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Date: July 14, 2019 Body of Water: Lake St. Clair (LSC) Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Walleye Time: 7 AM - 11 AM (lines in water) Conditions: Clear but hazy, unexpected Northerly wind and a 1.5-foot walleye chop decreasing over the morning; water was 72 degrees F and green-clear To be honest, I didn't have the energy or motivation to take on Lake St. Clair's bass or muskies with full-blown summer having set in. But, the walleye fishing was reportedly still solid, and that seemed to be my best option. At least, slow-trolling crawler harnesses in the abyss with the quiet of the electric motor and the prospect of a bunch of bites appealed! I stopped at the gas station before the ramp and picked up a couple of dozen crawlers. While I prefer Gulp! baits (less messy, easy to manage and have assessable, resistant to pesky, small fish, etc.) , I'm glad I did, as most bites and the two largest walleyes of the day ultimately ate real meat as opposed to my fake offerings. It was 7 AM by the time I arrived in the vicinity of Red Marker "28" on the main shipping channel and near the Canadian border. A couple of dozen boats were already in the area; folks expected walleyed to be present. I quickly set my spread of two bottom bouncers with crawler harnesses. One soft casting rod featured a double-hooked conventional harness and spinner in fire tiger; I equipped this with a juicy crawler. The other casting rod received a green Mack's Smiley blade with and orange/brown pinched Gulp! crawler. Down the middle, I set another Mack's Smiley blade (white) with half a crawler on a slow-death hook; for weight, I had a 1-ounce keel sinker. This rig was equipped with metered line, and I settled on "two colors" back (i.e., 50 feet), which seemed to keep me near bottom (20-21 feet), but not dragging. The middle rod bounced almost immediately; this fish took my bait. That was it for the first hour! Nor did I see anybody else catch anything. I maintained a down-wind and down-current speed of about 1.0 mph (+/-). Having passed through most of my previously productive waypoints, at 8 AM I was presented with a decision; to pick up and repeat this unproductive drift (most people seemed to be doing this), or continue south, into "new" water? I chose the latter, and it was good decision. Between 8 and 9 AM I scored 4 legal-sized walleyes (15-17 inches) and a few perch (from tiny to just over 10 inches.) I was releasing everything, but it was nice to know I could catch food fish if I had to! I'd had first crack at this "new" water, but the fleet was following me, now. At about 9 AM, I picked up lines and headed back north, but not all the way; I inserted myself into the fleet at about Red Marker "26". I picked up a couple of walleye on this pass, including 18- and 20-inchers. Both of these had eaten "real" crawlers, while my Gulp! remained relatively unmolested. (I did catch a variety of small perch on it this day, and lost the likely largest walleye near the boat; so it was still worth pulling!) A final pass yielded another walleye as well as a couple more perch. All rods had produced (both perch and walleye), but the real crawlers were most productive this day. I'd had visions of a quicker limit and then exploration with new techniques (aggressively jigging grubs off bottom, trolling small spoons or cranks for 'eyes, deep cranking or jerking for bass, etc.) But by now it was 11 AM, hot and calming; every power boat in southeast Michigan seemed to be on the lake. I decided to call it a day before LSC could get the best of me; I was home, in good shape, at 2 PM! What do I have to say about this? This is a relaxing way to fish, I just need to team up with somebody that would like to eat these walleye! I made two good calls this day: to get crawlers; and, to continue south into undisturbed waters. The best fishing of the day occurred as I led the fleet south; I had first crack at this group of fish. And this group seemed to stay in this same area (although I could not discern any difference in the bottom or cover.) All my walleye came from south of my previous waypoints. I got my share, too, as I saw only a single fish netted by the fleet all morning; and that fleet grew to about four dozen vessels between 9:30 and 10 AM. