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Walleye big enough to impress Al.
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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, 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 bunch of walleyes from 16-20″ is a great day on the water.
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Pike eats walleye on a stringer!
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Heard of snapping turtles and otters pulling this off…but ever had a northern pike steal your shore lunch? #Greedy #ManitobaProblems
Only way that could’ve been more unusual is if it was a derp pike like the one Scott Ford caught on Mississippi River Pool 10…but pretty sure they only eat bullheads:
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If you know what’s going on in this pic…
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| …then you know it’s like winning a key battle in the war of DIY boat rigging. Victory!
Soooo glad veteran DIYer Brad Hawthorne had that “Flat Steel Fish Tape” laying around (thx dude!) to help fish my 3 transducer cables from back-to-front on my new Lund 2025 Impact XS. Still have some rigging to do — and plan to shoot/share videos on that — but won’t be long before you’re seeing that thing in action right here.
Also wanna give a HUGE shout-out [!!!] to NWT pro Bill Shimota who straight-up saved me….
I was in desperate need of some electronics mounts and could not find anything in stock anywhere in MN. Remembered that Bill bought Stabil-Mount beginning of this year, so thought I’d reach out to see if he had anything on hand. Long story short: He did (still does) and was able to get these blacked-out beauties on my doorstep in < 24 hours = seriously amazing:
Big thx dude! |
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1) Love getting messages to the Target Walleye inbox like this one from Jaime Rodriguez of J ROD ANGLING:
> “A few weeks back you featured this Phantom Boogey 13 custom painted by [Matthew Fairbank of @verticalcustomlures] — well here it is in action. As the sun was setting on the Columbia River we decided to long-line Phantoms and rang the dinner bell for this giant to eat.
> “Fishing off a 23′ contour next to a flat, we were 5 minutes into our first drift and bam she hit…peeling drag as I was just over 200′ on my line-counter we decided to turn around and chase down this giant. We eventually got her close to the boat when she decided to take 3 last-stake lunges to shake the hooks.
> “My son was on net duty as he was full-extension on the handle…after a few missed attempts he successfully nets the beast with the help of my daughter…. Coming in at 31.5″ and approx 11-12 lbs, she was released to fight another day but not before I dedicated her to my late-friend Calvin Burkhardsmeier.”
Love it. Congrats on the fish of a lifetime!
2) Long-time TW reader Len Talarico (@lentaloutdoors) cracked this 31.5″ bruiser running a homemade ‘crawler harness using #4 Colorado blades, and said:
> “They wanted it a little faster on this night…1.3 mph was key. Targeting mid-lake humps and saddles in the 18-23′ range. Hit right before dark in the twilight period — pays to stay out and make that last pass in the dark.”
No doubt, man! Awesome fish!!
3) @katetizzard has been getting in on the Lake of the Woods BIG-fish party. Said she’s been hitting ’em with 3/8- or 1/4-oz Tom’s Tackle Jigs paired with a shiner in 18-20′. Keep it up!
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As seen at Lindner Media.
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How’d you like to snoop around the Lindner Media office for a bit? For sure a bunch of cool projects going on, and some memorabilia you won’t see anywhere else….
Exhibit A: Do Al and Ron Lindner practice karate in the garage?
Yup!
Lol. Love those throwbacks.
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News
1. Former Shimano chairman Yoshizo Shimano passed on.
2. WI: Some could-be record talk going on….
This Milwaukee Journal Sentinel write-up said Eric Van Dyn Hoven caught a 31.75″ walleye outta Lac Vieux Desert (source of the Wisconsin River on the WI/MI border) that “reportedly weighed 16.87 lbs” the next morning on his digital scale:
Guess the fish was post-spawn and some folks are guessing a belly full of eggs woulda made it close the current 18-lb record caught in 1933 on High Lake in Vilas County.
3. ND: Devils Lake AIM happenin’ Sunday.
Folks are guessing it’ll take somewhere in the low 30-lb range to win, but that “it could easily be 10 lbs higher if the right pod of fish is found.” Can’t wait to see how it’s won — will do my best to track down the details — ‘cuz you can catch ’em any way you want to on Devils Lake.
4. Al Lindner’s Lund is for sale.
Said he’s selling all his open-water stuff and focusing 100% of his efforts towards ice fishing this season…. Okay, not really…but check this thing out! [heart-eyes emoji]:
More details here.
5. WI: Minocqua Chain walleye regs extended a year.
‘Cuz it’s current zero bag limit (been in place 5 years!) has been helping the walleye population make a rebound, but they’re still working to “restore a self-sustaining level of natural reproduction” too.
See…Mille Lacs isn’t the only lake being picked on! 😉
Btw there was a public meeting last Oct to discuss the project and:
> …results of the public input assessment at the meeting and online indicated more than 90% of respondents supported extending the current catch-and-release regulation.
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TargetWalleye.com Highlights
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Tip of the Day
Gettin’ to be that time of year — you ready to add it to your arsenal?
Leadcore is exactly what it sounds like: fishing line with a lead core. The line sinks to help crankbaits dive deeper, tough to beat when the water’s hot and fish start roaming the basin. Full Joel Nelson write-up here, few excerpts below:
> More than just a search tool, it can be an effective way to target spread-out fish…when pulling live-bait rigs and even spinners takes too long between pods.
> The cornerstone of every good leadcore program is a M to MH, moderate-action trolling rod, paired with a slightly oversized line-counter reel and 18-lb leadcore line.
> Leadcore line is marked by a different color every 10 yards, so a full-core would be 10 colors or 100 yards. You probably won’t need to dive to this depth, but it’s a good starting place to get you acquainted with the method.
> Standard leadcore dives on average 5′ per color, but Sufix 832 Advanced Lead Core dives 7′ per color (more depth with less line out).
Joel uses a slick reverse-spooling hack so he knows exactly how much backing to put under the leadcore = perfectly fill the spool. Works for regular braid too:
> Unsheath the end of your leadcore, and pull out 6″ or so of the lead. Pull the sheath back down and use it to tie a braid-to-mono, or braid-to-braid knot.
> Areas where I’m trolling with zebra mussels, I run a 3-5′ section of braided leader, then a snap, then my lure. On ultra-clear water I run a 30′ leader of 10-lb fluorocarbon so it’s less visible.
> Any crankbait runs well with this scenario, as do spinners and a variety of other lures designed to be pulled.
> Start by letting out a few colors of line while going 2.2-3.0 mph. Let out line evenly to prevent overruns and keep kinks and tangles to a minimum. When leadcore knots, the interior lead can break and poke out in places.
> Deep-diving crankbaits should be let out until you’re occasionally making contact with bottom. You don’t want to be digging in constantly…this causes baits to wander, then tangle.
> Pull along gradually similar depths, and as you get better…work your way towards pulling along breaks.
If you’re looking for more advanced leadcore tricks — with planer boards, segmented, shallow water, etc — find ’em here.
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Meme of the Day
If you SOMEHOW still don’t own any Berkley Flicker Shads, check ’em out before your buddies make fun of you lol. Catches ’em year-round, plus leadcore SZN is coming in hot….
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Today’s ‘Eye Candy
Behind every “hero shot” is a fish trying to do the dang Macarena in your hands, and sometimes they nail the tooshie shake. Hilarious @jerkbaitjake shot from Stockton Lake, MO. #FishFlopFriday
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