How Tony Roach Rippin’ Raps walleyes. 🎯
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Walleyes can be – and usually are – downright stubborn…especially in shallow, clear water. While some guys bust out the slip-bobber, Tony Roach picks up a Rapala Rippin’ Rap and goes to work.
Btw I’m sure glad this “bad lipstick” color is on the walleye’s lips and not Tony’s lol:
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> Tony: “There’s a lot of things that make a Rippin’ Rap absolutely deadly. It’s got a really loud thump, unlike any other bait. It also falls at just the right rate. And it has this really tight wobble as you rip it. This thing has the right action to catch a lot of fish. And you can fish these baits a lot of different ways.
> “I compare it a little to the deadly Jigging Rap, but it falls slower and has more subtle action, which is ideal in spring. …works best when water temps are 50-55°F.
> “Rippin’ Raps fall nose-first…a natural-looking posture for walleye prey. We fish the #5, #6, and #7 models, but the #6 (2.5” and 1/2-oz) gets most play in spring.”
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> “Work the lure along the deep side of rock ridges and over depressions where walleyes often hold that time of year. Bottom transitions from sand-to-rock are also key locations….
> “The retrieve is very important and it takes a little getting used to, as you learn the correct cadence. It’s not a fast ripping retrieve…the lure actually moves forward at a moderate pace, but with a lot of up-and-down motion. Walleyes typically bite either on the fall or when the lure first hits bottom, so you want to maximize those situations.
> “As soon as the lure hits bottom after a cast, raise it up off bottom so it can fall again. It should contact bottom for only a split second before rising. After a few hours of doing this you’ll have this cadence down and you won’t have to think much about it.
> “Long casts help you cover a lot of water…. I fish them on thin braided line (6- to 10-lb test) with a fluoro leader of 10- or even 12-lb test. Without a leader, the back hooks of the Rap sometimes snag the braid on a cast, wasting time.
> “The heavier fluoro cuts down on the number of [zebra mussel] break-offs due to its abrasion-resistance. Moreover, a lot of pike are up shallow in spring, and it gives a bit more protection to have a 12-lb leader. And walleyes don’t mind a bit.
> “To fish this way, rod selection is important. I favor a medium-light rod from 6′ 8″ to 7′ 2″. And I like rods with an extra-fast tip section, since you often have to set hooks solidly from a distance. The softer action and length allow you to sweep the lure off bottom cleanly and keep the cadence right.”
Of course not all lakes have a ton of hard-bottom areas (rocks/sand) to work with, so:
> Another good way to catch early-season walleyes on Rippin’ Raps is to swim them over and through the tops of new vegetation. With your boat in deeper water, fancast across spawning flats, making contact with the submerged vegetation. When your Rippin’ Rap hits grass on the retrieve, pop it free to trigger bites.
Awesome springtime bait. As with anything, you’ve gotta get a confidence-building day under your belt to stick with it, but then you won’t wanna put it down.
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Soooo many MASSIVE greenback walleyes were caught…
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…at the Icebreaker Elite Series Championship on Lake Winnipeg, MB.
Trevor Hiebert and Chad Unrau won the 2-day derby with 10 for 91.71 lbs, good enough for a $10K payday!
All 5 of their fish on day 2 were Master Anglers, which is completely insane: 28.50”, 28.75”, 29.00”, 29.25” and 30.00” 🤯.
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How about catching 5 fish of a lifetime…in a single day…AND during a tournament? 👀 Cherish It!
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I heard from an inside source that…
> “..they’d follow big marks [with FFS] drilling on top of them until they’d bite. Some would take 8 holes but they would get a chance at ‘em eventually.”
He also said they caught ‘em using a Frostbite Headspinner Propeller Jig with a live minnow. Not sure what size or color, but here’s what that jig looks like:
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Congrats fellas! 😳 What a wild couple of days.
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You’ve got (fishy) mail. 📬
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1. MLF analyst JT Kenney is rocking a Mercury 250 Pro XS cowling 🤑 which is incredible, but also might be the most expensive mailbox ever. Obviously he doesn’t live anywhere near snowplows hahaha!
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2. Diehard Lund owner spotting: Came across this pic posted in the Lund Boat Owner’s FB group – dude had a mailbox done-up to match his rig, and his last name (which is actually Lund!). Too bad his house # isn’t 2025….
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3. Wonder if Joe Bolsega rushes over when the flag goes down. 😅
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4. Not sure where this original pic came from – Ron Lindner sent it to me years back – but I’d like to imagine this is what Target Walleye’s inbox looks like:
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Some interesting walleye-spawn factoids.
