|
Date: June 24, 2018 Body of Water: Lake St. Clair Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Walleye Time: 6:15 AM - 11:30 AM Conditions: Cloudy and 65 degrees with mild SW winds; but wind swinging to NW and persistent rain developing. Mid-lake water was clear, emerald green and about 64 degrees F. Tons of insects hatching (stones, caddis, mayflies.) I decided to take advantage of the change in seasons by doing something different; I chose to target walleye. I'd already caught a few while bass fishing here, and there is obviously a strong year class of "eaters"; many were saying it was the best walleye fishing in the system in years, if not decades. I was greeted at the gas station by a dozen or more tricked-out bass rigs. I then followed them into the park to wait with a dozen more rigs for access to the launch. I was pleased not to be targeting bass; these guys would have been a disruption to my plans. All went smoothly enough, but I was surprised that this launch was hosting such a large tournament. I asked the gent in the adjacent lane what time they would return for weigh-in, and he replied in a Southern drawl that this was not a tournament; they were here to practice for the tournament starting on Thursday! The air was filled with mayflies as I cruised down the channel. At the lake, conditions were gray and calm; I decided to run to the shipping lane and target the area from markers 26 to 28. The flat on the east side of the channel, adjacent to the Canadian border is a well-documented community hole. Even I had caught a couple of walleyes there a year ago! With the mild wind generally from the south, I chose to set up a bit upwind of my 2017 waypoints. My plan was to slowly troll with the electric motor, presenting bottom bouncers off each corner of the stern, and a weighted flat line farther back. My baits of choice were Mack's Smile blades with Gulp! pinched crawlers; or a standard crawler harness in fire-tiger with a real crawler. Once I adjusted my weights to stay on bottom in 19-foot depths at my dialed-in speed of 1.2 - 1.4 mph, the bites started accumulating quickly. The real crawler produced more bites, but the Gulp! seemingly produced slightly larger fish. Using bass casting tackle designed for cranks, detecting bites was easy and the fish were sporty enough. It was relaxing and fun! The first walleye came aboard just after 7 AM, and I secured my virtual limit (eight walleyes over 15 inches; all were released to continue growing) by 8 AM. The walleye ranged from 15 to 17 inches; and by this time, there were dozens of boats fishing this general area. Fortunately, my bites were a bit farther south than the main pack, and so I chose to work this spot with just a couple of companions. By 9 AM, I'd doubled my walleye catch and had also encountered a couple of perch and white bass, too. But the 'eyes were all the same size; I was no longer learning; the bite was slowing, and the lake was pretty calm. So I decided to relocate; and set up in about 14 feet of water outside the 9-Mile Tower. I almost immediately caught two 12-inch smallmouth bass. It was surprisingly weedy here, though, so I moved a bit north. As the weeds thinned out, the skies in front of me darkened. Now fishing in 16 or 17 feet of water north of 12-Mile, the flat-line got slammed! I immediately knew it wasn't a walleye; after a dogged fight including a few nice runs near the boat, it turned out to be a giant drum. Unfortunately, the small hook bent and pulled just before I could coax the fish into the net. At about this time, a persistent rain started; and it didn't look like it was going to stop. When the next fish was another walleye of the same year class, I decided I'd had enough. The boat was back on the trailer by Noon, and I was home by 2 PM or so. That gave me the rest of the day to watch the Sox and get ready for Maine! What do I have to say about this? This was a nice change of pace and let me shift gears from intense bass fishing to the intense striper fishing I will tackle over the week of July 4. The day's mission was certainly accomplished! Next stop - Casco Bay! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Steve LachanceRI --> NH --> MI-->MA-->ME Archives
June 2024
Categories
All
|
Proudly powered by Weebly