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4608 Tower St.
Edina, MN 55424
(612) 440-7171
tcwalleyes@gmail.com
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Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited Monthly Newsletter |
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Featuring Bob Jensen and Mike Frisch
Thursday April 4, 2019
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TCWU is thrilled to have Bob and Mike join us as our April guest speakers. They have worked together for 15-years and host the highly respected Fishing the Midwest Fishing Show.
Mike and Bob developed a passion for sharing what they have learned to help us all become better fishermen. Along with producing "Fishing The Midwest" television series, they additionally, write fishing columns and film videos that teach fishermen how to improve their skills under a variety of conditions and presentations. Bob and Mike write for and are featured in over 50 general circulation newspapers, outdoor publications, and electronic media outlets.
Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to spend the evening with two of most respected and best fishing educators around. They will certainly prepare us all for the soft water fishing season, which is right around the corner, can't hardly wait!
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Socializing - 6:30 PM
Presentation - 7:00 PM
Meeting Location:
BLOOMINGTON KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, (aka Bloomington Events Center)
1114 American Blvd. W.
Bloomington, MN 55420
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Atlas Marine Insurance “Is a World of Choices”
A special welcome to new club member and sponsor Kevin Valento with Atlas Marine Insurance!
Atlas Marine Brokers is a leader in the marine insurance industry providing comprehensive coverages to ensure your boat is properly protected in the event of a total loss. Representing over 30 carriers insures you will receive the best protection.
Kevin is very involved with the community and volunteers his time with many youth programs. He is also an avid Walleye fisherman, nice Marble Eye Kevin!
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Kevin is very experienced with protecting our precious Boats, definitely check him out at :
The Valento Insurance Agency, LLC
Office: 651-457-5444
Cell: 651-855-8289
Fax: 651-457-5515
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I Think It’s Finally Here
Our winter here in Minnesota certainly entered like a lamb and went out as a lion….Wow. I don’t need to tell any of you any more than that. This last weekend was a very welcome reminder that we do have seasons here in Minnesota, and I think spring is finally on our doorstep.
The last month has seen the lake ice conditions deteriorate so badly that many veteran ice anglers I have talked with have just bagged it and now are waiting for open water.
This is a special time for our group. Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited is beginning our fourth year this month. We have a great organization and I am looking forward to spending the next year with my old and new friends here at TCWU.
I want to send a special thank you to Mr. Bill Sherck for speaking to us at our February meeting. We really enjoyed Bill and all the information and stories that he left us. A few days after our meeting, Bill circled back and asked us if we would do a segment for the Minnesota Bound/Due North Outdoors with one of our community outreach events this summer. Of course, we said. Stay tuned for plenty of volunteer opportunities on TV! Thanks again, Bill.
I sit here and look forward to the ice melting and to open water fishing again. We have a lot to look forward for our organization coming this year.
The Minneapolis Sports Show starts this week and that is a sure sign of spring. We have been invited to be members of the newly formed MN-Fish Sport Fishing Foundation Coalition by Steve Pennaz and John Peterson. This is an exciting time for us, and I urge everyone to stop and talk to them at their booth at the show this weekend. This is a perfect fit for our group and for the outdoor folks that we all are.
Please come to our April meeting as we welcome the Midwest Outdoors Show hosts, Bob Jensen and Mike Frisch. We are really excited to hear what information they have to share. I love the Iowa connection!!
Please send us fishing pictures or information that you have. We can only grow and get stronger with input from our group. Strength in numbers for sure!!
I am heading to Rainy River tomorrow to blaze a trail onto the river. It is Sturgeon Excursion 2019 for me. Probably going to get plenty of snow moving exercise? I will keep you posted as it is likely a story for another day…Until next time.
Jim "Doc" Wood
President of Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited
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Walleye Harvest Approved in May for Lake Mille Lacs |
Anglers on Lake Mille Lacs will be able to keep Walleye during open water fishing for the first time since 2015.
Mille Lacs anglers fishing from Saturday, May 11th through Friday, May 31 are able to keep:
One Walleye over 28 inches
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One Walleye between 21 and 23 inches.
