Walleyes that impress Al Lindner, Crankbait tuning hack, Willow cat snacks

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.

Big to some isn’t always big to others. What do YOU consider a big walleye in the lakes you fish? It really depends on where you’re fishing – here’s Al’s take on it:

> You go to TargetWalleye.com and see all these pictures of big walleye up to 34”, but pay attention to the big-water systems they’re coming from. If you fish the Great Lakes, western reservoirs or a handful of lakes up in Canada…8-lbers are common.

> You would say, “Well a big fish to me is a 10- or 12-lber.” Well in these smaller natural walleye lakes – that are peppered all over the heart of the walleye world – a big fish is simply a 6-lber. A giant fish (which you see rarely out of these lakes) is a true 8-lber. So everything is relative.

> In these smaller natural mesotrophic/slightly-eutrophic lakes we have a lot of 1.5- to 3-lbers, but when you get a 4, 5 or 6 that’s really good…. Now and again if you’re fishing a tournament or in the fall, you may see an 8-lber, but it’s rare.

> You’ve got big lakes like Lake of the Woods, Upper Red Lake, Mille Lacs, Leech Lake, Winnebago – well-known walleye lakes, but even in smaller lakes 8-lbers are really, really, big, big fish. The reality check for most of us is that a handful of walleyes from 16-20” is a great day on the water.

You feel better now? 🙋‍♂️

Okay this is sorta wild. A tiny detail, but wild. Came across this post by Wild Dakota back in 2019 showing something that no one evvvveeeerrrr talks about:

> Mike V: “How many of you actually tune your baits? It doesn’t matter if you’re casting or trolling you should. Here’s a little trick that Bill from Walleye Nation taught me.

> “Sometimes it’s not the front eyelet on the bait that needs adjustments, it’s actually the front treble hook.”

> “Look at the two baits pictured, the one on the left is installed properly and the one on the right is not. The eyelet, split ring, and hook are all 90° with each other. This allows 2 hooks of the treble to straddle the bait and the third hook will be centered below. The bait on the right is not 90°, this will make 2 hooks want to favor one side of the bait. This will make your crank bait want to pull to whatever side the hooks are favoring

> “It doesn’t matter what brand you use, a lot of them come out of the package this way. With everything being mass produced it’s very easy for this to happen. So next time you have that bait that wants to run to one side or the other check your front treble. It might be as simple as turning your hook around.”

After snooping around he internet…the only other time I can easily find this topic talked about was in this TacticalBassin YouTube video from 2016. Here it is for you visual learners:

Supposedly this northern-MN lake has no walleyes. 🤷‍♂️ One of those shallow bowl type of waters that folks write-off as a “bass lake.” Welp, they were wrong LOL.

Put in the time scanning around with DI and SI before ever wetting a line, and you never know what kind of juicy spot you can find that’s not on the map!

That’s exactly what I was doing when I ran into this fish-sexxy looking spot on my Humminbird MEGA Side Imaging. One of those magical Bermuda Triangles where you have weeds + rock + sand = all meeting in the same spot:

I only had a few hours to fish, but ended up catching a PILE of walleyes from 14″ all the way up to about 28″!

This was going to just be a quick exploratory mission to play with some new gear and snoop around new-to-me water…but luckily I had a pair of GoPros in the glove box and flipped ’em on.

Little different video, but I hope you enjoy it:

All the gear I used (specific sizes, weights, you name it) is linked in the video’s description.

I’ve gotten to play with Elliott’s new “Identity” series rods a bit, but this was my first time reeeally getting to give ’em a workout. So wanted to give you my first impressions in the vid – more details on them later….

Obviously you don’t need a $375 rod to catch fish! There’s a TON of great options out there at any price point. That’s one reason I make it a point to say the length, action and power of the rods I use for specific things…because then if folks are interested, they can get the right tool for the job at whatever dollar amount they want to spend.

One example is the new “Ceres Collection” which is a GREAT rod at $139 and fishes/feels like it should cost way more.

“Willow cats” (AKA madtoms, willocats, whatever you wanna call ’em) are little bullhead lookin’ buggers that walleyes love to hate, in a reeeeally hungry way. Here’s what they look like thx to a WalleyeFIRST shot I found floatin’ around the interwebz:

Would say “willow cats” are probably most commonly used in stretches of the Mississippi River (check yer local regs!) and fished around wingdams. They can be nearly impossible to get thx to trapping restrictions/bans.

Came across a company called Liquid Willowcat – they make liquid scent “from wild-harvested, fresh-ground preserved willowcats” and plastics to mimic the real thing. How cool is that?

