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Today's Top 5
Don’t forget to get a little “snappy” on ‘em....
Summertime walleyes can seem fussy 🤷‍♂️ but sometimes it’s actually our fault for not giving ‘em what they want..or more so how they want it. Quick story time:

I was out on a local Brainerd, MN area lake the other day. Only had a couple hours to fish (and wasn’t seeing much of anything out deep) so I started snap jigging a plastic along a shallow weed flat that was adjacent to deep water – looked something like this:
Instantly caught a little 11-12” or so walleye. Figuring there must be others around, we started picking apart the area with all sorts of live-bait offerings: Dropshot w/ a nightcrawler, slip-bobber with a leech, light 1/8-oz jig and crawler, etc. Didn’t get another bite, so kept on working down the weedline with the live stuff...but never caught another.

If they won’t eat a ‘crawler or leech, then they’re not going to eat anything, right?

Wrong.

I finally pulled the plastic back out (not sure why I put it down instantly after catching a fish) and ended up getting whacked again, but this time it was a solid 18-19” walleye.

Felt like a bozo knowing we just wasted half of our fishing time working sloooow with live bait, when in reality the fish wanted something moving fast!

For me that something was a 1/4-oz VMC Neon Moon Eye Jig paired with a 3.4” Berkley PowerBait The Champ Minnow (HD purple smelt):
It’s not as big, heavy, or snappy as what you see lots of folks throwing for Great Lakes caliber fish...but this is an average lake, with average fish, where a lot of time bringing in just a few “eater” size walleyes can land you a check in our local walleye league.

So for all of the “average” that we had going on, I would consider this a pretty fast + snappy bait for the situation. Especially in just 6-9' or so.

We ended up catching 16 or so fish in less than 1 hour of snap jigging, which is pretty dang WILD for around here!
So long story short: There are some days/times when walleyes want to eat something that’s moving faster – especially this time of year. Crazy enough, if you make them chase and work for it, you might just get more bites than dangling live bait in front of their nose.

Speaking of snapping plastics....
What’s in John Hoyer’s lunchbox right now?
His favorite way to catch a walleye = snapping a Berkley PowerBait The Champ Swimmer on a heavy jighead, of course:
I came across that OCD-approved picture from this post on John Hoyer’s FB page where he was doing a little recap of the Sault St. Marie NWT stop. He had some interesting insight on the importance of playing with your snap-jigging cadence, so I’m gonna drop that below:

> John Hoyer: “Practice started off with water temps in the upper-60s. I quickly realized that the fish weren't super likely to bite a 3/4-oz Champ Swimmer pairing worked aggressively. The first change I made was to go down to the 1/2-oz Berkley Swimbait Jighead. This allowed the bait to fall a little slower, and you could instantly see the fish become more interested and follow the bait versus turning and swimming the other direction.

> “The next change I made was how I was working the bait. The fish were actually swimming around adjacent to the cabbage beds, so I didn't have to snap the bait super hard to clear the weeds. Instead, I would get the bait around the fish and go into a slow lift and fall technique with long pauses on the bottom. This is when the HD printed design on these paddletails really becomes important. It is a wonderful thing when you can work a bait so slowly, and know it's only a matter of time until that fish is sold on it.

> “Overall, the bite was never really easy, but that's just the way I like it. Come tourney time, the water had warmed up. I hadn't been to my primary area for 6 days or so, and I knew I needed to figure out what kind of mood they were in as quickly as possible. I started with the subtle moves and got denied probably 10 times. I made a decision to pretend I couldn't see the fish's every move on Lowrance ActiveTarget. Instead, I just went back to the bread and butter super hard snap and let free fall. Within a couple of casts, we were in business. Fully choked Champ Swimmers the rest of the shortened day!!”

So even having the right bait and technique...in the right spot...at the right time...wasn’t enough. Adjusting his jigging cadence (aka speed he was ripping the baits) made all the difference in getting those fish to bite.

Always gotta be playing around and trying different things to figure out what will make those stubborn critters commit.

👊 Thx for the insight, John!
Trolling speed myth debunked. 🕵️‍♂️
The crew at Precision Trolling Data out there playing MythBusters!

> “It’s a common belief that trolling speed influences the diving depth of popular crankbaits. Actually floating/diving style crankbaits are not influenced in regards to diving depth by trolling speed. In other words, a lure trolled at 1.5 MPH is going to achieve the same depth as a lure trolled on the same lead length but at 2.5 MPH.

> “The reason for this is simple. When speed is increased, the amount of pressure pushing against the diving lip of the crankbait is increased and the lure works harder. However, at the same time increasing speed increases friction applied to the fishing line. One of these forces is working to push the lure deeper and the other is working to push the lure back towards the surface. The net result is a wash.

> “This concept only applies to floating/diving lures and trolling hardware like Jet Divers. Anything that sinks is negatively buoyant and trolling speed does play a role in diving depth. That’s why you will see speeds listed on items that sink such as Snap Weights, Tadpole Divers, most diving planers, lead core line, the 50+2 data, etc.”
How to prep and clean walleye like a guide.
There’s a ton of useful nuggets in this 12:29 video from legendary Lake Erie captain Paul Powis. Electric vs traditional knives, bleeding walleye, zippering fillets, knife sharpening, pre-meal prep, etc.
I suddenly have the strong urge to kill a walleye. 😅
New “Top 5” vid coming in hot! 🍿
I just posted episode 54 on our YouTube channel. Hope you dig it 👊 and thanks SO much for taking the time to watch and comment!
Big thx to our friends at Sea Foam for keeping us running smooth 😎 and making this fun video series possible!
News

Sam’s painting will be featured on next year’s walleye stamp – 🙌 congrats bud!
He will also be selling 200 limited-edition prints of his painting which you can check out right here.

