When walleyes disperse from spawning areas, take another lesson from prairie lakes. Do adjacent flats or gradual slopes offer anything to concentrate fish in distinct areas or at certain depths? Cruise around and look. Watch your depthfinder. Do you see rises or depressions of a foot or two anywhere within a few hundred yards? Patches of gravel or small rock—not much of a depth change, but nonetheless detectable on electronics? At what depth does a band of low weedgrowth like sandgrass or coontail lie? Is it thick or sparse in some areas, absent in others? These elements may look subtle from a boat, but to walleyes cruising the shallows, a low weed tuft may look like a skyscraper at this time of year—perfect place to spend the day and to search for meals during twilight periods.

Are shiners cruising the shallow flats, preparing to spawn on sand and gravel? If so, walleyes may also be using the same area. Not much cover to hold fish? If the water is stained or dingy due to wind and waves, loose schools of walleyes may be patrolling the flats for minnows. This is particularly true on the wind-whipped waters of large dishpan lakes, where walleyes aggressively feed on shallow 4- to 10-foot flats when the wind howls. Drift or forward troll several depth ranges atop the flats, and don’t be surprised to find fish activity concentrated at one depth, based on water color and light penetration.

If you don’t contact fish on shallow flats or along traditional drop-offs, don’t give up. Check the open water outside the flats for suspended walleyes and for fish roaming the basin. Scan the adjacent basin with electronics to locate small bumps across otherwise featureless bottom. Maybe those are walleyes lying on the mud. If minnows are present, so are the walleyes. Later, when insects hatch, mayflies rising from the mud provide a major seasonal food source.

Are fish above bottom, visible on electronics? High riders are baitfish feeders. Search for schools of baitfish with larger marks interspersed among them or lying just below. Where bait and walleyes collide, you can catch fish, even if the area’s devoid of structure.

In spring, the basin adjacent to spawning areas is always an option, particularly when the lake has good populations of suspended forage and when heavy early-season fishing forces fish off classic drop-off spots.

Not exactly what you’d consider classic walleye behavior? Perhaps it’s time to shake up your thinking. Once you accept the fact that walleyes can and do use flats, slopes, and subtle structure, and that they sometimes suspend over open basins, you have vastly expanded your understanding of their behavior. Now you can consider all the possibilities for catching them, rather than just a few preconceived tactics. Don’t ignore classic structure, because it often provides the key to catching fish. But at the same time, break through the bonds of limited thinking. Walleyes are versatile predators who can adapt to many habitats. Consider all the options, even if they go against the grain.