It’s that time of year when shallow bites fade fast. The water’s warming, the sun hangs higher, and if you’re still casting shorelines like it’s early May, you’re fishing ghosts. The fish haven’t disappeared — they’ve just slipped deeper. Late May into early June marks a shift: walleye pull off structure and hug cold-water comfort zones. If you’re willing to follow them into the depths, you’ll have your pick of active fish that most anglers leave untouched.
The Early-Summer Slide: Why Walleye Push Deep and How to Track It
When surface temps rise past 65°F — and especially when they crack 70°F — walleye start sliding down the breaks. Not because they’re sluggish. Quite the opposite. Big fish are feeding hard to recover from the post-spawn, but they’re choosy about where and when they do it. They're hunting cold, oxygen-rich water with consistent bait movement — typically 20 to 40 feet down, depending on lake type and clarity.
On clear natural lakes, that often means the first main-lake basin, with subtle dips or rock humps near weed edges. In reservoirs, they might pin tight to submerged channels, sunken wood, or stair-stepping ledges. The trigger isn’t just depth — it’s stable temperature and bait movement.
Weekend anglers make the mistake of looking for the same aggressive edge bites they had earlier in May. But by now, the biggest fish have relocated to areas that stay cooler throughout the day — often mid-lake or offshore. Think away from the crowds. Open-water structure. Long runs with sharp sonar reading and deliberate setup.
Precision Trolling: Beyond “Covering Water”
You’ve heard a hundred times to troll cranks to “cover water.” That’s beginner talk. What you need is deliberate depth control.
At this point in the season, you’re often fishing a 2–5 foot strike window in 30+ feet of water. That means if your bait’s too high, you’re irrelevant. Too low, and you’re invisible. Precision trolling means matching line length, speed, and crankbait dive curve to put the bait exactly where fish are marking — and keeping it there for as long as possible.
Use a line counter or leadcore to dial it in. Not roughly — exactly. If your graph shows arcs at 28 feet over 38 feet of water, run a bait that holds 26–28 feet for the entire pass. Not 30. Not 35. Use snap weights if your crank starts blowing out at speed. Test your setup next to the boat before you let it out fully - you want to make sure everything's working while you can see it. Watch for wobble collapse, track curves, and adjust until it's dialed.
And here’s the tip most anglers miss: don’t just run one style of crank. Early summer walleye can key in on forage shape just as much as color. If they’re feeding on minnow or shad, a short, fat bait might outfish long, slender ones. So mix it up — run a shallow diver on a snap weight and a deep diving bait side-by-side and let the fish tell you what they’re hunting.
Want an edge? Run one crank just above the pod, and another slightly higher — walleye often feed upward, and the most aggressive fish will rise through the column. That high bait often draws your biggest bites.
Vertical Presentations That Don’t Fall Flat
When fish are pinned to the bottom, trolling can miss them. That's where vertical comes in. But a lot of guys drop down and immediately overwork it.
Here’s what you want: fast-fall baits with pause presence. Think blade baits that stand up when they hit bottom (like the Vertical Minnow). Jigging spoons that don’t spiral out of control. Baits with a profile that screams “wounded, but not dead.”
Late May into June, the vertical bite is all about rhythm. Drop the bait, pop it once or twice, then let it settle — not in a dead heap, but standing, fluttering, or pulsing. Walleye want movement, but they’ll only chase a short distance in 40 feet of water. A well-tuned vertical minnow that holds its posture between hops will out-fish a wild blade that bombs down and lays flat.
Here’s a common mistake: fishing braid with a fast tip rod. You feel everything, sure, but you also rip the bait away from neutral fish. Swap to a soft glass rod with fluorocarbon leader — it adds forgiveness and slows your cadence. You’ll stick more of the short-strikers and stop pulling hooks out of their mouth mid-set.
And watch your screen like a hawk. If a fish comes off bottom and starts following, freeze the bait. Let it suspend just above them. Big walleye love to study a bait. That long stare ends in a hard thump if you give them the chance.
Reading Water in 40 Feet: A Different Game
Fishing deep isn’t just about finding marks. It’s about interpreting them correctly.
In 35–45 feet of water, even good sonar can blur arches into blobs. Most guys stop paying attention. That’s your opportunity. Learn what a holding fish looks like on your unit. On older 2D, it might just be a slight lift off bottom with a shadow underneath. On newer down-imaging or live sonar, look for slow movers just a few feet up, hanging still or drifting sideways.
You’re not looking for big schools. At this depth and time of year, it’s often singles and doubles. These are the fish worth targeting — not resting, but watching. Set a waypoint. Circle back. And remember: once you find that depth window, it holds for miles. Get one bite at 33 feet, and you can often replicate it halfway across the basin.
Also — watch your bait clouds. If you’re marking pods at 30 feet, start trolling above them. If bait’s scattered high, don’t fish the bottom. Fish the edges of the chaos. Big walleye trail bait schools, not charge into them.
Closing Thoughts
Hot days scare off lazy anglers — but they push smart ones deeper. In late May and early June, going deep isn’t just a backup plan, it’s the main program. Follow the thermocline. Read your electronics like a map. Troll with surgeon-like precision. And when you find them pinned to bottom, go vertical with purpose, not panic.
There’s a whole world of untouched fish below 30 feet. Most guys never drop in. You will.