Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited - Monthly Newsletter |
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Bob Weeks and Toby Kvalevog
Headline as guest speakers
Thursday April 4th, @ 7:00 pm
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TCWU is thrilled to welcome long time fishing friends/guides Toby Kvalevog and club sponsor Bob Weeks to speak at our April 4th club meeting.
Toby Kvalevog is multi species Minnesota fishing guide who has been chasing Walleye, Northern Pike and Musky for over 35 years. Toby started his guiding in the Bemidji area through the Take a Kid Fishing event held annually on Lake Bemidji where he grew up. From there he mastered his skills tournament fishing across the state of Minnesota winning FLW Walleye events on Cass Lake, Leech Lake, and winning Angler of the year in 2005.
Bob is a long time club sponsor and owner of Agency Bay Lodge on Leech Lake in Walker. He doubles as a multi-species guide who is tuned into all the musky, walleye and smallmouth bass fishing knowledge on Leech. Many of our club members have stayed at and highly endorse Agency Bay Lodge as a great place to stay. The resort location is ideally situated to reach the top fishing spots on Leech and you get the bonus of having an expert guide/owner who will help you achieve angling success.
We hope you can join us at our April, 7th club meeting to meet with Bob and Toby in person. They have achieved a wealth of fishing knowledge throughout their fishing journey to share, which will help us all learn more about fishing the amazing Leech Lake area.
To learn more about Bob and Toby check them out on their social media pages.
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TCWU Guest Speaker line up 2024-25 |
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TCWU - Sonar Workshop
Saturday April 6, 2024
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Featuring Industry Experts
From Lowrance, Garmin and Humminbird
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Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited are excited to host our Fishing Electronics Workshop at Scheels Eden Prairie, Saturday April 6 |
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Nathan Whiting - Industry Expert Lowrance
Time: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: Scheels Eden Prairie Training Center - 2nd Floor
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Danny Thompson - Industry Expert Garmin
Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: Scheels Eden Prairie Training Center - 2nd Floor
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Scotty Peterson - Industry Expert Humminbird
Time: 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Location: Scheels Eden Prairie Training Center - 2nd Floor
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This is a free workshop, there are no fees to attend! |
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There are three 2 hour courses that you are welcome to attend for free, featuring; Nathan Whiting from Lowrance, Danny Thompson from Garmin and Scotty Peterson with Humminbird.
This is a great opportunity to receive expert training and ask questions to industry leaders.
Check out the event details below to learn more about each session.
- Please do not bring your personal electronics
- Please do not contact Scheels for Workshop information
- Contact Kail Lavigne for information, registration and questions
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EDEN PRAIRIE SCHEELS
2nd Floor Training Room
Address:
Hours:
Mon-Fri: 9:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Saturdays: 9:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Sunday: 10:30 AM - 6:00 PM
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Sponsor Spotlight Agency Bay Lodge |
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Welcome to one of our fine club sponsors Agency Bay Lodge! They are a family-owned resort located on beautiful Leach Lake in Walker Minnesota. The lodge is nestled in, on weather protected Agency Bay, which features wicked awesome fishing structure, a short cut to the main lake and a quick two mile run to Stoney Point. The city of Walker is a short boat ride from the lodge, which adds a fun boating and day trip experience!
Amenities at Agency Bay Lodge:
- Bait and Gift Shop
- Boat docks with Electric Boat Lifts
- Cabins and lake homes on the water and 1200 feet of lakeshore.
- Additional 800 feet of private lakeshore and sandy beach (only accessible by boat)
- Air Conditioning in Cabins, fire pits on the Lakeshore, Kayaks, Canoes, and Pedal Boats
- Night life fun close by at Northern Lights Casino
We highly recommend you check out our club friends and sponsors Bob and Jen Weeks at Agency Bay Lodge. They know fishing, run a fantastic resort and are amazing hosts. You'll find their contact information below highlighted in summer sky blue. Click on that image and you will link to their webpage.
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Follow us on Facebook to keep up on Leech Lake Fishing, click the link below to learn more:
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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.
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Contact Us:
Address:
Glenn Lake Animal Hospital
14805 Excelsior Blvd.
Minnetonka, Minnesota 55345
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Check out their spring sale and receive 20% off on all inventory |
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Runs True Fishing LLC is a family owned business who strives to create quality handcrafted tackle. We believe in creating high quality gear to improve your fishing success. We feature Bottom Bouncers, Spinners, Blade Baits, Dodgers, Double Rigs and Blade Baits
Check out their innovative products at:
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Special Thanks to all our Sponsors |
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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.
Fishing licenses - Learn about the different options and where the funds are allocated
Fishing licenses are effective from March 1 to the last day of February of the following year. A fishing license for the current 2024-25 license year is effective until Feb. 28, 2025.
