Females will make movements into the shallows early and late in the day to feed. After a cold front use lighter line and crawl your jig as slow as possible. Often no retrieve is the best retrieve. Shallow weedy natural lakes will also see early ice out. Many of these lakes are stocked walleye lakes with only marginal spawning taking place.
Structure is limited and walleyes are easy to locate.
The water can range from moderately clear to stained. If there is an artificial spawning reef in the lake or riprap shorelines walleyes can be drawn there in big schools. Even a small rock pile or gravel point can attract a large school of walleyes. The first week after ice out can see phenomenal action with smaller males. Get out early in the day and work the structure with shallow running crankbaits or a jig and twister tail.