your lake contour map and start by highlighting where the walleyes spawned and where you’ve been catching them. Next, circle your favorite summer hangouts – the places you either catch walleyes in late June, July and Aug or would anticipate doing so.
> Now draw an expressway between the 2 locations and note all of the key structural features that intersect the 2 locations. I am referring to the tips of islands, sunken reefs, humps, shoals and isolated rockpiles, anything that either crosses or is positioned close to the highway.
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“If you were spotting and stalking whitetails, and glassed every inch of a field or valley without seeing anything, would you still sneak out there on your hands and knees just because it looks so good?”
– Still one of my favorite-ever quotes from Scott Glorvigan, who’s talking about trusting your electronics and not fishing memories (spots you’ve done well on in the past) if you go through ’em without graphing any fish.
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Tim Geni whacked himself a 31.25″ SK behemoth on a PK Spin A Jig tipped with leech: |
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That’s one way to hide a secret fishing spot (😂 been there) BUT North Prairie Life was able to crack Tim’s code:
> “Nice try, but through careful reconstruction, I was able to reveal your actual spot!”
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Sign up another fish-head!
If you’re forwarding Target Walleye 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 them for spam, etc.)
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Friends of Target Walleye
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Who is Target Walleye
Target Walleye – walleye during open water and all species during hardwater – is brought to you by Al Lindner, Jim Kalkofen, Jay Kumar, Brett McComas and other diehard fish-heads like you!
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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
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