I was talking with some fellow anglers the other day about walleye fishing and one of them made the comment that “walleyes like the rocks.” I disagreed with him.
When asked to explain my opinion, I told him that walleyes don’t “like” anything. Nor do they “dislike” other things. I instructed this group of fishermen that to be more successful on the water, they need to stop thinking like human beings. Because we’re on the top of the food chain, we tend to apply our perceptions of the world to all the critters with whom we share it.
Fish don’t have the mental capacity to like or dislike anything. They exist in a very simple reality, and are driven by just three things. One is the drive to reproduce. They do it during the spawn, naturally, and this represents a very short period within the calendar year. During the spawn, they’ll forgo feeding and abandon their cautionary behavior in order to get the job done. But during the remainder of the year (350 days, give or take), they exist to accomplish just two things:
1. To eat.
2. To not get eaten.
A pretty simple foundation upon which to build a fishing strategy, right? Darn tootin’! Now, the next concept to consider is the manner in which fish feed. They instinctively feed in the most efficient way possible. The put themselves in the most opportune locations at various times of the year, to consume as much as they can while expending the least amount of energy to doso.
A fish that burns 300 calories to chase down a baitfish that represents 200 calories is a fish that’s in big trouble. In the survival-of-the-fittest model, that fish has made a mistake that could weaken him enough to become the next meal for something bigger and fitter.
With that in mind, the clever angler is one who understands that he will find fish where the highest concentrations of food exist. To continue using walleyes as an example, here are a few oddball locations where I have crushed big numbers of big walleyes:
1. Shallow Mud. It was early summer and the walleyes weren’t at their usual haunts. I decided to switch gears and hit a shallow muddy bay for some spawning sunfish. What I found there was a major mayfly hatch in progress. The walleyes were there too, taking advantage of an endless supply of high protein while “the gettin’ was good!”
2. On Top. I was on famed lake Mille Lacs fishing the deep flats in big rolling waves. The sonar showed tons of walleyes that were suspended in that deep water. I gave them all kinds of presentations, but couldn’t get bit. Then I spotted a walleye cutting through a wave, with his dorsal sticking out like a shark’s. I switched to trolling a shallow stick bait and absolutely killed them! As it turned out, the bait was feeding way up high, and those suspended fish were shadowing the bait and coming up to gorge when they needed to.
3. A Foot Of Water. It was autumn and the leopard frogs were migrating to the lakes for their winter hibernation. I found a spot where good numbers of frogs were hanging out. I pulled the boat up on shore and caught a bunch of frogs with a net. At sunset, I pitched live frogs on Lindy Rigs into a footof water and just let them sit. The bite was incredible, because those fish knew they could cruise that bank and eat a pile of frogs. Fish love frogs.
The next time you go fishing, don’t ask yourself “I wonder where the fish are?” Instead, think like a fish and ask “where’s the food?” Then try and mimic the forage as closely as possible. Fly fishermen refer to it as “matching the hatch” and it’s a formula that applies to anything with fins.
Good Fishing!
Babe Winkelman is a nationally-known outdoorsman who has taught people to fish and hunt for more than 25 years. Watch the award-winning “Good Fishing” and “Outdoor Secrets” television shows on Versus (formerly OLN), Fox Sports Net, Comcast Southeast, WILD TV and many local networks.
