IT might have been one of those tip ups that didn’t exactly get noticed right away. 
Or… once in awhile we’ll have a rash of hit and runs where the fish drops the bait at the end of the first big run. This typically happens midday. When we start to see that type of pattern develop we start trying different techniques with the timing of the hookset. One of those is to hit the fish as soon as you get to the flag. It doesn’t work often but once in awhile you’ll get an extra fish or two out of a bunch of flags that were destined to drop the bait after the first run with the bait.
Typically we show up at a flag, get the tip up out of the hole without letting the fish feel any resistence. If the fish is still running we let it run. Once the fish stops I like to feel for those tell-tale thumps which I assume is the walleye positioning the bait to be swallowed. As soon as that fish starts to move again after I feel those thumps… they get hit. 
I did see a gobbler all fanned out yesterday though…he was closely following two hens! If only I had just one more chance…I know I could fill a tag! 
So, I looked it up and the total permits was 218,133 and total harvest was 52,581. That is a 23.8 percent success rate. The preliminary numbers are putting MN about 5 percent better than WI at 28.8. 
