I’ve already temporarily misplaced my year-and-a-half-old Labrador, Chase, too many times. Oh, for a youngster, he minds fairly well—knows his fundamental commands like sit, stay, come, fetch, and give. He also watches me for hand signals to search left, right, in front, and behind. He’s got a good nose and the right attitude, too—full steam ahead into the water and brush, capable of darting left to right in an instant through cattails and timber. And when I whistle multiple times, he comes running back, circles around my right side to sit within inches of my left foot.

But the juvenile rascal-of-a-pooch knows when I’m not looking and tends to wander off on his own adventures. Which has left me to ponder: How do you find a young Lab roaming the dense woods of northern Minnesota? I just do what I’ve always done: Move from spot to spot until I find we cross paths; or sit and wait, hoping the scalawag comes back around, the same reasoning we’ve used for decades to find walleyes that roam in lakes.

Eliminating water is the key to finding these walleyes. Sometimes you drill a hole, get lucky, and locate them. But most times out, anglers have to drill lots of holes to find fish. The search, however, evolves into part of the fun. It’s like the chance at hitting the jackpot, and it’s the driving force behind drilling more holes.

Where to start’s the hard part. Roaming walleyes tend to live in structureless waters. So, if you’re used to keying on structure to find wintertime walleyes, initiating your search may seem overwhelming, at first. Don’t fret. Even veteran anglers who have been tracking down nomad walleyes for years feel some anxiety before they drill their first hole.

A good place to start is where you left off catching them just before the water froze. In fall, walleyes and baitfish generally make a seasonal movement to specific spots that can be great early-ice locations. Another obvious spot is where—year after year—anglers traditionally catch walleyes at first-ice. One of these two spots is as good as any place to start.

But there are lots of others. Bowl-shaped lakes—whether the maximum depth is 40 feet or 5—don’t have much bottom structure for anglers to key on to find fish, but all waters have edges that can attract and concentrate baitfish and walleyes. I call it microstructure.

The most obvious is the shoreline. Long stretches of shore also attract baitfish and walleyes into the shallows. During twilight and at night, walleyes can be found searching for baitfish in the shallows, using the short distance between the ice and lake bottom to corral and catch baitfish. And you can catch walleyes here if you’re stealthy.

Over the years we’ve found them cruising in a foot of water. Other times that the fish keyed on the zone about 25 to 50 yards from shore, they were still relating to shoreline. Stealth is critical in the shallows. Once or twice in the 30- odd years I’ve been ice fishing, the fish have been on such a chew that not even a carnival would have spooked them. In most instances, walleyes scatter if you don’t do whatever it takes to prevent them from detecting you.

When I’m fishing in 15 feet of water or less, I often pre-drill my holes several hours before I return to fish them. During the late season the holes may stay open for the remainder of safe ice. Try to cut down on making any noise or moving around much: Being cautiously quiet can make the difference between catching the motherlode and no fish at all.

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.