Lot more interesting info on how/why the company got started in this write-up. Dude said that the biggest drawback so far is how well the stuff works…’cuz people wanna keep it a secret lol.

Now back to the real-life critters…

Guide Ted Peck is one of those river rats who’s ballsy enough to use the toxic little buggers (more on that below). Full Ted Peck write-up here, few fishy excerpts below:

> Ted: “Wingdams [man-made] are placed perpendicular to the current to funnel water, helping the Corps of Engineers fulfill their Congress-mandated mission (1878) of maintaining a channel for navigation. …initially built from willow mats and ‘one man rocks’. They’re typically placed in runs of 3, 5 or 7.

> “…fishing USUALLY picks up first on the wingdam furthest downstream. …not all wingdams are created equal…[some have] a significant low spot or a [larger] pile of rocks….

> “With a typical wingdam bite, holding your boat at the 8′ contour upstream from the rocks will put your bait in front of fish and generally keep you safe. Time on the water is the best way to read a wingdam’s fish potential on any given day.

> “If flow has it looking ‘fishy’ I usually confirm this with a quick trolling pass above the wingdam with a search bait like the Bill Lewis MR-6, then Spot-Lock and cast above the sweet spot….”

> “When river levels first start dropping to the point where they attract active fish, probe the water just downstream from the rocks. The structure breaks current flow, attracts bait and fish when it just takes too much effort to stage upstream.

> “By far the best way to catch ’em is fishing a little bullhead critter called the willocat on a modified Lindy Rig – with an egg sinker and long-shank #4 Aberdeen hook 18” below a barrel swivel.

> “Walleyes HATE willocats! The relationship is like a crow/owl thing. Walleyes will flat-out attack ’em even if they aren’t hungry. Willocats are also very durable bait…can usually catch at least 2 eyes per bait (thanks to the Aberdeen hook).

> “The downside is willocats are expensive – about $24/dozen [at the time of writing this]. Most guides can’t afford to furnish this bait…. Willocats are also incredibly toxic. Get horned and the pain is excruciating and will last for hours.

> “Most folks use leather gloves when hooking willocats through the lips to fish. Captain Hook’s Bait in Genoa, WI is the only place on the river which sells a plastic scoop called the “minnow cinch.” The willocat slides down the scoop and gets held in place long enough to hook it up.

> “Why would any walleye chaser use $2-per-minnow bait which is profoundly toxic? Because it works! We would use baby rattlesnakes which had to be hooked near the tail and baited up in total darkness if they worked.”

Where the water levels are made up and the street signs are just a suggestion:

Only way that Jake Arlt shot could be better is if it were a horse-crossing sign lol.

1. MN: 91-yr-old scratches muskie off her bucket list!

Awesome story of how persistence paid off for Bertha Lunzer after hitting the water with Lucas Swanson of Livin’ the Dream Guide Service in the Brainerd lakes area.

> “The shapes, sizes, and colors were designed and chosen based on real-world walleye fishing experience of Northland team members. The goal was to create something entirely new, different, and effective. There was a lot of ‘If you could design the ultimate walleye plastic, what would it look like and how would it move?’”

> …Eye-Candy’s unique composition – a deviation from the typical PVC-type soft plastics – Northland chose a Super TPE material that’s ultra-stretchy, beyond tough, ultra-buoyant, absorbent, and incredibly long-lasting.

> “Previous to Eye-Candy, you couldn’t find a TPE-based walleye soft plastic in bright colors like pink and firecracker or natural colors like green pumpkin and black.”

> An addendum to TPE’s durability is its sponginess and ability to hold scent, a big deal with professional walleye tournament anglers like Northland Pro Staffer Tom Huynh, known to smear his baits with secret sauce….

Rundown of all 5 shapes in this post.

3. Great read on the Wired2Fish crew.

One snippet I wanted to pull outta there quick:

> Ryan DeChaine, VP of Video and Production of Wired2fish: “We hire fishing experts, then teach the production. Teaching on-the-job production expertise is much easier than a lifetime of fishing knowledge accrual. The result? A team of passionate special forces content creators who are exceptional producers. We speak the same language as our hosts and add to the conversation. It’s a collaboration of fishing minds that generates content that helps viewers catch fish while selling products.

4. Z-Man has a new “Rattle-Snaker” specifically designed for…

…injecting rattles into plastics.

With traditional soft-plastics, you can kind of just shove them in…but if you’ve ever tried it with the ElaZtech stuff, you know that’s not happening lol. But this thing looks slick!

And then the ElaZtech material sort of seals back up and “has a way of essentially vapor-locking the rattle inside its body.”

This video does a good job of quickly showing how it works.

