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If you’re getting Target Walleye for the first time, a friend probably signed you up!
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Using water temps to find active bites is nothing new during the open-water season, though still not too many folks paying attention to it through the ice….
This super-interesting piece by Matt Straw at In-Fish is from a few years back, but still one of the most overlooked pieces to the ice fishin’ puzzle IMO. Full write-up here, few excerpts below:
> How many ice anglers bother to observe water temperature at depth? Most perceive conditions under the ice to be pretty homogeneous, not only month-to-month, but year-to-year. But it isn’t so.
> Temperature bands move up and down through the water column all winter, expanding and contracting….
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Btw you might already have an underwater camera that displays temp and depth, so it’s just a point of paying attention to it.
Also some super easy to use units out there like the Fish Hawk TD, where you just gotta: 1) drop it down, 2) reel it back up, and it’ll register the water temp for every 5′ of the water column. #Slick
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> Heavy snow cover can improve the shallow bite, but extremely cold weather can push frigid 33°F water down to the bottom in 8-10′, driving walleyes out of there.
> When I find 36°F or warmer water on bottom in 10′, I know walleyes will push even shallower on those key spots.
> Walleyes in one lake kept biting at about 22′ for over a month, even when temperatures varied by about 4°F. But the bite wasn’t the same at 34°F as it was at 38°F. Not even close.
> In warmer water (always accompanied by warmer air temps and stable weather), walleyes tended to move higher off bottom and strike more aggressively. In colder water, they held closer to bottom and exhibited smaller strike zones.
WAY more info in the full Matt Straw write-up here.
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Cool create-your-own Rapala Rippin’ Rap contest!
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Shout-out to TW fan Chris Saxby on hipping me to this custom-painted Rippin’ Rap contest that was hosted by Swamp Donkey Bait & Tackle and Viper Custom Tackle. It’s over now – so you can’t enter – but thought it was pretty dang cool and wanted to share.
Folks could design their own Rapala Rippin’ Rap patterns – then judges selected the 5 finalists that were then voted on by the fishin’ public. Here’s a look at those top 5. Btw Chris Saxby’s design (B) got 2nd and Stephanie Stevens (E) took home the dubyah:
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Stephanie called her winning design “firefly.”
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Here’s what she said about it:
> “I enjoy spring walleye fishing on the Fox, and one of the things I love about walleye is how their eyes glow. I tried to mimic those glowing eyes by creating glowing fireflies against the night sky on this lure. I wanted something meaningful and effective (especially in the waters of the Fox, I knew the bright firefly flecks would help lure the eyes). Thank you!”
Awesome. 👊 Congrats!!
Oh, and judging by the 2 most-popular designs, it looks like stripes are out and polka dots/stars are in:
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How to choose the best ice-fishing line for panfish.
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With SO many options, it can be downright overwhelming to pick a spool of line off the shelf. 🤷♂️ So where should you start?
Well, there’s no one specific line type that’s perfect for all situations – each has its own time and place depending on how you’re fishing. Here’s a few things to consider the next time you’re spooling up for hardwater panfish and when/why I use each:
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Some more Maine madness…. 🧐
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WTHeck are “Canadian ape hangers?”
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Don’t forget the auger extension(s) if you’re heading way up north. Here’s why I like to call jacked-up augers “Canadian ape hangers.” #Aggressive
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Important side note (no matter where you’re fishing): Make sure you’re “pumping” the auger – to clear the hole of shavings – ’bout every 12″ you drill down…else that hole-cutter might not come back home with you:
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I’ve been there. 🤦♂️ Literally the first hole I EVER drilled on Lake Winnipeg, I tried to rip straight through like I normally do down here. Let’s just say an hour+ later my buddy Zach Jackson and I were finally fishing.
Saw in the comments section of that Ice Fishing Manitoba post how a guy named Lucky Popovic made the most of the situation…got his stuck auger back and made a homemade fishwell at the same time:
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1. MN: Hall of Famer Mark Martin will be speaking at…
…the Twin City Walleyes Unlimited meeting Thurs, Mar 4.
Little factoid: Did you know Mark kicked off his professional fishing career by winning the 1st tournament he entered? He won the PWT Tournament of Champions held at International Falls, MN and has 47+ top-10 tournament finishes in AIM, PWT, NWT and MWC. 👀 #decorated!
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We’ll be giving one away next week 🤐 stay tuned.
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My buddy Jason Durham is hitting burbot fishermen/women right in the feels with this one:
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60% of the time, it happens every time.
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For some reason this @berkleyfishing shot makes me wanna crush candy like my kid just brought her Valentine’s Day box home from daycare. #ItHappend
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But then I see the paunchy gut on this jumbo perch – that ate 1 too many PowerBait Ice Mayflies – and realize I should probably back off on the treats:
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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 and Ron Lindner, Jim Kalkofen, Brett McComas and other diehard fish-nuts like you! #fishheads
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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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