Saginaw Bay Area walleye were caught off Pinconning and Gambill’s Landing in 20 to 25 feet, off Linwood in 18 feet and east of the Spark Plug in 24 feet. Bass were caught at the end of Linwood Road. At Finn Road, those trolling crawlers caught walleye and a few pike in 7 to 10 feet. Walleye were caught straight out from Quanicassee in 9 feet and along the Slot in 19 to 20 feet with a crawler harness or body baits. Fishing was hit or miss at times, but limits were caught by those covering lots of water to find active fish. Good action was noted in the Slot between Sunset Bay Marina and North Island in 18 to 20 feet as well as along the Bar in 22 to 24 feet. A crawler harness in a variety of colors is still being used by most. Fish were also taken on Hot-n-Tots, flicker shad or spoons.
- Au Gres #walleyefishing was spotty; however, a few limit catches were taken in 35 to 45 feet out near the Gravelly Shoals and south toward the Saganing Bar when using crawlers. The access road to the Pine River was flooded with some serious damage to the road, including deep holes.
- Rifle River Brown trout and rainbow trout were caught in the early morning.
Outer Saginaw Bay
Oscoda lake trout, steelhead, coho, Atlantic and pink salmon were caught when trolling spoons in 70 to 100 feet or out at the “Humps” in 150 to 180 feet. Hot colors were green, orange, copper, red and purple. Lake trout were taken on dodgers with spin-glo’s. Pier anglers caught channel cats, smallmouth bass and freshwater drum on crawlers and minnows.
- Au Sable River fishing was slow; however, a couple walleye were caught when drifting crawlers or trolling crankbaits early morning and late evening. Smallmouth bass, freshwater drum, channel cats and rock bass were caught when drifting crawlers.
Tawas Area had good walleye, steelhead and Atlantic salmon fishing between Tawas Point and Alabaster in 50 to 70 feet with crawlers, body baits and spoons.
- Tawas River not much was going on at Gateway Park other than a few smallmouth bass taken on various lures or crawlers.
Fishing Tip: How to know if you’ve found an invasive species
An invasive species is one that is not native and whose introduction causes harm, or is likely to cause harm, to Michigan’s economy, environment or human health.
Think you’ve found an invasive species? Familiarize yourself with potential invasive species threats to Michigan by visiting Michigan.gov/Invasives and clicking on the “Species Profiles & Reporting Information” box.
Once there, you can search for species of plants, insects, diseases, mollusks, fish, mammals, birds or crustaceans and learn about Watch List versus non-Watch List species. You can also learn how to identify invasive species and how to report it if you think you’ve found one.