Stay, Play, B.L.A. - a blog

Hello, I’m Dan Eigen, also known as Walleyedan. My wife Shelley and I own and operate Walleyedan’s Guide Service. We have 6 guides that are working under our name and there are days we call on others to fill in during busy times. Of course, each of the guides is great, and have their favorite fishing techniques, species they like to target and their favorite lakes. I’ve been guiding my whole adult life — and looking back on my fishing career, it’s the people that I have met along the way that make it so special! We have so many repeat guests and I have so many memories with them! There’s one group in particular, from Iowa, that have renamed me “RockbassDan”. And it has become quite the joke! And this winter the story got even better as I was guiding them on Lake Edward in the SnoBear. They had jokingly asked if there were any rock bass in Edward and told them I hadn’t fished it enough to really know. But I did tell them that if there was one, they would catch it! And sure enough, after having a fun and successful outing, just as we were about ready to wrap things up for the night one of them caught a “rocky” and a new chapter was written! 

So, coming off the most mild winter season we have ever seen, many people are excited to get out on the open water! And then bam, winter hits! Only in MN. But, the big lakes are open and it’s my guess that come “opener”, the fish are going to be a little ahead of their normal opener behavior. I’m guessing the water will be a bit warmer, they will have spawned a little earlier and they are going to be fired up to do some eating!! We have been blessed with so many beautiful lakes in our area, and this is the reason why so many people love coming here. You can fish a different lake each day all summer long and still not run out.. I prefer the big ones (Gull, Whitefish, Pelican and North Long). I like these because of all the “spots” to fish. When guiding, it’s nice to have a number of “spots” up your sleeve!

Forward-facing sonar and a slip bobber/leech combination has become the walleye fisherman’s “goto” these last few years. Walleyes cannot resist a leech and now with this new technology, you can cast right to them and put the leech almost right in their mouth! Is it fair? Not really, but it is where we are at in this crazy world. And it is quite fun to use. With these advancements on the fishing scene, it’s a MUST to do something about the amount of fish and angler can take. So, it’s my opinion (and many others) that we need to reduce limits before it’s too late! Many of us love to eat fish, but we really have to be cognizant of the the fact that the fish are easier to find these days!

Enjoy today and save some for tomorrow!
- Walleyedan 

Book a guided trip with Dan by phone or by visiting his website.

218-839-5598 // www.walleyedan.com

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