Saginaw Bay walleye action remains phenomenal! Five adults and one six-year-old
boy took 30 while fishing with us today on their first ever charter trip. About half the fish were in the 21-inch class like this one, and maybe a third of the others were 15 1/2 to 16 inches–just a nice eating size. We were fishing about five miles north of the Number One Buoy at the mouth of the Saginaw River in 31 feet of water Any shallower and the action slowed considerably. Very little fishing pressure was observed, as we saw less than a dozen boats on the bay all day.
Walleye fishing out of Augres and south has been exceptional all week. Limit catches have been common, and the size of many of the fish is definitely larger than in previous years. A respectable number of walleye five pounds and larger have been showing up in anglers’ fish boxes on a regular basis.
Most anglers are trolling with crawler harnesses behind 2-ounce in-line weights run 45-55 feet back behind in-planer boards while fishing depths of 27-35 feet of water. However, I talked to anglers today who fished the Eagle’s Landing area east of Standish, who pulled limit catches from water as shallow as six feet. Trollers were also taking limit catches from Pinconning all the way down to Linwood while working depths of 17 to 24 feet of water. In short, there seemed to be good walleye action just about anywhere anglers were trolling.
In the past week I know of three different boats that needed a friendly tow back to port after running out of gas. There is just no good excuse for this type of boating error. And it really isn’t fair to the good guys who give up their quality fishing time to come to the rescue of boaters like this. If Tow Boat U.S. had to come to their rescue, it could easily cost upwards of $600 or more for the “friendly assist.”
Finally, this is a great time to get youngsters interested in fishing, as the action is steady, and it’s hard to get bored. The relationships being built between parents and their kids while on a fishing trip far out weigh the cost of the trip. Memories will be made that last a life time.
Captain Terry Walsh
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