Although you can find active fish during the day, most of the shallow action takes place just before and just after dark, especially on the rocks. “On our end of the lake we work a lot of rocks starting with those in the 6- to 8-foot range. Most of the fish turn on an hour or so before dark and you might want to get out early and get set up and then wait them out. Walleyes will start to show up a little earlier, though, and in a dark house, you can actually see them by getting down on the ice and taking a look for yourself, but they usually aren’t turned on enough to take a bait until late in the day,” Kevin McQuiod said.

John Odle of Rocky Reef Resort in the southwest corner of the lake has a couple of major shallow rock reefs in front of his place and agrees with Kevin and said, “It typically starts happening between 3:30 and 4 p.m. and will last for an hour or so after dark. You can catch fish all night long, but it gets pretty spotty and is not as intense as the action just before and just after dark.” The weedy bays on the south end of the lake can also give up some walleye gold early on, and is another sunup or sundown proposition. The deeper edges of the deepest weeds are a good place to start looking and you better get up early or stay late if you plan to get in on the fun.

Good daytime action typically requires some depth and whether you can get to it or not will depend on the ice conditions. The sand break in the northeast corner of the lake is a good early-season producer and has the depth to provide steady daytime action. So do the sand breaks between rocky points like St. Alban’s Bay and Wig Wam Bay. Basically, the breaks are big, shallow, slow-tapering sand shelves that extend out into the main lake and then drop quickly into the basin. The top might run from 8 to 10 feet and the base can bottom out in 14 to maybe 20 feet or so of water. Try working the base of the dropoff during the day and then on up to the top of the break toward dark. If you’re dealing with rocks, try working the deepest edges during the day and then move up on the top edge at sunset.

Shallow-Water Techniques
It’s hard to beat a jigging spoon for sticking early-season walleyes and the noise and commotion it creates can really turn them on. Smaller spoons like Northland Tackle’s 1/4-ounce buckshot tipped with a minnow head are perfect for working shallow water and are the hands-down favorite for picking off active fish. Early in the season, an aggressive jigging stroke can be more effective than something softer and subtler. Later on after the walleyes have had a chance to see it all, subtle becomes much more effective. If you’re watching your lure on a depthfinder, you can quickly see if a hard snap is spooking fish. In that case, you might have to slow it way down and even let the bait sit perfectly still at times.

Once the sun drops and it becomes good and dark, the spoons can slow down a bit, but there’s another great option that can help keep you getting your pole bent and that’s using a dead rod or a bobber rig. “You can keep using a spoon after dark but you better have at least one bobber rig set up. For whatever reason a minnow suspended below a bobber can really make a difference and it can pay to mix it up a little,” McQuiod said.

A small shiner on a red hook or maybe a colored jighead suspended below a float that can barely stay on top is a terrific combination working the midnight oil. A bobber that barely floats will create less resistance and is less likely to be detected by a fish that can be unbelievably fussy. The extra color of the hook or jig will help you be noticed and you can try different colors, but it’s pretty hard to beat something red.

As the season progresses and good ice develops, more and more of the deep structure becomes accessible and there’s a definite migration from shallow to deep.

“We start the ice season by working the shallow rocks and then move to deeper and deeper rock bars and humps as soon as we can. The deeper rockpiles provide the best opportunity for finding active daytime fish and the action can be good and steady. Start by working the tops of the rocks and then move down the sides, especially later on in the season. A big key to getting in on the hottest action is being there ahead of the plow trucks and all of the traffic and commotion a crowd can create,” McQuiod said.