Michigan's walleye fisheries are changing, according to fisheries officials of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, as year-classes come to the forefront in some waters and decline in others. Others offer up new opportunities for trophy 'eyes for wise and patient walleye hunters.

Michigan's walleye fishing in 2009 promises chances, say fisheries officials, for taking both large fish and good numbers of 'eyes as year-classes come to the forefront in some waters and decline in others. Photo by Ted Peck.

Here's a look at a few of Michigan's best spring walleye waters and what's happening there.

BAYS DE NOC
You get few arguments when you call Big and Little Bay De Noc near Gladstone "walleye factories." Big 'eyes are taken here every year, and it's looking very good for 2009.

Capt. Keith Wils of Walleye's Choice Fishing Tackle & Charter Service in Gladstone said walleyes are abundant and the pickings are easy if you know where to look. The spring fishing is best by Breezy Point and up the Escanaba River, but the fish will be found more reliably based on conditions than on lake location.

"A good south wind keeps the water dirty, and that's where you'll want to fish. . . . The walleyes will be in the dirtier water," Wils said. And if the weather is unseasonably cold, he adds, the 'eyes will suspend in 12 to 20 feet of water on the north end of the bay. Rapala Shad Raps, Storm Lure's Thundersticks, and Wils' own I-76 spinnerbait top his lure choices. The best bait rigs, he adds, are jigs tipped with half a night crawler, and worm harnesses.

To book a charter or stock up on walleye gear, contact Walleye's Choice Fishing Tackle & Charter Service in Gladstone at (906) 428-1488, or visit the Web site at www.walleyeschoice.com.

For more information about fishing conditions at Bays De Noc, contact the MDNR at (248) 359-9040.

LAKE GOGEBIC
Adventuresome anglers take advantage of the great inland fishing on this huge lake -- 12,800 surface acres -- located northeast of Marenisco on the western Upper Peninsula.

"Gogebic is a very productive lake," said MDNR fisheries supervisor George Madison. "The typical angler will catch a lot of sub-legal fish and, on occasion, some nice ones. The catch rates are among the best catch rates in the region."

Gogebic is a big-water experience. Visiting anglers should be careful. Lake conditions can change in a hurry. Windy, cold weather will put a chop on the lake, but excellent fishing typically follows for up to three days. Look closely at what Madison says is the most productive section of the lake -- along its eastern shoreline area in the north-central portion of the Gogebic.

Float-bubbles and jigs, bottom bouncers, leeches and 'crawler harnesses all have their place here.

For more information, call the MDNR at (906) 353-6651, Gogebic Lake State Park at (906) 842-3341 or fishing guide Barry Drews at Nine Pines Resort in Marenisco at (906) 842-3361.