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If you’re getting Target Walleye for the first time, a friend probably signed you up!
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The reality of walleye fishing RIGHT NOW.
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Open up Instagram, FB, YouTube, the Target Walleye email (you name it)…and all you see is folks crushing big fish and tons of ’em.
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🤦♂️ 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.
Was out trying to film a YouTube video the other day 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.Here’s the vid that I called “The reality of walleye fishing RIGHT NOW” – hope you dig it! |
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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.
Quick update for those of you that watched the video (thx! so much!):
Our local walleye league was on the Whitefish Chain just north of Brainerd, MN last night. I ended up fishing solo and getting 2nd place with 3 fish (a 23-incher plus a couple of “unders”). Was the exact same situation as the YouTube vid…graphing TONS of fish but they were downright fussy. Busted out the “bluegill bait” and saved the day. 😂👊
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Good GREAT people still exist…
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…and one of those gooduns is northern-MN guide Jason Durham of Go Fish! Guide Service. Check this out:
> Jason: “Due to a guide client’s emergency, I had the boat in the water, ready to fish, and nobody to take fishing. So I invited the AIS watercraft inspector (his shift just finished). We fished for a few hours and upon returning to the dock, a couple visiting the area happened to be checking out the access, so I took them too. It wasn’t a guide trip like I had planned for when I left the driveway…it was even BETTER!”
Jason Durham is the dude in the olive/black/orange Aspire Rain Jacket from Blackfish:
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How cool is that? 🙌 You’re doing it right, man! Thank YOU.
Oh, and I believe this is actually Jason Durham’s 30th year [!] as a fishing guide. Which is even more incredible considering he doesn’t look a day over 59…. Haha Jason!
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Do you tie your own spinner rigs?
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Sure there’s a ton of great pre-tied rigs on the market, but there’s just something special about tying up your own the night before a trip. Here’s spinner-nut Travis Sorokie talkin’ about the components he uses to put more ‘eyes in the boat. Full write-up here, few excerpts below: |
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> “I’ll typically tie my 2-hook spinner rigs between 6-7′ in length. If I’m fishing over weeds/rocks or shallower than about 15′, I will shorten the leader length to 3.5-5′.
> “I prefer to use #6 and #8 Daiichi Red Octopus Hooks. If I want to add a little more color to my spinner rig, I’ll switch to a Gamakatsu colored hook in the same sizes.
> “For my beads, I’ll use the 4 or 5mm sizes in various colors. This is where I really like to experiment with color combinations, as I feel it makes a difference. I love the various pearls and glow beads that are on the market.”
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> “More often than not I’ll use a Northland Baitfish-Image Colorado Blades in sizes #3, #4 and #5. You can get the smaller #3 blades to spin at slower speeds, but the larger #5 blades will put out more flash and vibration.
> “The line I prefer to use is either 8- or 10-lb clear Berkley Vanish…thin diameter fluorocarbon that offers near zero visibility in the water and superior abrasion resistance.
> “A general rule in selecting your weight is 1 oz for every 10′. I try to fish as vertical as possible when trolling spinner-rigs, so I tend to use 2- to 3-oz Slick-Sticks the majority of the time. The key is to not have the sinker drag on the bottom – you use the weight to contact the bottom and hold above it.
> “Spinner rigs can be fished anywhere from around 0.7-2.5 mph. If you’re around 1.3-1.7 mph, you will have success. Remember when doing any form of trolling…it’s better to be too high, than too low – and It’s better too fast, than too slow.”
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Troy Lindner would catch a prehistoric BEHEMOTH from the bank. 😳
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You already know that Troy Lindner (Al’s son) is one heck of a multi-species stick, but this catch was maybe even a little “out there” for him: |
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That’s Troy’s first paddlefish and another ✅ off his fishing bucket list, which I’d love to see one day. He reeled that bad boy in on a 4-piece travel rod (St. Croix Triumph 6′ 6″ MH) with 12-lb Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon. Said he was trying to #TargetWalleye in fast current with a 3/4-oz VMC Neon Moon Eye Jig + 3.25″ “white” swimbait.
As you can see in the pic, the fish was hooked in the mouth, but paddlefish are filter feeders (primarily on zooplankton) so it likely swam into Troy’s line with its long snout.
