Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited - Monthly Newsletter |
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Getting ready for opener
Greetings Club friends! These recent cooler temps seem to not want to let go, but hopefully we will get some warmer days ahead. And I’m sure most of you are like me getting your boats out of storage, putting some new line on your reels, buying some new tackle and getting ready for the opener on May 13th.
We had a record turnout for our April club meeting with guest speakers Sara and Tyler Trampe. Their presentation was outstanding and truly educational. The ideas and tips they shared regarding casting jigging raps, slip bobber techniques, how to use our electronics and much more was awesome. There was so much information they gave us; it’s definitely worth your time to check out the speaker notes below. I’m also excited to announce that Sara and Tyler have donated a one-week fishing trip next year at their Cliff Lake Resorts in Ontario Canada for one lucky winner. Stay tuned for more details. Thank you Sara and Tyler!!
May 4th is our last club meeting before our summer break and I’m looking forward to our guest speaker Brad Hawthorne. Brad has been guiding for over a decade and with his years of experience on Lake Mille Lacs and surrounding fisheries, he has a wealth of knowledge to share with us at our meeting.
Brad’s presentation will be a great way to get ready for our club fishing outing on Mille Lacs on Saturday, May 20th. It will be a fun and great way to CONNECT with fellow club members. Look for the sign up information below.
I look forward to seeing you all 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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Brad Hawthorne joins TCWU
Guest Speaker on Thursday May 4th
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TCWU welcomes you to talk fishing with Brad Hawthorne!
We are very excited to host Brad Hawthorne at our club meeting on Thursday May 4th. Brad is a full-time fishing guide who has made a name for himself on the waters of Mille Lacs Lake and beyond.
He has been guiding for over a decade and has established himself as one of the most respected anglers in the area. With his years of experience on Lake Mille Lacs and the surrounding waterways, he has a wealth of knowledge to share with us, which will be a perfect tune up heading into fishing opener. Brad's warm, courteous, friendly, and fun attitude make him the perfect guide for beginners and experienced anglers alike.
To learn more about Hawthorne Guide Service check out his Social Media:
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TCWU Guest Speaker line up 2023-24 |
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Club Fishing Outing - Saturday May 20, 2023 |
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Hello fellow club members, mark your calendars! The Spring Open club fishing outing will be held on Saturday May 20th on Mille Lacs Lake. We will announce the boat launch location a few days before the event, which will allow us to choose based on wind direction. We are planning to use a private boat launch, which will require a small fee to park/launch your boat.
Please let us know if you plan to attend - Questions and RSVP event coordinator Dan Camp at:
Look for complete details in next weeks newsletter and at our May Club meeting.
Date - Saturday May 20th
Time/Schedule
7:00 am – Arrive at the Landing
7:15 am – Fishing Strategy Meeting
12:00 pm – Lunch provided by the club (Hot Dogs and Chips)
1:00 pm – Back out fishing
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Special Thanks to all our Sponsors |
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Sponsor Spotlight
Special Thanks to Kay Hawley,
Brad Juaire & Vermillion Dam Lodge!
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Welcome to our new Trio of club sponsors! We would like to acknowledge your club participation, commitment and amazing donation of your Walleye Workshop on Lake Vermillion. Brad Juaire of Open Water Trolling, Kay Hawley Woman Angler and Club Member and the pristine Vermillion Dam Lodge!
Thank you for giving back!
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Walleye Workshop on Lake Vermillion |
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Check out this amazing opportunity to fish Lake Vermillion and learn from experienced anglers, who include TCWU Member Kay Hawley. Kay and Brad Juaire have a lot of experience on Vermillion and this is the perfect opportunity for those who haven't fished this exceptional fishery. Recent TCWU speaker DNR fisheries biologist Scott Mackenthun commented on the fantastic walleye numbers at Vermillion at our November club meeting, which makes this trip a Winner!
Feel free to reach out to Kay or Brad if you have questions
Kay Hawley
Email: KayHawley@mac.com
Phone:612-310-4442
Brad Juaire
Email: Brad@openwatertrolling.com
Phone: 612-850-7596
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Check out the Minnesota DNR Fishing Home Page
The Fishing Home Page on the Minnesota DNR website is loaded with all the latest updates, tools such as Lake finder, regulations, helpful tips and more all on one easy to navigate page. Take a look If you haven't had the chance to check it out. We recommend bookmarking this to your web favorites. It is a one stop shop for all MN fishing information. Click on the link below to learn more.
Upper Red Lake walleye regulations announced for open water season
Anglers fishing on Upper Red Lake in northern Minnesota during the 2023 open-water season that starts May 13 will have a five-walleye possession limit, with only one walleye longer than 17 inches allowed. Click on the link below to learn more.
