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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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Spring Forward
Greetings Club friends! With our ice fishing gear stored away for the season, we can start to look forward to being on the open water. As always, time sure seems to go by fast and before we know it, walleye opener will be here. In the meantime, there are plenty of opportunities to fish other species. I’m heading north to fish for sturgeon on the Rainy River with some friends this week and hopefully do a little sturgeon dancing!
Our March meeting marked the beginning of our 6th year as a club. We had a great turn out for our guest speaker Mark Martin. Mark did an amazing job and he taught us so much. He shared his favorite knot and how a #12 treble hook can catch everything, even giant pike. And he also taught us how tuning your spoon increases your success and so much more! Thank you Mark and thanks to all of our club members, it’s because of you we get to learn from these amazing speakers.
I’m looking forward to our April meeting and our next amazing speaker Jon Thelen. Jon is the producer and host of Lindy’s Fish Ed and Destination-Fish. Helping anglers improve their skills and have more success on the water is what Jon is truly passionate about and I can’t wait for him to share his knowledge with the club.
I’m excited to announce Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited sponsorship of two local High School and Junior level fishing teams at Lakeville and Minnetonka. It is a great way for us to Give back to our community and support these young anglers. We wish them good luck on the upcoming season!
I also want to welcome two new sponsors, Rapid Marine and Fish Hawk. I’m looking forward to partnering with them as we continue to grow our club. Thanks to all of our great sponsors for supporting TCW.
I hope you all find some time to enjoy this great weather we have been having. I look forward to seeing you at our April meeting and don’t forget to bring a friend!
Dale Meinders
President of Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited
Connect | Educate | Give
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- This month's meeting will be held in the main auditorium on the first floor, which will give us the extra space needed to support safe distancing.
- The Knights of Columbus Restaurant is open and they are serving beverages.
- Masks are required, and we will have them available for those who need one
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Our shop-by-lake concept will allow you to only see tackle products that make sense for the lakes you fish. Join the future of shopping for fishing tackle.
Email Omnia at: hello@omniafishing.com
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Featuring Jon Thelen
Thursday April 1, 2021
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TCWU is excited to host one of our favorite local angler's and educator's Jon Thelen as our headline speaker for our April club meeting.
Jon is an experienced professional angler who channeled his passion of fishing into a career as a fishing educator through media and speaking opportunities.
Jon truly enjoys sharing his fishing knowledge. Helping anglers improve their skills and success on the water is a sincere passion for Jon. He really has this unique ability to share his fish catching strategies in an easy way we can all understand.
We hope you are all excited to meet Jon in person, and learn from a life time of walleye fishing experience!
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Fun facts and a little history about Jon
- Jon began fishing tournaments in 2003 earning his way to the PWT.
- He has written/contributed to over 150 articles and graced the cover of over 30 magazines.
- In 2015, Jon became the Field Producer and Host of Lindy’s Fish Ed Television
- He started up Destination-Fish, which features television shows, YouTube videos, Facebook page and his website Destination fish.com. Television
- Jon mentioned that he used to keep secrets to himself when he was a Professional Angler. Now that he has become a fishing educator he loves sharing all his secrets away.
Thanks for joining us Jon!
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Club Sponsor Spotlight
Omnia Fishing!
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What you need to know about fishing Lake Minnetonka
Lake Minnetonka is a popular fishing destination year round due to its close proximity to the Minneapolis area and great fish stocks. Lake Minnetonka is currently the 9th largest lake in Minnesota with a surface area of 14,528 acres and a max depth of 113 feet in Crystal Bay. This lake is the perfect destination for largemouth bass. The predominant methods are flipping jigs beneath docks, casting topwaters in and around lily pads and working the edges of weedlines with spinners or crankbaits. Buzz baits also work great for largemouth bass. Walleyes are another prized game fish on Lake Minnetonka. Lindy rigs, jigs with a swimbait or minnow and deep running crankbaits are the perfect pick when targeting these walleye. Minnetonka walleyes can be found on deep water rock structures and mid lake humps. Looking for bait balls can increase your chances of success. If you're looking for large, hard fighting northern and Muskie, Minnetonka is a great destination. Using Bucktails and top water lures by sunken trees and beaver dams is the go-to for pulling these fish into the boat.
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Sign up for the Omnia Premium Plan, which is available at registration and receive 10% back on all purchases and unlimited free shipping.
Earn free tackle at Omnia for filling out fishing reports.
Fishing reports filed on specific lakes and include tackle suggestions (never locations) earn you tackle credits in your Omnia account when people make purchases based on these fishing reports. We're also linking the fishing reports to product pages so you can see what colors and sizes are being used on specific lakes you fish or lakes in your area. It's a great new feature to help anglers discover new tackle, sort through what's best for them, and techniques on the lakes they fish and even discover new lakes when looking at products.
Need more information:
Email Omnia at: hello@omniafishing.com
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Special Thanks to TROPHY Level Sponsors |
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2021 TCWU Meetings and Guest Speakers
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Welcome back TCWU Club Friends!
Life is slowly returning to normal as things were before COVID, which we all look forward to. We are excited that our club meetings are back on, and everything is going well.
We are lucky to have such a large facility to host our events and we will be sure to have everything needed to host our club events safely. Check out this years remaining speakers below and our line up for next year. Hope to see you all Thursday April 1, with special guest Jon Thelen, no fooling :)
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2021-2022 Meetings and Guest Speakers
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Early-season walleye anglers on Mille Lacs Lake will be able to keep one walleye 21-23 inches long or one longer than 28 inches. Summer will bring catch-and-release walleye fishing, with a mid-season closure, before the potential for a one-fish limit returns in the fall.
Cold Water Dangers
Over 30 percent of boating fatalities in Minnesota happen in cold water with a victim not wearing a life jacket.
Falls overboard and capsizing are still the most common cause of boating fatalities in the state.
Falling into icy water can be deadly because many boaters do not think about the effects of cold water immersion. Wearing your life jacket could be the single most important factor in surviving cold water immersion.
Cold water immersion can kill in several ways, and most people die long before they become hypothermic.
DNR reminder, do not import live crayfish
Illegal imports can cause major environmental, economic harm
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is reminding Minnesotans that it is illegal to import any species of live crayfish into the state. Some people import live crayfish for dining, for aquariums or for fishing bait, without realizing Minnesota is one of at least nine states that prohibit live crayfish imports.
Ice deteriorating with recent warm weather
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources urges people to be extremely cautious on and around the ice, as recent warm weather has deteriorated ice conditions across the state. Some lakes already have large areas of open water and there have been reports of vehicles breaking through.
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Thank You to all our Lunker Level Sponsors |
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TCWU Pro-tip of the Month
Featuring Mark Martin
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February guest speaker Mark Martin shared this “Pro Tip of the Month “ with Club President Dale Meinders. Thanks for the great meeting Mark!
Click on the photo below to learn one of Mark's secrets for success
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Thank You to all our Slot Fish Level Sponsors |
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Guest Speaker Re-cap Featuring
Mark Martin
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TCWU hosted Hall of Fame angler Mark Martin at our March 4th Club Meeting.
Mark kicked off his professional fishing career by winning the first tournament he ever entered, the PWT Tournament of Champions. He amassed over 47 top 10 tournament finishes in his amazing career.
Mark is very passionate at sharing his fishing knowledge with fellow anglers and especially loves leading kids at fishing clinics. He delivered an amazing clinic for our club and had us all buzzing by the end of the meeting. Mark is truly an amazing fishing ambassador and he literally answered personal fishing questions and posed for pictures for an additional hour after our meeting ended.
It was a treat for us all to learn from one of the great walleye anglers.
For those of you who couldn't attend enjoy the re-cap.
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About Mark
Mark basically grew up in a life filled with fishing. He worked in a bait shop as a child where he soaked up all kinds of fishing tips. His father and Grand father were avid anglers, and his goal was to one day be as good as they were. That day finally came when he caught his personal best Walleye at age 12, a hefty 14 pounder with his dad on the net and grandpops on the tiller. His passion to learn was the key to his success, which lead to an amazing professional career. Mark has channeled his passion into rewarding career as a promoter and educator. He loves teaching others and willingly shares everything he has learned throughout his career. Below Mark shared many of his Little Black Box Secrets, we hope you find a a few fishing tips that help you improve your fishing success.
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Different take on line and hooks: Light Line and Small Hooks
- Use 6 lb fluorocarbon, it is all you need and doesn’t break as easy as you think because the line slips between their teeth.
- Use #12 treble hooks. Minnows can swim a long time on the small hooks, and hook the minnow behind the dorsal fin.
- The #12 is so small the Walleyes don’t let go, you don’t have to set the hook right away. Big hooks allow fish to open their mouths where the small trebles keep their mouth closed.
- Don’t set the hook hard, just play the fish you have all day. Pull it in let it go, pull it in, let it go. If you pull hard it will break the line.
- Fluorocarbon is a little heavier than Mono and it sinks a little quicker
- Mark leaves his tag ends long so you don’t have Knot fails resulting in you reeling up a pigtail. It also helps keep the weeds off the bait. Tags ends don’t spook the fish, think about all that line up above it.
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Marks Little Black Box Secrets
Try catching Walleyes in 45- 50 feet of water
- Fish, 3 - 4 feet off the bottom in 50 feet
- One foot off the bottom in 20 feet
- One foot above the weeds.
- The Tingler Spoon is a killer – Watch Mark’s pro-tip video to learn how to tune it up properly, so your spoon fly’s like a kite under the water.
- Bang the Bottom hard, to steal your buddy’s fish and or bring in fish.
- Spray/saturate your line and Ice Shanty Zippers with Blakemore Real Magic lube. You will cast farther and you zippers won't freeze up.
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Grandpa and Dad taught him about trolling at night and the moon effect on fishing.
- Pay attention to the moon rising and falling often times they stop biting as the moon rises to the 10:00 position in the sky and start back up at the 2:00 position.
- Set out 85 feet of trolling line out
- Speed = 1.4 mph in
- Depth 10 to 12 feet
- Use FireLine
- Loves trolling Floating Rapala’s; Pro-tip- paint the eyes and the tail on your Rapala get creative.
- Give your lure some additional action, pull it forward and drop it back
- Full moon fishing is better when there is a little chop to hide your boat shadow
- Moon effect works in the daytime too, when the moon is out in the day
- Look at the majors and minors and compare where the moon lines up at those times
- Get a Tun-a-fish lure tuner – Tune or re-tune your lures when you take it out the package and after every fish. Drop the lure in the water and pull hard. The lure should pull straight and go deep. Pull fast twice and hard to make sure its running true.
Mark's Fishing Tips
- Use Hook Sharpeners – go only one way push forward on one side of the hook and then on the other. Then do the top.
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Fishing in the Weeds? remember the Beetle Spin? Try it with a 3 inch gulp minnow. Go slow, you just want to feel the blade turning.
- Do not use the same color next time through switch it up. The fish get used to it. Don’t change the profile just change the color
- When you feel a tick set the hook. The fish could be swimming forward with your lure and totally have your lure swallowed.
- Improve Battery life by setting your Ice Fishing electronics on 3 inch foam board and not directly on the ice. Use it under your feet to keep them warm too.
- Balance your bobber. You want it balanced so it barely stays above water. Add enough weight, so if you sneeze on it the bobber goes under.
- Use Bobbers on Tip ups. They will tell you if your flag went up from wind or a fish. They also keep your bait and line out of the weeds.
- Inland lakes use Creek Minnows; Fatheads, Chubs, Suckers
- Great Lakes, Big lakes, LOW use Lake Minnows = Shiners
Trolling Boards
- Use inline weights with waves under two feet
- Use clip on weights on with waves over two feet to eliminate wave surge.
Bottom Bouncers
- Never let them drag
- Need to be heavy enough to get down to the bottom so you can catch the fish that you just graphed on the front of your boat.
- Do not let out a 100 feet of line. You want it straight down or no more than a 45 degree angle
- Boat speed = just fast enough to spin the spinner blades
- Mark fishes next to the boat all the time it’s a reaction strike
- Northland makes the best bouncer
- The Martin Rig = 6oz bottom bouncer and a stiff rod
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Fun Facts
- Mark once took a Hover Craft out to go Ice Fishing
- Gary Roach Called Mark and said “Did you talk to TCWU yet? I was the first one you know."
- Mark and Gary were Pro Fishing partners for 17 years
- Mark has been an author/writer for over 40 years.
- He has published several books that share his fishing tips and nearly every walleye fishing technique imaginable.
If you are looking for a really good easy to read and understand resource to improve your walleye fishing skills check out Mark's
Year 'Round Walleyes
Fishing the Four Seasons
You can get a copy at Mark's webstore:
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It was interesting to learn how passionate Mark was at the meeting on learning, educating and coaching anglers to catch fish. Mark fished every tournament possible just to learn all he could. He started teaching 31 years ago joining Gary Roach as an educator early on in his career. He understood the value that it is more important to get together and learn from each other. He mentioned working with the Linder’s and when they got together they talked about how to teach better instead of just talking fishing.
Mark hosts the Vacation Fishing School, which is a very cool fishing experience for all those interested in improving their fishing skills. Mark likes to keep a 2 to 1 ratio for teaching and hosts both Ice Fishing and Open-Water fishing schools, which are taught by some of the walleye world's top fishing pros and pro-staff.
Mark’s pledge is that:
“You will become a better walleye angler and a more successful angler overall.”
Click on the picture below to learn more about this cool opportunity!
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Thank You to all of our Keeper Sponsors |
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Thank You to all of our Club Donors! |
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TC Walleyes Unlimited, Inc. |
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