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Here’s ‘Eyes In Your Mud
by Rick Olson

Mudlines are often the key to successful reservoir angling, but unfortunately for many anglers, the how’s and where’s are as clear as mud. Veteran reservoir anglers know all too well that mudlines are the place to be when things are right, but as barren as the Mohave Dessert when they’re not. The following should help clear things up, and give you the confidence to start getting your share of mud running walleyes.

So what’s the big attraction? Well, walleyes probably have no special affinity for the muddy water itself, but rather the various feeding opportunities it can provide.

Muddy water attracts baitfish, and is the real drawing card for hungry ’eyes. It also creates an environment of limited visibility, and is a condition where walleyes can do extremely well.

The mudline itself creates an ambush point, and a high percentage spot for contacting active fish.

Proverbial mudlines develop when wind and waves crash into a shoreline, or across a flat, and stir up sediment. The “mudline” is the area where dark water meets clear.

Wave action creates current, and can carry sediment twenty yards or more off shore, depending on how severe the conditions are. Wind blown points can make for classic mudlines, and are relatively easy to distinguish. You can actually see the distinct color change, and is an area where you should concentrate your efforts, providing there is accompanying structure.

A mudline without an underwater point, break, or flat, really isn’t worth much. However, if you can combine the two, you may really have something.

Mudlines can range in size from tight little pockets holding downwind of point, to quarter mile long stretches of shorelines, depending on the conditions.

Little pockets of mud are easy to pinpoint, and can be worked rather quickly. Casting shad raps, or pitching jigs tipped with a minnow or crawler, will let you know if anybody’s home, in short order.

Although the edge of a mudline is a good place to start, don’t be afraid to get right into the middle of it. Depending on how bad things are getting stirred up, walleyes can be found from the edge, to almost on shore.

If you don’t contact fish in your first attempt, don’t give up. When mudline fish get active, they’ll often move in, fill up, and head out. If you’re there when they’re going, the action can get pretty intense. If you just missed it, you can come up empty handed.

Also, if one point and accompanying mudline doesn’t produce, don’t dismiss the rest. One point in ten may hold the biters, and they all have to be checked out to know for sure.

Long stretches of mud can may be more efficiently worked by trolling, rather than casting. Trolling keeps the bait in the water, where it belongs, longer than any other method.

Crankbaits, and bouncer spinner combinations, are top producers for trolling mud. Look for crankbaits to be effective from early in the season, right up until the very end. Good picks include the Shad Rap, Jr. Thunderstick, and a new entry: the Normark Tail Dancer. They have what it takes, and are available in models that can cover the shallow water zone.

Spinners, on the other hand, become more effective after water temps pop into the upper fifties, and beyond. A hot new spinner that has proven to be extremely effective is the Stobe, from Blue Fox. It has a unique wire shaft, and is absent the usual monofilament leader. Users of the Strobe tie in their own leader, which gives them much more flexibility, and allows for adaptation to changing conditions.

Although a little mud is a good thing, a lot of mud can be much too much. When mother nature let’s go with both barrels, things can quickly get out of hand. Hard pounding waves can turn an area into solid mud, and may shut the action down completely. Reduced visibility can be turned into zero visibility overnight, and is a situation that you’ll want to avoid.

To find what you may have lost, look upwind, (like directly above a wind blown point), for clearer water. Walleyes will pile into said areas, and can help narrow down your search rather quickly.

If a big wind renders a good area completely un-fishable, don’t be afraid to go back after things settle down. As water clarity begins to improve, walleyes can be expected to move into these areas in droves, to take advantage of ideal feeding conditions.

Determining good mud from bad takes a scientific approach and a thorough analysis: If you can still make out your prop, you should be OK. If you can’t, better make a move to an area where you can. That doesn’t mean you have to see the prop clearly, just enough to know that it’s still there.

So how do you now when to head for the mud? The answer is rather easy: If there’s a mudline you better check it out. From early spring to late fall, mudlines can attract and hold active fish. The key word being “active”.

Walleyes move to the mud for one reason and one reason alone, and that’s to chow down. If a mudline develops, and there are walleyes present, you can bet they’re munching on something.

Rick Olson

Red Pine Resort
Ice Fishing on Kabetogama.