Who has fished the Saginaw and the Detroit River? How do they compare?

I'll give the best answer I can as to the difference of the two. Strictly fishing. Not talking about the traffic, or the boat launches, or the number of people. There are all ways around that (especially the launch issues) but not something to post in a public forum!

As for the fishing difference! Well, in Detroit, be prepared to lose jigs. It is the nature of the beast. It is dependant on the location you fish (some areas are way worse than others) but you will lose more equipment in Detroit vice Saginaw. Yes, you use heavier equipment. Reason is because of the current BUT also because of the depth in some locations (coupled with the current).

Started in the lower river (Trenton) you are dealing with waters to around 15 feet (there is a hole towards the end but that is average). There is a ton (actually more than a ton) of debris on the bottom. Old concrete, rebar, old cars, even Jimmy Hoffa's body! Lots of guys use 5/8oz jigs here.

Moving up towards the steel mills (Mid river to a lot of people) your water gets deeper. You have more of a muck/sand bottom. Less snags in general in some areas and 3/4oz is the primary weight. Further up the water gets deeper (towards the ambssador bridge). You get a few different bottoms and depths are deeper so guys tend to fish bigger jigs (1oz).

Baits are generally the same for Detroit and Saginaw. I'm not a tent pole/broom stick fisherman so I don't fish with short rods and braided line. I do enjoy to actually fight the fish. As for fish quality... No comparrison. IF you are looking to get in to 10 plus pound fish on an average basis, look no further. For me, I don't keep them. They just don't taste good. I have no desire to put them on my wall. 8lbs is my max and even that is too big. I've had days were I threw back 19 fish because they were over the size requirement (for me). Actually only brought back 14 fish that day for three of us... That being said, in my opinion, I would rather eat a Saginaw bay/River fish. Not sure why, but the taste is a lot different. The last couple years I've given away all of my Detroit river fish. Just a taste I do not like (again, my preference).

For Saginaw, you have a tendancy to catch a lot of fish. Not all of them meet the size limit but that is part of the fun. One difference I do notice between the two bodies of water. In Saginaw you seem to have a tendancy to get more fish to actually SLAM, or hit your bait. Might be because there are a lot of fish and they are competing for forage. In Detroit, there are days (not all of them) that the bight is more of a "lift" bite. Meaning the fish sucks it in and you lift him off the bottom. Again, not all days.

Another difference in Saginaw is that you can do multiple things. You can cast or pitch jigs, throw some crank baits, even troll. Not the case in Detroit.

Hope that is more what you were looking for.

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Who has fished the Saginaw and the Detroit River? How do they compare?