Posted this on the Mad Wags event thread but for anyone else going to St-Clair this weekend.
Fished today from Crocker to past Ford Cove. Lake is pure MUD with less than 1 foot visibility. We caught 3 smallies in 4 hours. Did see a couple caught dragging tubes. Went to the canals and caught some nice largemouth. I have no idea how long it will take to clear up. I still plan on going Saturday but will probably be fishing in the canals.
Did see Zona at the gas station and on the lake.
Maybe it will clear up but I wouldn't plan on catching a lot of smallies.
The fish are still where I caught 80-100 smallies last Monday... Mud or not... They are moving to spawning grounds for sure.... I plan on catching atleast 80-100 again Saturday, Hopefully more. ;D
Noisy baits!
Ha! well if you plan on 80-100 more..... do share with us boaters who don't know the lake that well. I have only went out of mouth of Det River. Never this far north where we are launching.
Launch at nine mile or north of nine mile, there are a few launches. Fish patterns that you would normally fish in stained water. The fish are going to be there, weather it is muddy or not, use dark colors.
I just got a report that a lot of clear water is coming down the St. Clair River. The good thing about the system is the water color can change very fast. You can check out the MODIS satellite imagery through links on the GreatLakesBass.com Weather links page (http://www.greatlakesbass.com/weather).
Anyone who needs it can always talk to me in the morning about suggestions for fishing spots and locations. I want people to find and catch some bass, and do it safely.
21XDC thanks for the cell call, yesterday. Can't wait to get on the road headed your way ;D Stated load the Burb with lots of Bud Light, since you guys got 10 and can return tax :D, water, and Pepsi's. Get around to the the baits, rods and reels tomorrow. We plan on fishing starting Sunday the 18-24 of May. If fish on good and my pardner can stay a few more we may do that also. I not may try and make a return trip a week before the open season starts. Again thanks for the help and right direction. Tuned you in on Great Lakes not Left Wing Page :D Eh
Tons of rain still hitting the area but you can find clearer water. We found up to 4-5 foot clarity down the lower end of the Mile Roads on Saturday. The bass are there. If you get on them you can still catch a bunch. We spent to much time drifting out deeper I think. Many bass had moved shallower in that part of the lake.
Some people are reporting slower fishing while others are hammering them. Sometimes not very far apart either. Make sure you have some square bill cranks. Extras for the inevitable muskie donations... I had one Saturday. New KVD 2.5. Gone in snip.
in the rain on monday, you could see bottom in 8-9 feet (cloudy and dark out) from 11 mile south. north was a bit dirtier further out (same as sat/sun) and 3-4 feet of visibility in th 5-10 foot range. The wind was out of the east so i'm sure its staining up a bit.
Quote from: thedude on May 14, 2014, 12:23:52 PM
in the rain on monday, you could see bottom in 8-9 feet (cloudy and dark out) from 11 mile south. north was a bit dirtier further out (same as sat/sun) and 3-4 feet of visibility in th 5-10 foot range. The wind was out of the east so i'm sure its staining up a bit.
Great report on the water quality. Now how was the fishing ??? :-\'
fishing was oddly tough sat-monday. I thought for sure with the water conditions and sunshine it would be one of those weekends for the record books. Water temps were above 60 just about everywhere - even out in the deeper water, but we found very few fish in the 4-6 foot range and not many willing to chase a trap or squarebill like it typically is this time of year. Even stranger was that on saturday, pretty much all of our good fish came on blade baits..... wondering if the water is still 45 degrees a few feet down. Also, i was dragging a tube and a darter in the same color and catching pretty much everything on a darter. The darter held up all weekend and the fish definitely were going for it rather than a tube. We got a few on skirted twin-tail grubs also. Canadian Mist and mango magic were the best producing. I can probably count on 1 hand the number of fish that ate a tube in 3 days for us. It was very strange. The best bite was probably on saturday with blade bait and darter. Monday we found a lot of fish staged and suspended in the 10-12 foot range. A few of them started eating a jerkbait, but most again came on a darter or grub. A lot of smaller males it seemed like as well, but more aggressive at least.
Quote from: thedude on May 15, 2014, 02:41:29 PM
fishing was oddly tough sat-monday. I thought for sure with the water conditions and sunshine it would be one of those weekends for the record books. Water temps were above 60 just about everywhere - even out in the deeper water, but we found very few fish in the 4-6 foot range and not many willing to chase a trap or squarebill like it typically is this time of year. Even stranger was that on saturday, pretty much all of our good fish came on blade baits..... wondering if the water is still 45 degrees a few feet down. Also, i was dragging a tube and a darter in the same color and catching pretty much everything on a darter. The darter held up all weekend and the fish definitely were going for it rather than a tube. We got a few on skirted twin-tail grubs also. Canadian Mist and mango magic were the best producing. I can probably count on 1 hand the number of fish that ate a tube in 3 days for us. It was very strange. The best bite was probably on saturday with blade bait and darter. Monday we found a lot of fish staged and suspended in the 10-12 foot range. A few of them started eating a jerkbait, but most again came on a darter or grub. A lot of smaller males it seemed like as well, but more aggressive at least.
Saturday was pretty slow for us too, but Sunday was phenomenal once that water cleared up over night (it's amazing how fast the water clears up out there!). Caught close to 70 fish on Sunday, not a lot of real big ones though. 4pounds 6 ounces was our biggest, and our best 5 went 19.18, just good enough for 3rd place in our paper tournament.
Most fish on Sunday came off natural colored jerks in that 5 foot range.
Forgot to mention that I ran into this guy on Saturday...
(http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh497/therealbassmaster/8220F202-8470-4168-90E2-895EBD86CD8D-780-000000BC1A8579DE_zpsae84e436.jpg)
Quote from: thedude on May 15, 2014, 02:41:29 PM
fishing was oddly tough sat-monday. I thought for sure with the water conditions and sunshine it would be one of those weekends for the record books. Water temps were above 60 just about everywhere - even out in the deeper water, but we found very few fish in the 4-6 foot range and not many willing to chase a trap or squarebill like it typically is this time of year. Even stranger was that on saturday, pretty much all of our good fish came on blade baits..... wondering if the water is still 45 degrees a few feet down. Also, i was dragging a tube and a darter in the same color and catching pretty much everything on a darter. The darter held up all weekend and the fish definitely were going for it rather than a tube. We got a few on skirted twin-tail grubs also. Canadian Mist and mango magic were the best producing. I can probably count on 1 hand the number of fish that ate a tube in 3 days for us. It was very strange. The best bite was probably on saturday with blade bait and darter. Monday we found a lot of fish staged and suspended in the 10-12 foot range. A few of them started eating a jerkbait, but most again came on a darter or grub. A lot of smaller males it seemed like as well, but more aggressive at least.
Thanks Justin, great report.