Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Lots of ice but few fish

Whatever the rhyme or reason, walleyes seemed to have a case of the lockjaw on Saginaw Bay last Sunday and Monday when the second session of Mark Martin's Ice Fishing Vacation School convened out of Linwood Beach Marina.
Talk of where to go went from a couple mile out to eight or ten miles from the Marina in Linwood. Those longer runs can be iffy even in all the cold weather we've been experiencing.
Once the wind kicks up, pressure cracks you crossed on the way out may be open water several feet wide on the trip back after a days fishing.
Saginaw Bay is one body of water you don't drive to and go fishing without some prior knowledge from local anglers or bait shop owners or your own experience.
I wouldn't go it alone on the Bay either. Too much can happen like sleds breaking down, white outs, or some sort of injury.
Leave word with someone as to where you will be launching, the area you expect to fish and the time you will be coming off the ice.
Unlike Lake St. Clair where anglers are rescued floating on a large ice flow, Saginaw Bay seems to take the unwary into it's ice cold depths.
Don Luenberger pictured below showing how he carries his ice lures is from Bay City and fishes the Bay nearly 200 times during the year.
Although this is his "home water," Luenberger doesn't take any unnecessary chances. "There aren't any fish worth it," he often says.

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