"I really like to fish the east like Brown's, Wayzata and Excelsior Bay -- there are a lot of springs, it's deep, and there's a lot of structure holding fish," he said.

The best walleye fishing on most lakes throughout the state is during the morning and evening hours, but evening seems to be the best on Tonka. The east side of the lake has clearer water than the west side and tends to hold the best walleye fishing throughout the winter.

Some of the best walleye structure you'll ever find in the state can be found immediately around Big Island. There are plenty of inside turns, points, humps, sharp breaks and transition areas where baitfish spend time serving as food sources for hungry walleyes. Get a detailed map of the area and mark a few spots. Shoot through the ice with a depthfinder and run and gun these locations until you have some luck.

Overlooked locations are the deep weedlines along the milfoil beds and scattered cabbage beds. "All year 'round I never leave the weedline, even in the heavy middle of the winter. I'm never more than 3 feet off a weedline, and that's in depths from 15 to 25 feet," he said.

The south side of Gale Island, near Big Island has some nice gravel and rocks that hold walleyes throughout the winter as well. These aren't the only walleye locations on the lake, but the others are well-guarded secrets. The silly part of that is anybody who knows how to read a map can find plenty of similar locations throughout the lake. Plan on running and gunning the lake rather than setting up and sitting, but it's well worth the effort.

For more information, contact Swede at Swede's Guide Service at (952) 471-8884 or online at www.swedesguide service.com.

PELICAN LAKE
There are 13 lakes in the state with the word "pelican" in them and several of them are great walleye destinations. It's a fact that is most likely a coincidence, but one of the best Pelican lakes to fish for winter walleyes is the well-known home to Breezy Point. North of Brainerd and east of Pequot lakes by only a few miles, Pelican is less pressured than most of the other lakes in the Brainerd lakes area.

Jason Erlandson of Sportland Bait and Tackle and Nisswa Guide Service said many anglers tend to overlook Pelican as a winter ice-fishing destination.

"Most anglers seem to head to Gull or other lakes south of Pelican, but it's a lake with consistent action and some larger averages than most other lakes in the area," he said.

Legendary fishing guide Marv Koep lives on Pelican and said he loves the large average size of walleyes on Pelican. It's a great ice-fishing destination with many locations consistently producing large numbers of fish, Koep said.

Erlandson said the ice can be funny on the north end, but the southern end of the lake is more consistent.

"There are islands and other shoreline structures that can impact the ice on the north end. It's almost like two different lakes with a north end and south end. It seems like you can get on the south end earlier with good access and more consistent ice conditions," he said.