Saginaw River

I know that some of the guys have been waiting for this report to come in........

Finally, thanks to the cold weather, we have fishable and safe ice on the river. Reports are on fire at several locations. Two weeks ago, (before the warm up) my buddy caught 40 (and 5 keepers). Then the warm up happened. Last night his father in law (who lives a stones throw from the river) caught his limit in keepers in under two hours.

He was at the 675 bridge last night however the following locations have all reported tons of fish:
Carlton Hardware off from Shaddock road, Hogs Alley, the sugar factory, 675 bridge, and 1st St bridge in Bay City.

Minnows can be purchased at Gander Mountain off from Tittabawasee rd.

Jury is still out, but I might be going on Saturday!

good report.

Let me know if your going and i will met up with you, i was thinking about going over Saturday and after hearing your report it a go

Jimmy,
I am planning to go to the river on Saturday. I'm just not for sure where I am going to go yet. Waiting on a call from my buddy to determine how he did today and where he went. I am torn between two places at the moment. The first street bridge off from Wilder Rd, in Bay City, Or Carlton Hardware in Saginaw. I've caught more fish behind Carlton, but bigger fish at First street. First street is just up river from the bay so you tend to get more of the fresh fish moving up the river. Carlton is further up stream, alot of hold over fish that stay all winter. Jury is still out.

The thing to do might be to start at first street in the morning and make a move back towards Carlton in the afternoon. If you are looking for how to get there, the best thing to do is use google maps. For First street, you take I-75 to the Wilder Rd Exit and head east. It will bend around and before you crosses the river you hang a left. State launch and parking are below the bridge (you can see what i am talking about on the map). For Carlton, you take 75 to 675. You get off Shaddock road (might be right before it). Take shaddock all right (all the way to the end). It runs in to Carlton Rd. You will see where people are parked.

Both places are right on the river and walking is within a couple hundred feet. Gander Mountain doesn't open until 9am, so either plan on bringing Minnows (for the morning bite) or use soft plastic (never had much luck).

I'll post my plans later this evening. My buddy and I are headed crappie fishing tonight and will discuss where we want to go.

In the event you are going, and we don't meet up, here are some tips that might help you out. First, I don't use electronics. Seems to not work all that well. Gumball jigs in 1/2, 3/4, and 1 oz are all good (depending on where you go). I reccomend (on all baits) to use a stinger hook. 60% of my hook ups come from the stinger. I buy the pre-made ones from Meijer and prefer the ones with the little rubber eye that you hook over your main hook. I use a full minnow and run the main jig shank through the mouth and up through the top of the head. I then streatch the stinger down the side of the minnow and hook one barb of the treble close to the tail (make sure you don't put a bend in the minnow). Jigging rapalas work good too. We use a minnow head instead of a full minnow. I have not tried the new chubby darter or forage minnow but they should also work with a minnow head.
I prefer an airplain jig. They actually look like a tiny fish shapped downrigger cannon ball (only representation I can come up with at the moment). They are hard to find. We have several but only one with glow in the dark eyes. That bait has been hot 3 years straight and I have yet to put it back in the tackle box I got it out of! Afraid it may be gobbled up by my buddy!

I use med wight moderate action 24 and 30 inch rods. Most guys use 8lb mono or florocarbon however I have found that a light drag spinning real with 6lbs stren works for me. I have not broken off a fish in 4 years. I run a barrel swivel about 24 inches above my jig. This stops the line loop from jigging. A good idea is to use a snap to quickly change baits. Do not confuse with a snap swivel. Fish tend to shy away from them.

Jigging motion is simply up and down. Rod is an extension of your arm. Don't get in the habbit of ripping the jig off the bootom (you will see some guys do it). Sometimes I let my bait free fall back to the bottom. Other times I control it to the bottom. On the drop, always make sure your bait hits the bottom. This creates disturbance from the bottom that will mimic a dying bait fish and will put sediment in the water that carries down river. It is hard to discribe the bite. Very rarely will you feel it. Most of the time, they hit on the drop and you will not know of the hit untill you raise the bait. It might just feel heavy, or it may feel like you line sliding through weeds. Continue with the up jig and set the hook.

You will get in a rythem. Up, down........ up down...... (the dots are resting on the bottom).

Last, a good thing to have is something that is an "oily" attractant. Gulp, and other sprays or bait dope are good. Reason for this is the river is always moving and carrying sediment and scent down stream. If I am not getting any bites, I put a little dope on and it seems to trigger a strict as it draws fish from down stream. Years ago, before the invention of these things, guys actually used WD40 on their bait. It carries a streak down the river and fish hit it. It also keeps your hole and eye guides ice free. Don't laugh, I've used it and it actually works. In the modern era, I doubt that WD40 is healthy for the environment but you get the idea. ANIS would be another good one.

This is the best I can do to discribe the ways to fish the river. Once you get the first bite, you will understand what i am refering to. Watch the people around you. If they are catching and you are not. Try to mimic what they are doing. Also, change baits... change baits, change colors. If they are there, they will hit. Overcast I've caught them all day but the best is always morning and night.

I hope this helps everyone looking to give this a try.

Excellent report Rich.

With all the snow and all ready long drive im going to wait till dryer roads. Been getting other reports of some good fishing along with a predication of large crows so im going to wait , looks like were crappie fishing tommorow

Jimmy,

I'm going to brave the roads and head out at 5am from my house. One of my buddies (and his family) spent the day on the river. They fished "Hogs Alley" and between 5 of them they caught 46 keeps. Each person kept their limit. My buddy personally caught 19 keepers and 86 throw backs. Not a bad day walleye fishing.

You are right. There is a tournament tomorrow called "bridge to bridge" from the 1st to 6th street (hogs alley is right in the middle)
I am headed to bay city off from Wilder Rd... FYI, my previous post, I ment to say "independance bridge" off Wilder, NOT 1st street.

Bait of the day was #7 jigging rapalas in chrome and blue. Bottom bouncing netted smaller fish. Jigging 1 foot off the bottom is where the bigger ones came.
I'll let you know how I do.

What is the old saying...what a difference a day makes, or... should have been here yesterday... we caught 63 walleye today with many being 14 inches. Not one keeper in the bunch. Fish hit all day. Still fun no matter what. Plus my friend got to experiance it for the first time.

FYI: Cox's bait shop opens at 6am and is off from M-13 on Evon rd. 3.00 per dozen and they are generous.

Wish i had photos for everyone but there wasnt much to photograph. Phone doesnt take great scenery pics.