Are the Walleye Still Shallow?
It's hot! The water is Hot! So the Walleye must be deep right?
Every spring Walleye move shallow to spawn. They set up there before the spawn, during the spawn, and after to rest. Walleye like to lay their eggs on structure and cover for protection. The water also warms up quickly here. This makes it a prime location to target Walleye. For the record, I always throw back pre-spawn female Walleye. Keep the males!
Once the spawn is over, Walleye will go on the feed. They are hungry and ready to eat! A lot of them will start to work their way out of the shallows to find food and move to their summer structure such as Rock Piles, Stock Dams, Current, etc.
A lot of anglers will start to troll crankbaits and live bait rigs in deeper waters. This can be extremely effective and put a lot of fish in the boat really fast. If this bite slows or isn't working, there is still hope!
Through my years of fishing, I have found the shallow water and weeds to hold fish year round! A lot of times they are bigger fish too. I think a lot of Anglers overlook shallow water this time of the year thinking ALL these fish are deep. Try casting swimbaits and lipless crankbaits into weed pockets. You can also run spinners and crankbaits along the weed edges or above the weeds. Walleye in the weeds are oftentimes looking for bait/food to swim by and will come out and strike!
Next time you are out fishing on a midsummer day, don't be afraid the fish shallow and fish the weeds. You will be happy with the results!
Seth Lubbers