Similar to recent years, a night closure for the 2019 Walleye fishing season will be in effect on Mille Lacs from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning Monday, May 13th. The night Walleye closure will remain in effect throughout the entire open-water season, which ends Nov. 30.
Catch-and-release fishing for Walleye begins Saturday, June 1st and other than the night closure, there are no planned closures for Walleye fishing this season.
The DNR is allowing this limited harvest opportunity due to an improving Walleye population bolstered by a 2013 year class of fish that has been protected by conservative fishing regulations. The 2013 year class is starting to produce young fish that appear to be surviving.
On a side note: Bass season opens with catch-and-release for most of the state, including Mille Lacs, from Saturday, May 11th through Friday, May 24th.
Beginning on Saturday, May 25, Mille Lacs’ daily bag and possession limit will be three bass per angler. All Smallmouth and Largemouth bass between 17 and 21 inches must be immediately released.
Anglers may keep only one bass over 21 inches.
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Club member Ron Tabar 3M Eagle Lake Club Invite
Fish beautiful and famous Eagle Lake, Ontario, Canada, 120 miles north of International Falls.
This is a premium trip, including charter bus service. Temple Bay Lodge is a full-service, American plan facility with excellent boats and comfortable cabins/lodge.
Fish species include: Walleye, Northern, Smallmouth & Muskie.
Details:
August 6 – 11, 2019
5 night, 4+ day trip.
Price (per person):
- $1150 (3 in boat)
- $1320 (2 in boat),
For more information contact:
Ron Tabar
Phone: 952-818-7630
Email: rjtabar@comcast.net
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Special Thanks TROPHY Level Sponsors |
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Summer and Fall Club Fishing Outings
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We all get together one night a month to talk and learn about fishing. Now it’s time to put that knowledge to work.
We are very fortunate to have so many amazing lakes that provide great fishing opportunities within the Twin Cities Metro area. That made the task of selecting lakes for our Spring and Fall outings a difficult one. After discussion with the other members of the board, Dan Camp and Paul Johnson have come up with two lakes that will hopefully provide a fun day on the water and put a few fish in the boat.
The Spring outing is on June 1st on Washington Lake in Meeker County
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Here are some fun facts about the lake:
- It is relatively shallow, with a max depth of 17 feet.
- Between 2007 and 2015 nearly 12,000,000 walleye fry have been stocked into the lake.
- The most recent net data shows a large population in the “eater” size range.
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The Fall outing is on September 14th on Cedar Lake in Wright County |
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Here are some fun facts about the lake:
- It has a max depth of 108 feet.
- According to recent gill and trap net data, it boasts a significant walleye population spread across several age classes.
- It has a large population of northern pike as well.
We will have a morning start for each of these outings and Lunch will be provided.
If any of you have walkie talkies, please bring them with you so the boats can keep in touch out on the water. That way I can let you know when I boat a giant walleye!
We will be providing further details in future newsletters and at the monthly meetings. Mark your calendars, we look forward to seeing you all out on the water!
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FishUSA's - Tony Roach Guided Trip Giveaway! |
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TCWU Members, our club friend Tony Roach is hosting a guided fishing trip that comes with a FishUSA apparel package! |
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Hey there TCWU members,
Tony reached out special, to let us know about his "Guided Trip Giveaway."
He wanted us all to have a shot to win a guided fishing trip which includes a FishUSA apparel package! Click on the link below to enter.
This is the first of several planned giveaway's, make sure to like FishUSA and Roach's Guide Service Facebook and Instagram pages for more opportunities and great fishing content.
Good Luck everyone!
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Thank You LUNKER Sponsors! |
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Guest Speaker Re-cap Bill Sherck |
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Special thanks to our March special guest speaker Bill Sherck. We truly appreciate you coming out and spending the evening with our the club.
