Bunch of great info on how crankbaits dive – and all of the MANY variables that play a part – in this full Fishing 411 TV write-up from Mr. Precision Trolling Data himself, Mark Romanack. Couple interesting nuggets below with some awesome diagrams to help our little brains understand more better-er:

Mark: “When trolling with buoyant lines such as monofilament and co-polymer lines, the line floats creating a defined linear resistance to the bait’s diving ability. The buoyancy of most fishing lines is so pronounced that when line is deployed, the majority of the line played out is actually floating at or near the surface. Only a rather modest amount of line is actually pulled below the surface by the diving crankbait.”

“This situation creates a “bow” in the fishing line rather than the line gradually descending in a predictable angle towards the crankbait. This fact about trolling is the primary reason that using mathematical formulas to predict lure running depth are not accurate. You see, the “bow” in the line is not a constant, but rather constantly changing. As more line is played out and the trolling lead becomes longer, the amount of line associated with the “bow” becomes greater.

“Line buoyancy plays a major role in crankbait function as does line diameter yet another variable that must be considered when trolling. In general, thinner lines experience less friction as they pass through the water, allowing crankbaits to in turn achieve more diving depth. Fishing lines that are thicker in diameter, create more friction in the water and therefore reduce the diving depth of crankbaits.”

Some other variables you might not be factoring in here in the full write-up.

I don’t know if anyone has put more walleyes in their boat on Rapala Rippin’ Raps than Green Bay guide Doug Wegner…so when he dropped a YouTube video talking about his #1 Rippin’ Rap modification, I couldn’t click on it fast enough.

First off: Rapala Rippin’ Raps come stock with a slightly bigger hook on the front/belly than they have on the back/tail:

• The #6 Rippin’ Rap comes with a #6 treble on the belly and a smaller #8 on the tail.
• The #7 Rippin’ Rap comes with a #4 treble on the belly and a smaller #6 on the tail.

Doug actually flip-flops those so that the slightly larger hook is on the rear of the bait, because he says 90% of the fish come on that back hook and he wants that wider gap to keep fish pinned.

But if you want to take it to the next level:

Slide the bigger, stock, back hook up to the front/belly, and then upgrade the rear hook to a short-shank VMC Hybrid Treble: Run a #4 treble on back of #7 Rippin’ Raps, and a #6 treble on the back of #6 Rippin’ Raps.

He likes those VMC Hybrid Trebles (GREAT hook!) because they have a round bend and wider gap for keeping fish pinned, and better hookups when fish are nipping at the back of the bait from the way those chemically-sharpened hook points are slightly angled/pointed in. Bonus points that they also don’t hook as many zebra mussels when hitting bottom:

It’s Friday afternoon, so that little bugger better start watching out for icebergs….

Which reminds me of this wild shot ???? from Get N Bit Productions, who said he had the BIGS show up once he busted-out the secret weapon…aka his dad Ronnie!

Amazing shot! But, um, fellas..might be time to take that MotorGuide Xi5 off “Anchor” mode and start “Jog”-ing your way to safer terrain lol.

We’ve all seen how that movie ends. ????????

Clam’s CEO David Osborne sneaks up to the Rainy River every spring to target sturgeon with Matt Breuer, and this spring he caught his new longest at 69.5” (I believe his previous PB was a 67-incher). ????

Cool enough it was a tagged fish too! The fish was originally tagged May 7, 2004…here’s the DNR’s estimated age and size at the time, and when it was caught/reported again:

2004: 38 years old and 61.6” long.
2012: 46 years old and 64” long.
2023: 57 years old and 69.5” long.

???????? Apparently they can reach up to 100 yrs old! Another interesting factoid from here:

“Female lake sturgeon become sexually mature around 26 yrs of age while males mature around 17 yrs of age. Females may only spawn once every 4 to 9 years, while males will spawn once every 2 to 3 years”

Pretty cool!

Btw as the CEO of Clam, Dave doesn’t just hide behind the desk ???? I literally see him out there working the show floor at events like the St. Paul Ice Show. He’ll come up and talk fishing, thank you for looking at their stuff, and you’d never know you were just talking to the dang CEO, it’s amazing. And yup, he loves to hit the water:

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????‍♂️ “Black Tumbler” it is…. What’s yours?

Few of our favs from over on FB:

– Blue plunger
– Camo urinal
– Grey lady
– Silver bulldog
– Green pizza rolls
– Red roughneck

Can still play even if you don’t have a boat, and your answer might be even better:

– Transparent cats
– Non-existent safety glasses
– Invisible toilet paper

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1. MN: The Cannon River provides…again! ????

It had been more than 30 yrs since walleye captured from Tetonka and the Cannon have been the source of fry stocked in area lakes – but not no more! And “of particular significance is that the fish recently captured were Lower Mississippi Strain fish, a genetic line discovered to be able to reproduce successfully in southern MN lakes and rivers.”

From 1982-1992, walleyes were captured every spring in the Cannon River and the fry produced from those fish were stocked in southern MN waters. However, those efforts were suspended because of the inefficiency of the operation.

Instead, walleye eggs from larger egg-stripping operations in northern MN were obtained, hatched and stocked in area lakes in what was believed to be a put-and-take operation.

