Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited - Monthly Newsletter
Tom Neustrom
Featured Guest Speaker
Thursday May 2, at 7:00 pm
TCWU is thrilled to welcome Legendary Minnesota and National Freshwater Hall of Fame Angler Tom Neustrom to Guide us into the 2024 Minnesota fishing opener
 
Tom’s reputation as a legendary guide, fishing educator, journalist and MN-FISH advocate. is recognized by his angling peers and his commitment to ensure Minnesota fishing is managed with us anglers in mind. He’s been touted as a top walleye-fishing guide by In-Fisherman, North American Fishing Club, Fishing Facts Magazine, Minnesota Sportsman, and others.
 
Tom supports fisheries management and his passionate concerns for angling’s best interests. His contributions to organizations such as MN-FISH, the Minnesota DNR Fishing Roundtable, the State Walleye Advisory Committee, and the Red Lake Advisory Council are admirable in preserving and enhancing the resource and the sport, for today’s anglers and for future generations.
 
Tom Neustrom was inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Guide.in 2009 and into the Minnesota HOF in 2015
To learn more about Tom and his guide service check him on his social media page
 
TCWU Guest Speaker line up 2024-25
Sponsor Spotlight Pure Fishing
The Pure Fishing family of fishing products joined TCWU as club sponsor in 2022. They have brought valued support to the club and we are proud to feature them as sponsor and fishing partner.

Their portfolio boasts 20 of the most recognized, trusted and popular fishing brands. Their drive for quality innovation and advancements have earned them a reputation the worlds leading fishing company!

We encourage you to try their products if you haven't and check out their website for more information and the latest product updates.
Check out their website: Pure Fishing which features a complete product catalog, new products, and the Dock Talk Blog for fishing tips.
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


Minnesota DNR reminds you prioritize safety on the water

With anglers, boaters, and paddlers taking advantage of the early ice-out across much of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is reminding anyone spending time around lakes, rivers, and ponds that water temperatures remain extremely low and unexpected falls can turn tragic.

Click on the link below to learn more


Launching boats might be difficult this spring as drought conditions persist
More than 40% of Minnesota is in moderate or severe drought and Minnesota boaters could find launching watercraft difficult this spring due to low water levels on many lakes and rivers. The lack of snow this winter and persistent dry conditions have left lakes without the normal spring recharge. 

Click on the link below to learn more



The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has identified more than 40 public water access sites throughout the state for extensive upgrades.

Click on the link below to learn more


Anglers fishing on Upper Red Lake during the 2024 open-water season that starts May 11 will have a three-walleye possession limit, with only one walleye longer than 17 inches allowed. 

Click on the link below to learn more.


Mille Lacs Lake walleye fishing will be catch-and-release during the spring and early summer of 2024, with the opportunity to harvest a walleye starting on Friday, August 16.

Click on the link below to learn more
TCWU Pro-tip of the Month
TCWU April guest speaker Toby Kvalevog of Leisure Outdoor Adventures shared this “Pro Tip of the Month“ with Club President Dale Meinders on bobber for fishing clear water walleyes.

Thanks for the great meeting Toby!
Click on the photo below to hear what was shared!
Guest Speaker Re-cap
Featuring Bob Weeks and Toby Kvalevog
Our April club meeting featured valued club sponsor Bob Weeks who is the owner of Agency Bay Lodge located on the beautiful 112,000-acre Leech Lake and Toby Kvalevog of Leisure Outdoor Adventures guide service. They are both experienced anglers on lakes surrounding the Leech Lake area. Together they have develop new strategies, and fishing techniques to help you catch fish on clear water lakes. For those of you who missed the meeting, they presented on how find fish, what spots to target, and what presentations to use. Enjoy the re-cap!
Seasonal fish locations
  • Pre-Spawn – Both Males and Females are active and start making the trek to their annual spawning grounds. This time-period can be the best fishing of the year. Anglers often flock to border water rivers to experience this amazing bite
  • Post Spawn - Males are still active but females will most likely shutdown from the stress of spawning. Males will be scattered on the shallow lakeshore food shelfs adjacent to the spawning grounds. These fish may hang out for the Shiner run starts up at the same time. Target active fish, which should be staged on the top of the structure
  • Early Summer – Month of June. Walleyes migrate from shoreline breaks to sand flats, out to rocks and typically disperse amongst the entire lake to find perch in the sand grass. They will be active and staged on the deep edges of the shallow food shelfs and shallow bars in the bays adjacent to the spawning areas. They will be actively feeding and every fishing technique will catch fish. Experiment with your presentations until you figure out the best baits.
  • Summer Peak – Highest Bio Mass of food of the year is concentrate in the lake that coincides with the highest metabolism of the fish. Fishing Tip – 90% of the fish are concentrated in 10% of the water during the May fly and bug hatches. May Flies hatch in the same spot of the lake every year, learn these spots. Key on rock/sand or rock/mud transitions. Bobber with a leech in shallow water, 6 -12 feet and gold spinner and a crawler that looks like a May fly in deeper water.

