Where are the bigger walleyes.

[slurpie]

So I am sitting out on A lake that has a good walleye population little ones eaters and big ones. All I can catch is the little Danks 8 to 12 inches. Each time I go all getting 10 to 15 of them. Should a person go shallower or deeper to get the bigger ones. Just looking for eaters. I know there's a lot of variables but usually if you're catching small ones do you go shallow or deeper to get better ones.

[tunrevir]

I have found that fish tend to school by size so if your getting a ton of smaller fish then I would target similar areas on the lake and see what your results are. On the local lakes around my area the big fish tend to be shallower in the weeds in the 6-8'range while the eater sized fish tend to be slightly deeper. Some spots may produce small fish one year and eaters the next so it is good to have 3-4 different target spots to try. I had 3 spots a year ago where all I could catch were 9-13 inch fish with an occasional larger fish thrown in the mix so I travelled down the break a hundred yards and found more eater sized fish. In another instance I worked a hard break on an underwater point 1/2 a mile from my primary spot and found good numbers and size structure. Early ice, don't be afraid to go shallow, the fish you contact will be aggressive and eager biters but you need to keep the noise down to a bare minimum as those fish spook easy. There is no hard and fast rule as to where the big fish will be as some will always be deep and some will always be shallow but don't be afraid to make small to moderate moves to contact larger fish.

Tunrevir~

[JoeTC]

What depth/structure are you currently fishing?

Tunrevir put it pretty well. I tend to run into smaller fish only when I fish the base of the break and tend to get a better mix and bigger fish when I get up close to or slightly into the weed edge. I really like the top of a steep break right on the weed edge in 10-14ft. I also find sometimes when I only catch smaller fish at sundown I will then catch bigger fish in the morning. And like was said, stay quiet in shallow water and be set up early. I've seen walleyes down my hole scatter when someone a 50yds away just started an auger.

Joe

[slurpie]

There is a lot of sharp brakes all around the lake with a few points im sitting on the points. Drilled all over the points not really any weeds on them Next time I can get back there I will have to try Scheller the third time out there I got to 14 inchers for quite a few little ones. That would be nice in a couple years the Fish were still there and got bigger. Thanks guys.

[Stick in Mud]

I've also found that fish very often school up according to size. That's not to say that you won't catch occasional small fish while on bigger ones, or bigger ones while on a school of small fish, but in general I've found it to be a relatively good rule of thumb.

This happens a lot to me on Mille Lacs...we'll get on a pod of small fish and keep waiting for size. It rarely happens, and while it's hard to move away from biting fish, in my experience that's what's been the best for me. I can't say that, after moving somewhere else, I always find the bigger ones...sometimes I don't catch any.