Ice getting nice on Saginaw Bay.

[Walleye Express]

With a very big payout (I heard $10,000.) ice tourney planned for this winter on the Saginaw Bay, I'm getting quit a few phone call and internet requests for charters and/or general info concerning the Saginaw Bay. Of course with my usual luck, that is, being out of commision this ice season for surgery, I have been giving out more info then booked charter dates. I got this post on my board 2 days ago and thought that by posting it and my answer to it, it might help a few others out wondering about the same things.

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ohioiceman

Joined: 20 Dec 2007

Posts: 4

Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 7:55 am Post subject: ice fishing in michigan

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I read the article in the walleye magazine this month on how many eyes were taken through the ice in saginaw bay, wow. I showed all my fellow hard water friends and now we want to try our luck up there, but we have a few basic questions. 1) where do we go out on the ice from, 2 ) where can we stay 3)cost of license 4) ice condition reports, 5) baits of choice. So I guess short of telling me all your secrets and drilling our holes for us can you help. In trade I'll give up 1 of our honey holes in Ohio on some huge crappies and gills and of course saugeyes .

capt.dan

Joined: 18 Jun 2003

Posts: 1821

Location: Essexville, Mi./Saginaw Bay.

Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 9:41 am Post subject: Re: ice fishing in michigan

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Welcome iceman.

We'll try and answer your questions the best we can and we do of course appreciate any good fishing reports you can give us in return on this board. But this board is like few others you might have visited. Few people share any GPS waypoints or any stop on the spot info, and none is usually expected. And our perch, crappie and gill guys are right on par with guys who have top secret spots on small streams for Brook Trout. But basic info, honest reports, lodging information and reliable suggestions on techniques is fast becoming the norm from many of our best nimrod members.

The Saginaw Bay is shaped like a big banana. It's 24 miles wide at it's widest point and over 46 miles long to where we start calling it Lake Huron. A snowmobile or 4 wheeler is required for most walleye fishing being done on the Bay. A close to shore fishery (within 1 mile) get's hot near river mouths just before Ice out in late winter. Most of the successful fishing is done from the Bays West side, because it's East side (for the most part) stays more shallow further off shore, lacs decent/roomy easy to get to access points and the biggest drawing card of all, the large flowing river called the Saginaw River. Virtually all of the West side access point roads connect to M-13. M-13 runs north and south and parallel with I-75, very close to the Bay for a long distance. Just what access point road is the best and the shortest drive out on the ice and to the fish is determined by ice/crack conditions, just where the school of fish are given the time of year, seasonal migration patterns and possible forage movements. There are 2 other popular access points that are at the very Southern bottom of the Bay. The Bay City State Park and the DNR ramp at the mouth of the Saginaw River.

What lures and baits that are popular will tend to be the same as yours, used to fish waleyes on Lake Erie. Spoons of all types tipped with a minnow or just it's head take many of our walleyes. My favorite is the #3 Do-Jigger (Silver/Red Lightening Bolt) with a minnow head hoked on one of the trebles. If you set out any tip-up's, keep them very close to your active jigging offerings as they seem to do better then especially in the mornings.

Motels to stay at can be found along M-13, in the small towns of Kawkawlin or Standish with 2 motels being between these two small towns. Huron Trails, 1-989-684-3940. Northland, 1-989-667-0738. And Pinconning Trail, 1-989-879-4219 is another. There are a couple more that elude me right now. Better Hotel accommodations can be found right in Bay City on Wilder Road, that is very near the DNR ramp at the rivers mouth. Another brand new one in Standish that the indians just built to accomodate the guests at their new Casino in the same town. None, I'm sorry to say will allow you to clean fish on site, so bring good coolers for cold packing. Cost for a 3 day out of state license is reasonable and can be bought on-line. http://www.mdnr-elicense.com/welcome.asp Fishing and ice reports can be observed at our biggest Bait/Sports shop internet site, while it's physical location is very near the Bay in Linwood to serve your bait and other needs. Visit the internet site at http://www.franksgreatoutdoors.com/theFishingReport.asp You'll notice my smiling face on the report site as I do reports for them. But I'm down this winter for repairs due to a worn out portion of my body. Give Franks a call for other questions you may have. Be safe and good luck out there. Here's a helpful map of where you might be fishing. Concentrate on waters left of the Saginaw River channel.

P.S. If you want to take some long hours of scouting out of the equation. Here are some reliable GPS waypoints for all seasons along with some inside info about where to park, what to use and how to use it. I sell this info pretty cheap as part of my fishing charter business on line at: http://www.electronicguideservice.com/Saginaw%20Bay.htm

Be aware these spots do not come with the guarantee about how safe each one is to get to, given year to year conditions. Heres also a couple of pictures of 2 Ohio boys who chartered me on the Bay. These fish were taken from just one of my personal GPS spots listed with the product, that are included in the packages I sell. Some of the guys on this board can vouch for there reliability.