It only took until almost-April for winter to show up in central MN! ????‍♂️ I guess it was too soon to put out the rest of the patio furniture…despite the fact that when I did so, it was 67°F and I was wearing shorts + sandals lol:

The good news is I was FINALLY able to get my daughter out for a little trail riding on the Polaris! Something I’d been promising her since Nov:

Two days of shoveling and snowblowing later ???? now I’m ready for a dang open-water walleye bite! Until then, here we go…

Weights are usually tight on the Illinois River, but this year there was actually a tie for 1st place [!] with the teams of Jason and Ethan Kline, and Ross and John Hertensteiner each bringing in a 2-day total of 22-14. Wild!

The (first) tie-breaker went to the team that weighed the most number of fish over the course of the tournament = Ross and John Hertensteiner who brought in 5 fish each day:

No specific baits, colors, depths, structure, speed, etc were named…. ????

But the MWC did say:

Ross and John stuck with the tried-and-true 3-way trolling method [with small stickbaits] for both days and edged out the win.

Their total earnings for this tournament were $12,700 cash, a $1,000 NTC prize package, $8,000 Ranger Cup bonus, and two (2) Okuma reels worth $200 for a grand total of $21,900.

Ross: “We fished primarily down river from the launch area. We tried vertical jigging a couple small areas but went back to trolling for the remainder of the time. We’ve been coming to the Illinois River for years and usually end up finishing somewhere in the middle of the field every year. It really hasn’t sunk in yet that we won. We’ve always dreamed about it but this year it finally happened. My dad, John, has been fishing tournaments for a very long time and it was special to be able to get this win with him as my partner.”

Congrats fellas!

The 2nd-place father/son duo of Jason and Ethan Kline had ‘big fish’ with a 6-12 and also brought in the largest bag of the tourney with 5 for 18-09. ???? Huge props!

Cool side note:

The IL DNR was on location to assist with fish handling and care, to examine each fish and to take all of the saugers that were weighed during the tournament. The DNR collects eggs from healthy, female saugers and raises the fry at a hatchery until the saugers are big enough to be released back into the river.

The partnership between the Masters Walleye Circuit, The Walleye Federation, and the Illinois DNR has helped bolster the fishery on this stretch of the Illinois River and other waters across the state over the years and ensures that this resource will continue to provide quality angling opportunities for many generations to come.

Came across this quality read over on Virtual Angling of how the Roachster gets his jerkbait on for spring walleyes.

Slow waaaay down

…the most important variable to experiment with when using jerkbaits or floating minnow baits in the spring is speed and length of pause. When Roach trolls suspending jerkbaits, he often trolls as slow as a 1mph. Slow speeds are often crucial and that also includes casting.

The other component that is crucial is working the rod and adding pauses. …there are times when you can let a suspending jerk bait hang for 15-20 seconds and a fish will often hit after this extended pause. Many anglers simply work these baits too fast early in the year.

Top lures for spring walleye

Roach’s favorite lures are often suspending. The classic Rapala Husky Jerk has caught more walleye for Roach than any other jerkbait but Roach also uses a lot of Shadow Raps and X-Raps. Roach is a big believer in the trigger of the pause that suspending baits have but will use floating lures like a classic #11 Original Floater where there is current.

Casting vs trolling

Roach would rather cast than troll if given the choice and Roach’s favorite patterns include casting up onto large shallow sand flats or windblown shorelines.

Think large sand flats that have weeds later in the summer. Early in the season, the weeds haven’t grown up yet or are just coming up a few feet and a shallow-running jerkbait will run over these locations without getting fouled up. You can also troll these locations, especially after dark.

Roach finds that walleye are often easier to catch on jerkbaits early in the morning, right before dark or after dark on many lakes in MN that offer clear water.

Daytime adjustments

Roach explains that many fisheries like Mille Lacs were always fairly clear but with the presence of zebra mussels, many of MN’s most renowned walleye fisheries now have extremely clear water. Wind or overcast skies can often aid in catching walleye on shallow locations but there are more adjustments to make.

…these fish are often using this shallow water even under bright skies or during the middle of the day. The key is getting away from the boat. Make long casts. Use long rods, lighten up the line and be able to get away from the boat.

When trolling, don’t be afraid to use planer boards to get away from the boat. If using braid, use a long fluorocarbon leader instead of tying direct. In this clear water, lean on dark natural color patterns and some subtle metallics.

Our friends at Virtual Angling kick out a TON of fishy gems just like this one over on their walleye page. Some of it is free content, some of it requires a membership.

There’s just something special about sleeping out on the ice! Especially when the walleyes cooperate…. Here’s the newest vid posted on Target Walleye YouTube channel ???? I hope you enjoy!

Just a couple more ice vids here shortly and then we will be onto open-water content. ???? Thanks SO much for taking the time to watch and leave a comment!

I saw Todd Pomeroy post this pic from Keyhole Reservoir on Mar 22, 2024, and his caption said:

Todd: “Coloradbro left his Polaris behind…. I hope everyone made it out safe, and I hope they get the yard ornament out of there somehow.

Guy who’s rig it was actually showed up in the comments section of the original post and said:

“Yep I lived. Supposed to come get it in the next couple weeks.”

He followed up with a little insight:

“…hit a bad spot…2 weeks after the tournament where there was 14” two weeks before. Luckily it was a nice day and only about 5’ of water, after everything settled down and I got to shore I went back out and got the winch cable and the remote and winched it out but it obviously wouldn’t start. So there she sits.”

Glad everyone was okay! ???? Best of luck on the recovery mission.

Pretty slick hack shared by Good Karma Charters LLC on Facebook.

Careful tho: Might want to give your significant other a heads-up before they go finding these sprinkled in random places….

1. OH: Lake Erie is on a historic run. ????

Walleye hatch success has been well above average for 6 consecutive yrs, including the 3 largest hatches ever surveyed. Anglers will mostly catch abundant 2- to 6-yr-old-fish ranging from 15-24”. Larger fish from 2015 and earlier hatches will provide chances to reel in a Fish Ohio qualifying walleye (minimum 28”).

Abundant young fish will show up in the catch and range from 9-14”, with an increasing number of 2-yr-olds reaching 15” as the season progresses. Anglers are encouraged to release sub-legal fish [the daily limit on Lake Erie is 6 fish per angler with a 15” minimum length requirement] with as little handling as possible so they can contribute to the future fishery. In 2023, Ohio’s anglers caught and released more than 1 million small walleye.

“The 2023 walleye hatch index showed above-average results in the western and central basins,” said Hartman. “We expect walleye anglers to find outstanding fishing across the lake.”

I’ve only been to Lake Erie once, a couple years back, and it was absolutely wild…when mother nature would actually let you get out and fish lol.

Water temps were about 37-38 this early-April day and they wanted baits sloooow and high…we were running our cranks just 10-12′ down (over 30-35′) at 1.0-1.3 mph and it was game on:

I’d really like to get back there again one day…and cast…. ????

2. MN-FISH’s letter to the DNR commissioner…

…about the new Mille Lacs walleye regz. It was sent out as an email last night, but the only sharable link I’ve been able to find is here on the Tutts Bait And Tackle FB page. Check the full message there, but a few excerpts below:

The recent announcement regarding Mille Lacs Lake has raised many concerns within the fishing and angling community.

Minnesota anglers are well conditioned by the historical variability and highly restricted harvest levels that have been placed on Mille Lacs over the years, yet this decision and explanation of the data shared by the DNR does not seem to correlate with their experience.

We are hearing several concerns from anglers and other constituent businesses that depend on Mille Lacs Lake:

First, we just witnessed an almost non-existent ice-fishing season that resulted in extremely low angling pressure and presumably lower harvest. Please reconcile the poor ice season with these even more restrictive, catch-and-release open-water regulations.

Second, our members and guides on the lake repeatedly have suggested that the agency’s test-netting during increasingly warm-water autumns is missing a solid percentage of the lake’s walleyes that remain suspended in deeper water late into the year. Anecdotal data from the increasing use of forward-facing sonar supports these observations.

While MN-FISH and NMMA share the goal of a healthy and long-term sustainable fishery on Mille Lacs Lake with the Minnesota DNR, we cannot forget Minnesota anglers’ right to access their public waters for the opportunity to harvest their fish.

It is for these reasons we respectfully ask the Minnesota DNR to re-examine the fisheries data and methodology used by the DNR when making the 2024 harvest decisions for Mille Lacs and share the findings with a more comprehensive report for state anglers before the MN fishing opener on May 11th, 2024.

