Dedicated ice anglers live for early ice. They check ice conditions with religious frequency waiting for the hard stuff to form. Then it happens, the floodgate opens and for the next couple of weeks walleye activity booms. The bite diminishes, or "dries up", as traffic increases, ice thickens, oxygen wanes, and the shallows turn into an underwater ghost town. Some folks abandon the walleye thing all together, but a better solution is to find out where the fish have gone and get back after them.

A number of things occur during mid winter, which drive walleyes to deeper water. I alluded to these provisos a moment ago, but let’s examine the migration in greater detail. The foremost contributing factor is lowering water temperatures. Immediately after a lake’s surface seals up temperatures in the shallows commence dropping. They fall from a maximum and preferred temperature of about 39° Fahrenheit down to the-mid to lower 30’s. Walleyes react by digging deep.

Shortened daylight hours teamed with increasing ice and snow cover take their toll on aquatic vegetation. Shallow weeds brown, wilt, and eventually lay down and die. Next in line are deeper weeds, although some will make it through the winter. The loss of weeds eliminates both protective cover and a source of food for walleyes. Additionally, weed reduction lowers oxygen content. Walleyes react by digging deep.

Another significant element is the overall increase in fishing traffic. Noisy trucks, cars, snowmobiles, and ATV’s clip across frozen lakes, and a great deal of the ruckus happens over shallow structure. Walleyes react by digging deep.

In Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas presuppose that by mid January walleyes have inaugurated a mid winter mode. It means they’ve ventured out to deep and offshore structure pursuing baitfish that already vacated shallower water. Walleye metabolism and fervor to feed has waned, but not enough to keep this outdoor writer from embarking. Here’s game plan to keep you on walleyes until season end.

Before highlighting deep structure on a map of your prized local water take a moment and determine if it is a good choice for mid winter walleyes. In general, mid season is time to seek out deep, clear, big lakes with abundant offshore structure. Oppositely, the hottest action at first ice took place on shallow-fertile-shoreline oriented waters. But as winter advances and oxygen levels drop walleyes on such lakes enter flirt with dormancy. Bigger, clearer, and deeper lakes now take center stage.

For this discussion let’s pretend that you’ve opted for a relatively large 1,500-acre lake. Its main basin rounds out at 35 feet of water, and there are also a couple of deeper holes. The shoreline features two major points and there’s even a handful of offshore reefs to explore. Our dissection starts on these points.

Consider the following: Large shoreline points rarely slope uniformly on all sides. There are usually steep portions, slow tapering segments, and plenty in between. Late winter walleyes tend to linger off a point’s steepest break. For example, imagine that one of the shoreline points tapers gradually from 10 to 20 feet of water then breaks rapidly from 20 to 28 feet and levels out - the 28-foot mark is where you want to be. This is the base of a steep break.

In our example, 28 feet of water forms the beginning of a large flat. You could search for another subtle break heading to even deeper water. But our 28-foot mark is the beginning of lazy taper leading down the basin - stick close to that depth because walleyes surely will.

Irregularities within a point are something else to look for. Deep rocks and remaining vegetation are a major draw for mid winter walleyes. Oftentimes, steep breaks off a point work in conjunction with rocks. In this situation, look for the biggest and deepest rocks, plus the juncture where rocks fade into gravel, sand, or hardpan.

Big clear lakes can hold some deep vegetation throughout the winter. Deep weedlines over a point inevitably attract mid winter walleyes. Combine deep weeds, in say 15 to 25-feet of water, with a sharp break, and you’re really on to something.

Behaving similarly to a deep break off a point is simple deep shoreline break. Wide open shoreline stretches on large lakes might present hundreds of yards or even miles of potential mid winter habitat. Let’s say our mythical map discloses a half-mile reach of typical shelves and breaks between our chosen shoreline point and a secondary jettison. The first thing you want to do is find the deep break. Hypothetically, the map shows two minor breaks between 0 and 20 feet of water followed by a tapering shelf that hits 23 feet then breaks dramatically to 30 feet – where it flattens out and wanders away. The obvious choice is the 30-foot mark. It might also pay to plug some holes leading up the break across the 20 to 23-foot flat. But in real life, I’d bet mid winter preferences would put the hottest action around 30 feet of water. The 23 to 30-foot break forms a natural corridor, which walleyes will travel along – they’ll also use the vertically climbing bottom to pin baitfish against.

As with a point, anytime you can combine structure with structure it’s a bonus. Returning to our make believe map, pretend that the 23 to 30 foot break has a couple of rock piles smattered about it. To no surprise, being that walleyes are structure-oriented creatures, they’ll gravitate to such locales. Shoreline breaks on big lakes may also occur with a bottom content transition. The 23 to 30 foot-break might be composed of sand and at its base transforms into gravel or mud – this is something else to look for.

Any contour irregularities along a deep break should also be investigated. Say on our fake lake that the 20 to 23-foot shelf at some point forms a bar that protrudes 50 yards or so into the main basin. A bar is like an underwater point, and it should be treated as such. Fish the bar’s tip and juncture where it merges back into the main break (inside turn). Chances are that the bar breaks from 23 to 30 feet of water just like the surrounding deep shoreline break. Our hypothetical bar is just the type of "structure within structure" we’re looking for.

