Date: September 8, 2017
Body of Water: Lake St. Clair (LSC)
Boat: Numenon
With: Alone
Target: Smallmouth Bass
Time: 9 AM - 3 PM
Conditions: Post-rain but clearing, with NNW winds diminishing from 15 to about 5 mph; air temperature to 65 or so and water temperature 65; clear water except for near the Clinton River cutoff
I was resolved to fish LSC differently, but not to beat myself up, too much, physically. It was a beautiful, cold-front day, and the northerly wind probably did not bode well for bassin' success, but I have to learn how to catch this lake's brown bass more consistently. And I can't learn without being out there!
Traffic delayed my arrival by 90 minutes or so, and with the northerly wind, I limited my fishing to areas off the Mile Roads. I chose to launch at the Crocker Road/Clinton River Cut-off access, which gave me easy access to this area.
About a dozen boats were working the weed edge immediately offshore. Most appeared to be fishing for muskies; consider this duly noted for later in the season. The water here was pretty stained, and once I located a weed edge in 8 or more feet of water, I started covering water with a DT10 crank and a deep-diving jerk-bait. After 15 minutes without a hit, I relocated to the south, near the extensive weed bed that had coughed up my May Giant.
The water here was very clear, and I drifted across and over this weed bed from 6 to a dozen feet of water or so. Cranks, jerks and spy-baits were all equally ignored. Although these weeds looked healthy and attractive, I knew I probably needed to head offshore; after all, there wasn't a single boat in this shallow.
I motored slowly offshore with my eyes glued to the graph. The chara-type grass on the bottom never gave up, but I did located several humps/bottom changes that held taller weeds. These were generally in the 12-15 foot zone. Items of interest got a free way-point. While it was a bit windy for precise boat control to pick these weeds' edges, I decided to control-drift the area and just search for bites. I deployed my wind sock from the stern corner while controlling the front with the electric motor; this provided a very fishable drift from my stable platform.
I set a green pumpkin tube in a road holder, to drag while I casted cranks, jerks and spy-baits from the front. After a considerable drift, the tube scored first, and I had my first (and best) bass of the day, a solid 17.75-incher.
Re-setting my drift in an area of concentrated way-points, I decided to replace casting the horizontal baits with drop-shotting. After all, tubes and drop-shots catch more bass than anything on LSC; my single bass had taken a bait off the bottom; and the search baits weren't producing for me.
Pretty soon after making this switch, I dropped my Jackall drop-shot bait down to a specific mark on my bow-mounted screen; and connected with a nice fish! At first I was thinking I had a super nice bass, but when the fish took off in a sprint, I knew I had an Esox. Pike or muskie, I did not yet know; it took several runs and some finessing on my part to lead this fish to the net. I was lucky to have stuck this fish in the very corner of the mouth; I'm glad I did, she made my day!
With the day about two-thirds used up and a couple of bites in reasonably quick succession, I decided to continue my drifting search. I'd stashed some muskie gear aboard, in case the bass fishing was slow. I decided to try to build on the success I'd already enjoyed, and to save the muskies for another day. I did catch another (small, 13-inch) bass on the tube, but had no other bites.
I knew I had more traffic to contend with on the way home; I was back at the dock by 3 PM.
I was resolved to fish LSC differently, but not to beat myself up, too much, physically. It was a beautiful, cold-front day, and the northerly wind probably did not bode well for bassin' success, but I have to learn how to catch this lake's brown bass more consistently. And I can't learn without being out there!
Traffic delayed my arrival by 90 minutes or so, and with the northerly wind, I limited my fishing to areas off the Mile Roads. I chose to launch at the Crocker Road/Clinton River Cut-off access, which gave me easy access to this area.
 |
| I got off to a much-later-than-usual start because of traffic. Construction, accidents and weekday rush hour all ended up contributing to my delayed arrival. |
About a dozen boats were working the weed edge immediately offshore. Most appeared to be fishing for muskies; consider this duly noted for later in the season. The water here was pretty stained, and once I located a weed edge in 8 or more feet of water, I started covering water with a DT10 crank and a deep-diving jerk-bait. After 15 minutes without a hit, I relocated to the south, near the extensive weed bed that had coughed up my May Giant.
