Winnebago won dirt shallow, Blue mucous walleye, New bass hybrid

If you think walleyes are shallow in the spring…go shallower!

Todd said they never went deeper than 7’ and were primarily pulling spinners (2-hook crawler harnesses) thru weeds on 2B Genesis 8’ 6” MH-M trolling rods at 1.2 mph in just 3’ of water…. I mean SO shallow he literally beached the boat at one point 😳 and said he had a 24-incher that jumped out of the water like a sturgeon once they hooked up lol.

Little info on the trolling rods he was running:

> “…a 8’6” telescoping medium-heavy [carbon] rod…is a great all purpose planer board to flatline rod for all trolling applications. Telescoping features allow it to stow in any rod locker. A beautiful moderate action with enough backbone to handle planer board and lead core fish.”

Big congrats to Todd 🙌 on topping some of THE best walleye sticks in the world.

And looky looky who was right in the hunt…again….

Tom Huynh landed in 2nd-place with 31 lbs 3 oz and can now load-up on $24,122 more worth of prototype Northland Tackle plastics he caught all of his fish on. 🤐

> “I ended up fishing jigs super shallow up the river after I stumbled onto a pattern the last day of practice. I didn’t catch many fish but the fish I did get into the boat were the right quality. A key bait for me this week was a prototype Northland Tackle plastic that will be released next year.”

> Tom said the special part of this prototype plastic is it allows the angler to apply their own scent and the plastic soaks up the scent lasting longer throughout the day of fishing.

Nicely done, man!

…that Gulp! can work as well as the real thing…. 👨‍🔬

I was sent this pic from Justin Macpherson in northern MN who was cleaning a walleye and found a “dozen different plastics in its gut…guessing most of them were picked up off the bottom.”

Looks like the majority of those are Berkley Gulp! Minnows, which btw are 100% biodegradable and don’t sit on the bottom of our lakes for hundreds of years like ‘normal’ plastics do.

And obviously fish love the taste of ‘em enough they’ll literally eat them. 🤯

Why? Well, here’s a snippet from Fishing Fishing Hall of Famer John Prochnow, the guy who created Gulp! 💯 among a zillion other scent-y treats over his past 37 yrs as a renowned chemist, inventor and lure designer with Pure Fishing:

> “Gulp! is made of a water-based polymer, unlike many other soft-plastics that are oil-based PVC. That allows us to use a wider variety of smells, because our attractant is also water based, and oil and water don’t mix. Naturally, fish can smell water-soluble liquids better than anything else, and the material allows the baits to hold and release much more scent.”

> Because oil and water do not mix, when scent is added to a bait created from PVC and an oil-based resin, the oil literally traps the scent inside the bait. While some of the scent does get out, the oil is actually functioning as a barrier.

I love this analogy from John:

> “I liken Gulp! and other scented plastics to eating lunch on a fishing trip. You have a ham and cheese sandwich in a plastic bag. You take it out and eat it and it’s good. Now, if you were to bite it through the bag, all the ingredients would be the same, but you’re going to taste the bag, too.”

Dude can cook up some fish-catchers! 😅👊

He’d never seen anything like it (neither have I!) but was sent this “biological description” of what is apparently called Ichthyobodo or Costiasis disease:

> “Fish infested with Ichthyobodo are often anorexic and listless and will typically exhibit flashing behavior. In advanced cases a blue-gray film appears on the surface of fish caused by increased mucus production and general hyperplasia of epidermal epithelium.”

Yucky, but I’d still like to catch it lol!

That wasn’t even their biggest fish of the day, here’s a non-yucky 30” walleye that had an awesome gold color thx to the clear water:

Okay I was kidding about the hybrid part…but that ^ is a legit pic of a very unique smallie!

Reached out to @issa_jukie who said he caught that little IL butterball throwing a swim-jig.

