So I’m not a huge ice guy and I’ve found some small lakes that I’d really like to try out. The thing is they are bowls and have no structure and get pretty deep. Ranging from 25 in deepest spot to some being 50+. How do I find panfish and/or walleye? Any help is appreciated.
Auger and a flasher. Punch a lot of holes. Check them all until you find the depth the fish are working. I wish there were short cuts when exploring the type of “featureless” lake you’ve described. 
WEEDS will be your friend in this situation. Find holes in the weeds for the panfish. Fish the edges to find the walleyes- Find points or inside turns on the weedbeds and fish them as you would traditional structure. Also find transitions from hard to soft bottom. This can be tested by the way the spoon/jig hits the bottom. Crappies will roam the basin at various depths. This is where you will need a flasher as they can come and go at different depths depending on the school. Good luck!
Heres a tip a guy showed me years ago, Take 30ft tape measure run the tape out till you hit the bottom of the lake and tap the bottom, you’ll know righraway if your on rock gravel sand or mud. 
i fished similar type lakes in illinois when i was in college… like said before the weed edges which are most often found near the shore line will be your best option. when looking at new water always eliminate the shallow water first as it is the easiest to eliminate.
A little late now but the easiest way is to get on thewater in summer/fall and gps the weedbeds/edges for the hardwater season.
Thanks guys! Common consensus seems to drill a lot of holes and keep moving! Will do! 
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Thanks guys! Common consensus seems to drill a lot of holes and keep moving! Will do!
And trust your electronics… You can’t catch fish if they’re not present so until you actually mark fish and know they’re in the area keep moving. Sure, I might spend time waiting for fish to come through if I know I’m in a good location from past experience or if I’ve already found fish in nearby holes, but in the situation you’re describing there is really no need to spend more than a minute or two at a hole without fish showing up.
Do you wait a little while before putting the ducer down the hole or do you wait a minute or so in case the auger spooked them?
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Do you wait a little while before putting the ducer down the hole or do you wait a minute or so in case the auger spooked them?
I usually drill about a dozen or more holes at a time so by default there are a few minutes of down time while I drill the other holes before I get back to the first hole to fish it. If I did just drill one or two I would definitly give it a bit of a chance to settle down before moving on.
Same here, just curious.
I like drilling a line of holes from shallow to deep. If I find fish in one of those holes I’ll drill a line perpendicular from that hole. If nothing then move and repeat.
Yup. I imaging that is what most people do, although usually when I find them I’ll drill 4 – 6 holes in a basically a box shape to refine where they are.
Who am I kidding. I never find them.
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Yup. I imaging that is what most people do, although usually when I find them I’ll drill 4 – 6 holes in a basically a box shape to refine where they are.
Who am I kidding. I never find them.
Hay now, we can’t have people telling truths here. This is a fishing forum, we have a image to keep. 
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