Saginaw Bay had almost no fishing activity, as ice conditions are not good. Whites Beach and Pinconning had only a couple inches, which was spotty at best. Off Linwood, the only activity was in the marina, but no fish were caught. Anglers were fishing in shallow water between Sebewaing and Port Austin; however, ice conditions vary so anglers need to use extreme caution. Catch rates were poor.
Saginaw River had almost no anglers, as areas had either thin ice or open water. The boat launches are iced in, and areas on the lower river were 75% ice-covered. Upstream toward Saginaw had shore ice with open water in the middle. In Saginaw, it was open water; however, the launches were iced in and not usable at this point.
Tittabawassee River, there is a lot of ice jammed up in several places from the Tittabawassee Road Bridge downstream, making fishing difficult to impossible. From the Caldwell launch upstream is relatively open and ice-free. Conditions change all the time, and the ice could bust loose and open the river up at any time.
Au Gres Area: Those fishing Northport Marina reported good pike fishing when using tip-ups. Pike were also caught inside Eagle Bay Marina. A few perch anglers were reported off Palmer Road, but no reports of any fish caught.
Outer Saginaw Bay:
Tawas Area: A few boats going out of the Tawas River were trolling and jigging for walleye in 20 to 30 feet. Those trolling body baits were getting a few fish down towards Alabaster. Ice conditions off Access Road near Jerry’s Marina are very sketchy at best, and extreme caution needs to be used. A few walleye anglers using jigs tipped with minnows in 7 to 10 feet caught a couple keepers, but most were too small.
Fishing Tip: Stay safe on the ice
Before you hit the hard water to fish, check out ice safety information at Michigan.gov/IceSafety.