cameraguy and I tackle Lake St. Clair again 8-9-2017

[djkimmel]

Wednesday morning, August 9, 2017 I hopped in cameraguy's new Ranger Boat for another crack at the big one - Lake St. Clair (and big smallmouth bass)!! I had asked generically for tips, upsetting a few people as doing so always does but receiving a number of overall generic tips that broke down basically into 2 varieties - 1) moderately deep (2 ranges) on the Michigan Mile Roads; and 2) more tips suggesting quite a few square miles along the South Shore also in a couple depth ranges.

Part of the reason I asked was maybe a sort of 'social' experiment - I get asked for spots and tips about certain lakes all the time... I pretty much base my level of help on who is asking and particularly how helpful the person is in posting on this website (just seems fair to me). I also asked because I've seen it is a 'different' lake out there again this year and I haven't been there since the spawn.

cameraguy decided we should stop along the Mile Roads first since it is a lot closer. I didn't fight the decision because we had a few tips including one person who gave a specific spot to try (THANK YOU!!). Though I can't remember for sure now (maybe cameraguy will come along and help my poor memory??) I think we actually stopped and fished a shallower spot for old time's sake but got 0 bites or clues towards any bass nearby. Then we headed deep along the Mile Roads.


Just cannot get away from these %#$@! pike no matter where I go!! grrrrr... I was throwing the 'pike killer' color though - a Strike King 5XD in green gizzard shad! So, we stop way out in deep water on the Mile Roads and after only a handful of casts - to limber up with a crankbait - I get wailed on by a moderately large pike!! I just cannot escape them this year!!!

We gave several spots and stretches a good try along the Mile Roads without making anything exciting happen... with the winds light and somewhat Southerly we decided to take the plunge and run all the way to the South Shore. cameraguy says where do you want to go? I pull out my handheld GPS and look at what I have marked in the 'archives.' I see an ancient waypoint to a spot deep out between Pikes Creek and Belle River Hump and stab my finger at it saying right there! Why not? It was just a place to start.

We stop on the waypoint and start fishing. With the water being up this year we're in over 17 feet to almost 18 with scattered thicker weeds. At the time there was almost no wind but there's always some current down there whether you notice it or not.

cameraguy starts trolling us around looking for something, anything. I want to improve my still relatively weak drop shot skills but being still early in the day I need to limber up some more so I pick up one of my primary confidence lures for smallmouth bass just about anywhere - the 4 inch Xtreme Bass Tackle Formula G3! I guess you could say it's my favorite color overall.

I have on a really nice 60 degree fat tube head in 3/8 oz size (Kustom Kicker Jigs Fat Boy) which cameraguy thinks is heavy though again, we're in almost 18 fow - I probably should have started with 1/2 oz!! I start making long casts and doing what I prefer - some variation of snap-jigging! I'm limbering up as I say.

In this case, I'm short-hopping the tube constantly on a slack to semi-slack line, keeping it moving though the idea in this case is to imitate the short little darting moves of a goby along the bottom. If you've ever seen gobies in action then you know what I'm talking about. This technique was taught to me in the original Phil Smathers TriState Bass days long ago though before gobies even showed up in our waters.


The bass approved apparently as I felt weight and set the hook into this little almost keeper smallmouth bass! Boy, until you hook one again, you forget how hard all of these Lake St. Clair smallmouth bass fight!!! Sure felt good!


The first bass was a clue but shortly after not far away I hook a small keeper doing the same thing! Now I'm thinking I'm doing exactly what I need to be doing right now!! cameraguy is happy for me... (actually, maybe like all of us he just wanted to smack some LSC smallmouth bass too!!! Can you blame him?!?)


POW! BAM! Two Fists of Fury! My two biggest Lake St. Clair smallies - both caught short-hopping the Xtreme Bass Tackle Formula G3 on a 3/8 oz 2K Jigs tube jig in ~18 fow! Took the advice of several of you! Pulled up an ancient waypoint from my archives and commenced to catching some! My best 5 went over 19. Lost 2 more bigguns, and saw a whopper bust some little minnows shortly after seeing a 'FREAK MONSTER' do the same!! Did I try to catch those beasts hard... Yes I did! Well... Maybe tomorrow!?! Be right back out there!!

The above picture makes a longer story shorter... I'm not completely sure what I was doing but every little bit I'd feel weight or plain get whacked hard, set the hook and it's the big one Elizabeth!!! What a freakin' blast to start whacking 4+ smallies again!!! The only thing that was bothering me (well 2 things) - I lost some big bass and couldn't get several top-busting bass to hit; and cameraguy was quietly, peacefully, going nuts watching me whack them!!! I felt bad... I really did... honest.


Whacked another mini-toad later in the morning! Same tube. Same technique. Same depth. Further east though. We just ran a couple minutes and then stopped saying 'lets try here!' Things are going right for you when you randomly stop and catch some more including some good ones!! I actually saw the freak monster come up busting tiny minnows near this spot, and also saw the tiny minnows start skipping and flashing in another spot right before a 5+ smashed through them. We tried hard to get bit some more here but the fishing was slower though obviously, some real good bass where nearby. Also tried drop shots a fair amount just in case though I was slowly, steadily, persistently, annoyingly, relentlessly trying to talk cameraguy into putting on one of my Xtreme Bass Formula G3 tubes too!


I think it was when I whacked this chunky 3+ bass on the Formula G3 tube that cameraguy's determination and willpower finally collapsed and he said throw me a few of those Formula G3 tubes!! I thought about saying I was using my last one... but I didn't. I tossed the pack up and he took a few to be fully prepared for the afternoon smackdown!!


A couple interesting things happened then... well, maybe 3? We headed back to the original area and the wind had kicked up enough to be felt while coming out of the SE so we were being pushed a different direction. cameraguy put on a Formula G3 tube (not sure what weight or tubehead type??) and because he's 'old school' (having missed the braid and Fluorocarbon revolution I guess ) and he was still using monofilament (yes I KNOW - the horror!!!) he started snapping his new tube pretty aggressively though not real long snaps, and you know what things started happening to him!!! I was so happy for him! (I call this picture the 'doh! why didn't I switch over a couple hours ago!!' picture)


cameraguy actually started returning the whooping on me! I disgustingly broke off on a very solid feeling fish - hate that so much!!! - and tied on a different tube jighead. It changed the action of my tube too much so I started missing more fish, not getting quality bites and my action slowed way down. I was still short-hopping too and I think with the wind increase and direction change that was no longer the thing to do for reasons only the bass know (and they ain't talkin'!!).

Though he wasn't whacking 4-pounders like I had earlier, he was getting a bunch of real nice 3-pounders along with some 2s and smaller also. I was missing and losing fish, and playing with dinks for the moment... I even had one bass on 7 TIMES all the way to the boat where I actually saw it was a little dink. Still, I pulled the tube right out of its mouth!!! grrrrr...


Ole 'Grizzly' Gomez was definitely on a tear later in the afternoon when the calm turned to a stiffer breeze from the SE and a more aggressive snap-jigging started to work. Maybe he'd have caught me if we stayed out a couple more hours (and maybe I'd have 'run out' if those Formula G3 tubes?!  )


Another fat keeper for cameraguy on his afternoon Lake St. Clair South Shore hot streak with the Formula G3 tube!


Another nice South Shore tube bass for cameraguy.

I think at the very end I finally hooked a few and had 2 or 3 decent ones on similar in size to cameraguys but I was losing them part way in or on jumps, and then it was time to go... darn. Don't you hate 'time to go?' Yes, me too...

Still, my best non-spawning bass day of 2017 on Lake St. Clair with at least 19 pounds, maybe near 20 for my best 5 and would have been easily have gone over 20, so I'm very happy!!! Whacked them all on tubes too, which don't work anymore, right?? cameraguy ended up pretty happy too with easily over 15 pounds, maybe 16+ - we never weighed any of his fish and you know how deceiving these smallies can be??

I did weigh my 3 of my biggest and they went 4-12, 4-6 and 4-4. I believe I had one other 4-pounder, so actually, I may have been just over 20 pounds for the day! A good day... hope for some more soon!!

[21XDC]

Nice report and fish... 

Don't be scared to use up to 1oz. 

[djkimmel]

I'm not. I have 1/2, 3/4 and 1 oz. Maybe some bigger even... I've poured some experimental larger hooks and heads that I work my way through. I have a 1/2 oz and 3/8 oz tied on to start with tomorrow, though I also have a couple drop shot rigs tied on because I want to keep working on that too. It seems like Michigan bass like drop shots better... just seems that way anyways.

[GlennD]

Great job guys !! Looks like you found em !!

[djkimmel]

We did that day... been kind of downhill (to horrible the last trip... ) for us since for some reason...