There are lots of reasons for braving the cold, risking frostbite and pneumonia, but I can't think of a better one than ice fishing for walleyes.

Contrary to what many think, walleyes are very active under the ice and provide sporty targets for the winter angler. On some bodies of water, limit catches are common and that's enough to keep any fisherman warm on the inside.

Some of the best winter walleye fishing available in the Midwest takes place in Michigan. Saginaw Bay, Muskegon Lake, and Little Bay de Noc are three of the finest winter walleye fisheries anywhere.

Saginaw Bay

Without question, Saginaw Bay is a productive winter walleye fishery. This heavily stocked body of water dishes out quality walleye fishing from Oscoda to Bay City. Most anglers concentrate on the west side of the Inner Bay near access sites at Palmer, Pinconning, Coggins, Kitchen, Linwood, Parish, and Beaver roads.

The best ice fishing takes place from one to five miles off shore, making a snowmobile or other ORV a must for serious fishing. A power auger is also mandatory equipment. Finding walleyes on this sprawling body of water often calls for a run-and-gun attitude. The most successful anglers keep moving and cutting new holes until they contact fish.

Like most winter fisheries, Saginaw Bay displays a distinctive morning and evening walleye bite. The best times to be on the water are just before sun-up and the last hour of light after sunset.

When you're at the right spot and the right time, Saginaw Bay can make the most seasoned anglers hands shake with anticipation. Last winter Steve Holt and I found out firsthand how exciting winter walleye fishing can be.

We set up Steve's portable shanty about three miles straight out from Linwood Road. Except for a couple perch and stray burbot, the water seemed fishless until about a hour before sunset.

I hooked the first walleye on a Bay de Noc Lures Do Jigger and Steve had one on a Swedish Pimple before I could land my fish. For the next 30 minutes we hooked and landed or lost one fish after another.

A short-lived thrill, the bite stopped as suddenly as it started, but not before providing a very memorable ice fishing experience.

Jigging is by far the most popular method of tempting Saginaw Bay walleyes. Anglers have success using a wide variety of spoons, leadhead jigs and jigging lures tipped with lively minnows.

The Bay de Noc Lures Do Jigger and Swedish Pimple are among the top producers. Other good spoons include the Mepps Syclops, Hopkins Shortie, Luhr Jensen Crippled Herring, and Acme Little Cleo. Each of these spoons can be sweetened with a small minnow or piece of cut bait.

Some anglers prefer a simple jig and minnow combination. A jig can be fished slower than a spoon and will at times take fish that ignore aggressive jigging actions. A stinger hook is mandatory when jigging leadheads through the ice.

Jigging/swimming lures like the Acme Nils Master and Jigging Rapala are also good. These minnow-shaped lures often produce when nothing else will work.

Jigging lures can also be tipped with a minnow, but be sure to use a small perch-sized minnow. Large minnows will ruin the delicate action of jigging/swimming lures.

For current fishing information on Saginaw Bay contact Frank's Great Outdoors in Linwood at 517-697-5341.

Muskegon Lake

Muskegon Lake has a long history of producing winter walleye action. A unique body of water, Muskegon Lake offers everything a walleye fisherman could hope for. A riprap lined channel connects Muskegon Lake to Lake Michigan, providing this fishery with an almost limitless baitfish supply. On the opposite end of the lake, the Muskegon River flows in, bringing with it more baitfish and providing an ideal spring spawning location.

Throughout its depths, Muskegon has sunken slab wood piles, flooded tree stumps, weed flats, gravel bars, weed edges, dredged out boat docks, warm-water discharges, deep-water holes, and even an island in the middle of the lake known as the Black Rock. Ice fishermen concentrate their efforts in waters from 10 to 60 feet deep.

Jumbo yellow perch are a frequent bonus for walleye anglers fishing jigging spoons near bottom. The numerous sunken slab wood piles throughout the lake are popular walleye jigging sites.

