The walleye fishing is outstanding on Saginaw Bay. It’s one of the most popular places to target walleye in the Midwest. The bay is huge and it has tons of walleye to catch. There are good numbers of eater-sized fish combined with plenty of trophy fish as well. Trolling is very popular but jigging or drifting with live bait is also effective on the bay. To learn more about the bay, take a look at some of the popular places to fish around the bay below.
Saginaw Bay is Huge
The bay is massive. It extends 51 miles southwest from its entrance. The fishery is very good, but it is definitely big water, so pay attention to the weather conditions before heading out onto the bay.
Saginaw River
The Saginaw River is open year round for fishing. The river is home to some good fishing for walleye, bass and other fish too. The spring and fall are the best times to fish the river, but fish remain in the river system all season long. Some of the popular spots to fish are the bridges, the old turning basins and the shipping channel, which has the deepest water in the river. If you want to learn more about the turning basins in the river, take a look at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website for the Saginaw River and it will tell you where these turning basins are to go along with their depth, how long and wide they are. Good numbers of quality walleye can be found in these deep water spots in the spring and fall.
Shipping Channel
Bay City, Michigan, is the largest city at the southern end of Saginaw Bay and this is where the Saginaw River meets the inner bay. Large ships move in and out of the bay, so there is a dredged shipping channel to accommodate the large ships. The shipping channel has good depth throughout the channel. It is around 27 feet deep where it enters the bay and it rises to 22 feet deep as you get further up the river. Anglers have success fishing the shipping channel in the Saginaw River and out in the bay. Anglers target walleye and perch around the channel edges for many miles out into the bay. This is a popular area to fish for walleye.
On the map below, we put a few marks to show up the shipping channel, however, it continues out into the bay for miles beyond the markers that we have on the map.
Channel – Shelter Island (Dredge Island)
This island is located at the mouth of the Saginaw River. It is a man-made island that was created from the river dredging. Once the walleye spawn and head out of the river, this island is the first piece of offshore structure and it can be a very good place to target post-spawn walleye.
Sailboat Buoys
The sailboat buoys are there to mark a sailboat race course that is held off the town of Linwood, Michigan. This area has has some good depth, which maxes out around 23 feet of water in some spots. It also features a clay / sand bottom that is known for holding plenty of walleye. This is a popular late spring through summer trolling spot.
Spark Plug
The Spark Plug is a fishing spot that is located about halfway down the shipping channel out in the bay. It gets the name because the Spark Plug has a blinking light and it looks like a big spark plug sticking up out of the water. There is some good depth here with waters maxing out around 23 feet deep. This is a popular trolling area for walleye.
On the map below, we put a mark as an approximate location to give you an idea of another good fishing spot. Please use your own electronics to navigate to this spot if you want to fish it.
The Fingers
The fingers is an area with a bunch of underwater points that is located just west of the channel and number 1. There is some good depth here with water maxing out around 25 feet deep. It is a popular spot for walleye. You will often see other anglers out here trolling for walleye.
Coreyon Reef
Historically, the inner Saginaw Bay was home to rock reefs that provided excellent spawning habitat for a variety of fish species. With increased runoff into the Saginaw River, layers of sediment have buried these rock reefs over time, so reefs have not been a pattern to fish for anglers wishing to stay inside the bay. There has been a push to restore the rock reefs within the inner bay to help diversify the spawning areas for a variety of fish populations that call Saginaw Bay home. The Coreyon Reef was selected as the first reef to be restored in the bay and this reef got a huge remodel with over 1 million dollars being spent. This reef now gives anglers a huge piece of offshore structure to fish for walleye, smallmouth bass, perch, pike and more.
On the map below, we put a mark as an approximate location to give you an idea of another good fishing spot. Please use your own electronics to navigate to this spot if you want to fish it.
The Black Hole
The “Black Hole” is located in deeper water northeast of Linwood, Michigan on the west shore. This area is a nice deep water spot that isn’t too far out in the inner bay. The bottom is more of a darker clay bottom and it usually holds some quality walleye. It is a fairly large area and it is a popular walleye trolling spot.
On the map below, we put a mark as an approximate location to give you an idea of another good fishing spot. Please use your own electronics to navigate to this spot if you want to fish it.
Pinconning Bar
Heading north along the west shoreline is the Pinconning Bar. This shallow bar extends out into the bay then drops off into some deeper water. This is not a deep water spot, however, it is a nice drop-off from how shallow the bar comes up towards the surface. Anglers catch plenty of walleye, perch and other fish too while fishing the weed line. If you’re looking for some deeper water, there is a nice deep water area northeast of Pinconning Bar and south of the Rifle Bar. This is also a popular spot to troll for walleye.
On the map below, we put a mark as an approximate location to give you an idea of another good fishing spot. Please use your own electronics to navigate to this spot if you want to fish it.
Rifle Bar
Rifle Bar is a shallow bar that extends out into Saginaw Bay. It is located near Point Au Gres. This area is usually a good spring and early summer fishing spot for walleye and perch. At times, there can be very large numbers of walleye that move through here as they transition from the spawn to waters more north in the bay. It is another popular trolling spot for walleye.
Au Gres
The waters around Au Gres are popular because there is so much good water to fish up in this area. You aren’t too far from Rifle Bar and you could easily keep heading south past Rifle Bar and you will hit Saganing Bar and Pinconning Bar. There is some deep water over here that is popular for trolling. You can also head further offshore from Au Gres and target some excellent structure.
Gravelly Shoal is an area with lots of rocky bottom and you will usually find smallmouth bass, walleye and perch in the area. It is a good late spring through summer spot for walleye. This area also has a lighthouse called Gravelly Shoal Lighthouse.
Many anglers will launch out of Au Gres to head out to fish Charity Island, which is located in the middle of Saginaw Bay. This area is full of big rocks that are awesome for smallmouth bass, but walleye will use this piece of structure too. The Steeples is another offshore spot with lots of rocks.
Charity Island
Charity Island is a good-sized island located in the middle of Saginaw Bay. There are lots of rocks in this area, so be careful when motoring through the shallower areas around the island. This is a popular summer and fall fishing spot, however, it can be an awesome early season smallmouth bass fishing spot too. Anglers target walleye, smallmouth bass and perch around the island.
The Steeples
The Steeples is a popular fishing spot for walleye, however, anglers target smallmouth bass here too due to the rocky structure. The Steeples are a bunch of rocks that come up from the bottom and up to about 17 to 23 feet of water in many areas. There is some deep water in the 30 to 40 foot range very close to these shallower spots, so it’s just an awesome piece of offshore structure that will hold walleye, smallmouth bass, perch and more.
On the map below, we put a mark as an approximate location to give you an idea of another good fishing spot. Please use your own electronics to navigate to this spot if you want to fish it.
The Slot
The “Slot” off Caseville and Sand Point is a fairly large area with water in the 15 to 18 foot range. It is a very popular spot to troll for walleye. When the bite is going good, you will see plenty of boats trolling this area.
On the map below, we put a mark as an approximate location to give you an idea of another good fishing spot. Please use your own electronics to navigate to this spot if you want to fish it.
Wild Fowl Bay
Wild Fowl Bay is a shallow bay that can be productive for a variety of fish species. It is a much better early season spot as lots of fish will still be found shallower until water temperatures heat up in the summer. Anglers usually come into the bay to fish for walleye, northern pike, perch and largemouth bass.
Sand Point
Sand Point is located on the east side of Saginaw Bay and on the north side of Wild Fowl Bay. This point has a lot of shallow water around it, however, there is deeper water to the north that can offer some good fishing for walleye and perch. On the west of Sand Point, there is a shallow bar with plenty of rocks known as the “Middle Grounds.” These rocks will hold walleye, smallmouth bass and perch at times.
Callahan Reef
Callahan Reef is a shallow sand bar that is a popular late spring and summer walleye spot. Perch and other fish are caught here too, but most anglers fish this area for walleye. The reef is located on the east side of the shipping channel and a few miles out from the mouth of the Saginaw River. Because this spot is so close to the river mouth, there will be a lot of boaters in this area when the bite is going strong.
On the map below, we put a mark as an approximate location to give you an idea of another good fishing spot. Please use your own electronics to navigate to this spot if you want to fish it.
Outer Bay
The outer bay is home to a lot deeper water and it is clearer water as you get further away from the Saginaw River, which is located at the southern part of Saginaw Bay. With such good fishing for walleye in the inner bay from spring through early summer, most anglers will not spend the extra time fishing further out when there are plenty of fish closer in. However, at some point in the middle of summer, large numbers of quality walleye will move further out in the outer bay and there will be a pretty consistent bite out there through the rest of the summer and into the fall. The big problem with the outer bay is that the weather can ruin your plans in a hurry if the winds are blowing too fast. Trolling is very popular in the outer bay and anglers usually target walleye, salmon, steelhead and lake trout.
Learn More About Walleye
Our walleye has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them. Visit our walleye page to learn more.
