Ron Hanna of Manton used a pink and white Nils Master lure to ice this Little Bay de Noc giant. Photo by Mike Gnatkowski.

You'd be hard-pressed to name a state that has better winter walleye fishing than Michigan. Not only are there dozens of locations that offer topnotch winter walleye fishing, but also the diversity of these bodies of water is incredible. You have everything from small, natural lakes to expansive Great Lakes bays. The one thing they all have in common is they are all steady producers of winter walleyes.

Here are some locations that are sure to be hot this winter.

IRON LAKE
Winter comes early to the western Upper Peninsula, so it's not uncommon to be on the ice by Thanksgiving. Smaller lakes are among the first to offer safe ice and hot first-ice walleye action. Iron Lake is one of those lakes.

Sportsman's Connection indicates that 396-acre Iron Lake "is an extremely good walleye lake, though not many you hook will be lunkers." Local resident and outdoor writer Robert "Dock" Stupp concurs.

"You're not going to catch a lot of big walleyes on Iron Lake," he said. "They'll be mostly eating-size fish. You can catch a lot of them, but not many will be over 20 inches or so."

Stupp said some of the best action of the year occurs on first ice near the boat landing on the northeast side of the lake. Gradually sloping contours find walleyes cruising at 10- to 20-foot depths, and Stupp said you can find them in as little as 5 feet of water. As winter progresses, walleyes migrate to the south end of the lake where you can find water to 45 feet deep. An abrupt dropoff along the east shoreline concentrates winter walleyes.

Standard walleye fare works on Iron Lake. Stupp said he does well with a leadhead jig and minnow while spotting a tip-up. The tactic usually results in enough walleyes for supper.

Sportsman's Connections maps are a great source of information for small lakes like Iron Lake that aren't listed on many other maps. Contact Sportsman's Connections at (800) 777-7461 or www. sportsmansconnections.com.

LAKE EMILY
"Fishing Lake Emily for walleyes in the summer can be a problem because of the weeds," Stupp said. "In the winter, you don't have the weeds to contend with, so it's one of the best times of the year to fish the lake for walleyes."

Located in Iron County, 320-acre Lake Emily is not a big lake, so it freezes quickly and anglers can be augering holes in early December. Stupp said you often find first-ice walleyes in extremely shallow water.

"I've caught walleyes on Lake Emily in as little as 3 or 4 feet of water," he said. "In addition, there's a chance of catching a real trophy on the lake. I don't tell many people, but I've taken walleyes up to 29 or 30 inches from the lake. I don't keep fish that size anymore, but they're there."

Stupp said Lake Emily is planted regularly with walleyes, so there are several strong year-classes in the lake with good size structure.

Walleyes frequent the 5- to 20-foot contours at either end of the lake on first ice. As winter sets in, the 'eyes relate to a hole that dips to 32 feet near the boat launch on the east side of the lake and a point directly across from the boat launch on the lake's west side. The steep dropoffs concentrate winter walleyes. Stupp said that the walleyes are suckers for a leadhead jig adorned with a minnow.

For more information on Iron County lakes, live bait and tackle, contact Crystal Bait at (906) 875-4434.