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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Date: June 17, 2019 Body of Water: Lake St. Clair (LSC) Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Walleye and then Smallmouth Bass Time: Launched at 7:30 AM; returned to ramp at 3:30 PM Conditions: Generally overcast with a northerly wind, diminishing over the day from about 10 mph. Water was chalky green and 55 degrees offshore; very clear and 63 degrees on the spawning grounds at Memorial Park; and 65 degrees and stained to muddy in L'Anse Creuse Bay. As I drove to Lake St. Clair, I still didn't know if I was going to target smallmouth bass or walleye. I'd thrown some bottom bouncers, crawler harnesses and Gulp! into the tackle bag; when the bass get post-spawn and finicky, I've been able to rely on off-shore walleyes at this time year to keep the bites coming! But, it's been a late spring; bass were reportedly still spawning; the moon was full; and, I simply prefer bass. I would generally prefer to fish for brown bass! Upon arriving at the the ramp, though, walleye seemed like a better deal. The gray skies, north wind, walleye chop (but not so much as to make the run to the shipping channel too difficult or painful) all seduced me to try the 'eyes, at least first. I'm not much of a walleye fisherman (I'm not crazy about harvesting or eating them), but I do enjoy a peaceful day involving a simple spread of bottom bouncers, a lot of space to roam and plenty of bites. For whatever reason, mid-June walleye seem to drop down from the St. Clair River's main channel to markers 27 and 28 in the shipping channel of Lake St. Clair. I've found them there each of the last several years. Unlike previous years, this time there were no signs of mayfly husks on the water, and the water was a solid 7-10 degrees cooler than similarly timed trips in 2017 and 2018. But, a dozen or so boats had also made the trip out there, so there was at least a general expectation for some golden walleye to be present. I deployed three rods; a bottom bouncer with a small Mack's Smiley blade (silver) with a pinched Gulp! crawler (chartreuse); a bottom bouncer with a more conventional fire-tiger perch spinner dressed with a full Gulp! crawler; and a long-lined crank-bait behind the boat. (I used a variety of slender- and shad-style walleye baits, but none of these ever got hit at the slow speeds I was fishing. This presentation will not be discussed further, here.) I presented these, moving with the current and wind at about 1.0 mph (+/- 0.2 mph) with the electric trolling motor. I started just north of marker 28 and went south, along the east side of the channel, almost down to marker 24. Depths were generally 20-21 feet. The Mack and pinched bait got hit almost immediately, but the Gulp! got stolen from the hook. I re-set with high hopes, but then a lull hit the fleet. It took almost 20 minutes before I got my next bite, and a 15.5-inch walleye was welcomed aboard. I'd prefer bigger; but this size (to about 17 inches) represents the current, dominant year class; and I'm rarely in a position to bicker, when it comes to 'eyes. I'd collected another, 16+ inches and a hefty silver bass before I ended this first drift. I'd seen only one other net; the fishing was not fast and furious, but I was getting my share; I ran upstream to set up my next drift. I collected two more legal-sized walleye on this drift (as well as a tiny 12-incher). I cut this drift short on both ends. One of my fish was on a waypoint from the first drift, and several of the fish had come from a slightly deeper, mapped depression; my third and last drift now focused on this area to a greater degree. It was now about 10 AM, and I was hoping to get my fifth legal-sized "limit" fish by 11 AM; what I didn't expect was for the bite to improve to the degree by which I had 10 walleyes by 11. All but one came on the same silver Mack Smiley combo; for the third drift I'd switched out the traditional spinner harness for a chartreuse Mack Smiley blade. Strangely enough, all but the last fish continued to eat the silver blade. Perhaps color does make a difference! And I still had enough time to go bass fishing! I ran into the Mile Roads, near Memorial Park. Very few people were bass fishing, and many were out in deep (14+ feet) water. All observed appeared to have "low energy". I decided to try my trolling tactics here, switching over to cranks at 1.7 mph or so. I caught quite a few fish in 11 - 12 feet of water. Once again, KVD Flat 1.5 cranks in white perch and sexy shad produced well. At just a short cast back, these ran deep enough to occasionally tick the scruffy weeds emerging from the lake's bottom. In addition to 6 or 8 rock bass (which seemed to definitely prefer the white perch lure, to which they bore a strong resemblance in