Bill engaged the group in an unique and interactive discussion on the state of Minnesota's Walleye population. Bill started out by providing some very interesting conservation statistics, that were a little eye popping to say the least. He shared the current Hot Topics the State is challenged with, and lead a group discussion on these issues, which was pretty cool. He closed by tying all these topics into interesting fishing tips we all need to consider due to the changes our lakes are experiencing. For our club friends who couldn't make it to the meeting, here is a re-cap of what you missed.
State of The State of Walleye (stats from the DNR Round Table)
- 2.4 billion in fishing revenue and half is attributed from Walleye.
- 4.6 million pounds are of Walleye and Northern are harvested each year.
- 9 million pounds of panfish are harvested each year.
- Only 1,300 of our lakes habitat Walleyes, you would think 8,000.
- Minnesota Glaciers formed perfect Walleye waters by leaving shallow gravel bars.
- Red Lake has the best Walleye waters due to its make up.
- Natural Reproduction has fallen from 60% – 40 % due to climate change.
- Southern half of Minnesota lakes are all stocked.
- The MN DNR are tagging Lake Trout to figure out how they are adapting to the climate change.
- Weed Lines are currently beginning to reach depths down to 28 feet.
- Zebra Muscles and Spiny Water fleas can impact fishing up to 60%.
- Declines in Perch Populations correlate to a decline in Walleye population.
- More anglers are catching and releasing Walleyes.
Reducing Limits (Hot Topics)
- We all grew up striving to catch our limit. Our mindset is that of keep as much as we can. We need to change to a just keep what we need mentality and establish a new release mindset if we want to have them in the future.
- Walleye limits would need to be set at 2 fish per angler in order to increase Walleye populations.
- A female Walleye can produce 500,000 eggs. Approximately 95 – 98% of eggs don’t fertilize/survive, which equals 15,000 survivors. That seems pretty good until you read the next bullet point.
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There are 20,000 ice houses on Lake of the Woods. In one weekend 240,000 fish could be harvested if each house took 6 fish each day. Did I mention that's one weekend and only 6 fish per house?
- Reducing Walleye limits is the key, but no one in the Legislature wants to support it (too hot and too much revenue on the line).
- Biggest wall facing the state is changing the Walleye limit mindset and perception.
What is causing the decline and changing the Walleye patterns that we are used to?
Climate, invasive species, technology and declining spawning habit are all contributing to the decline.
- Bill called out the changes on his childhood fishing hole Gull Lake. He commented that the Gull lake shore line is now packed with homes and it has changed the lakes's nutrition content. The organics have changed due to manicured lawns and perfectly manicured shorelines. Weeds, fallen trees and shoreline buffers have been virtually eliminated.
- Fertilizers are juicing up the lakes with nitrogen's and phosphorus.
- Invasive species are cleaning up the lakes but are also changing the weed lines. They are beginning to reach depths of 28 feet, wow!
"We need to protect what we enjoy. We owe it to our kids, grand kids & their kids."
Okay, now that we have all these variables impacting our lakes, do we need to change how we fish? Yes!
- Clearer water equals deeper weeds but fishermen are not changing their ways.
- We need to fish deeper during the day and utilize overcast skies.
- Your evening bite has probably changed. If you are not catching them like you did in the past, try staying out later.
- Call your regional fishers offices for fishing help. They are dying for your call. They can tell you the good lakes and the bad. Bring some donuts and have a cup of coffee with them, they are there for all of us.
Questions and Answers
How do you keep kids engaged?
- Take shorter trips or outings.
- Make it fun. Maybe fishing in the morning and then do something different, like driving the boat, swimming or afternoon picnic.
- Can you incorporate some rewards into the outing, Dairy Queen after each trip?
- Try using kid friendly fishing techniques and rigs, that catch fish. Have you tried drop shotting? Kids are really good with this technique, try it with minnows (Rainbows & Suckers).
What do think of the new DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen?
- Sarah is an avid fisherman, we are all really going to like her. She is one of us.
- She is going to do schedule regional round tables with the communities to understand their challenges and successes.
What do you think about the state of Lake Mille Lacs?
- Millac's 2013 class record hatch is hitting the prime time. Perch are also on the rise. Look for the DNR to allow some soft water harvest. If you like to catch Walleye, Mille Lacs should be locked in.
