The Open-Water Alternative

The idea of fishing for walleyes in cover is hard enough for many structure-fishing purists to swallow. Now, we ask them to go one step farther and consider the possibility of fishing for suspended fish far from shore, unrelated to any structural entity.

Bad dream—or untapped potential? Depends on your point of view.

Fact: Anglers cling to structure fishing patterns firmer than walleyes cling to structure. ‘Eyes aren’t rooted to the bottom, limited to drop-offs, assigned to distinct points and turns in the contour. They roam, searching for food. Sometimes, it’s in areas of structure or cover. Other times, far from it.

Bodies of water with suspended forage populations and patterns break the mold of structure fishing. The baitfish roam in open water, following the whims of wind, currents, water temperature, plankton, insect hatches from the basin, and other environmental factors we can only begin to guess. The interaction of these elements is often bewildering, but through it all, open-water walleyes somehow manage to follow their food and obtain regular meals. In fact, they often grow to be the largest, fattest, sassiest fish in the lake. Conclusion: They must be doing something right.

Primary Principles of Suspension

Walleyes begin their year as structural devotees, gathering in shallow, rocky areas to spawn. After doing so, they disperse, since no shallow rocky spot on earth can sustain an entire walleye population—foodwise, temperaturewise, coverwise—for long. Where they go and how rapidly they move depends on local environmental options.

In many waters, shallow cover and primary structure play a large part in walleye location. But not always. Where sufficient food sources are lacking in such areas, walleyes must look elsewhere. Even in lakes with obvious structure, if food is scarce in traditional areas in late spring, walleyes may move out across shallow open basins in search of emerging insect larvae. Mayflies or other insects rising from soft bottoms provide a short-term wealth of food at this time. Later, the walleyes may abandon such areas—or switch to a suspended baitfish forage, if available.

Walleyes in the Great Lakes provide a valuable lesson to understanding suspended fish behavior. Structure is available, and sometimes the fish use it. But most of the time, in most areas, most of the larger fish suspend in open water, following schools of suspended shad, smelt, ciscoes, alewives, shiners, or other available forage. Their close relationship with and dependence on this forage can cause larger postspawn walleyes to immediately desert spawning sites and take up feeding positions in the adjacent open basin, unrelated to structure. Small males may remain on traditional reefs and points, falling prey to jigging presentations. Yet the big catches of big females usually come on multiline trolling presentations across the adjacent basin.

Many inland waters exhibit at least some of this open-water walleye behavior, often simultaneously with traditional structural and cover patterns. All of the fish do not do the same thing at the same time. While open-water trolling may be the primary pattern in many Great Lakes areas, it may be just one of many patterns on an inland lake or reservoir, and not necessarily the major one. But it’s almost always an option worth checking.