There are many regions of North America that have stained-water lakes. Stained water is created when tannins, the organic matter from plants that cause water to have a light tea color, are present in the watershed. One such body of water that’s well known by ice anglers as a walleye factory is Lake of the Woods. 

Habits Related to Visibility  

It is fascinating to notice the differences between fishing a stained-water lake compared to a lake with clear water. An understanding of those differences will help you dial in those prized stained-water walleyes. Most walleye fanatics understand that walleyes, like most fish, are opportunists. As my biologist friends from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Fisheries section have imposed upon me, fish will naturally expend as little energy as possible to live and feed. In the walleye world, this often means that walleyes take advantage of their natural ability to see better than their prey during low light or low visibility.

In many clear lakes, low-light conditions and fishing at night are typically the best times to catch walleyes, since this is when they prefer to feed. In stained water, the daytime when there is some light penetrating into the dark depths is more opportune.

Will walleyes feed at night in stained water? The answer on Lake of the Woods is yes, but not nearly as much as during the day. After talking to literally hundreds of ice anglers who ice fish out of sleeper houses and keep a line in the water at night, there are some walleyes caught at night, but not very many and not very consistently. It is also interesting to note that many of these nighttime feeders are suspended, most likely targeting suspended baitfish.

A Different Kind of Finesse  

Finesse is much more important in clear water than in stained water. I’m definitely glad that I grew up fishing walleye tournaments on some clear water because I think that it helped me to become a more well-rounded angler. For example, when fishing clear water, I pay close attention to using a much lighter line that’s less visible to the walleyes. Fluorocarbon is oftentimes my choice, as it practically disappears in the water. When using braided line with the no-stretch benefits, I will tie on a fluorocarbon leader for the last 4 to 6 feet.

Stained Water is More Forgiving  

In stained water I have no problem, especially on my jigging line, with using braided line right down to the lure. I still prefer using a fluorocarbon leader for my deadstick when ice fishing, but can get away with about 8-pound test vs. 4-pound test line in clear water.

Colors  

Anglers who have fished stained water for any length of time understand that there are definitely some go-to colors that walleyes respond to positively. Gold is an absolute staple color in stained water. As one old-timer up at Lake of the Woods put it, “I will use any color as long as it’s gold.”  

In addition, glow colors and bright colors, either on their own or combined with gold, are effective. A few of my favorites in addition to gold are glow red, pink and orange, or combinations of them.

Vibration

Vibration in water travels five times faster than in the air. This is key when thinking about lure presentation.  

One key to walleyes existing as an effective predator is their lateral line. The lateral line enables walleyes to sense vibrations in the water, as well as water flow. A walleye has hair cells in tiny neuromasts within their lateral line. These sensory cells actually face different directions to detect prey. A walleye will often sense or detect prey well before it sees it. 

When I think about how important the walleye’s lateral line is, I go back to a time that I was ice fishing on Lake of the Woods. A couple of marks came in on my Vexilar. When there is more than one walleye, it almost seems like a competition for the bait and they can get pretty aggressive.  

The first fish inhaled my jigging spoon. Since I knew that there were multiple fish, I pulled that walleye up as quickly as I could and re-hooked what was left of the minnow head, and sent the lure back down the hole. In 30 feet of stained water, as soon as my lure was below the ice, two fish raced up and one hammered the lure only 10 feet below the ice. I have a feeling that the walleyes know what’s going on in their environment more than we give them credit for.

Nobody really knows if walleyes in stained water rely on their lateral line more than walleyes in clear water. But one thing that I can tell you, is that adding or taking away some vibration from my lures has made a difference.  

Presentation

Vibration can come from a rattle inside a lure, the vibration that a lure makes, the displacement of water or the size of the lure. Some days they want radical noise. Other days they prefer no extra noise. It’s important to be strategic in nature when fishing with a partner. Use different lures and presentations until you understand what the walleyes want on that given day.

Sometimes getting very erratic with your presentations can be the key. This can work on both active fish and inactive fish to trigger a reaction strike. A lure like a Rapala Rippin’ Rap with rattle and flash can be a dinner bell that pulls walleyes in from long distances. This lure creates a strong vibration when ripped up and a fluttering action when allowed to fall back down. It also has BBs inside it that add to the noise. Sometimes walleyes and saugers will come in and slam the lure. Other times when fish are in a neutral mood, it pulls them in and they quietly slide over and take the dead stick.

Vibration can also be created from your presentation. Jigging very erratically with high lifts and drops, shaking the heck out of your lure, pounding the bottom, or even erratically tapping your rod with your fingers to send vibrations down the line can get more strikes.  

Electronics Are Key

Observing how walleyes react to your offering and presentation on electronics will help you understand their mood. If they’re not reacting to larger or more aggressive presentations, get smaller and slow down. Mellowing out your jigging line or downsizing your deadstick offering can have favorable results. 

Knowing when and how to gently tickle the lateral line of a walleye on those more neutral mood days is vital for catching fish when the bite is slow. That might mean using a very small jigging spoon and a crappie minnow head or wax worm.  

On the deadstick, it might mean going to a #4 or #6 hook under a split shot with a small minnow. In one instance, a friend of mine outfished me on his deadstick by using dead minnows, when I was using live minnows.

Stained water can be an absolute blessing when it comes to catching walleyes. The convenience of the daytime bite, not needing ultra-thin fishing line, and the ability to use larger and heavier lures are all advantages. A thorough understanding of a walleye’s preferences based on the color of the water that they live in, will give you an edge in dialing in stained-water ‘eyes.   

For more information on lodging, snowmobiling and ice fishing on Lake of the Woods, contact Lake of the Woods Tourism at 800-382-FISH (3474) or at www.LakeoftheWoodsMN.com.