Hollada

Maybe... I typically fish one of four brands - megabass (110, 110+1, juniors, and magnums), SK KVD slash, Lucky Craft (pointers and staycees), and rapala shadow raps. dirtier water in early spring I like the brighter colors - something with chartreuse, clearer water I use natural colors. In the spring the trick is figuring out how long to let it sit. I’ve had days where they wouldn’t hit anything less than a 20 count between rips (one thousand one, one thousand 2....). I literally was catching fish after fish on the 20-30 count when multiple boats near me could not get bit. I’ll typically have a couple of JB rigs setup in the spring and rotate through styles and colors till I get bit. Seems 80% of the time it’s the MB 110 or 110+1 that’s catching fish. Could just be that’s my confidence bait.

Other than the Ned, I’d bet total weight of almost everything I fish is over 1/2 ounce. 3/8 ounce dropshot weight plus a bait is a 1/2 ounce total or more, 3/8 head is about as light as I go with tubes - 5/8 when I want to snap em, jerkbaits are all 1/2 or over, cranks, swimbait, etc. smaller poppers and unweighted soft jerks are two other light ones that come to mind. im heavier than a half ounce around 75% of the time I’d guess. This is for SM fishing on st clair.

Depends on time of year, but if I had to pick one it would be close between a Ned and a dropshot. my favorite is topwater, second favorite is a jerk, but those seem to be a condition specific bait whereas the dropshot and Ned are more general purpose baits for me.

1. Catch a PB smallmouth 2. Gain confidence in the spybait 3. Figure out where LSC smallies go in October 4. Explore new areas of LSC and the St Clair river 5. Catch a bass on an A-Rig 6. Find lake menderchuck.....

I’m usually on the lake early in April. As soon as the ice clears and the weather is fishable. Patterns tend to align to water temps. Blade baits and traps until water is around 50, then jerks, tubes, Ned rigs till water hits 60 then looking for fish on beds and either dragging a tube, Ned, or dropshot. After the spawn the mayfly hatch hits and topwater comes to life. From June through October I’ll have a Ned, dropshot, swimbait, crank, tube, spybait, and topwater rigged and on deck or close by.

Satellite view of lake st Clair and Erie. Can give you a good view of the water conditions and help determine where to fish. Eg if anchor bay is all mud don’t bother. the attached image is from May 7 of 2018 for example

Detroit river to anchor bay can all be good in May. All the launches are pretty good. Generally takes them a while to get Crocker road dnr launch cleaned up. Can be June. Best launch for the mile roads and southern part of the lake is 9 mile road. It’ll cost you $15. I launch almost exclusively at 9 mile in the spring. It’s a bit of a walk from the ramp to the parking lot, but it’s safe and puts you right at the bottom of the mile roads. Best launch on the lake is Harley Ensign. You can access anchor bay and top end of mile roads easily from there. Selfridge ramp puts you in the middle of anchor bay. Selfridge, Crocker, and Harley are all DNR Ramps. I launch solo at all these Ramps with no problem. watch this site to see where the mud is —> https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/modis.php?region=e&page=1 avoid the mud if you can. east and northeast winds are bad. Anything over 10-12mph from the east is tough to fish and stay dry. If the forecast says 5-10 mph winds, add the two numbers lol. there aren’t many places to stay near the launches. My advice would be to get north of m59. This site may help with recommendations —> http://www.***.net/showthread.php?t=101989 bassresource blocks the site when you put it in a post. B b c b o a r d s .net. Look for the Michigan forum. There’s a post on top with lodging comments.

I’ve used both Gerry and Marcel multiple times. Both are first class. PM me if you have questions I can help with. http://www.marcelsguideservice.com/ http://www.greatlakesbassfishing.com/

Can’t find 20% off. Is there a code?

Peckerhead? You mean mini? LOL

Never heard that one.... moot, firecracker, hump, lighthouses, roads, GPYC, the light, peche, askins, Mitchell’s, horseshoe, basset, grassy, etc. Ridges is a new one.

Why would you not just fish lake st Clair? fYI I’ve got caught bedding fish on east grand traverse bay on the Fourth of July. Lots of great smallmouth water around TRaverse City - elk, Skegamog, duck, long and a bit further north - Charlevoix, walloon, crooked, burt, mullet.

St Clair or Northern Michigan. Guide - Marcel Veenstra or Gerry Gostenik for st Clair. Marcel also spends a month or so in northern Michigan. time? Depends on how you want to fish - e.g. April blade baits, early May jerks, traps, shallow cranks, late May bed fishing, June dropshot, tubes, July - sept kitchen sink, deep cranks, swimbaits. windy days on LSC fish the canals for largies or run 45 mins to an inland lake. Late august I tend to rotate to the detroit river mouth at Erie if the bite is off on LSC.

Could be a long drop shot rod. I use the shorter 2 power - dx702sf - and like it a lot for the technique.

I fish ultra clear smallie waters. Does this line require a leader - or is the clear truly clear?

Marcel Veenstra is probably one of the best on the lake. And if he can't fit you in he has a number of guides that work for him that are great guys. I've fished with Marcel multiple times and always got on good fish and numbers. http://www.marcelsguideservice.com/index.html

So I broke in my new curado I and dobyns 705cb last week throwing 1/2 oz jerkbaits on lake St. Clair. Spooled with 8# Invisix. I could not get it dialed in. Ended up with all 4 brakes on and still getting backlashes. I have another other bait asters I use with no problems chronarch, e series, Lews, etc. Any advice? Bad reel? Cleaned everything and put bocas in it before using.

Thanks for the responses! I've been practicing hitting targets at 30 to 40 yards and as this is my second year with a b/c just wanted to get a sense if that was about the right distance. Every time I loosen her up to get a bit more i end up picking out snarls. Just trying to get things figured out on a few new setups. Dan

What is your normal casting distance for a baitcaster with a 3/8 ounce jig and tube? Describe your outfit and distance. I'm getting about 40 paces (roughly 40 yards) on a normal cast. Curado I, St Croix Avid 6'6" MH F

Attack of the wintermadnessspringscomingthawyoufrigginlakethaw bait monkey

Exactly..... What he said

Cleaned the bearings and the reel. Works fine now. Will take a bit of dialing in to get it right.

I tried with all brakes off and got a nasty mess. Will pick it apart and try one brake tomorrow. I did try putting that spool in a brand new 6:3 I that I hadn't spooled yet. 2 brakes on that one and it cast fine. I think there is something funky with the bearings on the IHG.

The reel (the I i bought used) looks pristine. No dings or boat rash. What could be different in a new reel? Is there something I should look for that I could fix?