Sight-Fishing Shallow Walleyes

Veteran angler and guide Steve Fellegy has been ice fishing Minnesota lakes for over 40 years. “Throughout the year, walleyes can be found deep, shallow, and everywhere in between,” he says. “But for years I’ve had amazing success sight-fishing 3 to 10 feet deep.”

Traditionally, ice anglers start the season at the same primary spots that produced walleyes in the fall. These classic spots produce early, but because they attract crowds of people, good fishing often is shortlived. “When fishing slows on predictable spots, anglers generally search deeper and often overlook prime shallow haunts,” he says.

According to Fellegy, proper etiquette in the shallows begins and ends with extreme stealth. “The biggest mistake people make is not taking every necessary precaution to be quiet,” he says. “When there’s traffic and noise topside of the ice, you won’t catch much in shallow spots.”

Fellegy sets up at least an hour before walleyes are going to move into the area. Walleyes generally get active between the first and last two hours at dawn and dusk, with peak movements generally lasting anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes during twilight hours.

Predrilling ice holes hours ahead of time allows you to sneak back into the area without making much commotion. At late-ice, holes may stay open several hours, possibly several days, and sometimes for the remainder of the season.

“When I plan to fish a shallow spot in the evening, I drill my holes sometime in the afternoon,” he says. “And you have to stay in stealth mode once you get set up in your shelter, too. One false move—drop the pliers on the floor, slide the chair instead of picking it up and setting it down carefully, walk around on the ice with ice cleats, banging your skimmer on the ice, or make any sudden movement when fish are near—and you spook them and any others in the area.”

Vision-Fishing: A Shallow Water Treat

Seeing fish react—or not react—to your lure is an unmatched learning experience that helps anglers determine select triggering moves and ultimately catch more fish. Fellegy: “The most enjoyable part is watching walleyes move in and interact, completely unaware of your presence. It’s like hiding in the weeds when a flock of mallards is landing in the decoys, or watching a turkey gobble and strut its stuff in the spring, or seeing leery whitetails wandering through the woods. There’s just so much you can learn by studying animal behavior with your own eyes.”

Sight-fishing works best inside a portable shelter or an icehouse. Fellegy: “I like to use an ice house without any windows. My hole is 30 inches wide by 8 feet long and I actually use a small net to land my fish. The big hole allows me to see the fish coming from long distances. In fact, I leave the heater running on low all winter just to keep the hole open, which allows me to sneak out and start fishing without making any noise.

“Again, when fish move in, key on their behavior to determine if they are aggressive or leery, in order to decide the best way to trigger a strike. For instance, walleyes that come in with their body curved, fins flailing excitedly, are more than likely biters. Fish that move in slowly and stare at the bait are less aggressive and need to be finessed a bit.”

Individual fish can react differently to the same bait, he claims. “I’ve been pretty successful keeping multiple rods rigged with different baits ready for deployment. When a fish moves in but seems disinterested, I quickly reel up and drop a different lure down. Amazingly, the new look triggers lots of strikes.”

Convincing fella, that Fellegy. Oh, one more thing. He says the last day of the season is almost better than the first day. So get out there and see it for yourself.

Steve Fellegy can be reached at 651/270-3383.