Well today was my brother (bassassin) and I finally made our first LSC trip, and man did it turn out to be awesome...
We launched out of Harley around 6 and initially planned on fishing the St. Clair river channels. By about 7:30 we were both incredibly frustrated because we still had not found the entrance to the northwest channel. I guess the maps we had were a little off...And maybe going from inland lakes to "mini great lakes" we might have had our "scale" a little off. Welll after all that debacle we finally made our way into the canals. Fished for the next 2 and a half hours, throughout the North and middle channels, and had NOTHING. Oh except 1 white bass.. Kinda strange. Did see a massive musky go airborne while making a run so that was kind of cool I suppose..
After completely striking out through the canals and almost losing all confidence in our fishing abilities (are we really about to get skunked on a lake of a million smallmouth?) we decided to head out to the lake and see what we can make happen. It definitely proved worth our while.
Our first spot was about 11 FOW in anchor bay with a sandy/grassy bottom. Water temp I think was 72. After drifting for about 10 minutes we hooked into our first. About a 3lb smallie. We then pulled 8 more off of about a 75 yard box around that area using canadian mist/formula g3 tubes, and a yellow perch DT 16 crankbait.
After that area slowed down we found the exact same pattern just about 500 yards south. First cast with the DT 16, 5lb smallie. Didn't get anymore off that spot though. Moved south about 500 yards again and drifted the same depth and hooked into another school of 8-10 between the both of us? Average being about 2.5 to 3lbs. Did get 2 4lbers in that spot too.
Started to look like a storm may be blowing in so we fished a couple hundred yards north of harley and caught two baby smallies and then called it a day.
I know this post was a little ridiculously long, but I think you can tell my excitement about our first time on St. Clair. I know our quantity isn't nearly as much as some of you guys pull out daily but for us LSC rookies, the quality in that 20 or so was phenomenal.
Can't say enough about the Xtreme bass tackle tubes. The colors are phenomenal and their durability is awesome. Other than changing colors, I think I may have only changed 1 because it got ripped up from the strike. Awesome affordable product.
Okay I'm seriously done now. Awesome lake. Great day of fishing with my brother. Coming back soon.
Mark
Best five went about 20.5lbs. Had a blast out there. Cannnot wait to get out there again. Anybody with any advice on how to catch fish in the dang channels would appreciated? Coudnt believe we could not get a bite in there.
Awesome job guys!
It's a great feeling going someplace new and whacking the fish.
Look for current breaks and eddys.
Don't be afraid to fish deep.
Capt. Wayne calls it "Walleye fishing for Bass". Try and stay vertical with tubes and drop shots.
Good job! That lake was very overwhelming to me on my first few visits. It is a huge body of water, and it is hard for a newbie to pinpoint where to fish.
My first trip was for a DK Open, and I rode with Bass_Cat. I was so excited to finally be on that lake, and I was just ready to go. We left Harley, and headed to Anchor Bay. We ride for a while, and he shuts the boat off. We are in the middle of nowhere. What are we doing? We are fishing here? Why? Shore is that way. It took a while for me to grasp what LSC truly is. You fish spots. Spots in the middle of nowhere. It is a marvelous body of water. I would trade Muskegon and White for it any day!
PM me and I will give you some insight to what's up in the river. Although there are still good fish in the lake, the channels have been on fire. If you've fished the Detroit River for bass, the St. Clair River isn't much different. Same techniques do put fish in the boat in either river.
BD ;D
I PMd you with some info. Hope it helps.