Kid gets hook patent, Dad’s old tackle box, Catch and catch again 🎯

> Jared Ott is one among many high school students whom Mercury Marine engineer Kevin Anderson has mentored as a volunteer at the Fond du Lac, WI, STEM Academy. The charter school, located near Mercury world headquarters, teaches science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to prepare young people for careers in these disciplines. Ott stands out as the only student of the academy to have received a US patent on his work, an innovative fishhook designed to prevent fish from nibbling away at bait worms without getting hooked.

> Jared: "I created this hook because I always got annoyed when fish would steal my worm. I would routinely have my worm taken by fish that somehow avoided the hook. After experiencing this frustration too many times, I knew I had to find a solution, and I got to work on my idea.

> "The basic idea is that, with 2 hooks, there would be more points of contact to hold the worm in place. Mr. Anderson and a Mercury Marine welder, Aaron Novak, generously brazed the first prototypes of the hook. I tried the hooks and decided the idea was worth more time.

> "From there, I learned how to solder and started to create my own prototypes using a tin‑based solder. These prototypes broke too easily, and while I did get some feedback from test users, these prototypes were not close enough to a real product. I researched more solutions and decided to use silver solder, which is stronger and more durable. These prototypes held up much better, and I started to distribute samples."

Check it out!

For some of you reading this, that might be your old tackle box...and your dad's/mom's was an aluminum one. Either way for sure brings back some memories of the good ol' days!

Couple random things I got to thinking after seeing that pic:

Isn't it incredible that folks equipped with that setup were able to (supposedly) catch more and bigger fish than we can today? Although we all know how fish continue to grow every single time the story is told again hahaha.

Crazy how far tackle management has progressed. I bet it's been 10+ years since I've even seen a hard-sided tackle box in action.

...in the Target Walleye email inbox. 😳 The good, the bad and the ugly...LOL. Here's a few recent messages sent in from TW fans that I just couldn't keep to myself:

1) First up is from Jeff Adee who just got back from a few days of fishing some "border lakes" in far northeastern MN. Jeff's better-er half, Trish, caught one of the most B-E-A-utiful walleyes I've ever seen. He said the pics of this 27-incher just don't do it justice, and apparently it's the slime that gives the fish a stunning blue-ish color. 😍 Amazing:

> "It's low-light fishing so I don't have a great picture of the fish. I'm getting a setup after this one." LOL!

> "The forage base is shad and they are finally big enough for walleye to ambush. The big fish are moving up in the evening and gorging themselves as they come up over humps. Reaction baits have been key. Either Jigging Raps or blades. They work great [reaction bite!] even when the big fish are full and have thousands of easy meals swimming in front of them."

Awesome. Thx man!

4) TW fan Konner Macwilliam has ice on the brain. 🥶 And I would too if I were sitting on a paunchy #greenback pic like this – SHEESH:

Check cap'n Ross Robertson's full write-up here, few excerpts below:

Dipsy Divers

> Originally a salmon tactic, Dipsy Divers have proven very effective on the Great Lakes when you need to get deep quickly and efficiently. While many know their effectiveness on large lakes, I personally know anglers who've had great success with them on smaller lakes and reservoirs...you can quickly spin back around and go over a productive area without picking up gear or making a large circle turn.

> ...the trip mechanism keeps the diving device forced down (and diving) until it's released by a fish strike. A dial allows the weight to be adjusted and dive at different angles, allowing more water to be covered and multiple lines to be used per side of the boat without tangling. Shallow-diving crankbaits and thin trolling spoons are most frequently used.

Snap weights

> ...adding a snap weight onto your line changes the line angle and causes your lure to run deeper. [It's] simple, inexpensive and keeps you from having to store a lot of extra gear.

> While clipping on a snap weight is simple, knowing where to attach it can be slightly more complicated. Anglers commonly attach them anywhere from a rod length above the lure, to as much as 50′.

> In situations where you have clear water, fish are spooky or you need a more subtle approach...try placing the snap anywhere from 30-50′ to start. Day in and day out I run mine anywhere from 20-30′ up from the lure. This is a good compromise for subtlety and added depth, while still giving me enough time to unhook it before netting.

> A shorter lead is best when you need to get extra deep, trolling at faster speeds or are worried about tangling. ...putting the snap a rod length above the lure helps minimize [those] issues and allows you to keep the snap on while netting.

