GREAT OUTDOORS: Tricks to try when walleye catches are slow on ice

After finally getting good ice, the walleye fishing reports that have been coming from the fish cleaners, ice guides, Facebook posters and directly from my friends have been consistent — as in consistently poor. Other than a day or two when some found fish in a friendly mood, most catches have been closer to one than a daily limit of six. There have been lots of fish marking on the fish finders that anglers use to watch for signs of fish below the surface. But when successfully hooked, many have turned out to be "cigars" from the very robust hatch that occurred last spring. The Lake Erie Islands, Catawba and the nearshore area west of Port Clinton have the best ice, but a pesky crack that was likely kept alive by icebreaking activity and crisp winds has caused concerns for those wanting to fish from the Toledo Water Intake to Camp Perry sections of the lake. Over the course of more than 40 years of ice fishing for walleyes when winter has cooperated, I have often seen similar tough fishing periods when they refused to engage, especially during the dead of winter. When the walleye bite is difficult, it often pays to try particular techniques for locating, coaxing and targeting stubborn walleyes to boost successful outcomes. These extraordinary methods are commonly used by hardwater anglers throughout the Upper Midwest. Locating Fish along the outer contour lines that parallel island shorelines and shoals. These create predictable fish pathways by blocking them from moving directly from point A to Point B as they try to maintain the same depth in the water column while seasonally migrating through the channels from west to east and vice versa. Fish are steered or funneled along these perceived obstructions. Regardless of water levels, once located they remain constant and can be stored in a GPS to accumulate more prospective spots to check when scouting for pods of active fish. Coaxing One well-recognized technique for getting neutral or negative-behaving fish to bite is to downsize lures from a horizontal swimming bait to the smallest spoon that the current will allow to stay near the hole. Even trickier ways to entice unaggressive fish is to use a "dead stick" jig or perch rig baited with a single shiner that even bottom-hugging fish cannot easily ignore. Light biters can be outwitted with the addition of a stinger hook. Targeting Don't be locked into only fishing near the bottom for walleyes. Active, aggressive walleyes are often cruising well off the bottom. In the Catawba to Bass and Kelleys Island area, the passing lane depth is frequently at 25 feet of water. If using one, diligently watch the fish finders for these bonus opportunities. The best reports that I have gotten from anglers scoring on walleyes have been from those using their Forward Facing Sonar (FFS) units. After seeing the enhanced images provided by FFS, I now see the shortcomings of the return signals that flashers and LCD fish finders comparatively provide. In what would look like a couple of fish "marks" on a flasher, individual fish can be seen in small schools often containing several, then one or more break away from the pack and advance toward the lure. This takes a lot of the guesswork and interpretation out of trying to decipher a lit fish finder flasher bulb image. As the temperatures climb and meltwater enters and warms up the lake ever so slightly, walleyes normally respond with a feeding binge that will provide a bounty of fresh fillets before long.