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  1. #1
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    Lake St Clair fishing report 8/6-8/10

    I was given a surprise birthday gift from my GF of a trip to SC for 4 days.
    Conditions ranged from sunny and 90 - 80 with thunderstorms. Strong winds all four days. 10-20 MPH shooting NE
    Hotel: Colony Motel 3/10 - If you are in a pinch then it will be ok but overall I would find another location.

    Fishing Day one: The wind kept us in the river and decided to follow advise and head up to the power plant and drift 30 ft of water with 3/4 oz DS , 2/0 Gamagatsu wide gap circle hook, 12 lb floro leader, Berkley flatworm GP. We made 4 half mile drifts picking up a few 2lb smallies, several pike 5-8 lbs. Moved about a mile down river to a ledge in 30 ft and made a drift for about 1/2 mile and blanked. Went to state park and started in 30 ft with no luck switching baits several times from Flat worms to z too type of baits. Moved in and found them in 18 ft. Made several passes and had tons of Pike and smallmouth every so often nothing over 3 lbs.

    Day two- The wind again kept us in the river. We repeated hitting the same spots as day one but added about 3 hours in front of deckers and pitched GP ned rigs to the sea walls and picked up a half dozen smallies less then 3 lbs. Went into SNI and tossed shad colored Keitech swim baits and Chatter baits in GP and killed the pike just outside the reeds. We both had several smallmouth follow. The boat traffic was horrible all day . This was are worst day fishing.

    Day three- Started throwing top water early (pop R) shad color, Spooks and whopper plopper in citrus shad. We had several SM under three and one just under 4 had a 4 + double jump on a spook but never ate it. Again absolutely killed the pike just outside the reeds all the way down to Doty highway. In the evening we fished the middle channel cuts with spinner baits and buzzbaits in black and had good mix of pike and SM . We targeted heavy saw grass and through over it until dark. It was an absolute blast we had a fish blow up on almost every cast .

    Day four : Storms stole are morning bite. Fished two hours in the middle channel DS at the entrance of channel cuts and any structure in 14 ft of water. I had my chance at a 5-6 lb SM and lost it due to no net and a poor hookset.

    If anyone would like more information please feel free to contact me.

    Crankin

    Thank you for all of the advise. If anyone needs help on Northern Illinois waters please contact me.

  2. Member
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    #2
    Great detailed report, appreciate it. Yup lots of weekend boaters, including in the rivers. I think the rivers make waves worse duE to sea walls reflecting back, you can get sick and/or worse thrown out if not cognizant. Love to throw LC pointers in the river.

    Roger that on the Colony. Stayed there with the wife years ago, never again. Since then we stay in HIE on 59 in Chesterfield, much nicer. A bit of a drive to river ramps, but worth it. Hoping to make it back up sometime in Sept.

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    #3
    Kiss your girlfriend. Want a gal!

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    #4
    Now that’s a great report. I bet you are already thinking about a return trip in the future.

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    #5
    Quote Originally Posted by piketroller View Post
    Now that’s a great report. I bet you are already thinking about a return trip in the future.
    Funny you say that. On the way out of town we looked at small little place with a nice garage and dock with electricity that was for sale. I loved that place. My son is a baseball player for Wayne State University. I will be driving him back to school at the end of the Month. If I can figure out how to get him up there and pull the boat I might hit it again.

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    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Crankin View Post
    Funny you say that. On the way out of town we looked at small little place with a nice garage and dock with electricity that was for sale. I loved that place. My son is a baseball player for Wayne State University. I will be driving him back to school at the end of the Month. If I can figure out how to get him up there and pull the boat I might hit it again.

    Orr....... when you come up message me and you can show me around the river. I live in Sylvania OH but havent fished the ST clair river area but one time in Sept/Oct when all the fish seemed to have already moved out. I could be shown around.

    I have a Nitro 17 footer....but...it gets the job done!
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    #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Crankin View Post
    Funny you say that. On the way out of town we looked at small little place with a nice garage and dock with electricity that was for sale. I loved that place. My son is a baseball player for Wayne State University. I will be driving him back to school at the end of the Month. If I can figure out how to get him up there and pull the boat I might hit it again.
    The summer pattern holds steady through mid-September. Then when the water starts to cool below 70 degrees it can be hit or miss for a few weeks before the fall pattern sets up.

    If you do ever get serious about a place on the water up here, I'd highly suggest a canal lot opposed to river front. Besides saving a lot of money on the view (you'll get a better view anyway from your boat), you have a protected harbor for your boat. The wind is relatively calm during the summer, but late spring and most of fall it can be brutal, making the summer weekend days with all the pleasure boat waves look like a downright nice conditions to fish. It gets especially bad in the fall and expect 3 days a week to be unfishable on the main river channels.

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    #8
    Excellent report. Very helpful for new guys like me.

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    #9
    Quote Originally Posted by piketroller View Post
    The summer pattern holds steady through mid-September. Then when the water starts to cool below 70 degrees it can be hit or miss for a few weeks before the fall pattern sets up.

    If you do ever get serious about a place on the water up here, I'd highly suggest a canal lot opposed to river front. Besides saving a lot of money on the view (you'll get a better view anyway from your boat), you have a protected harbor for your boat. The wind is relatively calm during the summer, but late spring and most of fall it can be brutal, making the summer weekend days with all the pleasure boat waves look like a downright nice conditions to fish. It gets especially bad in the fall and expect 3 days a week to be unfishable on the main river channels.
    Appreciate it.

