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4/13/2001
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Article
Cutting
Big Water Down to Size
by
Norb Wallock
Finding
walleyes on big water can be a real challenge; So much so that it
may scare many anglers away.
It’s
easy to understand why, especially when you consider all of the
options. Questions come to mind like; Just where do you start? And
how do you start? Do you rig, jig, crank or bounce? Do you fish
deep, shallow, or somewhere in-between ? With so much water to cover
and so little time, there is no way you can do it all. Rather than
trying to cope with more than you can handle, anglers might be
better served by taking a smaller slice, and concentrating their
efforts on an amount that’s much more manageable.
 A
promising “slice” would include some shallow water, some deep,
and a little in between. The shallow portion of your slice should
contain good shallow structure like rock and gravel bars, reefs, and
shorelines.
The
mid section of your slice should include some flats, break lines,
and off shore bars and humps, depending upon what’s available. The
deeper portion of your slice might hold a deeper hump or two, or may
be nothing more than an open water basin.
If
you can, try to choose a slice that has all of the above in
relatively close proximity. By working within a restricted area, you
can save valuable time when you’re looking for fish, or have to
make major move.
When
sizing up your “slice”, there are some factors that need to be
considered, including seasonal movements, ( like during the spawning
period), water temperatures, clarity, and the available forage base.
The
spawning cycle is a dominant factor in bringing walleyes shallow,
early in the season. The need to breed draws walleyes to rocks,
gravel, and incoming creeks and rivers, all of which will be located
in relatively shallow water.
Shortly
after the spawn, walleyes begin to satisfy another very basic need,
which will ultimately determine where they can be found during the
rest of the open water season, and that’s the need to feed. If you
can find what they‘re feeding on, you will find the walleyes,
period.
Food
sources can range from perch to minnows and baitfish like shiners,
shad, alewives, smelt and whitefish, to name a few, depending on the
specific body of water. Walleyes will chow down on what’s
available, but show a preference for the soft finned varieties. A
presence of smelt, whitefish, or alewives, indicates a high
probability that walleyes will spend a good deal of time suspended,
as these baitfish varieties spend most of their lives suspended, out
in the middle of nowhere.
Another
important factor is water temperature, which can have an effect on
seasonal movements and patterns. Early in the season, look for the
warmest water to hold the most active fish. As the season progresses
and water temps push in into the low sixties and beyond, there’s
generally a shallow to deep water migration, but not always. An
exception would be darker water, which can keep walleyes shallow for
most of the open water season. Clearer water means more options, and
walleyes can be found in many different places, all at the same
time.
A
couple of tools available to today’s angler that can help cut big
water down to size, is a good map and a Global Positioning System.
Good map’s, like those available from the folks at Hot Spots, can
provide a wealth of information, and are usually superior to those
that can be gotten through government sources. By combining a good
map and a G.P.S., you can greatly reduce the time spent looking for
specific areas, and let you spend more time fishing.
While
the standard G.P.S. has given anglers a huge increase in accuracy
(especially over the previous Loran
C units), a new type of G.P.S. that utilizes the Wide Area
Augmentation System, or W.A.S.S., has proven to be superior, and
delivers an unmatched level of accuracy.
W.A.S.S.
was developed by Raytheon for the F.A.A., and produces accuracy to
within three meters, or less than nine feet. Anglers can also
benefit from the new super accurate signal, as Raymarine has built
several units equipped to receive the W.A.S.S. signal. Units like
the Raychart 425, have W.A.S.S. capabilities, combined with another
major advancement; Navionics.
Navionics
allows users to display a high quality Hotspot’s Hot Map, which
shows depth and contour lines, as well as underwater structure, and
indicates exactly where you are in relation to it all. This function
is a huge advantage, and will greatly reduce and even eliminate the
confusion factor, as you will always know what structure you might
be on, where you’re positioned, and just where you’re headed.
Once
you’ve decided where you want to fish, how you fish is the next
consideration. Certain presentations may be more effective at
certain times of the year, and can lend themselves to specific
situations. Jigs and rigs are considered top early season producers,
and are excellent choices when you have fish concentrated in
specific areas, like on a point or hump. However, rigging and
jigging may be much too slow when faced with thousands of acres of
fishable water. In that case, a quicker approach may be the answer,
like trolling with crankbaits.
As
you start to understand seasonal movements and locations, you can
then use that knowledge to explore more than a slice. In fact, you
may reach the point where you can look at the whole pie and
capitalize on peak conditions, tremendously increasing your overall
success rate. The thing is, you have to crawl before you can walk,
and taking just a slice will help you do just that.
Norb
Wallock
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