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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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