NumenOn the Water
Date: 5-28-15 (Day I)
Date: 5-28-15 (Day I)
Body of Water: Lake St. Clair, out of Clinton River Cutoff Access
Boat: Numenon
With: Alone
Target: Smallmouth Bass
Time: 1:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Conditions: Clear and bright but becoming hazy; hot; 10-15 mph easterly wind and pretty good chop developing; water temperatures were about 68-69 F
Day I
This was Numenon's first trip to Lake St. Clair, and other than being flexible, I didn't have much of a plan. As I arrived at the ramp, I noted that the wind was stronger than forecast, and that most of the returning boat traffic was coming in from the south. As I left the ramp, the boat ahead of me turned south, and so I did too. I thought the bass were going to be just finishing up the spawn, and I figured that the presence of boats would have to give me a starting point.
Just a few miles south of the ramp I noticed a congregation of boats over a fairly broad area; this looked like a promising community hole. It looked even more promising when I came off plane in about 10 feet of water, noticed how clear the water was, and saw some probable bass beds. I was on the outer fringe of the collection of boats, but the easterly wind would push me in, and I'd be fishing and scouting all along the way.
I still didn't know which bait would be first in the water. With the decent easterly wind and a one foot chop, spinnerbaits and jerk baits came to mind. But with the clear water and the promise of bass around beds, I chose to try the Ned Rig first. And after a dozen or more hours of recently chasing muskies (fruitlessly), it was a bit ironic that my first cast was snipped off as I set the hook. I could only watch a mid-30s muskie swim away nonchalantly. I saw a few more as the day wore on; all were smallish.
I retied as quickly as I could. I pitched to a visible opening in the dark bottom, and a very nice smallie took the bait. It was about 4 pounds or so, but I managed to lose her before I could bring her to hand. An awesome, but inefficient start!
Action varied from pretty darned awesome to inexplicably slow, as wind, sun and depth changed. Eight or nine feet of water with visible targets, a good chop and a high enough sky to maintain good visibility into the water all promoted success. I found slower action in shallower water (less than seven feet or so), and during periods of clouds or pauses in the wind.
I experimented as much as I could, but spinnerbaits, sluggos, senkos and jerkbaits never produced anything. I caught a couple on tubes and lost a fine one on a drop-shot, but mostly I fished and caught fish on Ned. Color didn't seem to matter, but they did prefer it on the drop; and the most predictable results came when I had a visible target, whether it was a color change, bed, weed patch or rock; and in the best cases, a combination of these.
I ended with about 19 legal bass including only a couple of drinks. I had 4 or 5 approximate 4-pounders, and most of the others were 17 inches or so. My final "virtual bag" would have been about 19 pounds;my best-ever limit of smallies and a real testament to this lake. I doubt I'd refined any locations, patterns or presentations. I was just fishing!
Strangely enough, most boats were fishing quite a bit shallower (5 or 6 feet) and not moving around much. I made a mental note to check these areas out the next morning.
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| Numenon's first taste of Lake St. Clair; Clinton River Cutoff Access |
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| Community Hole; around 12-mile Road; that white tent was the visual cue for my efforts here. This picture gives just a hint of the water color changes; dark and light patches both led me to bass. |
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| A fairly typically-sized bass as about 17 inches or so, but this one had unique dark spots. It looked like a peacock bass on the other side. |
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| One of the bigger bass I caught on Day I. Selfies make it tough, but the Go-Pro's battery was already dead. Close to, if not 4 pounds, and spawned out already (I think.) I got 4 or 5 like this; pretty awesome, for me! |
Date: 5-29-15 (Day II)
Body of Water: Lake St. Clair, out of Clinton River Cutoff Access
Boat: Numenon
With: Alone
Target: Smallmouth Bass
Time: 6:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Conditions: Overcast; less wind (but still easterly) to almost calm; scattered showers. Water temps were about 67 at the first location, and about 65 at the second.
Day II
There were only a couple of other boats at the ramp when I arrived at 6 AM (having delayed my arrival for lighted conditions; this lake seems to start late and go to bed early.) Storms were predicted for later in the day, but as I turned south from the ramp, I could see they were already starting. They weren't really a factor for me during the day, but the weather was a bit more unstable than the previous day.
I started in the same general area, but shallower than Day I. I wanted to experiment, but who can leave 4-pounders? Once again, the more aggressive baits found no love, but Ned scratching bottom caught a few fish; but these proved to be considerably smaller than Day I's fish, and soon I was expanding my fishing zone, not shallower (like most), but rather deeper.