Your thoughts on fishing with two lines in the soft water season?
- There is a lot of opposition and its very hard on the resources and hooking mortality. I think it would feasible for catfish. There you go Catfish D!
Do Northern Pike and Muskie impact our Walleye populations?
- There are not that many lakes that have Muskies.
- Walleye Lakes such as Red, Winnie, Leech, LOW, Millie Lacs all have awesome Walleye fishery, while co-existing with very good Northern and Muskie populations.
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Bill's Crown Achievement - The Rapala Story
Bill was ask to tell the Rapala Story and singled out his opportunity to write, film and share the famous Marttiini Rapala knife manufacturing facility in Rovaniemi, Finland. I highly recommend watching Episode 6, 2017 of Bill's "Made for the Outdoors" series if you haven't seen. It's really quite a story. Click on the link below for easy viewing.
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Bill produced two other Rapala stories with Made for the Outdoors:
- Episode 4, 2016 Hunting Knives.
- Episode 4, 2015- Rapala Lure making facility.
Click on the links below to view these episodes. You will certainly enjoy!
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Fun Facts
- Did Ron Schara Retire? Nope, he is doing select bucket list stories now. He has also been elected President of the MN-Fish Advocacy group.
- It is Legal to have a copy of your license on your phone – it must be signed.
- Slot limit feedback from DNR, Guides, and biologists is that they work. Not perfect but improves fishery.
- Bill was an Intern in Green Bay, WI. On Easter Morning the anchor called in sick and that was the start of his broad casting career. Bill loved telling stories but was tiring on the stories he had to tell as a news reporter. He took a shot with Ron Schara and the rest is history.
Bill shared a fun story when he was just days on the job. He tried to prove his worthiness to Ron Schara as a fisherman when he got hired, so he fished hard that weekend to prove his worth. Luckily he caught two giant Northern Pike to show off. When he showed Ron the pictures, Ron commented, "If you want to succeed kid, don't ever out fish the boss." Lol!
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To no ones surprise, Doc Knot's has over 1,000 Facebook views.
(Okay maybe some surprise there)
Regardless we all find these demonstrations very helpful and we can pull them up at any time we need them.
Club President Doc Wood provides his latest knot demonstration, The Allbright Knot.
This Knot is one of the most dependable knots, which is used to tie two different lines together. Commonly the lines are made of different material or diameter.
Click on Doc Knot's picture to view his latest video demonstration.
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Primitive Pete's Corner
How and when to get your Boat out of Storage
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You haven't heard from Primitive Pete in awhile but there is no truth to the rumor he has been gone for a 12 to 15 month stretch for noodling catfish out of season. That was just a misunderstanding about when you should tickle cats to help them sleep.
You are probably wondering when the best time is to get your boat out of storage and ready for the season.
Primitive Pete advises two options here, either too early or too late.
Since the early bird gets the worm, you should probably have it out by now.
- Snowplow a path to your garage, and drag the boat and trailer out into the howling wind. That should serve to blow off the dust from last year.
- If you take the cover off and let the March snow fill it up, it will clean up some of last year's debris when it melts in mid April.
- Just make sure to pull the drain plug. You don't want to run it down to the service station to put air in the trailer tires and get an invasive species ticket.
If that isn't too appealing, I would wait until the day before the opener.
Make sure you make big plans to travel long distances, and invite your fishing partners along.
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Have them arrive a little early on Friday afternoon, and you will have some help with inflating the trailer tires, putting in the batteries, and cranking the motor to see if it will start. If it doesn't you will have all these master mechanics in house to give their opinions as to the problem. You will also have additional vehicles around to make a trip to the auto supply store for the hitch pins, trailer wiring harnesses, batteries or whatever.
While your friends are putting your boat in shape for the season you can go find your rods and equipment for the trip. It's also a good time to re-spool your favorite reels. In addition to knowing you will have the freshest line available,
Following this option is a great way to let t that pesky traffic get out of town so you can drive peacefully in the dark,
Good Fishing
Catfish D.
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Spring Turnover in our Lakes |
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Finally Spring appears to be on the way. It won't be long until ice out with Walleye opener soon to follow. We learned about Fall Lake Turnover back in September's newsletter, and thought it might be a good idea to learn a thing or two about the Spring turnover thermocline phenomenon.
Fall Lake Turnover Quick Refresher
First a quick refresher. Fall turnover begins when surface water temperatures reaches 39 degrees, which is the temperature that water is most dense. The phenomenon begins when the surface water hits 39 degrees it sinks to the bottom of the lake due to its density and mixes up the entire lake by stirring the bottom, oxygen and nutrients throughout the water column.
In Winter water temperature is coldest just below the Ice surface and warms up to 39 degrees as the depth drops. The water under the Ice is actually a layer of colder water, which seems odd, but true due to water density again. Water under the ice is mostly 39 degrees however, except for that thin layer directly under the ice.
Spring Lake Turnover
In Spring the same phenomenon begins as the ice melts and the top layer warms to 39 degrees and begins to match the entire water column temp. Warm windy spring days help mix up the water column, which again creates mixing of oxygen and nutrients throughout.
Fish are looking for their favorite oxygen levels, which start to increase as the shallow weeds begin to grow and photosynthesize. Fish will start moving out of the depths as the shallow plant growth takes off.
Timing and duration of the turnover is dependent on lake size, depth and temps. As the surface temps begin to rise the lakes begin to stratify or layer.
Keys to determine if your lake is turning over are:
- Water is cloudy from nutrients that were mixed from turnover.
- When brown algae blooms begin or become noticeable. This early spring algae feeds on the nutrient mixing and is a sure sign the lake is in the turnover.
- Secchi disc reading can also help determine by measuring water clarity
- When the lake clears up, turnover is complete.
Reminder, it may be a challenge to catch fish due to the disruption of the turnover water mixing. Fish will begin relocating and spawning when all of this is going on and when the lake is re-oxygenated the fish are free to re-locate to any part of the lake and eventually return to normal patterns.
Once Spring turn over is complete, the lake will begin to stratify into layers throughout the summer. Remember to determine the depth of the thermocline and seek out underwater structures that rise up above it. Mapping and planning these areas out before you fish will narrow your search for mid-lake schooling Walleye.
For more information on the Summer and Fall thermoclines, see the September 2018 Newsletter (Page 3) on the TCWU Website under the News & Newsletters tab or click on the link below to head there now.
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Russell Nelson
Board Member of
Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited
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Bait school is in session. Our goal is to learn little about the live baits used to catch Walleyes. Each month we will feature a specific bait and learn about their patterns, locations, forage, and spawning. |
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This Month's Lesson: Rainbow Chubs? |
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We all know or have heard about the Rainbow Chub. It is a very hardy minnow, which is why I love them. Hardy as in they don't come off your hook easily and can withstand perch attacks. I find that I can pull them out of a perch mouth without having mortality or loosing my bait unlike Fatheads or Shiners. They also handle those rigorous snowmobile trips across Lake of the Woods without a problem. Big Rainbows are a must when fishing the Angle.
Funny thing about Rainbows though, when you do an internet search, there are no results for the Rainbow minnows we find in our Minnesota bait shops. Well some extensive research turns out that they are actually part of the Dace family.
There are two members of this family commonly used for bait in Minnesota and both are referred to as Rainbows.
The Finescale Dace
- Size commonly = 2. 5 to 3 plus inches.
- Life span 4 - 5 years.
- Diet is both plant and animal matter. Consisting of aquatic insects algae, and other higher plant matter.
- They are a hardy spring minnow and the most desired early season Walleye and Perch fishing.
The Northern Redbelly Dace
- Size commonly = 2. 5 to 4 plus inches.
- Life span 4 - 6 plus years.
- Diet is both plant and animal matter. Consisting of aquatic insects algae, and other higher plant matter.
- They are a hardy spring minnow and the most desired early season Walleye and Perch fishing.
Spawning
- Occurs in late May in the southern half of Minnesota and extends into late June as you head north.
