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Post by moray on May 16, 2011 7:35:15 GMT -5
I'm heading up to St.Clair for the first time ever weds. I'm staying in Chesterfield and launching out of anglers point marina.Does anyone have any tips on places to fish in that area for smallmouths?Has anyone fished up there yet this year?I hope this cold weather doesn't mess them up to bad!Thanks for any help. Ray
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Post by whitetail1 on May 16, 2011 7:45:55 GMT -5
Hi Ray - right now, the 2 hottest areas that I'm hearing about are Selfridge and the Mile Roads. They have had some bad weather up there the past couple of days, so water clarity is not real good. If the water clears up, I would start in Selfridge, south of the launch, in 4-5 feet. If the water is still dingy, move out deeper till you find cleaner water. This will be the first year in the past 13-14 years that I will not be making a trip up there due to work obligations. I will really miss being able to fish there, but will definitely be back next year. Here is a map that may help you with some key areas if you are not familiar with them... www.marinecruiser.com/chart.htmlI think you'll enjoy this time of year better than mid summer. If you have any specific questions, shoot me a pm. Good luck and let us know how you do.
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Post by moray on May 16, 2011 9:54:20 GMT -5
Whitetail1,thanks for the info.Sorry to hear you can't make it up to fish this year.I love this time of year for smallies and made up my mind that I was going to fish St.Clair in spring!I only have 1 question,I found the mile roads on the map[great map by the way] but nothing marked Selfridge.Is that a town,a road or something else?Thanks agian for your help.
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Post by schall53 on May 16, 2011 11:25:59 GMT -5
Selfridge in above Mile roads. You have to click on fishing icon then move the map down to see it.
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Post by whitetail1 on May 16, 2011 11:44:44 GMT -5
Selfridge is north of the mile roads. The area referred to as "Selfridge" is the area around Selfridge Air National Guard base. There is a launch there and a great bait shop. The Selfridge launch is right where M59/Hall Road meet the lake. This should be just south of where you are staying if you are in Chesterfield. I'll pm you my phone number if you want to call sometime before you go.
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on May 17, 2011 11:17:04 GMT -5
I was supposed to leave tomorrow for St. Clair but have delayed our trip. I don't want to be a bearer of bad news but right now the lake is trashed. From Selfridge down past 9 Mile road is extra dark Chocolate Milk. Fishing was good up until the past Saturday but this past front has NE winds trashing the west shoreline. NE winds are forecasted thru Saturday so conditions are just going to get worse. ANY wind out of the east (SE, E , NE) is bad news because the winds blow across that lake making mud. I've talked to a guide up there and a guy I know who fishes pro and told me to stay home .LOL It's going to be a while before things clear back up. I'm sure you can still find a few fish but the 100 day catches are gone for now. Best bet would be to focus in the canals for largemoughts. St. Clair is such a crystal clear lake that when it does get muddy the fish don't like it one bit. If you need more info PM me. I'm in contact with several guys up there on a daily basis. Just read thru the posts here for more info... www.lakestclair.net/forums/index.php?s=0cf2cb1c529af3ac15ac7c2b56e995f1&showforum=5If the skies ever clear you can check out this website. Its a satellite picture from space that is taken every day. You can see where the mud is. However there hasn't been a clear day since May 9th. All you see is clouds if its cloudy. coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/modis.cgi/modis?region=e&page=1Another thing you could try is calling Doug for lake conditions. He is a guide out of Chesterfield. I don't know this guy personally but he may help you out on the lake conditions. www.finelinefishing.net/
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Post by moray on May 17, 2011 13:47:40 GMT -5
Thanks for the info H.H. I know the lake is in bad shape but this is only chance I have to go. I want to catch smallies,can get lg mouths here if I want them. Do you think I will get any fish or will they be totaly shut down?Hate to drive 5 hrs. for nothing but if I can catch some good ones each day I will still go.
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on May 17, 2011 14:42:22 GMT -5
I think fish can be caught but your numbers will be way down. There are millions of bass in those areas now preparing to spawn. I'm sure a few will bite. Last Friday before the storm some males were already seen on the nest. My bait of choice in these conditions would be a Excalibur XR50. Crank this very slow, at times hitting the bottom. Talk to people at Anglers Point they should be able to help on water reports. Watch those east winds! It's a 500 sq. Mile lake and can get rolling pretty bad. Remember that based on where you are anything that's east is likely to be bad. Latest forecast... LAKE ST CLAIR FORECAST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 935 AM EDT TUE MAY 17 2011 SYNOPSIS NORTHEAST FLOW WILL REMAIN IN PLACE THROUGH THURSDAY...AS LOW PRESSURE OF 29.70 INCHES TRACKS NORTHWEST INTO THE EASTERN OHIO VALLEY. THIS LOW WILL WEAKEN...ALLOWING HIGH PRESSURE OF 30.10 INCHES TO BUILD INTO THE REGION ON FRIDAY. LCZ460-172000- LAKE ST CLAIR- 935 AM EDT TUE MAY 17 2011 THIS AFTERNOON NORTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS. CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS. WAVES 2 TO 3 FEET. TONIGHT NORTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS. LIGHT SHOWERS LIKELY. WAVES 2 TO 3 FEET. WEDNESDAY NORTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS...TURNING TO EAST. CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON...THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. WAVES 1 TO 2 FEET. WEDNESDAY NIGHT NORTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS...TURNING TO EAST. MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY BEFORE MIDNIGHT...THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. WAVES 1 TO 2 FEET. THURSDAY EAST WINDS 5 TO 15 KNOTS...TURNING TO NORTHEAST...THEN BECOMING VARIABLE 10 KNOTS OR LESS LATE. MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS. WAVES AROUND 1 FOOT. FRIDAY VARIABLE WINDS 10 KNOTS OR LESS. PARTLY CLOUDY. WAVES AROUND 1 FOOT. SATURDAY NORTH WINDS 5 TO 15 KNOTS...BECOMING VARIABLE 10 KNOTS OR LESS. PARTLY CLOUDY. WAVES AROUND 1 FOOT. RK WAVES ARE THE SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT - THE AVERAGE OF THE HIGHEST 1/3 OF THE WAVE SPECTRUM. MAXIMUM WAVE HEIGHT IS THE HIGHEST 1/20 WAVE HEIGHT.