Walleye fishing scheduled to be open all summer on Mille Lacs Lake
State-licensed anglers will have the opportunity to harvest a walleye 21-23 inches in length or greater than 28 inches throughout the 2023 open water season on Mille Lacs Lake. Click on the link below to learn more.
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TCWU Pro-tip of the Month |
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TCWU April guest speakers, Sara and Tyler Trampe, hosts of Sportsman's Journal TV share this “Pro Tip of the Month“ with Club President Dale Meinders. Sara and Tyler share a teamwork approach using a positive mindset to enjoy a better fishing experience, that will help you catch more fish!
Thanks for the great meeting!
Click on the photo below to hear what was shared!
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Guest Speaker re-cap
Featuring Tyler and Sara Trampe
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TCWU welcomed Sara and Tyler Trampe at our club meeting on April 6th. The couple hosts and produces the very popular television fishing series Sportsman’s Journal (SJTV), which showcases fishing tactics for a variety of species that allow anglers to catch more fish. They focus on differing locations, while considering the impact of the changing seasons and conditions that are present in the upper Midwest and Canada.
Sara’s Sportsman’s Journal journey evolved from a shared vision of creating an educational fishing show with Tyler, to becoming an actual on camera fishing educator. She literally had no intention to be on camera, and when the opportunity presented, she accepted and achieved the challenge.
Sara had to learn how to fish, talk, and verbalize the techniques they are presenting on camera, since she had just began fishing as an adult with Tyler. She quickly developed her unique perspective on how to verbalize fishing techniques that are easy to learn and help us all catch more fish.
Tyler’s angling passion began at an early age. He grew up fishing and loved it so much that as a child he was caught eating fish food because he wanted to become a fish. His Sportsman’s Journal journey evolved to include Sara as an on camera-fishing partner, which created a really cool show with a couples concept.
Tyler’s approach to educating is instinctive and developed over years of fishing, while Sara’s approach is based on learning as an adult. Her approach to educating is very different, which makes their show unique and connects anglers of all skill levels to new educational perspectives on learning how to achieve fishing success.
For those who missed the meeting you will find a recap of their presentation that featured their two best fishing techniques on catching walleye in clear water lakes. Bobber Fishing and Rip Jigging
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Why they like clear water lakes
Clear water lakes offer several benefits for anglers. You can see structure, weed edges, bait fish, drop offs, cribs and brush piles. You can see Muskie follows and learn from fish reactions to improve your technique. Catching fish can be challenging in clear water but by practicing these tips you are sure to achieve success.
Walleye stage in cover in order to ambush prey. In clear water lakes they have to work a little harder to chase down baitfish who are staging in in deeper water away from structure due to sunlight penetration. They leave shoreline structure sooner than stained water and stage deeper in the water column on main lake structure. They are heavily sight dependent, and everything is visual. Weather impacts these lakes in two ways. Sunlight penetration will make your boat and fishing presentation more visible. On the other hand clouds, overcast skies and waves, help break up light penetration, which will help conceal your presence.
Clear lake opportunities and disadvantages
- Fish have a larger strike zone because they can see further than in stained waters
- Overcast and windy days create improved fishing opportunity
- Live Bait is very important and will be your best producer. Match the hatch!
- Walleye are going to detect inconsistencies in your presentation, pay attention and adjust your retrieve, cadence, approach, to insure baits have a natural look.
Slip Bobber fishing!
There are times when clear water lakes experience a lot of activity; boating, waterskiing, swimming to name a few. Fish become spooky and a lot of anglers don't use slip bobbers, which is a missed opportunity in clear water.
- In spring walleyes are shallow and spooky. Use bobbers to keep your distance and prevent spooking them
- Look for submerged trees, cribs, rocks etc, which may be the only cover. Slip bobbers are a perfect presentation in these structures. They require less casting, prevent spooking from continuous casting and most importantly they keep the bait suspended in their strike zone
- Use your underwater camera, to identify fish relating to structure
- Forward facing sonar is a great tool, which helps you target the fish closest to your boat. Targeting these fish first will help you pull more fish out of the school. Casting and hooking fish in the middle of the school may educate and shut the bite down
- Walleyes are suspended more than we think and slip bobbers help get you up in the water column. They help keep your bait in the strike zone longer
- Walleyes will stack up on a structure or weed bed. Consider switching to bobbers instead of repetitive drifting with lindy rigs or jigs. Again you will catch more fish and not spook the school because you are continuously fishing in the spot from a distance. Take notes on what structure they are relating to and follow the pattern.
