New to St. Clair...help

[mchesney]

Howdy all,
  Finally got a boat that I can take out to the bigger water but I have no idea where to start. Are the advertised products on this site good....marked maps, no secrets, etc. It's hard not to be skeptical! Is it feasible for a new person to learn the lake well enough after a couple of years to try tournamnts there?
Also kind of interested in trying for walleye on the rive. Again, never been there, never caught a walleye, etc! Wouldn't even know what to use!
I've always been a largemouth fisherman, mostly in FL but the last few years here in MI. I live out by Jackson and have been doing OK in local tournaments but now I'm looking to try bigger water. Everyone talks about the SM fishery we're blessed to have so I figured I better start. Also, I only have 1 spinning reel/rod...rest are baitcasters. Do you really need spinning gear for SC?
My apologies for the long post and many thanks in advance. I've been lurking here for sometime

Mike

[djkimmel]

Nothing replaces time on time on the water, but the Marked Maps equal several seasons of hardcore work on the water, and the books also contain many good spots and a lot of good information on how to apply your efforts on the St. Clair system. I've been involved in the products for a long time. If they were no good, I wouldn't have them on here.

Tournaments out there are extremely competitive. How soon you become competitive will have some to do with how much time you can put in and how much you already know about bigwater smallies. You'll want to be catching 20+ pound stringers pretty regularly out there to be real competitive in any of the bigger events.

Hopefully, some others will chime in on some of your other questions too.

[t-bone]

I'll tackle the walleye question because I was like you about 7 years back. I wanted to try walleye and didn't have a clue.

Here is all you need for walleye:
- 6-8lb line
- MH rod - any type of reel
- ball headed jigs, get a selection of colors from plain to bright and a selection of weights from - 1/4 oz to 3/4 oz
- get some different color grubs and some small worms
- if the bite is tough, you'll want to tip your artificial baits with either a piece of night crawler or a minnow. If the bite is on, the live bait will just bring in the other species and make it harder to target walleye (you can catch all kinds of stuff and is fun but you might get tired of it too)

The technique is to vertically jig. You want your line to be completely straight down as much as possible. So you start a drift with the current and you'll use your trolling motor to counter the effect the wind is having on your boat. Watch your line, if it starts leaning towards the back or front of the boat, use less trolling motor or more trolling motor to get it back to straight down. Boat control will take some time to get this right, you'll catch more fish when you've mastered this. I good way to do this is point your bow into the wind, watch you line and use the trolling motor to head into the wind as it pushes you faster than the current.

You need to feel the bottom with your jig, drop it down and make sure you can feel the bottom. Use the lightest weight you can get away with and still feel the bottom. Remember that boat control and keeping the line straight down will help you use the lightest weighted jig.

Now you need to find out what the walleyes want. It will either be a slow or hard pop off the bottom. Pull the jig off the bottom and drop it back down till you feel it hit again. Try to stay in contact with your bait. The bite typically happens on the fall but you probably won't feel it. You'll know when you go to pop it off the bottom and there is weight, then a nice head shake, then fillets on the grill!

Regarding the spinning reel question for bass. A big technique for smallies on St. Clair is to drop shot worms, leeches, gobies, minnows, etc. To do this effectively, you'll need light line and that will always work better with a spinning reel. You can use your bait caster for power techniques which will have a time and place for sure.

[Bender]

Make sure the check out the EBA: http://www.greatlakesbass.com/forum/index.php?topic=1620.0
The schedule is all big water this year: http://www.greatlakesbass.com/forum/index.php?topic=5430.0
It's a free club and would be a great way to get some experience out there.

[csfishslayer]

If you want a guide around the lake I can shoe you all the local spots. PM me if your interested

[WayneC]

Being in a bass fishing club is a great way to accomplish many of the things you mention all at once.  Competition at the club level can be fierce at times but it's mostly for fun and being in club tournaments doesn't break the bank.  I would recommend a back seat position for the first year.  That way you can fish with a lot of different anglers and see how they manage their tournament day.  Starting as a boat owner in the club can make sense on many levels but there is an assumption that the boat owner has more experience and even that little bit of pressure can limit your growth and take some of the fun out of the learning curve.

Bender has a great option too with the style of tournaments he mentioned.

There was a time when I only had one spinning rod on my boat for Lake St. Clair and the other nine were baitcasting.  Going out with what you have confidence with is always a good strategy, then adjust to presentations as needed.  That's how I gravitated toward having a few spinning rods around.  Here's what I use them for:

Wayne's spinning rod lineup

7' - 7' 6" Drop-shot rod
6' 6" Wacky rigged X-worm rod
7' - 7' 6" Rod for lightweight (1/8, 3/16) tube presentations/float 'n fly

Hope this helps

[motocross269]

Wayne, Have you had much luck on LSC with the float and fly??  I use what I call an adaptation of that for my 6 year old daughter...Small hair jig, small plastic trailer, and a small slip bobber...She has caught quite a few doing this...White seems to work the best..With the drastic increase in the price of minnows it has worked out as a great alternative for my kids...

[fiker]

Mchesney.  I live in Dexter.  I don't have a big water boat, but I've been on Clair a time or two. I, like Bender am also a member of the EBA.  It's just a bunch of guys that fish together.  No money involved to join, or fish with us.  Those of us that don't have boats, chip in for gas.  The guys with boats, have been more than generous sharing what they have. 
I'd be glad to hook up with you sometime and show you a few spots. 
May I suggest fishing with us on the 25th.  With luck, we'll be on bedding fish, and let me tell you it's a blast.  Fifty fish 1/2 days can be the average kind of day when the bite is on. 
I try and get down there at least once a week when I can.  It really is a fantastic place. 

[Lightningboy]

I'll give a big A++ to Wayne's marked map series & books.  They're an excellent way to learn your way around St. Clair.

Another good source is Kim Sticker's smallmouth series.  They really help you understand smallmouth movement.

Getting a hook up with some St. Clair anglers can be icing on the cake.  You really don't need specific information, just kinda getting the word on what section of the lake and how deep. 

Pick a section of lake where the bite has been on, and use your maps as a guide to explore that section of the lake.  Over a little time you'll learn some of the seasonal patterns.

I mainly use two spinning rods for the Great lakes.  One is a 7-9 tube rod loaded with 8-10# fluoro for dragging & casting tubes.  Other is a 7 ft ML DS rod, with 6# fluoro; obviously to drop shot gobies.  At times you'll be able to use your baitcasters for other techniques like jerks or cranks, but a tube or grub on a football jig & a DS are your main weapons.

One example of the advantages of spinning for some techniques is catching "followers" on St. Clair.  The SM are very competitive out there, when you've got one on the line there are probably followers.  Plus they're usually bigger.  With a tube on a spinning rod you can time a fish at the boatside, and drop quickly to catch them.  More often than not, you will convert.

Watch the NOAA weather like a hawk.  You've never seen so many big smallies, but getting home safe comes first.

(one big hint: Nemesis gobies.  SHHHHH!)

[Skulley]

I would like to suggest that you buy Combat Bassfishings Marked Map Series #1 and #2.  They are excellent in getting started out in Lake St. Clair.  Captain Wayne Carpenter has done an excellent job over the years taking data and turning that data into useful information for the tournament angler as well as the weekend angler.  I have been fishing out on St. Clair since I was a kid and I know a lot of spots.  But I learned these spots because they have been handed down to me from my uncle who use to fish the lake religiously.  Then I add the Marked Map Series to that and there is no reason why I shouldn't catch a fish out there on any given day.  The Marked Map Series #1 and #2 are a great investment and you won't be sorry that you purchased them.  I own both series and find that the information is priceless when applied to the spots I have been fishing for years.

I do agree with djkimmel in that there is no better way to learn than spending time on the water.  Even with the Marked Map Series you still will have to spend time out there.  The Marked Map Series is an excellent way for the "rookie" St. Clair angler to start and not waste a lot of fishless days.  With that I wish you good luck and Bass Wishes for a productive season on St. Clair.  I know we'll see you out there.


BD           

[mchesney]

Thanks for all the suggestions...I'm very interested in the EBA tournaments! I won't be able to make the opener but the rest of them work pretty well with my schedule. Would it be best to start as a non-boater with the goup? I have a 201 Stratos if more boats are needed.
Fiker...I'll take ya up on your offer! Maybe doing some of the EBA days?

Think I'll also invest in the marked map series and perhaps book some time with a guide as well. Do you guide Wayne?

Again, thanks for all the replies and see ya out there soon!

[WayneC]

Thanks for asking and yes I do guide out on Lake St. Clair and inland waters.  Feel free to call me at (877) 485-2223 in the evenings and we can see what it is you want to do with your day. 

You might want to read this post with a discussion about guides and about what I have to offer, if you haven't already:

http://www.greatlakesbass.com/forum/index.php?topic=5160.0

Thanks...Wayne

[fiker]

I too own all of Wayne's books, and both complete sets of marked maps.  They have more than paid for themselves in gas money alone.  Not to mention, time, #'s of fish etc.

I'm by no means an expert, and I don't know Erie at all, but I can get you started on Clair.


Especially in the Spring. 
Mile roads..... blue/chrome rattle trap...... pink zoom fluke..... and my favorite of all time, a 5" Canadian Mist tube!