Just 15 years ago Saginaw Bay was a watery wasteland, with few sportfishing opportunities. Today, Saginaw Bay is one of the fastest growing walleye fisheries in the nation and is rapidly gaining a reputation for producing trophy class fish.

Walleye flourish at a growth rate second to no other fishery in the nation. Ample forage, plus a diverse habitat make Saginaw Bay a walleye fishing mecca.

Saginaw Bay is actually divided into two basins, known as the Inner Bay and Outer Bay. Walleye are abundant in both basins and schools of suspended walleye and bottom-orientated or "structure" fish are present throughout the fishery.

The fishing season for walleye on Saginaw Bay is open year around, offering anglers four seasons of angling opportunity. Normally safe ice covers the Bay in late-January or early February. Ice fishermen find excellent success with select jigging spoons including the Luhr Jensen Krocodile and Crippled Herring and the Ripple Tail blade bait. The 1/4-, 3/8-, and 1/2-ounce size spoons are the most popular and the 1/4- and 1/2-ounce blade baits top choices.

Spoons are normally tipped with a three-inch shiner minnow and fished near bottom. Blade baits are usually fished clean, although some anglers prefer to tip the treble hook with a tiny perch minnow for added action and scent.

The ice normally leaves Saginaw Bay during April. During late-March, April, and early May many Saginaw Bay walleye make spawning runs into tributary streams including the Saginaw, Tittabawassee, Kawkawlin, Au Gres, Rifle, and Au Sable rivers.

During late-May and early June, walleye have finished spawning and returned to Saginaw Bay. It's during this time that the season's first trolling bite gets started among shallow-water reefs. Many walleye are taken by trolling spinner harnesses and crankbaits.

The Luhr Jensen Jeweled Bead or Mr. Biggs walleye spinners are effective when fished in combination with a Walleye Bottom Walker sinker. The crawler should be lightly hooked through the nose and just behind the collar. Slow troll or drift with this rig tapping bottom.

Crankbaits are also effective walleye baits during the post-spawn period. Productive lures include the 1/4-ounce Hot Lips Express, 1/2-ounce Power Dive Minnow, 5/16-ounce Fingerling Hi-Catch, and the new 3/8-ounce Rock Walker.

These lures produce best when fished on flats or rock- and gravel-strewn reefs in water from six to 15 feet deep. The best success is enjoyed when crankbaits are fished in combination with in-line planer boards that help spread out the trolling coverage. In-line boards can be trolled effectively at slow trolling speeds, making them the obvious choice for spring walleye cranking.

During July and August massive schools of suspended walleye form on Saginaw Bay. These fish average from three to six pounds and feed primarily on gizzard shad, alewives, and smelt. Crankbait trolling using both in-line and catamaran-style planer boards is the most popular angling method during the summer months.

Saginaw Bay walleye may be found suspended just a few feet under the surface or a couple feet off bottom in deep water. A wide range of crankbaits with various diving depth ranges is required to fish this water effectively.

Walleye that are suspended near the surface are vulnerable to the 1/4-ounce Speed Trap, 5/16-ounce Fingerling Hi-Catch, 1/4-ounce Hot Lips Express, and 1/2-ounce Power Dive Minnow. These lures are excellent choices when using trolling leads from 40-100 feet.

For walleye suspended in the mid-depth ranges, the 3/8-ounce Rock Walker, 1/2-ounce Hot Lips Express, and 1/2-ounce Power Dive Minnow are good choices. When the need to fish deep arises, the 3/4-ounce Power Dive Minnow, 3/4-ounce Rock Walker, and 3/4-ounce Hot Lips Express are productive lure choices. When trolling with medium- to deep-diving lures trolling leads from 75-200 feet are required.

The Inner Bay is made up of mostly shallow water (less than 25 feet) with an abundance of reefs, points, gravel flats, and other structure areas that hold walleye in spring and early summer. Some of the best fishing occurs near the mouth of the Saginaw and Kakawlin rivers and along the reefs adjacent to the tiny ports of Quanicassee, Fish Point, and Sebewaing. A series of islands and isolated reefs that stretches from Sand Point to Fish Point holds walleye during spring and early summer.

Anglers venturing into the Outer Bay will find both deep-water basins and shallow-water structure. The Charity Islands, located approximately 10 miles northeast of Point Au Gres is a popular summer fishing site. Rock and gravel reefs surround the islands, offering ideal structure habitat for walleye. North and south of the Charity Islands large basins of open water hold suspended fish all summer long.

A shipping channel for Great Lakes freighters splits the Inner Bay in two, and the marked channel, complete with numbered buoys, makes a series of convenient landmarks for anglers. A four-season fishery, Saginaw Bay receives an annual walleye plant of approximately one million fingerlings. Intense stocking guarantees that this fishery will continue to grow into the next decade.