You know it’s going to be a great day when you pull into H & H Bakery and Restaurant on the outskirts of Au Gres, Michigan. I jumped out of my truck with anticipation knowing that my day was going to be fantastic and why not? The sun was shining, there was not even a breath of wind, and I was going fishing with one of the best guides that the outer Saginaw Bay region has to offer! Captain Mike Veine and I have been friends for more than 20 years. We met while fishing the In Fisherman P.W.T on Lake St. Clair. We had a good day then, and we have always had great days whenever I would join Mike for a day on the water. Today was different only in that Mike would be fishing with me in a beautiful new Crestliner 2050 Authority decked out with all the trimmings. A full windshield, a complete set of Traxstech rod holders and downriggers a pair of Lowrance HDS 9s and a new MotorGuide Xi5 trolling motor, life is truly GOOD. To say that I was ready was an understatement; I live for days on Lake Huron. The sunrise side, as many of the locals refer to it, is as great a fishery as there is in Michigan! The outer bay is a consistently great fishery all year long. That’s right, many don’t think the bite starts right away, but it does.
April and May here offer some of the better big fish bites anywhere around. The fish are generally close to the harbor and with just a few adjustments in your presentation you can catch good numbers of Walleye. The key for the early season is speed. Whether you use crankbaits or spinners, it seems these fish want it slow at this time of the year. I typically will fish a combination of both subtle stick-baits like a Smithwick Rattlin Rogue or Jr Thundersticks. I present these baits about six feet behind a 1 oz snapweight. I usually run out somewhere between 20-40 feet of line out to achieve the fish catching depth. I also like to run a couple of spinners with crawlers at the same time as the cranks. You can do this very well when the trolling speeds are slow and by running both at the same time, I can let the fish tell me which they prefer that day. Remember you are not fishing that deep early in the season, maybe 12-20 feet so it is pretty easy to work your way through the water column and get the right depth. Speed is critical and early season for me means 1 to 1.2 on your GPS.
June and early July offers what I feel is the best and fastest bite on the outer bay. Fish scatter throughout the area in all directions from the port of Au Gres. This is spinner and crawler time from me. I am an old school guy so keeping it simple helps me stay on the fish. I use two rules when fishing the bay: The upper 10’ and the bottom 5’. I know at times there are fish in between, but I have had such good luck with this pattern that I just fish it all the time. Here’s my thoughts, the fish in the bottom 5’ I can mark and see on my electronics. Running baits 5’ off the bottom means any fish that are on or near the bottom can see my baits. This is where my dead rods in the rod holders with 3oz bouncers are the bomb!
I often can catch a bunch of nice fish throughout the day with these two rods are they are brainless to set and monitor. The upper 10’ rods are also easy to run, you just run out a 1 oz snap weight about 25’ and hook on the offshore board, and you are good to go. I always run these on the outside of a 2 board set as they are the highest baits and should be set furthest from the boat. The last two rods are your “play” rods. I use these two to experiment with leads and colors to find those middle fish. I don’t worry about how much I catch on them, but some days you get lucky and do well with the search rods.
August and September are the big fish/ big water months. This is the prime time for the Charity Islands as well as the Tawas area deepwater fishery. I have a tip that may help you during this period. I have done well early each day on the shallow rock around the Charity Islands. This bite is especially good under stable weather. Big north winds disrupt these fish, and you must be willing to move around based on where the wind pushes the schools of fish. I stick with spinners and crawlers, but my speed may be as high as 1.5 or more when the water is warm. I have done very well in the area around the steeples as well as gravely shoals and behind the islands in shallow water. When the fish are in shallow, they are hot, and it doesn’t take long to get a good catch.
My conclusion is very simple. Next time you are looking for something different try the sunrise side of Michigan and the towns of Au Gres for some of the best fishing Michigan has to offer!
John Bergsma travels Michigan and the Great Lakes fishing and filming for his TV show. For great destination information, fishing reports or to watch his show online check him out at www. fishermansdigest.com
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