After this initial flurry of activity anglers tend to target other species as walleyes shake off the post-spawn blues. By early May the bite is on again, with crankbaits serving as the weapon of choice. Most anglers employ a trolling presentation in between 5 and 7 feet of water.

Some anglers effectively probe the edge of dredge cuts, either vertical jigging or drifting live bait such as night crawlers or jumbo leeches.

By about the Fourth of July, the walleye population turns most of its attention to the finned fireworks of the gizzard shad hatch. With so much natural food in the water, it is tough to impress a marble-eye with even the fanciest crankbait.

There is practically zero angling pressure during autumn months on Storm Lake. Walleyes have depleted the shad forage base and have strapped on the feedbag to beef up for the colder months ahead. Those few who pick up the rod again and leave the scattergun in the safe do quite well as the leaves begin to fall.

Black Hawk Lake in Sac County is another fishery that holds good walleye potential in the northwestern part of the state, according to Miller. A three-fish, 15-inch limit is in place on these 957 acres. Look for action to start on the east end of the lake a week or so after ice-out.

Come May, fish in this natural lake migrate to rock piles and flats over about 5 or 6 feet of water. A leech under a slip bobber is a great way to get your string stretched until hot weather arrives and the bite slows. When autumn rolls around, check out waters in Town Bay and around Ice House Point.

North Twin Lake in Calhoun County and Brushy Creek Lake in Webster County also hold good walleye populations according to Miller.

CLEAR LAKE
IDNR fisheries manager Jim Wahl says Clear Lake in Cerro Gordo County is the best walleye lake in the 10 north-central counties he is tasked with managing. Creel surveys indicate May and June are great times to hit the water here, with more than 8,000 walleyes reported during this period in 2007.

“About 60 percent of these fish were over 17 inches,” Wahl said. “Anglers can anticipate another excellent season in 2008, although the average size may be slightly smaller with most fish harvested about 14 to 16 inches in length.”

Shortly after ice-out in early April, try targeting rocky shorelines, especially the areas around the outlet, island and Dodge’s Point. Wading anglers casting a jig and minnow do well with this presentation prior to walleye spawning, which occurs at night in these areas when water temperatures warm to between 45 and 48 degrees.

Walleyes in Clear Lake rebound from spawning efforts by early May to slide just offshore, where anglers do quite well by either trolling crankbaits or drifting night crawlers. Fish tend to hold in this pattern until the arrival of serious summer when most activity comes at night off of the aforementioned island, Dodge’s Point, Billy and Gilmore reefs and the state dock.

RATHBUN LAKE
Anglers in southeastern Iowa flock to this 11,000 acre Appanoose County lake, ranked in the top 25 percent of all walleye waters in North America. Rathbun is a structure angler’s dream, with a large percentage of the walleye biomass relating to protuberances along the lake’s irregular bottom contour during the highly productive summer months.

The IDNR’s Rathbun Fish Hatchery pioneered new methods of growing large fingerlings about a decade ago, reinvigorating the walleye fishery in this flood control reservoir. In 2005, anglers set a new harvest record for the lake, reeling in an estimated 13,000 walleyes.

There are so many walleyes swimming in Rathbun that no length limit is in place. Size of the catch is driven by dominant year-classes. IDNR fisheries manager Mark Flammang says most fish swimming here now are 15 to 21 inches long.

Bring your entire walleye armament when fishing Rathbun. The fish may want cranks, a leech behind a Lindy rig or a night crawler trolled in a spinner rig configuration.