Apologies the Target Walleye schedule has been all jacked up lately due to travel, media trips, and a bunch of on-the-water filming. The good news is that means we'll be having a ton of fresh, new content coming your way soon-ish! 👊 Let's get into today's goods...
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“Bored by walleye fishing, Minnesota’s young anglers are hooked on the fast action bass provide.”
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Another funny line from it:
> “Thousands of other kids his age were also fed up with a Minnesota tradition they considered a one-way ticket to dread and disappointment. No...not lefse. And not the Vikings. Walleye fishing.”
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Random, but hilarious fact: The young fella on the right in that story’s share image was fishing in our local WALLEYE league last night and got 5th place lol. They caught one of the biggest fish weighed in (believe it was a 26.5-incher) out of 50 guys. Got to chat with him a bit at the ramp and he was talking about how much fun he’d been having lately while whacking walleyes on a Megabass Vision OneTen+1 jerkbait.
The young fellas in that pic were definitely “bass heads” to start, but they love catching walleyes too – they love catching anything and everything. I actually fished with them, and the coach for our local high school fishing team, a number of years back and can assure you they had a good time this evening hahah.
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But I can also tell you that those two like walleye fishing WAY more now that forward-facing sonar has entered the chat, because it has walleye folks fishing up in the front of the boat and casting (like bass fishing) instead of only trolling, drifting, and dragging live bait around hoping for a bite.
Whether you’re for FFS or against it, you’ve got to like that it’s getting more younger folks hooked on walleye fishing because they can actually catch some fish now lol.
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Tony Roach: Walleye Adaptations for clear water
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Believe it or not 👀 even with forward-facing sonar (LiveScope, MEGA Live, ActiveTarget) it can still be a bugger to get fussy, clear-water walleyes to bite. This Virtual Angling write-up dives into exactly how MN guide Tony Roach hunts ‘em down with slip-bobbers and FFS, but there’s a lot more that goes into it than you’d think.
This “bobberscoping” technique is the exact way many, MANY walleye derbies have been won the last few seasons....
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> Many MN walleye lakes are notorious for having exceptional water visibility. In particular, many lakes have zebra mussels which increases the clarity and ultimately change walleye fishing dramatically....
> According to Roach, aggressively using slip-bobbers to cast at fish away from the boat is a key method for catching walleye right now during the dog days of summer.
> Roach is using slip-bobbers in conjunction with forward-facing sonar. ...stresses that there are many days where fish are spooking...if the boat gets within 40’ or 50’ of the fish.
> In light winds, Tony will ease within about 60’ down wind of fish and spot lock, casting the slip-bobbers past fish and let the wind push the slip bobbers into the fish.
> In stronger winds, Roach will look for a school of fish and actually drive around the fish in a big circle and spot lock upwind of the fish and cast back at the fish behind the boat. On many of today’s MN walleye fisheries with clear water...you have to sneak up on fish.
> Walleyes are adapting to the clearer water but also adapting to forward-facing sonar. ...there are becoming more times when fish are spooking from forward-facing sonar. If fish dart or move to the side or hunker down when you hit them with the forward facing sonar, turn the transducer away from the fish as soon as you find them.
> Because long casts are so crucial, use enough weight and bobber to make long casts and get down to the fish. Roach is a fan of the weighted Tail Fin bobbers. He typically uses 6-lb Sufix Advance Mono as his main line for his setup. Below the bobber, Roach will use a small egg sinker above a swivel. Below the swivel, attach a 3-4’ fluorocarbon leader and a long shank 1/16-oz jig.
> ...typically uses both crawlers and leeches on a slip-bobber [but leeches can get really difficult to find later in the season]. With a crawler...thread on a 1/2 or 3/4 of a crawler onto a long-shank jig. In deeper water, use a heavier egg sinker to reach the fish faster. On really tough bites, Roach will experiment with a 1/32-oz jig or plain hook.
> When fish are positioned higher off the bottom, Roach likes to cast right at fish and let the jig fall down on them. For fish closer to the bottom or for fish that are more difficult to trigger, Roach recommends casting past the fish and drag into them watching the jig drop down into fish as you get above them.
Full Virtual Angling write-up here. They kick out a bunch of great content.
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"We are going to win it...I just had that gut feeling"
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Max Wilson and Rob Korth just crushed it at the 2025 National Team Championship on Lake Francis Case! Weighed 15 fish for 51-05 and walked away with over $118k in cash and prizes, including a shiny new Ranger 620:
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Caught them on a 1-2 punch 🥊 that included:
Slinging "chrome blue" color Rapala Jigging Raps on a 6’9” medium, extra-fast JT Outdoor’s Black Reign, and pitching jigs and ‘crawlers with a 7’1” JTX Mag Medium Light.