Glide baits

> Lures like the original Rapala Jigging Rap have been getting so much attention as of late that it has become their best-selling lure. The likes of Al Lindner have taught us that these style lures aren't just for ice fishing. While they can be cast out and worked, many anglers in the cooler-water periods seem to have the best results working them at or near vertically. This allows anglers to "video game" and work individual fish, reeling up or down to target what you see.

> In most cases you can fish these lures right out of the package, but replacing the treble hook with a larger size seems to increase landing percentages. One rigging tip that will help eliminate some headaches is to use an 18" leader of heavy fluorocarbon...with a small swivel to attach to your mainline...helps fight abrasions and reduce wind tangles....

Ross also has a few videos to go with all this info in his full write-up.

This one sent in from Dave Caturia, who said:

> I fish often on Lake Vermilion [MN], participating in the "Take A Vet Fishing" and "Take A Kid Fishing" through the Vermilion Guides League. Shout-out to my guide buddies Larry Burton and Denny Van de Linde for teaching me how to fish the lake.

> The pic where I'm wearing a red shirt was taken in Oct 2018. Note the hole in the gill plate, not sure how it got there, but caught the fish trolling leadcore and he went 21".

> Fast track to Sept 2021 (3 yrs later) jigging in a different area...I caught the same fish, this time he was 24". Can someone do the math and tell me the odds of that happening?

1. 2021 NPAA Annual Conference = cancelled.

> "It became apparent pretty quickly that concerns over Covid-19 were taking a toll on the pre-registration rate we saw with our members. Our partner support for the event remained strong, but we were alerted to partners who may be forced to pull out of our event due to corporate Covid-related travel restrictions. Nearly a year and a half of planning has gone into this year's event and having to cancel it is beyond disappointing."

2. Mark Courts is leading the NWT AOY race.

All comes down to the last event of the season: The NWT Championship on Otter Tail Lake happenin' Sept 22-24. Good luck to all!

3. H2H cancelling all 2021 regional events.

And the national event in 2022:

> "This was the last thing we wanted to do but was the best option at this time after lots of discussions. We hope and plan to do a better job of educating the public in 2022 about the benefits of fishing in the walleye league to hopefully bring more entries and interest to these events. Another factor that played into this decision was the recent resurge in Covid cases that has been affecting our international divisions and those anglers keeping them from being able to compete in our events here in the US.

> "Again, the entire Head2Head Fishing team wants to extend our apologies for this unfortunate news and we appreciate your continued support!"

This has no bearing on the PWS aka Pro Walleye Series.

4. NY: H2H PWS Championship, Lake Chautauqua, Oct 11-15.

The top 16 AOY point leaders from the season will be fishing LIVE in a 1v1 bracket-format derby on Chautauqua until a king or queen is crowned, with 1st place taking home $50K.

5. Due North Outdoors has new co-host.

Natalie Dillon (aka Nattie Up North) will be joining host Travis Frank. Due North Outdoors airs Thursday nights on Bally Sports North and Bally Sports Wisconsin. Natalie was previously part of Major League Fishing's on-screen talent. Congrats to both!

6. Keep America Fishing online auction is live.

> More than 100 items up for auction include ICAST 2021 "Best of Category" and "Best of Show" winners – some not yet available to the general public!

> All proceeds go to support Keep America Fishing – the voice of the American Angler.

The auction runs thru 8pm on Sun, Sept 19.

7. Electric Yamahas should be here in 18 months?

8. MO: Johnny Morris is in the Hall of Famous Missourians.

9. How Joel Nelson finds first-ice spots now.

> If there's one mistake that many walleye anglers make, it is to fish with FAR too heavy of a jig than conditions warrant.

> Whether you fish lakes or rivers, too heavy of a jig makes bait actions unnatural, and provides unnecessary resistance as a walleye opens its mouth to inhale the lure.

> In lakes with minimal current, I fish many finesse soft plastics and most of my live-bait offerings on a 1/16- or 1/8-oz jig, in water up to 20' deep. I would select a 1/4-oz jig in water that is 20-30' deep...rarely fish deeper than 30' because fish caught and released from those depths suffer from very high mortality.

> In rivers, where current speed can often be much more important than depth for locating fish, I fish with enough weight to keep my jig in the strike zone – that magical 6-8" above the bottom where current is diminished and many predator fish lie in ambush.

Keep reading Jason's full write-up here for his line + rod breakdown, and how he matches his jigging strokes with the bait.

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.

Target Walleye LLC

P.O. BOX 2782

Baxter, MN 56425

(218) 824 5026

Email Us