Lake Michigan, St. Joe, Benton Harbor

[Fishing fireman]

New to this site. Im gonna be up in St. Joe this weekend I know people fish the river, but I was wondering if it's worth trying to get some Smallies out on the big lake this time of year? If anyone has some advice thanks ahead of time.

[Firefighter Jeff]

   Welcome to the site !!!  I hear there are a few rock piles out of St. Joe but not many know where they are. There are smallies out there.  Some of them come in the river in the fall.  I imagine the spring also.

[jgip087]

Some bass are spawning in the big lake, but they are extremely hard to find.  The majority should be schooling on the perch and goby though. Try 30-50 feet of water and try it around the perch fishermen.  Donny's reef in South Haven can be alright and New Buffalo is the ticket for numbers of nice largemouth with some smallies mixed in, in the lake and in the marina. 

[Fishing fireman]

Thanks I'm gonna try dragging my tube and dropshotting around the perch fishermen.  If all else fails I will try the river. My guess is that it's fast and muddy now.

[jgip087]

If you fish the river, fish from the end of the no-wake zone upriver. The further upriver you can make it (but be careful after the I-94 bridge) the better! There will be a few bass in the no wake, but it can be a dead zone this time of year. You will probably notice a few boats grouped together just north of the pier (maybe 1 mile north) and there is a water intake there with rocks around it and steel protecting it so it gives the fish something to hangout around. You will also see some black patches around 10-15 feet of water and sometimes the weeds will grow a little higher and the fish will bunch around those (lots of weeds and shallower rock around New Buffalo too)