shape and color) to true trophy size, I landed three bass to 18 inches. I jumped a few bass, too. The 18-incher kept me going; those are the fish I was hoping for. But, at 1 PM, I ran away from these fish (twice in one day? Really?) to go look for more walleyes in L'Anse Creuse Bay's muddier waters. I had to run that way to return to the ramp, anyway, and I figured this was a good excuse to give this newer area (a known community hole, especially with the stained water) a legitimate shot. However, other than finding some nice, deep cabbage patches (waypoints were secured) for future efforts, nothing productive happened by the time I pulled my plug at 3 PM. What do I have to say about this? It really was a relaxing day; a full weekday of fishing with no troubles! It was good to convince myself that I can walleye fish, and it was a pleasure to soak in the peace and quiet of slow, e-trolling in the middle of this lake. I'll get back to bassing when they settle in to their summer patterns. And, my bass cranking rods with 15-pound fluoro make great bottom-bouncing rods! They telegraph bottom conditions and bites, are light enough to be sporting, and have enough backbone to handle all the fish I've encountered, so far! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: June 1, 2019 Body of Water: Lake St. Clair (LSC) Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Smallmouth Bass Time: 8 AM - 11 AM Conditions: Overcast; winds from all quadrants and generally less than 10 mph and diminishing; but thunderstorms brewing, with the first thunderclap just after 11 AM and the first deluge at 11:20 AM as I approached the ramp. Water was very clear (>10 ft visibility) and about 62 degrees F. The wind was stronger, more northerly, and more easterly than I'd hoped and expected; and my fishing started off very slowly. A crowd of boats off Twelve Mile/Memorial Park from 6 to 10 feet of water or so marked the current Community Hole. I joined them surrounded by plotted waypoints from past catches. The water was very clear, and the bass were on the verge of the spawn. The catching could have been absolutely awesome; it just wasn't. I tried cranks and jerks as my preferred tactics; but everybody else was scratching bottom with tubes, Neds or drop shots. After a half hour or so without any action, I drifted a Ned Rig from the rod holder and immediately caught a rock bass, the first of the season. Soon thereafter and in the same area, I switched from a standard green tube to a smaller, goby/green Powerbait tube and almost immediately scored a nice, 16-inch buck smallmouth from about 8 feet of water. Things were looking up! After another slow period, I moved a bit to the north, but still in the area of Memorial Park and still surrounded by waypoints from the past. It was much less crowded here. The tube and Ned produced three more bass, but these were all small, between 13 and 14.5 inches; these were small males and not the fish I was hoping for. As I considered my options, I glanced over my shoulder to the west and noticed seriously darkening skies. As I checked local radar on my phone, a single, but close, thunderclap struck. It was time to get off the water! What do I have to say about this? I never really found my groove this morning. Obviously, the session was interrupted and cut short by the weather; but I'm not sure I would have hit my stride this day. While most reports have indicated "lights out" bass fishing, this particular area seemed to be struggling; and I'm not certain I had a longer run in me. Three legal bass to only 5.5 or 6 pounds; not a good day. And, why was I in the serious minority in getting off the water? Most folks didn't even make a move toward shore or the many marinas. To me, that makes absolutely no sense. If only because I know how much it ended up raining; but also, because there will be so many more days to catch fish! At least, that's my plan! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: May 15, 2019 Body of Water: Lake St. Clair (LSC) Boat: Guide's 23-foot Ranger Bay Boat With: BL and Guide Target: Smallmouth Bass Time: 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM Conditions: Mixed sun and clouds, with temps rising from about 50 to about 75 degrees F. Winds were generally southerly to about 12 mph. Water was mixed, too, and ranged from about 50 degrees (especially early in the day) to about 54 degrees F; clarity varied, too, from about 2 feet visibility to over 6 feet in the southern portion of the main lake. The day started with my first car-deer collision. I was barely 15 miles from home when she presented herself at the side fringe of my headlights. It was over before I could react. I pulled over to the highway's edge and inspected my truck. Despite considerable damage to my left front and left side passenger door, the lights were all functional and I could not identify any damage that would prohibit driving the truck. After a few pics at the scene of the crime (Mile 123 on east-bound I-96) and a quick call to my insurance company, I continued on. After all, I had a lot of fish to catch and many miles to cover; this trip to Lake St. Clair was simply Day 1 of my trip to Cape Cod to pick up the new boat and score some early-season stripers. I joined good friend, BL, on a guided trip out of St. Clair Shores. It was wonderful to simply step on another boat, pick up a rod, and fish all day, leaving the decisions and control of the boat to somebody else. The guide proved to be an enjoyable companion, too. I got exposed to new areas of the lake, and I found that he was fishing areas as opposed to spots; and also that his days vary, and there are specific windows of opportunity with each day. We started in a bay around 10 Mile Road, focusing on 7-11 fow. I threw a small paddle-tail swim bait, the guide worked a tube, and BL scratched Ned along the bottom. All baits, interestingly, were typical LSC green in color. That means something, for sure! The guide warned us that the mornings had recently started slowly, but he almost immediately caught two 15- or 16-inch smallies. It was nice to see some action right off the bat, but in the next hour or more, we had only a few bites. I caught the first silver bass of the season aboard his boat (the first of several I caught for the day) on the swim bait, and I caught a 16-inch or so smallie on the deeper side of our range. Our guide had prepared me by telling me to resist setting the hook until the rod loaded; and this worked perfectly for this lone smallie. I noticed a jerk-bait setup on his deck and asked to try it, if only to keep the bass honest with periodic showings of this presentation. I almost immediately got bit on his natural-colored Lucky Craft pointer, but farmed this fish out out. I did, however, score a nice 17-incher a few minutes later. But these weren't the fish we were looking for, and we were soon off to Gaukler Point. The water here was the most stained we fished for the day, and there were many boats fishing this community hole. We concentrated on new-to-me water here, mostly to the north of the point and inside the bay to the north. We avoided most of the other boats. I quickly connected with my jerk (now a naturally-colored Lucky Craft Pointer 110 Deep Diver), and I hardly put the jerk down for the rest of the day. I caught a half dozen to over 4 pounds (4-4) pretty quickly and completed my five-fish "limit" with about 15 pounds by 10:30 AM. The day was shaping up, and even BL picked up the jerk to score a couple of 16-inchers. From here we moved sequentially south along Grosse Pointe to south of the Delphine Channel. This was all new water to me, and I liked it, in part because I remained the hot stick. There appeared to be more boulders and reefs in these areas. While the bite slowed, I caught a couple of more 4-pounders, several 3-pounders, and lost a legitimate 5-pounder at the net, all on the jerk. We ended the day with 20 landed bass, of which I had accounted for 14 or 15. I'd also lost several at boat side, and had swung and missed a few times, too. My Top 5 would have weighed 18.5 pounds, conservatively; Lake St. Clair had provided another fine day! What do I have to say about this? This was an enjoyable and successful start to my trip. I learned that "the pros" are not totally on top of them all of the time, but that with effort, perseverance and a variety of presentations, you can get the bites to add up on this lake, if you are in the right areas. Strangely enough, the next day's bite was reportedly all on tubes, and at about double the pace; jerks did not factor at all. And the report for the next day was a much slower bite, with jerks playing a bigger factor; one never really knows! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: May 11, 2019 Body of Water: Lake St. Clair (LSC) Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Smallmouth Bass Time: 10 AM - 3:30 PM Conditions: Cloudy; 50 - 55 degrees F; NNE wind at about 10 mph; water was very stained with about 2 feet of visibility and was 53-54 degrees F. The week had featured wind, rain and more cool temperatures. I expected the water temperature to have remained about the same, and I had a couple of logical starting points. I knew water clarity and boat control might pose challenges, but I felt equipped to try to handle them. Temperatures had inched up just a degree or so; and the stained water seemed to be more uniformly degraded than the patchiness I'd previously encountered. In my starting spot off The 400 Club in 10 feet of water, I had about 2 feet of visibility; enough to garner some bites, perhaps. After a half-hour drift through previously productive waypoints from about 12 feet into 9 feet or so without a sign of life (I casted a rattle-bait and a crank-bait while dragging a tube, too), I relocated to the last trip's productive stretch, just south of Memorial Park. Here the water conditions were very similar to those encountered further north. I did quickly score the first fish of the season on a casted crank-bait (a 15-inch white bass that intercepted my brown perch KVD 1.5 Flat in about 10.5 fow), but otherwise I rattled, cranked and jerked this area with no success. Given the northerly wind, I didn't really want to go much further south if I didn't have to. I decided to resort to the trolling tactics of the last trip in order to see if the fish were still responsive to slow-trolled cranks. I ran to the north end of this stretch, and just as I was setting up my three-rod spread, a boat in about 11.5 fow hooked up. It appeared to be a sizable bass; big enough for me to hedge my trolling path to the deeper side of my waypoints from the previous trip. Before I even reached that stretch of waypoints, I'd caught a couple of brown bass, including a fine, 4.25-pounder. The fish were still there, including some of the right ones! The bite was never fast and furious, but there was a steady pick of bites. It took an hour and a half to record Bass No. 5, and my initial "limit" was on the order of 14.5 pounds in total weight. But the next couple of hours offered several opportunities to upgrade; two additional bass just over four pounds came aboard, as well as several more between 3 and 3.25 pounds. By 3:30 PM, I'd landed 16 bass with the largest five totaling 18.5 pounds, conservatively. I'd also caught two nice "eater" walleye and a fine, 28-inch channel cat. I'd farmed out a few heavy fish, too, along the way. All of this in an area where I'd been unable to get a bass bite on my casted lures. Once again a trolling speed of about 1.5 mph with the electric motor triggered a lot of bites. Depths from 10.5 to 11.5 fow were most productive. The lures were literally just a short cast behind the boat. If a lure went too long without getting hit, I'd let out five or ten more feet of line, and sometimes this would trigger a strike. But the short cast method must have placed the lures close to the bottom anyway, because quite often a lure would get fouled soon after any "lengthening" attempt on my part. Last week's star, the shad-colored Arashi Flat 7, was pretty quiet. The brown perch KVD 1.5 Flat crank caught all of the sizable bass, as well as most of the smaller ones, too. A sexy shad KVD 1.5 Flat caught the interesting bonus fish, and a blue parrot Arashi generated a few bites. What do I have to say about this? I'd rather catch them casting, but I've enjoyed these simple trolling efforts. My next trip will feature a guide; I hope to see how he deals with these water conditions. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: May 5, 2019 Body of Water: Lake St. Clair Boat: Numenon With: A Target: Smallmouth Bass Time: 9 AM - 3 PM Conditions: Clear and bright; 45 - 65 degrees; winds ESE at less than 10 mph. Water varied from stained to muddy (inside 8 fow or so.) Water was generally 51-53 degrees F. Lots of boats out today! So you think you have a starting point; but you turn out to be mistaken! After three hours of pounding 9-12 feet of water from the 400 Club to south of Memorial Park, we hadn't had a bite! And it seemed like most of the other boats we encountered were suffering similar humiliation. A was still enjoying herself, but I was disappointing myself in my inability to catch some fish with her; I was feeling some self-imposed pressure. Inside 9 feet, I believe the water really was too muddy; and what success I'd observed later in the morning had been focused on 9.5 or 10 fow. I spent more and more time with a crank in my hands, covering water, looking for that first bite. But at Noon, it still hadn't happened. Just to get a bite (walleye? drum?), I quickly set a spread of three cranks pulled behind the boat with the electric motor. We'd only gone a couple of