Best Side Imaging settings, Dirty 30 smack fest, Bass pros too stubborn

Few details from Will:

Caught 'em pitching 1/4-oz Northland Long Shank Fire-Ball Jigs with giant rainbows, and also a mixture of paddletails including: Berkley PowerBait Power Swimmers, Keitechs and big Juice Baits HD Swimbaits.

They were fishing a sand flat in front of an "underwater forest." Would pitch out and bump their baits along the current to get right in front of the trees. Said they could see the fish on Side Imaging sitting in the trees and would try to put the baits right in front of their face when they came out to feed. Pulled 5 of their 6 dirty-30s out of that spot and the other came just 50 yards away.

Will was slinging 6'10" ML XF rods from 2B Fishing and Elliott – loves that rod action 'cuz he says it has "enough play in the tip to feel if they pick it off bottom, but still plenty there to drive the hook home in current."

No doubt the day of a lifetime! 🔥 Way to get it done, fellas!!

Cool step-by-step Side Imaging breakdown from Dr. Jason Halfen aka The Technological Angler = dude is DIALED with his Humminbird electronics. He recently posted a little breakdown of how he searched-and-destroyed Green Bay waldos. Few experts below but for sure worth checking out the full posts (part 1 and part 2) on his Facebook page. 🙌 Love that he even included his Humminbird settings to go with the screenshots of what he's looking for on the walleye search:

> Jason: As fish pour out of the rivers after spawning, they scatter over expansive sand flats that quite literally go on for miles.... There is often very little to hold fish in one particular area, save the near-shore breakline, an occasional ripple in water depth, a slight increase in zebra mussel density on the bottom, or maybe an occasional breakwater or random pile of rocks. These fish seem to cruise around in loose packs and are frequently on the go – here one minute and gone the next.

> Finding fish in 1s and 2s was no big deal – those fish seemed to be on the Side Imaging view all the time. The bigger challenge was finding larger groups of fish – areas where you might have 10-20 fish in one place at the same time. The competitive juices would get those fish into a feeding mood more regularly. So that's what we spent time looking for...a lot of time.

> Our routine was to cruise around in depths of 7-12' at 4-5 mph, looking specifically for larger concentrations of fish. [Here's] the sort of image we were looking for – large numbers of fish on both sides of the boat, with some singles and pairs, but also a larger school of good-sized fish. The size and darkness of the shadows is a good indication of the relative size of the fish. This is a group we would drop a waypoint on, quickly cycle back, and then present baits to.

Following up with Top Item #2. Here's how The Technological Angler switches up his Humminbird MEGA Side Imaging settings once he hunkers down on a pod of fish:

> Jason: Let's assume that you've found a pod of walleyes while cruising around at 4-5 mph with Humminbird MEGA Side Imaging. As you commit to fishing that pod, be sure to drop a waypoint on them and quickly circle back to a position near the waypoint – don't drive right over it.

> Now, in my experience, the best way to present baits to cold-water walleye is from a (very) slowly drifting boat or from a stationary position – of these two options – I prefer to be locked into one place. I position my boat adjacent to the waypoint – far enough away to avoid spooking these fish in cold, crystal-clear water, yet near enough to reach beyond the waypoint with a long cast – this is a job for Spot-Lock.

> In light or moderate wind, I Spot-Lock alongside the waypoint, and present baits out the sides of the boat. Keeping the fish off to my left or right allows me to monitor the target zone with Side Imaging (more on that later) while Spot-Locked in place. If I no longer see fish returns and sonar shadows, it's time to reposition the boat or restart the hunt.

> Conveniently, the i-Pilot Link's Jog feature allows me to move the boat in precise, 5' increments to stay on top of the school. In stronger winds that would lead to a significant amount of line bow and loss of lure control, I Spot-Lock directly upwind of the waypoint and Jog around as necessary....

> Now, while you're Spot-Locked in place, your Side Imaging view will change – not because you've adjusted the settings, but because you're no longer moving...but the fish still are. The kind of views that would keep me interested in staying Spot-Locked in place are illustrated in these screen captures. In each note the speed (0.0-0.1 mph).

> Notice that both the bright primary sonar returns and the dark sonar shadows are larger and easier to see – that's because the Side Imaging beam is spending more time painting each individual fish as they swim through the beam.... Sometimes the shadow would be all that you'd see easily (because the bright bottom had just the right degree of hardness to disguise the fish's sonar return), but often, you'd see them both. And frankly, the dark shadow is all you really need to know that fish are around.