In case you didn’t know: Buying a $5 optional walleye stamp helps raise money to supplement the state’s walleye stocking efforts – those dollars flow into a dedicated account for walleye stocking.

> The MN DNR stocks walleye in about 1,000 lakes that cover roughly 1 mil acres. This effort costs more than $3 mil per year. Your purchase of a walleye stamp supports the purchase of fish from certified private providers.

> MN is blessed with about 2 mil acres of walleye water, of which about 1/2 have strong self-sustaining walleye populations. Stocking improves fishing in walleye waters where natural reproduction occurs at only low or moderate levels.

Can still pick one up, even if you’ve already bought a fishing license. 👊 I get one every year. Btw for $0.75 more, the DNR will mail you the actual physical walleye stamp as a collector’s item.


I got to chat with GP for a bit while down at ICAST, and man it's always a pleasure!


Spencer organized a youth/family fishing clinic at the Fargo Scheels location:

> “...the event inspires and educates young anglers about fishing as a sport and the importance of preserving our waterways. Youngsters learned fish identification, on-the-water safety, the best locations to fish during the different seasons, selective harvest, and how to stop the spread of aquatic nuisance species.”
Couple other reeeeally cool things they had going:

> “Kids also took part in Project Tikka Mino, a project where kids design their own Tikka Mino on a blank coloring page. At the end of the year, Deutz will choose 10 winners and the project sponsor, Clam Outdoors will manufacture an exact replica of the winning design.”

> “As an added incentive to attend a youth clinic at Scheels, each young angler will have an opportunity to write an essay on what they learned during the event. At the end of the season, the winner will be chosen and the selected youth will join Jason Mitchell to film an episode of Jason Mitchell Outdoors.”

> “At the end of the clinic, each youth angler walked away with a brand-new rod and reel combination, courtesy of the National Professional Anglers Association (NPAA) Future Angler Foundation (FAF). This gift ensures that the young anglers have the necessary tools to pursue their passion and continue their journey into the world of fishing.”

Love to see it! Big thanks to Spencer Deutz for organizing these events and to everyone else that helps make it happen. Believe that’s the third Yamaha Outboards Youth and Family Fishing Clinic event of the year, and there’s a couple more coming up on Aug 15 and Sep 5.


Here’s the top 41 in AOY who qualified to fish the no-entry fee championship.


Longest walleye caught between Aug 18-27 wins $7.5K + a Garmin LiveScope Plus unit.
> "At 18’ 4” in length and rated for a 115 HP engine, this multispecies boat is a nimble platform that excels on both small and large bodies of water. A wide 98” beam gives you plenty of room to stretch out and tons of storage space. Packed with fishing features like our infused fiberglass livewell, spacious rod boxes, and wide-open casting decks, serious anglers will love spending time in this rig. Or install the available ski tow pylon, and the ADX180 transforms into the perfect boat for a day of tubing with the kids."


> ...designed to deflate or "fizz" the swim bladder of fish [and] made according to specifications of the Texas Dept. of Parks and Wildlife...the fizz needles are perfectly sized at 18-gauge x 1 1/2", making them easy to use and easy on fish.
Make sure it’s legal where you’re at. And also gotta say: don’t just jump in there and start poking around without knowing what you’re doing...can do more damage than good.

Hearing that bubbling/fizzing sound isn't always a good thing:


> Every 4 or 5 years, when there are enough items that get confiscated, the Wildlife Federation then holds an auction. A complete listing of items for sale during the upcoming auction is available on the North Dakota Wildlife Federation website.
Here’s a few of the confiscated items they probably won’t be auctioning off (lol):

...to deter Asian carp. But the write-up also said:

> There are at least 18 other connections between the Mississippi River Basin and the Great Lakes for aquatic invasive species to get in....

And that $1.1 BILLION was just for 1 of those connections.... 😳


...which have created reservoirs on the Au Sable, Manistee, Muskegon, Grand and Kalamazoo rivers.


...by commercial fishing from Kentucky, Barkley, Cheatham, Old Hickory, and Pickwick reservoirs since Sept 2018. 🤯 Hard to even imagine that mountain of fish.
Few TargetWalleye.com Highlights




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Tip of the Day
Another way to connect leadcore to your leader.

A pile of different ways to do it, each has its own pros/cons. Gotta figure out which works best for you....

Know a bunch of guys/gals that’ll run a small #10 or #12 swivel to connect the leadcore to their leader. Works great most of the time, but too big of swivel can get hung up on the rod tip when fighting a HUGE fish...then you’re left with a biggun flopping off 10′ or so behind the boat. Doesn’t happen often, but nothing worse than when it does.

Brings us to what’s called the Willis Knot, aka “the leadcore knot,” where you slide the leader material inside of the Dacron sheath, then tie an overhand knot (or 2). Whole thing is super tiny and slides right through the rod’s eyelets:
Have heard of folks using a sewing needle to help fish the leader into the sheath – great idea if you’re not a surgeon with 20/20 vision! Will either run the needle through backwards or dull the end so it doesn’t poke through.
Meme of the Day
It ain’t much, but it’s honest work:
Maaaaybeeee try snap jigging? 😜
Today's 'Eye Candy
Go big or go home this weekend! Get yourself a slab of solid GOLD like this one guide Troy Peterson caught while ripping a blade bait on his 6' 8" medium 2B Ceres rod. Which btw I have a couple of them in different actions, and they are AWESOME budget-friendlier rods for $139-ish.
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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

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