hundred feet in 10.5 fow before a rod bent over; a nice, keeper-sized bass had eaten the shad-colored Storm Arashi Flat 7, just a short cast behind the boat. At least we weren't skunked! I reset lines, pointed the boat north at about 1.5 mph, and we soon had a double-header. I lost mine, but A landed a fine, 4.5-pounder that had eaten this same bait. Within a very short amount of time, we had a very refined pattern; 10.5 fow, 1.5 mph+/-, and shad-shaped cranks. The Arashi produced well in sexy shad, produced a few bites in parrot blue/chartreuse, and was complemented well by a KVD Flat 1.5 in yellow/brown perch. A stretch of a few hundred yards, a bit south of Memorial Park in 10-11 fow, produced about 15 bites for 11 landed brown bass. And these were the right bass, as evidenced by a quick 19-pound limit that included a very cullable 2.5-pounder, but also a short, brutish 6-1. Our day was made! What do I have to say about this? I wish I could explain how we went from zero activity to fast-paced fishing, all while fishing kind of the same water with some of the very same lures. I can just accept that there was something special about the trolled cranks, in comparison to casted and retrieved cranks. It made all the difference on this day! I am pleased to have kept at it; I am learning that this lake is sometimes fickle, and very often unpredictable. But the fish are there, and locally abundant. I need to remember to keep working at it, and to change locations and tactics if it's not working out. I could be very pleasantly surprised! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: May 4, 2019 Body of Water: LSC Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Smallmouth Bass Time: 9:45 AM - 3:15 PM (fishing time) Conditions: Mostly cloudy with generally northerly winds less than 10 mph. These swung around to SE later in the day. Air temps 45 to 60 degrees F. Water was mixed, ranging from stained to muddy. Temperatures varied from 49 to almost 53 degrees. Best fishing was in green, stained water with 2 to 4 feet of visibility. Water clarity was clearly patchy; you could see it, and the patches became more obvious as the day's lighting conditions improved. When my chosen starting point, off Memorial Park in about 12 feet of water, was dirtier than I like, I chose to start with a red craw rattle-bait instead of a crank. Just a few casts in, I scored a smallie just over three pounds from about 11 fow; the day was off to a good start! This was my first LSC smallie on a rattle-bait; I now expected a bunch of bites! I received no further action in the next half hour, and the water really was dirtier than I prefer. I made a short move, North, to some cleaner, yet still stained water with 3-4 feet of visibility. I continued casting with the rattle-bait, but now dragged a green pumpkin tube from a holder, too, as the wind picked up. The tube garnered two bites quickly; a giant drum and a beautiful, fat, 3-pound, 5-ounce brown bass. Both fish were from 10.5-11 fow; I was developing something of a pattern. I repeated this drift a couple of times. I continued dragging the tube, but I alternated between blades, cranks and jerks from the bow. The perch-colored BPS blade-bait scored two more bass at 3-1 and 3-12. This last fish was the shallowest of the day at 10 fow. It took another hour to get my next bite. (I thought about leaving the area to look for my limit fish, bigger fish, or better fish; but when does one leave 3-4 pound smallies?) Bass No. 5 ate the perch blade in about 10.5 fow (I now had a collection of tightening waypoints), and tipped my scale at 4-4. My "limit" weighed 17-8, and it was only Noon. This is when you leave 3- to 4-pound bass; you've already had a good day, you have half a day ahead of you, and you were on even better fish the prior weekend. I motored down to Gaukler Point and joined the throngs. I saw a few fish get caught down here, but not many, given the pressure. I relied mostly on cranks and jerks, hoping the bass would reveal themselves and become vulnerable to these power techniques. It didn't happen here, and it didn't happen along the seawall at Jefferson Marina, either. (It was probably too muddy here.) I hit a few spots on my way north, but for no good. I couldn't get anything going. But that was okay, I planned on returning the next day with A, and I now had a solid starting point for our next LSC adventure! What do I have to say about this? This was a solid day, and while I couldn't build on my fast start, I was satisfied in that I persisted, and still had time to explore, experiment and learn. And, I'd not beaten myself up so much that it would be painful to come back so soon. