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Max Wilson DOMINATES “The Soo” NWT. 💪 |
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The last NWT stop was out of Sault (pron. “Soo”) Ste. Marie, MI on the St Marys River, connecting Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Ton of water to cover, with some pros making 100+ mile runs one-way!
Annnnd it was Max Wilson who got the ‘dubyah’ by over an 8-lb margin [!!!] which landed him cash/prizes totaling $88,722! 🤯 I seriously can’t imagine what that would feel like, but if I had to, I think these pics would summarize it nicely: |
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Btw - This is how a recap video is done 📝 Max does a great job of including the "WHY" and the "WHERE”...not just the "WHAT" of his big win. 🏆 |
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Big congrats, Max! And thank you for the details. |
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Testing a NEW walleye bait (Rapala Jigging Rap MAGNUM). |
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I was able to get my hands on the coming soon-ish Rapala Jigging Rap Magnum and it started catching for us right away! This video breaks down what makes it different from the rest of the lineup, and my first impressions after finally getting to set the hook with it: |
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If you liked the now-discontinued Flat Jig...this thing is like a Flat Jig on steroids. 💯 |
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How Korey Sprengel knots-up his dropshot rig. |
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The 🐐 Korey Sprengel breaks down his go-to knot for dropshotting – aka the Palomar – and how adding one extra step of running your line back thru the eyelet will make your hook stand out the right way: |
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Same exact way I rig mine, including tying those expensive tungsten weights on instead of just clipping them. 🤑 |
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“I was only fishing in 15’...why does my walleye have barotrauma symptoms?” |
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But:
> “Walleye may seek refuge in deep water and make short forays into shallower areas to feed. They essentially give themselves partial barotrauma when they do this. However, without going all the way to the surface, and without the stress and exhaustion of being caught, the fish can tolerate the temporary pressure change and safely return to deeper depths on their own.
> “So if you are fishing a major shelf or dropoff in the heat, you may see some fish with over-inflated swim bladders despite presenting your bait in shallow depths.
> “The diagram below illustrates the concept – excuse my poor computer art! The green fish are neutrally buoyant at 45’...in summer they may take refuge from the heat at this kind of depth. Periodically these deep fish will move up into shallower water to find prey. These fish, in yellow, will be positively buoyant, but can use swimming power to move around and stay submerged. However, if one of these fish is angled and brought to the surface (red), it may have barotrauma symptoms and be difficult to release.”
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Something to keep in mind.... |
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You know you’re fishing BIG water when… |
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The bad news: They have plenty of other sharp objects and love them some gold:
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In case you missed it on YouTube, here’s episode 52. Hope you enjoy! |
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The top-40 pros get to fish in the no-entry fee championship on Devils Lake, ND (Sept 6-8) with hundreds of thousands of dollars up for grabs.
• Apr 18-19: Lake Erie - Port Clinton, OH
• May 23-24: Mississippi River - Red Wing, MN
• Jun 20-21: Bay of Green Bay - Oconto, WI
• Aug 1-2: Lake Sakakawea - Garrison, ND
• Sept 4-6: (Championship) Lake Huron - Oscoda, MI
With a 2-day total of 55-15:
> ...described their pattern as kind of a 1-2 punch approach...targeting bigger fish on their new Lowrance Live electronics and dropping slip-bobbers with live bait on their noses enticing them to bite. When this subtle approach didn’t work, they casted glide baits at fish trying to trigger reaction bites.
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Kyle Manteuffel and Sean Nelson had a ridiculous 40.33-lb bag on Otter Tail. 😳 Usually takes about 24-26 lbs in a CPR format derby out there. Amazing fellas! Few details:
> “...as practice evolved, we found some deeper fish...around 18-40’...found some stuff happening deep and decided to focus on that....
> ...Lindy rigging, using BIG minnows (as in 8”+) to coax their fish to hit.
> “We would use our forward-facing sonar to find them and pull our bait through them. That’s how we were able to see and find everything we caught. We were going really slow, just making sure our baits were where they needed to be...0.3-0.8 mph depending on how the fish were reacting. We also caught some on Jigging Raps and Shiver Minnows....”
Costs just $35 to register in the Brawl and fish any time (during Oct 14 - Dec 3) in the OH waters of Lake Erie – from the bank or in a boat – biggest fish wins. Tons of prizes including a couple of fully-rigged Ranger boats ($140K and $110K) going to 1st and 2nd.
They’re giving away a $175K Warrior Boat package to the heaviest walleye caught thru Dec 3.
> “The 2023 Yar-Craft Boats owners invitational is hosted by North Country Marine and Motorsports out of Garrison ND on beautiful Lake Sakakawea on Sept 23 this year. Teams of 2 or 3 people with at least one person being a current Yar-Craft boat owner will “brave the wave” on the 2nd largest manmade lake in the United States for a basket of beautiful Lake Sakakawea gold and a chance at being named the best of the best!. Host dealer North Country Marine would love to have you involved in this awesome tournament! Call 701-463-BOAT (2628) to register today!”
ICAST (the annual fishing biz trade show) has a “New Product Showcase” each year where companies show-off their new fishing products, and industry folks vote for their favorite “Best of Category” (there’s 37) and overall “Best of Show” award. That has already happened – the 2023 winners are here.
Now there’s a dealio where non-industry folks can vote for their favorite new products (from the 37 category winners) for the ICAST 2023 Anglers’ Choice Best of Show Award. Voting will be online thru ICAST’s website from Aug 20-26. More info here.
...for now....
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I picked up a pair of those new FishUSA Flagship Trolling Rods in the 7' MH and they seem like they're going to be great all-around inside rods do do a bit of everything.
13th annual tourney hosted by Border View Lodge on the Rainy River. I fished this derby last year with my bud Nick Lindner and it was a blast!
Catch-measure-release format, capped at 75 boats, with great payouts and prizes, followed up with a chili dinner/celebration afterwards. Btw this year there’s a free prime rib dinner at the rules meeting the night before.
Father/daughter duo Chad and Olivia Olson won it last year ( full results) with a 5-fish bag that included: 25.5”, 24”, 22.75”, 21.25” and a 17.5”. 👏👏👏 |
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> Chad: “We pulled cranks the whole time from 15-23′. We caught all of the fish in 17-19′ of water. My daughter carried us with a 25.5″, 24″ and 22.75”. She did that all in 3 passes. I couldn’t believe 70+ inches of fish in just 300 yds.
> “When I’m pulling cranks, all I use is leadcore. It doesn’t matter if water temps are 33 degrees or 70 – I’m running leadcore.
> “We were running #9 Rapala Shad Raps in black/silver and shad colors [upstream into the current, between 1.3-1.8 mph]. It was a reaction bite for sure for the bigger fish. Out of all the boats I saw...I think I was the only boat trolling [most everyone was pitching jigs and shiners].”
Would love to know how many fish that specific bait has accounted for over the years!
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Few TargetWalleye.com Highlights
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What's 🔥 on Target Walleye's YouTube 🎥
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> Most of the time the fish are relating to weeds, particularly cabbage and coontail. I prefer to fish cabbage as it is much easier to move your presentation just outside of the weedline….
> I abandon the typical “Lindy” sinker when fishing weeds and instead use a cone-shaped [bassin’] sinker…slides through the weeds without fouling on them and can save you a lot of aggravation.
> During the heat of Aug, I tend to use nightcrawlers much more than leeches…crawlers beat leeches most days once the insect hatches start going off. If panfish are driving me crazy stealing crawlers, I’ll switch to leeches which are a lot tougher….
> Before snelling the hook, I slide on a 6mm bead…could be fluorescent orange, chartreuse, green or white. Some days one works better than the other – I’ve fished a lot of live-bait situations where the bead made a tremendous difference….
> I also carry fluorescent orange and chartreuse yarn, the same stuff steelhead anglers use. I usually divide it in half (because it’s pretty thick) and cut off a piece about 3″ long.
> Next I attach it to the snell right at the eye of the hook with a simple overhand knot…trim the ends down to about 1/4″ long. It provides a bigger target than a bead – acting almost like a spinner – but you can go a lot slower.
Dang, the creative juices are flowing! 👀🤯
> Pinch off the tail of your crawler, removing about 1/3 of its length. Not sure why – some think it puts more scent in the water – but it’ll definitely make a difference most days.
> If your hook is picking up moss or other gunk, go to a floating rig so the hook doesn’t drag over the bottom. Floating jigheads work well and add a dash of color ahead of the worm.
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How about SoDak-ian Ryan Busche getting it done trolling from the pontoon?! |
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Seriously tho: How dang fun would it be to get the crew together on a pontoon, run a spread of lines, and take shifts standing watch over the Side Imaging = 🔥🔥🔥. |
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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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