Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited - Monthly Newsletter
President's Letter
Annual Club Meeting

Greetings Club friends! It’s the last weekend for chasing walleye’s though the ice, I’m heading up north to try my luck and maybe even get into some BIG pike as well. It seems like every season goes by way to fast. I hope you all had a fun and safe time on the ice this year.

We had a great February club meeting with our newest club friend Lynn Niklasch. Lynn shared several ideas to help us become better anglers. Make sure to check out the speaker notes below. Thanks Lynn for a great presentation.

I’m looking forward to our March Annual Club Meeting with our guest speaker Tommy Kemos. Tommy is an accomplished pro angler and current host of The Next Bite. I can’t wait to hear what he has to share with the club.

I look forward to seeing you all at our annual meeting and don’t forget to bring a friend!

Dale Meinders
President - Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited

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Tommy Kemos joins TCWU
Guest Speaker on Thursday March 2nd
TCWU welcomes you to talk fishing with Tommy Kemos!
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We are excited to host Tommy Kemos at our March 2nd club meeting. Kemos is a veteran Walleye Pro who is known for long hours and long rides on the water. Some of Tommy’s accolades include multiple AOY awards including the 2014 NWT AOY. Kemos broke out in the sport when he was the youngest angler to win the PWT Mercury Championship in Bismarck ND.

He is currently a host of the popular fishing show The Next Bite. Many of his tournament successes have also made him no stranger to TV exposure on various outlets including the NWT coverage.

Tommy has worked with many companies over his career to help with new product R&D and promotional opportunities. Some of his recent projects included consulting with Triton on the layout of the 206 Fishunter, which he is currently running. His partnership with Garmin has also been unique, being on the leading edge of Garmin’s technology. Kemos was one of the first anglers to incorporate Panoptix through the ice.

Tommy's sponsors include:
Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Bass Pro Shops, Garmin, Berkley, X2Power, Moonshine Lures, Fenwick, Abu-Garcia, Schaeffer’s Oil, PowerPole, PowerTran, and Stabil-Mount.

To learn more about Tommy, check out his Social Media:


TCWU Guest Speaker line up 2022-23
Sponsor Spotlight
Glen Lake Animal Hospital
Welcome to Glen Lake Animal Hospital!

It looks like warmer sunny days are just around the corner and now is a goodtime to schedule your pets for their annual tune up for all the little things warm weather brings. A few things to update are pet vaccines, parasite control, allergies, dental check-up and getting them slowly back into shape to avoid injuries. A full check up for your pet will help make sure the warm weather season is enjoyable for all.
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.
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.
Below 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
Special Thanks to all our Sponsors
Minnesota DNR News
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.


New DNR tool provides health information for thousands of lakes

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has created a new online tool, called the Watershed Health Assessment Framework for Lakes (WHAF for Lakes), providing easy access to water quality and health information for thousands of Minnesota lakes....Minnesota Lake Health Tool
TCWU Pro-tip of the Month
TCWU February guest speaker, Lynn Niklasch shares this “Pro Tip of the Month“ with Club President Dale Meinders. Lynn shares his secret sauce for catching more fish and out fishing your buddies.

Thanks for the great meeting Lynn!

Click on the photo below to hear what was shared!
Guest Speaker re-cap
Featuring Lynn Niklasch
TCWU welcomed Green Bay tournament angler and guide Lynn Niklasch as our special guest speaker at our February club meeting. Lynn has been passionate about fishing since he could hold a fishing pole. He started guiding because he loved the outdoors and teach the joy of fishing. He is very passionate about fishing and like many of us he relied on older mentors to include him in fishing opportunities
He crafted his seminar around the amazing Green Bay fishery and shared valuable Pro-tips on where to fish and how to achieve success

For those who missed the meeting you will find a recap of Lynn's presentation that featured his seasonal approach to fishing Green Bay, which is sure to broaden your fishing knowledge, enjoy!

Key to success

Prepare for your outing by Gather information
  • Keep a journal log on weather, wind, sun, what you fished with, did it work
  • Be observant, watch other boats how are they fishing and what are they fishing with
  • Watch the leader board at tournaments, figure out who they are, where they were fishing and learn their techniques
  •  Social media – Lake Links for example the pictures tell a story
  • Local Bait Shops and past guides you have fished with will share information
  • Utilize a guide service to help educate you on fishing in new waters and build new fishing relationships

Green Bay Walleye Migration – There are two different groups of walleyes that spawn in different locations; The West shore river group and East shore Lake Group

West Shore Walleyes
  • Key on rivers
  • Pre-spawn - Fish Shallow flats adjacent to the rivers
  • Spawn in the rivers
  • Post spawn back to the shallow flats to feed
  • Find the warmest water, which will have the best weed growth and hold the bait fish
  • When the water warms and then they will move out deeper to the rocks and the mud basin
  • Night bite in the fall - they come back to the shallows

East Shore Walleyes
  • Key on rocky shorelines with deep drop offs
  • Pre-Spawn steep rocky shorelines
  • Spawn – on the rocks

