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UPDATE: Men plead guilty in Erie walleye tourney cheating scandal. |
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I'm sure you remember this... |
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> “Last fall the tournament fishing world was set ablaze by the scandalous activity of a couple of walleye tournament anglers cheating to win a tournament on Sept 30, 2022 by adding lead to their fish. Last fall the two men, Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominsky pleaded not guilty in their first court date. However on Mar 27, 2023 just moments before their trial in Cuyahoga County Court was set to start, the pair changed their tune and admitted to the charges of cheating, a fifth-degree felony, and unlawful ownership of wild animals, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.
> “As part of the deal with prosecutors, the charges of grand theft and possessing criminal tools were both dismissed. Their sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 11, 2023.
> “Runyan and Cominsky could have faced up to a year in prison, but prosecutors agreed to instead recommend 6 months probation. As an additional part of the plea deal, the two men also are unable to obtain fishing licenses for 3 years and Cominsky’s boat that was confiscated after the initial charges were filed, was forfeited by the pair of men.”
Man, 😒 to me that just feels like a:
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River rat 🐀 JJ DeBernardi wins Spring Valley NWT! |
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Tough bite + brutal conditions, but NWT pro JJ DeBernardi grinded-out a 2-day total of 23-03 to take home an $84,045 payday: |
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> Walleye fans might remember that JJ DeBernardi and Max Wilson...won the Master’s Walleye Circuit team event on the Illinois River last year. Wilson teamed up with Debernardi as a way to honor Mike Hanson, the local guide, who passed away last year. Wilson and Debernardi felt that divine intervention took place last year, and something eerily amazing also happened this week.
> JJ: “I always fished with Mike. We were partners for 7 or 8 yrs, and we learned everything we could about this river. I was on my way up to Mikey’s spot this morning, but there was a barge in the way. The lockmaster said it would be an hour before he cleared out, so I pulled over to Lover’s Leap right in front of the dam. On my very first cast, I caught an 8-lber. That’s just unheard of around here. I am 1,000% confident Mikey was looking over my shoulder. To catch a fish like that is beyond belief. It’s mind blowing.”
> Even with the kicker in hand...still wanted to lock up and visit Mike’s spot. What he discovered upriver wasn’t what he was hoping for.
> JJ: “I caught two big ones on day one from Mikey’s spot up in the Ottawa Pool. I still wanted to go, but when I got there, I realized the water had dropped almost 3’. When that happens, it completely shuts down the bite. They slide out in the main channel and disappear. I was able to catch one little 14” sauger, and that little one was big...it might have pushed me over the top.”
> By the time he locked back down, Debernardi only had 2 fish for approximately 9 lbs. With time running out, he decided to revisit the Lover’s Leap spot.
> JJ: “With 20 min to go, the lockmaster shut down gates 7 and 8, which are the most critical gates for the current. With about 2 min left, I had to take a leak. I handed my co-angler (Jerad Jacobs) my rod to throw a few casts before we ran back. I look over midstream, and he sets the hook. While making a mess of myself, I netted about a 3-lb walleye. We threw it in the livewell, and back to the ramp we went. The amount of divine intervention that went into this was remarkable.”
Amazing!
While most of the field was trolling in the cold + dirty water, JJ was casting 3/16-oz Half-Cocked custom jigs with Berkley Ripple Shads. His two best colors: |
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> JJ: “Subtle lifts were the ticket. I believe in keeping the bait close to the bottom at all times. Low and slow is the way to go, especially with the water being so cold. Today was the first time I saw 40 degrees on the graph in 10 days.”
> Moments after the winner was called, an emotional Debernardi was mobbed near the stage by family and friends in attendance.
> JJ: “Me and Mikey worked real hard at learning this river. This was great, but it’s not as fun without him. We had a special bond in the boat. It’s very difficult to replace. As great a partner as Max is, he’s not Mike...you just can’t replace that. Me and Mike never won a major tournament. We have a pile of other trophies together, but we were never able to pull off that win. Aside from my wife and kids, there’s nobody that I want to share this moment more with than him. Our hard work finally paid off. It’s bittersweet, but I know he’s looking down on me.”
> “It’s life-changing for me. I’m a farmer with a wife and four children. This is going to allow me to pursue more of my fishing happiness."
Love it! Congrats JJ!!
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“Gussy” wins the Stanley Cup of bass fishing! 🏆 |
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Boom baby! Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson got it done on the biggest stage in bass fishing = winning the Bassmaster Classic on the Tennessee River out of Knoxville, TN! |
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Of course he’s taking some huuuuge bragging rights back home north of the border, but that $300K payday (plus bonuses) sounds pretty alright, too. 😅🤑
He fished it “go big or go home” style, targeting smallmouth bass in a system where all fish <18” had to go back...but if he caught 5 big enough to go in the box, look out!
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Caught ’em “moping,” aka a technique where you do your best to just hold the bait still above the fish. He said it’s basically just like ice fishing, sitting on top of fish and watching ’em on the graph, not really moving your bait at all but keeping it above the fish – that's the trigger.
Same way he won the Tennessee River Bassmaster Elite when they were there just last Feb. And he did that with old-school 2D sonar....
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They call it a “Damiki Rig” down south, but us northerners know it as “moping,” a name that I believe was coined by Ron Lindner. And yup, it works in the walleye world...the Lindners did a few shows on it back in the day.
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He fished the rig on a G. Loomis NRX+ 872 spinning rod (7' 3" medium, extra-fast) with a Shimano Stella 3000 spooled with 10-lb PowerPro and a 10-lb Shimano Mastiff fluorocarbon leader.
Oh, and if your wondering why he hasn’t replied to your text message yet 😂 it’s because he’s been cleaning confetti out of his Lund 2075 Pro-V Bass fer dayzzzzz ha! #worthit |
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I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a little time with Gussy in “real life” before, and it seriously could not have happened to been earned by a nicer guy. |
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Awesome "hybrid bait" when walleyes don't want rattles. |
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There’s almost no better feeling than when a walleye comes flying in and absolutely crushes a rattlebait. 💣 |
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Those are the days we live for!
Unfortunately you also have days where rattlebaits will actually spook the fish off, and send them fleeing in the opposite direction waaaay faster than they were coming in.
If walleye’s aren’t reacting positively to all that thunder down under 🛎️🪇📣 that’s when I like to bust-out the “silent but deadly” Rapala Slab Rap: |
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> “With quick rod snaps the Slab Rap searches in wide, erratic directions, circling back to center after pause. Lift-drop motion creates subtle vibration on rise, followed by evasive side-to-side motion on the fall. Weight forward design enables a rocking action for triggering negative fish.”
Here’s a full breakdown of when/where/why/how I fish ‘em, complete with multiple fish catches and some tasty LiveScope footage. Hope you dig it!
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Btw all of the gear I used (specific sizes, weights, you name it) is linked in the video’s description on YouTube.
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Bemidji, MN is being invaded by Sherp ATVs. 😳 |
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Tell me this first-annual “ Sherpaggedon” doesn’t look like an absolute blast: |
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Yup, they can float...and go about 4mph in the water which is a nice Side Imaging speed hahaha. Btw I had no idea that SHERP USA was headquartered right in Bemidji, MN.
Imagine the places you could take one of those things! I actually know a dude who uses them for guiding – Tommy Hicks of Beyond the Catch Guide Service runs ‘em on Lake Superior's Chequamegon Bay and The Apostle Islands (Ashland, WI) for lake trout and whitefish trips. Looks sick! |
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...out of Hayden Lake by Thomas Francis. She went an insane 40.76 lbs and was 49” long x 26.5” girth!
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The previous record was caught from Lower Twin Lake in 2010 – weighed 40.13 lbs, and was 50.75” long x 22.75” girth.
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> Join us for an evening of fun, camaraderie and fundraising for a great cause. Lots of prizes and raffles will be available!
> Marc Bacigalupi will be our featured speaker this year. Marc was the MN DNR Brainerd Area Fisheries Supervisor for 13 years and has just taken the Northwest Region Fisheries Manager position. The NW Region includes some of the state’s premier walleye fisheries, including Lake of the Woods, Upper Red, Cass and Leech Lakes.
