Where To Start’s The Hard Part

At first-ice, or during years when lakes freeze clear and there’s not much snow cover, look for darker ice or patches of snow on top of the ice. These spots create a shaded edge in shallower (20 feet or less) water—just like weeds, submerged wood, or docks.

Shaded spots conceal your outline and movements, too. Again, walleyes can easily see through clear water and ice, making them leery of any motion. Some anglers have been known to haul large chunks of carpet onto the ice to hide their movements. Another trick is to load a sled with snow, pull it on to the ice, and spread it over the spot you plan to fish.

Ice heaves (pushes, pressure ridges) offer a temporary edge, too. Heaves form similarly to earthquakes—two ice plates, separated by a crack, push against each other until eventually the pressure causes the ice to give way. Some chunks get pushed up, some down. It’s the stuff that gets pushed down that creates a temporary structure. Large ice heaves in shallower lakes can be particularly good. But even in deeper water, walleyes have been found suspending near ice heaves. Be extremely careful of your safety when fishing these areas—it’s some of the most unstable ice out there and must be respected.

Bottom-content edges, such as mud meeting sand or gravel, narrow waterways between two bodies of water, or deeper water holes and bays, can be good. It’s easiest to discover such spots during the open-water season using an underwater camera. Just cruise along in aboat with your Aqua-Vu deployed. When you spot a bottom-content variance, mark it on GPS and return there during ice season.

Fertile bays connected to the main lake are overlooked locations. Due to fishing pressure or buildups of baitfish and bug larvae in these bays, walleyes can make a move into these areas.

Generally, there isn’t a lot of structure here, so key in on any that’s available and stay mobile. Walleyes in this situation are generally aggressive and voracious. Don’t spend a lot of time fishing these spots—they’ll either be there, or they won’t. The times we’ve found them in such duck-hunting bays, the fish were plentiful and hungry.

Feeder creeks and narrow areas that connect two bodies of water almost always have current that attracts baitfish and walleyes. The amount of current varies during low- and high-water years. The spots are especially good at first-and late-ice, but current means thin ice—be careful.

Huge schools of baitfish can be considered a moving structural mass, themselves. The key is to use sonar and an underwater camera to locate these masses of roaming baitfish. They likely are suspended, and walleyes can often be found tracking them at the same depth, hanging near the edge of the school.

The desert-like structure of shallow dishpan lakes can be intimidating—there are just so many places a roaming walleye could be. Logically, though, they’re down there somewhere, and you can find them if you’re willing to venture out on your own, drill lots of holes, and try new locations. Drill, fish, move.

Drill, fish, move. Keep moving until you chase down those rascal walleyes like a dog tracks a hot scent in the woods. We’ll find those scalawags—I just know it.