Local anglers replace the treble hooks on their spoons with a single soft-wire hook when jigging in and around the slabwood piles. A single hook can be easily bent out with steady pressure and the lure retrieved if it snags on the wood-strewn bottom.

The Swedish Pimple and Hopkins Shortie are two popular Muskegon Lake spoons. Tip-ups baited with lively minnows are also top bets on this inland walleye factory.

For best results, tip-ups should be rigged with eight- to 10-pound-test monofilament with a No. 4 treble hook tied directly to the monofilament. Hook a three-inch shiner lightly behind the dorsal fin and use a small split-shot pinched on the line about 12 inches above the hook to sink the minnow.

Set the tip-up so the bait is suspended six to 12 inches off bottom. Set the tip-up trigger on the lightest setting and check the bait often. Soon as the minnow shows any signs of throwing in the towel, replace it with a lively volunteer.

Bonus catches of four- to 10-pound northern pike are common among those who fish tip-ups. Northerns cruise the entire lake and provide action when the walleye fishing slows down.

For up-to-date fishing information on Muskegon Lake contact Spring's Sporting Goods at 616-722-7107.

Little Bay De Noc

Located near the town of Escanaba, Little Bay de Noc has a rich ice fishing heritage. A growing fishery, approximately 500,000 walleye fingerlings are planted in this fishery every other year. Nearby Big Bay de Noc also receives half a million walleye fingerlings on alternate years.

Little Bay de Noc enjoys excellent natural reproduction within its resident walleye population. The Whitefish River at the northeast corner of the Bay attracts a huge spring spawning run of walleyes. Good numbers of fish also spawn in the Escanaba and Ford rivers.

During the winter months, Little Bay de Noc is a shanty town of major proportions. Hundreds of fishing shacks dot the landscape and most of the angling attention is focused at Stizostedion vitreum vitreum or what's otherwise known as the walleye.

Jigging is the most popular method of tempting walleyes from the depths of Little Bay de Noc. Angling activities are concentrated on the three major reefs located in the inner bay between the public access site in Kipling and the mouth of the Whitefish River.

A 24- to 30-inch long jigging rod with a small spinning or spincast reel attached is ideal for winter walleye jigging. Spool the reel with a fresh supply of premium six- or eight-pound test line like Stren's Magna Thin.

Zebco's new ice fishing combos are an excellent value for the winter fisherman. A 30-inch medium-action graphite rod is matched with a UL2 ultra light spincast reel. Available at local dealers, the Zebco ice fishing combo sells for around $20.

Little Bay de Noc walleyes are taken on top of the reefs in 10 to 15 feet of water early and late in the day. During the midday hours, the most successful anglers work their way off the edge of these reefs into deeper water. The 15- to 30-foot depth range produces best when the sun is high in the sky.

Fishing Hot Spots maps are sold locally and well worth the investment. These detailed fishing maps show the location of major reefs and other popular fishing areas. Loran-C coordinates are also provided to guide anglers to the best fishing spots.

The Swedish Pimple and Do Jigger spoons are hands down the most popular lures on Little Bay de Noc. The success of these lures is due in part to the fact that Bay de Noc Lure Company is located in the Escanaba area, but years of angling success is hard to argue with.

Other spoons worth trying for walleye include the Luhr Jensen Crippled Herring, Acme KastMaster, and Mepps Syclops.

Small (sublegal) walleyes often plague anglers in many parts of the bay. Expect to catch half a dozen throw backs for every legal walleye landed. A weekend trip last winter produced 30 walleyes of which only four were legal fish.

Catching so many small fish can be frustrating, but it's nice to know this growing fishery has a good crop of up-and-coming walleyes for the future. Yellow perch and northern pike are other bonus catches common on Little Bay de Noc.

Linberg's Resort on Little Bay de Noc is an excellent place to stay and a good contact for fishing reports. Contact Linberg's at 906-428-4313.

If it weren't for walleye fishing, winter would become unbearable! Take a weekend or two and check out these top walleye picks.