Top Destinations On Ice

Martin’s top choices for baits include Northland Fire-Eye Minnows, Bay de Noc Swedish Pimples, Jigging Raps, and plain jigs on deadsticks. “Swimming lures, spoons, and deadsticking comprise the three most prolific methods,” he says. “And things can happen fast out there. The walleye population is so strong, it’s unreal. They’ve had successful spawns for four years in a row with a lot of heavy recruitment in prior years, too. Once you learn where to go, the average is about 25 legal fish per day, and the fish are biting all day from morning to night. Just pound a jig on bottom a couple of times, lift, pause, and they’re on, if you’re on the right spots.”

Saginaw Bay ices up by the first of January most years, but call ahead to make sure. Martin’s school provides on-ice instruction for everything from GPS and sonar to detailed location and presentation. It’s on Saginaw Bay again in February 2008, and to sign up, visit markmartins.net or call him at 231/744-0330. Call Frank’s Great Outdoors for guides, supplies, and information regarding ice fishing on the Bay (989/697-5341).

Bay of Quinte, Ontario

In-Fisherman Field Editor Gord Pyzer makes an annual pilgrimage to the Bay of Quinte for big walleyes every winter. But he doesn’t fish through the ice. “It’s not easy fishing, but those big Lake Ontario walleyes are there for the winter, once they make that fall movement into the Bay,” he says. “And that’s the key. They don’t leave the Bay. Cover some water and you’ll find them.”

Great Lakes walleyes, when staging in winter, may pause in their migrations but remain quite mobile, cruising across vast 20- to 25-foot flats and sometimes covering substantial distances within the confines of a day. Some enter rivers of origin when the water rises during a thaw, while others stay behind, waiting for the big spawning push of late winter and early spring.

“It’s a smelt-shad bite,” Pyzer says. “And the guys I know are fishing in boats in January, following the ice out from shore. We got 15 over 10 pounds in December last year in open water, but ice fishing can be equally good, if not better, when conditions are right.”

Richard Somerville of Belleville, Ontario, is an old hand on Quinte ice. Italo Labignan of Canadian Sportfishing Television said he’s worked with Richard for almost 20 years, producing trophy-walleye shows on ice. “I consider him the most reliable trophy walleye guide on the Upper Bay of Quinte,” Labignan says. “Our best results with aggressive walleyes come with 1/2- to 3/4-ounce Blue Fox Candlefish & Luhr Jensen Crippled Herring spoons with a fast snap-drop action. The fish always seem to hit when jigs are at rest before the up-stroke. For inactive walleye, we do well with lighter fluttering spoons or just a plain ball-head jig with a minnow.”

Walleyes begin staging and periodically running up the Trent, Moira, Salmon, and Napanee rivers, and tend to cruise on the big flats over depths of 20 to 25 feet adjacent to those areas. The flats of Big Bay, Telegraph Narrows, and Belleville are the traditional hot spots, but guides will show you some interesting alternatives. And a guide is a good idea the first time fishing here. The ice can be unstable in current areas.

For guides and information, contact Richard Somerville, (613/968-7428, email: hardwaterwalleye@hotmail.com, or Randy Hallet (613/968-8021).

Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota

“The Mille Lacs bite has been hot,” says Ice Fishing Guide Editor Jeff Simpson. “From first-ice right to the end of the season has been good for several years in a row. Once you get tuned in to the bite, catching up to 30 or more walleyes a day can happen. Early seems better for smaller fish in big numbers near the shorelines. When the ice has no snow cover, they’re spooky, so people are using tip-ups and deadsticks away from where they’re sitting. Sometimes that’s the only way to get bit on a bright day, but once you realize that, the action can be non-stop.”