Mark Courts says there are plenty of spots to catch walleyes on any given lake, river or reservoir. You just have to know where to look. Photo by Tim Lesmeister.

"Every lake has its own set of characteristics, and you need to understand what they are if you're going to be successful," said pro walleye angler Mark Courts. "Timing is important, too. You take a few things into consideration and then set up a game plan."

Asked to define lake characteristics, Courts stressed that you must keep the evaluation of a lake fairly simple and stick to the time-tested techniques.

"Some lakes are shallow, some are deep," he said. "Some have lots of vegetation, some none. You might be on a river where moving water is a factor or you might be on a small natural lake where all the walleyes are stocked. These characteristics, and others, help you define where the walleyes will be, and then you just have to use the right technique."

Asked to provide examples, Courts chooses sand flats to begin.

"On lakes where you might find big sand flats, walleyes will be spread out all over the top of that sand in May," he explained. "It's a post-spawn transition where the male walleyes stay and feed near the spots where they recently spawned."

Courts recommended only one technique for targeting the sand flats: the live-bait rig.

"The rig is by far the best option for shallow sand," Courts said. "I like to fish minnows, especially shiners or red-tailed chubs, and if I can find a dropoff in 5 to 9 feet of water, I know where those walleyes will be."

The distance between the weight and the bait is dictated by another characteristic of the body of water, that being water clarity.

"I've discovered that some lakes, and it's always the ones with clear water, require 6 to 8 feet between the hook and the sinker," Courts said. "Now on a lake or river where the water is stained, 30 inches would be a lot of space between the weight and the bait."

Occasionally, anglers will find the walleyes grouped up on a spot on the sand. When that happens, Courts switches to a jig.

"I just tip the jig with a minnow and drag it across the bottom right through the walleyes," he said. "Use a jig with a stand-up head and let it rest occasionally. This will actually trigger bites when you start the jig moving again."

On lakes where vegetation is prevalent, Courts said newly emerging weeds can be a real walleye magnet. Courts does stress that the best weedflats are those near a hard-bottomed region where the walleyes spawned earlier.

"You can't beat the vegetation during the low-light periods (early in the season)," Courts said. "The weeds are not well established, so you can cast a crankbait and pull it right over the tops. The walleyes are sitting in the cabbage, coontail, milfoil and grasses, but they'll shoot out to grab a crankbait."

Courts' favorite crankbaits for the early-veggie characteristic are Rattlin' Rogues, the No. 11 Rapala, the long-bodied Frenzy and the X-Rap 14. All of these lures are shallower divers with the long, tapered body.