But then it was discovered that the fish stocked in Lake Sarah in Murray County and other lakes were of the LMS strain and had been reproducing successfully on a regular basis…continues to be self-sustaining.

In an effort to establish other self-sustaining walleye populations, the DNR has focused on stocking LMS walleye fry obtained from Lake Sarah fish in area lakes since 2015.

…Lake Sarah provides enough eggs to meet about half of the area’s annual need for walleye stocking – 200 to 300 quarts of eggs translating to 20-30 mil fry.

He estimated that the fish recently captured and stripped from the Cannon River would contribute another 30-40 quarts of eggs that would take a bit of pressure off of Lake Sarah as the sole source of LMS eggs.

It is hoped that a walleye stripping operation similar to the large-scale operations found in northern MN can be established on the Cannon River, making the operation there an annual spring event to provide a greater source of the LMS fish.

2. ND DNR investing in aquatic nuisance species.

Over the next 2 years, the dept plans to hire another Aquatic Nuisance Species biologist as well as spend $850,000 on an ANS lab.

3. Minnesota Mom’s Fishing Challenge, May 13-14.

A free virtual fishing challenge for those lovely ladies in our lives! Will be happening over this year’s fishing opener, which is also “Take a Mom Fishing Weekend” = all MN moms can fish without purchasing a fishing license.

…simply need to join the Minnesota Moms Fishing Challenge Facebook group and submit one photo of each fish they catch. All participants who submit a fish will be entered in a random drawing for prizes provided by the Student Anglers Organization, including SCHEELS gift card sand Onyx inflatable lifejackets. The MN DNR is partnering with the Student Anglers Organization to organize the challenge.

4. Heads up: FishUSA has Acme Hyper Rattles in stock.

If you paid attention the last couple of summers, you already know they go FAST when things warm up…so I would try to snag a few HR6s and HR5s before that bite gets snapping.

5. Pro bass angler forfeits $100K in winnings…

…when it’s discovered he didn’t have a fishing license.

“A simple, honest mistake…. During the post-tournament polygraph [he] was asked if he had a valid fishing license, [to] which he answered, ‘yes.’ He passed the polygraph. However, when asked to physically provide a copy or proof of the official license, he realized that after entering all of his information online (before fishing) he never fully completed the process.”

Ouch! I saw a comment on FB asking if he was fined for fishing without a license, and someone replied “Yeah, $100,000” lol.

6. Justin Sterner and Outdoors East join the St. Croix sales team.

7. Vista Outdoor PAC donates $85,000 to 5 nonprofits.

8. WY: How Game and Fish transports fish for stocking.

9. Last chance to enter the the Bigwater Fishing sweepstakes.

Today is the last day, and who wouldn’t want to win a 1-day guided fishing trip on Lake Erie for 2 guests with Ross and/or Country Steve?! Full scoop here.

10. Here’s 9 things to check on your PFD before boating.

11. The gov’t just admitted they’ve been modifying the weather?!

ABC News explains how ‘cloud seeding’ is being used to modify weather across the US. “There are currently 42 cloud seeding projects across the American West…They fly right into the storm and send microscopic [silver iodide] particles into the clouds…The federal government has committed $2.6 mil to seeding.”

Lol. But to be fair, that write-up does have a bunch of really interesting ice-out info.

We still have a bunch of ice where I’m at in Brainerd, MN…but the stuff is soft, has taken a beating, and is finally pulling from shore. I think folks will be surprised how fast it should get eaten up with a few days of 30-40 mph gusts like they’re calling for, followed by some actual spring temps (finally).

Some springtime walleye crankbait basics.

From AnglingBuzz:

As walleyes wrap up their spawn, they begin moving out to adjacent flats and shallow water structure. Crankbaits can be an excellent tool for intercepting these wandering walleyes, which can be scattered anywhere between 4-12’.

Look for shallow-running walleye crankbaits that drive down and hit the bottom as you retrieve them back to the boat. Bottom contact is important, but don’t opt for baits that dive too deep as they won’t run optimally in the shallow water.

Make sure you’re fishing your cranks slowly this time of year, as that’s often the only way to get bit. A couple of retrieves work well in the spring:

Slow and steady. Simply cast out the lure and retrieve it slowly back to the boat. Anyone, even beginners, pull this one off.

Pull and pause. Sometimes this is the deal. Cast your lure out, reel it down and then slowly pull the lure forward with your rod tip. Reel up the slack in your line, and then slowly pull the crank forward again. Continue this retrieve all the way back to the boat.

With either of these retrieves, it’s important that you’re fishing the bait slow. Ultimately, you need to experiment with different speeds to find out what’s working best on that particular day.

Video here with Troy Lindner showing how he works ‘em.

“Coming soon to a shoreline near you….”

– That’s walleye-nut Jadyn Thomas Jonesing to get back after those ND shore lizzies:

Geez man, my mom reads these emails LOL. ????????

Love this other (G-rated) shot in his post showing a B-E-A-Utiful brown-eyed girl. Swear you can almost tell a Devils Lake area walleye just by seeing its eyeball:

Get a wide load of this 13-lb Lake Erie giant ???? caught (and released) by FishUSA ambassador Lou Cuzzola. Looks like he was casting a jig for smallmouth bass when he caught the fish of a lifetime…and while you were out trolling cranks over deeper water behind him hahaha:

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH