Saginaw River shore fishing?

[drag44]

Went fishing last night on the Saginaw River from shore. I fished behind the McDonalds on M13 with no luck. Was the first time I tried it. I used husky jerks and jigs. I'm thinking about trying again tonight behind Hooters. Any suggestions on lures or technique would be greatly appreciated....Thanks in advance.

[1fish2fish]

I know location and time can sometimes be limited but if it was me I wouldn't fish that area. I would get out a map and find the Tittabawasee (feeds the Saginaw River). Fish at night at bridge crossings with floating rapala's. Black/gold always worked the best for us, black/silver second. But hell we also fished perch color, chartruese and just about any other color. If you don't have those exact lures you don't have to run out and buy them. Other friends of ours would use Bombers (I think they are called) and really any long stick like bait. We seemed to do best around the bridge pilings and banks that had rocks and were fairly steep. Not necessarily deep but it had to drop off quick, almost straight down. At night you would be surprised how shallow they are. If you find some water with a little visibility you can also find them by shining a flash light in the water and then cast to that general area.

You can bounce a jig through an area as the current takes it downstream but really this is only for the guys who fish all the time and know exactly where they can and can't do it. If your just a once a weeker it's a lot easier to cast and crank. Without a lot of trial and error, jigging in the current can just be knot tying practice.

Also, we've taken fish on Perch rigs with a fat night crawler just thrown out and tight lined in the current. You can blow the crawler up with air too. This can be more of a pain than it is worth because you spend a lot time unhooking catfish (tib) or sheephead (Saginaw River). But if you get it in a catfish free spot it allows you to have another line in the water while your casting. Just tie a bell to the rod tip. We've caught walleye doing this and we've seen some really nice hogs taken this way by guys who fish this method only. Throwing it right in the middle of the river or behind a pile of rocks seemed to work best for that.

I hope this helps...and the best tip I can give you. The fish are there all summer long. In another couple weeks you'll have the whole river to yourself. Trust me, for guys who don't have a boat you can fish it all summer and still catch walleye. Obviously they are in there less thick than now but you can catch them in every month and there is usually not another soul around to bother you.

[drag44]

1fish2fish,
Thanks alot for the info. I'll have to give the Tib. a try. The wife's gonna shut down my tackle fund if I don't bring her some walleye soon!

[ManillaKilla]

The state street bridge (on the tibb) has good shore fishing. Also, if you use the tight line method, a floating harness with a sinker about a foot or two up the line works well. Leeches work well, too, but still attract other fish (cats and smallies).