dark water.. need suggestions..

[The Yeti]

We will be fishing a dark water lake this weekend. What's the best approach for stained lakes in the winter time? Depth, structure, colors etc. I do know that we rarely will catch a walleye in water over 10 feet in the summer.

[IceHawk]

Im not sure how many acres or how the structure is laid out on the lake but I myself would think shallow. If its a stained water lake I will assume the weedline if it has one doesnt run very deep. I would look at the first breaks and flats around shallow water. You may want to look for inside corners on the weedlines if a weedline excists.

For best times to be fishing I would favor fishing this lake at sunriseand a cuple hours into it, and about 2 hours bfore darkness settles in. I really doubt you will have much action during the dark periods. Don't rule out a daytime bite on a really stained lake.I have had good success during daylight hours on lakes with water claritys like these.

As for lures I would stick to spoons such as Go-devils,pimples,weasels,forage minnows etc. A good deal of flash and glow given off from these spoons will help the eyes find your lure. I would also bring along some Buck-shot jigging spoons as I have found these to be hot in dirty water lakes. My feeling is that with the water clarity so bad the eyes really learn to rely on their senses more than there sight. The clicking noise made by these spoons resembles crayfish in the rocks and it can really turn them on.

Hope this helps!