I put up a quick note on our Facebook page - www.greatlakesbass.com/greatlakesbass - about how I was going late largemouth fishing Sunday (see the story and pics in the Lake Erie fishing report board) and then late fall smallmouth fishing on St. Clair Tuesday (yesterday).
I'm a lucky, lucky guy. The largemouth trip was an absolute blast with quite a few solid bass though no giants. Couple happiness-inducing 4 plus though. Success!
cameraguy and I got out midday yesterday - both tuckered from various work and chores - on an almost calm Lake St. Clair. Water temps were right around 50 F or just below in most places we visited. I really haven't been on St. Clair much this year, and not a lot this late in the year in the past. Figured we'd do some offshore angling looking for bass moving to wintering grounds and I was feeling pretty good that the water wasn't as cold yet as it has been in past years when I've done the late fall fishing there.
Of course, with cameraguy, you have to expect a bunch of cameras and I'll tell you right now, he has all the pictures and video above and below the water for the day. I can only tell the story in words until he gets the formatted.
With the recent cold front and just starting warming trend, we fished slow with tubes and grubs. We lucked out and started getting a few bites in 15 - 16 feet of water with mixed sand, weeds, rock and gravel on the bottom.
Shortly after we started, I popped my tube (Xtreme Bass Tackle Erie Goby) off a zebra mussel/rock and BAM! Missed him! Dropped the tube back down. Waited about 3 seconds. Slam home the steel!
3 1/4 - 1/2 pound smallie with a big sore goober on its side. Fought pretty good though. Looks well fed and muscular overall. Got another solid keeper about the same way close by a few minutes later, and then a 12 1/2 sag-belly perch.
Things slowed for a while after that. cameraguy put down the camera and as I moved around looking for the late fall motherload, he got a little bass and then a 5 pound smallie. I don't remember exactly, but seems like there was another couple bass or so landed by us over the next 30 minutes. I do remember cameraguy getting another bass that had a sore like the one I caught though it looked like it may have been bitten by a large musky.
We hit another dry spell so we ran over to the shipping channel to fish a few of the markers and key spots. Not many bites, but cameraguy (who still wasn't doing his job!! :o) landed an even bigger smallmouth over 5 pounds.
After a longer dry spell, we ran back out several miles into the open lake to give it another try until we called it a day. cameraguy got back on the cameras and of course, I was having trouble getting bit. The old camera curse many have probably experienced.
I had a number of nibbles. Gobies maybe. Probably more perch. One or two quick hard smacks that this time didn't come back. Finally, jumped a St. Clair Crayfish off a snag and WHAP! Swing and a miss! Drop the tube back down and this time I nail a good smallie. Another one over 3 pounds.
I'm hollering for cameraguy to wake up and get on the fish. After a short bulldog fight, the brown bass comes up and jumps right at the boat almost into cameraguy's camera, coming off right in front of it. Nice bass! Fun! But I want one more in the hand before we go in.
Fish for a while longer. The sun is all the way down. I'm getting a few nibbles and one more hard bite, but no hooks into fish. I try the last cast pronouncement about 10 times to drag things out, and then finally, with a glass calm lake and all the boats gone, we have to head in.
I pull up the latest marker buoy while cameraguy is packing away all his stuff. It takes a while so on the spur of the moment, I grab up my fall killer that I usually have on this time of year, but hadn't thrown all day - a homemade Brian Spear special blade bait.
I have the trolling motor up and the graphs are off. We are drifting for a bit so I don't know exactly where we are at. I make one cast. Nothing. On the second cast, about the 4th drop after a moderate snap off the bottom, I feel a 'snag.' Then I feel my 'snag' do a slow, powerful head shake.
Dumbfounded, I turn to cameraguy and say, "you're not going to believe this! Get the camera back out, I've got a toad!" I can't believe it myself. I must have thought about throwing the blade bait 10 times, but I really haven't thrown it a lot on St. Clair in the past.
cameraguy is scrambling to just get the camera on. I'm thinking, like many blade bait bass, I may not have it hooked real good. I can't over fight it. I'm trying to keep it from jumping. Works most of the time except for a couple nice jumps right at the boat.
Big! Fat! Bulging-tailed Great Lakes smallmouth bass! It's a real toad! My personal biggest ever on a blade bait. I'm correct in that it isn't hooked real well, but the back small red treble is right through the tip of the upper lip. Enough that I'm fortunate to land the 5 pound plus bass as the moon rises into the sky and darkness begins to surround us.
A quick release on video. Tail slap and off the beautiful tank smallie goes for the depths! Then I pop in the running lights and we zip back into Harley last boat off the lake, very happy for the day with our best 5 going about 22 1/2. Not Earth-shaking by St. Clair standards this year, but a great way to spend a mid-November day fishing cold water for Great Lakes smallmouth bass!!
Pictures and video coming.
To add to an already great few days, I get a call on the way home with an affirmative on a great business opportunity I've been working on. So yes, I'm a lucky, lucky guy. :)
Can't wait to see the pictures and video.
The lake was certainly beautiful yesterday. Glad you were able to enjoy it.
I going out to Belleville after work today. Ill have to just close my eyes and think about St.Clair while im casting...lol
Well, no stills of my bass. Cameraguy says he was too busy with the video camera. Hopefully... he'll get some video done soon so I can remember how much fun I had! But here are cameraguy's two biggest bass from our trip to St. Clair smallmouth paradise yesterday - caught during a couple of his work breaks!
(http://www.greatlakesbass.com/images/mark-gomez-lake-stclair-november-smallies-2010-11-09.jpg)
The best part about it is we get to go back tomorrow one more time before things get really cold and memories are all we are left with for the 2010 Michigan bass season!
I am SOOOOOOO jealous! I wish I could find a job comparable to mine over there, and find a buyer for my house. I'd move in a heartbeat to have that lake as close to me as Muskegon is right now. Man, I wish. Nice, nice fish. Good job guys.
Awesome job Dan!!! Great way to end the season. Were your fish caught in US waters?
Yes. All except 1.
wow I knew I should have waited around the ramp and followed you guys! I got SKUNKED!!!
I should've topped of the gas and drove around looking for you! I fished everywhere the fish weren't...
This report was about Tuesday. Tuesday was fun and very nice.
Thursday... Thursday was out of this world!! My forearm feels like I have a hot spike in it from fighting so many big smallies!!!!!!!!! I don't even know how many we caught. Amazing! Stories, pics and video to come.
Thanks for the invite Dan. Sorry I couldn't make it.
Boat was already full... nothing personal.
No seriously. I couldn't make it. ;)