Ice fishing for shallow walleyes

[fishinfey8]

Just wondering if anyone ever has success ice fishing for eyes in 5fow or less?? I saw a video about this on Devils Lake with Jason Mitchell and was wondering if any of you have tried it? Whats the best presentation or go-to technique when you barely have a water column to jig? Tip ups? Any success stories??

[J_D]

I have caught walleyes in 3 feet of water in the middle of the night. It does happen just depends on the type of lake you are fishing.

[goblueM]

yep, used to hammer them in 4 FOW on silty muck flats... what they were doing there I have no idea. good old plain hook and minnow under a bobber was the ticket, although jiggin raps worked nicely as well

[fishinfey8]

Jigging raps seem to be one of the better lures on the lake that I'm going to try this on - thanks for that tip. It seems like when you're that shallow, you would have to be awfully quiet on top the ice. Also, what are the oxygen levels in shallow during the winter? I would guess that depends on how much snow is on the ice, and how much sunlight reaches the weeds?? What if there isn't weeds?? Thanks for any input.

[brian6715]

Jigging raps seem to be one of the better lures on the lake that I'm going to try this on - thanks for that tip. It seems like when you're that shallow, you would have to be awfully quiet on top the ice. Also, what are the oxygen levels in shallow during the winter? I would guess that depends on how much snow is on the ice, and how much sunlight reaches the weeds?? What if there isn't weeds?? Thanks for any input.

You would be best to try to fish at least near some green weeds. If you see brown weeds, they are probably not giving off any oxygen

[reinhard1]

as far as oxygen on lakes, i would guess if there is a history of winterkill it would be an issue. like the previous post stated the weedlines [green] incoming creeks bring fresh oxygen as well under the ice. take boulder for example. generaly shallow for the most part and i seldom fish deeper than 10 ft anytime of the year. no problem with oxygen as far as i know [there are creeks flowing in]. i usualy use a tip up shallow away from my portable with a fathead or shiner. eventualy you have to move around from your portable when nature calls ect. so i think it's a good thing to put a tip up away from your portable in shallow water. when walley are active i like a jigging spoon with a minnow head. when fussy and slow i stick with colored hook and bobber with minnow. rice lake is another shallow lake. after i drill a hole i look with my underwater camera to see for weeds before i put my tip up down. dont want that bait hidding. good luck.

[tunrevir]

When I am fishing this shallow it is either early or late in the season near an established weedline. I like to set up tipups as far away as the law allows and put the shack in deeper water nearby. The key is going to be keeping your noise level to an absolute minimum. We often run shallow sets in Weedy pockets 2-3' down over green weeds and are fairly successful. The downside to fishing in the "jungle" is that when a fish runs you will pull up a bunch of weeds and may lose some fish due to weed fouling. When you do pull a glob of weeds after a run or a fish caught it will render that hole unfishable at times or at least for an hour or two untill the sediments settle down a bit. If you know where the edge of the weedline is then you can get away with jigging or set line fishing but again you have to keep the on ice commotion down which is tough to do with a couple guys fishing a spot. Standup jigheads in the 1/16th oz range are a good choice for fishing shallow. You can pound bottom a bit and let the jig hover just off the bottom or actually let it rest on the bottom and let the minnow struggle to draw in fish and strikes. Larger minnows like shiners will require a slightly larger jighead but typically 1/16th is enough. I tend to fish fatheads on a jig when shallow versus a small golden shiner or rainbow. Stealth is optimal when fishing shallow but many times the fish are aggresive and there to feed.

Tunrevir~

[Northlander]

I fish flats all winter long. I look for any small difference in depths. Say from 7' to 6.5' or a series of bumps. Also look for any little rock piles or even at times shell piles. Also current can be key. Try to think like a walleye. Find a area that looks like they would travel out of deeper water to get to the flats to feed. Early and late is key on these flats. Quiet is essential. Stay as far away from others as they will let you. You cant help if they move in on you but you just hope it aint at prime time and they are quiet setting up.

In the am I get to my spot at least a 1/2 hour before I think the bite will start and its always cold and dark then. That window on these flats isnt usually a very long one and 45 minutes to a hour is sometimes all you get. In the afternoon I do the same but set up even earlier to see if some fish have stayed on the flats due to a good forage base being there or whatever.

When fishing the flats keep your house light very dim and stay as quiet as you can. One other hint is always fish the snow piles not the clear ice if there is any.

As far as baits you never know. These fish can be VERY agressive and will nail any sized bait.

I like to pound bottom to get some noise and maybe bugs moving around at times.

Keep your bait moving and watch your flasher closely. If the fish are smacking the baits hard keep getting more agressive until they wont hit them anymore than tone it down just a tad. If they are fussy than slow down and down size. I almost always have a deadstick/bobber rod down in a hole a few feet away and many times a fish that doesnt like my jigging presentation will hit that juicy minnow or whatever just sitting in front of her face.

For me flats are a place I look for agressive and actively feeding fish at high percentage times and in between that time I go deeper or go search out some other like areas that I want to try out later.

My biggest winter walleyes have all come fishing flats.

[Duffman]

I'll just repeat two things. Very quiet and very dark. Those will up your odds more than anything else.

[canman]

I fished all winter in 6 FOW. Bait was the key for me. I was on a edge/sand flat that the perch where thick on. I am guessing it was also a spawning site for the perch. The walleyes were always agressive with the sizes running from 10 - 30 inches. We'll see how this pattern works this winter. I haven't had time to fish yet.

[fishinfey8]

Wow, thanks for all the very good and useful information guys. I knew that there are certain places/instances where shallow is best. I always find that the shallower fish are going shallow to feed and they are more aggressive, so I figure why not try it out. Thanks again guys!

Ps: I will be trying this around Christmas time this year and I will report back what I find.

[phins2]

So, would the same locations that one caught walleyes after dark pulling plugs apply?

[JBone]

Tip-Ups!!!!!!

[tgruenke]

A lake where i have fished people will go around sundown and set up a few tip ups as well as use jigging raps. They usually get a few that are moving shallower to feed.

[shorefisher]

I did well with this last year 3' of water with about 2' of ice. Late night with tip-up and fathead. One thing to note is drilling holes in shallow is to know where you are drilling and what is under you. I drilled right into a rock and it messed up my auger good. And yes I am that lucky to have things like these happen