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"Bobberscoping" finally has a name. π― |
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One of the most popular techniques I've seen take off in our local walleye tourneys is what's now being called "bobberscoping" aka moseying around with forward-facing sonar and casting a slip-bobber right on top of specific fish's heads. |
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Something I have definitely busted-out a few times in our local league when I'm struggling to put fish in the box...but works so well that I sometimes wonder why I don't just commit to doing it all of the time lol.
Speaking of bobberscoping....
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Few details:
> "NEW for 2022, the "Sharp Shooter" or 2B-STH80ML-M is an 8β² telescoping bobber rod that collapses to 6'10" for easy storage. Designed down to the smallest of detail, this slip float specific rod features oversized guides and tip for shooting slip-knots through the guides, allowing you to place the bait precisely where the fish are. With the perfect backbone and a moderate action to keep fish pinned all the way home, this rod is a Sharp Shooter's must-have tool."
I just got my hands on one and can't wait to take her out for a rip. Obviously you don't need to have forward-facing sonar to put this rod's benefits to work...I think anyone who likes soaking a slip-bobber for walleyes would appreciate some of those key features.
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Don't see that every day.... π³ |
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Never know what I'm going to find in the Target Walleye email inbox, but usually a whole lot of fishy madness! Here's a couple recent messages I just had to share....
1) I was sent this first awesome snippet from Ross Pillsbury β check it:
> "My wife and I went to our 7-yr-old grandson's flag football game the other day. I was thinking where I would try out my new Shadow Raps when I noticed something in the grass. Yes, a little northern laying in the grass in a football field about a mile from any lake. Then I looked up to see an osprey nest in the field lights! Oops they dropped something!!"
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2) Insta user @sh_eng_ better go buy himself a lottery ticket.... He caught a 24-incher that had bit his Berkley Ripple Shad, missed the hook, and somehow stayed pinned on the SNAP for the fight back to the boat. Wild! |
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Secret swimbait trolling technique. |
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We mentioned this hush-hush technique last year, and most folks are still trying to keep it under wraps...but NWT pro Drake Herd just haaaad to spill the beans!
Lots of different variations of swimbait trolling β can be as simple or as complicated as you wanna make it β here's one unique program Drake uses to catch big ol' basin-dwellers...
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That massive weight means he doesn't need to mess with downriggers, leadcore, etc to get his bait to depth, and stay there. Can also cover water at 2.2-2.5 mph while staying mostly vertical.
Yo Drake, how are you gonna use a 10-oz snap weight and NOT nickname this technique "bowling" or "Kingpinning" lol?
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The full video (below) is sure to get your creative juices flowing: |
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Of course you don't need 10-oz snap weights to troll swimbaits...can pull 'em on leadcore or use lighter weights with more line out, especially when fishing shallower water. |
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Thereβs always a bigger fish.... |
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> βTough way to go, courtesy of a 40β³-class musky that let go after holding tight and chewing hard for several minutes. Tells you that the 16-18β³ suckers arenβt too big for the fall live bait bite!β
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Also saw a comment from Larry Leal under the original post that said:
> They like 23β³ wallys for a snack also. This one had to be close to 50β³.
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For the most fish ever caught in 24 hours. The current record is 3,186 [!!!] set by Jeff "Kolo" Kolodzinski during the Marathon Man event in 2021.
This year he's shooting for 4,000 fish in 24 hrs which means he's gotta catch more than 2.7 fish per minute for 24 hrs straight.
And he's not doing it for a spot in the record books:
> "He's doing it to introduce people and families to fishing and to increase awareness and financial support for Fishing For Life, a non-profit, charitable organization whose Next GEN program finds mentors for children of families in need.
> "A special focus within the program, serves families of our veterans who have lost loved ones while serving our nation." [Can make a donation here]
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> So far only 85 grass carp have been caught. Annual catch numbers range from about 150 to 200 grass carp.
> With 3 decades of distribution experience, he brings a comprehensive knowledge of warehouse operations, pricing, supply chain, and inventory management.... McCartney spent nearly 30 yrs with General Parts Inc. (now Advance Auto Parts)....
