7-9-2014 Au Gres Walleye

[Priority1]

I fished with Capt. Bob M, Mike H, Tom B, and Jim M. There is a big learning curve fishing 12 lines but towards the end of the trip things started to come together. We ran our usual 2 oz BB off the boards and 3 oz off the down rods. The surface water temps were a cool 61F off Au Gres. We fished the inner bay and the temps were near 70. 16-29 FOW. We pulled a 5 man limit 25 fish box with a lot of high fish. Copper, Purple smile, some UV pinks, and some glows were our best colors. We marked a lot of fish on the bottom and picked some of them up but the real game was up higher.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Priority1

[nickoftime]

I must say Frank your getting pretty good at this sport. Well done lots of good eating there.

[Priority1]

I must say Frank your getting pretty good at this sport. Well done lots of good eating there.

Kevin, Thanks. I gave my 5 fish to Chuck and Jeannie B. from Battle Creek. They came in with one fish.

[nickoftime]

Maybe you should be getting paid for your touch HA HA HA just kidding

[Priority1]

I get paid well but not with money. Money ruins any sport. Think about it.

[SeaCatMich]

Frank, dragging the cat up to Au Gres for Friday & Saturday with two buddies. Any suggestions fir where to start? With the wind the last few days I have not seen too many reports. Been thinking about trying the humps north of the islands.

[Priority1]

Frank, dragging the cat up to Au Gres for Friday & Saturday with two buddies. Any suggestions fir where to start? With the wind the last few days I have not seen too many reports. Been thinking about trying the humps north of the islands.

That's your call on the Charities, but I wouldn't make that long run with a lot of good fish closer. This year is behind normal years. There are a lot of fish off the bars in the weeds 8-17 FOW, and also in the 25-35 FOW S. The inner bay is stacked full of walleye. Sometimes they're fussy but most of the time not. If I had a small good crew I'd target the shallow water and if it didn't pan out quickly, I'd move it on out.

[SeaCatMich]

Thanks. I guess we will play it by ear. When we came over ~3 weeks ago we managed to get 18 between the 4 of us but no size -- only 2 over 20". Thought that maybe the bigger fish might have moved out of the inner bay. This year's cool weather though has made predicting anything a real challenge -- especially when one isn't real familiar with the waters. Have spent a lot more time in the last 20 years with trips to Erie but with either location about 2 1/2 hours from me decided to do more on Saginaw Bay this year.

I know it doesn't help that we drift rather than troll -- it might catch more fish, but just not a fan of trolling for walleye. Feeling the hit and getting a little fight out of them with 8# spinning gear is just a lot more fun IMO, and that's why we go (plus the good eating).

[Priority1]

Thanks. I guess we will play it by ear. When we came over ~3 weeks ago we managed to get 18 between the 4 of us but no size -- only 2 over 20". Thought that maybe the bigger fish might have moved out of the inner bay. This year's cool weather though has made predicting anything a real challenge -- especially when one isn't real familiar with the waters. Have spent a lot more time in the last 20 years with trips to Erie but with either location about 2 1/2 hours from me decided to do more on Saginaw Bay this year.

I know it doesn't help that we drift rather than troll -- it might catch more fish, but just not a fan of trolling for walleye. Feeling the hit and getting a little fight out of them with 8# spinning gear is just a lot more fun IMO, and that's why we go (plus the good eating).

Ryan, Under the right conditions we do some drifting also. When we do drift I'll have 6-8 boards out and two down rods. I use the out-drive like a rudder and kick it out of gear. Drifting is a great presentation. I hope you're out there now slaying them.