# Finding 'eyes



## jmenchhofer (Jan 12, 2007)

I've fished for walleye on Lake Erie charters and on the Maumee during the run for a few years, but last year was really my first taste of what it's like to go out on your own and catch walleye or saugeye on an inland body of water. My experience last year consisted mostly of trolling crankbaits and worm harnesses along the windblown shorelines of a couple of upground reservoirs, and a couple of fall trips jigging vib-e's. My wife and I caught enough fish to keep things interesting while trolling, but didn't really find the size of fish we were after. 

I'm really looking forward to trying to improve on our experiences from last year. I feel like I've got a pretty decent handle on the mechanics of spreading out 4 lines behind the boat with the help a couple of in-line planer boards. I also have line counters and the Precision Trolling book to help place my lures at specific depths while trolling. 

I know one of the areas where I need to gain a lot of knowledge is knowing where to find 'eyes on different bodies of water during different parts of the year. I hope some of you who are more experienced can chime in and share your approach toward finding fish. I would like to be able to develop a mental checklist that I can apply when approaching any body of water to find fish. I guess what I'm looking for is what kinds of areas are known to hold 'eyes, such as breaks, holes, humps, flats, etc., or any other information that will help narrow down the search for fish. I hope you all can help me to shorten the learning curve- I'm certainly willing to work to find "my own" fish, but don't normally have the luxury of being able to pursue 'eyes more than a few times a month at best.


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## JIG (Nov 2, 2004)

To me its all about the water. First thing I do coming up on new grounds or old is run through a check list. Time of year,weather,water level,clarity,temp and time of day. After such Im on my electronics finding those key areas for a given time and puttin the lures/baits to that depth. Sometimes early in the year your electronics are just for locating bait and holding a depth to troll. As a year goes on the weeds grow and water clears up and fish hide. You wont mark nothin! Fish whats givin. Structure! Anything vertical will do as we dont have alot of weeds or stumps in some waters. As we go into Summer a thermo sets up on waters over 20 deep. Weeds start to die and off they go. Now your electronics and cranks are the key to summer eyes let alone ALOT of other fish on there way out not down enless the waters under 20feet. Then we are bottom fishing. Fish in lakes with a thermo set up on the deeper ends tends to hold fish at that depth. You wont see it till the water heats up to 65-70deg. Then itll sink pushing down the colder water. Still eyes on both ends. Day bite! I think the fall bite is pretty much reversed but most lakes drop for fall. Fish can lay deep and rise for the fall feeding frenzy! Night bite! Again on one end. The other end is a day bite as in the spring. Now the water is the same again top to bottom. Pending on cold snaps. Even with all this BS its well worth pickin up a lake book explaining all the diff bodies of water. REALLY helpful! Big diff in deep lakes to shallow ones. Northern waters to southern ones. Timing is everything and there is always a biting fish. Knowing how the fish adj to changing conditions on a givin body of water is the easiest way to find the fish. Up down in or out. Simple!Hope this helps! Bob


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