The author caught a respectable early-season walleye at Mille Lacs Lake. Photo by Ron Hustvedt.

Catching early-season walleyes is just a matter of finding the windswept shoreline and casting slip-bobbers or slowly dragging jigs. That's all there is, right? Many anglers ask, "What's the need for talking about that oh-so-easy to pattern early-season walleye bite?"

Then there's always the great excuse about post-spawn walleyes being impossible to catch.

"Those big females are just too tired to eat," is a not too uncommon phrase uttered at boat landings. Another one is, "The females have sore gums, so they are on the bottom and not eating."

You won't hear any of that from walleye angling professionals Scott Fairbairn and Brett King, who drive around the country in search of what scientists call stizostedion vitreum.

After the spawn has wrapped up and walleye season opens, the big females get the heck out of the spawning grounds, while the males stick around hoping a few more females come around.

"If you are looking for fast-action and some walleyes just big enough to fill the frying pan, then you should fish near the spawning grounds," Fairbairn said.

But that's only true for the males.

"Those big females have begun to move to where they'll spend their summers and aren't anywhere near those spawning grounds. They don't bite where we fish for them because they are gone," he said.

Fairbairn said a really easy way to figure out where the big females are is to key in on where the walleye bite is hot during June and July.

"Most anglers don't fish those spots for at least another three weeks, but those big fish are heading out there and as the water warms, their metabolisms will only increase meaning they'll be more apt to bite," he said.

King said varied presentations should be used when chasing that bite.

"In my opinion, anglers get caught up in territorial and traditional techniques, when in reality a variety of presentations work very well, some better than what is otherwise popular," he said.