When anglers go fishing they want to catch some fish—lots of fish. While you might not catch many, there are things anglers can do to increase their odds of getting bit. Finding the biters is a big part of catching fish.

We’re often reminded that to catch, first we’ve got to find the fish. But that just isn’t enough; you’ve got to find the ones willing to eat your bait. You might have a bunch of walleyes hovering off the edge of deep-water structure and just a few more on top of that very same structure. While it’s tempting to work the big school of fish on the edge, it might be more productive to work the smaller group on top.

You can sometimes determine the activity level of a fish by where it is. And those on top of structure are often looking for something to eat. Walleyes that are relating to structure but have pulled off this area have probably eaten recently and are now just hanging around. They probably aren’t interested in eating, at least for now. When they do get ready to consume something they’ll swim back to that structure and find their meal.

There are always exceptions, and in some bodies of water the walleyes spend much of their summer suspending near baitfish. When they get hungry they’ll move into that school of baitfish, grab a couple and move back away from them until they’re ready to eat again.

On a trip to Lake Oahe in South Dakota, we once found a prime example of why you should fish where the biters are. We were working the water in 28 feet. We could see lots of fish that we suspected were walleyes on our sonar and there were lots of baitfish around. We were getting bit every now and then. The wind came up and was blowing into the shoreline close to where we were. We had fished that shoreline earlier and had seen a few fish on the sonar, but they wouldn’t eat.

We decided to try the area again to see if the wind made the fish want to eat. And, boy did it. We still didn’t see a lot on the sonar, but almost every fish we did see we caught. We were having better action that second time around that area.

Sometimes you’re better off in areas that hold fewer fish, especially if those are willing to bite. If you can find an area that’s holding a few biters, you’re going to have a good time. And, if you can find a spot that’s holding lots that are willing to bite, you can then plan on having a great time.