"Everybody is used to fishing up north along breaklines and dropoffs in 8, 10 or 12 feet of water," said Shaw. "At Rathbun, you have to think shallow for walleyes in the summer. There are times when you'll take them in only 2 feet of water on a bright, sunny day. It's an odd pattern, but it makes for great walleye fishing in midsummer."

LITTLE RIVER LAKE
Shaw calls Little River Lake, near Leon in far south-central Iowa, one of the state's best-kept secrets for walleyes. "It's only an hour from Des Moines, just a few miles east of Interstate 35 (on Highway 2), but it seems to be under everybody's radar when it comes to walleyes," he said. "We've caught 8- and 9-pounders there during tournaments, and there's a nice population of 2- to 4-pounders. In fact, bass guys complain that during bass tournaments, they waste a lot of time catching walleyes when they want to be catching bass."

Walleye anglers should take a cue from those frustrated bass anglers. While there are plenty of walleyes on Little River's traditional walleye structure -- riprap jetties, the face of the dam, rock piles on major points -- some of the biggest walleyes lurk in areas usually associated with largemouth bass.

"They're in the standing timber in deep water," said Shaw. "Look for trees in 8 to 25 feet of water. The walleyes will be right in close to the trunk of the tree, or close to major branches out away from the trunk. Guys do real well jigging right down in the trees or casting a stick bait past the tree and working it back at a certain depth."

According to Shaw, shore-anglers too have a good chance at Little River's walleyes, because the fish move shallow during low-light conditions. Jigs, spinners or crankbaits cast from the face of the dam, or from the jetties early in the morning, late in the day, or just after dark, can be very productive.

"Don't overlook just hanging a minnow, or leech or night crawlers under a bobber, either," he said. "A walleye will rarely turn down a chance to take a live bait. That's a great way to fish from shore at Little River."

MISSISSIPPI RIVER'S POOL 16
Heller, the walleye tournament angler from Des Moines, is almost reverent when he talks about the walleye potential of the Mississippi River downstream from Davenport.

"The next Iowa state-record walleye is going to come from that area," he offered by way of prediction. "There are some huge fish in that pool. And the number of 'eaters' is phenomenal."

While many walleye hunters on the big river focus on areas immediately below the locks and dams, Heller and Robbie Roush, his tournament partner, troll areas littered with rock along the bottom, mussel beds, or along riprap shorelines.

"Look for 6 to 12 feet of water along railroad grades, or other riprap shorelines," he suggested. "If you see a lot of whitish-looking small rocks on the shore when the river is low, they're actually clam shells, and clam beds are really good places to troll."

Trolling downriver at up to 4 mph allows Heller and Roush to get their crankbaits down to the bottom more easily than when they back-troll slowly upstream against the current. Heller warns that while getting on the bottom over clam beds is deadly for walleyes, it can be expensive.

"We've had days when we've lost 50 crankbaits getting them cut off on the clamshells," he said. "Zebra mussels are really bad for that. But most of the time, if you use floating crankbaits, they'll eventually pop up to the surface. You can usually recover most of the ones that get cut off." For trolling the pair mainly fish Rapala baits -- Originals Floating Minnow, Shad Raps, Fat Raps.

Heller says that, ultimately, no matter what lure he uses in Lake Rathbun, Little River Lake, or the Mississippi River below Davenport, the potential for walleyes is as good as or better than in many others of the northern lakes he has fished.

So how about it, walleye anglers? If it's walleyes you want, there's no need to point your vehicle north. Iowa has plenty of quality walleye fishing -- and some of the best spots are south of Interstate 80.