Ok first - before you read you must repeat after me : "I ____________, do promise if I go out and use the info in this tale, and catch a pre spawn, loaded female, that I will return her immediately to the waters caught, after photo of course" . Ok y'all are swore in to the "I Care enough to Spare" club.......... Anyway......
Well, it finally happened. One of those unsurpassed days on the mile roads. Mud has receded, and water is clear and fishable to about 3 fow. Soooo, a buddy and I chose to pull in and launch next to Sportsman's Direct, overflowed launches by 8 am. Sun was shooting for mid eighties and already touched 72. Wind was 5 knots east, and waves under a foot. Perfect day right ? Or would bluebirds make it rough ?
Well it seemed that way. We started out by metro and decided to work our way south.
Couple fish at the wreck, then we went to the break at 8 fow, but no weeds yet. So no fish.
We hustled to 13 fow rocks and incline, but again no weeds yet so no fish. Well we decided on 400 club in 6 fow, and picked up a few, nothing crashing, no reaction bite, no crank, no spinnerbait, no rattletrap, no jerk bait, just tube and DS. Hmmmmmmm. Them blue bird skies might be making it tough for us on clear water, not much wind, 65 degree waters?
So we ran to 10 mile and just talked our way through. Clear water beat up, It was decided to find the 'dirty to clean water break' and BAM ! My partner nails a 5 lbr! DS and Tube, lighter colors ? No dark Canadian mist ? No G3 ? Just Muskegon Goby, (XtremeBass) tubes, some DS baits recommended by Sportsmans Direct, and senkos ! BAM- nother 4 lbr, doubles of 3 lbrs ! Who nets for who ?!
Then with the wind died down we created our own zigzag pattern around the still boats. For about an hour we were one of the only boats getting pounds of fish. We handed our baits out to several non bass boats so the kids and even the pretty bikinis (in yellow) could catch fish. And they started catching too ! BAM 3.5, 4 lb. I threw a Kustom Kicker but it only works when I cut back on the silicone, added some flash, and had small plastic. So its a work in progress. The dark green heads took a ton of abuse on the rocks and still had their
paint. That was cool. All in 7-9 fow on the 8-13 mile roads. Many were big girls with eggs so they we handled extra nice and set back to do their nature. It was funny to watch the boats start to crowd on us, and we'd just move away, and catch em where they just left. Always love when that happens ! ;D
Anyway back to the fish - oh - the bikini's? Ok ok..... Ummm, I'll let my partner Chime in cause he's single and I'm a married man, but let's just say many of y'all have seen her type at Racks R Us. They follow us to but we didnt mind so much. So we ended up going to a final few spots on the way out, headed north, where my parter and I doubled with our single
biggest catches of the day, except his was a 5 lbr and mine was bigger - a huge 36" slimer on my second rattletrap casts in 4 fow.
So it was a great day with Royce, I think we were even cause neither of us counted, just smiled. What was cool was the (about) 40 fish had about 1/2 in the 3.5 and up class. Only happens in the spring on the US side it seems, or on Erie, or in the rivers in the summer, but either way, it was one of those magical days brought to you only by Lake St Clair.
Great post... we were out too today but did not get the size or numbers you did. Fished the Grosse pointes where the water was real clear. Smallies and silvers all over the shallows but most of our fish were small with only one 4.6 all others under 4. No Muskegon goby in the boat, St Clair crayfish caught the big fish for us.
Nice work figuring out the big fish today!
Idk about golden days there bud, sounds like st clair is still not fishing nearly as good as it did in the past springs. Good days out there during catch and release should be 100-200 fish days with 25-28 lb bags. Still a good day considering most reports out there but seems that something is off this year to me. We had to work hard the first week of C&R to put 50 in the boat although we were on the 4-6 pounders it was a grind and a timing deal usualy alot easier out there.
TCook,
I myself don't think something is off this year
I think it's more that certian spots are off for the reason that this past winter the lake was covered by ice and snow. So the weeds died down
Last year in the spring we came off a very mild winter and the weed beds survived.
The fish need some thing to hold them
Weeds, rocks, etc. It's hard for a SM to make a living on a bare bottom flat.
Mike,
Had a great time out there
And I do think we can do better. I just need more tips on the tube fishing
I agree with Manx, - I am also seeing an armada - so many more boats. Im just a happy lil F&%#ker right now, everyone needs one day a year like last week.
Thanks again Big Daddy Royce Rolls. Tell em about our new friends out there ! ?
There was lots of grass in some areas thats what we were fishing most of the week.
The measure of the success of a fishing day is a relative thing.
Sounds like you both had a relatively great day! Good for you!