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Date: May 11 , 2018 Body of Water: Lake St. Clair (LSC) Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Smallmouth Bass Time: 6:45 AM to 2:30 PM (Fishing time) Conditions: Windier than expected (again); winds were solid 10 - 15 mph and NE, 180 degrees from last trip; water was generally stained to muddy, but the best fishing was where water was green with 2 - 3 feet of visibility. Water temps from consistently 59-60 degrees F. Skies were initially clear but clouds and heavy rain developed. Air temperatures stayed a consistent and surprising 45 degrees F. First to arrive at the Lake St. Clair Metropark launch, I cleared the channel at about 6:30 AM and was set up in about 9 feet of greenish water off 11 or 12 Mile Road by 6:45 AM. The water temperature was about 59 degrees, and with the wind conditions in this exposed location, I knew I wanted a horizontal presentation. I figured I'd alternate between the KVD Sexy Shad crank and a jerk-bait until the fish told me what they wanted. It didn't take long; about five casts in, I swung and connected with a healthy 17-incher. Once again, I thought it might be a great day! Subsequent casts yielded a nice keeper walleye (gyotaku-bound!), a white bass and a feisty rock bass. I also briefly connected with a heavy, unseen fish. All this on my favorite spring crank, while the pink X-Rap (so productive last trip) produced only a single white bass. There was only one other boat around, and there's something about Lake St. Clair that makes one think one can do better, elsewhere. So, I left these fish and headed south, past the Edsel Ford House. I'd hoped to make the run before it got too rough; I did not. Conditions were now solidly gray and raw. With the increased fetch, seas were a solid two feet. This made the water here too muddy and boat control next to impossible. After just a few casts, I relocated to the productive sea-wall from the last trip. Here the water was just as muddy and conditions were downright dangerous. This was all wasted time. I ran north to L'anse Creuse Bay, hoping to get out of the wind and perhaps find some clearer water. But the water here was hopelessly muddy for bass, so I turned south again. As I headed south, I could see that the submerged point at about 15 Mile Road was perhaps deflecting the muddy outflow of the Clinton River and cut-off out into to the lake; and the protected "eddy" from here to the south was likely the clearest water available to me on this day. (At least in the pre-spawn depth range that I felt most comfortable with for finding bass this day.) Since this area has produced my biggest ever LSC Bass, I set up once again in about 10 feet of water, on the clearer side of a color edge. I continued to cast a variety of cranks while dragging a 3.5-inch tube jig (greenish brown; it matched the water quite well), presented via rod holder. By now, it had been more than a couple of hours since my last fish. I was pleased with this area when the tube produced a couple of small brown bass (14.1 and 14.5 inches) and a fully grown freshwater drum. Again, these weren't the fish I really wanted, so went back to my starting area. I now appreciated the relative clarity of the water here. I also knew there were some bass present, I had lots of history from multiple years here, and I knew they might continue to eat cranks. Plus, one of them could always weigh six or seven pounds; what more motivation could one ask for? After an initial drift, I made a slight change in depth and quickly caught a white bass. Not my target, but life! And, confirmation that my crank (I was back to throwing the KVD Sexy Shad) was visible to the fish! Plus, this fish was at the same depth as my first, early-morning bass. It made me confident to continue to throw this particular crank in this particular area. I was then quickly rewarded with a fat, 3-pound bass. Over the next 90 minutes or so, I enjoyed some really fine fishing. All ate this same crank, and all were from about 8.5 feet of water (+/-). I refined my retrieve and cadence, and my location, too; I was no longer wasting time, I was making the most of what I had left. The bass were all over 17 inches, up to a fat 18.5-incher that I'll claim weighed four pounds. "Culling" three of my initial, smaller bass, my final "limit" (virtual; no fish were kept) was conservatively between 15 and 16 pounds. Not too bad, given these conditions; and possible only because of perseverance. Bonus catches included a nice, 20-inch class walleye, a feist channel cat of about four pounds, and a couple of additional white bass and rock bass. I also missed a couple of fish, but these were unseen and so cannot be identified; but at least one seemed substantial. What do I have to say about this? This cold front will prevent the bass from continuing their spawn; and Sunday looks like a decent weather day. I hope to successfully introduce A to Lake St. Clair. I hope we find some crank-bait bass, but if it's other fish, that's okay, too. In fact, I'm bringing some walleye gear just in case I've lost a clearer-water window as the rains continue; I suspect that slowly trolled cranks or crawler harnesses will generate a few bites. Meanwhile, I'm feeling pretty good about this tough fishing day; I succeeded under pretty tough conditions. I also lost my windsock along a windward, rocky shore and lost steering functionality of my trolling motor steering. Any of these are not good things that might have derailed me to a certain extent in the past. Now, they're just part of the story of the day, nowhere near powerful enough for me to conclude that it was anything but Another Fine Day! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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