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Date: September 16, 2018 Body of Water: Lake St. Clair Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Smallmouth Bass Time: 7:30 AM - 1:30 PM Conditions: Beautiful! Clear skies, 65 - 80 degrees F. Very mild northerly wind, water temperature was 70 - 72 degrees F. Water was very clear (>>5 feet) and emerald green. Based on the northerly wind component, I decided to launch from the Lake St. Clair Metropark and fish in Anchor Bay. Note to self; this turns out to be the weekend of the Metropark Boat Show; perhaps best to avoid on a beautiful, summer-like Sunday afternoon. The channel back to the ramp was packed with boats at day's end, and many were captained by the equivalent of Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack. Out on the water, my string of recent poor performances continued. I first visited what I thought was the "B" buoy, where I'd been seas-sick during my last visit. At least I'd seen a big bass there! While a few boats worked this general area, I produced nothing in about an hour. I alternated through Ned, a drop-shot and a small swim-bait; other than a few perch pecks, I didn't connect. From here I went into the North Channel and its estuary. There were plenty of perch fishermen and muskie guys throwing Big Rubber. I didn't notice anybody bass fishing here. When Ned and the swim-bait continued to go unnoticed, I switched to casting a Giant Shad Rap on my lightest muskie outfit. This bait has produced several nice pike for me in this section of the lake, and could certainly entice a muskie, too. I fished from 3 to 20 feet of water without connecting. I continued my search through the Baltimore Channel. When I reached the north end of Grassy Island, I switched to trolling around weed-beds and through past waypoints with the Giant Shad Rap. My slump continued. I could see a group of boats and a spot of orange in the middle of Anchor Bay; I went there to try Ned and the drop-shot. This turned out to be the "B" Buoy! It was clearly marked as such; I'm still learning my way around the lake. I'd now used about half my time for naught; the wind was calming. I decided to go out on the main lake. The throat of Anchor Bay (around the Metropark) was very busy and choppy; but the main lake was smooth. I motored over to the north end of the Mile Roads. I figured the weeds along this area could hold some fish. I was seemingly wrong; I raised nothing. The inside edge in about 6 feet of water looked enticing, but I neither saw nor contacted anything. (The water was super clear and bottom features were very visible.) Nobody was fishing around here; my trail of waypoints from previous seasons led out to the main lake basin. I decided to go to the nearest, deepest water. My GPS mapping indicated a cut into the 15-foot flat of the deepest water on the west side of the shipping channel. I beelined it there. I'd never fished precisely there, but it looked a bit different from everything else on the map, and I'd not yet fished any water deeper than 15 feet or so. My first cast with a KVD Dream-colored Dream Shot worm presented on the drop-shot caught the attention of a bass! This 15.5-incher was super-feisty, but apparently alone. I did not get bitten again, despite constantly marking fish near bottom on my graphs. Somehow, over the course of the hour I spent searching this area for more bass, I became a navigation marker for speed and pleasure boats. I'd started here with not a boat within a mile; now, every boat in US waters seemed intent on buzzing past. I was pretty spent from an early morning, long drive and the intense sun; I decided to call it a day. What do I have to say about this? I've got a lot to learn on this lake, but I am slowly uncovering some spots, while building more confidence with the lures that are known to produce on this lake. Namely; drop-shots, swim baits and jigs. I was surprised to find only a single fish; they should be in bunches. Perhaps, next time? Meanwhile, my bow-mounted Lawrence GPS is filled to the brim with waypoints and can no longer accept new ones. It's time to do some serious culling of these to make way for more productive, new ones; but first, I believe I declare that a saltwater excursion is in order! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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Date: September 7, 2018 Body of Water: Reeds Lake Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Largemouth Bass Time: 7:30 AM - Noon Conditions: Mostly cloudy; ENE winds at <10 mph; 65 degrees; water 75 degrees F, brownish green, about 2 feet of visibility and high I simply never got into a productive groove on this trip. I did score a small, <14-inch bass on a Whopper Plopper from a weedy, shallow flat early on. I followed that up soon thereafter with a 25-inch, DT10-eating pike. Since I enjoy throwing these baits so much, I perhaps gave them too much of my time; but I did alternate in Ned, drop-shots, blade baits, spinnerbaits, Senkos and other cranks along the way. I covered depths from 2 to 22 feet, and many areas and specific spots. I did swing on a heavy weed fish from an isolated hump on a spinnerbait, only to be instantly and cleanly cut off. Other than that, nothing good, fish-wise developed. By 11 AM, wakeboarders were tearing up the lake, the yacht club was establishing the course for Saturday's Reeds Lake Triathlon, and I had lost my focus. I was home sooner than expected! What do I have to say about this? It's pretty rare for me to lose interest while on the water. I've been pretty busy with life, and I've got a lot of good fishing both behind me and in front of me. There was no point to my fishing this day other than relaxation; and perhaps, I was smart to go with my feelings and not fight it. I do, however, look forward to recapturing that productive groove! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: September 1, 2018 Body of Water: Lake St. Clair Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Smallmouth Bass Time: 7:30 AM - 1:30 PM Conditions: Horrific 9-inch waves. Water was green, clear and 73 degrees F; weather hot and sunny with double-digit, southerly winds As I pulled up to the community hole and prepped my gear, I knew right away that something was off. I had no sea legs, and just setting the drift sock was difficult. As I slowly drifted across the structure, I suddenly realized, just a few casts into the session, that I was feeling sea-sick! This is not an unknown condition to me, by any means. But never had it been an issue while bass fishing; and never in measly, 9-inch waves, either. As I struggled, a nearby boat landed a fine bass on a baited perch rig (waypoint entered), but soon thereafter I decided to switch to trolling with the following seas. I was close to an area where I'd scored some very nice pike in 2017; why not give it a shot? Half-way through my waypoints, I was bent over the gunwale, giving up my morning coffee. While this helped, it also took a lot out of me. I retreated into the North Channel and started looking for largemouth in shallow cover. But, I couldn't really concentrate. My heart was not in this. I moved up the North Channel and down the Middle Channel. I saw a lot of new water. I encountered lots of good-looking spots and a few small fish. The water deserves a better effort than I was able to provide. What do I have to say about this? This is exactly the sort of trip that makes honest blogging difficult. Other than finding a couple of new, known bass spawning locations and gaining an appreciation for the vast expanse of Lake St. Clair, I don't have too much (positive) to offer. Being sea-sick is miserable; losing a day of what otherwise might have been fine fishing to the condition is miserable; succumbing to such minuscule waves is miserable; and driving for 4-plus hours for a couple of rock bass is miserable. But, you know, I'll be out there again, as soon as possible! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways |
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