Baker said because there are so many walleyes in Saginaw Bay right now that growth rates have slowed dramatically, so big ’eyes are likely to become scarce. That may be bad news for tournament anglers looking to weigh in a winning limit, but for the average Joe Angler, those medium-sized walleyes will fit into a frying pan just perfectly.

The open-water fishery on Saginaw Bay begins as soon as you can get a boat in the water. Pre-spawn walleyes cruise the shallows in the bay right after ice-out looking for one last meal before spawning. Other walleyes that ran the rivers in the fall may have already completed spawning chores and are dropping back to recuperate in the lake. The post-spawn walleyes are hungry once they catch their breath. You’ll find a bunch of heavy fish packed into the Saginaw River just before the season closes in mid-March. Most of the big hawgs, though, will be out of the river and cruising the shallows before the season opens again at the end of April.

Stick baits are the ticket for the early-season Saginaw Bay walleye bite.

“It’s pretty hard to beat a No. 18 Rapala Husky Jerk in the spring,” claimed tournament angler and Bay City resident Bill St. Peter. “The fish are chowing down on smelt that time of year, and body baits do a good job of imitating them.”

Blue/silver, black/silver and gold/ black are proven color combinations. The fishing can be hot off Linwood in 6 to 10 feet of water. The shallow bite takes place after dark. Savvy anglers target the 14- to 18-foot depths during the daylight hours. The fishing remains good well into June in the shallows all the way from Au Gres to Sand Point. Later, as water temperatures warm in the Inner Bay, crankbaits and crawler harnesses steal the show.

“Our fish usually are about 50/50 on the crankbaits and crawler harnesses,” said Saginaw Bay regular Ken Fogelsonger. “There are days when the Hot-N-Tots and Wiggle Warts will outproduce the meat, but I don’t think there’s anytime you’d want to go out there without some night crawlers.”

The crankbaits can be run clean or off planer boards or inline boards. Both help to spread lines and cover more water. Mini-spoons are also catching on big time on Saginaw Bay. Some anglers hedge their bets by running a small spoon off a three-way swivel above a diving crankbait. A hot combination on the bay was a small spoon with about a 30-foot lead behind a small, clear Slider Diver.

The walleyes on Saginaw Bay gradually move deeper as the summer progresses. Anglers need to cover water to find ’eyes shadowing schools of pelagic baitfish.