> Continuous parades of fish returns and shadows meant that walleyes remained in the area...when the parade stopped, we'd begin to Jog around to find them. If we couldn't find them easily, it was time to resume the search.

Here's The Technological Angler's SI settings when hunkered down on fish:

MEGA Imaging frequency range
Imaging + set to "Increased Detail" (this fine tunes the CHIRP range for MEGA)
SI Range: 120' (you could easily choke this down to 80' to keep the distance relevant to the length of your cast)
SI Sensitivity: 12-13 (turn this up a notch or two to better see the bright sonar returns from the fish)
SI Contrast: 7-8 (again, increase if you really want to see the bright spot and the shadow, but increasing contrast with MEGA means you'll be losing range)
Dynamic contrast: On
Chart speed: 4-6
Color palette = blue

So, so, SO dialed. Those Green Bay cheeseheads didn't stand a chance!

Also a huge props to Isaac Lakich (2nd) on making a run at it!

Just incredible. Don't even know what to say right now. I'll follow up with the winning details in the next Target Walleye.

In the meantime you better get yourself some Berkley Ripple Shads, LJ Minnows, and Northland Slurp Jigs before they're sold-out everywhere. 😳

2. OH: Lake Erie MWC kicked off today.

119 boats rolled-out of Port Clinton this AM in search of the BIGS. Some folks are saying it could take as much as 100 lbs over the 2 days (10-lb average!) to take home the dubyah.

The day-1 weigh-in should be happenin' live on MWC's FB page right about now.

3. NY: Oneida walleye egg collection just wrapped up.

> Eggs were taken from 5,190 female walleyes, and the hatchery's quota of 270 mil eggs was reached. Those eggs eventually will produce walleyes that will be stocked in Oneida Lake and many other waters across the state.

One of those females they netted this year was a 28-incher that weighed 12.55 lbs!

Btw sounds like Oneida Lake's walleye population is now estimated at over 1 mil adult walleyes. Believe the DEC hasn't seen #s like that since the mid-1980s.

4. BC: Pend d'Oreille walleye limit went from 0 to unlimited.

Walleye are designated as an invasive species there, and regs had "prohibited folks from keeping [or even fishing for] species that have been [illegally] introduced to local waters." But now she's wide open. 🍽

5. MN: Big Stone Lake MWC registration closes Apr 19.

6. MI: Feds fine former Midland dams owner $15 mil...

...over safety violations. Some 11,000 people were evacuated from homes in mid-Michigan last May after the Edenville Dam failed following heavy rainfall – inflicted $200 mil in damage.

7. MI: Commercial fisherman wants to keep walleyes + lake trout...

...that swim into his nets, "instead of throwing them to the seagulls that swarm his boat." Sounds like the whitefish population is way down and it's getting harder to fill orders.

8. Can't believe everything you see in the news….

Saw a NY news headline saying a St. Lawrence County fisherman was ticketed for exceeding the daily walleye limit, which doesn't sound like the false part (?), but this is the image they used to go with it:

Have zero idea what those are but for sure nothing close to a walleye. 🤦‍♂️ Can't decide if that's better or worse than using a pic of a zander lol.

9. West Marine bought by big private equity.

L Catterton, who I had never heard of. Quick glance looks like it's their first outdoors businesses....

10. Clam is hiring a full-time retail support rep.

11. WI/MN DNRs have found 30+ Asian carp at La Crosse.

In just the first few days of the DNR's operation with underwater speakers, electrofishing technology, large boats and nets.

12. Aussie dude is turning invasive carp into fish sauce.

Using a 2000-yr-old recipe. Crazy. And obviously have to give bonus points for a 'stache:

"...toothy gamefish that are highly desired by many anglers because of the taste of their meat."

- That's an article explaining what walleyes are to trout/salmon guys over in New Yawk. Said walleye were illegally stocked in Skaneateles Lake – where they aren't native, stocked, and can't possibly get into without someone playing "bucket biologist" – but now are thriving and naturally reproducing. Makes 'em worried how it'll impact the trout/salmon fishing.

The DEC is still figuring how to get walleyes outta there, but sounds like their most likely option would be to "eliminate size, season and daily limit restrictions on walleye in Skaneateles Lake and its tributaries."

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

To send us walleye pics, ice shots or whatever, just respond to this email or click here to email us. Or post it on the Target Walleye Facebook page.

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Baxter, MN 56425

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