First walleye of the year, and hopefully many more to come.

[Freakyfisherman]

Well, I am officially on the walleye board. It happened this past Saturday on Deer creek. I got on the ice at 630 in the morning and headed out to my spot on Rainbow bay. I tried a first spot that I wasn't seeing much on the sonar. 24 ft of water on a point. Since I didn't like what I saw there I headed farther to another spot. I set up in 21 ft of water off of a rocky shoreline. I have gotten eyes there in the past, both on open water from the float tube, and on the ice. It is a 25-minute hike from the parking lot. I dropped down a tikka minnow tipped with perch meat. Big mark on the Vexilar, and that fish hit. I got it up to the surface and it was a 24-inch brown. The second fish to come in was the target species. The walleye was 3ft off of the bottom and hit my lindy rattling flyer spoon tipped with perch meat. It was a 17-inch walleye, a prize to me anytime. I also got a couple of 18-inch rainbows. I missed a few hits and lost a big fish before I got a look at the species. My guess was a big walleye or a big brown. The only time I have gotten a walleye to hit through the ice is just before dawn or shortly after. On tv shows, they call this a flash bite that occurs at dawn and dusk. I sure hope to get out more this year. I used to fish 2 to 3 times a week, mostly on Deer creek, but now I am lucky to get out once every 3 to 4 weeks. Maybe I will be catching Mahi-mahi within the next week in Mexico. 
Gabe