Walleye fishing reality, Another humpback caught, Farmer’s tan pike

But social media is usually only showing you people at their absolute best, and none of the struggle. The reality check for most of us fishing average lakes is that catching just a couple of “eater” size walleyes is a GREAT day on the water – especially this time of year.

Reminded me of a day last August when I was out trying to film a YouTube video and fishing was an absolute grind. After 6 hours of getting beat up, I finally gave in and tied on a bait that looked like I was fishing for bluegills…and what do you know, I cracked a 24-incher just a few casts in! Stuck with it to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, and was able to put a few more walleyes topside on the same get-up.

That “bluegill bait” was just a 1/8-oz VMC Ned Rig Jig with a half of a ‘crawler. Definitely not the most glamorous of setups, but it saved our day. And I was actually really surprised to find that crawlers stick to those “conical keeper” like glue. The ‘crawler will legit pull in half from a fish before its head will slide down the hook shank. My brain can’t understand how that’s possible, but it is.

So loooong story short…don’t get yourself in a rut. We’ve all been there! Gotta be willing to adapt to the bite, or better yet: Lack of bite. This isn’t bass fishing hahaha.

The good news is that a few weeks from now, when water temps are on the drop, walleyes will get a whole lot more bite-y. Enjoy those small victories in the meantime.

Btw here’s the vid that I was talking about called “The reality of walleye fishing RIGHT NOW” – hope you like it!

Some more “you don’t see that every day” going on here…. This time sent in from TW fan Clayton Fletcher:

> “I always enjoy your emails and walleye pics! Here’s another odd one for you. This one came from Waubay Lake, SD…. I’m no biologist but it definitely had 2 holes. The one in the middle of the belly had product coming out, and when we filleted it we could see “plumbing” going to both holes. I’m just guessing one was for digestion and one was for reproduction?”

1. US/CAN: Sounds like St. Clair River is loaded with walleyes.

There was a smallmouth derby out there recently, and:

> “Guys were telling me they were having trouble getting bass because walleye were getting in the way….”

> “It’s pretty annoying,” he said with a laugh. “You think you’ve got a nice bass on and it turns out to be a walleye. It’s like ‘geez.'”

Man, I need to take a road trip somewhere, anywhere, because it’s usually the opposite problem…by a long shot lol.

2. Lake Erie angler survey data for July:

> Angler effort in July 2022 was just below the 20-yr avg (88,534 angler-hours) but more than 20,000 angler hours over the effort seen last July. A large majority of July anglers (83%) targeted walleye.

> Daytime walleye angling effort was the 6th highest in the last 20 yrs, with 70,669 angler hours spent (average = 59,570 angler hours).

> Anglers targeting walleye harvested 4.4 fish per boat trip on average, with a catch rate of 0.47 fish per hr, the 3rd highest July catch rate for walleye in the last 20 yrs, behind only 2018 and 2019. About 10% of daytime walleye anglers achieved a 6-fish limit with an average size of 20.5″.

3. SK: Folks concerned with North Saskatchewan R. walleye pop…

…around Nipawin:

> “We’re not seeing many fish that are over the 10-, 11-, 12-lb mark whereas 15 yrs ago there were 13-, 14-, 15-lb fish caught every year.”

Lol try coming down this way and you’ll never see a true 10-lb walleye ever again.

Okay, okay…I know it’s a serious topic, I just couldn’t help myself because I’m jealous of the caliber of fish folks are accustomed to way up yonder.

4. CO: Drought and irrigation will drain 2 reservoirs.

> CO Parks & Wildlife has issued emergency fish salvages at Queens and Jumbo reservoirs…lifted all size and bag limits…because drought and irrigation calls on the water are expected to leave the lake dry.

Bummer ‘cuz there’s big walleyes in there too. Was a 2-day tourney on Jumbo this spring and there were 8+lbers brought in each day. Biggest bag came on day 1 and was 28.20-lbs, which is solid anywhere in the walleye world.

5. IA: DNR to treat Great Lakes for invasive Eurasian watermilfoil.

> …Eurasian watermilfoil is growing at multiple locations in East Okoboji Lake, Upper Gar Lake, Lake Minnewashta, and Lower Gar Lake….

> Surveys conducted in Spirit Lake, Center Lake, and West Okoboji Lake did not detect Eurasian watermilfoil.

> “We are aggressively developing a management plan to immediately treat areas of the lakes where the plant has been detected with an aquatic herbicide approved for use on lakes and drinking water sources. These aquatic herbicides have very few label restrictions. Contact with the water after treatment is safe for fishing or other recreational activities.”

