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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
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