Saginaw river tips needed

[outdoorsman4]

I am hoping to get up to the river to ice fish if the weather cooperates. Is 6# mono heavy enough for river eyes? Do I need to buy #9 rapalas or will #7's do the job? Is it worth jigging with two rods or just one? Is there any place to buy minnows near Saginaw aside from Franks? Thanks guys.

[shorthair guy]

Theres a bait shop just east of the zilwaukee bridge on 13.

[lpgreg]

I use fireline, can,t say about the mono a lot of people jig with 2 rods, I like to use 1 of mine as a dead stick. If the current is strong you might have to use a #9 to get you down to the bottom, if you don,t need it then i would go smaller. a lot of people like to use a stinger hook also.

[Quakmaster316]

:yeahthat:

[William H Bonney]

,,,, Is 6# mono heavy enough for river eyes? ,,,


No.


Some guys will laugh but I used 15 or 18# test. I lost 2 "walleyes of a lifetime" with 10# test. I told myself that I wouldn't let that happen again.

[frozenbeer]

I fish with 10# Maxima mono, but have been up to 17# Spiderwire. The fish around here don't seem to be line shy at all, so my logic is "why take a chance". Pull test a barrel swivel sometime and you won't worry about line weight anymore (they break first every time). The hogs are out in the river and bay both, be prepared.

[walleyeman2006]

ice fishing in general you really dont want to have fight the fish,,,,its bad enough you have to fight the current in the saginaw river IMO 6 lb test is going to cost you a lot of fish....20 lb power pro with a 10 lb leader min.....jig with one and leave one rod dead with a spoon or something else that will work on its own

[olddog413]

First off, this is just my opinion, but i have been fishing the river for about twenty years now. Until two years ago, I have used 6# maxima. I now use 5# P-line floroice ! I can not remember the last time I lost a lure to a walleye, it's been years ago. If your drag is set properly , check your knot strength, and you lower your rod into the hole on a run from a hog, you will be fine. Keep in mind, I fish twice a day almost dailly, so I speak from experience. Sure, If your strictly a meat fisherman, put on 15-20#,tie on a #9 rapala and jerk away until you snag them under the chin (which are illegal to keep ), then just hoist them in. I never fish in the channel,never ! In the first couple hours of morning, and in the last couple hours before dark, the walleye come out of the channel onto the ledges to feed. A general rule of thumb is when the sun hits the top of the treeline, be in 14 to15ft and they turn on like a switch was flipped.Try 17ft, then 14ft, all the way up to 10 to 8ft just at dark. Cut your holes all at once early then just follow the fish as they move in.As for lures, keep in mind, there are three types of fish down there, aggresive,nuetral, and negitive. All require differant presentation. Aggressive; rapalas,blade baits (cicadas) nuetral; spoons tipped with a minnow head, and negative;jig with whole minnow or deadstick. Nothing works all the time, but my favorite is a spoon with a minnow head, I bottom jig it and keep movement minimal. A walleye is in the river to fatten up for the spawning run, thier metabolism is slowed down and they will not expend more energy catching there prey than that prey will give them.ie slower is better.The best tip is use a flasher, jig aggresively to get the aggresive fish first, then when you see fish on the screen that won't hit, they are nuetral or negative fish. Thats when to slow to down. I'm sorry if i was long winded,or come off as a know it all, it is truely a passion of mine, and I'm just trying to help. Good luck to all, and please be careful, it's just a matter of time before that river takes someone ! I've seen some stupid people out there, but thats another story.

[Amuzme2]

First off, this is just my opinion, but i have been fishing the river for about twenty years now. Until two years ago, I have used 6# maxima. I now use 5# P-line floroice ! I can not remember the last time I lost a lure to a walleye, it's been years ago. If your drag is set properly , check your knot strength, and you lower your rod into the hole on a run from a hog, you will be fine. Keep in mind, I fish twice a day almost dailly, so I speak from experience. Sure, If your strictly a meat fisherman, put on 15-20#,tie on a #9 rapala and jerk away until you snag them under the chin (which are illegal to keep ), then just hoist them in. I never fish in the channel,never ! In the first couple hours of morning, and in the last couple hours before dark, the walleye come out of the channel onto the ledges to feed. A general rule of thumb is when the sun hits the top of the treeline, be in 14 to15ft and they turn on like a switch was flipped.Try 17ft, then 14ft, all the way up to 10 to 8ft just at dark. Cut your holes all at once early then just follow the fish as they move in.As for lures, keep in mind, there are three types of fish down there, aggresive,nuetral, and negitive. All require differant presentation. Aggressive; rapalas,blade baits (cicadas) nuetral; spoons tipped with a minnow head, and negative;jig with whole minnow or deadstick. Nothing works all the time, but my favorite is a spoon with a minnow head, I bottom jig it and keep movement minimal. A walleye is in the river to fatten up for the spawning run, thier metabolism is slowed down and they will not expend more energy catching there prey than that prey will give them.ie slower is better.The best tip is use a flasher, jig aggresively to get the aggresive fish first, then when you see fish on the screen that won't hit, they are nuetral or negative fish. Thats when to slow to down. I'm sorry if i was long winded,or come off as a know it all, it is truely a passion of mine, and I'm just trying to help. Good luck to all, and please be careful, it's just a matter of time before that river takes someone ! I've seen some stupid people out there, but thats another story.


Old Dog... Thanks for the great advice.

I really appreciate it and will put it to good use!

This will be my first year fishing the bay!

[WHITE BEAR]

I have never used anything larger than 6lb test on the river and I also have never had a walleye break my line. I have iced many fish in the 5-9lb range. A quality spinning reel with a good drag set right will get the job done. I think if I can land steelhead on 4lb line then walleyes should be no problem.

[BUCKWIZZARD]

6 lb line never breaks on me but I constantly check my line. Jiggin rapala on the bottom when they are bitting good jig it fast, when its slow jig it slow. I like to fish the edge of the channel. If I dont catch fish in a few minutes I move around till I start catching them because it seems like they always bite if you find the fish.

[olddog413]

This is for those die hard jigging rapala guys. When you find the bite slow and you still want to use the rapala, try using a #5 and tip the treble with one or two small perch minnows hooked barely through the lips. Take it to the bottom, then very very slowly reel it up. At times it can be deadly for big fish that aren't aggresive.

[walleyeman2006]

i just never had walleye act line shy even in 3 fow and ive experimented a lot for 15 years i can see going light if it works for you but i dont like letting fish take drag in current...but the edge flats in the saginaw river dont have the current the channel does though...but if 5lb or 6lb is working for some maybe ill try it just curious though what length and action of rod your usuing with that light of line

[flyrod4steelhead]

This another one of those "personal prefernce" questions. I use 8# Maxima leader, barrel swivel and a 8# main line. Never had a problem with this set up.

#9 and #7 Jigging Raps seem to be the norm, but don't be afraid to go smaller or larger. Of course, that all depends on the river current. Don't forget to have some jig heads and other lures with you as well.

When walleye fishing I always use two rods. Jigging both at the same time. One with a Jiggin Rap and the other with a lead head jig, or something else. I am not saying that you have to use two rods, just something that I like to do, because if they don't like the one in my right hand, maybe they will hit the one in my left hand.

You just never know


Good luck

[woodie slayer]

i'm a line watcher and sometimes you can see them hit it on the drop but you won't feel it so i use only one rod..i don't like the big #9 rapalas they always catch on the side of the hole when bringing in a fish.don't have that problem with a 5 or #7..
and i wouldn't fish less than 10 pound test in the winter even with a good drag . in the summer i use 6 pound fire line.