Ice extends for miles, surrounded by wooded shorelines with no roads, no old holes to use for guidelines, no bait shops, no towns, no lodging. That’s where we would send you if this article referred only to the very best spots for winter walleye hunts. The sidewalk ends far away from these places. The parking is iffy. A good winch is priority one. Snowmobiles or 4-wheelers would comprise priority two. A good map and a few handheld GPS units are essential components, as well.

Up there, the numbers are great and the potential to chance upon a walleye topping 15 pounds is greater than anywhere else on earth. With lots of options, including rivers, reservoirs, and natural lakes, Saskatchewan is Valhalla for walleye nuts any time of year. But that’s a long way from home, unless you live there. And really long trips won’t be mandatory, because most of you live within easy driving distance of the following destinations.

Lake Erie, Ohio

“Last year was one of the best ice bites we’ve had on Erie in a long time,” says Craig Lewis of Erie Outfitters. “For sheer numbers of fish, from ice-over to April, it was the finest season I’ve ever heard of. You could catch a limit in an hour or you could catch-and-release multiple limits in a few hours, all in the Western Basin, where the ice bite is usually confined. The ice is generally unsafe in most other areas of Erie.

“The bite was hot about two miles out from anywhere along the southwestern shoreline. Some guys were running out 14 miles on 4-wheelers, sleds, and ice boats, looking for monsters over 13 pounds,” Lewis says. “But sometimes we were walking out only 200 yards, right off Catawba Island. Turtle Creek and Camp Perry represent the two other most popular spots for accessing the lake. Most people go out with snowmobiles or 4-wheelers.

“The hottest bait all season was the 3/4-ounce Jigging Rapala,” Lewis adds. “Average size was 2 to 4 pounds, but every angler that spent any time out there caught a lot of big fish, too. It seemed like every fifth fish was 8 pounds or better. Typical spots have 40-foot depths surrounding shoals that rise to 24 feet or so. Just look for some kind of structure under the ice. Any kind of reef, rockpile, or sunken island in the right depth produced fish.”

“The most popular guide services are run by Bob Hanko (877/464-0172) and Pat Chrysler (419/285-4631),” he says. Information and supplies are also available from Erie Outfitters (440/949-8934) in Sheffield Lake, Ohio.

Saginaw Bay, Michigan

In-Fisherman PWT pro and ice-angling fanatic Mark Martin says, “Saginaw Bay should be on everybody’s list of hot walleye spots on ice.” Mark Martin’s Ice Fishing School Vacation headquartered on the Bay in mid-February, 2007. “We had 17 students,” he says. “They caught 600 legal walleyes, and one guy had 45, with several fish over 8 pounds, all in one day. And the fish were taken on a variety of techniques, from tip-ups to jigging to deadsticking. PWT pro Mike Gofron was there and said he never saw walleye fishing like it in his life.”

Martin says safety is the most important aspect on any Great Lakes fishery. “The ice isn’t always stable,” he warns. “You have to watch for white-outs, wind shifts, and ice shelves breaking off and floating free. Look for the bites closest to shore. It’s rarely necessary to go more than a few miles out to get into good numbers.”

Structure can be found, but much of Saginaw Bay is comprised of massive flats and gently tapering slopes with sand, clay, and gravel on bottom. “We fish 17 to 20 feet deep in most areas, right on the edge of smooth and jagged ice,” he notes. “The jagged side provides more shade, creating the same effect as shade from a bluff or a mudline created by an incoming river. Walleyes hang in the shade just under the jagged ice, near the edge of the smooth 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.”

Mille Lacs Lake, a 26-mile-wide bowl, has two ice-ups. The first occurs from early to mid-December, when water over inshore structure locks up. Another ice-up takes place between late December and early January, as midlake areas harden. The first intrepid anglers to reach the many mudflats (submerged plateaus that top out at 20 to 28 feet) find solid fishing for walleyes that many days average over 5 pounds. But lack of snow cover in recent years makes walleyes spooky.

“One angler I know was using a split shot with a minnow on a #4 hook right on bottom and doing very well,” Simpson says. “Another good tactic is to lay a spoon with a struggling minnow right on bottom. Walleyes were combing bottom a lot last year. The night bite with glow spoons was hot, too. When the midlake ice hardens, Yo-Zuri Live Minnow Jigs and Northland Fire-Eye Minnows were producing with a traditional lift, drop and pause.

“We never know what the slot-limits will be. Popping a lot of fish can be no problem, but you never know how many you can keep. Right now the slot is 14 to 16 inches, with one over 28 inches. But just a few weeks ago, you could keep anything under 20. It changes constantly, and the Minnesota DNR tailors it to the amount of pressure and to the estimated population and harvest taking place.

“Mille Lacs is amazing. It keeps pumping out fish. Just when you think the big ones should be tapped, you get into a flurry of 8- to 10-pounders. It’s like the pheasants in South Dakota. You hope for the best, expect the worst, and it’s often better than you ever imagined.”

Lodging, shack rentals, and information: Guide Ivan Burandt, 320/532-3261; McQuoid’s Inn & Guide Service, 320/ 676-3535; Meleen’s Holiday Sports, 320/532-3717; Eddy’s Resort, 800/657-4704; Tutt’s Bait & Tackle, 612/692-4341; Steve Felegy, Guide, 651/270-3383; Mille Lacs Area Tourism, 888/350-2692, Millelacs.com.

Last Mountain Lake, Saskatchewan

Saving the best for last, early and late on Last Mountain Lake, Saskatchewan, probably provides your best odds for pulling a 12-pound walleye through the ice. It’s possible on Bay of Quinte, Lake Winnipeg, Tobin Lake, and even on Erie, but the odds are best on this remote lake less than 30 miles north of Regina.

“Lots of people iced 8- to 12-pound walleyes last year,” says Greg Prokopetz of Pokey’s Tackle in Regina. “I have a picture in the store of a guy holding a 13-pound walleye with a 9-inch tulibee sticking out of its mouth, so walleyes are putting on the feedbag pretty intensely at that point, especially near an area we call the Stone Wall. On the hills north of Grandview Resort, you see an old stone foundation. Big walleyes stack up in there massively and will be there right at first-ice, which is generally around the first week of December. When we have 3 inches of ice, you can get on these fish in 5 feet of water. Anywhere from 5 feet down to 20 feet or so, big walleyes are crawling all over the place. They begin to move deeper with any fishing pressure at all.

“This summer was very hot, so things may set up late,” he says. “Perch and pike fishing are both very good, especially early in the season. Little Arm Bay has big pike at first-ice, with walleyes available around the same areas. Late in the season, just before spring break up in March, walleyes move into Little Arm thick as thieves. People use Hawger Spoons, Swedish Pimples, and other spoons tipped with minnows.”

Trees and hills on one side and flat farmland on the other surround the lake. “If you have a northwest wind, it can get pretty ugly,” Prokopetz says. “Nobody is guiding up there yet, during winter. But you can expect extremely big fish early and late in the season. This is the best lake up here if you’re looking for a 12-pounder through the ice.”

The place to call for information about lodging, tackle, and current hot spots on Last Mountain is Pokey’s Tackle in Regina, 306/359-1910. Try to stay on the main roads. And don’t forget that winch we mentioned.