7/9/2014, Saginaw Bay, Au Gres, Fishing Report

[Trophy Specialist]

After three days off the water due to high winds and stormy weather, we tackled Saginaw Bay today unsure of what to expect. When we motored out past the Au Gres Jetties, the water temperature read just 62 degrees. The water temperature there had plummeted 10 degrees since my last charter. Walleyes on the Bay will migrate to warmer water in those conditions, so we headed south around Pt. Au Gres and continued in that directions in shallow water inside the many trap nets in that area. We crossed several harsh temperature breaks along the way, but eventually, when the water hit close to 70 degrees I started marking fish on the bottom, so I cut the big motor, fired up my Mercury 9.9 Pro Kicker and readied things for some trolling activity. Unfortunately, the wind was howling pretty stiff from the west at over 15 knots, so with those winds, the only option was to troll with the wind. I pointed the boat eastward and started trolling with a eight rod spread of spinner/crawlers rigs. We trolled in that direction from under 20 feet of water to over 30 feet of water, weaving through the nets and covering about five miles of water in one direction without ever turning around and we never went more than five minutes without hooking up with walleyes along that whole route. The action was extremely steady, but not overwhelming as we never hooked more than two fish at one time. The walleyes were scattered but 99 percent of them were near the bottom. The bite was fairly light too with lots of fish lost due to the lethargic mood of those post cold front walleyes. None-the-less, my customers from Atlanta and Waterford, MI had a ball catching their limits of nice walleyes. The walleyes ranged in size from three inches to about 24 inches long with many year classes of fish well represented. We also caught one large yellow perch too. Since I missed much of the moral mushroom season this spring, my long time customers today was nice enough to bring me a bag of dried morals, which was awesome. For dinner today I re-hydrated the mushrooms and sauteed them in butter with some onions. I made gravy by adding the re-hydration sauce and flour to the mushrooms/onions/butter and put that over hash browns and steamed broccoli. Served next to a juicy venison burger, it made a meal fit for a king and I had smoked salmon for desert too.

Capt. Mike Veine

www.trophyspecialists.com

[Priority1]

Good report Mike. We started shallow and finished where we saw you Friday.

[Trophy Specialist]

Good report Mike. We started shallow and finished where we saw you Friday.

That's the same thing I did today. I just kept lenthening my setbacks as we got deeper and deeper. I had a guy follow me out this morning, but he was trolling faster than me (I was going 1.3 to 1.5 mph). He passed me as we trolled through the nets, but he did not pay attention where he was going and went right over one while trolling and got caught up in the net. Very few of those nets are legally marked in that area.

[SeaCatMich]

Why are they allowed to run the nets and not have them legally marked? It is hard enough to see them with correct markings. On Lake Michigan the DNR is asking to have any improperly marked nets reported to the RAP line.

[Priority1]

Why are they allowed to run the nets and not have them legally marked? It is hard enough to see them with correct markings. On Lake Michigan the DNR is asking to have any improperly marked nets reported to the RAP line.

That seems to do no good at all in our area. BTW these are not tribal nets and it seems that the DNR would be able to regulate them better than the tribal nets. In 2' or better seas they are real tough to see.

[SeaCatMich]

That seems to do no good at all in our area. BTW these are not tribal nets and it seems that the DNR would be able to regulate them better than the tribal nets. In 2' or better seas they are real tough to see.

What are the nets set for? Aside from walleye or rough fish, I can't imagine any species in the bay being able to sustain a commercial pressure. Back in the hay-day of jumbo perch in the bay, made one trip over to Bay Port. We dodged so many nets trying to go out from the ramp that we never went back -- just too much work. I remember lots of guys with small boats like us were pretty upset as no one bothered to mention it in the press releases about the great fishing.

Off Muskegon the trap nets are not Native American either and fortunately they are marked pretty well. Better than any others I have seen, but still hard to see in low light or 3' seas.

I am surprised that the DNR isn't more responsive. Maybe more people need to call in.

[Trophy Specialist]

Why are they allowed to run the nets and not have them legally marked? It is hard enough to see them with correct markings. On Lake Michigan the DNR is asking to have any improperly marked nets reported to the RAP line.

Sadly, I have pretty much given up on reporting the illegal nets. I have reported them a bunch of times in the past and the DNR seems glad to get the reports and says they will do something, but year after year the same crap goes on with the illegally marked nets all over the Bay. They just keep giving the warnings I guess. Most of those commercials should have had their license pulled a long time ago, but for some reason, the DNR just doesn't stick it to them. I doubt the DNR would be so leaniant on sport fishermen if they caught them repeatedly breaking laws, so it baffles me why they keep getting away with it year after year. And what really irks me, is that those poorly marked nets are a hazard out there that could easily cost lives. What should happen is a huge fine on the first offense and losss of license on the second, but instead nothing seems to happen.