For example, “Ice-anglers should be able to tune their (fish-finder) units and use the power to see their lures or even a split shot on their lines,” Martin pointed out. It’s a common mistake, he added, for many ice-anglers to improperly adjust their units to use their full power and maximize gain and sensitivity. Proper settings, he said, helps you see fish that enter your strike zone under the ice and how they react to your jigging cadence and other presentations.

Many times ice-fishing for walleyes is all about presentation. That’s one subject Martin tries to instill in his students both on and off the ice.

“Jigging action is critical for attracting fish,” Marin said, “but it’s often the less-active minnow on a dead stick that gets bit.” It’s a matter of the “flutter, rip, twitch and swim” in ice-fishing lures, his instruction team agrees, as well as the lure chosen and how the fish react to the presentation, that makes successful ice-anglers.

For example, Martin pointed out, anglers shouldn’t be so quick to pull their lures immediately out of the water to see if any bait remains on it following a strike.

“That’s the worst thing you can do. Don’t just reel in your lure right away. Instead do just the opposite,” he advised. “Drop your lure to the bottom, and maybe even bounce it off the bottom a couple of times before raising it and holding it.” Doing so makes a walleye think it has wounded the bait, as it falls to the bottom. As the lure is raised and stopped, the walleye frequently will hit it even harder, Martin said.

Ice-anglers also might not give much thought to how to pin a minnow to a jig or hook. But in their days of ice-fishing instruction with Martin and his team, anglers learn there are certain situations and presentations where it’s best to use a whole minnow, a half minnow or even just the head of the minnow! You can even cut the minnow’s tail off to give it a subtle, quivering motion when walleyes are super finicky.

Line choices for ice-fishing is critical, too, because walleye waters in the winter are super clear. Strong, no-stretch lines are a must when jigging, Martin pointed out.

“I recommend that guys use a clear, high-quality line, like Berkley XT, for jigging in the winter. An alternative is the new Crystal Fireline,” he said. “But regardless of what line you use, you need to use as small a diameter as possible. I use an 8-pound fluorocarbon, like Vanish. It has very little stretch and is nearly invisible under water.”

It’s hard to absorb all the tips and tricks anglers learn during the course of the two-hour evening seminar at the outset of Mark Martin’s Winter Walleye School. That’s where the hands-on experience for two days often leads an angler to big dividends on -- or under -- the ice.

“It was a learning experience for me,” said angler Larry Smith from the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan’s U.P. “It was my first time fishing Saginaw Bay. It was great being able to fish a new body of water and learn some techniques that might work at home. When you take into account the two days of fishing, the experience you gain and the great tackle pack, it’s a bargain.”

Muskegon resident Ted Lee said the experience, tips and sharing of ideas made the school great for him.

“I usually have to deal with a lot of current where I fish,” Lee said, “and I learned how to deal with that more effectively. There was a 60-year-old guy fishing near me who had never caught a walleye through the ice. Using the knowledge he’d gained at the seminar, he caught his first walleye and he was whooping and hollering like a little kid. He ended up catching his limit that day. You just can’t put a price on the hands-on experience you get by fishing with a pro. I would suggest it to anyone. I’m sure that everyone, whether an experienced angler or novice, came away with something.”

Anglers interested in attending the 2008 Walleye Ice Fishing School can contact Mark Martin at (231) 744-0330 or online at www.markmartins.net./” You can also get more information on the school by contacting Frank’s Great Outdoors in Linwood at (989) 697-5341 or online at www.franksgreatoutdoors.com./”

For more information on lodging and accommodations in the Saginaw Bay area, contact the Bay Area Convention and Visitors Bureau at (888) 229-8696 or www.tourbaycitymi.org.

There aren’t too many shortcuts to catching winter walleyes, but going to school to learn the tricks and techniques to catch walleyes through the ice might just be one of them.

Good fishing . . . ice-fishing, that is!