First Ice Walleye Fishing Tips and Techniques: Now’s the Time to Catch Aggressive Early-Winter Fish

After months of anticipation, first ice is finally here! And there may be no better time to pull walleyes through the ice. First ice includes green vegetation still producing oxygen, aggressive fish, and some of the most exciting walleye action of the year. Capitalize on this behavior with these first-ice walleye techniques.

First, a Quick First-Ice Safety Briefing

The general rule is 4 inches of good, clear ice will hold an angler. Even so, you've got to use extreme caution. Make sure you've got the minimum safety gear with you—a spud bar, safety hand spikes, rope, boot cleats, and whenever possible, fish with a partner. For a more in-depth look at early-ice safety, check out my article Staying on Top: Early Ice Fishing Safety and Tips

this first-ice walleye was caught in shallow water — This angler caught this early ice walleye in cabbage weeds in only 5 feet of water. | Joe Shead

Where to Find First-Ice Walleyes: Best Early-Season Locations

You can find first-ice walleyes in a variety of structure types, but think shallow. Weed flats, points, the first breakline and areas of rock and gravel will all hold fish. "Shallow" is a relative term, but you can often find first-ice walleyes in 5 to 10 feet of water. Main-lake humps and mud flats could possibly hold fish, but generally these spots are better later in the season.

drill your holes early to avoid spooking walleyes in shallow water — Drill your holes well before prime low-light time to avoid spooking walleyes in shallow water. | Joe Shead

How to Prepare for First-Ice Walleye Fishing

Skinny-water walleyes are spooky. If you start punching holes and walking around a lot over shallow water at prime time right before dark, you're likely to spook fish. Instead, punch your holes well before dark and keep foot travel to an absolute minimum. If fish are only 5 feet below you, they can spook easily. If the ice is clear and thin, I like to fish over snow patches where possible to hide myself from fish. Keep quiet and be willing to give a spot a little bit of time to allow spooked fish to return.

a shallow water first ice walleye — In shallow water, fish will be on your bait with little advance warning from your electronics. | Joe Shead

Best Jigging Techniques for First-Ice Walleyes

Early-ice walleyes are generally pretty aggressive and willing to feed, especially at the classic walleye times of dawn and dusk. Although sluggish mid-winter walleyes may check out your bait and then leave, often, first-ice fish will clobber your presentation. And given the shallow nature of these fish, the cone from your electronics will be pretty small, so the fish will be striking with little warning.

A classic jigging spoon or a Jigging Rapala tipped with a fathead minnow head is always a reliable producer. Fish these baits within a foot of bottom. Jig a little more aggressively to attract attention, but if you see a fish coming in, tone it down a little to allow the fish to strike. If the fish starts to leave, try pulling it away from the walleye to look like an easy meal is getting away.

using a sucker on a tip-up for early ice walleyes — Fatheads, shiners or suckers fished just off bottom below a tip-up will take early-ice walleyes. Using tip-ups minimizes noise on thin ice over shallow water. | Joe Shead

Tip-Up Strategies for Early-Winter Walleyes

Tip-ups are great tools for first-ice walleyes because you can set 'em and forget 'em. That means less travel on the ice and less traffic to spook fish. Place a lively fathead, shiner or small sucker on a glow octopus hook and weight it down with a split shot a foot above the hook. Keep the presentation about a foot off bottom. Tip-up lights are useful for low-light fishing. They turn on when the flag goes up. Tip-ups work well on their own, but when you jig near your tip-up holes you can sometimes lure in fish from a distance and then they'll strike the live minnow, making your efforts doubly effective.

Why First Ice Is the Best Time to Catch Shallow Walleyes

It doesn't take a lot of gear to be successful on first-ice walleyes. Keep your first-ice approach simple, practice stealth, prioritize safety, and you’ll experience some of the most aggressive walleye action of the entire season.