Target Walleye/Ice email

World record denied, Calibrate your line-counter, Slush melons of the week

Today’s Top 5

Slush melons of the week!

1.  Ice (en)Force(r) Tony Boshold took a trip to Lake Cascade, ID and said, “this place is the Erie of perch fishing!” Broke his PB jumbo multiple times in one day, including this 2-03 that scarfed a “pink chartreuse glow” VMC Tungsten Nymph Jig:

 

2.  Adam de Melo stuck this massive 11-lb 12-oz (28″) slush melon on the Bay of Quinte using an 1/8-oz “glo perch” Northland Eye-Ball Spoon. Congrats dude!

 

3.  Pat McSharry and Calvin Svihel got on the open-water Mississippi River hawgbellies — slow dragging VMC Neon Moon Eye Jigs and B-Fish-N AuthentX Pulse-R paddletails:

 

Caught while filming an episode of In-Depth Outdoors. This screenshot from the YouTube vid might just be the definition of #TillerLife

 

4.  More than “just” greenbacks in Manitoba….No doubt this rainbow caught by Melissa Lindsay (@turkeygirl.mb) has been putting on the feedbag:

 

5.  This Simcoe egg-cannon chomped Matt Mitchell’s Lunkerhunt Magic Bean on the drop. #TwoHander

 

6.  Can you imagine icing a pair of 29-inchers in the same day?! Lake of the Woods is a special place. Posted by Long Point Resort:

 

More good news: Can have fish houses out waaaay longer (Mar 31!) on Lake of the Woods, and the walleye season is open through Apr 14…after the rest of MN closes down this Sunday [crying emoji].

Ever “deadstick” with jigging spoons?

Most folks like using plain hooks or tiny jigs, but “deadsticking” doesn’t necessarily mean you’re bait’s sitting down there motionless…. Here’s why Ice Team pro Scott Merwin likes using jigging spoons like the Clam Leech Flutter Spoon on his set-lines:

 

Btw those Jason Mitchell Dead Meat rods are just $39.99, so definitely don’t need to spend a fortune adding that second line down there…even for one that’s designed to load up without the fish feeling it’s a trap.

Is this why fish freak out at the bottom of the hole?

You’d fight for your life too with these mugs looking down on ya:

 

Awesome pic on Eskimo’s IG page. Favorite comment under the original post:

> “What the last Pringle’s chip sees at the bottom of the can!!?!?!!?” Lol!

World-record paddlefish caught…but doesn’t count.

Jeremiah Mefford snatched this mammoth 157-lb (60.5″ long x 45.25″ girth) paddlefish out of Keystone Lake, OK:

 

Would’ve absolutely crushed the current state record (132-08) and most likely the world record (believe it’s 144) but had to be released because it was caught on a Friday??? The write-up said:

> “State [regz] allow anglers to keep only 1 paddlefish in a day’s fishing…must stop fishing as soon as 1 is kept. The annual limit is 2 — which must be reported online — and Fridays and Mondays are catch and release only.”

Bummer! Sounds like this dude could catch another record soon tho. #Dialed

> “In about a month and a half after developing a new technique using scanning sonar called LiveScope from Garmin, he’s put more than a dozen paddlefish over 100 lbs on his boat.”

Can’t catch ’em from the couch…

…but there are days where that’d be nice — like this pic posted on the Simms Fishing Instagram that actually makes ice fishing look warm:

News

1. WI: Since when do sturgeon eat frogs???

DNR biologists found 7 frogs inside a sturgeon harvested from Lake Winneconne. Said they usually find lake-fly larvae or red worms, and that this was a first:

> “We’ve never observed this in any of the diet work that I’ve been involved with…we’ve probably sampled about 600 stomachs over the last 7 seasons, so this is kind of a rare….”

2. MB: If you’re heading to Lake Winnipeg for #MarchMadness…

…and have a Lowrance GPS unit, better get yourself an Angler’s Edge Mapping chip. Lot more structure scattered ’round that “bowl” than you’d think! And you’re not just stuck to the south shore anymore…they big-time expanded coverage:

 

3. MB: There’s now mapping for you ‘Bird watchers too.

Humminbird ChartSelect released a Lake Winnipeg download this winter to use with a Humminbird fish finder or the FishSmart App on your phone.

4. MT: Canyon Ferry launch restrictions lifted.

> “…allowing all boaters to access all boat ramps for the 2020 boating year. MT FWP sought to remove the launch restrictions after 3 years of testing resulted in no detections of invasive quagga or zebra mussels.”

5. New Yo-Zuri jerkbaits leaked.

By FLW bassin’ pro Braxton Setzer. Word is they’re dropping at ICAST:

 

6. New Costa Sunglasses owners cutting 295 jobs.

> “…following the merger of its parent, Essilor, with fellow sunglasses powerhouse, Luxottica. …deal brings a number of famous eyewear brands under one roof…Oakley, Foster Grant, Versace, Giorgio Armani and Ray Ban.”

7. Merc made a 60-hp Racing motor.

Write-up says it’s for “flats skiffs” but I could see the Midwest river rats being all over it for skinny water.

8. Gotta get my hands on one of these.

Ultra-limited edition Okuma Chroma Reels. I’m sure not everyone’s cup ‘o tea…but I’m diggin’ the ’80s windbreaker look:

 

> [Okuma USA] will be getting a small shipment of these in the next couple of months. [Okuma International] released in some other countries and it was a matter of minutes that they sold out.

Keep you posted if I’m able to spot ’em available before they’re gonezo.

9. Garmin’s Q4 was up 22% in marine.

> …which Garmin said was driven by an innovative product lineup of chartplotters, advanced sonars [Panoptix and LiveScope], and the revolutionary new Force trolling motor….

10. CO: Western Walleye Expo comin’ Apr 4.

At the Adams County Regional Park in Brighton. Free kids event with giveaways, and seminars from Keith Kavajecz, Randy Gaines, Bob Luellen and more.

11. Mission Tackle Rigged Lake Trout Tubes in stock.

Know the 3/4-oz version sold-out last year ’round this time…so wanted to give you a heads up they’re in stock right now.

Come pre-rigged with that clutch stinger hook built-in. I’ll never fish without one after watching lakers on the camera slide up and just grab at the tail of the bait. #DaySaver

 

12. Rapala has a new CEO at European HQ.

Also thought it was interesting that net sales in Europe were up 5% the second half of 2019, and up a whopping 21% in North America.

13. MI: Prez’s budget has no funding for anti-carp project.

> The proposed project would have reconstructed the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in the Des Plaines River. This would prevent the carp from traveling from southern IL…into Lake Michigan.

TargetWalleye.com Highlights

Tip of the Day

Trolling’s all about putting a pattern together. The most efficient way to do that is to make sure all of your line-counter reels are reading exactly the same.

Here’s how Matt Jollymore gets his KastKing ReKon spot on, but it works no matter what brand of line-counter you’re using:

Quote of the Day

“We didn’t copy the recipe to make the cake — we created it.”

– From a vid talkin’/showin’ a day in the life of a lake map surveyor. Awesome behind-the-scenes look at what all goes into making those LakeMaster maps:

Today’s ‘Eye Candy

Oh granny, what big teeth you have…. All the better to eat your “perch” color Freedom Tackle Blade Bait with, my dear:

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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
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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