While you can catch walleye at any time, day or night, walleye night fishing is by far going to be the most productive for any angler, especially during spring and summer months. What researchers have found is that walleye are seemingly nocturnal, seemingly simply because, on darker and cooler days, it is almost as easy to catch a walleye as it is at night time after a bright, sunny day. Why is this so?

Walleye night fishing targets a species that typically prefers to stay deeper in a body of water when it is warm or bright. In fact, the walleye is named such because of a special filter that grows behind the retina of its eye. This "film" is used to both reflect and attract light, allowing walleye to filter out light that would blind other fish by reflecting it, as well as to see in darker, murkier conditions than most other fish by utilizing what little light there is more efficiently. At the same time, the walleye also likes cool waters, meaning that summer surface waters are not as conducive to this species as they are with species like sunfish.

Therefore, after dark, when the light fades and the water begins to cool, walleye night fishing sees many more specimens rise toward the surface, looking for food, making your bait a prime target for the walleye. It could be that, in lower levels of light, the walleye have instinctually become more secure, experiencing an advantage in their ability to see the prey before the prey can see them because of their extraordinary eyesight. Keep in mind that walleye night fishing will be best in shallower waters, usually fifteen feet deep or less. This means that, prior to making your excursion, you should scout the areas in the daylight so that you don't place yourself or your boat in danger with submerged hazards. You may even want to leave yourself guides and markers in certain areas, such as glow in the dark buoys to mark such dangers.

You might also want to prepare by taking a sonar with you to help you find the walleye. Night fishing will be great around structures - the bigger, the better. These structures are the preferred holding grounds for walleye between feedings, where they will rest. You'll find a huge concentration of the species in shallow waters around sunken islands, stumps, and other underwater structures at night.