Random fact of the day from Katie O’Reilly aka @DrKatfish on Twitter: That long snout is actually a rostrum, and it’s “covered with sensory receptors that helps them detect swarms of zooplankton to gobble up.”
Also gotta love that Katie has fun with it while teaching others about n(e)ature:
> Katie: “Me wandering around the kitchen looking for snacks.”
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They finally made an ice auger…
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…big enough for the fish in Manitoba:
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I’m obviously kidding…we all know you’d probably need something more of this caliber:
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Sincerely,
Your small-fish-catching friend south of the border.
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1. WI: It took a 2-day bag of 119.58 lbs to win…
…the Green Bay Walleye Series. 🤯 That’s nearly a 12-lb average on 10 fish. I’m assuming those weights are the result of some type of length-to-weight conversion table, but regardless Ryan Dempsey and Derek Navis absolutely smashed it. Big congrats, fellas!
2. MI: DNR wants input for Lake Gogebic walleye regs.
Virtual meeting from 6-8pm on Sept 15.
> In 2016, regulations for Lake Gogebic were adjusted to allow anglers to possess up to 2 walleye between 13-15″ as part of the daily possession limit of 5 walleye. This was to allow anglers to take advantage of an abundance of small walleye. Recently, anglers have been experiencing abnormally poor walleye fishing on Lake Gogebic and have communicated the desire to consider regulation changes immediately.
> The proposed regulations are a return to the statewide walleye 15″ minimum size limit and daily possession limit of 5, as well as utilizing the special northern pike regulations that allow for possession of up to 5 northern pike of any size with only 1 > 24″. These are the only regulation changes that will be considered at this time.
3. Humminbird ICE HELIX Series gets big updates.
New bundles, shuttle, conversion kits, and lithium batteries are standard. #Jackpot
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Whole bunch more info here.
Btw MEGA Live will begin shipping this month.
4. MN: Zeebz confirmed in Rainy Lake.
In St. Louis County. Same goes for Ely Lake.
5. MN: Lake Agnes had another fish kill.
Mostly crappies, but also some bluegill and perch. They’re suspecting it to be from low oxygen levels, which is happening on a bunch of lakes across the state. Looks bad, but is completely normal and often necessary.
Btw if your favorite little gem lake suffers from a summer or winter fish kill, come back in a few years and you might just find some of the best fishing you’ve ever had for bigger-than-average fish…. 🤐
6. A 4-yr old custom painted this crank!
When I was 4, I was picking my nose and watching Power Rangers or Rugrats…but Dane Heid’s (DH Custom Baits) son is kicking out fish-catchers:
> Dane: “Last week I shared the paint booth with my 4 yr old. I tried my best to just let him create without any of my input. I think he has a future in the bait painting racket.”
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LOL. Don’t take it personally, fly fishermen look down on other fly fishermen too. 😂 Relax people, I’m kidding…sorta.
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“I’ve never seen a sad person in a picture holding a fish.”
– That’s Christine Lapeer, an ON nurse who takes First Responders with PTSD fishing = love it! It’s a really powerful story how Christine got started with these free “Mindful Fishing” excursions:
> Christine Lapeer experienced a lot of trauma during her 12 yrs as a mental health nurse inside CAN’s federal penitentiary system, where she also worked as a crisis negotiator.
> “People don’t know what goes on inside those walls, but you’re expected just to manage it and be normal in society.”
> One day she woke up in a hospital room in Kingston, ON, and was told she had tried to commit suicide. That’s when she knew she needed help.
> She visited a psychiatrist and a psychologist and after some discussion about various treatments, Lapeer discovered her love of fishing could also provide therapeutic benefits.
> Casting a line has become her lifeline…to provide a break for her mind as she works to recover from the trauma experienced while working with CAN inmates suffering from the most severe mental illness.
> Now she shares her key to wellness with veterans and other first responders who also grapple with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
> “I want to keep other first responders well because if they’re not looked after, nobody is looking after us.”
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
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Time for another round of: “Bass thumb? That’s cute!”
Was sent this fish-sexxy snap from TW fan Brandon Field. His father-in-law, Todd Schram, had this waldo absolutely lunch-box a #3 “holographic topper” color Moonshine Shiver Minnow outta Escanaba, MI. 🔥 Great pic!
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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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