Most of these walleyes will be nice 16- to 18-inch eaters, but Rose said that 6 or 7-pounders are not all that uncommon.

To try your hand at Long Lake's night bite walleyes, contact Dave Rose at (231) 276-9874.

Ludington
Ludington? For walleyes? Yup! But don't tell anyone.

A small cadre of anglers have been keeping this developing walleye fishery hush, hush. You're not going to catch huge numbers of fish, but if it's a trophy for the wall you want, this might be the place. Last spring, my son, Matt, came home in the middle of the night with a very nice 7- or 8-pound walleye.

"Man, that's a nice walleye," I told him.

"Naw," he said. "This was the smallest of the 10 we caught. Kevin caught two that were 32 and 33 inches." Those are giant walleyes.

The walleyes are only around for a short time in the spring when the smelt are close to shore in April. Most anglers cast No. 11 Countdown Rapalas from the breakwalls. Key is an ultra slow retrieve. The action isn't fast and furious, but if you work at it, you can land a dandy or two if your arm doesn't wear out first. Some anglers have found that the walleyes can also be caught by trolling at night. A similar fishery takes place at Pentwater, Muskegon and Whitehall and at Portage Lake.

For more information, contact Pere Marquette Sports Center at (231) 843-8676.

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Michigan walleye waters come in all shapes and sizes. There's bound to be one that fits you just right.

Find more about Michigan fishing and hunting at: MichiganSportsmanMag.com