What contours do you fish for walleye?

[ttttedttt]

So I was setting up the fish house yesterday with my new navionics app on my droid x... which is awesome by the way, and looking around I noticed a ton of fish houses set up in many different areas of the lake. I thought to myself, what kind of lake contours are other ppl fishing???

I usually try to set up in 18'-24' on a break from 10-15 down to 30'+

What do you look for when choosing a walleye fishing spot?

[fishfearme]

I look for a inside turn on a feeding flat with a sharp drop. Depth is relative to the area and lake. Could be 8' or 40'

[Finlander]

I also like inside turns of points adjacent to weedy shallow flats. Also set up so you're not on the drop off as the locator will show the bottom where the sonar cone will reflect making dead area on the bottom side of the locator so you will not see fish coming off the bottom. That saying, always set up on level bottoms, not on a drop off.

[EJ]

I agree with the inside turns, but disagree with always setting up where it is flat so your sonar works. Fish are often either top edge or bottom edge where the sonar will work, but often times they are on the steep drops. I find this more icefishing than open water. Don't set up just because the sonar works, set up where the fish are.

[fishgutz77]

I know this sounds crazy but for me it's all about time of day water clairity.

When the big lakes get gin clear I go for the deep breaks 24-32 ft during the day and then move up as the sun goes down.

If the water is stained or only 3-4 feet of clairity then it's off to shallow water on the breaks from 10-15 ft. And be sure to not make so much noise, especially early ice.

I do like inside turns that are close to 40+ ft of water with some sort of vegitation up shallow even if it's only sand grass it still hold bait.

[gill man]

I might be in the minority, but I do a lot of walleye fishing around weedlines which could be in 6-12 feet of water. If I'm setting up on a rock bar I may drill holes from 6-25 feet of water. I have had good luck setting up on flats adjacent to river channels (on a flowage) as shallow as 12 feet of water all the way to the actual channel in about 25 feet.

For the most part, I don't like setting fishing more than 25 feet down since it seems like fish mortality on released fish can be high.

It really does depend a lot on the lake and the structure you are fishing. On the same lake, I might be in 6 feet in one spot and 20 feet on another. A good bet for a lot of lakes would probably be 10-15 feet for me.

gill man

[LMITOUT]

I look for a inside turn on a feeding flat with a sharp drop. Depth is relative to the area and lake. Could be 8' or 40'

That's typically where I start and then adjust from there if necessary. Also look for points extending into the lake.

[schmoe147]

Can someone explain what an inside turn is??

[MinnetonkaMan]

Sometimes eyes are also sitting in no where land. I have found them in four feet on a rea1 deep lake when looking for sunfish. But I also like steep breaklines where depths drop from teens into the deepest part of the lake. Walleyes slide up and down these banks surprising bait fish for an easy meal!!!

[LMITOUT]

Can someone explain what an inside turn is??

Pretend you're in a boat following the shoreline in 10 feet of water. All of a sudden you have to turn towards the main lake to maintain that 10' on your depthfinder. The area where you turned to keep that 10' is known as the "inside turn". A great spot to drill holes in the winter and look for fish.

If you've never been on the lake and have no reference where this spot is, take a look at a lake map and then start drilling holes in the area where you think this inside turn is, parallel with the shoreline, maintaining a set depth. When you see it getting shallower you've gone past the inside turn and are now up on the point that extends into the lake. You can then focus on that depth change to find the spot where it heads towards the main lake. It may take some drilling, but you should be able to visualize it in your head what the topography of the lake is based on the depth of where you drilled holes.. I like to scratch the depth in the snow so you can go back to the holes after drilling and "paint the picture" of what is going on down below.

[Ed Carlson]

I know this sounds crazy but for me it's all about time of day water clarity.

Not crazy at all.

Be it a lake or a river, those two characteristics are first concerns to build from. From there my general rule is to start shallow, and work deep.

Structure would be dictated by the system your in, and other conditions like current on rivers, or weeds that may form fluctuating structural elements.

On rivers, I work with hard and soft structural influences.

"Soft Structure" being current and light penetration that may influence vertical and horizontal locational patterns.

"Hard Structure" is land, ice (the ceiling), or aquatic structure like defined weed growth.

Structure rich systems in comparison to wide open low structure basins with little change seldom influence my primary concerns. I still first want to establish a preferred depth and preferred lighting influence range/zone to key in on the bite.

[DrStizo]

To see a visual of what & where it is, along with some other useful info

http://www.ice-fishing-source.com/lake-structure.asp

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I used to fish a lot of points, but have found the inside corners to be quite a bit better recently. Humps are usually pretty good, too.

[creepworm]

Also, just looking for that "something different" can work. One lake I fish with some regularity is 95% steep dropoff into 30 ft. or so of water. There is one area that is a slow dropoff and for some reason the walleye seem to hang out there more than on the steep breaks.