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: April 27, 2019 Body of Water: Lake St. Clair (LSC) Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Smallmouth Bass Time: 11 AM - 5 PM Conditions: Clear and 45 degrees with NW winds about 15 mph, but diminishing to 10 mph or less. Skies clouded over as temperatures rose to about 50 and the wind swung through the westerlies to settle in at SE at about 10 mph. Water was surprisingly clear (6 feet, +/-) and green. I decided to squeeze the trip between the Small Craft Advisory ending at 10 AM and the Winter Storm Watch for the evening. I suspected it was against my "better judgment", but I succumbed to my motivation to start my LSC Season in April. Conditions proved to be more favorable than I could have expected or wanted; and, I found some fish! I was super-pleased to find the water at my first stop (The 400 Club) to be very clear, but green. It was the first clear water I'd encountered in fishable depths as I ran across L'Anse Creuse Bay from the Harrison Township Metropark facility. Both the Clinton River and the cut-off were pumping volumes of mud into the lake, and the wind had really been kicking for the last 36 hours or so. Since I've never done well with LSC bass in dirty water, this was a relief! The water was also a bit warmer than I'd anticipated; 49 degrees. Conditions were perfect for jerk-baiting, which is my preferred method of locating active smallmouths. The wind was blowing pretty well from the NW, but I was in the lee of the shoreline, and boat control was not an issue. I completed three drifts from about 6 to 12 feet of water without any sign of fish. Jerks and rattle-baits had been completely ignored, as had the Ned Rig that I dragged from a rod holder as I drifted. I decided to run down to Gaukler Point and the Edsel Ford House. I've had spotty success there in the past; for me, this area has proven to be momentarily hot or simply stone cold. But, I knew that there is quite a bit of rock structure in the area, and if I didn't find fish elsewhere, I was going to end up there, anyway. Why not get the run over with and work my way back north as necessary? While there had been just a few boats near The 400 Club and I passed several in the Twelve Mile area as I motored south, there were quite a few (a couple of dozen or so) working the stretch from north of the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club to the 9 Mile Tower. The water looked appealing, as it was just slightly more stained than the water I'd just left. I was confident that there should be bass in the area, and I had just set up my first drift when a nearby boat hooked up. Since they appeared to dragging tubes, I put down my rattle-bait search lure. I couldn't quite give in to the slow tedium of tubes or Ned while I still sought my first bass of the trip, so as a compromise, I switched to a Heddon Sonar blade-bait. I'd scratch the bottom while still actively casting and searching, if only at a slower pace than I could with a jerk or crank. It didn't take long at all for my rod to go "mushy". I swung and confirmed the weight and movement of a fish! It hit the net and scale; exactly 2.5 pounds of April Smallmouth! She'd hit in about 10 feet of water. My initial goal for the day was complete at about 12:30 PM; I'd found and landed a legal-sized brown bass. Now, I could comfortably move on to my secondary goals of securing a virtual limit of five legal-sized bass and/or catching a large bass. When I caught a twin just a few minutes later in slightly shallower water (8 feet or so) on the same bait and presentation, either of those secondary goals seemed likely. But then I went cold. I switched Ned out for a gold and black hair jig I'd tied a few seasons before. On a 1/16-ounce lead head and buoyed by bucktail, I envisioned this morsel slowly and irresistibly floating over the heads of any smallmouths in the area. I continued to expertly present this lure from the rod holder as I control-drifted through areas, casting and searching with the blade. My next two fish came on the hair jig, so that had been a good call. They were both 3-pounders, too (3 pounds, 4 ounces and 3 pounds, 2 ounces, respectively), so perhaps this bait was selecting for larger bass. It was worth keeping in the water, for sure. At this point, I was feeling the "pressure" of catching bass No. 5. The pace of activity had slowed, and most boats had gone elsewhere. I had other spots I knew I could try; but could