In fertile prairie lakes, walleye activity becomes progressively more daytime-oriented as the Summer Period approaches. There are no distinct visual signs and water temperatures to indicate when fish are in their Postspawn, Presummer, or Summer Peak Periods. Use these general guidelines instead: Presummer activity is usually triggered by water temperatures in the upper 50s°F; fish do not change location, but they feed more aggressively. Summer Peak activity usually occurs when the main lake’s water temperature rises into the low 70s°F for the first time. Summer Peak activity can be frenzied and often offers a short 1-to-2-week span that includes some of the year’s best fishing. In mid-eutrophic lakes, the heaviest Summer Peak feeding usually occurs during the day from twilight to twilight, and is shoreline-oriented. Walleyes can be found in the vicinity (often right along the bank) of deeper riprapped or rocky shorelines. Current areas also draw fish.

As water temperature climbs into the upper 60s°F and low 70s°F, indicating the arrival of the Summer Period, rock or riprapped bank areas that drop immediately into a foot or two of water become primary fish attractors. These areas commonly offer relatively hard bottoms. Once you’ve identified such areas, look for distinct features to help narrow the locational odds. Points, sections of comparatively deeper banks, tight groups of docks—anything out of the ordinary tends to congregate walleyes. Current, the other key walleye attractor, also draws fish. The common factor in these periods is that walleyes feed aggressively in shallower water than most people think.

Although some walleyes are likely to remain shallow much of the time, they aren’t always feeding. Cloudy, rainy weather and moderate wind blowing into a bank seem to enhance and focus shallow walleyes’ activity. Too much wind may roil water so badly that walleyes can’t feed effectively.

The Basin Bite

In summer, a true dispersal occurs. Walleyes spread throughout prairie lakes, taking advantage of their abundance of forage. Their locations are usually keyed by food sources—shiners, fathead minnows, small perch, bullheads, bluegills, and crayfish. Eutrophic lakes usually brim with food, and in midsummer, walleyes can be almost anywhere and still find available food.

In shallow lakes, huge groups of fish scatter across muck-bottomed lake basins, relating to the abundant forage roaming there. Lake basins are those deeper areas lying beyond the drop-off. Basin areas are composed almost entirely of muck and may be as little as 8 to 12 feet deep, but 20 feet is more likely. Although you can find walleyes almost anywhere in a lake basin, there is a science involved to fishing one.

The most productive basin areas are usually near Summer Peak holding areas. The basins near various bars in early eutrophic lakes, or those near riprapped or rock shorelines in mid-eutrophic lakes usually hold numbers of walleyes during the Summer Period. This is especially true immediately after the Summer Peak.

Is there anything you can look for in a basin that concentrates scattered fish? Yes: Comparatively hard bottom usually attracts and holds fish. Freshly dredged areas often offer harder bottom and attract lots of walleyes.

Suspended walleyes often relate to bottom in basin areas, especially where bottom is somewhat firm. Where basins are so mucky that puffy sediment suspends above bottom for a foot or two, fish are likely to be found above it. We’ve had diving experiences during which we’ve actually disappeared below what appeared to be bottom but was only suspended sediment. It’s an eerie feeling. You can’t see this suspension on your depthfinder or graph, but you can look for suspended fish. If you see a lot of suspended fish, you can assume there’s suspended sediment and that walleyes are hovering above it. Get your lures up off bottom, and you’ll catch more fish.

Where there’s a lack of subtle structure or bottom changes to congregate walleyes in the basin, accept the fact that they are going to be roamers who can be almost anywhere, anytime. Best bet: crisscross open water in your boat, using your electronics to scan for the presence of suspended forage or walleyes. Fish where you see fish. If there’s been a consistent wind for several days, try fishing the downwind side of the lake; plankton and baitfish are more likely to gather there. In the end, though, it’s a wide-open playing field, and fish are wherever you find them.

Traditions and Trends, Plus New Perspectives

Some things stand the test of time. Seasonal locations, mostly. Techniques change, but fish remain fish and relate to their environment according to their needs. Good spots tend to remain good unless man alters the environment or overharvests the fishery. New patterns, such as suspended fish or walleyes in shallow cover, get discovered. But many old favorites never go out of style.

Expect traditional behavior in classic lakes. Other natural lakes, however, offer different environments. One recent trend is recognizing and understanding shallow water activity and deep water suspension. These are important in some environments and provide additional options even in classic walleye waters. Interestingly, many of the principles we’ve discovered about shallow water activity and fish suspension originated on prairie lakes that lack any form of distinctive structure. These have now been applied to classic waters.

Lakes with slow-tapering shorelines present their own unique challenge, mostly because they lack distinct drop-offs to concentrate fish. Anglers who feel confident when fishing depth changes that appear on their depthfinders become nervous after zipping around a lake and not finding obvious structure. Don’t abandon slopes on any body of water too quickly if they adjoin spawning grounds. Walleyes gradually disperse from shoreline tapers, so be prepared to sift through subtle clues to find postspawn walleyes.

Does shoreline cover “produce” fish? Do rocks, fallen trees, reeds, cane, bogs? Walleyes can be found surprisingly shallow in spring in nearly all bodies of water where they’re present. Don’t automatically eliminate shorelines; explore the possibilities. Shorelines are prime feeding areas in prairie lakes and dark water lakes in bog country, particularly during spring and summer. They may not produce in deep, clear waters by day, but in shallow, stained water, they may be hot spots bypassed by anglers unaware that walleyes can be that shallow. Two or three feet of water is deep enough to hold feeding ‘eyes.

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.