Below: A fat walleye is pulled from the Minnesota ice. Photo by Mike Gnatkowski.

"There are some really big pike out there, so be prepared for a blend of pike and walleyes at the end of your line," Stevenson said. There are many locations to find walleyes on the lake, but his favorite location is the hard-bottom dropoff on the south end of Cigar Island. "It's perfect walleye terrain," he said.

The north end bar tends to attract many fish houses, but for good reason, and when the shacks are there, fish the edges and you'll have some luck.

If large walleyes aren't what you are after, Bald Eagle might not make a great first choice, but it is definitely a lake for numbers and consistent action.

It's easy to get on the lake from a variety of locations as well with two public landings, but most anglers use the large park on the southeast side of the lake. There are 1,268 acres of water to fish, so be prepared to move, but some of the best locations are within walking distance of the landing.

For more information, contact Blue Ribbon Bait and Tackle at (651) 777-2421 or www.blueribbonbait.com.

LAKE WACONIA
Bowl-shaped with plenty of mid-lake structure and an extensive basin sounds more like Mille Lacs than your average metro lake, but Waconia is one of the west metro's crown jewels for ice-anglers -- especially those after walleyes.

"I know a guy who instead of fishing Mille Lacs goes to Waconia and has never complained about poor fishing," said Terry Tuma, an ice-fishing expert.

Waconia has numerous mid-lake humps and flats that all hold walleyes at various times of the winter.

There are two ways to tackle the lake, the first being to find the crowds and fish the edges. That can work for walleyes, but many of the ice-anglers are chasing the numerous crappies on the lake.

Those ice-anglers who like to keep their secrets safe and don't share their honeyholes are found along the less-pressured pieces of structure.

Purchase a map or download one from the DNR Web site and you'll be able to find these structures pretty easily.

All of them are big enough to eyeball even without a GPS, and if you use your depthfinder to shoot through the ice, it won't take too long.

A consistent location throughout the year, open water and ice-fishing, is off the southeast corner of Coney Island. There's a point coming off along the east side and a sharp drop on the south end. Walleyes can stack up on this location at various times, so if you don't mark any fish it might not be worth sticking around for long. Still, it's worth checking out because if the fish are there, the fishing will be good.

For more information, contact In-Towne Marina at (952) 442-2096 or online at www.intownemarina.com.

LAKE MINNETONKA
Some anglers say that the walleye bite on Minnetonka lasts for 45 minutes a day and then is over for another 23 hours. It's an interesting concept that could be true, but it doesn't explain why many anglers quietly catch plenty of walleyes throughout the day. Perhaps it's a myth they keep going to keep the fishing pressure down. After all, this is Minnetonka where fishing pressure is a reality 365 days a year.

Rick "Swede" Peterson of Swede's Guide Service does a ton of fishing on Lake Minnetonka and said the size and number of walleyes in the lake makes it his top choice.