3. MN/SD: Thousands of dead fish found in Lake Traverse.

“An estimated 2,000-3,000 fish were found dead in…included freshwater drum, crappies, bluegills, white bass and bluegills. There was also a handful of smallmouth bass and walleye.”

“DNR staff collected fish samples and checked dissolved oxygen in the water. The cause of the die off appears to be gas supersaturation trauma, also known as gas bubble disease, likely the result of an algae bloom in the lake [triggered by the mild, snowless winter].”

Looks like eagles have showed up for the all-you-can-eat buffet:

4. MI: ‘The Ultimate Walleye Derby’ kicks off March 30.

Over $200K in prizes up for grabs. ????

The Ultimate Walleye Derby is a 4 week long spring derby (3/30/24 to 4/28/24) that targets ALL of the prime walleye fisheries in Michigan. Catching big fish brings big prizes. The derby is created by fishermen for fishermen.

5. CO: CPW to collect 100 million walleye eggs this spring.

CPW undertakes this endeavor every year after surveying fishermen on what fish they would like to see more of in Colorado waters. “Walleye comes up in the top 3 every single year. Behind trout (and) bass, it’s walleye. It’s something anglers tell us they would like to see more of.”

6. MI: DNR collecting walleye eggs on Muskegon River this spring.

7. MN: Cool DNR ice-out map.

Also has data for the median, earliest and latest ice-outs on record. Most of those “earliest ice out” dates look like they’re going to be from this year.

8. IA Great Lakes ‘Walleye Weekend’ is May 4-5.

Ten walleye are tagged and released in to the chain of Iowa Great Lakes. Starting at midnight on Sat May 4 you can cast your chance at catching one of these 10 tagged walleye worth $42K! There are many other chances to win prizes all weekend long – from the largest fish categories to the raffle prizes at the awards luncheon. The weekend’s tournament ends at 11:59 am on Sun, May 5.

9. WI: Summary of the fishing reg changes for 24/25 szn.

Including a statewide daily bag limit of 3 walleye/sauger per day on all inland waters.

10. New Rapala PXR Mavrik 110 Jerkbait…

…is supposed to be the best jerkbait Rapala has ever built?! Which is REALLY saying something. ????

PXR stands for Precision, Xtreme, Redline. The first in a series of elite, professional-grade lures to be introduced by Rapala, the PXR Mavrik is a suspending jerkbait. Features start with Rapala’s Long-Cast System, which provides accurate, ultra-long casts to maximize time in the strike zone, and 3 premium VMC RedLine Series #5 treble hooks.

The lure’s suspending, head-down attitude mimics an injured baitfish, while a hard-cutting, semi-erratic action makes the PXR Mavrik a versatile jerkbait for any condition. You can fish it slow with short twitches to walk the bait side-to-side, or give it a quick snap to get the bait to turn nearly 180 degrees.

The 110 model is being introduced as a No. 11 (4-3/8″ body length) weighing 1/2 oz. Available in 18 colors.

11. Gamakatsu brought “Nano Alpha” hook tech to The States.

Gamakatsu USA Sales Manager, Ted Thibault is excited to introduce them to the U.S. market. “We have been utilizing the Nano Alpha finish on a variety of hooks in Japan over the last few years and felt it was time to offer this superior technology in the USA. Anglers expect the best when they tie on a Gamakatsu hook, and this is exactly what Nano Alpha offers.”

???? Japan always has the best schtuff first lol! Okay little more info…

Gamakatsu Nano Alpha technology raises the bar in what was previously unattainable in hook manufacturing. Nano Alpha represents a paradigm shift in hook performance with increased penetration and corrosion resistance. Nano Alpha sets a new standard and stays true to our ongoing commitment of “Innovation not Imitation”.

2X Better hook penetration: Nano Alpha features an exceptionally smooth surface which increases penetration by two times over standard plated hooks. Hooks penetrate quicker and much deeper than standard finishes. Anglers will quickly see a much higher hook to land ratio not previously seen in other finishes.

4X Better Corrosion Resistance: Nano Alpha technology provides superior corrosion resistance over standard hook coatings. Nano Alpha prolongs the life of the hook which ensures peak performance in both freshwater and saltwater environments. Nano Alpha’s corrosion resistance measures four times more effective than traditional plating.

