Walleye Location & Behavior in Reservoirs

In fall, walleyes tend to drop deep into the channels, particularly if fall drawdowns occur. Now, 20 to 30 feet is common. Channel bends and intersections concentrate fish. Vertically jig or rig with livebait. Scattered sticks and snags may rob a few rigs, but by and large, channel basins are relatively snag-free, except where current washes in random wood. Such lakes in the Midsouth often host excellent sauger fisheries.

Highland—Never a numbers game, even in the best of fisheries, these deep, clear, mountainous lakes of the Midsouth nevertheless offer a chance for huge walleyes. Most of the 20-pounders ever caught have been taken here, and the possibility for a new world record still exists.

Highland walleyes run up feeder rivers to spawn. Finding rock is never a problem; shoals and pools abound. Huge fish are caught at night in February and March by casting or longline trolling large diving crankbaits.

After spawning, walleyes quickly disperse back into the deep clear lake, where the location mystery deepens. Some fish suspend, at times, feeding on shad. Daily cycles of power generation through huge dams set up a subtle current that often triggers a short burst of feeding activity along prominent deep points.

Most fish are caught during low-light periods or at night on prominent points or humps adjoining a deep 60-foot-plus river channel. Look for schools of suspended baitfish near structure, possibly with big fish below. Jigging spoons, bottom bouncers-spinners-crawlers, livebait rigs, and crankbaits produce at the 15- to 40-foot levels, above the thermocline. Early summer probably provides the best opportunity for the most fish.

But highland walleyes are phantoms; catch one or two, and the rest quickly spook and disperse off the point. You won’t catch a limit in one spot. Due to extremely clear water and hot daytime temperatures, most walleyes are caught at night.

Tracking studies reveal that standing timber often holds big walleyes during the day, and that the fish move out of cover to feed on shad at night. Walleye anglers often won’t fish timber because they lose rigs to snags. Switch to cranks, and give it a try.

Hill-land—Probably the closest parallel to moderately fertile natural walleye lakes, hill-land impoundments offer a structural wealth of fishing opportunities—humps, flats, channels, timber, moderately deep water. They also offer better numbers of fish than highland impoundments, though not the exceptional size. Still, the fish are bigger than in most flowages, though the numbers aren’t as large. This is a real middle-of-the-road environment.

Strangely enough, not many good hill-land walleye impoundments exist; most reservoirs constructed in such terrain tend to be bass fisheries, some with walleyes present. Walleyes likely will spawn on rock shoals in a feeder river, then move back into the main lake. They feed, they roam, they use typical structures like points and humps adjoining the river channel. Early summer suggests bottom bouncer presentations. In fall, jig the tips of points meeting the deep river channel with jigging spoons or jig-and-minnow combos.

Canyon—Exceptionally deep reservoirs of the American Southwest sometimes host walleyes that feed on shad. Some host numbers and even size, walleyewise, but most are only fair. Towering cliffs and winding canyons typify the setting.

Fish spawn on rock toward the back ends of major feeder creeks. Then they move miles back toward the main lake. Prominent structure is rare in such a steep, deep environment where canyon walls often plummet vertically to several hundred feet. If you find a sloping shoreline, fish it with bouncers, jigs, or spoons. An extended point or hump is a bonus. Fish it hard, because walleyes will use it.