This week has seen Saginaw Bay’s best walleye fishing all summer. Reports of excellent fishing and limit catches came in from all around the bay by mid-week. Friday, our crew boxed a four-party limit of 32 in just three hours while fishing south of Pt. Augres in 31-33 feet of water. There were a lot of little fish in the fishery, and we released a good 20 or more! (Speaks well for the future!) The keepers were all 16-18 inches with a half dozen hitting the three-four pound mark. This could be a repeat of the summer of 2014, which saw record catches of Saginaw Bay walleye!
Speed and color of harness blades were not critical all week. We ran three-ounce in-line weights ahead of the harness on the starboard side and three-ounce bottom bouncers off the port side. Both were set to run at 20-25 feet. As usual, the bottom bouncers easily out fished the in-line pulled crawlers. I also use size three blades on all my harnesses behind the bottom bouncers, while my first mate was running mostly size 4-5 blades. My theory is the smaller blades spin faster than a larger blade and give off an effective fish attracting vibration. It’s a tactic I picked up from MCBA Capt. Mike Vein of Trophy Specialist Charters, and I have become a believer.
Today’s tip: heavy boat traffic will shut the fish down. Stay away from the fleet and watch your catch rate go up! And remember to take the kids fishing. When it’s this good, they won’t get bored.
Capt. Terry R. Walsh
Termar Charters
(989) 450-5365