Having never put my boat in St. Clair before I am thnking about launching out of Selfridge Sat morn. Would the bay be a good place to start? Or should I run down to the mile roads?
Good question. I would like to know too since I never really fished the bay in the spring. I will probably hit the mile rds but I know a couple of rocky spots out in anchor bay i found last year that i'm dying to try.
I think you could do well at either place (mile roads or anchor bay)
With all of this rain what area is going to be the cleanest..I am still learning the lake myself, but i would think that Anchor bay would be cleaner than the mile roads....
My plan is to run to the mile roads and have a look, it it isn't what I am looking for I will run back up north to Anchor bay..
I was wondering the same thing...I've been there in May and have done really well,but never on c/r....I live 3 hrs away so i have to make it count when i go....
I would start on the mile roads starting around 14 and working down to 9. while stopping in some of the bays on the way. Clarity is gonna depend on wind direction over the next cpl days.anything south south west wind mile rds should be good. east winds will muck everything up again. As for Anchor bay winds outta north and north west should be good for there. We try to plan our trips according to wind. I cant remember the website site exactly but i think its coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov and this shows satallite updates of the lake in regards of clarity. Its usefull especially for the long runs to canada when thier season opens,
Good memory! Here is the satellite image link: http://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/modis.cgi/modis?region=e&page=1
And there are lots of other images on the site too. Why don't you fish with the EBA guys Bill? We are going out of the cutoff/Ballard/Crocker launch.
With all the rain we have had,and all the run off coming down the Clinton river and the spillway you would think the mile roads should be like a muck bowl for some time.We will find out Saturday. Then the following week after the opener we are supposed to be getting more rain.Like they say April showers bring May flowers,you can't fight Mother nature.
bob620
Like everyone else said, look for clearer water. Jerkbaits are great if you can find water clear enough to fish them. The key is to keep moving, you will hit them sooner or later. Anchor bay has a lot of dead water this time of year so the mile roads are a better bet for numbers especially if you don't have any spots yet.
-Matt
Their are launches in St. Clair shores if you want to pay the ten bucks. I think at 9, 10 and 11 mile and Jefferson. I'm going for the mile roads. That is a nice ride from Selfridge to the mile roads. I don't have an optimax.Wayne Carpenter of Extreme Tackle has all the maps of these areas and they are all up to par. Check him out.
The winds are shifting all around right now but there are forecasts out there talking about 80+ degrees by Thursday or Friday. Even if it doesn't hit quite 80, it's still a warm trend and this kind of trend amost always means one thing, SW winds. You can see chance of thunderstorms through the weekend and is also part of the SW wind trend.
A SW wind is always a good thing for the U.S. Shoreline, especially now. If you get a couple of days like that it can blow the silt right off the U.S. shore. The run-off should be very tame by Saturday.
If it's a howling SW wind then I would park myself at Selfridge which has a natural barrier to wind from this direction. The mile roads can be flakey in a SW wind sometimes. With no overwhelming barrier the wind tends to wrap around the shoreline and act more like a south and even an east wind sometimes. Very unconfortable.
Although the fish are active on the Mile Roads right now I would prefer Selfridge myself. I'd be starting in about 3 to 4 feet of water and then work it shallower and deeper until you find the main body of pre-spawn feeders. There will be anglers fishing multi-species out there which can be a great indicator of what depths and zones are fishing the strongest.
There are more structure options at the Mile Roads if you would like to mix in some variety. 9 Mile has a long sand/rock shoal to work plus some largemouth spots along shore with the broken concrete seawall and some wood pilings.
Either section of the Lake is a good choice right now at this point in the season. If you are looking for a simple trip with few hard deciscions then Selfridge would fit that comfortably. If you are looking to cover more water and search a wide selection of depth and structure choices, the Mile Roads offer that and more.
Best of luck and be safe out there!
Thanks Wayne for all the insight as usual and thanks again for stocking your products @ Jackie's store at the bp on 9 mile and jefferson. Looks like stuffs starting to move with the word getting out.
Saturday, I fished Anchor Bay canals and caught a few nice LG mouths on tubes and twin tail grubs. I also fished a rock pile in front of one of the marinas for RocK Bass and caught about 20 of those. outside the canal between Selfridge and one of the Marinas, I caught a huge SM on a Strike King Sexy Shad lipless crank bait. The winds were high and the water was rough. I saw a few Bass Boats out in front of one Marina and wonder if it was any of you guys or gals. I was in a green Astro.
I was in a blue ranger
I think I stopped and talked to you. You had a drift sock on your boat. The entrance to all the marinas in between the buoys is where everyone tries for SM. The canals on the other side of the marinas is where LM are at. I talked to you about some lay down logs right where you were at. On a good clear water day, you can see them. They hold LM, SM and Rock Bass. I went out again today and fished the mouth of that entrance where the aqua colored sea wall. There is a Rock pile to the left of the entrance and it had plenty of fish around it. Today was beautiful out there even with all the cruisers. I got caught in the rain on the way home, but it was worth it.
Yep that was me. Took two just to slow down. Sort of...