Saginaw river bound

[Doeslayer]

Heading that way.... Hope today includes some bigger eyes than previous trips

[lazy ike]

hey  doe,  on a  rapala   half    or  full  minnow   on  middle  treble. havent  been out   in 2yrs   going  this wk.  any  other  baits  doing  good

[Doeslayer]

So heres how my setup runs when im solo, i run a rap with a half minnow on my jigger with as small a rap as the current allows.... A whole minnow on my dead stick about 6 feet off bottom hooked through the tail on the treble of the rap.... And a jaw jacker just outside the shack as long as it isnt super cold.... Why i do that is this.... It seems like some of the overly aggressive fish take a swipe at a lure and if they miss they are still in motion and sometimes move off.... The deadstick up high gives a fish that has missed, another opportunity at a bait to eat... A lot of times on a miss they smack the deadstick or the jaw jacker..... Also i find 90% of the fish i catch are between 2 and 5 feet off the bottom when they hit... They might come up off the bottom to hit but i have a lot more success jigging 2-5 feet off bottom.... Also i run a stinger on my deadstick but have been going without in my jigger and have caught more fish this year than years past.... I used ti run my jj and deadstick within a foot of the bottom and now that i keep it up higher i get more fish

[Doeslayer]

Ill shoot you a pm with colors sizes and places id reccomend to fish

[Doeslayer]

Pm sent... Shoot me a message anytime and ill give you sny advice i can.... If your interested when you wanna go id meet ya up there its only 20 min from me to my best producing spot this year..... Unless of course you are going to a top secret location and cant divulge the whereabouts lol

[compli123]

DS, guys like you make this board sing. Bless you for your generous spirit.

[Doeslayer]

DS, guys like you make this board sing. Bless you for your generous spirit.

Plenty of fish out there for everyone...... I have no problem telling people where i go personally but i dont post it publicly because for every member theres 20 guest lurkers.... Make that mistake 2 years ago.... Got into some eyes on a monday or Tuesday and there was maybe 3 shanties in sight.... Said exactly where it was on a post here.... Next day still middle of the week no holiday or snything there almost wasnt room for parking... Probably 50 trucks.... Talked to a few guys and they all said they heard online guys were catching fish there..... No one from iceshanty came that day or at least never said they did... After that i decided ill keep my spot sharing to pms only.... That way i dont have the whole world show up lol

[lazy ike]

thanks  doe have  enough   jiggin  raps   have  to   buy   a  jaw   jacker.. none  around  here  last  yr.  ill    be  out  after  the deep freeze

[Doeslayer]

Im heading out in the morning to one of the locations i sent the one i said the ice hadnt been as good as the others.... Ill report if i find snything

[Doeslayer]

Heading in the morning..... Ill report back during and after

[Doeslayer]

About 5 minutes from the murder hole.... Hoping they are poppin today

[Doeslayer]

They were in fact NOT popping today lol everyone i talked to was managing a fish or two but thats about it... Landed 14 smalls and 1 keeper.... Fished above and below zilwaukee bridge.....

[Cary673]

what are the ice conditions currently on the river I'm from southern part of Michigan and we just got the 10 inches of snow how much did the river receive? a few of us are looking at coming up either tomorrow or Sunday.

[Doeslayer]

River had a lot of water so when it snowed it made slush then reforze.... For the most part.. Snow should be minimal on the river... Still use a spud....

[Shepbc]

We are thinking about going to fish by the Zilwaukee Bridge on Saturday and we are looking for some advice and local intel.  Typically we fish Muskegon Lake with #5 jigging raps and #5 & #7 swedish pimples with minnows and get some walleyes, pike and perch.  But right now the fish seem to be shutoff so we thought we would try the Saginaw river.  Hoping the the weather stays good and we don't loose too much ice with the slight warm up.  Sure would appreciate any input on where to get bait, recommendations on lures and how to select the perfect section of the river to fish.   

[Doeslayer]

Boy the river has been hard going last 2 weeks ish for me..... Ive caught 0 keepers in my last 5 trips... Hit 12 different locations.... Best advice i can give you is move around.... Especially if you have electronics.... Z bridge has been absolutely beat to death over the past 2 weeks so my only other bit of advice i can give you is pray...lol im tired of the river im hitting the bay asap

[Shepbc]

That wasn't the fishing report I was hoping to hear.  If we still want to still consider fishing the Saginaw River can you provide any guidance on possibly fishing closer to the mouth and good access points?  We don't have any snow machines and will be walking out there.  Thanks in advance for your help 

[Fish Killa]

There is access everywhere. One of the easiest places to fish I have ever been too. Up and down both sides of the river have parks, businesses, bridges. All have access. Best bait shop is downtown Saginaw. They open at 6 every morning. Jigging raps and rattle baits have worked best for me. Get away from the crowds, less competition over the few keepers lurking around.

[Shepbc]

Doeslayer thanks for the PM appreciate your help and willingness to share intel. 

[Doeslayer]

No prob.... I just git my sled running today so hopefully Saturday im posti g pics of giant walleyes

[DR.SPECKLER]

Ok sending cecil the pigeon out your way doeslayer,should be there by Saturday.nevermind the gps and camera taped to his legs.no he doesnt talk..lol

[Doeslayer]

Shoot doc id send you the coords if i could coax you into coming lol

[DR.SPECKLER]

One of these days bud.im supposed to be moved out of this house by sunday.not sure if thats going to happen..went out for a few hrs today and only caught a few specks.sloppy mess around here.

[Doeslayer]

I gotta do a salt run at work at 1 am takes about 4 hours then im heading to the bay.... My sled is being a POS i think it has either a plugged fuel filter or a weak fuel pump..... Not sure which but taking my buddies sled instead