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Today's Top 5
Biologists are puzzled by strange walleye disease.
A diseased walleye that was caught outta Saginaw Bay:

> After receiving photos from his uncle of one of the day's catch, Saginaw Bay Walleye Club President Keith Dewald Jr. became concerned about the future of walleye fishing in the Great Lakes.

> The photos Dewald's uncle sent showed a walleye filet that wasn't the bright white flesh one would usually see. It looked grey, it almost appeared rotten.
> "My uncle texted me a picture and I said don't eat it. Not even thinking, he just threw it away."

> When Dewald reached out to fellow anglers to investigate the issue, he realized the fish should have been kept for biological testing.

> "...sent the pictures over to a (MI DNR) biologist...and they sent it over to a MI State U biologist...they are all puzzled by it."

> Some have suggested a condition called "sandy flesh disease," but without testing, it cannot be determined. The MI DNR website lists several fish diseases, but sandy flesh disease – or myofibrogranuloma – is not one of them.

> According to Dewald, this is the 4th report of fish caught with the strange appearance. No one has retained a specimen for testing.

> "If anyone sees a fish like this, please reach out to me. Put the fish in a bag and contact me or the DNR. Someone will pick it up for testing."

🀒 Yikes!
Dustin Kjelden wins Missouri River NWT.
Out of Chamberlain, SD. Dustin Kjelden's 2-day total (10 fish) of 31.76 lbs = $88,598 payday! #ChaChing

Did his damage trolling leadcore with Berkley Flicker Shads. Said white was his best color when it was sunny on day1, and bright neon when it was cloudier on day 2:

> "I was trolling them slower than normal, around 1.8-2.0 mph, working the edge of the main river channel in 14-20'. I was running leadcore with 12' and 6' Denali Rods. There's not a lot of structure, which is why leadcore is so efficient here. Historically, crankbaits win the day on this body of water. What Chase (Parsons) and Tommy (Kemos) did last year with jigs was really impressive, but that's a small window."

Check this out:

> For the better part of a decade, Dustin Kjelden was near the summit of the professional walleye world – trading blows and holding his own with the likes of Jason Przekurat, Tom Keenan, and Dean Arnoldussen. In 2009, he called it quits when work and family obligations proved to be too much. Last year, he restarted his professional career on the NWT.... His return season was solid as he finished 17th in the points race and qualified for the no-entry-fee championship.

> "Once tournament fishing is in your blood, it's always there. I've been wanting to get back in for a while. ...2020 taught me that life can be crazy, and that life is too short, so I jumped back in the following year.

> "I had questions if I could jump back in and keep up with these guys. Youth is a huge asset in this sport. Back when I was winning, I had youth on my side. It's awesome to know I can still compete. Chalk one up for the old guys."

Seriously impressive stuff, Dustin! πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘

Btw – I've always been a number-crunchin' fact lover myself. If you are too, you'll wanna check out these interesting factoids from walleye nut John Balla following this NWT event.
If walleyes ever figured out how to use Instagram...
...and could post a pic of their meal before they ate it, I think it'd look something like this:
Those are Berkley Flicker Shads in their nasty HD patterns = πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°

Btw if you're wondering how they get the 8 different HD patterns (nope, they don't just pull stock images off the web) here's a little first-hand insight from Berkley bait-developer Dan Spengler:

> Dan: "...I had the opportunity to work on a new line of HD Flicker colors, using high-res photos to create colors like yellow perch, emerald shiner, fathead minnow, blacknose dace, among others! It's pretty cool to see fish you've personally captured on fishing lures! Especially the dace, that one was fun. I literally fell face first in a small stream trying to catch one."

Props to Dan for taking (a wet) one for the team! Tho it looks like he enjoyed it:
LOL
Where the heck do those fancy satellite images come from?!
Have you ever been scrolling thru social media and seen where someone posted a recent satellite image of a lake or river? Usually when folks are checking ice-up or ice-out conditions.
Anytime I share one in Target Walleye, I get flooded with folks asking where and how: Don't worry – I've gotchu. πŸ‘Š

There's a handful of sites, but I prefer to use one called MODIS Today, which kicks out:

> "Near real-time and archived high resolution, true color MODIS images over the USA acquired from the NASA Terra and Aqua satellites."

Basically once a day they upload satellite imagery from above. The tough part is if it was cloudy, you're basically not going to see anything. But it can be reeeeally fun to snoop after a clear, sunshiny day.

This satellite image of where I'm from (Brainerd, MN...which is in the USA3 region) was taken yesterday:
You can see I'm basically on the line where 1) south of me the ice has gone out, 2) north of me is still iced-up, and 3) the Brainerd Lakes Area is in the awkward limbo where it's 50/50.

In the top-left corner you can cycle thru different dates to see the satellite images from those specific days – if it was NOT cloudy. Believe the last clear image before this was Apr 27. But it's cool to compare them to see which lakes had ice-out first, and therefore should have warmer water...or at least enough open water to get a boat in right now lol.

