Peering down an ice hole for hours has a way of testing your character—a lot of waiting for something to happen punctuated by moments of great drama. From one minute to the next, the underwater turf below doesn’t change—until a dark oval shape silently materializes, and your rod goes thunk.

That Tony Roach and I can sit there in silence for hours must say something about compatibility; that and the fact that he doesn’t whack me over the head for dropping the ice scoop on the floor with a resounding clank. In 7 feet of crystal clear water, noise is frowned upon—at least if you’re interested in seeing a walleye.

“You know,” Roach said one evening, dropping one of those mind bombs that happens along while sitting in a fish house. “This is a lot like deer hunting. I mean, here we are, sitting in total silence, looking down into the water below our boots, waiting for something to happen—waiting for a big ‘whitetail’ to move through. This is our deer stand on ice.”

Indeed, the parallels are striking, for deer hunter and angler a like aim to bag heavyweight animals with flag-white tails. Tree-stand hunters would probably make fine shallow-water sight fishermen. But it’s more than that.  For both, a successful hunt hinges on a talent for blending in—quietly observing as well as actively participating on our respective wild playing fields.

Observation is a big part of the ritual. Always, there’s time to watch and wait, to slow your thinking to match the pace of the rhythms around us. The hunter recognizes similar signs, knows when to make the right call, and soon, precisely when to pull the trigger. For anglers the ritual involves an ice rod, a jigging spoon, and a move Roach calls The Old Roach Death Wiggle.

The Darkhouse Connection

Those who spend time in a spearing shelter see lots of big walleyes, roving along near bottom in 6 to 12 feet of water. Some days you see more walleyes than pike. Darkhouses typically are set on prime shallow sections of classic walleye and pike habitat—ends of points off broad shallow flats, and major or minor stands of large leaf pondweed. Shallow walleyes don’t appear just anywhere.

We sight-fish through the same large “sight” holes cut to fit inside spearing shelters. It’s some of the most compelling ice fishing there is, and one of the best shots at a big walleye. Daytime fishing often calls for extra effort with fine-tuned presentations, but twilight biters often strike fast, hard, and often without warning—jolting bites.

Sight-fishing requires a totally dark shelter. Roach and I prefer a mobile shelter we can move easily between outings. If we’re fishing together, we use a pop-up Frabill Headquarters, sealing out all floor-level light by shoveling snow or slush over the top of exterior tent flaps. Next we fasten all window coverings, and even close off pinpricks of light with duct tape.

Inside, lanterns are a no-no. The warm glow of a heater, candle, or the screen on an underwater camera is enough light to fish by. The last thing you want is a beam of light cascading down the hole—a shocking lazer-beam of light to a walleye.

On morning excursions, we set up two hours before sunrise. We cut holes and let things settle down while we sit in the darkness, drink coffee, and let our eyes adjust. When it’s still too dark to see bottom, large spoons or swimming lures in glow colors allow us to see baits down to about 10 feet. Even in darkness, you can often make out the shape of a walleye as it approaches your lure. Also, as your eyes adjust and the sun slowly rises, it’s surprising how well you can see down below. Spearers sometimes drop eggshells or peeled potatoes on the lakebed to provide better bottom perspective.

At dusk, we settle in two hours before sundown. Again, once our eyes adjust to increasing darkness our vision of bottom and fish below are extended for a half-hour or so past total dark. It’s as if the earth has turned upside-down and light is emanating from the ground.

Roach likes fishing during the week leading up to a full moon and several days just after. “It’s all about light,” he says. “It’s not the mystical tidal draw brought to bear on walleye feeding movements. Light allows walleyes to feed more effectively. It’s also why you shouldn’t just plan trips around full-moon phases, but check moonrise each day. If moonrise is two hours after sunset, it can extend the bite, and even mean a spike in fish movement beyond the classic sundown scenario. Moonrise can be key.”

Noise is a factor. Something as minor as scraping boots across the ice resonates underwater, especially without snow cover. Roach says that walleyes learn to avoid areas where artificial sounds are prominent.

Setting a Sight Shelter

When we’re on a hunt for big fish, we set up in 6 to 12 feet of water. Roach: “If I can’t set up at least a hundred yards away from other anglers, I won’t fish there. There’s just too much noise in community areas.”

By mid to late winter, most anglers stay away from shallow spots, despite the fact that a lot of big fish use super-shallow travel routes to hunt for food all winter. “By February, thick ice pinches fish into tighter confines,” Roach says. “In shallow water, walleyes sometimes use the ice itself just like they would any other structural edge—to trap baitfish against something solid.”

On larger waters such as Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron, and Red Lake, Minnesota, ice heaves play a role in walleye location. Places where opposing ice sheets force one sheet down (sometimes 5 feet or more) conceal baitfish like shiners and draw walleyes. Anywhere obvious downward heaves nearly touch shallow structures are worth a night of exploratory fishing.

On good walleye water, one evening (or early morning) in five typically provides excellent fishing. The other trips usually offer chances at good fish, but not always. That’s ice fishing. Still, on those exceptional nights, we often catch 8- to 10-pound walleyes, along with others in the 3- to 6-pound range. For me, this sort of fishing is worth the odds. The big-fish potential and the sensory appeal of sight-fishing override other options for catching more smaller fish.

We find many of our best fishing spots while fishing open water. These are areas where we’ve made consistent catches while shallow-water trolling in fall, as well as specific pieces of turf we’ve identified by viewing with an underwater camera.