Month of March means trophy walleyes after ice out on Michigan rivers

Savvy Michigan anglers get a head start on the 2026 open water season for walleyes by targeting major rivers that walleyes run sometime in March.

Rotund walleyes, fat as pigs, stage well before the rivers are ice-free. As soon as the rivers break open and ice flows disappear, it’s time to target trophy walleyes.

Kurt Stracka, of In-Depth Precision Charters, will be one of the first on the St. Clair River in the spring as soon as the ice flows disappear.

“You can almost count on the river being ice-free by mid-March,” Stracka said. “It’s all weather-dependent, though. It depends on the spring. Ice flows are a real problem, so until they disappear, you can’t realistically fish.”

Considering the type of winter we’re having in 2025/2026, Stracka anticipates getting on the river by the third week in March. Time will tell.

Stracka said some of the biggest walleyes of the year are caught while vertical jigging. The key is to target slack-water areas where the roe-laden hens stack up. “Those fat females don’t want to fight the current,” Stracka said. “They are not as streamlined as the smaller males. They don’t want to expend more energy than they already have to, so you’ll find them out of the current.”

Stracka said fishing on the St. Clair River can be good from one end to the other right after ice-out. “A lot of the big fish will drop back to the Port Huron area after spawning, and the Black River there is always a big attraction. The area around Algonac is a prime area, too.”

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A lot of the better fishing occurs in the 25-to-35-foot depths later in the spring, but trophy walleyes will likely be found much shallower in the St. Clair River. “I usually fish the 15-to-17-foot depths when I’m targeting the biggest spawners right after ice out,” Stracka shared. “You’re going to find those bigger fish out of the current in the slower water.”

Prime time is when the water temperature reaches 38 to 40 degrees.

Stracka said that because you’re fishing in shallower, slower water right after ice out, you can get away with lighter jigs. “I like to use 3⁄8-ounce jigs tipped with the biggest shiner minnows I can find when targeting the real hogs. Because you’re fishing where there’s less current, you can get away with a lighter jig, and the narrow head of the Moon Eye jig (affiliate link) cuts the current better. Blue/white is always a good color, and purple can be good if the water is stained. I always add a stinger hook, especially early in the year.

“Feeling the delicate bite of cold-water walleyes and hooking them requires a rod that’s kind of stiff with an extra fast action,” Stracka said.

Braid is important for detecting and feeling when a walleye gently sucks in your minnow. Stracka adds a section of 8-pound fluorocarbon between the braid and the jig.

Stracka said the ice-out period on the St. Clair River produces an inordinate number of 29- to 30-inch pigs that will push 10 pounds or more. The fishing is often bone-chilling, bordering on brutal, and dodging ice flows is an ever-present danger, but the rewards are tangible.

Until a few years ago, anglers couldn’t take advantage of the hot, ice-out open-water bite on the Saginaw River because the river closed to walleye fishing on March 15. That changed a few years ago when the river was opened to year-round walleye fishing.

“It’s a short window of opportunity when the Saginaw River is fishable and when you can target the big spawners,” said Brandon Stanton of Team Gun Smoke Sport Fishing. “The really big fish stage under the ice and as soon as it breaks open, they blast upstream to the Tittabawassee and other tributaries.”

The run can be shortened and intensified by a spring rain that will warm and cloud the water. “The Saginaw River is not very clear to begin with,” said Stanton, “but given a heavy thunderstorm, the river will blow out and turn to mud.” The window of opportunity is short and sweet. Savvy anglers have their phone on speed dial to stay on top of the fishing.

“There’s no current in the Saginaw River compared to the St. Clair or Detroit River,” advised Stanton. “Those big walleyes lie around like suckers, out of the current and just bide their time until the ice breaks up.”

Stanton said the lack of current in the Saginaw River makes vertical jigging tough. “You need to move, cover water, and cast using your forward-facing sonar to find fish.”

You can get away with much lighter jigs in the Saginaw River than you can in the Detroit River. “We use a 3 ⁄8-ounce jig in the Saginaw River when casting. With the lack of current there you need to move the boat. Often, you need to use the trolling motor to move downstream.”

Stanton said he doesn’t use live bait when targeting trophy walleyes and relies on Berkley Power Baits (affiliate link) in both minnow and worm shapes.

“Typically, half of the anglers on the boat will get a split tail, and half will get worms. Which gets bit will depend on the bottom. You can see where the bottom will go from gravel to mud to silt. The minnow bodies tend to work better over a gravel bottom, and the worm produces when we’re fishing mud and silt. We find the same thing in the Detroit River.”

Stanton said the mistake anglers make when targeting early spring trophy walleyes is that they don’t fish shallow enough. “Those big walleyes are going to be right up in 8 to 12 feet of water, out of the current in both the Saginaw and Detroit River. Most guys don’t fish shallow enough to target the really big spawners.”

Known big-fish hotspots on the Saginaw River include the airport, the AT&T building, the downtown bridges, and the Zilwaukee Bridge. Anywhere in downtown Bay City can be hot as soon as the ice goes off.

Fishing for trophy walleyes on the Detroit River can peak as late as the first week in April when the river temperature finally reaches 40 degrees, and walleyes begin actively spawning.

But conditions vary greatly from one side of the river to the other.

“We fish the Canadian side of the river almost exclusively, especially in early spring,” shared Brandon Staton. “The Canadian side tends to be shallower and warmer compared to the American side. We’ll concentrate on mudlines and the darker water out of the current. Pinch points and current lines are always good, and the fishing on the Canadian side can be good in early March, depending on the ice flows.”

Landmarks on the Canadian side where anglers typically find hot ice-out fishing include Amhurst, the hole-in-the-wall, and the swamp.

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