Would love to see that fish when it’s 20” long! Probably look something like this:

1. MN: Lake Minnetonka kicked out some giants!

West Metro Walleye League posted results from last night and there was a 9.62 and a 9.25 caught! Btw dude on the left cut his own head off…I wouldn’t do him dirty like that lol:

They have a 3-fish limit for their 6-9pm league, and they had 29 walleyes brought in with an average weight of 3.31 lbs.

So why the heck are so many folks from the cities driving up to Brainerd on the weekends?! 😅 #BumperToBumper

2. PA: Research finds wildly different growth rates on Pittsburgh rivers.

> “One of the things we’re finding is that walleye grow much faster on the Ohio River. It’s warmer, but [has] bigger waters and an abundance of forage shad. On the Ohio, young walleye hatched in Apr or May will be 9-10” in Nov. On the Allegheny River…that same fish will be 4 to 5 inches.”

> Slow walleye growth in Middle Allegheny waters is probably due to competition with abundant smallmouth bass and downstream migration by the walleye. The biggest walleye caught in the early spring survey was a 33-incher sampled in the Monongahela at Charleroi.

3. ON: Guy fined $10K for keeping 10X the walleye limit.

He is also “prohibited from possessing an ON fishing license and engaging in any fishing activities in ON for 1 year….”

4. I’m loving the walleye-specific colors on…

…these Slim Minnows from Big Bite Baits! 🥵

5. KS: Walleye telemetry study underway…

…at Tuttle Creek and Milford reservoirs.

> The state agency is working with Kansas State University on a long-term telemetry study to get more information on movement patterns and space use. The goal is to learn more about movement within reservoirs, as well as movement through reservoir dams.

6. Female anglers pose significant revenue opportunity for fishing industry.

> ..new research from the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) and Southwick Associates…found a 10% increase in women’s participation in fishing could provide an additional $1.0 billion in revenue for the sportfishing industry.

7. MN: Fishing license sales were the lowest since 2014?

Thx to the late spring and cruddy weather on opener. I’m sure that number will come back around since a lot of folks typically buy their license the first time they fish in the year.

8. These new Gamakatsu MaxEye jigs look nasty. 🔥

I recently grabbed a few packs and they look and feel like they ✅ all of the boxes. Premium walleye jigs – designed SPECIFICALLY for walleye – that come in both Pill Head (left) and Swim Head (right) versions:

Few quick details:

> Large, highly detailed life-like eye provides fish a focal point they can’t resist.

> Walleye-specific colors. Durable paint finish that will not chip or flake.

> Dual offset rebarb wire keeper and collar system…safely secures the softest and most-fragile plastics or live bait without tearing.

> The premium Big River Jig Hook…is tuned to provide an ideal balance of strength and weight. They sport an increased gap diameter to increase hook-ups and a special bend with an acute angle to provide better holding power.

> …MaxEye Pill Head has a shape which resists snags and imparts a unique action when it contacts the bottom. This design pairs well with live baits or plastics.

> The larger MaxEye Jig Swim Head has a special design that’s great for use with any soft-plastic swimbait, and it pairs perfectly with bulky plastics or smaller finesse.

9. Rather Outdoors adds two industry vets to the team.

Mike Rice and Gary Borland will be joining the leadership team of Quantum Fishing.

> Rocky Kalsow, President of North America for Rather Outdoors, is excited about the appointment of Rice as Senior Vice President of Quantum and Borland as Vice President of Quantum Brand Management. “Mike and Gary are giants in our industry, men who have spent decades developing reputations of integrity and exceptionalism. Quantum has been the home of uncompromising quality since 1984 and is poised for the next chapter of innovation. I am thrilled to have these two on the team.”

10. MT: Dude catches 2,089 invasive trout in 25 days to win tourney.

Kolton Turner won the 2023 Spring Mack Days fishing tournament on Flathead Lake, averaging nearly 96 lake trout per day.

> In total, contestants landed $225K in cash and prizes while removing a total of 33,297 invasive lakers from the fishery.

