Walleyes tend to work on your psyche like no other fish that swims Iowa's waters.

Walleye metabolism tends to slow when water temperatures dip. Anglers will do well to opt for presentations designed to induce a strike rather than those aimed at normal walleye feeding patterns. Photo by Ron Sinfelt.

They don't fight as hard as white bass, smallmouth, trout, carp or even sheepshead do. The species has a well-deserved reputation as table fare, but let's be honest -- bluegills taste just as good. Northern pike taste even better. And sheepshead? If I had a nickel for every sheepshead fillet that got passed off as walleye to rave reviews over the years, I wouldn't need to work as an outdoor writer and fishing guide.

Why are this fish and its cousin the sauger so fascinating to Hawkeye anglers? Intelligence? A walleye's brain is no bigger than that of any other fish. When juxtaposed against a human brain, it's like placing a pea next to a basketball.

Perhaps it's that finding consistent success hooking up with this green ghost is a challenge -- especially now, with the near-freezing environment slowing the marble-eye's cold-blooded metabolism.

Is this a problem? No. Consistent success with catching walleyes comes from analyzing facts and applying logical solutions. That cold-blooded metabolism will see to it that this fish isn't on the move in February, so all you have to do is find it. And the winter walleye doesn't want to eat very much or very often, so it's more susceptible to a striking presentation rather than a feeding presentation.

Walleye catching boils down to attitude. I guide on the Mississippi River's Pool 9, one of the best walleye fisheries in the state. The Mississippi is challenging in its own right, but I believe that even if only one walleye swam these 30,000 acres, she would indeed feel my hook --eventually.

Realizing this goal is easier now than in July, when the walleyes might be busting shad on the channel end of a wing dam or skulking back in the Winneshiek in search of little bluegills, frogs, crayfish or mayflies.

The first step in catching walleyes is finding where they live. It's a simple matter of perspective-driven attitude: This ain't Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes -- Iowa contains only a few walleye destinations. In this article we'll look at where these fish swim, and how you can introduce them to your hook.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER
This time last winter, a cadre of perhaps 20 anglers gathered on the ice below the dam at Lynxville and waled away on saugers, walleyes and a few jumbo perch. Weapons of choice were No. 3-5 jigging Rapalas with minnow heads on the treble hooks and basic Lindy rigs employing egg sinkers about 24 inches above plain hooks.

Proven methods of success when fish are in this coldwater pattern include vertical-jigging with metal blade-baits like Sonars and Big Dudes and dragging either bucktail jigs or plastic flip-tails along the bottom.

Many anglers tip their jigs with minnows. Some use stinger hooks. I've found that stingers catch more snags than fish; you'll do better just to thread the minnow on a bare hook, going through the mouth, out the gill and burying the hook under the dorsal fin.