I posted over in the LSC SCR fishing reports a question but perhaps I should have posted it here instead. I'll be in Sarnia in two weeks and want to fish the SCR but don't have a clue where to start. Any help would be really appreciated.
Welcome to GLB Andrew. Not sure where to tell you to fish in the river, but as far as LSC goes, a good place to start, if nowhere else, is the Mile Roads. Most reports I've been reading lately put fish in 12 FOW.
I'm a west-sider so I don't know it as well as the locals, but I love to fish the river when the big ones get set up there. In the last few years I've only been able to take mid-to-late summer trips out east and have had some great fishing out there - plus I like to camp and Algonac State Park is a pretty nice place to do so. If they are up there, and they may not be yet, throw on a drop shot (something with substance) with a 3/4 or bigger weight, depending on the speed of flow, and let the current pull you down along parallel to the breaks. They station behind current breaks and rocks and will smack it as you pass over. Best water usually has a flat nearby, in my time there. You can fish this way on the main channel or in the side channels. If the deep bite isn't on, there can be some excellent flats, weedline and dock fishing in the side channels. Good luck!
Quote from: AndrewJR on July 05, 2013, 04:48:06 PM
I posted over in the LSC SCR fishing reports a question but perhaps I should have posted it here instead. I'll be in Sarnia in two weeks and want to fish the SCR but don't have a clue where to start. Any help would be really appreciated.
Make sure you search fishing reports for "st clair river" (include the double quote marks) to find out what has already been posted.
Get a good map of the river if you don't have one already. There are nautical charts that will show some of the major current breaks and shore/island structures. Stag Island is a well-known bass fishing spot, better later in the year, and in some years more than others.
Some of the anglers do fish for bass similar to tightlining for walleye as Slipkey suggests. Takes a little getting used to but you can just drift along at various depths until you find a stretch that holds more bass.
Welcome to the site. You'll get lots of help here.
Welcome to the site. We're glad you're here. This is where it's at if you fish for bass.
BD. ;D
Thanks for the info everybody and thanks for the warm welcome. I'm wondering if they may be shallow in Lake Huron and not yet moved into the river based on the cooler water temps. Any thoughts on this theory? Thanks again guys.
I'm sure that there are always resident fish in the river. Why wouldn't there be? In Wayne's book, "No Secrets Lake St. Clair" he talks about how there is a bass migration into the river later in summer when the bait fish tend to move into the river. I believe he says it's around 67 degrees F. He also discusses "Walleye fishing for Bass".
If you are familiar with jigging for Walleye in current, the technique is similar. Don't be afraid to slip drift in some areas in 40 fow to find fish. Drop shot, dragging tubes, and using a 3 way rig with your choice of plastic all work.
I personally have not fished the river much in the last couple of years. I've heard that it has not been as productive the last few compared to the past. But for me it was always true that it was in late August or even September when the fishing got better. But if they're there, and you find em, you can get into a really great encounter. Several years ago a friend and I fished the same 1/4 drift for about 4 hours and caught many fish on each drift. A lot of the river fish can be of tournament quality too.
Another option is to contact Wayne Carpenter at Xtreme Bass Tackle and see if you can purchase some/all of his maps. If you're only interested in the River/channel maps, he may still have some black and white ones left over for sale. I believe that his entire series in the HD color maps cost $199. There are 27 maps in all and cover all of the channels, parts of the St. Clair River, and entire lake. Each map is a plethora of information and include lat/long coordinates. Money well spent for a newcomer trying to learn the lake.
The book (http://www.greatlakesbass.com/store/glbstore2.html#lscb) and Complete Marked Maps (http://www.greatlakesbass.com/store/glbstore2.html#glbmm1) HD color are available on the GreatLakesBass.com Store (http://www.greatlakesbass.com/store/glbstore.html) too.
There is a migration of bass from Lake St. Clair into the St. Clair River. I imagine there are resident bass too. I also agree with other anglers that there are probably Lake Huron bass that migrate into the St. Clair River. I haven't fished that part of Lake Huron much for bass so I haven't had time to find very many. They are out there. Though the better spots may be a ways out into the lake I'm guessing from what I've heard and looking at charts.
In 2012, I fished the river quite a bit. I did about 20 or so trips up there. Launched out of Algonac every time and spent most days in the middle and north channels. I sid go to the south channel but didn't spend much time there. Every trip out was a success. There are a lot of fish up there. I learned also about some of the largemouth movement too. That place is summer bass heaven. You'll be seeing me up there starting now until Labor Day. I'll then start going to the Lower Detroit River and Erie. You can't beat LSC and SCR from April until September. You can't beat Erie and Lower Detroit in the fall.
BD. ;D