Fishing Reports

Fishing Report

Captain Andy's Fishing Report

Updated Thursday, 02/05/10

Hi There Fellow Fisherman, Captain Andy here with this week's Fishing Report

Ice conditions have improved out on the Saginaw Bay. We’ve had some good cold, calm nights and most of the pressure cracks seem pretty tight but that can change really fast with any type of west wind so you must always proceed with extreme caution. Fishing has been ok the past few days. There have been reports of fish being taken in as shallow as 6ft of water in front of the state park and out in 18ft out from Linwood. It’s hard to tell where the new ice is because there is a little snow cover so once again proceed with extreme caution. There are quite a few anglers on the Saginaw river and they are catching fish from the mouth all the way up to the Z bridge. The fish seem to be running a little smaller in the river, but the big ones should be there before too long.

Stop in Sunday Feb. 7th from 2-5pm and meet the crew from the Mark Martin Ice Fishing School. Along with Mark Martin, Mike Gofron, Ross Grothe, and Mark Brumbaugh will be here to answer questions or give you some tips on how to land that trophy walleye.

From Captain Andy and the crew at Frank’s, Have a Safe & Successful Ice Fishing Season.

E-mail Captain Andy at CaptainAndy@FranksGreatOutdoors.com

Captain Dan's Fishing Report

Updated Tuesday, 02/02/10

O.K. Gang,

Here it is the beginning of February and ice on the Saginaw Bay still remains un-safe in many areas. We lost 2 novice and experienced ice fishermen in January on the bay and our condolences and prayers go out to their families. The Coast Guard has been kept busy all winter with rescues of one type or the other from one end of the bay to the other and on each side of the Bay. That big wind we had in mid January opened up 2 major cracks across the whole Bay and continued winds kept it working back and forth and hiding open water areas. At this writing (February 2nd) those areas are re-freezing and hiding those thinner iced over areas as you travel along on the ice. You can be on 10 inches of good ice and then 2 inches all of a sudden, where the separation has re-frozen together. The only really safe/consistent ice right now seems to be an triangular area between the Saginaw River Mouth, the island out from the mouth and along the shoreline, all the way to the State Park. Guys have been doing good in water depths from 5 to 26 feet right in or just off the river channel itself. Bigger fish are also starting to show up and be caught better now in the river itself, from Bay City well into the Saginaw area. River ice conditions are getting better daily right now. This is not to say you can just go anywhere. Stay clear of buoys and other current blocks in the river. Seen a guy take a swim 2 days ago when walking right next to a channel buoy, where river current kept the ice from freezing very thick. I wasn't calling anybody on my ice charter list for a while because of un-safe bay conditions but I'm calling them now to fish the safer areas.

And as always, stay safe, fish smart and tight lines. And please take your time and be aware when ice fishing. Capt. Dan.

Fishing Report brought to you by: Captain Dan Manyen from Walleye Express

To Contact or book a charter with Capt. Dan

E-mail CaptDan@walleye-express.com
Or Visit the website Walleye-Express Charters

Ed Clements Fishing Report

Updated Wednesday, 11/11/09

Saginaw River Walleye Fishing Slows a Bit, but still Best in Years. Saginaw Bay Heats Up!

Fishing on the Saginaw River near Bay City has slowed down a little bit, as the majority of fish that moved into the river the last couple of weeks have moved upstream into Saginaw and the Tittabawassee River or have dropped back into Saginaw Bay. There is a very large school of fish outside the mouth of the Saginaw River, the fish are in 12 to 17 feet of water between Linwood and the river mouth. These fish are being caught pretty consistently using deep diving stickbaits. One of the best baits has been a Smithwick Deep Diving Rogue. When this school of fish makes it way into the river the fishing should be tremendous in the lower river around Bay City, and then last all fall and into winter as these fish make their way upstream.

Currently the river fishing around Bay City is a little slower than it has been, spending most of the day on the river in Bay City on Sunday produced 7 fish over 15 inches including a nice 23 incher in the photo. The river in Bay City also produced lots of undersized fish in the 10-12 inch range. This is great to see! I have been using 1/4 or 3/8 oz jigs to fish in the river. When the wind is light you can use a 1/4 oz jig and maintain a vertical presentation, I prefer the 1/4 oz as it falls a little slower and also is more natural looking with a soft plastic tail. I have been having great success with soft plastics this fall and have not taken minnows along on a trip yet. A variety of soft plastics will work, my favorite is anything in pearl color that looks like a minnow or a shad. I also recommend 3-4 inch soft plastics to immitate the size of the prevalent bait in the river right now. River fishing farther upstream into Saginaw has been a little better as of late as a majority of the fish that moved into the river have swam upstream. The fishing is not fast and furious, but if you concentrate on break lines, structure, and channel edges you should be able to catch fish. The area around Wickes park has been producing fish, but also has had a high concentration of anglers. Try to stay away from the crowds as the fish will get very skittish.

Check out the trophy smallmouths in the photos as well. Often overlooked in the Great Lakes Bay Region is the bass fishing. Right under our noses is a world class smallmouth fishery on Saginaw Bay. The October-November smallmouth fishing is simply awesome with days of catching 50 fish not out of the ordinary, and fish surpassing six pounds fairly common. These fish were taken with a Big Bite Baits, Bio Tube. The key is to find structure.

I added a few photos of our catch from the past weekend. The river fishing should only get better as the fall progresses.

Good Luck & Good Fishing