Break out the sunscreen and jam-pack the cooler with ice, sandwiches, leeches, and crawlers. Summer is full upon us, and the fish are biting--somewhere, sometime. The trick is figuring out where, when, and how.

Fact is, in summer, you have so many good options that it's almost impossible to take advantage of them all. Zeroing in on the primary ones, under the right conditions, is key to success.

In summer, walleyes and other fish set up in established patterns that tend to hold for an extended period, calendarwise. Meaning that a morning weededge walleye bite in a natural lake might last for 6 or 8 weeks; an afternoon bottom bouncer-spinner-crawler bite might go hot and heavy on your favorite western reservoir for 3 months; cranking wing dams in a big river should produce nice 'eyes at sunset until autumn; and the midday open-water trolling bite on your favorite section of the Great Lakes should produce some 'eye-popping giants fairly regularly for the foreseeable future.

Notice in each of the preceding patterns that along with a place, relative depth, and fishing tactic, time of day is also specified. Coincidence? No. Important? You bet! Here's why.

Summer typically means the maximum amount of forage available to walleyes, along with the greatest diversity of fishing patterns. With so much food available, the fish can be fussy, lying low until the absolute peak time of day when certain forage is most easily available in prime locations. Then bam--it's munch and crunch time, but perhaps only for a short time until the belly is full.

Many such patterns key into certain depths, types of cover or structure, and specific times of day--or more correctly, specific levels of light penetration. For example, shallow bites tend to be best during low-light periods or at night, so you'd expect casting or longline trolling crankbaits to be your best bet at dawn, dusk, or at night.

Slightly deeper weededge walleye bites with jigs and plastics might be better when just enough sunlight penetrates down to the base of the weedline, say, midmorning or early evening. Deep-structure bites, just above the thermocline, might fire off more toward midday, employing livebait rigs with leeches or crawlers along the perimeters of points and midlake humps. And midlake basin trolling with crankbaits might be best just above the thermocline sometime during the day.

In essence, walleyes sense the correct level of light penetration to make forage vulnerable in their area. In actuality, on a good day, some fish are biting at almost all times, somewhere. But knowing where, when, and how deep the most active fish might be plays a big part in strategy and presentation selection.

Next, complicate things a bit due to weather. Stable weather trends make all fish a bit more active, and one could say that fishing is generally pretty good. An approaching storm tends to make 'em fire off and feed just ahead of the cold front. Fishing can be exceptional. But following the passage of the front, with clear skies and increased light penetration, many patterns are suppressed, often until late in the day, or at night. Adjust accordingly.

Also a factor: Are the fish moving to eat mobile forage or remaining in productive areas with food and cover? In the former case, let's take a classic western walleye impoundment where walleyes are ever on the move, following suspended ciscoes or smelt. A certain point could be lights-out one day, yet have few to no fish the next few days, simply because the fish aren't there, or aren't aggressive. Where are they? Miles down the lake, or across the lake on the windswept shore where wind pounding the shoreline has activated the local fish population. Solution? Go look for the active fish. Trolling a bottom bouncer along the downwind mudline might produce walleyes.

In the latter case, say a cabbage weedbed holds perch forage and walleyes in a general area for 6 or 8 weeks. The walleyes likely aren't going to move, but may exhibit daily differences in time and activity level based on wind, weather, fishing pressure, and other factors. But you have the advantage of knowing that they're there--or at least that they should still be there. So it gives you the confidence to remain there and pick at and probe the weeds with jigs, slipbobbers and an extra dose of patience. Because you're on target. You just need to hit the bull's-eye.

Summer--a time of multiple opportunities and challenges. Versatility and good judgment rule.