Seems like the whole "navigable waterways are public" deal we all took for granted has been disappearing due to some lawyers and judges?
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Runs 5-6' when casting, and hits 'round 11' on the troll.
> Pure Watercraft has chosen an 80,000-sq-ft production facility at the Beech Bottom Industrial Park, a revitalized former steel plant on the banks of the Ohio River, to produce the Pure Pontoon Boat, which is being developed in collaboration with strategic investor General Motors.
...on Lake of the Ozarks. Vision Marine's electric boat shattered the previous electric speed record for watercraft, which sat at 88.6 mph.
> This funding isn't the first time there has been an effort to support the recovery of endangered salmon species: $300 mil were provided for fisheries through the CARES [Covid] Act, as well as $255 mil in the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
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Few TargetWalleye.com Highlights
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What's π₯ on Target Walleye's YouTube π₯
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Anyone else ready for the fall walleye bite? πββοΈ Know I am! So when does the fishing start getting good again LOL...? I came across this write-up from Ronn Boggs that's loaded with a bunch of really interesting info to help understand what kicks the fall bite into gear. Waaaay more info here, but a few excerpts below:
> Fall walleye fishing doesn't wait for the calendar to say Sept 20...or when the leaves on the trees start to turn. For me [it] starts when the weeds begin to brown and die off.
> In the lakes around my home...that's happening by mid-Aug when the algae bloom...blocks sunlight, and the day-length...is more than an hour shorter than it was in late Jun. Less light cues the weeds to die off for the year. Thick patches of weeds may still seem vibrant and alive, but those deeper weed edges and the sparse weed areas are browning and dropping WAY before trees show a glimmer of color.
> This die-off...leaves zillions of perch, shiner, chub and sucker minnows with no place to hide. Those minnows seldom tuck into the remaining thick weeds, preferring instead to bunch together and roam, following shorelines and stacking up....
> The displaced bait species typically end up on rocky stretches of shoreline or best of all, on rocky points and reef areas. For those who fish the Great Lakes, these are the minnows stacked on jetties while the weather is still nice. In addition to various rocky outcrops, these moving baitfish will be cruising through areas of subtle current like causeways or channels connecting lakes as well as narrows or other pinch points that funnel the homeless bait to areas walleyes can use for ambush.
> False spawning run: Radiotelemetry studies show that a sizable portion of the walleye population makes a temporary up-lake run close to the areas where they will spawn in the spring. You'll catch these fish in the same places you catch them during the pre-spawn every year β tailraces of dams, flats near the mouths of spawning streams, major bends with access to the channel, and perhaps even in the streams and rivers near spawning stretches.
> Biologists don't have clear proof why lots of walleyes make this false run, but it definitely happens in many water bodies. I believe the walleyes make this run through the spawning area to feed on minnows and crayfish....
> Setting Up for Winter: This is a late-fall phenomenon where the walleyes start settling in near or at the spots they'll hang out through the winter. This is almost like pre-ice fishing where you fish for walleyes that are still more active than they'll be in a few weeks, but on the same GPS coordinates you saved from ice fishing last winter. This is the classic late fall pattern where walleyes are working steep breaks near deeper water.
> Sometimes you'll get lucky and find them pouring out of the depths and into the shallows to feed. More commonly, you'll pick them off one at a time on the deep breaks with big 5-7" minnows on a Lindy Rig....
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"When the fish love you back...."
- That's Chasin' Tail Adventures getting a little bait love β€οΈ on his Humminbird HELIX β and looks like a big ol' Lake Ontario king salmon waiting for him just above the cloud: |
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Don't know all of the details on this eastern-WA giant caught by @mdcustomrods...but do know that it went a staggering 33.5-INCHES on the tape! Looks like he was pulling bottom-bouncers with 'crawlers. π€― Incredible fish, man! |
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Hope you get to sneak a few hook-sets in this weekend! |
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Who is Target Walleye
Target Walleye β walleye during open water and all species during hardwater β is brought to you by Al Lindner, Jim Kalkofen, Jay Kumar, Brett McComas and other diehard fish-heads like you!
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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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