Walleye Location & Behavior in Reservoirs

Lowland or Wetland (Flowages)—Most anglers consider flowages to be natural lakes, though in reality they’re shallow reservoirs constructed in woodland or lowland terrain inundating substantial areas of marsh and standing timber. Most flowages date back to the early 1900s.

Flowages generally have dark water, created by run-off from surrounding tannic swamps. Siltation’s a major factor, often inundating any semblance of the old river channel other than in the lower reaches near the dam. Flowages are fed by rivers ranging from small to substantial, and they often host an upstream walleye spawning run in spring, similar to walleye movements in other impoundments. Otherwise, fish spawn on scattered main-lake rock points or reefs, or along the rock riprap faces of dams or causeways. Or the fishery may be sustained by stocking, though most offer self-sustaining populations of smaller walleyes, with the occasional scattering of larger ‘eyes.

Most North Country flowages originally contained abundant flooded timber, stump flats, fallen trees, and other assorted wood cover. Due to the age of most flowages, however, much of the original wood, other than newly fallen shoreline cover, has eroded away to remnants. Still a substantial form of cover, wood today often shares the limelight with shallow weeds—cabbage, coontail, reeds, and cane—that generally grow in shallow bays, often limited to depths of 4 feet or less by a low level of sunlight penetration in the dark water. Even so, as water clarity marginally improves as flooded wood cover decomposes, new cabbage patches develop on shallow midlake humps, forming a new vista for flowage walleyes.

Cover, more so than depth, is key for flowage walleyes much of the year. The edges of weedbeds or floating bogs are fished with slipbobbers and leeches. Anchor and cast similar presentations to the tops of shallow humps with weed, wood, or rock cover, often finding fish in less than 8 feet of water. Where substantial amounts of standing timber remain, weedless jigs tipped with leeches or crawlers are flipped to individual trees, letting the jig fall to penetrate the root system at the base. Short, precise tactics tend to outproduce long casts.

If such cover adjoins any form of river channel, so much the better. By midsummer, trolling crankbaits along the deep 10- to 15-foot edges of timber adjoining midlake channels may outproduce presentations in shallower cover. In fall, walleyes tend to move deeper, dropping into channel bends or intersections in the 15- to 25-foot range, depending on available depths. Vertical jigging or livebait rigging excels at this time.

Flatland—Flatland impoundments built in farm country and forest lands are sometimes called flowages, though they differ from lowland flowages built in swampy terrain. Flatland impoundments typically feature large, middepth flats of perhaps 6 to 15 feet in depth, dropping quickly into distinctive river and creek channels winding through the lake. A sandy bottom is prevalent in many areas. Walleyes may spawn either on upriver rock shoals or along riprap, depending on what’s available.

Fish use shallow shoreline cover to a degree, primarily in spring, but not as much as in lowland impoundments. As the water warms in summer, walleyes typically move out deeper, following timber edges or channels, where they relate to twists and turns of the channel edge, generally adjacent to flooded timber. The fish may not drop deep; 10 to 20 feet is common. They tend to be up on the lip of the channel edge, perhaps extending up onto the timbered flat. Trolling cranks or spinners-bouncers-crawlers is great for checking the breakline. In the timber, which often is scattered remnants, mostly lying down rather than vertical, cast crankbaits or weedless jigs.