In-Fisherman

09/06/2026

Take a kid fishing.

09/05/2026

Harvesting overabundant small pike remains one of the wisest and most delicious decisions a walleye angler can make.

One of the first studies to uncover the links between populations of pike, perch, walleyes, and other species, biologists Dennis Anderson and Dennis Schupp discovered in 1986 that increasing abundance of pike led to declines in abundances of perch and walleye, as well as largemouth bass, black crappie, and sunfish in a North Central Minnesota lake.

Years later, suspicious of the effects of high-density populations of small pike, Lilienthal examined a large data set from North Central Minnesota lakes, a region that encompasses about 60 percent of the state’s counties. “It’s this zone that contains 93 percent of state’s problematic pike lakes that are also stocked with walleyes,” he says.

“My review of the most recent (2013) data revealed that 372 of the 722 (52 percent) North Central lakes stocked with walleyes had high density populations of northern pike, with more than 7 fish per gill-net lift,” he says. “When I looked at walleye gill-net catches I found that high-density pike lakes averaged walleye catches that were consistently 50 percent lower than in the lakes with lower-density pike populations. Not surprisingly, perch populations were in terrible shape in these same lakes.”

As biologist Tim Brastrup told me years ago, “Pike populations were never meant to mirror those of sunfish or other animals lower on the food web.” Putting the rarity and value of large pike into perspective, MNDNR research scientist Andy Carlson says: “In the heart of the walleye and pike belt in Central Minnesota, a 10- to 20-pound pike has become so rare that removing a single fish from a midsize lake can have a devastating impact on the fishery.” It’s a double-edged sword. Removing the genetics of a large spawning female prompts remaining smaller pike to mature and spawn at earlier ages, producing slow-growing pike at exponential rates. Also, large pike are excellent fishery “fixers,” keeping numbers of small pike in check via cannibalism. Large pike are effective predators on small pike predators.

Unwanted consequences result from unbalanced populations, be it pike, deer, or pine beetles. We shouldn’t be surprised when removing generations of large pike and reverting to high densities of small pike not only destroys the population balance of pike, but also reduces abundances of prey species such as yellow perch—a critical species for recruiting and sustaining walleye populations.

Cory Schmidt, In-Fisherman

09/04/2026

"...the pike problem is a walleye problem if you don’t do anything about it.”

Every freshwater fish exists at the expense of others. Add humans into the mix and unexpected outcomes can elevate those “expenses.”

For decades, anglers and darkhouse spearers have shunned the harvest of small pike, certainly in part because of the extra effort of removing pesky Y-bones.

The targeted slaughter of large pike has produced just such an unexpected outcome, and possibly one of the great walleye dilemmas of a generation.

“In Minnesota, despite that darkhouse pike spearers represent only 2 percent of the angling public, members of the Minnesota Darkhouse & Angling Association wield a tremendous amount of clout at the state legislature,” Lilienthal says.

“Leading up to 2014, no group had been more opposed to progressive pike management.” He says the group stance reversed course four years ago and became a key partner in helping pass new harvest regulations."

“We’ve known since at least the early 1980s that pike populations were out of balance, with fewer large fish and increasingly large numbers of small fish,” he says. “But every time we went to the legislature to ask about changing pike regulations over the years, we were always turned away and asked: ‘Why are you talking about pike when we need to be addressing walleye issues?’ Turns out, we were. Because the pike problem is a walleye problem if you don’t do anything about it.”

Cory Schmidt, In-Fisherman

09/04/2026

One of the more compelling recent studies, headed by Mike Knapp of the MNDNR, focused on 41 Minnesota lakes managed by muskie stocking. The study showed no significant difference (increase or decrease) in walleye abundance (catch-per-unit-effort, or CPUE) following muskie stocking.

Eight of the lakes showed a significant increase in the walleye population post muskie stocking, while two lakes had a significant decrease. The study showed that white suckers, yellow perch, and ciscoes were the most important prey species. White sucker abundance tended to decline following muskie stocking and perch CPUE increased.

Finally, a comprehensive 2005 study of 25 Wisconsin lakes concluded: “Because muskie abundances were positively correlated to walleye abundances, direct competition or predation is unlikely to be occurring betwween these two species.”

“In the mid-1970s, the Minnesota DNR stocked muskies in high numbers—almost like they were walleyes. So little was known back then and we took a ‘stock-and-see-what-happens’ approach. We’ve learned a lot since then, and we stock muskies in such low densities today that there are never enough of them in any lake to dent a local walleye population. In smaller stocked lakes, muskies don’t reproduce well, so those fisheries depend on stocking."

