Secrets to Icing Walleyes
By Jason Mitchell

Half the bottom appeared to rise and separate from the bottom so fast on the Vexilar that I practically flinched when the rod buckled. There was no question about getting hit, the fish was on and the game began. Up and down, the tug of war went on before I could finally see the fish below. Back and forth, the fish squirmed in desperate attempts to get back to the bottom of the lake somewhere beyond my sight. I hung onto the rod and watched the bend in the rod throb as a beautiful green and gold walleye pulled the line in a big circle below the hole like a mad dog on a fifteen-foot chain. My heart always flutters when I can see the fish shake its head with gills flared and mouth stretched open. The tail was the size of both my hands and how much power that tail emitted whenever the fish got a glance of the bottom somewhere below us. The fish was so alive. I also knew without a doubt in my mind that I was very alive as well.

I love all walleyes big and small but I won’t kid you, who doesn’t like to watch really big walleyes thrash and roll under the hole. With the Fish Trap banked up with some slush and snow, the world below becomes a big looking glass. A fascinating world comes to life. Amazing to an outsider just how much magic can happen under that fabric. The hiss of a heater, the hum of a Vexilar and the strange green glow below your boots as you stare down into the abyss of so much mystery. The rest of the world is well…somewhere so far away. You can probably tell that I love ice fishing. I love ice fishing for a variety of species. There has always been a special little place in my heart however for walleyes and when walleyes get long enough to sport the humped shoulders, my heart gets a little soft.

With the exception of a brief flurry that so often occurs right away at first ice and again when the ice begins to rot, walleye seem extremely sensitive to fishing pressure. More specifically noise. Multiple vehicles driving over top and just the noise of several people fishing seems to put walleye for the worst. If there is one thing you can do that will put more walleye on the ice this winter it is to keep your group size small and be conscience of the noise being made.

Fish fresh ice continuously throughout the winter. What is fresh ice? Ice that doesn’t have holes drilled all over from other anglers, spots that haven’t been raped and pillaged. Not too often that you can set up on one spot and expect good walleye action through the duration of the winter. Usually, our best luck on a spot is at the first tap. We might get three to four days from a spot at times but the spot is usually cooled off within a week of discovery. Moving on and finding fresh pods of fish is the key to continually catching walleyes for the duration of the winter.

Ice fishing guru, Dave Genz, who was the brain child of many of today’s products and theories on successful ice fishing has spent a great deal of time fishing for walleyes through the ice over the course of his life. Dave has often stressed the importance of leaving the crowds behind when pursuing fish. “Often, the same traditional spots we find fish during other periods of the year harbor walleye under the ice,” but Dave adds, “many of these traditional spots get worked hard by hoards of anglers and become community spots.” Dave often uses a snowmobile to get away from the beaten path and find areas that haven’t been pressured on large bodies of water. On smaller walleye fisheries, successful walleye anglers like Dave Genz use a cunning and investigative process to discover the not so obvious. “Small or not so obvious structural elements can be golden under the ice because chances are, not everybody knows about or is willing to look for these tucked away honey holes,” replies Dave.

Walleyes can inhabit a number of depth ranges over the course of a winter and often display numerous patterns simultaneously, especially on large bodies of water. Many winter walleye anglers agree however that shallow walleyes are often feeding walleyes and we are starting to realize that walleyes will remain in the shallows as long as oxygen levels don’t become a concern. When in doubt, fish shallow. While shallow can be a relative term and vary greatly from lake to lake. Many winter walleye fishermen have come to the same conclusion that there are walleyes that stay put in less than twelve feet of water for the duration of the entire winter. Especially on large natural lakes and reservoirs where weed growth or incoming water is present. Shallow walleyes are often aggressive, at least during low light conditions. When fishing shallow shoreline orientated structure, shallow water is often easier to learn and read quickly because the shoreline itself reveals clues as to what lies below.