Pre-Spawn Shallow flats
Two recommended techniques
  1. Casting – 90% of the time. Use Forward facing sonar and cast hair jigs, snap jigs and, plastics
  2. Slow trolling with Planer boards make the switch if its too windy to cast effectively on windy days or after a long day of casting. Troll a 1.3 – 1.5 mph

Look for warm water – 1/2 degree can make the difference
  • Incoming river mouths
  • Wind-blown points
  • Snap jigging is the preferred method but it is tricky on inactive fish
  • Hair jigs are better on inactive fish because you can fish it slow or fast
  • Rippin Rap falls a little more slowly than glide baits and many anglers use them
  • You don’t have to over snap these. Get a feel for the bait in the water before fishing and learn the best action. Lynn’s technique is to cast, let it find bottom lift and follow it down
  • 3/8 ounce jig head with a paddle tail – Cotton Candy or natural colors. Cast out, let it find bottom and slow drag it back
  • Lynn’s go to pre-spawn baits are Hair Jigs and Plastics

Post Spawn
  • In the river and follow the warmer water out
  • Use more aggressive baits - Rippin Raps, blade baits, glide baits
  • Aggressive fish will hit the rippin raps, blade baits and glide baits – Let your glide baits freefall and follow the other them down to the bottom with your rod tip
  • Target the steep rocks or river mouths

Early summer fishing – May June
  • The water on the Door county side of the bay stays colder longer and Spawning can be as late in May and even into June up by Washington Island
  • Best fishing technique is to rake the lake using planer boards and crank baits (#5 and #7 Flicker Shads, Shad Raps, etc.)
  • Boat speed = 1.3 - 1.5 mph
  • Once the water hits 50 degrees switch to a crawler harness behind the board
  • Pro-tip place a #5 split shot above the swivel and follow the mathematical pattern on lowering your crawler harness in the water column – Total feet of line from the planer board times .2
  • 20 foot back you’ll be down 4 feet
  • 25 foot back you’ll be down 5 feet
  • 30 foot back you’ll be down 6 feet
  • Find the weed beds and troll above them usually in 12 feet of water
  • Fish the upwind side of the weeds or structures
  • Use planer boards with paddle flags when using live bait to identify perch bites

Late Summer
  • August is the best time to catch big walleyes on the bay 30 inch plus out at Chambers Island
  • Horseshoe reef has a series of humps. Troll Husky Jerks, or cast with Shiver Minnows
  • Keep an eye on your sonar sometimes the fish are suspended up high in the water column on calm days
  • Mud fishing (no structure) looking for pods of perch and walleye arcs - Fish two ways Crank Baits or Crawlers
  • Depth from 18 to 50 with the 30 - 35 foot being the most common depth
  • Crawler harness – 6-foot leader and an inline 1-ounce weight. You can change your weight size to match the depth
  • 1 ounce Inline weight drop – from the Trolling bible app
  • 20 foot = 10 feet down
  • 30 foot = 15 feet down
  • 40 foot = 20 feet down
  
Locating warm water
  • Warmest water is in the rivers
  • Dirty water tends to be warmer, it absorbs the sun
  • Wind will push the warm water, find where it’s blowing into and you’ll find the fish
  • Consider wind direction in your preparation for fishing the next day
  • If you can see the bottom in 10 feet the water is probably not warm
  • Wind will blow warm water out into the bay as well. Follow the warm water slick out from the river mouths
  • Pro-tip mark warm water with way points to create a visual map of the warm water area
  • Warm water slicks can change daily

Equipment
  • Find a rod that is sensitive for light baits and can also handle larger baits
  • If you use braid make sure you have guides that can handle it
  • Use a fluorocarbon leader

Pro-Tips

  • Spring is the best time for big fat fish 30 inch plus
  • Use a FishHawk temp gauge to find warm water pockets in the water column. Look for up to 4 degree temp variations
  • Try trolling with the Dubuque Rig – 3-way swivel rig with two lures on it
  • Take a look at Larson’s reef for Ice Fishing
  • Use colors that match the bait fish that the walleye are feeding on
  • West shore Perch colors
  • East Shore Alewives and Smelt forage - use willow blades and white beads
  • Use enough beads on spinners rigs so that the blade can’t touch the hook
  • Use #2 Gamaktsu hooks
  • Start deeper and then work shallow unless the wind is blowing out from shore

Oconto is one of the most popular fishing spots in Green Bay. Located 10 miles south of the Peshtigo river and 8 miles North of Pensaukee. The whole inside is a big cup that holds warm water and fish. Perfect for a northwest wind
 
Special thanks to Lynn for joining our club to talk fishing. We had an amazing meeting and appreciate all the walleye fishing tips along with the seasonal approach to fishing Green Bay. Lynn is an experience guide on Green Bay along with many other lakes in the area. We highly recommend reaching out to him if you are interested in fishing big Green Bay Walleye. Lynn will share information with you, please contact him. Below find his Social Media contact information. Check out the links below to learn more.
TC Walleyes Unlimited, Inc.
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