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Caught by Lloyd Watson at Chew Valley Lake – not sure how long it was, but it weighed 47 lbs 5 oz! 🤯

Weighed it on 3 different scales, then gave her a smooch and sent her back home:

Incredible.

Can be tough to keep up on all the regs...but you’ve gotta! This was a Q that I really wasn’t exactly sure about, so did some digging and came across this post specifically talking about MN’s Lake of the Woods, and breaks it down in fish-English:

Individuals may not possess fillets in their day/sleeper houses unless:

1. They are in immediate preparation of a meal (the oil is heating) and carcasses are available for inspection

2. Or a licensed fish packer has filleted and packaged them to be consumed while their guests are on the lake. If a licensed fish packer filets your fish, make sure to have proof (which they can provide) and know you have to cook and eat the fillets while on the ice. It is unlawful to return to shore with filets from a licensed fish packer. 

Any filleting for transport should be done on shore or at the resort just prior to individuals traveling. This means if you have fish you want to bring home, you cannot clean them on the ice. Bring them to shore whole and clean them on shore for transport.


For those who really like to dig into state law, click here for the MN link.

And of course every state is probably going to be slightly different, so do your digging.

- These dudes (Beyond the Catch Guide Service and friends) were so ready to get back in the boat, that they spent an entire day taking chainsaws and ice augers to the 10” of ice in the harbor...then drug ‘em out to sea so they could launch their boats. 😅

Gotta do what you’ve gotta do!

Also kind of funny how in some places folks would give anything to have a solid 10" of ice lol.

I came across this fun blog post from Todd Myra Photography of Crystal and Jeremy’s special day:

> “The original plan was for there to be tip-ups surrounding the ceremony site. If a tip-up went off during the ceremony, they would pause the service and run and get the fish!! The temperature outside ended up being -22 without wind-chill so they just had one tip-up staged in the back.

> "After the ceremony, one of the groomsmen signaled "flag!" and the couple ran to get to the fish. Unfortunately, Crystal tripped on her way. Fortunately, she didn't get hurt and instead smiled and laughed it off.”

> “After the ceremony, I was able to capture a couple of fun pictures of the couple catching a few fish, and for their honeymoon, the couple traveled through Canada on an ice-fishing trip!! What a fun couple!! Congratulations Crystal and Jeremy!”

Now that's how you tie the knot – 💪 we hope it’s a Palomar! Congrats!!

Posted on FishUSA’s Instagram:

> “Who remembers their Dad’s old tackle box? Hard to forget the smell of rusted hooks, rubber worms, and old salmon eggs...good times!”

For some of you reading this, that might be your old tackle box...and your dad’s/mom’s was an aluminum one. Either way brings back some memories of the good ol’ days!

Couple random things I got to thinking after seeing that pic:

Isn’t it incredible that folks equipped with that setup were able to (supposedly 😉) catch more and bigger fish than we can today? Although we all know how fish continue to grow every single time the story is told again hahaha.

Crazy how far tackle management has progressed. Feels like it’s been years since I’ve even seen a hard-sided tackle box in action.

1. MN’s walleye season closes after this weekend. 😔

The season runs thru Sun, Feb 25 (opens back up May 11, 2024). In the meantime, you can still get out chasing panfish...or burbot if you wanna catch something that actually fights back hahaha!

Few other things to keep in mind:

Border waters have different seasons and regs, so look them up! For example: The walleye/sauger season on Lake of the Woods runs thru Apr 14 (and pike never closes). It has different regz because it’s a border water with CAN.

You'll need a new MN fishing license starting Mar 1 (the 23/24 license year ends on Feb 29).

Fishing licenses for the 2024-25 license year already went on sale starting Feb 18, and will be effective from Mar 1, 2024 to Feb 28, 2025. BUT you must specify that you wish to purchase a fishing license for the upcoming 2024-25 license year...otherwise they might accidentally sell you one that expires in a few days.

2. Great Lakes ice coverage is slowly rising...

...after hitting historic lows earlier this month. Ice coverage on the Great Lakes totaled 12.18% on Feb 19 after spending weeks in the single digits.

> As of Feb 19, the coverage on each of the lakes was measured at:

• Lake Superior - 11.95%
• Lake Michigan - 10.88%
• Lake Huron - 20.03%
• Lake Erie - 3.31%
• Lake Ontario - 2.32%

> Researchers say on Feb 11, it hit a historic low with total coverage at just 2.69%, with coverage on each of the lakes measured as follows:

• Lake Superior - 1.7%
• Lake Michigan - 2.6%
• Lake Huron - 5.9%
• Lake Erie - .05%
• Lake Ontario - 1.7%

> We have never seen ice levels this low in mid-February on the lakes since our records began in 1973.”

3. ON: Not all folks agree with Zone 10 walleye reg changes.

I guess try to ignore the fact that this write-up used a zander, instead of a walleye, as the main picture for the story.... 🥴

Says that changes to the area’s management plan (as of Jan 1, 2024) now insist that folks’ 4-walleye limit must all measure less than 18”...could previously have 1 of those be longer than 18”.

4. OH stocked 40.8 mil fish at 239 locations in 2023.

Included 31.1 mil walleye and saugeye.

5. WA: Thousands of fish wash up dead...

...near Long lake Dam on the Spokane River.

6. Yamaha intro’d world’s first hydrogen-powered outboard...

...at the Miami International Boat Show. It’s a hydrogen version of their XTO outboard, an offshore V8 offering 425- and 450-hp ratings.

> Building a combustion engine that can run on hydrogen is but one part of the equation...another major challenge is figuring out how to store and run the H2 to fuel it. For this aspect of the project, Yamaha turned to the experts at Roush for help.