  10. Member Hollada's Avatar
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    #10

    Glad you guys had a Good time. Next time we need to get you on the lake.


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    #11
    Quote Originally Posted by piketroller View Post
    The summer pattern holds steady through mid-September. Then when the water starts to cool below 70 degrees it can be hit or miss for a few weeks before the fall pattern sets up.

    If you do ever get serious about a place on the water up here, I'd highly suggest a canal lot opposed to river front. Besides saving a lot of money on the view (you'll get a better view anyway from your boat), you have a protected harbor for your boat. The wind is relatively calm during the summer, but late spring and most of fall it can be brutal, making the summer weekend days with all the pleasure boat waves look like a downright nice conditions to fish. It gets especially bad in the fall and expect 3 days a week to be unfishable on the main river channels.
    Hi Piketroller,

    I’ve never fished inside any of the south channels yet for smallies but if I were to chose one which do you recommend this time of year?
    I was thinking about hitting the main channel and moving up like what John Cox did at the Bassmasters last year like you where talking about in the other thread.

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    #12
    Absolutely go for it there are bass anywhere from 1’ to 50’ in the SCR. You also can catch several different species of fish. A lot of the fun is just exploring, any seawall, dock, piling, buoy or current break are potential areas to hold fish. On some of the deeper eddies and I’m giving up a little info here is one thing I noticed is when a freighter comes through it can fire up a school of fish.

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    #13
    Quote Originally Posted by datbasstho View Post
    Hi Piketroller,

    I’ve never fished inside any of the south channels yet for smallies but if I were to chose one which do you recommend this time of year?
    I was thinking about hitting the main channel and moving up like what John Cox did at the Bassmasters last year like you where talking about in the other thread.
    There's only one South Channel unless you are including the cutoff channel between Gull and Seaway Island or the shipping in Canadian waters as well as additional South Channels. There's plenty of smallmouth throughout the river, so the best advise would be to pick a section, maybe a mile or two stretch, and learn the water this year. There will be shallow spots that hold fish, deep spots that hold fish, and different weather conditions that will dictate where and when the best bite will be on any particular day. If you can't get anything good going in that section, pick a different river stretch to focus on next summer. Or just do the John Cox and pick a single pattern and burn a lot of gas and ultimately you'll burn those spots down because those kinds of places don't seem to hold schools of fish in my experience.

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    #14
    Quote Originally Posted by MI bassassassin View Post
    Absolutely go for it there are bass anywhere from 1’ to 50’ in the SCR. You also can catch several different species of fish. A lot of the fun is just exploring, any seawall, dock, piling, buoy or current break are potential areas to hold fish. On some of the deeper eddies and I’m giving up a little info here is one thing I noticed is when a freighter comes through it can fire up a school of fish.

    appreciate it!
    oh and it’s funny you say that about how when a freighter comes by, when I was watching john cox fish in the channel at the bassmasters they said the exact same thing.

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    #15
    Quote Originally Posted by piketroller View Post
    There's only one South Channel unless you are including the cutoff channel between Gull and Seaway Island or the shipping in Canadian waters as well as additional South Channels. There's plenty of smallmouth throughout the river, so the best advise would be to pick a section, maybe a mile or two stretch, and learn the water this year. There will be shallow spots that hold fish, deep spots that hold fish, and different weather conditions that will dictate where and when the best bite will be on any particular day. If you can't get anything good going in that section, pick a different river stretch to focus on next summer. Or just do the John Cox and pick a single pattern and burn a lot of gas and ultimately you'll burn those spots down because those kinds of places don't seem to hold schools of fish in my experience.
    great advice. Appreciate it!
    and what did you mean by “those spots” that john cox were in?

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    #16
    Quote Originally Posted by datbasstho View Post
    great advice. Appreciate it!
    and what did you mean by “those spots” that john cox were in?
    I recognized 6 or 7 specific spots he was fishing from the live TV coverage, just like I'd imagine most would happen with most people watching their home lake on TV. Specific spots eventually get burned down is all I'm saying. I've seen a ton of bass boats at one of those in particular since last August, but as of the last month or two people are finally ignoring it because there's not many fish left if you are the 10th boat to stop by in a day.

  17. Member Hollada's Avatar
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    #17
    They were all hot the week after Cox hit em. I think I pulled 24 lbs and change a couple of times. But yes, this year not the same.


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    #18
    Quote Originally Posted by piketroller View Post
    I recognized 6 or 7 specific spots he was fishing from the live TV coverage, just like I'd imagine most would happen with most people watching their home lake on TV. Specific spots eventually get burned down is all I'm saying. I've seen a ton of bass boats at one of those in particular since last August, but as of the last month or two people are finally ignoring it because there's not many fish left if you are the 10th boat to stop by in a day.
    ahh I see what you mean. Makes total sense. I’ll be trying some new areas in there the next time im out.

    thanks again

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    #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Hollada View Post
    They were all hot the week after Cox hit em. I think I pulled 24 lbs and change a couple of times. But yes, this year not the same.
    good to know, I was gonna look for that exact White House he was fishing in front of
    ill definitely be moving on

    Thanks!