The Gauge on Shallow Water Walleyes

No secret that walleyes like shallow water. There does seem to be many misperceptions however as to why or where we can catch walleyes in less than four feet of water. So often, anglers believe that the only reason walleyes occupy knee deep water is to either eat or spawn. Some anglers also make the mistake that you need a hard gravel bottom or wind to catch walleyes in shallow water. Poor or reduced water clarity might help in catching walleyes in the shallows assuming that fish are easier to approach in stained or dingy water. You can bet that walleyes often inhabit water less than five feet of water however for a variety of reasons in a variety of seasons. Some of the places we find walleyes using shallow water might surprise anglers used to the traditional methods or locations.

We can't absolutely say that we can count on walleye being shallow in the spring or deep in the fall. If only fishing were that easy. I can tell you where we found fish in shallow water in the past however and these experiences become patterns we become to count on each season.

So often, it seems that the shallow water walleye game revolves around water temperature. Shallow water is water that can often be warmer than the rest of the lake. When surface water temperature means something like it so often does early in the season, the shallow haunts can be the hottest game in town...Literally.

On the other hand, shallow water can also offer an unstable environment as well, much more unstable than deeper water. From my own experiences, stable weather is more conductive to finding and catching fish in shallow water, especially early in the season. But again, about the farthest we can ever get with fish locations are rules of thumb and generalizations. To cut to the chase, here are some scenarios where we catch nice walleyes in water less than four feet and we often find these fish by using an accurate
temperature gauge.

Early in the season, fish often seem to seek out locations that speed up their metabolism. Speeding up metabolism is just plain biology. Water temperature determines metabolism. At times, warmer water jump starts the food chain and shallow water means food. Other times, the best feeding opportunities might in fact be deeper in the water column and the fish use the shallow water to digest their food quicker.

On big reservoirs like Lake Sakakawea located in western North Dakota, we often found walleyes in a few feet of water early in the season full of smelt. Ironically, most of the smelt seemed to be hanging deeper, say about fifteen feet of water according to our electronics. It often appeared as if the walleyes weren't utilizing shallow water to eat, but rather digest their meal that happened to be consumed in water that might have been two to three degrees cooler and a dozen feet deeper.

Kind of backwards of what we so often assume, the traditional picture of walleyes laying inactive in deeper water and coming shallow to feed isn't always as accurate as we would like to think.

So often, calm, sunny days mean good fishing in shallow water for us early in the season. Often too, the fish seem more aggressive in the afternoon or early evening hours after the sun has warmed the water.

On Devils Lake located in north-central North Dakota where we make our livings as guides, warmer water located in shallow water coincides with both the food chain and higher metabolisms. Invertebrates, young of the year fish fry and insect hatches become available in shallow water close to the shoreline.

Interestingly enough, we often find walleye in three feet of water or less through the month of May and often find these fish in the back of bays or way up on shallow flats far from access to deep water. Many of these areas are primarily a soft muck bottom although the gradient may change to sand in some areas. We find fish with sensitive temperature gauges.

The surface temperature on the main lake basin might be 54 degrees for example. As you enter a bay, the surface temp might climb to 61 degrees. Exploring the back reaches of a bay along the shoreline brings you to water that is just starting to hit the 62 degree mark. The more accurate your temperature gauge, the more dialed in you can get to fish location.

The Vexilar Edge 507, which most of our guide staff are running, has a temperature gauge built into the unit that measures degrees in tenths. There is a huge difference in just a degree to a cold blooded animal like a fish. You will also probably notice that you can fine tune location even more when you start looking for small pools of water along the shoreline that are even less than a quarter of a degree warmer than the surrounding water.

These small pools of water that happen to be just the slightest bit warmer than the surrounding water often mean finding fish. These pools of water might be quite large, covering several acres or tucked away and small, covering less than an acre. This warm blanket of surface water can also get shifted around from wind, rain or current. This is perhaps why stable weather makes this shallow water pattern more predictable. Strong winds or cool cloudy weather can send the temperatures backwards in the shallows, resulting in finding fish deeper or not in the area at all. People can talk about the benefits of wind and walleye fishing but we often find ourselves being more successful right away in the season if we can find fish in locations protected from the wind just because wind will change the pattern if cooler water from the lake bottom starts to get mixed into the shallow water close to shore. This may be a scenario where fishing the calm side of the lake might indeed be more productive.

Another interesting note, when fishing shallow water and trying to locate fish, remember to fish the whole water column. For some reason, walleye anglers refuse to fish the whole water column when fishing shallow water. Even in three or four feet of water, fish will lay low or high. Often from our own experiences, we find walleyes holding tight to the bottom in the morning, or if the sky is overcast. During the middle of the day when you can start to feel the heat from the sun, we often catch more fish by fishing higher in the water column because it seems like the fish will often rise up to the warmth. Comparable to a turtle laying on a log in the middle of the day. Walleyes are no different than us perhaps in the fact that a little bit of sun feels pretty good on our shoulders after a long cold winter.

So many anglers don't understand the importance of an accurate temperature gauge or don't use this device to monitor the environment they are fishing. There is no magic temperature that every walleye spawns at or decides to eat, just generalizations because everything becomes so relevant. As a body of water goes through changes throughout the course of an open water season; however, these changes get revealed by watching your temperature gauge.

There will be scenarios throughout the year when finding pockets of water that are warmer or cooler than the surrounding area means the difference between catching walleyes and scratching your head. No doubt that early in
the season on many natural lakes and reservoirs, the hottest action to be found will take place close to shore and fish locations can indeed be determined by watching your temperature gauge.

Editor's Note: The author, Jason Mitchell heads Mitchell's Guide Service on North Dakota's Devils Lake. Recognized in the industry as one of the premier guide services in the Midwest, Mitchell's Guide Service is the largest and busiest open water guide service in the Devils Lake area. To find out more information on Mitchell's Guide Service or Devils Lake's fishing opportunities, contact Jason Mitchell at (701) 351-1890. Accommodations are available at Woodland Resort, (701) 662-5996 or the Spirit Lake Casino and Resort, 1-800-WIN-UBET.

Photos from top to bottom: (1) Jason Mitchell nets a dandy Devils Lake shallow water walleye for PWT Pro Sheldon Meidinger while pitching shallow running crankbaits. (2) A nice walleye nears the boat after being caught off of a shallow rocky point with an orange jig. (3) Jim Wright releases a nice Lake Sakakawea walleye that was fooled while trolling shallow running crankbaits in 2-3 feet of water with inline planer boards during a 2002 July bug hatch. (4) Loren Desjardins, 2003 PWT Rookie Pro, releases a Lake of the Woods walleye while pitching jigs into warm shallow water during May.