Midwinter means that I can finally fish deeper lakes (safe ice) in northern Minnesota. And deeper lakes offer a whole new list of species to fish for, such as eelpout, whitefish, ciscoes and rainbow smelt. This adds a little spice to the daily guide routine while on the hunt for perch and walleyes. During times that I’ve targeted the odd list of fish just mentioned, I have discovered schools of eater walleyes and sometimes big, suspended walleyes. This makes me rethink my midwinter strategy to catch more fish during the dog days of winter, because in my world, walleyes are the most desired species on the ice, with jumbo perch a close second.

The good bite

Walleyes are always aggressive—even during the day—when I find them near any deeper edge, or even in deep mud. I have found walleyes swarming around schools of young-of-the-year perch clouds, as well as tornados of stickleback minnows. Although I’ve been told that walleyes don’t eat sticklebacks, they were full of them. Menu choices for walleyes are expansive in the basin. Besides all the minnow and hatch choices they could eat, there are mayflies, bloodworms and even crayfish. While fishing in over 50 feet of water, pounding the bottom to get a reaction out of a whitefish, large crayfish have grabbed my Glo Buck-shot Spoon. That answers that question! Yes, crayfish can exist in deep waters during winter.

Most of the time, I find deep walleyes in 22 to 32 feet of water. I try not to target them any deeper, especially on lakes with slot limits. If you catch a bigger fish by accident, releasing it might cause delayed mortality. Identify a group of eater-sized fish using Humminbird XPLORE with MEGA Live 2 and target that smaller size for perfect table fare.

After 30 years of guiding, I am convinced that there is always a swarm of active fish just a little deeper in midwinter. For example, most of the angling during late winter on Lake of the Woods is done in over 30 feet of water.

The bad bite

During the long stretch of midwinter, I have noticed that most walleye activity is in narrow bite windows during early morning, sunup and at sundown (“The Hour of Power.”) This is different if you are on Upper Red Lake or Lake of the Woods. With the tannin-stained water there, you get a banker-hours day bite, but it is very different on the clear lakes of northern Minnesota.

I like to fish during the daylight hours and I want to catch walleyes on clear lakes. When the top of lake structures are empty and the weed lines are abandoned, the bread crumbs lead off the sides and into the muddy basin where all walleye food has dropped over the edge, following the zooplankton and insect larvae. The mud basin on some lakes is in 14 to 18 feet of water. On other lakes, it can be in 30 to 50 feet. The water at the bottom is a balmy 39 degrees and forage is there. It is a perfect environment for walleyes to survive the long winter.

The dormant bite

When I find walleyes in shallow water during midwinter, some stop and look while others swim by. Most of the time, they seem fairly uninterested in feeding. This reminds me of a similar response in the heat of summer on a calm day, when I see walleyes on a clear lake in 5 to 10 feet of water lying on the tops of bars, out in the open. This is where cool-water species get a little help digesting their food in warmer water.

In wintertime, it may not be a digestive tool to lie on the tops of the bars when the warmer temperatures are at the bottom of the lake. Every year is different based on the thaw, but on some lakes, it seems as if every aquatic creature is deep. This is a short span of time—from one to two months—in comparison to their shallower existence during the rest of the year. This is the last deep timeframe of winter before everything rises to the shallows during the thaw.

Let’s execute

It sounds like a daunting task to find a pod or school of walleyes on basins exceeding 1,000 acres. It takes time, but there is a systematic approach that I use to find a 20-foot square of walleyes in thousands of acres. On my LakeMaster map, I highlight and mark spots that look like a good basin mud flat near the basin of an area that’s busy with structure, similar to a field that lies between rolling hills. I RAZR a hole at the base of the structural break where it meets the muddy basin. That’s where I drop the downrod of my MEGA Live 2 and spin it in a slow circle, looking for fish swimming close to the bottom.

At times, I must drill out areas while keeping the holes 50 feet apart, which is easily viewable. When I RAZR a string of holes, I view starting with the oldest drilled hole to the newest. This lets the fish settle down so you can view them.

Sometimes, saddles between humps hold fish daily and reload several times a day. No two saddle areas are exactly alike, but using your Humminbird GPS with LakeMaster maps will help you find every saddle just by changing the depth scale to highlight the flat at one color. Narrow spaces between structures always have a flow of fish and give anglers an advantage, knowing that fish passing through will see their presentation.

In deep water, I still use deadsticks for walleyes, but I change things up a bit. I use a 36-inch St. Croix Outside Eye rod with a Seviin GS-Series 750 reel and 5-pound-test Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon for a fast sink rate. Add a lively rainbow on a #4 Gamakatsu fluorescent purple hook and a 1/4-ounce tungsten sinker placed on the line 18 inches above the hook. I set this in a rod holder attached to an I Fish Pro tip-up, and usually run it 2 to 4 feet off the bottom based on where I’m seeing fish in the column. I also make sure that I’m spacing the mouse traps evenly between structures.

My jigging rod is longer. I use a 38-inch Eye Raiser with a Seviin GX-Series 1000 reel. I use 8-pound Sunline SX1 green braid with a three-foot leader connected with back-to-back uni-knot, tied to a #8 swivel clip and a 3/8-ounce Northland Tungsten Buck-shot Spoon. Wonder Bread color is good for cloudy days and Blue Race Car or Red Gold are my bread-and-butter colors on sunny days!

Deep jigging cadence

Deep water requires a little different jigging stroke than shallow water. Even in deeper water, walleyes will see your presentation dropping down when it’s still 20 feet above them. I start jigging 10 feet below the ice and then systematically drop the bait about 3 to 5 feet every 30 seconds—but I will jig for minutes about 10 feet off the bottom. Walleyes are used to grabbing small ciscoes, emerald shiners or rainbow smelt halfway up the water column.

Note stable barometric pressure and whether walleyes will rise and hit baits under lower pressure and during cold fronts. If not, skip this process and pound your lures on the bottom. Lift the spoon up and shorten your jig strokes to a subtle, light shimmy with light pauses. I watch MEGA Live 2 in down mode to gauge fish interest. There have been many guide trips where the deadstick rod out-fishes even the best ice jiggers.

Good luck finding and catching tasty walleyes during the dog days of winter. Just know that the walleyes are biting every day!

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