5. How’s this for matching the hatch?! 🎯

If you’re curious why the “Drew’s Craw” color Z-Man Finesse TRD is the way that it is:

6. Gotta give a big props to Premier Marine…

…for literally starting the fight against invasive species on the boat manufacturing side of things. I had no idea until I came across this write-up talking about John Deurr’s 22-yrs at Premier Marine…how he noticed a threat and changed the way things were being done:

> “It was early in 2004 when I saw first-hand the threat that invasive species could have on our lakes. A boat had come in for repair and when I crawled underneath to inspect the damage, I saw the strakes were packed full of Zebra Mussels. The owner was unaware, and the boat had just been transported from MI to MN. At that moment, I just knew we had to do something to try to prevent the spread.”

> “At the time, no one was paying attention to aquatic invasive species (AIS). But we decided to do something about it. We changed how our pontoons were built….

> That fight against invasive species can be found in design and manufacturing details throughout a Premier pontoon. From fully-sealed lifting strakes, solid keels, and fast draining transoms to full-length performance sheeting, the elimination of sharp edges, quick-drain live wells, and ladders that don’t drag in the water. All of these design attributes work to dramatically decrease or eliminate the spread of invasive species.

> The invasive species initiatives Premier was taking were soon developed into industry guidelines, and John became recognized as a critical player and influential voice for the industry, working with and serving on various regulatory agency councils like the DNR and industry associations like the American Boat and Yacht Council.

7. Here’s a slick way to store…

…Mack’s Smile Blades – thx for the tip, Eric Magnuson!

8. MN: Few invasives updates…

• Zeeb confirmed in Pine Lake (Stearns County).
• Zeeb confirmed in Lake Plantagenet (Hubbard County).
• Starry stonewort confirmed in Long Lake (Kandiyohi County).

9. The AquaTraction crew is selling their rig.

A 2023 Caymas DV 20 w/ a 300hp Merc V8 Verado. And this thing is decked-out 😳 with lithium batteries, four 12″ HDS Pro Units, pair of ActiveTarget 2 transducers, all wired with 6 gauge, WavePros, trim tabs, of course a first-of-its-kind brown AquaTraction interior…the list goes on:

10. MN: TCWU donates $1K to MN-FISH.

11. IN: Yamaha getting 110,000 sq ft expansion of its Greenfield facility.

Brings all of their propeller manufacturing processes to one campus.

12. Fin-Nor Eyewear adds Rx program to 25 sunglass models

13. Plano EDGE line has a new 3700 Jerkbait Box.

14. ASA elects Board of Directors members.

ASA = American Sportfishing Association.

> Diane Bristol is Vice President, Culture & Community, for Simms Fishing Products. Bristol has been with Simms for 30 yrs and, in her current position, works on employee development and community involvement. Bristol is the Chair of ASA’s new Sustainability and Community Committee.

 

> Matt Jensen is Vice President of Marketing for Rapala USA. Jensen has been with Rapala for 19 yrs and serves on ASA’s Marketing Committee.

 

> John Johnson is Executive Vice President – Sales and Chief Revenue Officer, Pitman Creek Wholesale. He has an extensive career in building and sustaining key customer partnerships, building successful strategies and mobilizing support of resources for their customers.

 

> Doug Lasko is President of Okuma Fishing Tackle. Lasko started his career with Okuma in 1995 and has been in its leadership position since 2005. He is a long-time Government Affairs committee member and is Chair of the Saltwater West committee.

Btw – I love that Matt Jensen (VP of Marketing for Rapala USA) is holding up a fish in his pic. 😅👊

Trust your electronics!

Ultra informative video from Tom Boley breaking down the where/when/why/how he puts his Humminbird Side Imaging, Down Imaging and 2D sonar to work on summer ‘eyes:

Another gem from Troy Lindner:

Love it or hate it, they straight-up get bit!

This comment from @hookedupwi under Troy’s IG post wins ⭐️x5 for selling the Ned rig:

> Imagine you found a bait that catches a smallmouth bass almost every single time you put it in front of one, works at any depth and takes very little skill to fish correctly. If you had such a lure, you would probably use that lure all the time, right? Now imagine that same lure is also the toughest SOB you’ve ever seen and you can literally catch 100 fish on one bait without needing to change it out. Amazing? Yes. NOW imagine that this little bait is actually very inexpensive and readily available at almost every single tackle shop in the country. I suppose you are thinking “there is no such bait…it’s not possible…there couldn’t be….”

Dude nailed it! And yup, you know by now they work for walleyes too.

Erik Vinge posted this pic in the private Fishing Minnesota FB group – said he found it washed up on a small lake near Isanti, MN. And this is why I only talk smack about bowfin (aka dogfish) behind their backs. 😅👹

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH