Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited - Monthly Newsletter |
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Spring Is In The Air
Ice Out?
Greetings Club friends! This cold stretch of weather does not seem to want to let go. Although local lakes seem to be open, further north might be in question for the walleye opener May 14th. I’m sure most of you are like me getting your boat and gear ready for the season to hit some open water wherever you can.
We had a great turnout for our April club meeting. Thank you all for being flexible and making the upstairs restaurant area work for our meeting. Our guest speaker Matt Klug gave an outstanding presentation, very hands on and interactive. Matt talked about slowing down when fishing jigging raps and swim baits. Most people think to fish those baits fast to get a reaction bite, but his idea to slow down just might be the strategy to try when fishing the cold water temps this opener.
May 5th is our last club meeting before our summer break and I’m looking forward to our guest speaker Joel Nelson. Joel is great educator and friend of the club and I can’t wait to hear what he has to share with us.
This years GIVE project to raise money to build and donate a new shed for Camp Fire MN is coming to an end. We are so close to our $2,000 goal and our May meeting will be your last chance to help us reach our goal. I want to thank all of our club members for making this project a success.
Please join us for our spring club fishing outing on Saturday, May 21st on Buffalo Lake. It is a fun and great way to CONNECT with fellow club members. Look for all the details below.
I look forward to seeing you at our May meeting and don’t forget to bring a friend!
Dale Meinders
President - Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited
Connect | Educate | Give
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Membership has
it's advantages
Join TCWU or renew today by registering on-line at:
You can find out more information about Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited and our Events by going to our website and on Facebook
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Member Exclusive Sneak Peek TCWU announces our 2022-2023 Guest speakers. Check out the Sneak Peek newsletter article to see who will be joining us.
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Fishing Buddy's Needed
FRASER Volunteer Event Saturday June 4, 2022
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Club Outing - 2022 TCWU Open
Buffalo Lake, Wright County
Saturday May 21, 2022
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See below for the full details |
Take our Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited questionnaire to help the board plan our events & objectives
The purpose of this questionnaire is to gain our members interests and to guide the board as it plans for the future. We would appreciate if you could complete as much as you are comfortable with. None of the information you provide will be shared outside of the club. Those who submit their answers will be entered into a drawing to win a $25 Gift card from Scheels!
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Joel Nelson Joins TCWU
as our Guest Speaker on Thursday May 5th
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TCWU is extremely excited to host Joel Nelson at our May 5th Club Meeting. Joel is an amazing angler, educator and speaker who will be tuning up our early season walleye skills by taking us through his Jig fishing master class.
Joel brings a lifetime of angling experience to share with us. His passion for the outdoors began at a young age playing in the creeks, catching chubs, suckers, crayfish and that occasional run in with a snapping turtle. These early experiences and memories were the fuel that began a continuing 22-year career as a professional angler and fishing educator. Joel also earned degrees in natural sciences and fisheries that led to geographic management position at the University of Minnesota.
Sharing his knowledge to help us all improve our angling skills is what gives Joel a strong sense of purpose. His passion is to give back what he has learned, innovated and been handed down from a lifetime of experiences to our current and future anglers.
We encourage you all to get fired up for the fishing opener by meeting Joel up close and personal.
Check out and follow Joel's social media to for continued education, how to videos, the latest outdoor news on equipment, lures, and fishing tips.
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TCWU Guest Speaker line up for 2021/2022 |
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Sponsor Spotlight
Glenn Lake Animal Hospital
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The weather is finally turning, and it a goodtime to get your pets tuned up for all the little things warm weather brings. Getting a full check up for your pet will help make sure the warm weather season is enjoyable for all. A few things to update are pet vaccines, parasite control, allergies, dental check-up and getting them slowly back into shape to avoid injuries. |
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Glen Lake Animal Hospital is a full service veterinary hospital offering Wellness Exams, Vaccines and Preventative Medicine as well as services in the areas of Surgery, Internal Medicine, Dentistry, Radiology, and Online Pharmacy, and an In-house Laboratory.
The Glen Lake Animal Hospital doctors and staff are committed to providing quality health care to our patients.
It is a pleasure to serve our clients and patients and we enjoy our role in fostering and strengthening the human-animal bond.
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When you arrive you will be greeted warmly as we check you in.
The doctors and staff at Glen Lake Animal Hospital understand the special role that your pet plays in your family and we feel privileged to partner in your pet’s healthcare. It is our commitment to provide quality healthcare throughout the life of your pet.
We all know that going to the doctor is stressful and it is no different for our animal friends. We pride ourselves on compassionate care, and our staff has extensive training and experience in the animal care field. We see patients at scheduled appointed times, this way we can spend the visit in a quiet examination room, allowing ample time with the veterinarian and certified veterinary technician.
Please let us know if your pet has any special needs that we can accommodate to make your visit to our hospital the best experience for you. Our staff are pet owners too, and your pet will be treated like one of our own.
Welcome to Glen Lake Animal Hospital!
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Below you will find contact information for our Veterinary Hospital in Minnetonka. Please contact us to make an appointment!
Contact Us:
Address:
Glenn Lake Animal Hospital
14805 Excelsior Blvd.
Minnetonka, Minnesota 55345
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Fishing Buddy's Needed - FRASER
Volunteer Event - Saturday June 4th
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It’s unique that some of the happiest and most memorable moments in our lives have something to do with fishing and the outdoors. Taking our FRASER friends out fishing, so they can relive those memories and have something fun to look forward to every year is rewarding an important. The excitement they bring is energizing! From the moment they arrive, we all realize the true impact that we are making in their lives and the importance of inclusion. We hope you have time to join us on Saturday June 4th to give back by being a fishing buddy, and connecting with the community to create a FUN day for all!
See below for the complete event details
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Its been a long two years since we've gone fishing with our friends at FRASER and we are glad that we can get back together.
We are looking for volunteers to help be fishing Buddy's and assist with a few other tasks
TCWU will be supplying all the equipment for the event; Rods, Bait and Tackle along with all the food and fixings for lunch. We just need your help to make the event a Great Success!
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Event Details:
9:00 am - Volunteer Coffee and Doughnut Breakfast.
9:15 am - Prep fishing rods.
10:00 am - Fraser residents arrive for check in and escort to fishing piers.
12:00 pm - Lunch!!!
Location:
Moore Lake Park Shelter #2
5898 Central Ave NE, Fridley
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Special Thanks to our Sponsors |
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Club Outing - 2022 TCWU Open
Buffalo Lake, Wright County MN
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Attention all Twin City Walleye Unlimited Members!
The 2022 TCWU Open fishing outing is scheduled at Buffalo Lake
- Date - Saturday, May 21st.
- Location - Meet at the North public water access
- Time - 7:00 am.
- Lunch – Provided by the club at 12:00
- Back on the water until 3:00 pm or stay and fish through prime time
Club Contact - Dan Camp call with any questions (320) 420-6961
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What should you bring?
- Bring your own bait to use for chasing those walleyes!!!
- Favorite snacks or comfort food
- Beverages
- Chair for lunch break
Direction to the Buffalo Lake North Public Water Access- Highway 55W to Buffalo MN, left onto 2nd St S, Turn Left to Stay on 2nd St S, Turn Right onto Lake Blvd S, Left on to Lake Blvd NW (County Rd 35W) - Buffalo Lake North Public Water Access approximately 1.1 miles on left
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Buffalo Lake Fun facts… Size and Depth
Area: 1551.9 acres
Shore Length: 6.25 miles
Mean Depth: 14.7 feet
Maximum Depth: 33 feet
Buffalo Lake is located in Wright County, within the city limits of Buffalo. It has a surface area of 1,552 acres and a maximum depth of 33 feet. The watershed is large and dominated by agriculture and development. The lake is a popular destination for angling and other recreation. Mill Creek runs through Buffalo Lake and connects to the North Fork Crow River. There are three public accesses: in the northwest corner, Sturgis Park in the northeast, and in the southeast near the Mink Lake inlet. Invasive plants include curly leaf pondweed (typically a nuisance in the spring and early summer) and widespread Eurasian watermilfoil. Water quality is poor, few plant species were found and plant growth is limited to shallow water. The previous lake survey was in 2003.
The Walleye gillnet catch in 2013 was within the expected range of values for lakes similar to Buffalo, but down from the previous two surveys. Walleye were relatively large, ranging in length from 15.1 to 27.1 inches with an average length and weight of 20.3 inches and 3.0 lbs. Forty three percent of Walleye were longer than 21 inches. Growth was fast; Walleye average over 20 inches at age five. Natural reproduction is limited and Walleye fry are stocked every other year.
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One-fish walleye limit set on Mille Lacs Lake for spring, fall fishing
Mille Lacs Lake walleye anglers will have two potential opportunities for harvest during the 2022 open water season. A one-fish limit will allow Mille Lacs anglers to harvest one walleye 21-23 inches or one longer than 28 inches from Saturday, May 14 through Tuesday, May 31. After a summer of catch-and-release fishing with an early July closure to reduce hooking mortality, the one-fish limit is expected to return on Thursday, Sept. 1.
Anglers fishing during the 2022 open-water season that starts May 14 on Upper Red Lake in northern Minnesota will have a four-walleye possession limit, with only one walleye longer than 20 inches allowed, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Try Lake Pepin, Mississippi River for unique fishing destination
Simply casting a worm on a hook into the Mississippi River in the scenic Lake Pepin area gives anglers a great chance of catching a wide variety of fish, all while experiencing the fun and intrigue of river fishing. “Lots of variety — that’s the name of the game for Lake Pepin. There are dozens of species to catch
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Sneak Peek at our TCWU
Guest Speakers 2022-2023
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TCWU Pro-tip of the Month
Featuring Matt Klug
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April guest speaker Matt Klug shares this “Pro Tip of the Month“
with Club President Dale Meinders. Thanks for the great meeting Matt!
Click on the photo below to hear what Matt shared!
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Guest Speaker Re-cap
Featuring Matt Klug
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TCWU hosted Matt Klug of MK-Guide service at our April Club Meeting, which featured the theme of locating schools of fish in spring and targeting from longer distances to prevent spooking them in the shallows. Matt provided a very informative presentation to the club, which featured some new baits that we don't often talk about and how to fish them effectively.
Using imaging to find large schools of fish and make long casts with reactionary baits are the key to catching fish in the spring shallows. You need to prevent spooking the fish and Matt has found that by keeping the boat at least 50 feet away from the school really helps put more fish on your line. Matt rarely fishes over the top of them with success. Drifting over the schools of fish is how we typically fished for our entire fishing life, so this long range casting technique may take a little practice.
For those who missed the meeting you will find a recap of Matt's favorite fishing techniques, baits, equipment and tips, that are sure to broaden your fishing skills, enjoy!
Favorite baits
Berkeley Twitch and power Minnow or fork tails are his go to plastic.
- Match the jig to the plastic, long plastic baits need longer shanks.
- Use a heavier jig when casting to make longer casts.
- Fall rate is important, you want that jig crashing off the bottom 3/8 – 1/2 may seem heavy, but it works. This is a reactionary technique, so you want to make a full rip of up to 4 to 6 feet. VMC sleek jigs are longer shanked and Mooneye shorter.
Glide baits - (Jigging Raps, Shiver Minnow, etc)
- Retrieve depends on the day and conditions.
- Jig and reel a couple cranks to take up some slack, and watch the line!
- Slow your lift in the fall months, slower presentation
- You want the glide bait to fall on slack line
Blade baits - Metal baits that are painted and have a couple treble hooks.
- When tuned perfectly they flutter easily when you lift your rod tip
- If you have to rip them to get them to vibrate, throw them out and tie on a new one.
- Tip, try them out before you hit the water to find the ones that are tuned. Acme V-rods and Molix are his two favorites.
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Check the hooks they may be too flimsy or sometimes they don’t have treble hooks. Change them out for your liking. Matt uses trebles unless fishing snaggy structures in the rivers. These baits don't snag as much wood as you would think.
