Today was a great reminder of why I fish. It wasn't because I got a 25lb bag, won any prizes, or caught 100 fish. It was a great day because after a very long and difficult week, I got to get out with a heck of a nice guy, enjoy near perfect weather, a beautiful sunrise, plenty of fish caught, and great conversation with a new friend.
Yeah, that's fishing. Thanks Jacksonmj for being a great guest and fishing partner today. I had a very nice day. Ok, so the report...
Got out at 7 on the main lake because I wanted to give a newcomer to St. Clair a taste of lake and channel fishing. We stopped at a ridge along the Northern end of the Mile Roads in about 8 FOW and on the very first cast, a small keeper nailed my spinnerbait. We thought this was gonna be a good sign but for the next 15 minutes we didn't get anything else.
Next we headed up to the South Channel and fished some of the same stuff that's been working the past few weeks. There was still plenty of bait and we caught many smallmouth in about 25 FOW. Again, the trick was to get the bait deep in a hurry so that it got below the bait and most of the time, it yielded bites. The difficulty today was keeping the fish hooked. Together we probably lost 10 bass as they darted toward the boat and came unbuttoned. I tend to think it's because of all the lead on the heavy jigs. I don't know...I wish I could figure this one out.
Anyway, one nice smallie I caught was over 5lbs according to the Golden Rule. It was a nice one for sure. I wish I had a scale. We caught a few other decent ones and lots of small ones and keeper size fish. It was feast or famine today though. It was like they were feeding in spurts. We'd catch 5 or 6, then it would die for a half hour. Then we'd catch more, then it would die off again.
We then moved up to the San Souci area. Nothing. Not even a bite. Just snags.
So we moved back down to where we were catching them and picked up where we left off. Caught some until it slowed then headed out to another main lake spot. We pulled up on a wreck in about 8 FOW on the Eastern side of US water. We got a couple of small ones, but it was full of Rock Bass.
It was nearing 2:00 and we moved back to the ridge we started at and never got another bite there. All in all it was a great day on the water. The water was calm for the most part and the channel bite was good. It was an enjoyable day.
Always nice to end a week like that with a day on the lake.
Glad to hear you did well out there Rev. And you're right..........that is fishing. You ought to give Erie a try sometime. Fall is when Erie really shines. I haven't been out there in a couple of weeks but the fish were starting to move into their fall patterns. I am sure now with the cooling ambient air temperatures as well as falling water temperatures that those fish are right where they are supposed to be. I have rarely gone to LSC in the fall because the fishing in Erie was so good. Someday I will give it a try although I remember that day Mojo, you, and I did the south shore and we had a good day in the Askins Point area. I haven't been back to LSC in the fall since that day. I think that was in October early in the month. According to my fishing log, it was a beautiful day that day and we were having an Indian Summer.
I will be giving Erie a try tomorrow afternoon after Alec's morning soccer match.
BD ;D
Tom,
Thanks for a great time on the water and now I can say I fished St Clair while I was stationed in Michigan. The fishing was pretty good and that one was big crazy all the different size fish we caught on the same spots. I will be getting with you again before I leave for another trip. Always nice to meet new people and the catching is just a bonus! Thanks again something I will remember for a lifetime. Mike
Great report Tom,
Ditto to what BD said...Erie can be sweet in the fall. Maybe we could get together for an Erie trip in Oct.
Glad you two got out and had a fun day.
What size hooks are you using on your tube jigs?