- Predominantly spawn in areas that have filamentous algae growth.
- Can last for a 4 to 6 week period in any one area.
- These two species are know to cross breed or hybridize.
- The majority of the fry are female especially when hybridization takes place.
- Males push females into algae masses and fertilize the eggs as she releases them.
- The algae masses serve as the nests.
- There is no parental care.
- The average number of eggs a female spawns is about 2,000-6,000.
- Interesting fact, the DNR has found huge schools of them that are all hybrids.
Seasonal Locations/Patterns
Rainbows are found in cool, quiet, boggy streams and lakes. They like water supplied by clear, cool springs, beaver ponds and slow current streams. They will hang out in cover such as undercut banks and heavy vegetation. They also thrive in lake habitats that share these characteristics.
There are no true seasonal advantages for Walleyes to frenzy on Rainbows due to their habitat being in areas where Walleyes mostly do not co-exist. Although they are present in some Walleye waters. If you can find spawning Rainbows you may find Walleye close by. Definitely worth the look as they do spawn in mass, which should attract the entire food chain.
Understand your lake and its Rainbow spawning areas to unlock new and fun ways to catch marble eyes.
Look, Scout and be Stealthy
- Be quiet and plan for a stealthy entrance into these areas. Make too much noise and you will spook the Walleyes out quickly.
- Bring a good pair or polarized sun glasses for sighting Bait fish, Walleyes and good looking spawning areas. Calm sunny days will allow you to spot them from a way off.
- Scouting out these areas will help you dial into the best spawning areas. When you learn these spots, you can really dial in to the techniques on catching them.
- You want to make the longest casts you can into these areas. Remember to position the wind at your back for long casting ease.
- Utilize Spot Lock on your trolling motor to move efficiently and quietly from spot to spot.
- 8-foot Minn Kota Talon anchors are nice to have, you can move in with the electric, anchor with the Talon and then fan cast from there, without running the electric.
- Jigs, floating stick baits and plastics are perfect for this type of fishing. Oh and don't forget a weighted bobber fishing rig. Weighted bobbers will definitely increase your cast distance.
- Live Bait is best but you will need two things.
- Light line for longer casting, be prepared to use 4 lb test or 4 lb diameter braid.
- Lots of bait as you will cast a bunch off. Its well worth it to catch knee deep Eye-balls.
Dale Meinders & Russell Nelson, Board Members TCWU
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Newsletters are now available on the website |
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Hey great news members, We have made a few changes to the www.tcwalleyes.com website, which include PDF's of our past newsletters posted to the News and Newsletters tab. If you are looking for those missing Guest speaker fishing tips, well now you got them any time you need. Click on the link below to check it out.
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Thank You KEEPER Sponsors! |
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Chef Ben's Wildlife Kitchen |
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Welcome to Chef Ben's Wildlife Kitchen. This month we are serving up one Chef Ben Roach's Smoked Walleye. Smoked Walleye may sound odd but it is truly delicious and a great way eat cold anywhere.
Bon Appétit!
Chef Ben
Smoked Walleye
Ingredients:
- Walleye fillets
- Salt & Pepper
- Cajun Seasoning
- Lemon wedges
- Finely chopped dill
- Tzatziki
Directions:
- Preheat smoker to 200°-225
- Generously season walleye fillets with salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning
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Put seasoned walleye fillets into smoker for approximately 2 hours, checking halfway through for doneness.
- Walleye is done when warm throughout and easily flakes.
- Serve with lemon wedges, dill and tzatziki.
ENJOY…. THIS IS DELICIOUS!!
Ben Roach
Board Member of Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited
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Check out Target Walleye and sign up to receive weekly emails loaded with Fishing Tips, The Latest News and Cool Pics with an added touch of Fun.
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Click on their logo or go to www.targetwalleye.com to check out
their website and see what its all about.
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Thank you VALUED Club Donors |
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Click on their logo or go to www.targetwalleye.com to check out
their website and see what its all about.
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TC Walleyes Unlimited, Inc. |
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