Today’s Top 5
Gravel lizards of the week!
Ricky McLaughlin stuck this wall-debeest on a Northland Tackle Mimic Minnow:
Throw stickbaits this spring.
Fishing with jigs is probably the most popular springtime walleye technique, but don’t overlook slim-profile stickbaits. They’re especially deadly early in the season when schools of walleyes flood into tributaries and bottlenecks between lakes.
> Chip Leer: Top spots include firm sand, gravel or rocky bottoms in 2′ to 8′. Current breaks, eddies, seams between slick and slack water, and other disruptions in the main current are magnets to migrating walleyes.
> Cast slightly above the target area and retrieve the bait through the strike zone as the current gently sweeps it downstream. Keep the lure close to bottom, without dredging. Ideally, the stickbait should lightly touch bottom every 4′ to 6′.
> Experiment with the retrieve. Most often a pull-pause cadence is best, but other times the fish prefer a steady swimming motion.Small stickbaits tend to perform best right now. My favorites are the 2.75″ to 4.5″ LIVETARGET Yearling BaitBall and Rainbow Smelt Series. They allow you to perfectly match the local forage, suspend on the pause, and produce a variety of strike-triggering actions with different speeds and rod tip movements.
Here’s the three things Chip Leer looks for when choosing the right stickbait:
Chameleon sauger caught.
Did Forrest Leitch lose this sauger, or did the sauger lose him? Looks like one of those Magic Eye pics you stare at cross-eyed until you puke:
“Whistling” for Rainy River gravel puppies.
Brian “Bro” Brosdahl convinced the Northland Tackle clan to play hooky last week, dragging them (probably not forcibly) up to the Rainy River, MN. They wanted one last crack at the walleyes before the early-season closed…and crack ’em they did:
Mustangs switching to Mercury motors?
Not all boating accidents happen on the water…. Word is everyone was okay, but probably a little disgruntled:
News
1. Tiller vs wheel debate continued.
Good arguments for both sides…. If you could only choose one, which would it be?
Click here to tell us once and for all.2. MN: New food stamps released.
Cost just $5 and can be redeemed for all-you-can-eat walleye, all season long:
That’s the new 2017 walleye stamp — it’s an optional $5 add-on and:
> DNR: “All the funds from walleye stamps go toward the cost of purchasing walleye from private fish farms for stocking into lakes.”
3. WI: AIM on Wolf River Chain.
Happening this weekend. Good luck!
4. Humminbird 360 now for Ultrex.
Spendy, but incredible for you tourney guys or science-fiction enthusiasts.
5. MN: Where you heading for opener?
With more than 10,000 options to choose from, why not switch things up this season? Last season, we reached out to 5 of the top MN walleye pros in this TargetWalleye.com write-up to find out where they were headed and how they planned to catch ’em. For sure worth a read…again….
6. Are “mini guides” the new thing?
Mini guides help with accuracy, sensitivity, casting distance and cut a ton of weight. Here’s a look at ’em on the 3.6-ounce (!) Okuma Helios spinning rod:
7. Last chance: Off Shore Tackle giveaway!
#PlanerBoardsPlease
Did you miss…
> Friday’s TW: Melons of the week, Prespawn walleye tip, NWT winning deets
> And: How to catch Devils Lake pre-spawners
Headline of the Day
Prizes up for grabs during sportsmen’s sucker tournament
That’s a derby for sucker-fish…lol. Must be not-so-patiently waiting for the walleye season to open…?
Tip of the Day
> Walleyes spend a lot of time after dark prowling the shoreline — in search of food — within a single cast of land. They’re even more numerous in shallows during spring — piers located on a gravel shoreline or the north shore can be hot.
> The biggest walleyes in a system are the females that move to shallow water at night to spawn along shorelines that feature fingers and extended points.
> Some walleyes will collect under boathouses built over the water supported by tons of wooded pilings and beams because wood attracts baitfish. The lights on the docks/piers start the food chain when they attract bugs and baitfish towards the light.
> The best depth for dock/pier fishing is 10′ or less. Odds improve when there’s a dropoff to deep water nearby. Shoreline snags like logs, downed trees, weeds and fish cribs are best fished from shore — all are great targets for lighted floats.
Lots more info in this AnglingBuzz write up.
Quote of the Day
It might be legal, but more and more, it’s becoming less socially acceptable.
– That’s outdoor writer Brad Dokken talking about people keeping (!) all the giant pre-spawn walleyes they’re catching from shore at Devils Lake, ND.
There’s currently no slot limit to protect those larger females, but Game and Fish says, “there’s no biological reason to either close the season or implement a size limit.”
Hope walleye don’t become the new bison:
Today’s ‘Eye Candy
Forrest Leitch stuffed this 30.5-inch egg cannon on the U.S. side of the Rainy River with a 1/2-oz gold glitter jig and a BFishN Tackle Moxie. #Stout
