Why are walleye deep at noon and shallow at dusk?

It is the daily version of everything the tapetum dictates. Through bright midday, walleye hold deep on the structure or tight to bottom where light is comfortable and prey has fewer blind spots to exploit — resting more than hunting. As light fails, the advantage flips and the fish climb: up the break, onto adjacent flats and points, sometimes into water under 2 m (6.6 ft) after dark, hunting perch and shiners that can no longer see them coming. The angler's translation is to fish the same structure at different floors by hour — the deep base at midday, the mid-depth break at dusk, the shallow crown at night — rather than driving off to a "evening spot." The fish did not leave; they took the stairs.

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