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From this Hunt/Fish Manitoba blog post:
> The walleye spawn has a plethora of factors that affect and trigger the spawn. Of these factors, the photoperiod and water temperature are kings.
> The photoperiod is a key signal for the walleyes spawning journey…. The amount of light a walleye encounters throughout the day will eventually hit a critical point. …triggers an internal signal in the body which initiates the releasing of hormones to begin preparing the walleyes for the spawn.
> …one of the only factors that allows for an exact date every year in relation to the spawn. No matter the weather or temperature, the amount of sunlight during a specific time will always be the same year after year.
> In Manitoba’s northern climate, this magic temperature is typically around the mid-40°F range. During a warm spring this 44-48°F range can happen very early…during the fishing closures across the province. …cool springs like the one we just had can yield waters too cold for the walleye spawn right away. This can push the spawn much later into the spring. In some cases, this will leave you with pre-spawn walleyes into the early weeks of the reopened angling seasons.
> …the average female deposits around 100K eggs at once and after fertilized neither the male or female [protects them].
> The majority of walleyes actually spawn during the night, and a singular walleye will completely spawn out in only one night. With that being said, although the migratory spawning journey takes time, the actual act of depositing and fertilizing tens of thousands of eggs happens in only a few hours.
> Typically, female walleye mature around the age of 5 and males around the age of 3. …it’s good to keep this in mind when deciding which fish to keep and release. Due to natural selection, there’s way more…immature [fish] than are mature in a water body. …keeping sexually mature fish does much more damage on a fishery than keeping an immature fish.
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New planer board storage system???
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Easter is comin’ up this weekend, so had to bring back this pic from fish-head Joe Knowles of his interesting way to store Off Shore Tackle treats:
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Dang! Hope the Easter bunny visits my place too!
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2. Al Lindner hopped on the JMO Podcast.
> “…Al details the significant developments within the industry throughout his career as a tournament angler as well as a television host. Strategies, concepts, lures and presentations have all been debated and refined by anglers since the beginning. Some things have come to stay and some topics have a short visit to popularity. Al shares stories and insights to many great aspects of fishing in this interview and all anglers would be troubled to miss out on hearing what he has to say.”
3. This new Great Lakes Fishing Podcast…
…has NY’s Craig Sleeman going into detail about the challenges of fishing the National Walleye Tour, especially the diversity of fisheries included in the schedule.
4. MN: Tony Roach talks Mille Lacs.
Great conversation in a new episode of Tutt’s Walleyes & Woods Outdoor Show.
5. MN: Toby Kvalevog and Bob Weeks are speaking Apr 4.
At the next TCWU (Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited) club meeting.
6. MN: TCWU putting on a free electronics class Sat, Apr 6.
It’s open to the public and will be held at the Eden Prairie Scheels.
> There are three 2 hour courses that you are welcome to attend for free, featuring: Nathan Whiting (Lowrance), Danny Thompson (Garmin) and Scotty Peterson (Humminbird).
Super cool idea!
7. WA/OR: New work group battling invasive walleyes.
> “Implement research and management actions with a goal to reduce, minimize, and prevent piscine predation-related mortality from introduced non-native fishes [walleye] on anadromous species [salmon and steelhead] within the Columbia River basin.”
8. Fenwick crushed it w/ their all-new lineup of rods.
In case you didn’t know Fenwick did a complete refresh from the inside out of their entire lineup. I got to spend a few days on the water sneak-previewing a bunch of different models last season and was super impressed. Of course that almost goes without saying for their high-end sticks, but their Eagle rods that retail for around $100-ish legit shocked me with how great they felt and fished.
9. MI: Giant 32-incher caught from Saginaw River.
10. MI: 38th annual Freeland Walleye Festival tourney, Apr 27-28.
The big fish competition was won last year with a 9.4-lber.
11. Zebco celebrates 75th anniversary with the…
…release of a special edition Zebco 33 spincast reel.
12. Do-It Molds has launched a new On the Water version…
…of its popular How We Do-It educational video series.
13. MN: Izatys Resort on Mille Lacs gets new owners.
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It’s an awkward time of year for most of us…hang in there:
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Let’s get in on a little “Fish-Flop Friday” action courtesy of Davis’s Guide Service near Longville, MN. 😅Actually this is one of the first times I’ve seen someone keep their face right in a fish-flop pic lol:
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Thx so much for reading! Hope everyone has a blessed and safe Easter weekend with family/friends!
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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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Target Walleye – walleye during open water and all species during hardwater – is brought to you by Al Lindner, Jay Kumar, Chris Philen, 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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