they really be any better than what I had here? I decided to stay and grind, while offering a larger variety of presentations. Last season had been fabulous for cranks, and I was right in the proper depth range for one of my favorites. Nada. I continued to keep any bass present honest with occasional casts with a variety of jerk-baits. Nada. Even the rattle-bait failed to get eaten. I finally resorted to switching my Sonar blade (white) to a BPS blade (gold perch), if only because the sky conditions had changed. Perhaps the original bait wasn't as attractive as it had been. A few casts later, just after ripping the new bait free from some scraggly weeds, this blade was ambushed. I carefully played No. 5 into the net; she was the biggest of the bunch at 3 pounds, 12 ounces. At 2:55 PM, I'd secured my virtual limit; 15 pounds and 2 ounces, which is always a good day, in my honest and humble opinion. The only thing better than reporting back home with a pic and some good stories is to find out that there were no meaningful pressures on my time; I could stay and try to build on my day! And so, I did. The first order of business was to decide whether to stay, or go. I believed there were plenty of fish here, but the action had been quite slow for the previous hour or more. On the other hand, did I have enough time to find and refine the presentation to another group of fish? I decided to compromise; I'd give this area another 20 or 30 minutes, and if I didn't upgrade my catch, I would go elsewhere. Had somebody flipped a switch? My next two casts produced another 3-pounder (blade) and a 4-pound, one ounce beauty (hair jig.) These last three fish had all come from a small area adjacent to a small hump that rose to about 6 feet. The top of the hump seemed vacant, but the triad of waypoints to the side seemed to be worthy of my attention. I picked up the smallest fish of the day (less than two pounds and the only bass of the day less than 2 pounds, 8 ounces) on the blade, which I then promptly and cleanly lost to an unseen Esox. Rather than re-tieing, I picked up my jerk-bait rod and fired out the pink Rapala X-Rap. After a few aggressive jerks, I provided a longish pause. When I resumed my twitching, the rod loaded; I'd fooled the first jerk-bait fish of the day and of my 2019 season! The next 45 minutes or so was pretty intense and produced smallmouth bass weighing 4-8, 4-5 and 4-2 (pounds-ounces), as well as numerous others between 2.5 and 3.5 pounds. That longish pause seemed to be the key, but other things had changed, too, particularly the sky conditions and wind direction (S to SE). When the wind freshened from the SE, the bite slowed; but I still continued to enjoy encounters with quality bass to over 3 pounds on this same jerk. As I raced to my self-imposed 5 PM deadline for "lines out", I hoped for bass No. 20 or another upgrade. When I threw my jerk-bait off on a cast (because of a failed snap!) at about 4:50 PM, I decided to call it a day at 19 bass. At least my snap had not failed on a fish; but this type of failure was a first for me while bass fishing. I'd done some serious "culling" in the last couple of hours, and I believe my final "limit" consisted of bass weighing 3-12 (blade), 4-1 (hair), and 4-2, 4-5 and 4-8 (jerk). With a total weight of 20 pounds and 12 ounces, I think this is my heaviest-ever "limit" purely of smallmouth bass. Not a bad day, given my original expectations. What do I have to say about this? LSC is both huge and dynamic. She is impossibly fickle and generous, too. I am not sure that I can ever predict what might happen, good or bad. I am simply just not out there frequently enough. What I have learned is to go when I can; and to work at it when I am out there. The fish are certainly there, in numbers and sizes not readily available elsewhere. I landed on the "good" side of LSC's temper on this trip. This was my first ever trip to LSC in April, and I picked up a couple of new-to-me patterns, refined a location, and made hay with a favored presentation. It was an excellent combination of new and familiar, comfort and work. Finally, my preparations from the winter have paid off in trouble-free trip execution. And, my trusty, $13 1996 rod from Cabela's, rehabilitated with a new Winn Grip, has proven to be an effective and enjoyable way to present jerk-baits. Not a bad deal! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways 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 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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