"On Winnibigoshish," he continued, "I would set up a live-bait rig with an adjustable snell and allow about 8 feet between the 3/4-ounce sinker and the night crawler harness."

Some of the best structure during the period of easy pickings are reefs and humps near shore, according to Johnson. Some of the bigger walleyes may already be near deeper mid-lake structure, but most fish are still concentrated around shallow bottom contours closer to shore.

LAKE ANN
Wright County
As humans search for summertime comfort, especially by using recreational boats and playing water sports, they unwittingly affect fish locations.

I fish the edge of a beach on Lake Minnetonka in early spring, but when kids start swimming there, forget about getting a bite. Not only is it tough to cast around a bunch of swimmers, there's probably no big walleyes there.

"Now's a good time to be fishing the mornings and evenings," Johnson said. "Because from 10 a.m. until suppertime, you'll be dodging skiers and pleasure boaters on most lakes. Or you can pick a small lake that has motor restrictions or few big boats use it."

Lake Ann, south of Howard Lake has a great walleye population in its 375 acres. Because there is no mid-lake structure and a marginal weedline, Johnson trolls crankbaits or drifts and casts.

"I troll," he said, "when I want to cover lots of water and find aggressive fish. When I find a school of biting walleyes, I mark the spot and cast to it."

LAKE MINNETONKA
Hennepin County
Are there any lakes where summer boat traffic is just an unpleasant fact but remains productive for walleyes?

Johnson said Lake Minnetonka is an example of a lake where recreational traffic is not considered when looking for a fishing spot.

"There are other lakes, too -- White Bear, the Whitefish Chain and the Alexandria Chain of lakes -- where there's lots of traffic and angling pressure, but it doesn't influence the walleyes," he said.

Last July, Johnson was shooting video at Lake Minnetonka for his television show.