St. Clair or Torch?

[Pound4Pound]

I've got a trip planned to St Clair in a couple of weeks, but talking to some guys they are saying St. Clair isn't as clear as usual and the lake is fishing small. As a backup plan, I'm looking to instead shift to the Elk Rapids area and fish the smaller lakes instead. Since I'm coming from Oklahoma I figured a second opinion of guys from that area wouldn't hurt. Is St. Clair indeed "dirty" and fishing small, and if so, are focusing on those other smaller lakes a better idea? This will be a three day trip that I take yearly so I want to make sure I don't waste it. I appreciate any insight.

[22RangerZ520R]

LSC clears up in a matter of days, tons of water flows through there. Just keep an eye on the satellite views online.

It might "fish small" because everyone piles into one or two well known community holes like Memorial Park, GPYC, etc. Think outside the box and get away from the crowds, I have for the last several years and it has paid off tremendously...

Good luck

[Smallie Nation]

Check out Charlevoix and Walloon. Charlevoix is still very large but has a lot more points/coves/arms to protect you from the wind and break the lake up into a lot of different ways to fish imo. Walloon is smaller and I don’t think has a population of trophy smallmouth but it’s absolutely loaded with 3 pounders. Two of the most beautiful lakes in the state imo and right next to each other. I’ve never fished St Clair but I can’t imagine it’s more scenic than Northern Michigan, and the fishing pressure has to be like a 1/50th of LSC.

[MI bassassassin]

Some of the biggest smallmouth I’ve ever saw were on Charlevoix. Agree with Smallie Nation it doesn’t get more beautiful than northern Michigan west or east Hubbard, Long and Grand are scenic on the east side too with amazing fishing.

[TNReb]

LSC clears up in a matter of days, tons of water flows through there. Just keep an eye on the satellite views online.

Could you share a link to satellite views? I've googled and haven't found anything that is updated consistently.

I found this page, but can't seem to get it to load any images.

https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/sa...roducts/modis/

We are supposed to be leaving Sunday to head to St Clair to fish Mon-Thurs. Trying to watch the forecast, etc and determine if we're going this week or the week after. We had both weeks set aside just in case of weather... but can only go one of the two weeks.

Talked to a buddy who is there this week and he said they caught 60 yesterday, but it was a grind to catch those. He said there's lots of "moss" near the mile roads.

[22RangerZ520R]

Could you share a link to satellite views? I've googled and haven't found anything that is updated consistently.

I found this page, but can't seem to get it to load any images.

https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/sa...roducts/modis/

We are supposed to be leaving Sunday to head to St Clair to fish Mon-Thurs. Trying to watch the forecast, etc and determine if we're going this week or the week after. We had both weeks set aside just in case of weather... but can only go one of the two weeks.

Talked to a buddy who is there this week and he said they caught 60 yesterday, but it was a grind to catch those. He said there's lots of "moss" near the mile roads.

https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/sa...roducts/modis/

- Dataset = Erie
- Year = 2024
- Month = May

Yeah, there's a little layer of that moss/grass in certain areas along the mile roads.

[posmallie]

I’m not sure how it’s a grind to catch 60 fish. That’s a good day anywhere. St. Clair is still very fishable even with dirty water. One of my best days out there in the spring was complete mud. But as others have said, those northern lakes are absolutely beautiful.

[mactlman]

I am sure the lg mouth bite can be great also in shallow dirty water

[posmallie]

I was out today along the mile roads. Water was clear. You could see to the bottom. I caught 43 fish in 5.5 hours, lost a bunch more, and had a million follows on Active Target. It was VERY busy for a Thursday, but everyone seemed to be catching fish. This weekend is going to be an absolute nightmare out there. I think I'll sit it out.

[Jbass123]

Yeah ^, with sunny weather in the 80s, this time of year, LSC will be churning on Sunday. Traffic on surrounding highways will be a little busy as well. Great place to fish, but I strongly prefer weekdays, and even those can be very busy this time of year.