Cory Schmidt, In-Fisherman

09/04/2026

Here's an old-fashioned presentation that still produces:

It has become kind of a joke amongst walleye anglers that all you need is a plain ol’ jig and a nightcrawler in the tournament walleye game these days. While that definitely is not true, it is the go-to when fish are in clear water or highly pressured.

A simple ball head jig is most popular, but a collar type that will hold on the crawler is very advantageous. While lead jigs are the most abundant and affordable, tungsten jigs are much denser, which allows you to see the jig better on your screen and often carries a more compact profile compared to lead.

Options such as the VMC Moon Eye jig or Tungsten Swimbait jig are very popular with tournament anglers for the features mentioned and a quality hook.

I’m not sure if there is a time that the plain jig and crawler option doesn’t come into play during the open water periods, so have an assortment of weights to get you down quickly or just loft and hover it depending on the fish’s mood and depth you are fishing.

Ross Robertson, In-Fisherman

09/04/2026

One of the best stickbaits of all time!

Let's see some big fish you've caught on the Original Floater!⬇️⬇️

09/04/2026

Many research studies have revealed that muskies eat relatively few walleyes.

In Gull Lake, Minnesota, muskies were stocked for the first time in 2016—2,000 fingerlings were stocked in the fall. During the same time frame, the lake received over 8.4 million walleye fry—or 4,200 walleyes for every one muskie. Even if muskies ate nothing except walleyes, the impact would scarcely be observable. But they don’t.

“Muskies, like other esocids, prefer soft-rayed fish, such as suckers and ciscoes,” says Dr. John Cassleman, Adjunct Professor at Queen’s University, Ontario, and one of the world’s foremost experts on muskellunge.

“Years ago, I vividly remember looking into the muskie-walleye prey issue with a large sample of confiscated muskies from Eagle and Wabigoon lakes. There were of course a few large walleyes in their stomachs, but by and large, we saw many more of other species.”

Cory Schmidt, In-Fisherman

09/04/2026

There’s just something special about grabbing a few lures, a couple rods, and walking up and down the banks of river.

09/04/2026

“Before we can grow pike over 30 inches, we must first get them to reach 24 inches and then 26 inches," Lilienthal says. “The challenge, of course, is to convince anglers to harvest more pike under 22 inches.”

Historically, creeling so-called hammer-handles isn’t something anglers have regularly practiced. A lot of us scratch our heads, wondering why folks would suddenly choose to harvest 10 of these smaller pike when they rarely chose to harvest three of them in the past—the maximum pike limit since 1948.2 It’s a question no one—angler or biologist—seems to know how to answer.

Responses to this question always have the same theme: We have to change the way we view and choose to harvest small pike.

Cory Schmidt, In-Fisherman

09/03/2026

"Pinging a minnow" is a deadly bass tactic with live sonar... but it works just as effectively for walleyes, too. Essentially, you thread a plastic fork tailed minnow such as a Z-Man Jerk ShadZ onto a jig head and cast it close to a walleye. At times, just dangling it in front of its face like a carrot in an old-school cartoon will elicit a bite.

This isn’t to say that swimming it or light pops to move in throughout the water column won’t work at times either. Several major tournaments on Lake Erie have been won recently by using this technique on or very close to bottom as well.

A few caveats that will help shorten you learning curve with plastic minnows:

Choose your jig carefully:
Make sure that the size of your hook is large enough to create enough gap to get a good hookup, but not so large that it overtakes the plastic body and decreases the lure’s action.

Right size your soft plastic:
If I had to have one size all year it would likely be 4 inches, but I also carry 3-, 3 1/2 and 5-inch Jerk ShadZ regularly. The larger sizes create drag and cause the bait to fall more slowly, which can be very effective in cooler water or during a touchy bite. The smaller sizes that fall more quickly can excel when fishing deep, fish are aggressive, or in current, allowing them to get to depth faster.

A very unique option from Z-Man is the Graph ShadZ. Its name alone should tell you it works well for this type of technique. The lifelike head features a hole through it and the line tie is actually at the bottom of the lure. This allows both your knot to be protected as well as the angle of the line off of the head to be exactly the same each and every cast. The Graph ShadZ also features an Elaztech body that is very flexible and floats. This allows for a different presentation as well as extreme durability, often getting 50 fish out of one body.

If walleyes will hit plastics, it’s a big advantage because you don’t have to worry about re-rigging, casting a worm off, or wonder if you still have bait on mid retrieve. Plastics also tend to do better in off-colored water because of the aforementioned traits as well as the ability to be fished faster and cover water more quickly if needed.

Ross Robertson, In-Fisherman