I'm jumping in a little crappie derby this weekend where we can fish any lake we want to and weigh-in our 1 biggest fish, and for now this will be my means of pre-fishing hahaha. If you don't hear about this again, it's 'cuz I was on the dinks. 🀣
Here's an office chair I could get down with. 😎
Hopefully Trent Stefonek (guy who posted the pic) isn't too busy daydreaming to actually get some work done lol:
News

Catch-photo-release style derby thru Angler's Atlas where folks register their longest walleye caught for a shot at some serious dough and prizes.

And safe to say Canadian walleyes are a different breed. 😳

> "Across 10 Walleye Wars tournaments in 4 provinces, we've had numerous monsters logged from all across Canada, including THIRTY TWO fish 80cm (31.5") or longer!!
It's broken down by province and registration is open now – more details here. Quick look at the schedule:



> "In the 34 yrs the trawl series has been taking place in the western basin, the 2003 year class has been the benchmark for strong year classes with results of 183 YOY walleye per acre. For 2021, preliminary results from various agencies indicate 325 YOY walleye per hectare, almost double the 2003-yr class."

So crazy! Part of the reason why Lake Erie is one of the only walleye-fishing destinations in the world where folks are actually encouraging people to keep big walleyes vs practicing selective harvest and letting those big breeders go....


> The NMMA and Info-Link...reported that 420K first-time boat buyers of new and pre-owned boats entered the market in 2021, on par with 2020...levels the industry hasn't seen since 2007.
And first-time boat buyers accounted for 34% of boat sales in 2021.


> "Cooler temperatures have delayed walleye spawning in the northern parts of the state. As a result, they will likely be hanging around shoreline habitats...."

Lucky dawgs! We've got another week to wait here in Minnie.


> "Although yellow perch are reproducing just fine [YOY = young of the year] there aren't many age 1 and older perch, which means they're not surviving."
> "...the best explanation is the walleye diet, which shifted heavily to yellow perch after alewives disappeared from Lake Huron."


On Big Stone Lake in Ortonville last weekend. A 2-day derby and:

> The duo took home $16.5K with 3 fish weighing 27.37 lbs. They also won big fish on both days.

Sounds like brutal fishing conditions, but sheesh those are giant walleyes. Congrats fellas!


...of some fresh PK Wobblers and Dakota Discs being done-up. #WalleyeArtsAndCrafts
Gotta say you need to see these PK Lures in the water to really appreciate just how unique they are. Wild actions that are tough to describe in words – stuff fish just haven't seen. For instance the PK Wobbler spins multi-directional...spins/wobbles in one direction 3-4 rotations then pauses and rotates in the opposite direction.

Exhibit 1A:

> ...save $200 via rebate on ActiveTarget Live Sonar or $400 on the purchase of ActiveTarget plus an Elite FS 9, whether purchased as a bundle or separately.


Some more specifics broken down here.


It's a real thing. Basically started because: "May the 4th be with you...." πŸ˜‚

I'm equal parts social media nerd + fishing junkie...so always love seeing what kinda stuff companies come up with on days like this. Favorite one I've seen so far today has to go to Mercury – check it out:
If you've seen any other good ones, reply to this email with a link, would love to see 'em.


> ...the information collected is used to estimate the time anglers spend fishing as well as the number of the various fish species caught and harvested.


Shout-out to all you fishin' moms!

It's (somehow) already Mother's Day weekend...where does time go?! Saw this "Mother's Day wish list" posted on a friend's FB and had to add a bonus line to it – make it ALL happen fellas [!] and not just one day of the year:
Few TargetWalleye.com Highlights




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Tip of the Day

One big key is knowing where they spawned, and where they're headed next. A few excerpts below, but you'll for sure want to read the full AnglingBuzz write-up here:
> "Walleyes typically spawn once water temps reach the mid-40s. The exact number will vary from lake to lake, but it's generally 44-48 F.

> "Walleyes tend to go back to their old spawning grounds year after year, so once you figure out where they're dumping their eggs, you'll have some valuable info you can rely on for years to come.

> "Depending where you're fishing, walleyes will either spawn on main-lake shorelines, or in feeder rivers and creeks. This tends to be on some form of shallow rock or gravel in 3-6β€².

> "Look for shallow-water structure between those spawning grounds and some of your favorite main-lake summertime spots."

They didn't forget about you river rats either:
Keep reading here for more deets on baits and presentations.
Meme of the Day
When you show up to weigh-in with 5 fish:
Today's 'Eye Candy
Bass thumb? 😏 That's cute. Sweet shot from Will Dolinski (@dolinski7) on Insta:
Parting Shot
Leave it to Jay Siemens to catch a 58" sturgeon out of a kayak! 🀯 Fishing out of Border View Lodge where the Rainy River dumps into Lake of the Woods:
Sign up another fish-head!

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Friends of Target Walleye
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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