With this amazing November 2010 week of gorgeous weather we've had, cameraguy and I were lucky enough to go out again on our bass paradise - Lake St. Clair. This time, no messing around or leaving anything to chance.
The decision to go again was easy to make when Lake St. Clair 5-bass tournament record holder (29.68 pounds in the October 2010 Monterquest) Scott Dobson called and said, "let's go fishing!" Yup! Easy. About as close to guaranteed in fishing as you can get right now!
So Thursday morning we all met at the St. Clair Metro Beach ramp and headed out into a chilly, but abnormally calm and quiet lake.
What a gorgeous day! The weather turned very warm and the winds allowed one to run anywhere in a hurry - though a trillion gallons of water under 50F didn't make that something you want to do at full speed for too long in the morning and evening.
cameraguy brought all the good stuff and Scott was kind enough to record a number of great tips throughout the day that we can share with you from someone who is making winning with big bass a habit!
While we wait for the real pics and video of the amazing action from cameraguy (are you done yet? ;D), we did stop for a few minutes to snap one picture of cameraguy with his own 5+ Lake St. Clair tank smallmouth bass.
(http://www.greatlakesbass.com/images/cameraguy-big-lake-stclair-fall-smallmouth-bass.jpg)
Just look at THAT BELLY!! (The bass, not cameraguy ;D)
He actually could not stand watching us slamming the hooks home into so many bass in a row - tons of doubles! Tons!! So cameraguy took some breaks, catching a few fat toads and lots of total quality smallmouth bass! We even had some triples!!
But much of the time, cameraguy was doing his job, rolling tape to catch so many doubles and big, fat, fall smallmouth bass that I can't wait to see some video - relive it all over again!! These bass are really stuffing themselves for the winter right now. Some of the bellies were ridiculous!!
Scott Dobson really smoked 'em and put us on the bass so good that my forearm is burning this morning. Thumb is stiff and raw, and my palm aches from lipping and hoisting so many FAT, FAT, MUSCULAR fall bass!! I can't even imagine how many we caught, but the numbers alone of 3 and 4 pounders were amazing. Each of us busted the 5 pound mark. I think Scott and cameraguy had 2 or more each, but I wonder...? As fat and beefed up as these bass were... how many of those '4-pounders' were actually over 5?!?
Tubes, drop shot and some blade baits were all you needed in that 45 to 49F water. In fact, it is by far and away the best blade bait day I have ever had. I didn't best my personal big smally that I caught Tuesday night with cameraguy, also on the big lake, but the sheer numbers of 2 to almost 5-pounders has no equal in my fishing past!
I started out on a hot run with an Xtreme Bass Tackle St. Clair Crayfish tube early and probably caught more on XBT tubes throughout the day - my biggest 5+ for the day and a number of 3 to 4+ bass came later in the day on a drop shot Nemesis goby - the large size in green pumpkin! I caught a good number of bass midday on the blade bait, but later in the day, when the bass started jumping a lot more, I committed to the blade bait for a while and WOW!!! That's all I can say.
Either Scott, or I would almost constantly have a solid to big bass on. And probably about a third of the time, we had doubles!! We missed or lost many bass, though they would often come back and get it again. Even the blade bait!
Can you ask for any more?!? We are spoiled. I am spoiled! What an amazing fishery!! What a great state and region!!
These past two weeks of fall bass fishing up north and on the Great Lakes by myself, with cameraguy, Mike Nolan and Scott Dobson, have cemented in my mind again why mid to late fall is my favorite time to bass fish our fantastic waters!!
The culmination is this beautiful, abnormal November weather and the crazy, arm-burning day of bass gluttony with Scott Dobson!! Thank you so much Scott! I can't wait to see some of the pictures and video, and I hope all of you enjoy it too and get something out of the various tips we'll present as we get them edited.
Thinking about it, I can ask for more, but if I don't get anymore good fall fishing this 2010 season, it has been a GREAT fall fishing season!!! I hope all of you are getting out and creating more of your own fall fishing memories!
I don't remember if we zeroed in on any of the bellies in the pics, but one bass cameraguy caught had a belly so fat that it would fill both of my hands!! That's one FAT bass! Don't think they were in shape though. They fought like crazy, bulldogging for the bottom early before taking to the sky repeatedly later in the day.