Here’s a recap from Max:
> "I'm finally home, processing the wild ride of winning the National Team Championship on Francis Case...[our journey] to qualify started at a Sheboygan Walleye Club tournament in Marinette.... My motor wouldn't start, but we fished on the trolling motor and slid into 13th, earning an NTC bid.
> "Practice on Francis Case showed a hot fishery, with LiveScope helping us catch over 17 pounds with friend John Alden... When Rob joined...I told Rob that we are fishing this damn tournament and we are going to win it...I just had that gut feeling...drove 31 hours, 1,750 miles to swap boats and be back by Monday...Practice showed a tougher bite, so we sought less pressured fish.
> "Day 1 found us in 10th after landing two overs quickly.... Day 2 started with a unicorn 6-lber, but I made a dumb move keeping a 3.4-lb fish as our 2nd over [in a no-cull tournament, fish kept can't be released]...my next fish was an accidental 7-lber, forcing me to throw back 3 fish over 6 pounds, feeling sick for playing it too safe.
> "Heading out on the final day in 2nd, behind Duane Hjelm and Tyson Keller, the two greatest Missouri River fishers out there, I told Rob that we were swinging for it and we were in ‘hero or zero’ mode....
> "I spotted a unicorn fish. My first cast she turned and grabbed the tail and spit it out before I could set the hook. I could have puked when that happened.... I chased that one fish for almost 45 minutes.
> "Missing her one more time on a plastic...I just watched her sink to bottom and could only see a faint bump of her laying on bottom. I took one last cast at her and to my surprise, she bolted off bottom and inhaled my jig. She caught me so off guard that my bail wasn't even closed yet.
> "As soon as I set the hook I told Rob that this was her and to get ready. As soon as she slid into the net, I let out the loudest yell.... After a big hug and a few choice words, I ran back to the front determined to get the last over we needed."
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> "A short while later, we landed a 3.5-lb fish. I sat there with that fish for a long while trying to decide what to do...in the back of my mind I knew what I needed to do. I tossed the fish back...and I bolted back to the front and put the motor on 10 hunting for the fish we needed.
> "After what seemed like an eternity, a 4.8-lb fish came flying out of a tree and smoked my bait. When that fish hit the net, Rob, I, and the boats watching us erupted. We had the two most important fish in the box....
> "At this point it was about noon and the temperatures were well over 100 degrees and I was starting to feel the effects of the heat...I hadn't drank enough water...was starting to catch up to me and I was doing everything I could to stay upright to put the last fish in the box.
> "I don't remember a lot of that last hour, but I was able to land the last perfect under to finish our bag. As soon as it was in the net, I collapsed and started throwing up over the side.... We made the decision to head in early.... I knew it was going to be...way closer than I'd like it to be. When we...saw we had it by almost a pound, every emotion possible came over me.
> "We had finally secured one of the last titles I have been chasing. To be able to share that moment with Rob is something I won't ever forget. Thanks to Rob...and all of you for your support."
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For your viewing pleasure 🍿
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I recently posted a new "Top 5" video (episode 87) on our YouTube channel. Big thx to our friends at Sea Foam and Scheels for making this video series possible! We're having a ton of fun with 'em and hope you are too!! Here she be:
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1. VT raising super walleye fry 🦸🏻♂️
This pic shows the difference between pond-raised walleye fry (top) and those raised in specially designed tanks (bottom) and stocked in Lake Champlain by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department:
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9. Z-Man’s “ElaZtech” is two decades old?!
Hate the term “game changer” but ElazTech legit changed the game. 🙌
Oh, and their Big TRD has probably put more walleyes in my boat over the years than all other baits/techniques combined, which is wild for what’s still considered a “bass bait” lol.
10. Tim Carini new In-Fisherman publisher
> ...Carini served as Associate Publisher of In-Fisherman and Sales Director for Endemic Fishing/Marine, giving him a unique insight into the publication’s distinguished legacy. Most recently, he held the position of Sales Director at B.A.S.S., further solidifying his reputation as a driving force in the industry.
11. New type of barbless hook?
Called Gripz, which sounds like a Europe only deal right now but might be coming here:
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If you want one for yourself, you can plug in the discount code: TargetWalleye at checkout for 10% off your first order.
13. St. Croix Fly seeks independent sales rep
Throughout the ‘Southwest Territory’ of Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada.
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It ain’t much, but it’s honest work:
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Know you caught a good one when you can hide behind it! Tanner caught this big ol’ gravel lizard 😤 throwing a Berkley Gulp! Minnow in WY, and said:
> “A smaller fish followed my lure in, so I casted right back out and this one ate it instead."
Heck of a consolation prize lol:
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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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