Walleyes...why saginaw river but not Detroit?

[Huntnut]

Why do you suppose that anglers can catch walleyes in the saginaw river right now but not in the detoit river?

Hunt

[Firetiger]

Who says there not getting them in the Detroit River??

[Tattoo Mike]

OK i'm no expert or anything but I would assume it has something to do with the saginaw warming faster than the detroit. Plus they are getting walleye in the detroit right now just not as many.

[Cangl]

The Saginaw warms up quicker being smaller shallower and being tributory fed. A degree or two can make all the difference in the world.

[walleyechaser]

Walleyes start entering the Saginaw River sysytem in the fall and continue filtering in throughout the winter. The river has a very slow current flow and has lots of shad in it for forage making it a good winter fishery.
Another reason for the Saginaw being a different beast when it comes to walleye is that those fish travel up the Flint as far as the dam and up the Titabawasee to the dam in Midland as well as other tributaries and there's plenty of holding water throughout.
The Detroit River on the other hand is a very short and fast river.
Although there are some walleyes in it year around, its primarily a spawning river and being short, the fish have no reason to enter it until just before spawing. There's just too much forage in LSC and Lake Erie for them to leave a confortable environment and fight the rivers current unnecessarily.
During the post spawn period, its just the opposite. Many fish stay in the Detroit River gourging themselves on minnows while the majority of fish in the Saginaw head back out to the bay. Its not uncommon for the bulk of them to be gone by the last Saturday in April when the season reopens.

[Huntnut]

Thankyou Walleye chaser...great info.

I know you can pick up a walleye in the Detroit right now...but we went out that last warm weekend, and we were the only ones in the trenton channel.

I drove over the Zilwaukee this past Sunday, and there were all sorts of boats out there reporting consistent catches.

It puzzled me.

Last question....seeing as how I can get eyes in the Saginaw right now....where is a good spot to launch right now and learn? (never fished it)

Hunt

[walleyechaser]

There are several good places to launch but the best is the Rust St ramp right downtown.
When you go up I-75, take I-675 I think it is, towards downtown
and take the first exit right after crossing the river. Follow the signs for Michigan Ave and follow MA all the way down to the corner of Gratiot. (You'll see a fish market to the right.) On the right corner you'll see the sign for "Live Bait". Stop in and see Woody --he'll give you up to date info on where, hot color jigs and he has great minnows.
Rust St ramp is just down Michigan a short ways from there and left on Lee St.
Good Luck

[Cangl]

Walleye can be caught on the St Clair river right now also, the bite is almost unnoticable escaping an anglers attention often. Smaller walleye 13-17inches with a portion larger fish winter in deep slower areas of pools throughout the St Clair and Detroit Rivers, the jigging is not as easy as the Saginaw that's for sure but the fish can be caught.