How Deep is Too Deep for Mid-summer Walleyes?

Walleyes spend the better part of their summer season in deep water.  Provided there’s enough oxygen at depth, they happily enjoy cooler water temperatures and the bevy of bugs and other bait that congregate on deep structure.  Older fish in certain lakes, learn to key in on larger bait stock.  That could mean ciscoes and whitefish, or suckers and even bullheads or rough fish depending on where you’re fishing.  That still puts them deep, maybe coming up occasionally to feed before sinking back down.

Depth however is a relative term, depending on the lake you’re fishing.  On Minnesota’s Upper Red Lake, 10 feet of water and deeper is considered quite deep.  The same is true in the prairie pothole region where there’s plenty of great little walleye holes that never make even 20 feet.  Then again, there’s great walleye lakes like Vermillion, where walleyes can be found in excess of 50 feet of water.  Of course, your favorite walleye lake may be at either end, or anywhere in between.

While the depth of walleyes may be relative to the system in which they live, their ability to survive summer capture at those various depths is not.  Most fish caught in 30+ feet of water will likely die as the result if water temps are at their peak.  Brandon Eder, Assistant Area Fisheries Supervisor for the MN DNR’s Waterville Office confirmed this in a recent conversation while adding, “No matter how slowly you reel in fish from that depth, there’s still likely going to be some trauma.” 

Throughout the walleye-belt then, there’s plenty of catch and release fishing that might as well be catch and kill.  Not that there’s anything wrong with eating a walleye either.  I love ‘em, and prepare them a bunch of different ways.  However, there are plenty of lakes that mandate release of walleyes a certain size, and anglers should know some ins and outs of how depth can affect the release of walleyes during the summer.  Eder suggests, “Be prepared to keep your first 6 fish regardless of size (depending on the regs) and then quit or go shallow.”

There’s a pile of factors that influence walleye mortality, with depth of capture being only one of them.  Hooking method, or how deeply into its mouth a walleye eats the bait is a big influencer, as is the use of live bait vs. artificials, but those are often related.  Water temperature is another factor, and warmer temps see fish that simply don’t release as well and survive.  It’s why catch and release walleye tournaments aren’t held as often in the deep summer, and why you should consider eating the fish you catch when water temps are the hottest of the year.  Extended or prolonged handling of a fish outside of the water is yet another factor that affects mortality.

Many of those factors an angler can directly influence, especially in the summer as you can’t control the water temp.  Without switching away from live-bait, circle hooks vs “J”-hooks, and pinching down all barbs, what’s a catch and release angler to do?  The answer is to change the depth at which you’re fishing, and to know what depths are likely lethal, and which are not.

Barotrauma is a big word with a relatively simple meaning, especially as it pertains to walleyes caught at depth.  It affects all living things, but with walleyes swimming rapidly from deep water, it refers to physical injuries caused by water pressure.  Quick ascent means a swelling air bladder, which can push their stomachs out, bulge their eyes, and ultimately cause deadly injury.  Releasing those fish at the surface, in extremely warm water may make the angler feel good as they swim away, but may not lead to survival.    

One solution to the problem of fish barotrauma has been “fizzing” – the act of releasing that pressure with an accurately placed hypodermic needle into the swim bladder of the fish.  Of course, “accurately” is the key, as stabbing a fish with a needle indiscriminately, can further exacerbate the problem.  Eder says, “I don't like the idea of anglers running around poking walleye with needles.  It's hard to get the right spot in perfect conditions and even tougher in rain, wind, or after dark.”

Another solution in the form of recompression devices may pose some freshwater promise, as they have gained greater acceptance in coastal areas.  These tools can simply be an inverted barbless hook secured to a line with a weight that takes the fish to bottom and releases it with a sharp snap of the line, or a jaw clamp that releases similarly.  The general idea of both being that the fish quickly gets back down to a depth that allows air bladder pressures to recede, and ultimately supports its survival.  For rockfish specifically, studies have shown 80%+ survival rates.  While I’m not aware of any similar research on walleyes, the decompression devices show greater efficacy overall.

