Got out with my good friend Bob620 on Friday and had a wonderful morning on St. Clair. Since we both have our Ontario licenses, we headed right for the shoals on the South Shore and started fishing it in about 10 FOW. Here the shoals have a ton of contour. One moment you're in 10 FOW, the next 7. It's a great piece of St. Clair structure that stretches for quite a distance. There were two main presentations that worked well. Bob threw a crankbait most of the morning and caught them a little better than I did working a dropshot. I managed one on a spinnerbait and one on a BoogieBait, but that one broke off right at the boat. But with those baits, the fish seemed to want to follow it to the boat rather than attack it. The fish were all over the crankbait though. I'm guessing the crank was a 10XD or something to that effect. The key was ticking it off the tops of the weeds.
On the dropshot, I tried several different baits and the fish were very specific about what they would bite. They only wanted a dark colored 2.5 dropshot tube. They didn't want the Jackall Pintail, goby baits, minnow imitators, just the DSTube.
If you get the chance and want numbers of smallies, the bite is good right now on this structure. There is nice current through the area and the weed growth isn't too bad yet. It's not far from Askin's, but East of it.
Most everything we caught were keepers with some 3s mixed in. We never got into the big 4 and 5lbers, but we found good numbers of fish and had a great time. By 9 the wind kicked up bigtime though and shut the fishing down for a bit. We were in good control of the boat, but the sudden change in weather did something funky to the bass. It was like a switch had been turned off. We tried changing our presentations, speeds, etc, but struggled to get it going again. After a while the wind started to subside and the fishing did pick up again, but I was to perform the wedding ceremony rehearsal of Anthony and Jaye Adams that evening, so I had to get off the water early. I'm sure the bigger fish are nearby, probably a little deeper, so I intend to keep working this area.
The best part of the day was hanging out with Bob. Bob is a fantastic guy and a good friend. We haven't fished together in quite a while, but it was like we picked up where we left off. It was great conversation with a great guy and even if we hadn't caught a single bass, it would have been a wonderful morning. Oh yeah, and that new Ranger is SWEEEEEET!
Didn't get any pics that morning, but if anyone wants help locating the area, PM me. I don't think you see the shoals on any map.
Tom,thanks for the kind words,it is always a pleasure to fish and hang out with you my good friend.I have 4 days vacation left, so lets do Friday.I will call you later on.
Bob620
As always.... great report Tom. :)