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20th Annual Lake St Clair Smallmouth Trip


TOXIC

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Anticipation has set in!  Preparing for the annual trip to St Clair has begun.  Hard baits are packed.  Today was the #yamamoto plastics turn.  My goal is to restock 7 or 8 plano 3700 size bait boxes that will go in the boat and then pack enough to resupply or change up as necessary.  I can honestly say that in 20 years of fishing lake St Clair,  I have thrown every plastic I am packing.  Some more than others.  ? If you want to read more about our trips to this great lake, I have articles up on the Inside Line section of Yamamoto Baits website www.baits.com  Rods and reels next.  What’s not pictured is my Ned box with 4 and 3 inch Senkos, Cali Rolls, Baby Ikas and Kut Tails.  Senkos are in a 2 sided box with my favorites shown.  Dropshot baits are Shad Shaped Worms and Pro Senkos.  One box is just for DShads because it’s one of my favorites.  Brown bag is just Senkos and stays home after I pack extras.  Labeled plastic box is my working stock so I know what to order.  The other plastic box will go in the truck to resupply the 3700 Plano boxes.  If anyone has any rigging questions feel free to ask.  Also not shown is a big tackle bag of aruku Shad’s (2;sizes), jerkbaits, SPRO Little-Johns in all depths and colors.  I have a cherry picked selection in a 3700 Plano of all of these and will restock it if the hard bait bite is on.  I take a few swimbaits, football head jigs, underpins, and blade baits just in case.  20 years of going to this lake have refined this list greatly.  

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For the time you guys are up here all you need is a dropshot and a siren colored dreamshot or bubblegum TRD. ?

 

of course the way the weather has been, they may still be prespawn!  Saw 44-48 water temps yesterday.  10 degrees colder than same time last year.

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Most years you would be right and you hit the nail on the head regarding the weather.  It can change everything.  We normally go at the same time every year but have had years when 1 bait totally outshined all the others.  One year it was Little John cranks in Olive Shad.  On year the trip was saved by a DShad in either bubblegum or pearl.  One year it was a Stacy jerkbait.  But you are right plastics on a Ned or Dropshot and a weighted Senko will get you bit 70% of the time.  

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14 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Most years you would be right and you hit the nail on the head regarding the weather.  It can change everything.  We normally go at the same time every year but have had years when 1 bait totally outshined all the others.  One year it was Little John cranks in Olive Shad.  On year the trip was saved by a DShad in either bubblegum or pearl.  One year it was a Stacy jerkbait.  But you are right plastics on a Ned or Dropshot and a weighted Senko will get you bit 70% of the time.  

I’ll see ya out there!

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Good luck. Tear them up.?

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1 hour ago, Wildbillb said:

Do you ever hit the river for walleyes 

We have in the past.  Went up the St Clair river all the way to Lake Huron jigging for them with limited success.  We have a guy who lives on the island that is a walleye master and he usually stops by whatever cottage we are in for dinner most every night.  As payback, he gives us enough walleye fillets for a good feed.  That’s not to say that if we get into a good mess of Walters while smallmouth fishing, we don’t fill the live wells!  We got into a school one year that for the entire week, we could go to a spot at the end of the day and catch a limit with SPRO Little John cranks.  We did it for 2 dinners.  

Rods ready to go.  I have really paired down the last couple of years. 

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4 hours ago, Wildbillb said:

Do you ever hit the river for walleyes 

Im hitting river walleye with bass and trout jigs.

These are epic times!

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16 hours ago, PaulVE64 said:

Im hitting river walleye with bass and trout jigs.

These are epic times!

If I remember correctly, the Detroit River is the first to turn on for walleye with the St Clair river following later correct?  The cold water coming out of Huron slowing the spawn down? 

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23 hours ago, TOXIC said:

If I remember correctly, the Detroit River is the first to turn on for walleye with the St Clair river following later correct?  The cold water coming out of Huron slowing the spawn down? 

That’s correct.   I’ve been catching walleye by Peche island and then running up to LSC for smallies.

 

this past weds I fished the SCR with a buddy.  We launched at 6 and had 2 limits by 7:30 just north of Russel Is.  Both rivers are on fire right now.

 

fished LSC yesterday  saw temps from 44-50 along the roads.  Caught a ton shallow.  All prespawn.

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Hoping they are still pre spawn when we are there.  Unless you guys get some tropical weather between now and the 20th it should be good timing for us.  Last year we were early by a week from our normal date and got lucky there was a week of unusually warm weather before we got there, a week of super warm weather the week we were there and then it snowed the week after we left.  Crazy! 

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9 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

Hoping they are still pre spawn when we are there.  Unless you guys get some tropical weather between now and the 20th it should be good timing for us.  Last year we were early by a week from our normal date and got lucky there was a week of unusually warm weather before we got there, a week of super warm weather the week we were there and then it snowed the week after we left.  Crazy! 

Forecast is calling for day time air temps in the 70's & 80's up here next week.

With night time temps barely going below 60.

That's Jew-Lie stuff for this area. 

All this may really mean is bring a winter coat.

Safe travels.

:smiley:

A-Jay

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5 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Forecast is calling for day time air temps in the 70's & 80's up here next week.

With night time temps barely going below 60.

That's Jew-Lie stuff for this area. 

All this may really mean is bring a winter coat.

Safe travels.

:smiley:

A-Jay

Haha.  As usual I have everything from sun shirts, buffs and shorts to hoodies, 100mph suit and long Johns packed.  20 years has not been wasted on me.?

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