The bites were there over the course of the morning, but they weren't the same quality. The bass were generally smaller (although the bigger ones were coming later in the morning), the rock bass more numerous, I was seeing tons of carp, and I even caught a couple of sheepsheads. As I figured all this out, I was also feeling the pinch of the clock; I wasn't sure I had time to find another group of quality bass. But at 11 AM or so I decided to run a bit further south with a similar plan; find a group of boats working similar water and maybe find some better bites; if not, then at least I'd see a bit more of the lake.
Day II
There were only a couple of other boats at the ramp when I arrived at 6 AM (having delayed my arrival for lighted conditions; this lake seems to start late and go to bed early.) Storms were predicted for later in the day, but as I turned south from the ramp, I could see they were already starting. They weren't really a factor for me during the day, but the weather was a bit more unstable than the previous day.
I started in the same general area, but shallower than Day I. I wanted to experiment, but who can leave 4-pounders? Once again, the more aggressive baits found no love, but Ned scratching bottom caught a few fish; but these proved to be considerably smaller than Day I's fish, and soon I was expanding my fishing zone, not shallower (like most), but rather deeper.
The bites were there over the course of the morning, but they weren't the same quality. The bass were generally smaller (although the bigger ones were coming later in the morning), the rock bass more numerous, I was seeing tons of carp, and I even caught a couple of sheepsheads. As I figured all this out, I was also feeling the pinch of the clock; I wasn't sure I had time to find another group of quality bass. But at 11 AM or so I decided to run a bit further south with a similar plan; find a group of boats working similar water and maybe find some better bites; if not, then at least I'd see a bit more of the lake.
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| An early AM shower sweeps across the lake as I turn south from the ramp. I believe that's the 9-Mile Tower in the distance; I'd end up closer, later in the day. |
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| Same place as Day I, just a different feel to it on Day II. |
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| Red sky in morning, sailors take warning! There were some intense rain cells as I left the lake and drove home later in the afternoon. |
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| Sheepie! The first of 5, and the smallest of the bunch. They might pull as hard as a smallmouth, but they don't jump. |
I ran down to a navigation marker with a submerged point leading to it, near the exit of the Milk River. I picked up the edge of the bar and noted a bit less clarity and a couple of degrees cooler water. In the next hour, I used only the Ned Rig. I only picked up one bass, but it was a solid 3-pounder, and an upgrade to my virtual limit. I also enjoyed some quality sheepshead fishing, going 3-for-3 on sheepies between 4 and 7 pounds. These were all fun!
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| My best bass of Day II. Again, about 4 pounds, but only one this size, this day. |
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| Rodney Dangerbass? |
I also caught the sheepies on fine light tackle, as well as a bunch of rock bass, so I could never call it a slow morning. And if I wasn't fighting a fish, I was looking at one. There were many carp, gar, sheepshead, sucker and bass sightings to keep me interested.
What do I have to say about this?
Thirty-five legal smallies in 12 hours of fishing by myself on a new-to-me lake with no real problems; who can argue with that? Of course, I'd like to have encountered a 5-or-6-pounder; I think I was just a couple of days too late. There's always next spring for that!
Waypoints and hooksets are free, so once you're there, out on the water, remember to use them! I hope to learn from each outing, and I've now got a bunch of waypoints and 2 productive areas to have confidence in. I also know that it's only about 10 minutes from the ramp to the Milk River marker; that same radius from the ramp can easily get me to the Canadian Border, The Wreck, across to Big Muscamoot Bay, or well into Anchor Bay. And let's face it, 10 minutes on Numenon is nothing; I can easily (weather permitting) expand into all US waters of St. Clair from this known access point.
Thirty-five legal smallies in 12 hours of fishing by myself on a new-to-me lake with no real problems; who can argue with that? Of course, I'd like to have encountered a 5-or-6-pounder; I think I was just a couple of days too late. There's always next spring for that!
Waypoints and hooksets are free, so once you're there, out on the water, remember to use them! I hope to learn from each outing, and I've now got a bunch of waypoints and 2 productive areas to have confidence in. I also know that it's only about 10 minutes from the ramp to the Milk River marker; that same radius from the ramp can easily get me to the Canadian Border, The Wreck, across to Big Muscamoot Bay, or well into Anchor Bay. And let's face it, 10 minutes on Numenon is nothing; I can easily (weather permitting) expand into all US waters of St. Clair from this known access point.
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