Don't Overlook the Flats for Walleyes

It was mid-August, 10:30 a.m., and the ambient air temperature was already reading 72 degrees. We were fishing, running bottom-bouncers over an area about 200 yards long and 100 yards wide.

- Wes David

There was no structure on the bottom, not even a weed. It was just a flat area in the middle of the lake with a sand bottom, more like a parking lot than a structure-filled area that walleye would typically call home this time of the year. The water depth was 14 feet, and there was no doubt the sun’s rays were penetrating the shallow water making it uncomfortable for the resident walleyes. So why were the walleyes feeding so aggressively on these shallow flats?

It’s well-known that walleyes are very sensitive to light and water temperature. There was no logical reason for walleyes to be on the flat at that time of day, with so much light penetrating the water column. Especially when there was much deeper water on all sides of the flat.

However, as we bottom-bounced the area, it rarely took more than a couple of minutes before one of us hooked up. The bite carried on well into the afternoon when ambient temperatures reached 85 degrees.

We lost count of the number of walleyes we caught and released that day. But it ended up being one of the best days of walleye bottom-bouncing I’ve ever experienced. Since then, whenever I’m fishing for August walleye, I never miss a chance to bottom-bounce the flats.

Three stages of walleye feeding

Walleyes relate to structure year round. Structure is a major key to successful walleye fishing, especially deep structure. However, walleyes often cruise the flats in search of food – baitfish, leeches, other aquatic life and, now more than ever, crayfish. Walleye are feeding on crayfish as these freshwater crustaceans’ range expands north, including western Canada’s southernmost lakes and rivers.