Of course, you could always just limit your fishing north of 30 feet, or make sure that you are legally able to take and eat fish of any size for the lake that you’re fishing.  If a limit is what you’re after in those depths, stop fishing once you’ve hit it.  Eder also mentions, “If you are on fish over 20" you should leave so you don't kill more than your 1 over 20".”  All of which means that if you’re putting the hurt on big fish deep, consider switching tactics, locations, and potentially lakes.  Focus early and late when fish are more active shallow.  Break out some slip-bobbers and camp out on a rock pile, or drag some spinners or rigs along a weedline. 

There’s lots of ways to get your ‘eyes, but this summer when temperatures climb, do your best to respect the resource by going easy on those deep fish.

2019 ICAST Takeaways

The International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) is a fishing show like none other.  Held in Orlando, Florida’s Orange County Convention Center, and playing host to nearly 15,000 buyers, media, and exhibiters from across the global sportfishing industry, ICAST is the fishing industry’s equivalent to the Super Bowl.  As a member of the general public, unfortunately, not everyone can attend.  Only those with a material connection to the recreational fishing industry may participate, but everyone into fishing certainly benefits, and anyone interested in overall fishing trends can learn from what the annual show offers.

Exhibitors from the fishing industry’s most iconic brands man massive booths to display new product offerings for 2020, have reps on hand to meet and discuss new business, and overall help to answer questions about their full lineup of products.  That’s interspersed and directly next to inventor types with a brand new product idea that are just getting started, along with every company and any fishing-associated category in between.  You’ve got massive and corporate, as well as tiny and family-owned. 

There’s a pre-show tournament, on-the-water demonstrations, and even a state of the industry address highlighted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.  From there, manufacturers, retail buyers, media types, and reps explain their products while launching new ones to be considered for any of the 29 different “Best of Category” award honors.  These new product awards are voted on by credentialed buyers and media from around the world, and this year over 1000 products from more than 300 companies vied for top spots.  A “Best in Category” award is usually a competitive grab, and an incredible honor that usually means a well-thought out idea executed in the form of a product that serves a real need.  Many of the best lures, lines, rods, reels, electronics, and apparel that we use today were once ICAST “Best in Category” winners.

What does this matter to your average angler?  More than you might think.  ICAST is produced by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) – a non-profit that shares a stake in promoting sportfishing as part of our national heritage.  ASA does work on Capitol Hill and throughout the country to ensure policies that promote clean water and better fishing.  Beyond that, ICAST is a bellwether for changes in the sport, angler’s interests and attitudes, along with a great preview for what’s to come.

Last year, ICAST was very much the year of apparel.  New rainsuits, performance wear, and UPF shirts dominated the landscape.  This year, was the year of the trolling motor with several new entries into the market from Garmin and Lowrance.  More importantly, as the competitive landscape crowds in each category, we’re reminded that retailers don’t always carry all products.  They need to stock their shelves with products that sell, preferably at sizeable margins.  That may or may not always reflect angler interests in needs, so it’s important to know that in our shrinking world of online purchases and web reviews, you do have options.

I think it’s also important to note that due to the size of each of these launches, along with the sheer number of products in the marketplace, it’s easy to get confused as to which reel does what, what rod does that, etc.  That’s where the reverse statement regarding retail is true, in that a good retailer with strong product knowledge and good employees can help you navigate the mess to find the best.  There were plenty of retailers from big boxes to independents doing their very best to stay up to date with orders and product knowledge. 

Still, specialization is here to stay.  Where it was once a challenge to find a good and specific “bass plastics” rod, you now have separate rod offerings for swimbaits, ned rigs, and wacky worms each.  That trend has continued throughout all categories and will likely only get more specific, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially as people get more particular in their tastes.  You see it too in electronics, as manufacturers continue to push the limits of technology given specific interests of certain anglers.  For example, some of the trolling motors released at 2019 ICAST now not only spot-lock, follow contours, and navigate to existing waypoints, they offer suggested routes via “auto-guidance.”  In theory, it’ll be a smarter-than-average buddy that runs the trolling motor for you.  Too good to be true?  Maybe, but it’s an example of where things are likely headed.