River Spawn Walleye Migration
Lake Spawn Walleye Migration
Fishing Techniques
 
Jig and a shiner – Fishing Opener
  • Use a stand up jig 1/8 preferred but you may have to use 1/4 depending on the wind
  • Hook them thorough the lip and you can just let it sit on the bottom.
  • Cast past the fish so you don’t spook them.
  • Keep the boat 50 feet away from the fish.

Pitching Jigs in shallow water - two techniques
  • Off to the side of the boat with live bait
  • From the front of the boat forward facing Jigs and plastics – Use the smallest jig head you can and natural colors (shiner or perch)
Line
  • When jigging live bait use mono 6 lb test Berkeley sensation. Mono has more play than fluorocarbon
  • Use a fluorocarbon leader on braid when using plastics for better hook sets
  • Use braid in deep water with a fluorocarbon leader 10 lb test with both lines. Gives you better feel and hooksets

 Trolling
  • Trolling during the day will help you locate fish on new bodies of water. Fish movement can be significant from day to day, if you are not seeing fish keep searching
  • Focus on rock sand transitions and mark waypoints on key structures where fish are present
  • Fish the shallow flats at night, trolling with shad raps and floating Rapala’s
  • Use boards during the day; they are especially helpful on calm days. Target 30 feet from the boat
  • Long lining concept on clear water allows the fish spooked by the boat to re-establish their position before the lure passes over them. Feed out 100 plus feet of line, which is usually enough to give the these fish the time to reset and reaction strike your baits as they pass over
  • Change your speed. Bob and Toby are finding success trolling at speeds of 2 mph and higher
 
Lindy Rig
  • #2 hook for red tails
  • # 4 for a shiner
  • #6 or #8 for a leech
  • Long line rigging at 60 feet behind the boat wait 2-4 seconds before setting the hook
  • Blow up your night crawlers on spinners
  • Try rigging a red tail with a 2 to 3 ounce weight. Cast it out and let it sit with your bail open

Bobber Fishing - The hot old is new technique to re-establish
  • Use medium action rod 8’6 with over size eyelets for bobber fishing. Allows you to cast long distances and your bobber stop won’t hang up on the eyelet
  • Use a bobber with some weight to it and a brass insert
  • Burn you bobber-stop strings to seal the end, which will keep them from fraying
  • Cast your bobbers 20 – 30 feet past the spot and then reel your baits slowly into the school to avoid spooking the fish
  • When the bobber goes down don’t set the hook, just reel it in like crazy and you will lose less fish
  • Calm days use a plain hook with two split shots
  • Windy days use jigs
  • Power corking – throw your bait in the prop wash as you pass over fish on the graph. Stop your boat 40 to 50 feet away. Going 2 mph with your trolling motor down will allow you to stop lock quickly

Glide baits
  • Seven years ago Toby was casting jigging raps and it was his number one lure and presentation. Now with clear water and fish awareness walleyes are spooking. You’ll catch one and that’s it.
  • Try using jigging raps after bobber fishing and before you leave to the next spot. You will usually pick up one or two up
Fishing Tips

  • Walleyes will stage on the edge of the sand grass during the day and move up over the sand grass at night. They will be suspended and cruising for baitfish
  • Cass Lake fish grow fast and is loaded with perch. There are so many perch you can’t use live bait. Try lipless crank baits and glide baits in natural colors. Fish are often times shallow in 7 feet of water or less
  • Sonar technology is so good that if you aren’t seeing them you won’t be catching them
  • Favorite sonar is side imaging most useful tool in the boat
  • Plan your fishing around the optimum fishing periods, Major and Minor fishing times, low light levels and moon phases
  • Schools of walleye will cruise the sand flats and travel up to a quarter of a mile. They will stay in the area
  • The biggest fish in the lake are being caught in July, out in the deep-water basins. They are drawn to schools of baitfish such as cisco’s. Toby is having success on plastics in deep water in these open water basins and the key is drop the lure over their head for a reaction bite
  • Use Fishmore tackle boxes, keeps your lures nice, organized, and rust free. They are excellent protection for glide baits
Special thanks to Bob and Toby 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 shared.

Bob and Robert are tuned in to Leech Lake area fishing through Leisure Outdoors Guide Service. Bob also owns Agency Bay Lodge, which is perfectly situated on Leech Lake.

You are able to quickly access the main lake and Walker Bay from his location. The resort has received fantastic reviews from our club members, plus you have Bob as an amazing fishing resource, who can help you achieve fishing success.
 
To learn more about Bob and Toby check them out on their social media pages.
Website: Agency Bay Lodge
Phone: 218-547-1755
Leisure Outdoors Guide Service: Leisure Outdoor Adventures
TC Walleyes Unlimited, Inc.
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