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Today's Top 5
Freak of the week! 🀯
And she was a legit "line-stretcher." Fishing guide Josh Moret, out of Platte Creek Lodge, shattered his PB walleye on Lake Francis Case, SD. The behemoth measured 29.5" long with a ridiculous 22.5" girth = 12.65 lbs!!! Madness:
They were pre-fishing for a derby when it all went down. Caught sloooowly trolling a #7 Berkley Flicker Shad (top-secret color) in 10' on a big sand flat walleyes are known to spawn on.

> Josh: "We had some pretty heavy current that day and the water was super dirty from the high winds the week before.

> "The line counter read an extra 15' of line by the time I got her in...she had stretched it to the max, especially with it working against the current.

> "So often a big fish like that ends up being a catfish or a paddlefish...we really had no idea what we were dealing with until we actually saw the big head and sowbelly roll up on the surface. She made one little run after we saw her for the first time...she was hooked good...one last lift of the rod and my buddy made a perfect scoop with my slightly over-abused net haha. The rest is history.

> "She was so healthy yet when we got her in and so full of eggs...it was a pretty easy decision to let her go."

Couple other amazing angles to get your bearings on this fish of a lifetime:
Peep the weight on that Rapala High Contrast Digital Scale.... πŸ‘€ Josh might be the first person ever to round DOWN on a fish's weight hahaha.

Big, big, BIG congrats!!! πŸ’₯ And huuuuge props on the release so she can go drop the kids off at daycare at least one more time.
MN state-record sauger caught?
Maybe, but not verified. Saw this post from Mike Sandiego in the Fishing Minnesota FB group of a Mississippi River sauger he has headed for the wall. Measured 23.2" long x 15.5" girth and weighed 6 lbs 2.65 ozs:
The current MN state record sauger was caught outta the Mississippi River near Red Wing on 5/23/1986 = 6 lbs 2 oz and 23-7/8" long x 15" girth.

When he was asked why he didn't get to a state-certified scale, he said:

> "That's just for the fame and glory. My buddies were there to witness. Good enough for me lol."

There's one heck of a debate going under the original post as to whether the fish was a sauger or a saugeye (hybrid of a male sauger with a female walleye). Few other angles for the e-biologists:
I've spent waaaay too much time trying to analyze this for myself lol, I think the only way you'd ever know 100% for sure is to have an actual biologist look at it.

Regardless, congrats on the special catch!
I know there's no open season on robins 🐦...
...but hear me out (lol). Posted by Albert Minopoli Sr in the Lund Boat Owners FB group:
OUCH!!! 😫 We feel for ya, man.

Suddenly Andrew Keeley's situation over there in ND doesn't seem so bad, tho definitely still not favorable:
Obviously gotta blame that one on whoever had the bright idea to take the plow off their truck for the season. πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ
Extreme cold-water trolling. πŸ₯Ά
Brad Richardson of Get N Bit Productions had the BIGS show up once he busted-out the secret weapon...aka his dad Ronnie!
Amazing shot! But, um, fellas...might be time to take that MotorGuide Xi5 off "Anchor" mode and start "Jog"-ing your way to safer terrain lol.

We've all seen how that movie ends. πŸ—»πŸš’
Couple more spring river monsters!
Cap'n Ted Peck guided Nolan Franzen into his new PB walleye on Mississippi River's Pool 9 last Sunday. Fish went 30" long x 17.5" girth and weighed 12.25 lbs! Water temp was 41.9Β°F, and they caught 'em pitching B-Fish-N Tackle AuthentX Moxis and Pulse-Rs on 5/16-oz H2O Precision Jigs in 'round 13-16'. Ted said her "belly was still firm and the fish was released, of course." πŸ™Œ Congrats on the fish of a lifetime, fellas!

And shout-out to Justin Mitchell on joining the "Dirty-30 Club" after he coordinated a 1-day mission to the Rainy River on the MN/CAN border. Caught pitching a Northland Long Shank Fire-Ball Jig paired with a B-Fish-N Tackle AuthentX Pulse-R. Props for making it happen!
Bunch more bigguns coming your way on Friday.
News

Into the 2022 class of the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame.
> Keenan has fished tournaments for over 30 yrs and has accumulated various titles along the way. He has won Team of the Year twice with the MWC, was a 3x RCL/FLW Angler of the Year and won the NWT AOY title in 2019. He surpassed a major milestone in 2016 having made over $1 mil in career earnings. His career milestone win came in 2003 when he won the RCL Championship and earned $300K for this single event. He is the all-time career earner on the RCL tour and currently is 2nd for earnings on the NWT.

> Keenan worked for Gander Mountain for over 27 yrs and was a store manager for one of the highest volume stores in the company for 20+ yrs. He continues to perform seminars and speaking events throughout the Midwest and has always been willing to instruct anglers of all skill levels.

Well-deserved, man!