> The event is meant to help reduce the number of the nonnative fish to boost the population of native bull trout, a threatened species.

> The largest lake trout caught during the tournament was a 36.6-lb, 45.5-incher caught by Bryan Long.

Seems to me like this is a world-class lake trout fishery 😳 they know better than I do, but I feel like I’d embrace it…. 🤷‍♂️

11. OK: How ridiculous is this…

…new state-record bighead carp that Bryan Baker caught from Grand Lake. That’s 118 lbs 3 oz of zooplankton-eating, aquatic-insect-larvae-scarfing invasive species:

12. DC: America’s Outdoor Recreation Act (AORA) gains momentum.

> …passed out of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources via unanimous consent this week, a testament to its bipartisan appeal and transformative impact on recreation access. AORA is a first-of-its-kind recreation package that will boost local and national economies and provide more Americans – especially those in underserved areas – greater access to green spaces and public lands and waters while not costing taxpayers a dime to implement.

> The outdoor recreation industry contributes $862 bil dollars to the national economy, makes up nearly 2% of national GDP and generates 4.5 mil jobs according to the U.S. Dept of Commerce. It is a huge economic driver for both rural and urban communities in every corner of the country, underscoring the importance of adequate infrastructure funding and improved access to recreation opportunities across communities.

13. Target Walleye gear is now 50% off. 😳

These items won’t be available again once they’re gone!

14. Last chance to enter our giveaway!

For 3 new open-water sticks from Paul and Gregg Thorne’s Two Brothers Innovations, including an Elliott Performance Handle 70ML-F, a 2B Fishing Genesis 71M-F, and their new 2B Genesis 8’ Sharp Shooter!

Whether you’re pitching jigs, snapping plastics and reaction baits, or sniping fish with a slip-bobber…these 3 rods will have you covered!

Takes less than a minute to enter, and don’t forget to Triple Down!

Finding the ‘biters’ is a big part of catching fish.

Quick (but valuable) tip from Bob Jensen talking on how finding the fish isn’t always enough – you’ve got to find the fish that are actually willing to bite.

> “Some sonar work might reveal a bunch of walleyes hovering off the edge of a deep-water structure, and just a few walleyes on the top of that same structure. While it’s tempting to work the big school of fish that are on the edge, it might be more productive to work the smaller group that’s on top of the structure.

> “Walleyes that are shallow or on top of a structure are often looking for something to eat. Walleyes that are near structure but that have pulled off to the side of the structure are fish that have probably recently eaten and are now just hanging around. They probably aren’t very interested in eating. When they do get ready to eat, they’ll swim back to the structure and find a meal.”

Have noticed this more and more the last couple seasons, on several different lakes and completely different conditions.

One example: Going back to a couple springs ago when Nick Miltimore put ALL of our fish in the boat during Walleye Alliance’s Spring Walleye Classic on Gull Lake.

I was repeatedly casting (over and over and over again!) at a school of fish that was sitting in about 10′ right on the lip where a sand flat breaks off into deep water. Occasionally I would get 1 to bite, but they would either pop off half way back to the boat or short-nip the back half of my bait. Clearly they weren’t committing.

Soooo what’s professional jig-pitcher 😏 Nick do? He’s straight-up hawking the graph…glued to the Side Imaging. Every time he’d see a shadow come across the screen out to the left of the boat (up shallow in probably just 5-6′ sand) he’d fire a cast in there and BOOM = it’s on. Those fish were in a completely different mood. They engulfed the bait. And literally coughed up small perch and shiners the whole way in. Those shallower fish were probably just 70-100′ away from the huge school I was non-stop pitching at, but it made all the difference.

One of those days that I just can’t shake, but has me trying to be better at making real-time adjustments on the water and NOT always fishing memories…whether those memories are from 4 yrs ago or maybe even just a couple hours prior. I needed this reminder and maybe you do too…. 😎

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH