Lake St. Clair in April

[Sellersrobe 50]

Hello! I will be fishing Lake St Clair this April around the 2nd or 3rd week. What would you recommend for baits? I will be using Marcels Guiding Service (Marcel cannot, but he has another guide that is available).

[TnRiver46 2,600]

33 minutes ago, Sellersrobe said:

Hello! I will be fishing Lake St Clair this April around the 2nd or 3rd week. What would you recommend for baits? I will be using Marcels Guiding Service (Marcel cannot, but he has another guide that is available).

I would use whatever the guide ties on for me!

[redmeansdistortion 184]

The guide will know that to throw that time of year.  Personally, I like to run smaller and slower sinking baits when the water is still cold.  LSC should be in the upper 40s to low 50s that time of the year and a slower presentation should work well.  You want to make sure they get a nice long look at your bait.

[MickD 900]

Find out if the guide is going to provide the lures, most do not until they find you don't have what is needed at the time.  Get his recommendations on what to take.

 

Hard jerks with long pauses, tubes worked very slowly (try some small ones as well as the big ones), Ned rig.  Some St Clair fishermen only use shades of green, mostly dark.

 

 

[redmeansdistortion 184]

52 minutes ago, MickD said:

Some St Clair fishermen only use shades of green, mostly dark.

 

 

Yes we do! Lol.  Neon green and dark green are about all I throw as far as tubes go.  They seem to work best for me.

[Hollada 41]

Marcels team will provide all equipment and baits unless you want to bring your own. I’ve fished with Marcel, Ryan, and Matt.  Garrett, Cody and Jayson are also studs (Garrett qualified for the elites this year so not sure if he’s guiding).

 

Do you know who you’re going with?

[MickD 900]

Have a few Neds in your pocket.  Some guides don't believe how good they can be.  Until the guy in the back of the boat starts embarrassing him.

[Sellersrobe 50]

18 hours ago, Hollada said:

Marcels team will provide all equipment and baits unless you want to bring your own. I’ve fished with Marcel, Ryan, and Matt.  Garrett, Cody and Jayson are also studs (Garrett qualified for the elites this year so not sure if he’s guiding).

 

Do you know who you’re going with?

I don't know who I'll be going with as of yet. I am still in the process of convincing my dad to drive me to Ohio and where my uncle will then take me to your state up north (apologies, but as an Ohio State fan I can't bring myself to say the M word).

6 hours ago, MickD said:

Have a few Neds in your pocket.  Some guides don't believe how good they can be.  Until the guy in the back of the boat starts embarrassing him.

I just bought $50 worth of neds and jigheads for them recently in about every color imaginable. Thanks, I'll make sure to bring some!

On 2/27/2019 at 5:08 PM, redmeansdistortion said:

Yes we do! Lol.  Neon green and dark green are about all I throw as far as tubes go.  They seem to work best for me.

Any particular brand?

[Hollada 41]

Stop in to sportsman’s direct tackleshop on Jefferson when you’re up here.  They will have everything you need.

 

 

[redmeansdistortion 184]

1 hour ago, Sellersrobe said:

 

Any particular brand?

I can't remember off hand, I bought tons of them some years back from Lakeside Fishing Shop in St Clair Shores.  They tend to carry a lot of lure brands I seldom see mentioned online, so I'd venture to guess they came from a local (Michigan-based) company.  They're 3" tubes and I run a 3/16oz jig in cold water and step it up to 3/8 or even 1/2oz later in May and into June.

[Sellersrobe 50]

16 minutes ago, redmeansdistortion said:

I can't remember off hand, I bought tons of them some years back from Lakeside Fishing Shop in St Clair Shores.  They tend to carry a lot of lure brands I seldom see mentioned online, so I'd venture to guess they came from a local (Michigan-based) company.  They're 3" tubes and I run a 3/16oz jig in cold water and step it up to 3/8 or even 1/2oz later in May and into June.

 

19 minutes ago, Hollada said:

Stop in to sportsman’s direct tackleshop on Jefferson when you’re up here.  They will have everything you need.

 

 

 

7 hours ago, MickD said:

Have a few Neds in your pocket.  Some guides don't believe how good they can be.  Until the guy in the back of the boat starts embarrassing him.

Have you guys tried spybaits? I love fishing them. What color do recommend if you have? Thank you guys for all your help!

[MickD 900]

1 hour ago, Sellersrobe said:

Have you guys tried spybaits? I love fishing them. What color do recommend if you have? Thank you guys for all your help!

I've tried them on St Clair with no success.  Closest I came was a walleye follow.  A guide friend says they work best when it's really calm, which isn't very often.  A friend had some success on them by counting them down in the summer when the fish were deep.  I don't know about color.  I'll try them again in spring when the fish are shallow.

[Hollada 41]

Spybaits tend to be best later in the summer and fall - at least from my experience.  And like was said, calm bluebird days seem to be best.  And clear water - I wouldn’t bother with them in April or May. 

 

Check these out - watch Chad grigsby winning the Flw on st Clair with spybaits

 

 

 

 

 

 This is pretty good as well % as are all of Ben’s videos.

 

 

[Sellersrobe 50]

On 2/28/2019 at 8:50 PM, MickD said:

I've tried them on St Clair with no success.  Closest I came was a walleye follow.  A guide friend says they work best when it's really calm, which isn't very often.  A friend had some success on them by counting them down in the summer when the fish were deep.  I don't know about color.  I'll try them again in spring when the fish are shallow.

 

23 hours ago, Hollada said:

Spybaits tend to be best later in the summer and fall - at least from my experience.  And like was said, calm bluebird days seem to be best.  And clear water - I wouldn’t bother with them in April or May. 

 

Check these out - watch Chad grigsby winning the Flw on st Clair with spybaits

 

 

 

 

 

 This is pretty good as well % as are all of Ben’s videos.

 

 

What about jerkbaits? I love fishing them too. What color and depth level should I get? Again, thank you guys for all your help.

[Hollada 41]

LC Pointer 100’s, MB Vision 110 & 110+1, shadow raps, kvd slash - they all work.  Natural colors when water is clear, bright colors (ie something with chartreuse) when water is dirtier.

 

Vary the pause until you find what they want.  Some days it can work to let it sit for a 20+ count.

[SlappinKraken 51]

I'd probably use a jerkbait, tube, ned rig, and bladebait.

[Mastermarsh 31]

On 2/28/2019 at 7:30 PM, Sellersrobe said:

 

 

Have you guys tried spybaits? I love fishing them. What color do recommend if you have? Thank you guys for all your help!

Personally I fish spybaits the entire year on LSC. I will fish them in 18-19 foot in the summer, and in 8-10 foot in the spring slow rolled along the rock reefs scattered across the mile roads. I have caught them on it in 4 foot waves and slick calm, but it's much easier to fish it correctly in calm water. In terms of colors I tend to have the most frequent success on any of the great lakes series colors, and I usually throw the g-fix 80.

 

17 hours ago, Sellersrobe said:

 

What about jerkbaits? I love fishing them too. What color and depth level should I get? Again, thank you guys for all your help.

Most throw megabass vision 110s and its variations 60 % of the time, typically in a shad, ghost, or perch colors. Also the LC pointer & flash pointer have produced very well for me in certain situations, you can never go wrong with the ghost minnow color.

[slonezp 9,055]

How will it be 2nd or 3rd week of April? At the rate were going...frozen.

[MickD 900]

Won't be frozen.  Fish will be taken.  Mark your calendar and check back.

[Hollada 41]

The Detroit river today below ambassador bridge.  Two brave trailers in the parking lot.  Walleye season is close.  Smallmouth season not far behind.

[redmeansdistortion 184]

On 3/2/2019 at 6:22 PM, slonezp said:

How will it be 2nd or 3rd week of April? At the rate were going...frozen.

The ice should be mostly gone in a couple of weeks.  It's almost always gone by the third week of March.  Only a few times that I can remember the last 30 some years that the ice stayed into April.  I'm craving some ice out pike and musky action in the Clinton River spillway.