6. Shout-out to the “Cast it Forward” non-profit…

…who “provides cost-free walleye excursions for those who might not otherwise get the chance.”

7. Quick vid of MEGA Live TargetLock in action.

Dang, would this ever be slick:

8. Inaugural Anglers’ Choice Award set to launch…

ICAST (the annual fishing biz trade show) has a “New Product Showcase” each year where companies show-off their new fishing products, and industry folks vote for their favorite “Best of Category” (there’s 30) and overall “Best of Show” award. That has already happened – the 2022 winners are here.

New this year, there’s going to be a dealio where non-industry folks can vote for their favorite new products (from the 30 category winners) for the ICAST 2022 Anglers’ Choice Best of Show Award. Voting will be online thru the ICAST website from Aug 21-27. More info here.

9. Road Runners now come with a sickle hook.

> TTI-Blakemore introduces Sickle Hook Heads. The new heads have inset double eyes, scaled finish, barbed shank and a 1/0 sickle hook on the 1/16 oz and a 2/0 on the 1/8 oz.

They can catch the snot out of crappies, but imo they’re also a super-overlooked way of plucking summertime walleyes out of the weeds.

10. IL: Invasive silver carp captured in Lake Calumet.

Just 7 miles from Lake Michigan. It was > 38″ long and weighed about 22 lbs.

11. MN: What it’s like being an AIS inspector.

12. Gotta give props to…

…the 13 Fishing Omen Gold Spinning Rod. It can be tough to find quality rods on a budget that don’t feel, well, “clunky” I guess is how I would describe it. I was playing around with the 7′ 2″ ML and 7′ 6″ ML while down at ICAST, and for a $120-130 rod they felt absolutely great in the hand:

Haven’t had a chance to fish with one of those yet, but would like to change that. I have a couple older, maybe 6-ish yr-old Omen 7′ ML spinning rods that I love and still use today because they’re super versatile for a ton of different walleye-fishing techniques (rigging, slip-bobbers, trolling cranks, finesse-y plastics and light jig pitching, etc).

If you’ve used those budget-friendly Omen Golds, drop me a message and let me know what you think.

13. MO: ’22 IGFA Fishing HOF induction ceremony is Sept 10.

14. AFTCO’s entire ICAST booth was constructed of…

…recycled cardboard. #WalkTheTalk

15. Suzuki launched a new website.

16. St. Croix has new Avid Series Walleye rods coming.

17. MN: Barrier at Lake Bella stops 140 invasive carp. 💀🥳

> …DNR has been notified of a fish kill that included 140 invasive carp below the Lake Bella Dam in Nobles County. This is the largest documented number of invasive carp in one location in MN.

Fly fishing: It’s not your grandfather’s sport anymore.

Times they are a-changin’, but one thing that will never change:

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Which type of weight when?!

Busting this one out of the Target Walleye archives because 1) it’s timely info, 2) we have a bunch of new subscribers each week that maybe missed it, and 3) there’s a zillion different weights on the market and each has its own time and place…so it can be tough to choose!

So this video has MN guide Brad Hawthorne talkin’ his favorites and when he uses each.

BONUS rigging tip at the end of the vid shows how Brad uses a Quick-Change Weight Clevis and Loop Snap at the same time to swap out most any weight:

“Stocking a lake is a little like planting a field….”

– I like this analogy by Doug Leier of ND Game and Fish:

> “I’ve loosely compared some of our fisheries division work to farming. Planting, stocking and growing fish is parallel to farmers planting crops. You need the right soil, right conditions and weather to grow the crop. Wheat or walleyes. It’s not too far off when you think about it.

> So, this spring when farmers were battling snow, ice and cold, the same conditions giving farmers fits were frustrating for fisheries biologists and managers. Simply having soil doesn’t equate to a bumper crop of wheat and the right water is needed to grow fish to stock.

> “In terms of stocking new waters, biologists will typically assess the size of the lake and measure depth and oxygen levels to see if it can support fish over winter. In some instances, they may set nets to determine what kind of fish, if any, are already present.

> “Then, like that farmer planning which crops to plant, they use the information gathered to select fish best suited for the lake. While anglers may want walleye or perch, the limiting factors on the water body may bode well for some other species instead.”

How’s the saying go? Walleyes should be knee-high by the 4th of July?? 😜🌽

Was snooping thru IG and stopped my scroll on this post that caught my eye because you can’t fake a smile like that!

> James Friesen: It’s not often that these guys are the by-catch, but while out targeting freshwater drum my dad insisted he try for some pickerel. He found his little piece of heaven and managed to get a bunch between 20″ and 24″.

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH