How to catch the shallow-water walleye that most anglers overlook

BONUS TIP: COLD-FRONT FIXES

Even during summer, cold fronts are a fact of life, and they can be the worst enemy of a shallow-water walleye angler. That’s because fronts often cause the fish to temporarily move out of shallow water and into deeper areas. If there’s a cold front moving through, concentrate your efforts right on the break between the shallow and deep water. If you’re fishing a sunken island, for example, back off the top and work the deeper outer edges.

Along with fine-tuning the exact location to fish during a cold front, it’s also wise to downsize your jigs or use Lindy rigs with tiny leeches. Also slow down your presentation. And although trolling along the edge of the break will work, it’s usually better to run up and down it to cover the varying water depths.

This summer when you’re fishing shallow and other anglers pull up to ask what you’re catching, you can surprise them by saying, “Walleye!” Or you can keep the secret of shallow-water walleye all to yourself—it just depends how you feel about fishing with a crowd.