Questions on shallow water walleyes

When fishing shallow (13 ft or less) on a very clear water lake, should I be worried about light shining down the hole after dark? Seem to do ok on tip-ups but have very few show up on the flasher under the shack. And what are some techniques you guys like to use? Have tried buckshots, slender spoons, jiggin raps, and deadsticking. The bite window is rather short, maybe 45 mins to an hour at best around sunset. The lake is pretty featureless as far as mid-lake structure as far as I can tell. Where/what should I look for as we approach mid ice season? The lake only has few smallish points and that is about it. Have just been fishing a weedline along a fast break on the inside turn of a gradual weedy point but activity seems to be fading the later in the season we get. Its tough for me to leave this location as i have no idea where to move next. Stumbled upon this spot the end of hardwater season for gamefish the end of last feb. and did well so i plan on coming back to this spot then. Unfortunately I forgot to do my open water scouting this past summer! Thanks for any input! Also any tips as where to look morning and mid-day? Or do they just roam the basin scattered out on this type of lake?

I fish a lot of shallow water walleyes and i can tell you, stealth is key. Noise, Light, movement, etc all come into play. I keep everything to a minimum and get set up before i know the fish will come thru.

Quick bites are common in shallow water, ranging from 5 to 45 minutes most often. Be ready. I always have everything right next to me ready to go, spare rods, minnow heads, lures and so on.

Shallow fish are active. Most of the time they WILL give you a chance to hook them. There shallow to eat. You have to be on your game and take advantage of that.

Some days, you will blank out, others you will have a hay day. Just gotta get out there and give it a shot! Good luck and have fun!!

I’d listen to Grant! He’s smart

As to where you should be set up, I think is a guessing game most of the time, if it is a pretty feature-less lake. I’ve gone out probly 40-50 times this year fishing in water as shallow as 5 feet and usually just pick any ol spot. Some days you get skunked some days you pull in some nice fish. you just gotta put in your time. And if you can find deep water I would find the closest sharp break there is and fish the deep during the day then hop up to the shallow about an hour before sun-down. This is just what has been succesful for me.

Good luck and happy fishing!

They can be very spooky shallow and I’d say a bright light might not be a good thing to do. I have some hole covers for tipups that have a small hole in the middle. You can run a jig line through that hole to minimize your light down the hole. We stop jigging and put out an extra tipup. Often we stay on shore to avoid noise. Don’t run or stomp on the ice be quiet and you will certainly catch more fish.

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I fish a lot of shallow water walleyes and i can tell you, stealth is key. Noise, Light, movement, etc all come into play. I keep everything to a minimum and get set up before i know the fish will come thru.

Quick bites are common in shallow water, ranging from 5 to 45 minutes most often. Be ready. I always have everything right next to me ready to go, spare rods, minnow heads, lures and so on.

Shallow fish are active. Most of the time they WILL give you a chance to hook them. There shallow to eat. You have to be on your game and take advantage of that.

Some days, you will blank out, others you will have a hay day. Just gotta get out there and give it a shot! Good luck and have fun!!

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X2…. I couldn’t have said it better

Thanks for the insight guys! Finally having some warm weather this weekend I will be giving the auger and aquaview a workout! Got another place on the lake in mind I want to give a shot!

Grant-do you hole hop on shallow lakes like this or the bay, or do you stay in one spot for the morning/evening bites, because the walking from hole to hole scares them???

The way i look at it is you are better off staying in one place. The fish are moving around fast. If you start moving around as well, you could miss them. If I stay in one place, I have more confidence that I will intersect them and hook a few. This is only at the peak times. You can really get shallow fish dialed in as to what time they will come thru, so when that does happen, I sugest you be sitting still!

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The way i look at it is you are better off staying in one place. The fish are moving around fast. If you start moving around as well, you could miss them. If I stay in one place, I have more confidence that I will intersect them and hook a few. This is only at the peak times. You can really get shallow fish dialed in as to what time they will come thru, so when that does happen, I sugest you be sitting still!

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Awesome post; great comments Grant. I see too many people, especially at prime-time, running around the ice in an auger-driven fury. There’s a time and place for mobility, like always, the trick is figuring out when that time is.

Joel