Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
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By Louie Stout
Fingerlings in netWhen Barry Ukele and a handful of others started the Michiana Walleye Association in 1993, they shared a dream of consistently catching keeper walleyes from the St. Joseph River.
They launched a stocking program with help from the DNR, and while the river has produced decent walleye fishing, keeper-size fish have been scarce.
Until this year.
Weve always been able to catch 6 or 8 sub-legal and maybe one legal fish (15-plus inches), noted Ukele. But this season has been different. One week this summer, I was catching 8 to 10 keepers and 6 non-keepers. Its been fantastic all year.
The difference? River biologist Neil Ledet credits the cooperative efforts with the club to stock larger fish in fewer numbers. The survival is much better as the bigger walleyes survive the winter better and grow faster.
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By Nathan Shore
(Provided by PRADCO Lures)
Match The Migration For More WalleyesThe most important factor in any walleye presentation isnt the lure, technique, trolling speed or line size. All those things can be as important as the color of your boat.
Like the way to a mans heart, the way to walleyes is through their stomachs, and that means that your knowledge of the local baitfish can be the most important factor to catching lots of walleyes.
Jonny Petrowske is one man who knows baitfish better than you. Hes a Jack-of all-trades, carving a life out of the Northwoods by running resorts, renting fish houses and plowing roads. Hes a fishing guide, too, and a darn good one, but he might say he wears his most important hat when gathering bait for clients and local shops. Baitfish habits, Petrowske claims, comprise the most important information a fisherman can own.
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by Daniel Quade
(Provided by PRADCO Tackle)
Wobble Bobbin WalleyesComplex presentations get plenty of press these days, but few walleye tactics are as deadlyor as easy to fishas the simple slip-bobber rig. With a well-balanced float, you can efficiently and precisely suspend mouthwatering live bait in front of hungry eyes. Plus, you know exactly when a fish has inhaled your bait.
Veteran guide Mike Christensen is a big-time believer.
From his home base out of historic Hunter Winfields Resort on the scenic south shores of Minnesotas mighty Mille Lacs Lake, the jovial yet dead-serious walleye hunter launches literally hundreds of missions onto the fabled fishery with one goal in mind: connect clients with the big lakes walleye bounty.
His success rate is epic, and one of his favorite presentations throughout much of the season is, you guessed it, a slip-float rig.
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By Nathan Shore
(Provided by PRADCO Lures)
Greg Bohn with a pair of dandies caught off the weeds.Giant walleyes prowl through weeds all summer long, yet theyre pretty safe from most fishermen. Sure, you can know theyre in there, but getting them out is a challenge.
Few anglers know more about getting big walleyes out of the weeds long-time guide and author of Master The Art of Slip Bobbering, Greg Bohn. Hes likely netted more 10-pound weed-holding walleyes than any other guide in the country. For him, slip-float fishing is an art form.
Bohn says that successful slip bobbering begins with using the right equipment to deliver baits to the correct depth. Keeping the boat positioned and moving at the right speed also are critical.
I want the boat 20 feet or so off the weedline at all times, Bohn said, and moving at less than 1 mph.