If you’ve been hanging around here long enough, you’ve probably heard us call those big, pre-spawn females “egg cannons” before. This pic from the IA DNR is all you need to know for the why. 💣 #BOOM

That's an 11- to 12-lb bruiser they netted at Rathbun:

...as I have the last week-ish while scrolling thru the social mediaz:

Right there with ya, granny! Here’s a few monstros caught recently:

1) Cap'n Josh Wetzstein of Muddy Waters Guide Service slayed himself a Mississippi River donkey to the tune of 15.7 lbs and 32.25" long! Said she smacked a 3” Mister Twister Curly Tail Grub on a Jack’s Jigs weedless jig “up inside some tree roots.” No doubt the fish of a lifetime! 👊 Even for a river-rat like Josh. Brace yourselves:

AMAZING.

2) Check this note from my buddy Travis DeWitt:

Ummmm...BIG is right...like 32.5" big!

That ^ Rainy River behemoth was caught by his buddy and local Rainy River guide Bryan Baron – helped seal the deal for their win in the Emo Walleye Classic:

Travis said that egg-cannon was caught on a 1/2-oz B-Fish-N-Tackle H20 Precision Jig (orange and yellow) slow-trolled up current at 0.3 mph in 14' along a sand ledge adjacent to deeper water.

Congrats on the 'dubyah' fellas! 🏆

3) I'm getting pretty dang used to my wife Amanda McComas catching the biggest fish anytime we hit the water 😂 and our trip to the Rainy River last weekend was no exception! She cracked this 10-lber [!!!] while holding our 2-yr-old daughter Maisie in one arm, and a 3/8-oz "blue fire UV" VMC Sleek Jig + "great white" color AuthentX Pulse-R in the other! Absolutely unbelievable in a reeeeally good way. Way to go, mama!

Way more BIGS comin' in Friday's Target Walleye...

We've said it before, but if you haven’t heard of Head2Head Fishing yet = you’re gonna want to remember the name:

Their new for 2021 Pro Walleye Series kicked off Apr 12 on the Detroit River. They have 32 anglers (roster’s already set) chasing a chunk of some serious coin + bragging rights. Catch, weigh, and immediate release. Only fish over 2 lbs count. And NO live bait allowed. Yes, LIVE STREAMED! Love it.

The full field fished the first 2 days, and the top 8 moved on to a 1v1 bracket-format today. Let’s just say it’s already been a wild ride! 🤯

Talkin’ everything from folks falling out of the boat, to last-minute catches to sneak into the cut line...heck, yesterday I was watching live and the 🔨 Nick Schertz had an absolutely insane double-fish net job! He hooked up with a walleye and had another chase it all the way into the net trying to steal the bait outta the other’s mouth!! Haven’t seen a stand-alone clip of that posted yet, but you can watch it go down here at the 4:54:48 mark of their YouTube stream:

H2H Fishing's Facebook live streams have been getting 80K to 100K views EACH over the last few days. Legit walleye history in the making and has me straight-up floored for the future of the sport. TONS of moving parts so a huge props to everyone involved.

Hit up their Facebook page or YouTube channel tomorrow at 7am CST for the next round of live.

Btw - here’s the updated PWS schedule for 2021:

The top 8 in the standings at the end of the year get to fish in the Shield World Championship. Think of it like the Bassmaster Classic of the walleye world – reminds me of B.A.S.S. Nation where you can fish Club-level events and move your way up to Regionals, then Nationals, and even fish your way into “the big show.”

Waaaay too much info to fit it all in a single Target Walleye email, but I’ll keep you posted on all this schtuff going forward. Super exciting stuff and pumped to see walleye fishing getting a bigger chunk of the limelight.

UT DWR has a new decontamination method where folks would back their boat into a “dip tank” to rid it of invasive quagga mussels – instead of having DWR folks spraying it down. They say it will be installed at the Stateline Launch Ramp at Wahweap Marina and will be operational beginning May 1.

Interesting, yes. 🧐 But after watching folks struggle to back their rigs into a 50’ double-wide boat ramp, I’m trying to imagine ‘em hitting that hole lol.

That’s Jared Shypkoski’s 16-06 (33” long) behemoth he caught about a month ago trolling crankbaits in the “Cannonball” area of the Missouri River south of Bismarck:

Big congrats again, man!

Getting there anyway. Last year, I remember going to 4 different shops just trying to find ONE dang slip-bobber to hold up a 1/4-oz Northland Fire-Ball Jig and striking out. A single bobber! That’s what I get for attempting to stoop-down to live bait in our local walleye league.... 😂

...Chamberlain/Oacoma, SD event is this Fri, Apr 16. Bunch more info here on how NWT pros Korey Sprengel, Jason Przekurat and Brian Bashore think it’ll go down on the Missouri River Apr 29-30.

Always thought they were just born 18-20” and already all over the place.

Same as most all major fishing ‘n hunting retailers. For the quarter ended Jan 30:

Wonder if this means Bass Pro Shops will have to pay more for 'em now?

They join a growing list of CA-based companies looking for new locations.

That’s the 6th mussel-bound rig watercraft inspectors have stopped this season so far:

What’s crazy is Catch Co could actually do this – they can “make” someone an influencer.

...don’t forget to put in a couple ozs of Sea Foam before she goes night-night. Then dump the rest of the can in your boat before topping it off with fresh fuel for the season – your rig will thank you.

Because it isn’t just your hunting/fishing knives that should be “famous for holding an edge.”

...quotes from Bob Luellen at Worldwide Marine Insurance are free, and he SPECIALIZES in boat insurance = no doubt he’ll get you back on the water if something bad-ish goes down. Here’s a couple big reasons why he’ll know exactly what you’re talking about:

Yup, Bob lives it!

Little different style of "tip" today, but a pretty interesting one considering you don’t have to throw out all that oil after a single fish fry....

Was sent this vid from Paul Tomlinson talkin’ how he can reuse his fish-fry oil over and over again all season long by simply running it thru a permanent coffee filter (not the old-school paper ones). Takes him just 25 seconds to refill the jig with a funnel. Plus then you don’t have to figure out how to dispose of it without ruining your sink lol. Pretty slick:

This one'll hit a few of you right in the feels:

Whole bunch of “Steves” out there lol.

Almost looks like someone cheeked-and-released this big gal years back.... 👀 Which btw don’t get any funny ideas, ‘cuz that’d be disgusting. Sick shot tho! From @elliottfishingrods Insta:

National Professional Anglers Assoc.