I don’t think Dave Genz even owns a lantern. A heater, yes; but a lantern, doubtful.

Genz, the guru of Ice Team, rarely needs artificial after-hours illumination. He simply doesn’t fish into darkness. And not because of his age or hatred for the shadows, either. He prefers lakes that produce by day. And such bodies of water are more commonplace than you may think.

It was Genz who taught us how to comb deep, sticky-bottomed flats and basins for bluegills, crappies and perch. His patterns center on finding and catching fish by day. Not, as he says, “the golden hour at dusk when the sun touches the tops of the trees.” Usually by then, he’s sliding the Fish Trap into the back of his truck and deciding on whether he’ll hit McDonald’s or Taco Bell.

The magical dusk bite, as well as the corresponding breakfast buffet, can be furious but generally short-lived. There’s no way Genz can get his fix of ice-fishing in an hour. So he angles by day, tracking quarry in unique environs, and developing methods for coaxing fish that are lethargic to downright melancholy.

Genz’s name is largely associated with panfish tactics. That’s his trademark. He breaks from the stereotype, however, when day-bite walleyes are on the radar. Who could deny the throb of a 20-inch-plus walleye at high noon? Certainly not Genz.

Pat Smith, an ice-fishing expert at Thorne Bros. Custom Rod & Tackle in Fridley (763-572-3782), rides side-saddle with Genz on panfish outings. When pressured, however, he might rank walleyes higher on the depth chart. It’s a tough call.

Smith appreciates the significance of dawn and dusk in the regimen of a walleye. But he, like Genz, capitalizes on any opportunity to spank a marble-eye during the warmest part of the day.

“Walleyes bite during the day on every lake, somewhere, and at some level,” Smith said. “And it’s usually super deep or somewhere along the weeds.”

Oxygen often calls the shots. Smith, a veteran Ice Team power stick, likes a good deep weedline on a clear lake. Clarity exonerates weeds. They’re given the gift of life, allowed to survive — to varying degrees — through the winter.

A deep weedline in translucent water might establish in 12 to 16 feet of water or more. That’s the sort of salad and depth combination Smith desires. In conjunction, though, he requires a hard bottom and preferably some type of point or bar with inside corners. Smith might sound demanding, but to settle for less dampens his odds of hooking daytime walleyes. A quick pan with an Aqua-Vu camera will reveal bottom composition and the condition of the weeds.

Besides the ideal conditions, there’s a method to his madness. Smith says aquatic weeds only manufacture oxygen when sunlight is in play. In the winter, the window of opportunity is moderated. Daylight hours are shorter and the angle of the sun is lower.

Smith says the weeds reach peak activity between late morning and early afternoon. And when the oxygen is flowing, the fish get recharged and occasionally feed when the clock says to act listlessly. Granted, even Smith acknowledges that on a clear lake your odds are bettered at dawn and dusk. But it’s a fleeting flurry. So why not hit the ice earlier and try your luck at the daytime gig? There’s often a spare pike or two rummaging around as well.

Weeds aren’t the only place that holds walleyes. In fact, on an exceptionally clear piece of water, Smith usually explores the chasms first. Walleyes will gather over 30- to 60-foot deep flats. These flats are generally soft- to sticky-bottomed, promoting waterlife like bloodworms and mayfly larvae. Baitfish and perch are next in the food chain. Walleyes close the deal.

Historically, the best flats sprawl from the base of major structure, like a point or reef. In my own sheltered world, there’s a lake where a monstrous shoreline point collapses to 50 feet and then rolls around in the mid- to upper 50s. By day, I can flick on the Vexilar FL-18’s zoom and spy walleyes tight to the floor. Some bite, others point their fins and laugh. Toward dusk, the same fish race up the rock and gravel incline, scraping the paint off jigging spoons and turning shiner minnows into freefalling scales.