[bigbass201]

I'm up north right now and everything is ahead of schedule compared to previous years. Fish are already on beds. I've even found some moving up on Grand Traverse Bay. Your best bet at catching big smallmouth will most likely not be Torch Lake in my opinion. That is some big water and it will take you some time to figure out the locations. It has giants but fooling them in gin clear water can more difficult than you think. It's much more relaxing up north than on St. Clair. Less hassle with going to the lakes. The view is certainly worth it. Here is a drone view couple days ago I did of some smallmouth bedding up north. I'll probably hit 10 different lakes this trip.


drone view.jpg

[AMSDJS]

Very cool drone shot!

[TNReb]

That's the page I was trying. It wontoad anything for me. After I make my selections in the drop-downs, nothing happens. Have tried from phone and two different computers with Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.

Edit: just tried it in Safari and it worked. Thanks

[posmallie]

I went out to LSC again today. I was expecting it to be a zoo. It was actually busier on Thursday than it was today. Fishing was good, and the quality was better than Thursday. Water is up 7 degrees since then, and it's only going to warm up more over the next few days. The guys from Indiana continued to live up to their reputation of running way too close to people on plane, and moving in on them while fishing. It's a HUGE lake and there is no need for any of that.

[MI bassassassin]

I went out to LSC again today. I was expecting it to be a zoo. It was actually busier on Thursday than it was today. Fishing was good, and the quality was better than Thursday. Water is up 7 degrees since then, and it's only going to warm up more over the next few days. The guys from Indiana continued to live up to their reputation of running way too close to people on plane, and moving in on them while fishing. It's a HUGE lake and there is no need for any of that.

Frustrating for sure.

[Smallie Nation]

I'm up north right now and everything is ahead of schedule compared to previous years. Fish are already on beds. I've even found some moving up on Grand Traverse Bay. Your best bet at catching big smallmouth will most likely not be Torch Lake in my opinion. That is some big water and it will take you some time to figure out the locations. It has giants but fooling them in gin clear water can more difficult than you think. It's much more relaxing up north than on St. Clair. Less hassle with going to the lakes. The view is certainly worth it. Here is a drone view couple days ago I did of some smallmouth bedding up north. I'll probably hit 10 different lakes this trip.


drone view.jpg

Do you remember the water temps by chance? Heading up to Charlevoix this weekend.

I made it as far north as Portage lake in Onekama today, 66-68 degrees and fish up shallow everywhere.

[bigbass201]

Do you remember the water temps by chance? Heading up to Charlevoix this weekend.

I made it as far north as Portage lake in Onekama today, 66-68 degrees and fish up shallow everywhere.

Glen, Green Lake, Leelanau were all running 60 to 62 degrees. Grand Traverse Bay was running 49 to 53 in the morning. I'm sure the shallows warmed up more by the evening. I'm heading out on Charlevoix in the morning. All lakes will have videos posted to Jim and my Rumble channel. Subscriptions and comments certainly help us out.

[bigbass201]

Update: Smallmouth bedding on Charlevoix. Water temperature was 61 to 63 degrees. I saw several paired up already. They don't mess around up here. The spawn will be over quickly. The bite was crazy good. Caught 35 to 40 in the 4 1/2 hours I had in the morning.

[Smallie Nation]

Update: Smallmouth bedding on Charlevoix. Water temperature was 61 to 63 degrees. I saw several paired up already. They don't mess around up here. The spawn will be over quickly. The bite was crazy good. Caught 35 to 40 in the 4 1/2 hours I had in the morning.

A bit warmer than I would have guessed, thanks for the update!

[jag9624]

Just finished up 4 days on LSC. First time for me. Had a blast catching anywhere from 55-80 smallmouth per day. Our 2 biggest fish came off the Mile Roads. We also caught some good fish in the grass. Looking forward to next year ..