Walleye Location & Behavior in Reservoirs

“Reservoir walleyes tend to be migratory,” Olson says, “and schools are commonly here today, gone tomorrow. A great spot one day often is totally dead the next; the fish simply aren’t there. They’re off to greener pastures, so to speak, where food is easily available.

“Wind plays a big part in locating big-reservoir walleyes in summer, with the windy side of the lake tending to be best. It’s not that all the fish suddenly run to the windy side of the lake; it’s just that the fish there tend to become more active and catchable as the onset of wind begins tearing up the shoreline, creating mudlines that reduce visibility and make baitfish more vulnerable to predation by walleyes.

“Because wind draws active walleyes shallow, you usually can troll through such areas relatively quickly to determine if active fish are present. Bottom bouncer-spinner combos dressed with nightcrawlers are superb for such conditions. So are shallow-running crankbaits. They let you cover and eliminate long sections of shorelines until you suddenly run up on biting fish. At that point, you often can simply turn back around and retroll through them to catch more fish. You also have the option to switch to more precise casting tactics with jigs or crankbaits, if fish seem more tightly concentrated along a distinct feature like an inside turn, rather than strung out along a general stretch of shoreline. It’s a judgment call based on what the fish are doing.

“In the absence of wind, however, the walleyes tend to be deeper, lying along the tips of major shoreline points that extend into the reservoir and intercept passing schools of walleyes and baitfish. Or, they can be suspended outside the structure. Often your best bet is to simply run a series of points relatively quickly, using electronics to first determine the presence, depth, and orientation of the fish to structure. And believe me, on a giant reservoir, you can spend a lot of time looking for fish life before ever putting a bait in the water. Once located, select a likely presentation, like livebait rigging with big chubs for fish holding tight to a breakline, or trolling crankbaits with leadcore line for fish suspended off the sides of structures.”

Best advice: play the wind, if available, and don’t get stuck on any one area, type of spot, or method. To consistently catch walleyes on big reservoirs in summer, you need to be mobile and versatile, and match your tactics to the current conditions, which commonly can and do change throughout the day.

Unnatural Walleyes

Though reservoirs are artificially created environments, they share many aspects of walleye location and behavior with lakes and rivers. As water levels rise, walleyes tend to move shallow, sometimes penetrating cover. As levels recede, fish tend to abandon shallow cover, moving more toward the main lake. Prominent points and humps always are candidates to check, particularly where they adjoin deep water. In larger, deeper impoundments, deep water may occur almost everywhere. In smaller, shallower reservoirs, submerged river and creek channels may provide the only available deep water. Deep is also relative; it might be hundreds of feet, or 15 to 20. It all depends on where the reservoir is located, because all reservoirs begin as rivers, then adopt the landform on which they’re built. When walleyes adopt them as home, they react and behave accordingly.