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Post by moray on May 17, 2011 15:53:31 GMT -5
I'm hoping to get a few nice ones a day.Weds. doesn't look good but thurs. not to bad.I got some xr50's just for this trip.I can handle the 1 to 2 ft. waves,any bigger I might worry.I have had my boat out in some rough stuff in NewEngland,but not on a lake the size of st.clair.Do you think tubes will still work?I love to jig fish and get bored pretty fast tossing and cranking. Thanks agian for info!
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on May 17, 2011 19:26:41 GMT -5
Some guys were getting fish just dragging tubes in the drift. Seems like the XR50's were productive because of the sound. I'm thinking of maybe heading up this Saturday morning and fish till Wednesday. They were pounding them in this area of Selfridge. PM me your cell number and if I see any changes on the report I'll call you. I may even call you Friday morning just to see how it's going
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Post by moray on May 17, 2011 20:11:52 GMT -5
PM sent. thanks
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Post by whitetail1 on May 17, 2011 20:58:02 GMT -5
Good luck to both of you guys when you get up there. I envy you. Be sure to post up some pics of those HAWG smallies you catch to feed my addiction!
I'm already dreaming of May 2012!
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on May 18, 2011 9:39:29 GMT -5
Ray, I never got your PM... I wont have your number to call you
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Post by moray on May 21, 2011 5:13:06 GMT -5
H.H. sorry about PM. I don't know what I did wrong? Had a good time on my trip.The fishing was slow because of the weather and water condition. After the 5 hr. drive I fished 8 hrs. on weds. and got 10 fish.Sorry no pics. I was fishing by myself.Fished from 6:30 am till 8:00 pm(with an hour off for lunch) on thurs. and only caught 12.Fished till 11 am on fri and got 3.All the fish I caught were nice,the smallest around 2 1/2 lb and the biggest was well over 5 lbs. By far the best smallie I have ever caught!Weather was all over the place,rain,sun,wind,calm,dense fog and t-storms.I'm hoping to get back up there in the summer and I will go back next spring.I'm hooked on those big smallies!Thanks whitetail1 and H.H. for all your help.
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Post by whitetail1 on May 22, 2011 11:44:28 GMT -5
moray - glad you had a good time and caught some big ones. Even though the numbers may have been down, sounds like the average size was GREAT! What areas did you fish and what did you catch most of your fish on?
Hopefully HH is up there right now puttin' some big ole smallies in the boat.
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Post by moray on May 22, 2011 12:16:44 GMT -5
I only fished the Selfridge area.I didn't want to make any long runs because of the weather.Talking to other guys,they were not doing any better at the mile roads.I caught all of my fish on a green and orange tube or a Gulp goby on a dropshot rig.Tried the xr50's but only caught small pike and muskies with them.I was amazed at the size of the fish I was getting!Big numbers are fun but the big fish made up for low numbers.I also hope HH is up there doing better than I did!I feel bad I messed up and couldn't give him some info after he helped me out.
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on May 24, 2011 8:08:03 GMT -5
I postponed my trip and heading up May 31st. I heard there was good clear water from Fords mansion down to the yacht club and good numbers being caught there. Is it true there were up to 250 boats fishing in front of Selfridge last Friday?
It's whole different place come summer. Most boat over to the canadian side. October is great month.
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Post by moray on May 24, 2011 9:19:28 GMT -5
When the fog lifted and I could see more than 50ft. I counted 51 boats at around 10:00 am friday.I left to come home around 11:30 and there were more coming in every minute.I guess I picked a good time to leave.Sounds like you made the right choice to postpone your trip.I hope the weather and water quality are better for your trip.I wonder how long the bass population can last under all that pressure?My guess is you wiil start to see size and numbers decline if something is not done to protect the spawning bass.When I first started fishing "winnie" in New hampshire 15 yrs. ago 100 fish days were common.Now with so much pressure on the bass it's nothing like it used to be.Once the word got out how good the fishing was it was the begining of the end. I see the same thing happening to St.Clair.
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on May 24, 2011 9:48:47 GMT -5
Things changed several years back when they started the C&R season. Otherwise it didn't open till the 3rd Saturday in June. You're right though...how long can it handle that pressure.
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Post by moray on May 24, 2011 13:30:09 GMT -5
It won't be long before you will be hearing "remember the good ol' days when...." I'm as guilty as the next guy,hard to stay away from fishing that good! Even with C&R taking the fish off there beds nonstop lets the bluegills,perch ect. eat the eggs up.I hope the lake is big enough to handle it,but I doubt it.
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