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  1. #1
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    Detroit River Question

    I fished the river this past weekend for smallies and really struggled. I tried current breaks like weed edges, points, anything that broke up the current, with no luck. Ended up catching a nice fish drifting 20' along the channel, but felt like that was just a random fish that I lucked into. Do you guys typically drift the river and if so what's the key? My boat was moving about 1.7 mph in the current. I thought about a drift sock, but the more I thought about it the sock would be going the wrong direction with the current. I was using a 5/8 oz drop shot weight, but was wondering if I needed to go heavier with a longer leader. It was so frustrating trying to learn the river without having clue. I'd really like to learn, so any info would be appreciated. Not looking for spots, just help with techniques.

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by schinkr1 View Post
    I fished the river this past weekend for smallies and really struggled. I tried current breaks like weed edges, points, anything that broke up the current, with no luck. Ended up catching a nice fish drifting 20' along the channel, but felt like that was just a random fish that I lucked into. Do you guys typically drift the river and if so what's the key? My boat was moving about 1.7 mph in the current. I thought about a drift sock, but the more I thought about it the sock would be going the wrong direction with the current. I was using a 5/8 oz drop shot weight, but was wondering if I needed to go heavier with a longer leader. It was so frustrating trying to learn the river without having clue. I'd really like to learn, so any info would be appreciated. Not looking for spots, just help with techniques.

    Thanks
    Time on the water is priceless, so you didn't waste your day. You learned some things. The weird thing about the river is they will hold on certain areas then be gone the next day or next hour. Time on the water and you will put together a pattern when the bass move up to a particular current break and feed. I would say the mass majority of guys that fish the river head toward the mouth of Lake Erie where the river dumps in. There are tons of humps that come up to 10 foot or so. You drift across them and lose baits, lol Part of the game I guess. The way to fish them is with a deeper crankbait if the floating weeds aren't too bad. That's probably the most effective way. The other guys use their trolling motors to hold in the current and drop baits vertically which keeps you snagging less. The river is lot more massive than people give it credit for. You will cook some fuel going around it. Jim and I have caught them along weed edges, humps, and current breaks like you described. It's just going to take some time. I typically fish the back side of Grosse Isle.

  3. Member
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    #3
    Very helpful. I started on the mouth of Erie for a few hours and was catching nothing but 8"-10" bass. Really wanted to force myself to learn the river though. Is drifting the river channel in that current productive? I only had the one, but was wondering if it was even a viable technique and if so, the best setup.

  4. dartag1829
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    #4
    If you really want to learn get a buddy to split costs and charter a boat for the day. The cost vs time learning on your own is well worth it.

  5. Member dcl20x3's Avatar
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    #5
    Time on the water is key. Look for rocks, current breaks, points around islands and break walls, docks, and changes in depth. It should start getting really good soon. In the summer I do best in 18-23 fow (except for morning spots) but shallower in the fall.
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  6. Member
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    #6
    Besides looking for classic current break spots, when the water is warm like it is now, you can find active fish at the bottom of the drop offs on the outside weed edges in 15-25 feet of water. Use you electronics to find what looks like a school of smaller fish all over the screen, and it will likely be a school of perch that the smallies have chased out of the weeds. If there are good sized smallmouth there, they will have likely chased the walleye a hundred yards upstream or downstream. Look up Detroit River walleye jigging and you can get smallmouth using the same technique, or do something similar with a drop shot. But if you get walleye under the baitfish, then there probably aren’t big smallies there.

  7. Member
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    #7
    Great info, thanks all. I agree going out with a guide makes a lot of sense, probably cheaper than all the gas I burned running around. That's interesting about the perch. I was wondering if they fed on gobies in the river or primarily fish. I couldn't imagine there would be many gobies in the river with all that current. The one big fish I had on in the channel spit up about a 6" fish. I couldn't believe how big it was. Since it was partially digested, couldn't tell if it was a perch or tiny smallie. Probably won't get back up there until next year. Even though I didn't catch them, I still learned a lot. I love this sport because I'm constantly learning.

  8. Member
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    #8
    They eat plenty of gobies and everything else that fits in their mouths. But gobies stick to the bottom, making them all but impossible to find on sonar until Garmin merges with Humminbird and we get super mega HD live scope imaging with infrared overlays.

  9. Member
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    #9
    Bob, Brian and I got all our smallies drifting in the river. We found a area that had rock and some weeds. Sunday we figured out a crankbait bite that was fun. You will learn more next time you are there, this was my second visit.
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  10. Lenny B LennyB's Avatar
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    #10
    The first thing most local guides are going to tell you is "If you want to catch fish, we need to go to St. Clair". They generally only guide on the river when they have to, do to LSC being dirty, windy or for some special reason like, "the customer insists on fishing the river". That being said, they can teach you what to look for like current breaks, which you already know. Bottom line is, the river is OK, but usually tough when compared to near by LSC. What you experienced is typical on the river. Just my 2 cents.
    Last edited by LennyB; 08-28-2019 at 10:49 AM.