The water here was very clear, and I drifted across and over this weed bed from 6 to a dozen feet of water or so. Cranks, jerks and spy-baits were all equally ignored. Although these weeds looked healthy and attractive, I knew I probably needed to head offshore; after all, there wasn't a single boat in this shallow.
I motored slowly offshore with my eyes glued to the graph. The chara-type grass on the bottom never gave up, but I did located several humps/bottom changes that held taller weeds. These were generally in the 12-15 foot zone. Items of interest got a free way-point. While it was a bit windy for precise boat control to pick these weeds' edges, I decided to control-drift the area and just search for bites. I deployed my wind sock from the stern corner while controlling the front with the electric motor; this provided a very fishable drift from my stable platform.
I set a green pumpkin tube in a road holder, to drag while I casted cranks, jerks and spy-baits from the front. After a considerable drift, the tube scored first, and I had my first (and best) bass of the day, a solid 17.75-incher.
 |
| Dragging a tube from a rod holder isn't the most exciting way to catch bass, but it does work on this lake! |
Re-setting my drift in an area of concentrated way-points, I decided to replace casting the horizontal baits with drop-shotting. After all, tubes and drop-shots catch more bass than anything on LSC; my single bass had taken a bait off the bottom; and the search baits weren't producing for me.
Pretty soon after making this switch, I dropped my Jackall drop-shot bait down to a specific mark on my bow-mounted screen; and connected with a nice fish! At first I was thinking I had a super nice bass, but when the fish took off in a sprint, I knew I had an Esox. Pike or muskie, I did not yet know; it took several runs and some finessing on my part to lead this fish to the net. I was lucky to have stuck this fish in the very corner of the mouth; I'm glad I did, she made my day!
 |
| A very plump, 32-inch pike; nice! |
With the day about two-thirds used up and a couple of bites in reasonably quick succession, I decided to continue my drifting search. I'd stashed some muskie gear aboard, in case the bass fishing was slow. I decided to try to build on the success I'd already enjoyed, and to save the muskies for another day. I did catch another (small, 13-inch) bass on the tube, but had no other bites.
I knew I had more traffic to contend with on the way home; I was back at the dock by 3 PM.
What do I have to say about this?
Traffic was the worst of my issues, and given the horrific nature of the accident that caused the biggest delay, to say nothing of the hurricane(s) wreaking havoc, the earthquake in Guatemala/Mexico and the general nature of the day's news, it's not too much of a hardship to miss a couple of hours of fishing. And while my fishing was by no means a great success, I caught a couple of beautiful fish, and maybe my efforts with new areas and techniques will pay off further dividends in the future. I captured a bunch of way-points, and I have no reason to think these might not hold fish at other times. There's only going to be one way to find out!
Meanwhile, the body condition of the pike was excellent, and this is probably the nicest fish I've ever caught drop-shotting. It's a technique I need to get better at, and there's no better confidence builder than occasional positive feedback. Of course, I want more and bigger fish, but if I forget to appreciate 32-inch pike or 17-inch smallies, kindly remind me that I am being less than I could be.
Traffic was the worst of my issues, and given the horrific nature of the accident that caused the biggest delay, to say nothing of the hurricane(s) wreaking havoc, the earthquake in Guatemala/Mexico and the general nature of the day's news, it's not too much of a hardship to miss a couple of hours of fishing. And while my fishing was by no means a great success, I caught a couple of beautiful fish, and maybe my efforts with new areas and techniques will pay off further dividends in the future. I captured a bunch of way-points, and I have no reason to think these might not hold fish at other times. There's only going to be one way to find out!
Meanwhile, the body condition of the pike was excellent, and this is probably the nicest fish I've ever caught drop-shotting. It's a technique I need to get better at, and there's no better confidence builder than occasional positive feedback. Of course, I want more and bigger fish, but if I forget to appreciate 32-inch pike or 17-inch smallies, kindly remind me that I am being less than I could be.
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