For me, the greatest takeaway is that the industry is full of people that for the most part, are passionate anglers in their own right.  Different than a trade show for your average widget or product X, ICAST is abuzz with anglers just like yourselves that happen to partake in fishing for both business and pleasure.  Flights to and from are loaded with boyhood fishing legends, reps, and manufacturers.  Dinners out are with the people that shape the direction of the industry through the products they pioneer.  Uber rides, airport shuttles, and lunch are split with competitors and cooperators alike.  In my experience, just about all of them are simply happy to be doing what they do, and anxious to continue working at what they love. 

The St. Croix Rods team after another 3-peat Best In Category ICAST awards.

The Perfect Time to Try Plastics

Water temperatures have started to level off towards their summertime highs throughout most of the Midwest, and if you haven’t already been hucking plastics, now would be a great time to start.  Usually, I’m looking for 60-65 degrees in most of the lakes I’m fishing to signal the pairing of jigs especially with more plastics than live bait.  This goes for crappies, walleyes, and smallmouth alike. 

That doesn’t mean I’m a plastics-only purist.  We had the water temps on Lake of the Woods recently to support a good plastics bite, but the deep fish still required us to use the salted shiners that are so prevalent up there.  Try as I may, with a number of styles, deep jigs with those mushy minnows drastically outperformed any rubber baits I dropped.  Therein also lies the problem for those who’ve never given plastics an honest measure.  There’s certainly times were live-bait can outfish plastics, but year after year I’m encountering bites when the reverse is just as true, and the sooner you come to believe it, the better angler you will become.    

For most fishing methods stationary, live bait can have a distinct advantage.  With live minnows, crawlers, or leeches, you’ve got all kinds of natural materials that fish have been pre-programmed to love.  Blood, oil, scales, and perhaps most importantly, the all-important profile, shape, and action.  “There ain’t nothin’ like the real thing, baby,” I think is how it goes.

All of which flies out the window when fish are active, aggressive, and particularly shallow looking for food.  Perhaps that’s why bass plastics have been widely accepted and used for decades.  Those bass anglers who incidentally catch ‘eyes, pike, and even panfish, can tell you that active fish often don’t discriminate.  Wacky rigged or dropshot walleyes anyone?   

Live bait’s effectiveness also falls off when you’re dragging around baits at any speed.  Pulling spinners and crawler harnesses around is great for all kinds of species, especially the ones you’re not targeting.  Some days on the river especially, you can catch up to a dozen other species on crawlers before ever catching a walleye.  That’s when artificial copies of the real thing can offer a great advantage.  Plastic crawler or leech imitations abound, and most of them will have a much more pronounced movement in the water.    

The action of the bait then, especially when retrieved or trolled, can have a significant impact on the bite.  Paddletails, split tails, curly tails, ringworms, and other various plastic styles each have their own distinctive movements in the water, offering far more attraction than the live bait that so often ends up dead on a hook.  These tantalizing motions offered by all of the plastics designs these days offer anglers a multitude of means to attract a fish, especially in clear water when visual cues can be the strongest ones fish respond to.

Of course, the allure of plastics goes far beyond the visual in terms of a fish’s interest level.  While it’s true that the color combinations and ability to match the hatch, or completely defy it, is very simple with today’s plastics, so often we forget about the subtle vibrations that plastic can emit.  A 5” curly tail grub emits a pretty good thump as that tail wags side to side, and especially during late fall frog bites, there’s plenty of river walleyes that have used their lateral line to find those “loud” plastics.  Of course, paddletail or boottail varieties come to mind as a great emitter of vibration and “feel” to the plastics game as well.

They’re colorful, offer some bait-like sensations in the water, and even trigger some strikes due to their unique movements.  All of which sounds like a list of attributes you’d like for any bait ever, regardless of species you’re targeting.  The last variable that I think is the most important however, is the fact that plastics fish fast and cover water.  More fish per bait means less dipping into the crawler box, leech bag, or minnow bucket.  Which in turn leads to more casts.  It also leads to the ability to progressively dial up the level of the trolling motor and cover more water.  Especially during this time of the year, any lake, river, or streams biological production is running at high gear, and fish need to eat.  They’re aggressive, and often willing to chase, so you’ll simply run into more of these kinds of fish by putting more casts in front of them. 

Live bait will always have its place and time in my mind, especially early and late in the year.  There’s also times and species that require it during tough bites or poor weather conditions.  That said, for your average summer day out on the lake, if you’ve been reticent as a walleye or panfish angler to focus heavily on plastics, let this be the last year you miss out. 

Photo Credit - Matt Addington Photography

The Move Offshore

It’s been a great early season thus far.  A delayed spring and rollercoaster early summer has kept walleyes primarily shallow.  I write this, one-week removed from a great shallow water bite that was only getting better as we left.  While we had some wind, it increased throughout the day as we drifted leeches over rock clusters in 10FOW on Leech Lake.  We’d get a few fish a pass, and each drift was really only a few hundred yards.  Anglers deeper than us weren’t doing much, while our graphs and bent rods were showing hungry fish as shallow as 8 feet.  We fished a few of the big main-lake points, and generally caught fish in most of the places we tried.

That pattern will continue with resident fish, but begin to be more sporadic, requiring good wind over a length of time to push those fish from the depths into shallow water feeding mode.  Yet as one pattern fades, another kicks into high gear, and walleyes in the upper Midwest are already starting their summer movements to deeper off-shore structure.

Water temperatures that build into the high 60 and 70 degree marks will definitely get fish moving, and that usually coincides with a few hatches.  Bugs crawling out of the deep mud get rafted against main-lake structure, and signify some of the initial pushes to offshore humps, bars, and reefs.  It’s often when casual walleye anglers, or those who see early mixed bags of walleyes with crappies and gills, stop catching them.   

Anglers don’t always follow, sometimes because they’re not required to.  This is a dynamic time of year as the summer food chain ramps up production.  That means anglers don’t always have to look deep to find fish, and several patterns can be going at the same time.  Shallow weeds and breaklines will hold fish too, but often those fish aren’t as concentrated – or predictable – as the offshore ones.  Wind will focus their locations even moreso, as fish concentrate efforts on the side of offshore structure that collects bait. 

The other advantage to fishing main-lake structure during this time of year is that with electronics, you simply have more observational tools at your disposal.  Fish at depths greater than 10-12 feet or so are less likely to spook due to overhead boat traffic.  Even in exceptionally clear systems, you can easily graph fish in 10 feet of water and deeper, especially when there’s a bit of chop on the surface.  While side-imaging is a great tool found in modern electronics as well, these fish are often buried in weeds or other cover.  Deep fish cannot hide from traditional 2D sonar or down-imaging as well, not to mention, you tend to be more certain that what you’re viewing is walleyes if they’re belly-to-bottom sonar targets.

Of course, electronics also means mapping, which is a key tool for your walleye-finding arsenal.  During this time of the year, I’m looking for wind-blown edges of offshore structure that have good access to deep water.  Specifically, I target points and inside-turns that serve as funnels for movement from the depths to the shallows.  Especially inside turns are super-highways of fish migration during low-light periods.  During cloudy or windy days, these “chutes” hold fish throughout, and allow you to keep the bite going during daylight hours. 

Good mapping and quality sonar go hand in hand, as in a perfect world you’d locate ahead of time a number of likely spots on the cartography, then use your sonar to confirm or deny the presence of schools of walleye.  Picking a spot, seeing fish on the graph, then catching said fish is an activity that really helps build the necessary confidence to use your electronics well.  Rinse and repeat long enough, and you quickly learn what to be excited about, and what to pass over on the way to greener walleye pastures.  Trusting your sonar is paramount to the process, and only happens after you’ve completed that cycle a number of times.

Do keep in mind that there’s a number of ways you can fish walleyes on structure.  I like to take note on the electronics of their position, number, and density.  Walleyes balled up in tight groups on precise portions of structure call for vertical or near vertical approaches.  Vertically jigging with bait, Jigging Raps, or slip-bobbering these fish would be the order of the day if you’re seeing tight schools of fish. 

Fish spread out along the edge of a large sunken island would conversely call for a more mobile approach.  You could rig live bait, pull spinners, or even crankbaits to cover more water and put more offerings in front of more fish.  There’s not a wrong way to do it provided you match what you’re seeing on sonar to the techniques you’re using.  Some methods are more efficient and productive than others, but that’s the part of the puzzle-solving which makes walleye fishing so rewarding. 

Bonus June Boom

Photo Credit - Sam Larsen

I’ve written before about what I consider to be in June, the most favorable month of the year to fish period.  It’s nature’s perfect storm of conditions that begin a new season each year in the upper Midwest.  Biological activity is at an all-time high, with fish, bugs, birds, and beasts of all kinds hurriedly carrying out early season rituals in your average lake or river.  Predators, of which even panfish could be considered, eat other living things by definition.  As winter and spring’s hangover begins to wear off, everything is hungry.  To make matters better for you as an angler, only the first few hatches of the year are coming off, and there’s little to no availability for young of the year perch, minnows, or other prey for these post-spawn fish of all species.  Sure, any body of water is going to have some supply of baitfish, but the point is that we’re not to July and August where a fish’s next meal is just a flick of the tail away. 

This year, we’re in a bonus round of June fishing, because not as much of it happened in May.  Cooler than average air temps and fronts brought resultant water temperatures, and with them, fish that didn’t play ball as well early.  That means, for those of you caught up in school, graduation parties, and lots of yardwork, there’s less excuses this year.  Pretty much anyone should be able to catch a fish now and in the coming few weeks. 

That’s not to say it’s always easy, as there’s still cold fronts, tight-lipped spawners and the like.  That said, no matter your quarry, now may be as good as it gets to cancel other plans and get some fishing in.  Typically, phenological indicators tell me when fishing can be good for certain species in my neck of the woods.  Tip-offs like blossoming lilacs signal spring crappies spawning in the shallows, and blowing cottonwood seed has usually meant some great topwater bass fishing.  Well those same indicators are happening this year as they always do, just later.  All of which may call for a change of tactics should annual fishing trips and traditional spots not produce the same way they usually do. 

If you do anything this season, consider turning back the clock a few weeks and think about what your species of interest started off their season doing.  Whether it be crappies, pike, muskies, or walleyes, the answer is likely spawning.  If you’re not finding those fish in their normal haunts, consider backtracking to likely spawning sites and just off of them.  Most of these species should be post spawn in all but the most northern extreme areas. 

When it comes to bass and bluegills, there’s the real possibility that they may just be spawning.  If water temps are exceptionally cold still for whatever reasons, they may still be pre-spawn even.  Much differs north to south, and especially lake to lake where water temps can vary drastically, even between lakes next door. 

For that reason, let this be the year that you start a fishing journal and record some of those surface water temperatures.  Bear in mind too, that water temperatures can vary a great deal throughout an individual day, and then drop again with clear skies and frontal conditions.  Water temps measured at the end of a bright, still, sunny day may be elevated as much as 10 degrees from a morning reading.  For that reason, it’s good to note a water temperature range if you’re out on the water for more than a few hours.  Even better, note what you were finding in which water temperatures.  One bay for example may have spawning muskies in 60 degrees, paired up and nearing post spawn, while another bay in the same lake with more rocks and less weeds may be mid 50’s and fish are pre-spawn roamers.  

If you’re not familiar with the spawning and post-spawn movements of your favorite species, never fear, the internet is here.  You’d probably be unsurprised to hear that not everything you may read there is spot-on, but by paying careful attention to reputable sources, many of you can take five minutes and a sandwich to figure out what stage of the game your species of interest may be when out on the water.  Of course, still nothing beats old fashioned observation on the same body of water year after year.  Sure, nothing is the same from year to year, and you can have a lot of confounding variables, but experience is the same thing that made grandpa as good as he was. 

So fish fearlessly, even quickly.  Know that given even reasonable weather there’s biting fish somewhere on the lake you’re fishing.  If not, switch lakes, as this time of year is too good to pretend like it’s August.  Whether it’s toothy critters or what they’re eating, enjoy some bonus June boom time this year as I’m thinking it’ll extend well to the end of the month, and maybe even July in northern portions of the Midwest.  Take a kid out fishing, and try some new baits, spots, lakes, and species.  There was never a better time to gain confidence in anything new than this month.