To the benefit of the walleye angler, shallow water is often dirtier than deeper haunts because of rotting vegetation or “seepage” that occurs close to the bank along the shoreline. Seepage occurs on those warm unseasonably January and February days where snow along the shoreline melts and soaks into the ice, staining the water close to shore. I often look for stained snow or ice right where the frozen lake meets the shoreline when looking for these veils of stained water.

When using a Vexilar to catch walleye through the ice, the game becomes one of cat and mouse. From my own experiences, walleyes will often approach a lure or bait in a couple of ways. Walleyes will often move right into the cone angle and hover inches from the lure as it gets shaken and jiggled in place. Often inhaling between jiggles or during an ever so slight pause. Raise the lure up and the fish raises. Lower the lure and the fish often lowers. When a walleye is nose to nose with your lure, raising the lure ever so slowly is a time-honored maneuver that has snapped the self-restraint of many a walleye.

Another alternative maneuver that can also work so well is to slowly lower the quivering lure into the mud. The signal of the fish will often lower with the signal of the lure, eventually covering up the signal of the lure. When a fish fans its pectoral fins and “tips up” to take the lure on the bottom, it is usually a done deal. When a good fish “tips up,” the shallow end of the signal from the fish often bounces or flickers in shades of green and yellow on the Vexilar. When you see the top of the signal bounce, get ready to cross the eyes of that fish if your feel or don’t feel anything.

When a fish picks a lure out of the mud, it often picks up mud as well and instantly spits the mud and sometimes the lure back out. I have tried waiting for the fish to suck the lure back in after getting spit back out with debris but the odds of hooking and landing that fish seem to decrease the longer or more times a fish has a lure in its mouth. Hit that fish hard on the initial suck in. Reading the Vexilar is a key to catching these fish by knowing when that fish is tipping up.

Most anglers recognize fish when they come into the cone angle and hover next to the lure. When walleyes try to sneak up on a lure, lurking on the edge of the cone angle, however, recognizing a fish down below becomes a little trickier. Some walleyes will slither into position about three to five feet from the lure and just watch. A walleye can erupt through three to five feet of water in the blink of an eye and really smack the bait hard. These hits often surprise anglers. The key to anticipating these strikes is to constantly monitor the bottom reading itself. Tune the gain down so you can barely find your lure, sometimes we turn the gain down so low that we don’t see the lure unless we jiggle the lure. After the gain is turned down, watch the bottom reading itself for any kind of change and movement.

When the bottom signal of the Vexilar indicates a walleye lurking cautiously off to the side of the lure, work the lure the same as if the fish was hovering a foot away. Steve “Zippy” Dahl, an Ice Team Power Stick and ring leader for Devils Lake’s famous Perch Patrol Guide Service, states that simply bobbing or rocking the lure in place when a walleye is laying in a distant ambush can often seal the deal. “You want to make the lure easy for a fish to see and hone in on as the fish approaches,” states Zippy, “but at the same time, it seems so important to keep the lure moving enough to look alive.” So often, anglers get carried away with jigging motions at the moment of truth and actually flair fish as they approach close enough to get a better look. Make the lure subtly “hum” and vibrate as the lure methodically bobs. That’s not to say wider jigging motions don’t work as a fish gets close but it often seems like fish (walleyes in particular) like the lure to move in a predictable fashion when the distance between fish and bait decreases.

“The walleyes that just lurk on the edge of the cone angle are probably the most fun,” adds Zippy. “The striking distance of a walleye is pretty fascinating, almost like a cobra.” Whenever an aroused walleye gets within five feet of your lure, that lure is in serious trouble.

Editors note* The author, Jason Mitchell is a member of Devils Lake’s elite Perch Patrol Guide Service and Ice Team Power Stick. Don’t let the name fool you, the Perch Patrol Guide Service is considered one of the industry’s most widely respected multi-species guide services, accumulating hundreds of days each winter pursuing walleye, northern pike and perch on North Dakota’s Devils Lake. For more information on the Perch Patrol Guide Service, contact Zippy by calling (701) 351-3474 or check them out on the web at www.perchpatrol.net.

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