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.
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Minnesota Angler Meet-Up
May 16th - 19th, 2024
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Join the Minnesota Angler "Meet-Up" for an exciting fishing tournament and a chance to connect with fellow anglers from Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited, Minnesota Valley In-Fishermen, Women Anglers of MN. |
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Join the Minnesota Angler "Meet-Up" for an exciting fishing tournament and a chance to connect with fellow anglers! This event aims to create a friendly and welcoming atmosphere where passionate anglers can come together, build camaraderie, and learn from each other.
Modeled after the annual Minnesota Valley In-Fisherman tournament on Lake Vermilion every September, this meet-up offers a unique opportunity to gain valuable skills and learn techniques for catching walleye while in their Spring pattern. Anglers from around the state and of all skill levels are invited to participate in this multi-species catch-and release tournament, hosted by Minnesota Valley In-Fishermen and Twin Cities Walleye Unlimited.
The weekend spans four days, starting with pre-fishing on Thursday afternoon, May 16th, followed by the tournament on Friday and Saturday. Fun fishing on Sunday morning is an option. In the evenings, participants gather in the Event Center for informative meetings. Guest speakers and teams will use a laser pointer to share their fishing spots and techniques on a projected map of Lake Vermilion.
The open sharing and detailed discussions about successful fishing strategies make this event truly special. Sign-up with a family member or friend. If you are coming on your own with a boat we may be able to help you find a partner. There are also boats available to rent at Vermilion Dam Lodge.
Event Details and Registration
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Cost - $550 per person plus tax includes: 3-nights lodging, breakfast, lunch & dinner, launching, boat slip, bait, ice, and evening networking.
Lodging for those wanting to come early and pre-fish is $75 plus tax per night (meals are not included for those who come early to pre-fish i.e. M, T, W).
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TCWU Pro-tip of the Month |
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TCWU March guest speakers Drake Herd and Robert Cardenas of FIN GEAR share this “Pro Tip of the Month“ with Club Vice President Kail Lavigne on using performance trolling gear to improve fishing effectiveness.
Thanks for the great meeting Robert and Drake!
Click on the photo below to hear what was shared!
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Guest Speaker Re-cap
Featuring Drake Herd and Robert Cardenas
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TCWU welcomed two of our club angling friends Robert Cardenas and Drake Herd to speak at our March Club meeting. They have known each other for many years and have teamed up on everything walleye. Their fishing journey started out with fishing local tournaments, moved into co-angling, then to the AIM Circuit and then reached the NWT. Drake achieved the NWT 2021 Angler of the year award and Robert has become the featured Media producer for the NWT, and the popular Next Bite TV show.
They started a company together called FIN Gear, which features innovative products that will help you effectively organize your equipment. Boat Accessories, Rod Holders, Live scan poles, Trees, Tracks and anything you need in your boat to hold your electronics, and rods in place.
Their presentation focused on the art of trolling, featuring the great lakes, inland lakes and rivers. Trolling sometimes gets lost or forgotten in today’s world of walleye fishing and for those of you who couldn’t attend enjoy the meeting re-cap to learn the latest in trolling for walleye
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Trolling on the Great Lakes or Lake of the Woods – Basins, Weeds, Rocks and Sand
Basin's
- Typically troll big baits such as Reef Runners, which matches the forage. They use baits as large as size 9 Reef Runners
- Big Plastics – They use 5 inch white on a 1 oz jig head, with an 8 oz cannonball snap weight right below the boat. Running speeds at 2 miles per hour or more
- 25 feet of line, snap on an 8oz weight drop it down to the bottom of the lake and reel it up off the bottom
- You fish right below the boat and actually watch them on video
- Line - Use Mono, you need some stretch when fishing this technique
Drake and Robert produced an awesome YouTube Video that shows this presentation in action. Click on the link or picture below to view:
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Weeds
- On the Great Lakes, walleye are often times are holding in 25 – 30 feet of water in deep weed patches. You can’t fish them that deep because the cabbage patches are thick and you can’t pull through them, which requires you to troll above the weeds on the Great lakes
- Its fairly easy to workaround, all you need to do is drop your baits down to the weed tops 5 to 7 feet below the surface and troll over the top of them. It may seem crazy but the Walleye will come up from the bottom and engage your baits
- Drake and Robert suggest three baits that work well. Crank baits, spoons - Michigan Stingers & Moonshine Spoons and spinners with a 1/8 ox to 1/4 oz split shot (just enough weight to get your bait down to the weed tops)
Rocks
- The glancing action of banging crank baits off the rocks triggers walleye to strike. Sadly you will lose a few baits but bouncing off the rocks is the key to triggering the fish to strike
- Use braid with a fluorocarbon when trolling cranks
Sand
- Common sense dictates that fishing pure sand is pointless, there is no structure, no place to hide and no place for walleye to ambush bait
- The trend is that the walleye will move into shallow sand when the lakes warm in mid-summer. Try trolling Salmo Hornets 10 feet behind your planner board in shallow water. Walleye will hit these baits right on the side of your boat and they don’t appear to spook, they just spin around you and sit back down if they don't bite
- Trolling in 3-5 feet of water at 2 mph even makes less sense but Minnesota stocked fish are groomed to like shallow water and will hold in shallow sand troughs. It’s amazing to rip over shallow sand flats and catch walleye
- Fishing Tip for shallow water - Try using small boards, the walleye spook less and these boards perform just as well as the big boards do
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Current
- Current is a major factor and current speeds will change throughout the day. Check your bait action when you reach your fishing location and make sure you dial in your bait action
- You should troll slower against the current and speed up with the current. Change your speeds, you’ll be amazed to learn walleye will chase down your baits at 5 mph.