- Tungsten Jig heads work great on a slip bobber rig. They tangle less and you can have more weight with less mass.
- Side arm cast slip bobber rigs to keep your bait from coming off your jig or hook
- If your bobber is not standing vertical, your bait is either on the bottom or you have a fish on. If you know you are not on the bottom and your bobber tilts sideways, you have a fish on, set the hook!
- Use sweeping hook sets when using small hooks or jigs. Count to 3 and make a deliberate sweeping hook set and you will be less likely to pull the bait out of the fishes mouth. 90% of the time the fish will hook it self.
- Try leaving your bobber stop taglines long! It helps you see where the stop is in relation to the bobber. Especially helpful on windy days
- Make sure you are using a longer rod, which will help you take up slack before hook sets. Sara uses a 7 foot 9" rod
- Micro guides will decrease casting effectiveness choose a rod with large guides
- Use a bobber with a brass insert and a bright color
- Match the weight of your rig to the bobber so the fish feel less resistance when taking the bait
- Use a micro barrel swivel when bobber fishing or jigging to eliminate line twist
Snap Jigging & Triggering Strikes
Snap jigging relies on aggressive jig movements to entice fish to bite. Two big advantages are, covering more water and the action entices neutral fish to strike.
- Glide baits are the hot bait, they are heavy, get to the bottom quickly and are designed to have an erratic retrieve, which triggers strikes
- Lipless crank baits such as Rippin' raps are also very popular
- Experiment with your retrieve cadence. Try single rip then double rip
- The cadence should be a constant rip all the way back to the boat and a walleye will usually hit just before a rip. You need to keep your rod at a 45 degree angle and be prepared for a fish to be on. Your next rip may actually be a hook set.
- Connect with the bottom as much as possibly unless fishing low growth weed flats such as sand grass
Choose the right rod
- Carbon Medium Extra Fast rods are stiff, ideal for heavy baits and work really well with braid lines. Tyler likes the micro guides and split grip real seats coupled with braid line, which gives him the most feel.
- Use the Double Uni Knot to tie fluorocarbon line to braid. It's strong and easy to tie. Tyler changes the length of his leader based on the water clarity.
- Clear water = longer leaders
- Set your drag a hair loose, you can always tighten it up
Location
- Look for long extended flats with slow transition areas with a slight taper. Sparse rock to mud, gravel to mud, rock to sand. You don't want thick heavy cover, boulder flats, weed beds, wood or steep break lines, they are not not ideal and are lure snagging machines.
- This technique works best on clear water, which helps the fish see your bait from a distance
- Snap jigging is an awesome technique when the fish are spread out on the flats
- Flats are large area of bottom that has very little bottom changes. Walleyes move up on flats to feed and the water warms quicker in spring.
- The best flats are adjacent to deep holes or humps
Pro tips
- Match the hatch, what are they eating? If they are not feeding on four inch minnows, switch to smaller minnows. Check fish stomachs to see what they are eating to help and switch to similar baits
- Leeches swim slowly, use a slow presentation for a natural presentation
- Do not use extra hardware on your presentation. Tie directly to the jig with fluorocarbon line or leader
- Snap Jigging presentation - Think of playing with a kitten using a ball of yarn. When you move the yarn the kitty will pounce and when you stop the kitten will as well
- Use an Aqua-Vu to view fish structure and observe fish reactions. Great tool to learn what the fish are truly interested in. You can see if artificial baits aren't working and switch to live bait. Its a great way to learn what the fish want
- Try fall fishing for big walleyes with forward facing sonar and bobbers. The big fish have developed instincts to group up in this transition period and slip bobbering works really well in this situation
- Older female walleyes also have developed spawning instincts and research shows that they move from the deep water, spawn in two hours and get the heck out of dodge
- Big female walleyes continue to spawn through their life cycle, produce more and larger eggs
- Take the time to fish with an Aqua-Vu camera. Tyler and Sara have learned more about what they are doing wrong with an Aqua-Vu, which has helped improve their fish catching success
- Learn how to use your electronics by spending time on the water. Focus on the important basics that you need and expand into more complex usage after you develop these skills
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Special thanks to Sara and Tyler for joining our club to talk fishing. We had an amazing meeting and appreciate all the walleye fishing tips along with the different techniques and presentations you can use to successfully catch walleye on clear water lakes. Below find their Social Media contact information. To learn and view more fishing tips, videos and check out the links below!
Instagram - @sportsmansjournaltv
Tik Tok - @sportsmansjournaltv
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TC Walleyes Unlimited, Inc. |
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