If nothing happens off our point, deep break, or bar, seek out true off shore structure. Deep "humps" or reefs are another form of critical mid winter structure. Sitting on our map are three mid lake humps. Hump #1 is a smallish 15 by 20-yard structure that spikes up from 35 feet of water and tops out at 3 feet - rushes popping through the snow mark it. Hump #2 is a gigantic quarter mile by quarter mile mound originating from the same 35-foot basin, but it flattens out quickly and peaks at 25 feet. And finally, Hump #3 is also large and deep, with a vertex of 28 feet, but instead of lying hopelessly at mid lake, Hump #3 sits just 75 yards off the major shoreline point we’ve been examining.

The area lying between our previously identified point and Hump #3 is called a "saddle", and a particularly deep one at that. The deep, or outer edge of Hump #3 intersects the main basin at 35 feet, while the inside, or saddle-break dips down to only 28 feet where it remains until sliding back up the shoreline point. Look for walleyes at the base of the Hump #3 to saddle break, as well as the saddle to shoreline point break – both of which lay in 28 feet. An option is to work along the Hump #3’s outside break, which ranges from 28 to 35 feet of water.

A final couple of things to look for, especially on massive-open basin lakes, are mud flats and gravel bars. Our hypothetical lake map doesn’t offer significant mud or gravel, but in real life they’re deserving of attention. Mud flats receive a ton of attention on central Minnesota’s Lake Mille Lacs. Ranging in configuration from "boot" shaped to that of a capital letter "H", Mille Lacs mud flats litter the main basin on the upper half of Mille Lacs. These particular silt elevations rise sharply from depths in the lower 30’s to plateaus, which level off in 20 to 25 feet of water. The fertile soft bottom is loaded with aquatic critters, including worms, immature insects, and other invertebrates. Perch, tullibee, and baitfish arrive to feast on these oddities – walleyes come to munch on small perch and various baitfish species. Walleye location can vary from staging outside the flat to cruising the break, and even feeding with reckless abandon over the top.

Deep mid lake-gravel bars aren’t as topographically obvious as mud flats, but they’re equally as productive. Again, referencing to Mille Lacs, the 130,000-acre lake’s southern sector offers giant gravel reaches that appear over the main basin. Walleyes relate to their edges, where bottom content changes from hardpan or muck to gravel and depth changes a few feet – bottom content transition and deep breaks are both critical factors for locating mid winter walleyes.

Again leaving our model lake, I’ll take a moment to toss river fishing into the mix. Deep channels on large river systems are yet additional venues to find cooperative mid winter walleyes. The St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers form a natural border between Wisconsin and Minnesota – the St. Croix actually merges with the Mississippi right in the Twin Cities. Both rivers see ice-fishing traffic once winter’s rage forms sufficient ice over slow current sections. Deep mid river channels, ranging from 30 to 50 feet, commonly hold sauger, while breaks leading up the banks seem to attract more walleyes. Fluctuating and inconsistent river ice conditions demand great caution – check with local bait store owners, the Sheriff’s Department, or a game warden before hitting a frozen river.

Without dispute, jigging is the principal means for extracting deep-water walleyes – not unlike early ice and late ice for that matter. What you need is a jigging spoon or lead head jig that’s heavy enough to reach the bottom with expediency, yet light enough to dance and flutter.

In a spoon, go after something loaded with lead and attractively painted – brighter paint jobs tend to draw more attention in a deep dark environment. Tie on a Shearwater "Thumper", Ivan’s "Crusher" or "Smasher", Kastmaster, or the new "Buck Shot Spoon" by Northland – this last entry features built-in rattles that add an audible attractant. Tip your chosen spoon with the head of shiner, fathead, chub, or whatever species local bait shop personal recommend.

Jigging motion for deep water differs from techniques used in shallower water. Typically, deep-water walleyes hug pretty close to the bottom therefore six inch to one- foot lifts will suffice. Modification of this approach is obviously in order if your sonar reveals fish passing through higher off the bottom. Another change you’ll want to make is to soften the actual jigging motion. Shallow and mid depth methodology generally involves a snapping motion. Deep-water walleyes demand a steady, nearly lethargic, lift and lower tactic – speed things up if you’re marking stubborn walleyes.

A viable alternative to a jigging spoon is a traditional round lead head jig. Jigs demand live minnows versus severed heads. Try reverse hooking a spry minnow so that its head faces away from the jig head. Run the hook point through the belly and out the back – behind the dorsal (top) fin. Hooking a minnow this way averts penetrating entrails, thus allowing it to swim freely, and for a long period of time. Using a lively minnow lessens the need to jig feverishly. While working a jig and minnow in deep water I like to simply lift and lower the rod tip with smooth one-foot motions. Follow each sequence of three or four lifts with a five to seven second pause only inches above the bottom. Factor in a subtle quiver if nothing strikes. And get a move on if your flasher isn’t lighting up.

In no other situation is using a second or third (Wisconsin) remote line more important than when attacking deep-water walleyes. Set tip-ups over both shallower and deeper water than your jigging holes. These experimental holes will help you pinpoint walleye location if jigging isn’t setting the world on fire. It may also clue you in if fish are more interested in stationary minnows than artificial baits.

It should be apparent by now that walleyes aren’t to be neglected when things get tough. "Because when the going gets tough…." well, you know the rest. After early winter honey holes fade into nothingness it is time to dig a little deeper – the walleyes will be waiting.