Shallow water tactics for early summer walleye in natural lakes
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As water temperatures warm during the early part of the summer, walleye on their feedbags. Much of the fish's growth for the entire season will occur during this time period, as energy is no longer being devoted to reproduction and the high water temperatures (and therefore high metabolic levels) of mid-late summer have not yet arrived. Working in the angler's favor during this time period is the fact that most lake and river food webs have yet to bloom to their greatest extent. Panfish and other baitfish like shad are just now spawning, and small, young-of-the-year bait is in short supply. So, the walleye equation at this time of the year is simple:
Hungry fish + low bait supply = angler success!
In this article, I'll walk you through one of my favorite early-summer walleye presentations. Whether you fish lakes or rivers, the methods you'll learn about here will put more, and bigger, early-summer walleyes in your boat!
Dr. Jason Halfen
Professional Walleye Angler
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The importance of the inside weedline on natural lakes
Fertile natural lakes across the walleye belt often feature lush weedbeds that extend from the shallows to depths where light penetreation eventually cuts off. These weeds rarely extend all of the way to the shoreline, leaving a relatively weed-free area from this inside weed edge to the shore. This area is a playground for hungry walleyes, especially after dark. These fish, which spend their day hunkered down under the cover of cabbage and coontail, move into this open area after dark to terrorize the panfish that are in the shallows for their annual spawning ritual.
My Humminbird 1197 Side Imaging fishing system is a tremendous tool for identifying and dissecting these shallow water areas. The screen capture at left shows a very productive shoreline area that includes two key features for nighttime walleye angling success: (1) a relatively clean bottom area, spanning approximatetly 100 feet from the inside weed edge (highlighted in green) to shore, and (2) some sort of very shallow obstruction or cover, in this case an L-shaped dock. The pairs of metal dock support posts are clearly visible as bright white spots on this side image, extending from the shoreline on the far left. The clean bottom is important as it allows the angler to effectively present the baits of choice (crankbaits) withough constantly snagging on abundant rocks, wood, or weeds. However, scattered shallow cover, in the form of occasional docks or sunken timber, is key to this pattern, as panfish and baitfish will remain in the area through the night if some sort of cover is available to them. My Side Imaging fishing system allows me to cruise the lake by day, when the water is occupied by recreational boaters, and identify likely areas to target as the sun retreats toward the horizon. I can drop waypoints on any likely areas identified by Side Imaging, and then return to focus on those key areas later.
How do I target the walleyes associated with these areas? One approach is to use my iPilot-equipped Terrova 101 to slowly move my boat parallel to shore, while making long, quartering casts ahead of my position with #7 Rapala Shallow Shad Raps (SSR7s). When fishing in the manner, I keep my boat just inside the weeds, along the inner weed edge, allowing my bait to run completely within the weed-free zone between the inside weed edge and shore. My retrieves are slow and steady. In fact, it's difficult to retrieve the bait too slowly, and if you think you're retrieving the bait slowly enough....slow down some more! Firetiger, Hot Steel, and Purpledescent are great patterns to start with while casting to these shallow water walleyes.
Long-line trolling is a great way to cover large stretches of water and contact more fish-holding areas than casting might allow. Even though the water is warm, I keep my trolling speeds at or below 2 mph. Imparting action to the trolled baits by sweeping your rod forward and then passing to allow the bait to remain motionless will generally result in more action than a simple, straight trolling pass with the rod in the rod holder. For long-lining these shallow waters, I have been having great success with a new bait, the Rapala #8 Flat Rap. Flat Raps don't dive particularly deep (perhaps just 2 feet when trolled with 100 ft of braid), but their hard-flashing action is proving to be too difficult for fish to resist. I look for the larger size (#10) to be a tremendous bait later in the season.
You will catch far more than just walleyes by casting or trolling these shallow water haunts after dark. My boat regularly encounters musky, pike, largemouth and smallmouth bass while on our nightly visits to the shallows. During the very early part of the summer, don't be surprised to catch some of the largest crappies of your season as well!
Here's a peak at another classic shoreline area as revealed by my Humminbird 1197 Side Imaging Fishing System. This area is actually a shoreline point that extends out close to the inside cabbage weedline (again shown in green). The bottom betweem the inside weed edge and the shore is relatively free of obstructions, except for a cluster of sunken trees that are clearly visible towards the top of the screen capture. The bright white returns of the tree trunks and their associated shadows are dead give-aways. This area will hold baitfish and panfish all night....and those will pull walleyes out of the weeds
During your next opportunity to fish summer walleyes after dark, don't ignore the area between the inside weed edge and the shoreline. During the daylight hours, use your Humminbird Side Imaging system to scout for scattered shallow cover that would hold baitfish after dark, and then return to these areas at dusk and after dark to target oversized walleyes and other shallow predators. You'll enjoy some of the best fishing of the summer season, and still have your days to spend fishing, swimming, or boating with the family!
