Walleyes plural debate, Muskie inhales pike, Snag gets got

In life and in fishing life!

This short vid from @muskie_nation on Instagram of a pike getting INHALED by a muskie is absolutely wild. 🤯 Even knowing what was coming, I was NOT prepared for the ending:

Sheesh! 💀

This next one’s from The Technological Angler:

> “Tough way to go, courtesy of a 40″-class musky that let go after holding tight and chewing hard for several minutes. Tells you that the 16-18″ suckers aren’t too big for the fall live bait bite!”

Also saw a comment from Larry Leal under the original post that said:

> They like 23″ wallys for a snack also. This one had to be close to 50″.

Would love to know the odds of that?!

Looks like a stout muskie setup in the background, but I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t targeting muskies. That’s actually an 8’6″ Okuma Dead Eye Classic Trolling Rod and (CW-203D) Cold Water Line-Counter Reel spooled with 10-lb Sufix mono…a great budget-friendly trolling setup for running open-water cranks, spinners, planer boards, you name it:

We were spanking walleyes pulling 1-oz inline weights and “hex copper” Northland Mr. Walleye Crawler Haulers 45′ back at 0.9-1.3 mph. Area was loaded with fish and once the wind picked up, it concentrated ’em in 18-24′ on the edge of a rocky point off an island.

Had another walleye hit my rig, so dropped the rod tip back and swept into ’em. About halfway through my hookset the rod tip stopped and stayed there – the muskie must’ve hit the walter the same time I did.

The first 45 sec or so it sat on bottom and never moved. Felt like snagging a log that was just big enough you could muscle it off bottom a few inches before it’d drop back down.

Finally got “the log” up to the edge of the boat and saw a small 8-10″ walleye (or sauger?) comin’ outta the corner of her mouth – that’s when she knew something was up and took me for a ride! 😤🚂

Mr. walleye had already made a great escape and the muskie now had a single hook in its top lip…somehow we were able to get it in the net. Had the fish outta the water just long enough to snap 2 pics before I could feel she was about to thrash, and got her back over the edge of the boat.

For sure a fish I’ll never forget and a BIG highlight of the trip – though the walleyes were snappin’ too!

1. MN: How you can make walleye fishing even better.

Can’t catch ’em if they aren’t there…. Buying a $5 optional walleye stamp helps raise money to supplement the state’s walleye stocking efforts:

> The MN DNR stocks walleye in about 1,000 lakes that cover roughly 1 mil acres. This effort costs more than $3 mil per year. Your purchase of a walleye stamp supports the purchase of fish from certified private providers.

> MN is blessed with about 2 mil acres of walleye water, of which about 1/2 have strong self-sustaining walleye populations. Stocking improves fishing in walleye waters where natural reproduction occurs at only low or moderate levels.

Can still pick one up, even if you’ve already bought a fishing license. 👊 I’ve got mine.

Btw for $0.75 more, the DNR will mail you the actual physical walleye stamp as a collector’s item. This year’s stamp contest winner was Melissa Mickelson’s (Minneapolis) acrylic painting of a walleye. #foodstamp

2. IL: MWC’s 40th season kicks off Mar 17-18.

First stop is the Illinois River outta Spring Valley.

Max Wilson stepped in and fished with J.J. Debernardi during last year’s Illinois River event in place of his late friend and former MWC angler, Mike Hanson. Naturally, they went to one of Mike’s favorite spots and won the event in his honor! 🙌

3. OH: Lake Erie Walleye Trail (LEWT) kicks off Apr 1.

Their first event of the year is outta Magee East Marina in Oak Harbor.

4. OH: No trolling allowed at this Lake Erie tourney happening Apr 15.

Only jigging/casting/drifting is allowed at this Lake Erie Walleye Trail (LEWT) open event. Pretty cool idea!

5. WI: Merc National tourney happenin’ June 10-11.

Registration opens Mar 20 (believe they fill up with 300 teams every year) for the 45th-annual derby on Lake Winnebago.

Payouts have been increased again this year. The top prize = a Lund 1875 Impact XS with a Mercury 150 Pro XS and Mercury 9.9 Pro Series Kicker + $5K cash. Updated payouts here for the rest of the field.

6. Abu Garcia Revos underwent a complete redesign…

…consisting upgraded components and fish-sexxy new looks:

I bought my first Revos (baitcasters) back in 2006 when they were introduced. Still have those reels in my rotation 17 yrs later! So of course I’m a big fan of the Revo lineup, and have added another 6-8 over the years since they first released spinning versions in 2010.

I just snagged a few of these newest models and cannot wait to spool ’em up. I’ll keep you posted on what stands out as my favorite once I get some on-the-water time logged.