7. MN: DNR seized 40 walleye/sauger from dorks on LOTW.

8. MN: The Bash Ice Fishing Derby is going virtual.

Over $45K in cash and prizes. The derby will be ran thru the FishDonkey app from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm this Sat, Feb 24. It’s normally held on lake Bemidji each year, but mother nature forced ‘em to switch things up:

> “It was just a way that we decided to make sure that we could still hold the event, still generate some funds and money for the beneficiaries that we decided to put this on for and get people out fishing,” explained tournament chair Aaron Schmitz. “We’ve been fortunate with the Sanford Center working with us and allowing us to do the awards and the raffle ceremony at the Sanford Center.”

Folks can fish any public waters in Beltrami, Hubbard, and Clearwater counties. I believe the top-35 longest fish will crack the leaderboard, and that the prizes will be randomized throughout. More info on their site.

9. Garmin lands #2 on Forbes America’s Best Large Employers List.

Here’s the full list. Also I had no idea that Garmin has over 19,000 employees. 🤯

10. Brunswick snags record-setting 15 awards...

...at the 2024 Miami International Boat Show.

11. Hunter McKamey promoted to VP of Foundation Outdoor Group.

> Foundation Outdoor Group, the world’s largest supplier of rod building components, supplies, equipment, and instruction....

12. FishUSA has some Berkley Finishers in stock.

One of Berkley’s new “FFS Optimized” baits that I’m pumped to try this season. Comes in 3 sizes (5, 7 and 9 = 1/3, 1/2 and 3/4-oz) and 20 colors.

> Berkley’s Senior Project Engineer of Bait and Terminal Tackle, Dan Spengler: “The Finisher is the first of its kind, a hovering hard bait we call it. It truly gives anglers ultimate control of their bait. Being able to manipulate it in several ways based on what fish are responding to, especially when pairing this bait with forward-facing sonar.

> “What makes this bait unique is that it has no fin structure, which can allow it to do a multitude of actions. From erratic darting to natural minnow-like tail movement, what makes the Finisher deadly is its flat bottom which allows it to hover or hang in the water column. A bait with such diversity truly allows anglers to have control of how they’re interacting with fish on forward-facing sonar.”

Quick preview of the Berkley Finisher being fished a little more erratically like most walleye folks fish glide baits, but also peep that tail swing:

And here’s another quick look at it doing some more finesse-y things, including that little tail wag you just don’t see other hard baits doing:

Being able to switch-up the action of the bait mid cast based on how fish are reacting to it in real-time on FFS 💯 yes please. That versatility – anywhere in the water column – has me absolutely jacked to throw this thing at big, suspended walleyes on FFS. The types of fish that would usually have you scrambling to reel in so you could rotate thru multiple different setups to figure out what they’re wanting.

13. Have you seen this hilarious Vexilar commercial?! 😂

It’s absolute gold:

14. WI: Ice shanty removal dates coming up.

15. UT: Tiger muskie research for less cannibalism.

Tiger muskies are a sterile hybrid species of northern pike + muskie.

> Tiger muskie occur occasionally in nature where the two species overlap, such upper Great Lakes states, where they spawn in weedy shallows shortly after ice-out. The hybrid offspring lose the ability to reproduce and for that reason the tiger muskie afford two things: the potential to increase angling opportunities and a predatory fish useful for fishery managers.

> “We use sterile fish to improve angling opportunities, as biological control measures such as to rid waters of unwanted fish, and limit establishment of populations through illegal fish introductions. Stocking sterile fish protects native species in drainages connected to our reservoirs.”

> ...recently took a deeper look into how to best produce sterile tiger muskie at the agency’s hatcheries. Using federal excise tax dollars paid by tackle manufacturers as well as motorboat fuel tax through the Dingell-Johnson Act, the UT biologists confirmed through a controlled experiment that the hybrid offspring of female northern pike bred with male muskellunge produced young that were much less cannibalistic in the confined setting of hatchery runways or ponds, than were the offspring of the reciprocal cross of female muskellunge to male pike.

Something the other 25+ states that have tiger muskie fisheries might like to know.

16. WA: Folks will be able to ice fish on Deer Lake next szn.

I guess under current rules, the lake closes to fishing on Nov 30 each year.

One of Jason Mitchell’s favorite crappie plastics.

Older write-up on WalleyeCentral.com, but some nice nuggets in there.

> “Matching the hatch” is a cliché phrase that gets thrown around a lot...some of the most effective presentations for winter crappie follow a different mantra.

> Crappies’ winter diets largely consist of microscopic invertebrates and zooplankton less than 1/4-inch long...but some of the greatest jig and plastic combos ever developed might measure an inch or more....

> Larger easier to find/see profiles catch more crappie simply because more fish come over to investigate. Once the fish get close enough to scrutinize the bait, the lure simply has to look similar to something the fish has eaten before.

> The classic Maki doesn’t look like anything specific...could be a young-of-the-year fish, insect larvae or water beetle. The profile, action and water displacement give it an overall look that mimics several living organisms fish eat.

> Replicating minnow movements: More abrupt slashes and snaps on the upstroke to raise fish. Smaller movements as the fish gets closer might resemble upward hops with stops and shakes mixed in.

> Replicating bug movements: Simply quivering the tentacles and vibrating the rod tip. You can still raise the jig and pull fish up but the actions are more methodical while pulsating the soft plastic tail the entire time.

Full write-up here.

Lol!

I needed a little big shot of zander in my life, and this Alessandro Altamura catch did just the trick. Fishing somewhere in Italy with a “pearl” color Westin ShadTeez. Amazing:

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH

Target Walleye LLC

422 Laurel Street

P.O. BOX 541

Brainerd, MN 56401

 (218) 824 5026