A great lake to try them out is on Lake Mille Lacs in the spring. Matt will fish as shallow as 2 to 15 feet. Cast out and slowly retrieve just barely picking it up off the bottom.
The farther back you tie the line will change the wobble. The rear slot gives you the most wobble. Matt usually hooks them in the middle. If you want to fish them fast hook then move to the front, Matt has more success fishing with less wobble and just reminder that faster retrieves will increase the wobble.
A few other Blade Bait Tips
- Have to let the blade fall a little for a natural look
- If you can feel the bait vibrate you are picking it up too fast
- Try picking it up 3 inches and set it back down
- 9 times out of 10 they will pick your bait up off the bottom
Equipment
- Use medium extra fast action rods for better hook sets. You want a rod to load fast. Tune down your drag as the fish come to the boat. That’s where you can lose a fish on a medium rod.
- Match your rod to the lure or fishing conditions. If you don't like the feel think about what would improve it. Use a heavier rod for heavier jigs and plastics or try different jig weights to see if one is working better than the other.
Line - Matt uses 10lb Suffix 832 with 6 foot mono or fluorocarbon leaders in the spring. Extends out to 20 feet in the summer and in clear water. Be careful not to fish too aggressive without the mono leader due to lack of stretch. Mono gives you a different action due to the stretch. Use the FG Knot to tie your lines together – search you tube Jeff Gustafson he has the best instructional video.
Electronics - Side Imaging
Learn how to use your side imaging and get help from someone experienced if you need it. A few tips include:
- Transducer must set correctly and check your sonar settings
- Fish show up well on a hard bottom, a good place to learn is at Lake Mille Lacs on the sand in the spring. Everything you see there will be fish.
- Run your chart speed at the same speed as your boat. Typically finds that 3 – 5 MPH brings the best visibility to side imaging.
- Lower hertz 455 give longer range and is perfect for shallow water. Image won’t be as crisp but when in sand the fish will stand out.
You are looking for schools of fish and be ready to cast. Matt cruises at 3 -5 MPH until he finds a school and then hits the brakes and casts immediately.
Note if the fish are all facing one direction they are roaming shallow flats looking for food and you will have to move with them to keep catching. If they are facing all directions, they are likely holding in that location.
Fishing Rivers in Spring
- Match your weight of the jig to the current is the most important. Being able to make contact with the bottom without dragging the bottom is the key.
- If you use too heavy jig you’ll get snagged, too light no bottom contact. Heavy jigs help you fish slower.
Its hard to feel the bottom so watch your line. When it goes limp you are on bottom. You may have to change your rod angle depending on the cast to get to bottom. Don’t always make the same cast, change up the length of your cast and you will have more success.
Fishing Tips
- Don’t wait for a strong bite. Set the hook if you feel anything.
- When fishing glide baits, rippin raps or plastics make as long casts to cover more water. Fish the Rippin Raps slower than the others.
- Don’t fish memories fish for fish. Previous waypoints, fishing holes, etc may have been great, but things change.
- Match the jig to the rod, it’s better to a heavier rod than lose a fish, on a poor hook set
- Uses #7 and #9 Glide Baits but will move down to a #5 in the fall, Spring fish slow, Summer faster, Fall slow down again.
- Fish the weeds! Matt primarily uses jig and plastic in the weeds. Use a heavier jig and rip it through the weeds. A single hook jig will go through almost all weeds without getting hooked an generally speaking you will get a strike coming off the weed. Reel down when hooked up on a weed and then rip it to get out. Stocked fish don’t know anything but weeds, fish them!
- During the full moon, prime time periods (early morning or late evening) have the hottest action. Unfortunately there is less of a fishing window. You’ll catch less during the day. Fish typically bite for longer time periods during non-full moon periods.
- Use jigs with a good bait keeper on the hook when using plastics. Matt will super glue plastics to the hook to keep it in place.
- Anytime you are casting reel in 5 turns to get the slack out of your line.
All of at TWCU want to thank you for the great meeting Matt. You provided some reel good information and quite a few new techniques to try.
For more information about Matt, and to continue learning from his experiences check out and follow his social medial pages.
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TC Walleyes Unlimited, Inc. |
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