Open Water Trolling
Schools of open water walleye on the Great lakes can be 1/2 mile wide and 4 miles long.
On a glass calm day, walleye will raise to the top of the water column, which Drake and Robert have experienced and attributed to a change in the thermocline. It’s an unique and strange phenomenon, that they learned by following a school of walleye that were down deep in 35 feet of water. They both were amazed to see the school suddenly disappear off their sonar and to their amazement, had risen up to a foot or two below the surface. They learned to always run a shallow line when trolling and how to spot these fish on sonar, which is a good fishing tip to know
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Small inland lakes
- Short trolling is very effective in Minnesota and is most effective when using crankbaits and spinners
- Bottom bouncers help deflect weeds when fishing spinners and you don’t have to drop them all the way to the bottom. They typically use 1 oz to 1 1/2 oz. but sometimes Drake will use a 4 oz bouncer right behind the boat, which is very effective at catching fish in the rocks
- Big walleyes like big plastic baits on the Great lakes but Drake hasn’t perfected this technique on inland lakes. He suggests trying soft plastics on a 3/4 oz jig head, with 30 – 50 feet of line.
- Minnesota walleye don’t suspend as much as the great lakes fish. They are usually in the bottom 8 feet of the water column
- Majority of inland fish are caught on break line
- Lead core and snap weights will help control your baits and will keep them tighter to the weed lines where the fish are at
- Early season fish are holding on gradual breaks, and the move to steeper breaks in summer and then the steepest breaks in fall
- Use braid in smaller lakes, due to short trolling runs. It helps gets the line deeper in a shorter amount of time. Use a 10-foot fluorocarbon leader
- Use rods as short as 7’6 on inland lakes and commonly use 8’6
- Have caught fish trolling at 4 -5 mph as long as they can the lure runs true
Minnesota Rivers
- Fish relate to current
- Crank baits with rattles work well in rivers and when you reach larger waters such as Lake Pepin you can work in spinners on points
- They haven’t found the right situation to catch walleye trolling with plastics
- Walleye like to hide or get out of the current by utilizing structure, sand dunes and rocks. Trolling with the current at 5 mph works. It seems fast but the walleye don’t have time to think about it and a reaction bite occurs.
- Current transitions from 2 to 1 mph create seams that hold fish
- They usually run more flat lines or lead core than boards
- Speed varies so much in the river. Find the happy medium. Try trolling as fast as you can before your baits blow out
Fun Facts and fishing tips
- How close behind the boat can you flat line 15 – 20 feet behind the boat
- Varying speed is key to catching fish while trolling
- Schools of walleye on the great lakes can be 1/2 wide and 4 miles long
- When the water warms up, start using loud rattle baits
- Stick with non-rattle baits in cold water
- Line – They use mono because of the stretch factor and the lack of give that braid has. Sunline 17 lb fluorocarbon with 10 lb diameter is a great line that provides stretch and helps get your baits deeper more quickly
- Use your live imaging while trolling to learn if the fish are flaring from your rig and adjust your presentation. Let out more line or less behind your snap weights and downrigger ball
- Check out the NPAA, and become a member, they offer:
- $100 membership
- Annual conference featuring top anglers
- Tackle, equipment insurance discounts up to 50% off, which pays for your membership in one order
- When you sign up you will get a code for discounts from each company
- Several of our club members are also members of the NPAA, including board members Kail Lavine and Dan Camp. They love what the NPAA offers and are glad to share their experience.
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Special thanks to Drake and Robert 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 shared.
Drake and Robert are amazing educators and are active on social media, which provides a great source of information, on the latest techniques and fishing tips.
To learn more check out their Social Media Pages
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TC Walleyes Unlimited, Inc. |
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