The bottom of Woman Lake can be described as erratic. Scraggly-edged points, sharp inside turns - there's hardly a straight edge on any contour in this lake. And the walleyes seem to like this a lot.

A productive technique on Woman Lake is the live-bait rig. In the summer months you can't beat a rig with a leech or night crawler worked on an inside turn or the tip of a point in 15 to 25 feet of water.

In the spring and fall if you cast jigs and minnows up to the shallows of the long, shallow point that extends from the north-central shoreline almost to the south shoreline you will find a lot of walleyes willing to bite. In the spring, you want to drag a jig off the west side where it tapers slowly. In the fall, drag a jig off the east side where it drops off fast.

For more information, call the Mule Lake Store at (218) 682-2549.

Those walleyes that used to hang around the bulrush in the spring are getting hounded by anglers that discovered a slip-bobber and leech could fool them easily. Now it seems like the best spring spots are the shallow sand, and rubble points and bars that extend off the shoreline. Anglers are working these early-season walleyes with a jig-and-minnow.

As the fish transition to the deeper structure, most anglers tie on a live-bait rig and backtroll the 15- to 18-foot contour lines. This works well, but it's the anglers who put a lot of distance between the hook and sinker that are getting the best results. Last season, a late June trip had us putting 12 to 14 feet between the weight and bait to get those walleyes to bite. The bait still rides near bottom, it's just that the sinker doesn't spook the fish.

There are a lot of community spots on Osakis, but they always seem to be productive. Just remember that the walleyes on this lake do get some pressure, so keep your presentation perfect and use lively bait.

For more information, call Osakis Bait at (320) 859-4647.

Fortunately, Little McDonald does have a few spots on the west side where anglers who must chase walleyes that relate to structure can set up a live-bait rig and follow some inside turns and points.

For those who want to become adept at fishing suspended walleyes or have already mastered the art, then the sharp-dropping bottom that leaves those fish out in the open will provide a perfect underwater landscape for them.

Take it for granted that the schools of fish that show up on your sonar are walleyes hovering right above the thermocline. A perch-colored crankbait, while seemingly an odd choice for suspended fish, seems to work extremely well on the suspended walleyes in Little McDonald. Just make sure the lure runs deep enough.

For more information, call Gene's Sport Shop at (218) 346-3355.

The best technique on Lotus is a bottom-bouncer and spinner rig with a night crawler harness. You don't even have to start your big motor. What I do is drop the boat in, park the trailer, push off from the dock and drop the bow-mount electric motor. Using my bow-mount electric on a medium-high speed I troll along the 18- to 20-foot depth contour. When you hit the saddles between the basins you get a little too shallow for this rig, so I switch to a crankbait for a short run. There are a lot of walleyes in Lotus considering its small size.

For more information, call Cabin Fever at (952) 443-2022.

There is also a well-developed weedline on Julia, and even though anglers will find plenty of pike and rock bass there, it can also be a haven for walleyes, especially at night.

We all know that at night the walleyes that have been suspended or buried themselves under the heavy vegetation head toward the forage to feed. On Julia, the weedline is a good place to find those walleyes after the sun goes down. You can catch them dragging a live-bait rig with a jumbo leech that's swimming hard or a hardy fathead minnow.

When the sun is shining, a live-bait rig in the 17- to 22-foot range on the sand slopes of a sunken island or point can generate some bites.

For more information, call Bluewater Bait at (218) 444-2248.

You can troll two lines per angler on Big Stone, so if there are a couple of people in the boat, you are going to need some trolling boards to spread the lures out.

On some days a spinner rig will be the most productive technique, while on other days it's a crankbait. I only know a few anglers who are capable of running both spinners and crankbaits effectively at the same time, so you may need to do some experimenting if you're not catching fish as fast as you think you should.

If there's one thing to remember when setting up for Big Stone it's that the walleyes tend to favor the bottom, so keep any lure you're using close to it. The water clarity is not that great either, so use blades or lures that create some flash and you'll have better luck.

For more information, call Bud's Bait at (320) 839-2480.