In case the boss is wondering about your recent drop in productivity haha! There's a few different cameras you can cycle thru. I hopped on the "Shiocton 1" camera for all of 4 seconds before a walleye AND sturgeon swam passed – not sure if I'm just really good luck (lol) or if that's normal:
This is the 14th season of Wolf River Cam – created by lifelong Shiocton resident Gary Bunnell. Full scoop on how it came to be here.


> [Previously] required the first 4 walleyes caught through the ice from the northern Gregory-Charles Mix county line to the Fort Randall Dam be kept by anglers and that length limits were not in effect.

> Those regulations were created in 2001 in response to public concern regarding high mortality of walleye caught from deep water and then released.

Sounds like (?) folks will now be able to keep up to 4 walleyes, but there's a 15" minimum and only 1 can be over 20". Vs having to keep and kill the first 4 that come thru the ice. But double-check the regs for yourself because the write-up's wording had me a bit confused.


Sheeeeesh. 😳

> Johnny Morris, founder and CEO of Bass Pro Shops, is ranked #424 on Forbes' "World's Billionaires List" for 2022. According to the magazine, Morris' net worth is $6.3 bil, as of Friday. His ranking is up from #705 on last year's billionaires list, when the magazine put his net worth at $4.1 bil.


> The sensor is surgically inserted under skin near a fish's rear dorsal fins. As the fish swims, a wireless receiver picks up the sensor's telltale beeps. Scientists can retrieve the data from a wireless receiver or the device itself.

> ...weighs 2.4 grams, is about the size of a pen cap, and will collect and transmit data for up to 8 months. This will let researchers study fish (even small ones) for a longer time than previously possible.

> ...collects data about a fish, including its location, heartbeat, tail movement and burned calories, as well as the temperature, pressure and magnetic field of its surrounding environment.
Betcha if one of those buggers were implanted in me, they'd think I was a burbot lol.


From an interview with the CEO of Rapala VMC:

> ...our flagship brand Rapala has significant unrealized potential in both existing and new categories.


Broken down by several different regions. ND fisheries biologist Todd Caspers says Devils Lake water levels are down, but walleye populations are above average.


Things are constantly changing, so always gotta do your research. But here's some current insight from cross-country fishin' trucker Jason Mitchell:


A longtime program dating back to the '80s where volunteers would literally "stand guard" along the banks – as lake sturgeon head upstream to their spawning sites – to stop fish from being illegally harvested in the Wolf River.


...from your screen:

> This update will allow you to control (stow and deploy) your Power-Pole anchor from a compatible ECHOMAP or GPSMAP chartplotter. Power-Pole Anchor integration with a Garmin MFD requires the purchase of a C-Monster Gateway through Power-Pole.


Yes, this new Rapala commercial is bass-related...but waaaay too funny not to share! 🀣
Heard they originally tried to shoot the TV spot with a walleye, but it was grouchy and didn't want to be around anyone lol.
Headline of the Day

Unfortunately: "Mosquito walleyes" aren't a cool new hybrid walleye that bite you as often as mosquitos do lol.

Fortunately: "Mosquito walleyes" aren't a sketchy new hybrid mosquito that grow to scarily-big sizes and still have a taste for human blood:
That write-up was actually talking about Mosquito Lake, OH and how "walleye anglers are experiencing a bit of a down cycle." The lake had been close to a "sure thing" for locals and some worry the heyday of Mosquito walleye fishing is about to end, but....

> Dan Wright, the fish management technician who runs the spawning season net crew at Mosquito...said the nets this year yielded around the same number of egg-laden females as in the past. The total population of male walleyes south of the OH 88 causeway is estimated at more than 18,000 fish, a number that is comparable to 2014.

> Wright, a walleye fisherman himself, offered advice for those struggling to duplicate past successes: "Mosquito has a lot more weeds, so we can't troll as easily with crankbaits and spoons. Instead, I think we're better off using bass-style tactics like throwing jigs around the weedlines."

So stop fishing memories and switch-up how you #TargetWalleye. πŸ˜‰
Few TargetWalleye.com Highlights




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Tip of the Day

It's a rig designed to be slowly pulled upstream – especially when the water's running high, fast and dirty – and it's all centered around one of those 3-way swivels you never thought you'd use. Like this one made by Eagle Claw. #OriginalFidgetSpinner
Gives you the weight to keep your bait down in the current and sloooowly worked along bottom, but your plastic will still have lots of action 'cuz it's not muted by a mondo 1-oz jighead.

S'more insight from Chase Parsons in this quick video from The Next Bite:
Meme of the Day
Bold move πŸ’ͺ posted by @walleyewillfishing on Insta – I like it:
Tho if you've ever scrolled Will's Instagram page, you'd probably think he could afford to miss a couple of days on the water – dude is always on...
Today's 'Eye Candy
I actually found a behind-the-scenes snap of Will Pappenfus creating his "save the dates" from the Meme of the Day above. Quick photo sesh during a hiatus from pitching around big paddletails on the Rainy River with his 2B Fishing Genesis 71M-F. πŸ’―#Dialed
You know the bite is hectic in a really good way when dude has that "disheveled" look going on LOL.
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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!
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

ο»ΏTo 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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