12. Have you tried Moonshine’s Trolling Spoons yet?

Don’t let folks fool you ???? these are NOT just for the salmon crowd…. To be honest, I had no idea how many people whacked walleyes on trolling spoons (instead of spinners or cranks) until I was fortunate enough to fish for a few days on Saginaw Bay as a co-angler in the NWT.

And now you’ve also got a lot of diehards using jigging spoons to cast at specific fish with forward-facing sonar – more on that later…. ????

13. Catch Co is officially now owned by Gordon Brothers.

14. OK: Justin Hamner wins 2024 Bassmaster Classic.

Not only did Garmin pros make up 6 of the top 10 finishers at this year’s iconic event on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, but Justin’s win is the 4th Classic victory in the last 5 years with LiveScope.

????????????

Great Pool 4 walleye/sauger report.

From captain Josh Wetzstein of Muddy Waters Guide Service.

First off we would like to thank all of our customers for releasing all of their fish this last week! 100s of saugers and walleyes were released in our boat the last few weeks and to get saugers like the one pictured below you have to let a few go so they can grow.

Water temperatures are hanging around that 42-degree mark right now. This cold front has plummeted our water temps by 6-7 degrees compared to the previous week, but it should start to make its way back up slowly by the end of the week.

…most of the fish are hanging in the deep pockets of the river right now and right on the edges of the channels. Fishing has been pretty solid most days with some tougher days mixed in with this cold front.

…mostly seeing saugers up in the river right now with a few walleyes mixed in and a few big girls.

You can find these saugers from the dam all the way down to the head of the lake. Use your electronics and locate them and you shouldn’t have a problem catching them.

We have not seen the big push of walleyes coming up river yet but we’re guessing it won’t be long by the looks of things. We’ve caught fish doing about everything you can think of down here the last 10 days.

Here are a few presentations we have used this last week:

1. Vertical jigging/slipping the current

Northland 3/8-oz MVP Jigs and Deep-Vee Spin jigs with Eye Candy Minnow and Paddle Shads have been fire this past week. On the big saugers, less is more…hold it still.

2. Dubuque rigging

1/2-oz Do-It Molds Teardrop Jigs with a Mister Twister Sassy Swimmer on the business end and a 4” Ringworm on the back trailer just crawling up stream has been lights out!

3. Pitching plastics

1/8-oz and 3/16-oz Northland RZ Jigs with Mister Twister 4” Ringworms have put some big walleyes in the boat this week also. Chartreuse, purple, orange core, oyster-shell have all worked. We haven’t got a lot of fish doing this but the ones we have connected with are definitely picture worthy walleyes in 2-16’.

4. Pitching blades

1/4-oz and 1/2-oz blades depending on current…very light pops have been best. Colors have not really seemed to matter yet as the water is still pretty clear – just the plain nickel blades right out of the Do-It Molds have worked great, but that will probably change as the waters starts to get muddy…then we will start to break out some of our custom-painted blades.

5. Puppet Minnows and Jigging Raps

The #7 size has been best for us. Natural and bright colors have both worked from day to day. The UV colors have seemed to produce bigger fish in the greens and chartreuse patterns. The “fruit punch” Rapala [Jigging Rap] has worked very well on the saugers.

6. Stickbaits on 3-way rigs

We have got fish on all sizes…doesn’t really seem to matter. They like them going a little faster 0.7-1.2 mph. Smithwick Rattlin Rogues have been producing well and the tried-and-true Rapala Original Floaters are always a staple in our boat.

There have definitely been bite windows throughout the day and they have been different from day to day. The egg hunt will continue and the best is yet to come! See you on the water!!

“You can lead the horse to water but you can not make the horse drink! That pretty much sums up lake trout guiding!”

– That’s the caption on this Instagram reel from Mac Mulligan (a guide at Bakers Narrows Lodge) showing a PILE of lake trout swarming around his big dead bait like piranhas ???? but somehow not eating:

My friend Tia Hyland broke outta the central-MN snowstorm to go chase some spring open-water walleyes in Oconto, WI. Hot dang does that sound like fun right about now!

Thanks much for reading! ????

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH

Target Walleye LLC

422 Laurel Street

P.O. BOX 541

Brainerd, MN 56401

 (218) 824 5026