7. MN: Northwest Sportshow kicks off this weekend.

Show runs Mar 9-12 at the Minneapolis Convention Center

8. WNY Sport & Travel Expo happening Mar 10-12.

At the Erie County Fairgrounds in Hamburg, NY.

9. Power-Pole just outed its new trolling motor.

Called the Power-Pole “MOVE” and costs $5K!

Full scoop here, few details below:

> …the ultimate brushless trolling motor for elite anglers. With nearly a decade of research and development behind it, the Move ZR delivers unparalleled power, durability and efficiency….

> Our founder, John Oliverio, and the Power-Pole team began by looking at the technology and materials available and decided that to bear the name Power-Pole, they needed to begin from scratch.

> The Power Unity System of the brushless motor and reinforced Techflow propeller create 30% more power than industry-leading trolling motors, all while being whisper quiet….

> 30% more thrust [and] 30% more efficient.

> The shaft is…manufactured from nearly unbreakable aerospace-grade titanium that will hold up to extreme pressure. That shaft combined with the bracket has been tested to withstand the harshest environments in fishing [including being operated by the Lane brothers lol!]. Compound fail-safes were engineered into the system to ensure that the motor functions as it should even if parts become compromised.

> …advanced Anchor Mode allows the angler to stealthily maintain position while focusing on fishing. The Vector Heading feature follows a straight course down a bank or offshore drift, while our Follow a Route feature guided by ProNav allows the angler to use the Power-Pole app or compatible device to set a route for the motor to follow. Finally, a Compass Heading feature causes the motor to bear towards specific compass headings identified by the user.

10. MN: Minneapolis Area Take Kids Ice Fishing Day = record turnout.

More than 100 kiddos and their families hit up East Rush Lake. Props to all those who helped put on this free event to introduce the next generation of anglers to ice fishing!

11. Vista Outdoor appoints Derek Tarlecki prez of Simms.

12. You spooling up for the season yet?

I know I’ve said it many times before, but one gadget EVERY fish-head should own is the Berkley Line Stripper Max – it attaches to a cordless drill so you can peel off a pile of line right quick, which is the worst part of re-spooling. Serious time-saver and actually makes me look forward to the job:

They always seem to be sold-out in the spring, so do yourself a favor and snipe one early if you can find one. Looks like FishUSA is currently fresh out and Berkley’s website already says “low stock.”

13. ND: You don’t always need a boat to catch walleyes….

Many consider Devils Lake, ND to be the walleye shore-fishing capital of the world, and guess what? The season never closes. #Jackpot

DL is one of the few walleye factories (that’s not a river) where the walleye season is open during pre-spawn and spawn. Male walleyes are the first to show up shallow when the water begins to climb into the low- to mid-40s.

More info here if you’re looking for an early-spring road trip.

14. Another “why didn’t I think of that” dealios.

Called the Lakewood Net Protector and will stop the hardware from scratching the gunnels of the boat! So simple, so smart. I have one and my black Lund thanks you!

First off: We have REAL randomly-drawn WINNERS of our giveaways.

Jack P. from South Saint Paul, MN was the winner of our last LiveScope giveaway earlier this winter, and he’s been putting the unit to good use! He and his buddy Jaden caught and released this 27.5-incher on Lake of the Woods while fishing a 27′ rock structure off of an island. Nicely done, fellas! 👊 And glad to hear you’re loving the unit!

Now: We’re giving away another Garmin LiveScope Plus! 💯 Yup, this is real life!!

This time we’re giving away a Garmin LiveScope Plus Ice Fishing Kit ($2,249.99), an ECHOMAP UHD 93sv ($999.99), and their GT54UHD-TM Ultra High-Definition Scanning Sonar All-in-one Transducer ($369.99) for the boat.

The term “game changer” gets thrown around a lot in the fishing industry, but LiveScope Plus is SERIOUSLY mind-blowing stuff!

Allows you to see fish swimming in real time 🔥 I have learned soooo much from watching the fish’s moods in how they’re reacting (or not reacting lol) to the presentation. Scan for fish/structure in ANY direction, see which way the fish are moving, and stay on ’em = 🎯 yes please!

Takes just 10 seconds to enter by clicking here or on the pic below, and can share the link you get for bonus entries. 👊 Good luck!

Korey Sprengel’s go-to line for trolling walleyes.

Sprengel is one of those dudes who doesn’t just do or use things “because” – there’s a specific reason behind every little detail. Here’s a quick-hitter on why he (I believe almost exclusively) runs 14-lb Berkley Trilene XL on his trolling setups, especially in cold water:

Good news: Tourney SZN is coming in hot!

Bad news: Entry fees are coming in even hotter. 😳🤑

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH