Lake St. Clair Bass Fishing Reports

[WayneC]

09-01-2014

September gets off to a good start with at least one smallmouth over four pounds (4lbs 6oz). We get this one in the St. Clair River on a five inch St. Clair Goby NFT™ tube in less than five feet of water. In fact, we got all of our best fish in five feet of water or less today; Lake or river.

In the river there are decent populations of smallmouth in the 20 to 30 foot range on select spots. Schools are small in number but on underwater video we are seeing a few tournament quality smallmouth mixed in those schools. Moving baits at the speed of the current is getting us the smaller bite. I recommend holding the boat steady in the current over a spot in the drift that holds bass, casting the bait out in front of the boat, let the bait drift back, tight line it then wait for the bite (salmon fishing for bass).

Shallow Lake patterns on sand/cabbage or sand/bulrush combinations require 100 casts per fish in most instances but there is some weight to be had. Spinnerbaits worked just fine but a baitfish imitating tube (in this case Xtreme Bass Tackle™ Alewife™) cast around the cover or even out in the open brought the best numbers per cast.

Marked Map™ owners will see the exact spots that we fish on the Marked Maps Live!™ service.

For information on the Marked Maps HD Complete™ chart book:
http://basstothefuture.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/410-lake-st-clair-bass-fishing-spots-in-marked-maps-hd-complete/

For information on the Marked Maps Live!™ service:
http://basstothefuture.wordpress.com/2012/06/22/lake-st-clair-fishing-reports-pouring-in-to-marked-maps-live/

To purchase Xtreme Bass Tackle™ products:
www.xtremebasstackle.com

[WayneC]

09/07/2014

The Lake is still producing four pound class smallmouth in good numbers. If you are out pre-fishing for a tournament or just plain fishing and hook up with one of these quality bass it's likely that there are more in the area. It's possible to find a "spot" and load up with a big sack but the percentages on getting five solid smallies is higher with "area" fishing. That means picking out a zone in the Lake and working it by drifting or moving from spot-to-spot within an area.

St. Clair River fishing can be terrific if you are in the right place at the right time. We are starting to slide in to fall patterns and that means that a spot can be hot one day, off for the next then hot again. There's no way to know unless you check the spot on the day you are out there. For all the river spots that I hit in a given week there is only one that I have confidence in to deliver a five pound class smallie. Even on that spot I only expect to see a bass like that in one of every three trips.

For more on Lake St. Clair and what works, see the blog: www.basstothefuture.com

[WayneC]

09/09/2014

In the Lake, smallmouth are collecting around groups of other species of fish. On this trip we caught drum, walleye, hooked a sturgeon, had jumping sturgeon and musky all around us and caught smallmouth too. It can be as simple as finding the multi-species boats and begin to drift with them.

Other groups of smallmouth go unnoticed and finding them requires hours if not days of practice time to locate. Once you locate them you can track them for weeks by understanding their seasonal patterns of movement.

For purposes of comparison I put this 4 lb. 5 oz. smallmouth (caught on Xtreme St. Clair Goby NFT drop-shot tube) next to a keeper smallmouth. It helps to see the bass to scale and how awesome a healthy Lake St. Clair Smallmouth can be.

To order Xtreme Bass Tackle baits go to: www.xtremebasstackle.com

[WayneC]

09/17/2014

We have definitely entered the "change over" period for Lake St. Clair. Since the Lake doesn't stratify it doesn't "turn over" but it does goes through a period of adjustment where the bass can't seem to tell if it is summer or fall. It started last week and will probably last into next.

It's not unusual to be on top of fish but not get them to bite. Today I hit 25 spots and only caught bass on two.

[WayneC]

09-18-2014

To compensate for a weak bite and shifting conditions during this period go after shallow river and channel structure. On a short day we were able to put together a good sack with our top four smallmouth at 3 lb 15 oz, 4 lb 2 oz, 4 lb 6oz and 4 lb 9 oz by pounding away at seawalls, wood and shallow flats next to deep water.

[WayneC]

09-19-2014

Found some signs of life out in the Lake today. It wasn't the strong fall bite yet but we ran in to schools on three different spots. At one point got bit, missed the fish, dropped the St. Clair Crayfish tube back down and he took it.

Water quality is better than it was two days ago.

[WayneC]

09-20-2014

Strong SW winds changed the bite from what it has been over the last four days. The bite on Lake spots changed to the point where we have to spend considerable time locating the schools again. There was still a bite in the river however but we had to work hard to isolate the structures that were holding bass.

We are seeing some fall aggression from the smallies and the largemouth. When we catch some smallmouth other smallies are chasing it up to boat to take the bait away. The reaction bite is very strong for the largemouth.

[gmetime24]

Great reports. How long would you say the strong fall bite lasts on St Clair??

[WayneC]

Great question...here is the short answer:

Theoretically it can go right to the end of the season at December 31st. The purpose of the exaggeration is because it is more accurate to work backwards from that date than to go forwards from this point. Most of it depends on how fast the frigid weather rolls in, some of it on shorter days and light levels.

One of the key characteristics to this period is to watch how long the water keeps its' color. That is...how long the algae stays suspended and keeps the water some version of green. You'll know that the end game is near when the water turns to clear with blue coloring.

My guess is that your question is more to the point about what is going to happen over the next two weeks. In that case the fall bite traditionally lasts through the end of October and in most cases, into November.

[gmetime24]

Thanks a lot for your answer. Really good info there!! I'm trying to figure out the fall bite on the Great Lakes this year. It was on fire for the first 3 weeks of September. This last week was a grind tho. The water in the saginaw bay went from 69 to 59 in the last week. The bite got tough and the numbers we were catching went way down. I had a feeling we were still catching the summer patterns in the first few weeks of the month. Then that water dropped in temps and it almost feels like the fish got a little sloppy when they would bite. Maybe they take a short break before putting the fall feed bags on?? Maybe they need time to adjust to the water temp changing so fast. I know one thing I can't wait to get back out and try some things

[WayneC]

Perfect! You just described the transition period to a "T."

A little colder up there so you are most likely running at least a week and possibly up to three weeks ahead of us in Lake St. Clair. Our temps in the Lake dipped below 60 degrees for a day or two then came back up into the 60's.

Your post: "Maybe they take a short break before putting the fall feed bags on??"

Right on again. I call it the "change over" period because we don't have stratification in Lake St. Clair so there is no "turn over." The bass don't seem to know whether it is summer or fall and appear confused. They do snap out of it and when they do, we have the highest recorded weights of the season.

For more on Lake St. Clair visit my free blog at:www.basstothefuture.com

[gmetime24]

Awesome. I can't wait to get back on the water. Thanks again for your info

[WayneC]

09-16-2014

In the Lake the bite is back "on" and the smallies are schooling up in fall patterns. On one spot we had over 20 three pound smallies follow our hooked bass back to the boat. A lot of the bites were light or swimming pickups that made it difficult to get a solid hookset. In that case it's good to put pressure on the bass by lifting the rod or by reeling in, then set the hook.

Bait color is still in play and can make the difference in your catch. Our best smallmouth came after "speed loading" through tube colors until they bit Mayfly (fished wings down).

For a free blog on "speed loading" tubes click here: http://basstothefuture.wordpress.com/2010/07/06/how-to-fish-a-tube-bait-speed-loading/

If you are going out this weekend there is fog in the forecast. Today we were fishing clear conditions in the north part of the Lake then ran in to a fog bank on the way to the South Shore. The fog covered the south part of the Lake and lasted in part, until 2pm.

[WayneC]

Fall bite patterns are definitely in play. It's that time of year when a water temperature of 55 degrees seems warm. Smallies are schooling up and feeding hard. The trick is to be where they are at on any given day.

Deep water is a safe bet to fish when locating these schools. A deep flat that has some kind of relationship to a major piece of structure can keep you on fish all day long.

The shallows can load up as well. A shallow break that still has some weed on it is likely to hold smallies.

When all else fails there are always largemouth to fall back on. As the weeds die down on shallow flats the largemouth become easier to catch. If it looks like they are not going to chase, work something slow down in the weeds.

[WayneC]

It looks like the weather is finally breaking. It will be good to get some relief from the constant barrage of east and north winds that have been buffeting the U.S. shoreline. Cold and unstable weather normally comes with those weather patterns and that can keep the bite down.

This weekend the bite should continue to pick up as it has this Friday. If you were looking for an optimum day to get out on Lake St. Clair I would pick Monday or Tuesday. That gets you as close as possible to the next front that is coming through.

The white bass have begun to show up. They tend to focus on moving presentations so keeping baits on the bottom might keep you on more smallmouth.

Overall we had a tough day today checking out spots up and down the U.S. shoreline but Jeff Ferraiuolo got on a roll with 3 and 4 pounders just before we left.

For more about our trip and Lake St. Clair bass fishing see the report at: www.stclairreport.com

[WayneC]

For all practical purposes, the bass spawn is pretty much completed on Lake St. Clair. That's not to say that you can't find spawning bass but the "main body" spawn has played out and we are chasing down post-spawn bass.

What that means is that it takes a lot more work to fill the boat with the same type of overall weight as it did a week ago (numbers are not a problem).

Pete VanVianen and I spent the day on June 2nd cruising the U.S. shoreline from Anchor Bay to the Mile Roads and found pretty much the same conditions. We were able to attack the outside edges of weedlines with lightweight tubes, the wacky rig and jerbait to put together a pretty good day. We would have had 20 lbs in five fish (we caught about 60 total).

You can also tell that the bass spawn is coming to a close by the numbers of pregnant rock bass that are being caught.

See more about the current conditions and more at http://stclairreport.com/

[WayneC]

The bite has shifted dramatically to a solid post-spawn pattern. We have been able to locate better quality smallmouth off the first significant break from shore. Numbers are no problem but you might have to be more patient with size.

Look for the bass to be still relative to their spawning areas. It will be awhile yet before they begin to settle into summer patterns.

For more info plus video's about how we are catching them on the Lake right now go to: www.stclairreport.com

[WayneC]

It's official...the post-spawn period on Lake St. Clair is officially over! We know this because reports are coming in from all over about big bass being caught and anglers able to put together patterns to catch these fish.

So far the winds have been a problem for the many anglers who are pre-fishing for one of the many tournaments out there this weekend. Saturday winds are supposed to die down and shift to the north then Sunday, they will kick up again and blow hard from the south. Some of these tournaments are two day events and it will make for some tricky logistics.

We checked out several major spots in the St. Clair River below Fawn Island and things were very slow. We had no bites at all on several of the spots.

Where we really got on the bass was in the shallows in Walpole. It was a solid bite with aggressive fish. If you want to see how we did go to: http://stclairreport.com/lake-st-clair-bass-report-07-13-2016-wayne-carpenter-randy-forszt/

You can also go to my YouTube channel, @stclairbass and see all the fishing report videos for this year.

From here out look for the bass to get more presentation and color selective but once you find the pattern, stay on it and you should be rewarded. The smallies are on the move and a lot of summer spots are starting to fill up! Have a great weekend!

[WayneC]

The bite really picked up a week ago and there are more consistent numbers of four pound class smallmouth to be had. Look for key spots to hold more bass than they have been during the summer months.

We aren't into fall patterns yet, so a good place to start is to being working your summer patterns, then branch out on the bite from there. Soon we will be approaching the "change over" period, but we aren't there yet. Lake temperatures in the 73 degree range are still being recorded. That should change soon as daytime temps fall into the 60's and more importantly, nighttime temps fall.

The Detroit River is holding a lot of smallmouth, and has for the last couple of months. We hit six spots and found two of those filled with quality fish.

Go here for my latest video on Lake St. Clair bass fishing:

[WayneC]

We were able to take advantage of some fine October weather and get out on the Lake. Low to moderate winds made it possible for us to go wherever we wanted to on the big water.

The water was clear to 12 feet on the Canadian side. That's where we got onto to a nice school of fall smallies.

It looks like the smallmouth bite on the Detroit is just going to keep on rolling!

We did poorly on several St. Clair River channel spots that we tried.

For more on our day plus baits that we used, go to: http://stclairreport.com/lake-st-clair-bass-report-10-06-2016-wayne-carpenter-jeff-ferraiuolo/