> Join us as Marc covers the status of our fisheries, how DNR is attempting to tackle fishing pressure, technology and invasive species issues and how DNR works with associations and non-profits like the Walleye Alliance to keep great fishing in MN.
And he already snuck out and put his first fish in it:
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Congrats man! Well-deserved.
> “...invite the public to get involved in Apr during the annual spring hearing public input opportunity. The WCC/DNR Spring Hearings focus on natural resource-related questions and proposed rule changes. This year’s online questionnaire will be open from Apr 10 at noon thru Apr 13 at noon....”
12V and 36V. New models are bluetooth compatible so you can check battery life and performance with their app. Also:
> “As part of this new launch, X2Power is standing behind their performance with an industry-leading 10-yr free replacement warranty! No pro-rated conversations, if the battery is truly not performing, the warranty is there to stand behind!”
> “High performance rods with a sleek contemporary design at a great price [of $139].
> “A blend of quality materials with actions designed by Paul & Gregg Thorne and the Two Brothers Innovations team are perfect for pursuing panfish, walleye, bass, muskie and more.”
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> On Thursday, Gov. Wes Moore made a formal request to the US secretary of commerce for a disaster declaration due to the effects of invasive blue and flathead catfish and snakeheads in his state's portion of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
I don’t understand how using the Hudson as a dumping ground for tritium is legal....
> The Future Angler Foundation (FAF) is proud to announce the addition of three high-powered sportfishing industry professionals to its board of directors. Effective immediately, Jesse Simpkins, Chris Horton and Jim Schiefelbein will join current board members Sam Calabro, Kevin VanDam and Dr. Thom Dammrich, along with FAF president Patrick Neu, in setting the course for the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization’s path forward.
> The Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association (NSIA) board of directors unanimously elected Trey Carskadon President. Carskadon, a 41-yr veteran of the sportfishing industry, has worked in all phases of the industry.
Researchers tested 21 brands of toilet paper and found “forever chemicals” in all of them.
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How to catch late-ice crappies you can’t graph.
When the water starts to run back into the holes, panfish make a break for skinny water. Here’s how Jason Mitchell catches crappies you probably don’t even know are there:
> Often those fish will be suspended just under the ice where they won’t even show up on your electronics. Too often anglers get in the habit of dropping their bait right down to the bottom and right past these fish.
> Crappies may come in so high that they actually need to roll sideways to hit the bait to avoid bumping into the ice above. This is one of the best opportunities you’re going to get for aggressively feeding crappies each winter.
> Target these high-riders by fishing them from the top down – using a long rod to dip the bait just 1-2′ under the ice before you move on, never needing to touch the reel in-between holes.
> I like to fish horizontal jigs and longer-profile soft plastics this time of year so that they glide and swim like a small minnow vs quivering like an insect or invertebrate.
> Slide the palomar knot towards the jig – which goes against everything you’ve read. But causes the jig to really dart and slide out more on the stroke.
Thanks for the info, Jason!
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“The [walleye’s] general popularity can’t be refuted. Badmouth their palatability in such an establishment and you might get much more than a stink eye from the old-timer local seated across the bar.”
– That’s a line from this ‘Trash Fish Tuesday’ post where the MeatEater crew “investigates and celebrates fish that are just as American as bass and walleye but suffer from a long-standing PR problem.”
> If you walk into any self-respecting fishing bar across the Great Lakes region, there’s a high likelihood you’ll find a walleye mounted on the wall and a fried version on the menu. Like cheap beer and matching bar mirrors, it’s the lay of the land.
> But the common name “walleye” actually has nothing to do with a wall they might hang on – the name stems from a Middle English translation “wawil-eghed” of an Old Norse word vagl-eygr meaning “beam” (vagl) “eyed” (eygr). Some people think that name refers to the way their peepers gleam in the dark.
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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 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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422 Laurel Street
P.O. BOX 541
Brainerd, MN 56401
(218) 824 5026
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