size of structure

[walleyeking19]

when you go out fishing for walleyes do you look for a big piece of structure or a smaller one? any help is great.

[eyepatrol]

Too often from what I've seen on the lakes I fish, those big pieces of structure are magnets for fishermen as well as the smaller ones (regardless of ice or open water). So I'll focus more on areas where the people aren't. Then try and find the "spot on a spot". Many times this will be a long stretch of shoreline, but I've found that there are spots along those stretches of shoreline that hold fish.

[Team Otter]

The structure with the most structure on it (i.e. inside turns, multiple humps, sharp points, etc).

[PerchJerker]

Hate to be so vague, but it really depends. Some of my favorite spots are huge, some are very small. But even on the huge ones, there are small spots that are better than the rest of the structure.

It's a cliche' but the "spot on the spot" concept is a good one. If you're on a piece of structure with any size at all to it you should try to break it down to the key elements, ie. a flatter side, or a steeper side, or some inside or outside turns, or the shallowest part of it, or the part closest to deep water, or the top or the bottom of the break, or the windy side, etc.

That's why it's key to have good electronics, and to use them. Even if you're not catching fish, you should be able to mark fish and bait on your graph, or note that you're not marking any and change locations.

[fishgutz77]

One thing that helped me seperate good from poor structure is looking for seasonal structure. I only look at isolated humps and bars with deep water near by right now, but soon I will be looking a structure thats connected to the shorline somehow and has a long shelf into at least 24 fow that is close to spawning grounds. When it comes to the spot on the spot for me it's the longest, steepest break to the deepest water near the structure. fish holding in deep water use this to come up on the structure.

[hotlips13]

When it comes to the spot on the spot for me it's the longest, steepest break to the deepest water near the structure. fish holding in deep water use this to come up on the structure.

fishgutz---what do you mean or, more precisely, what is ur definition of structure when used in that sentence.

the only reason i ask is that i hear pro fisherman, or otherwise, talk about certain things but they don't exactly define what they mean when they use particular words. i ask this not being critical but more so i understand what it is that you mean

[james_walleye]

I don't exactly look at the size of the structure. More and more i see just how much of an impact the wind has on any structure I want to fish. So now i just look at structure, no matter how big or what it is, and i fish the side getting hit by the wind. That is of course open water. As far as ice fishing, the nice thing about a big piece of structure is that you can usually get somewhere on the structure and also get away from the crowd. Pressure usually is a factor on any decent walleye lake so this has to be taken into account as well. If your lucky enough to have a good lake without pressure, than i wouldnt think the size of the structure would matter. Just drill holes and cover ground. I have noticed as well that the last weekend of the season in particular that shoreline structure areas can really get hot again. This is the reason i've been targeting the last weekend of the season for Mille Lacs because this has worked for me every time in the past up there. My friends wheelhouse is on shoreline structure and he's already catching the big girls in there while most everyone else is struggling. Hes getting jumbos as well.