Muskie season opened with a bang last weekend.  Lots of fish being caught now.  Captain Kevin Backus from Mr. Muskie Charters, a sponsor of the Lake St. Clair Tourism Initiative, says the big fish are being caught on smaller baits in shallower waters.

Captain Dan from Lakeside Fishing Shop, another Tourism Initiative sponsor, says the silver bass still can’t stay off angler’s hooks.  Best baits are minnows he says but anglers report landing silver bass on spoons and small tube baits, crawler harnesses and others. 

Speaking of bass, you still need to wait to keep those lunker smallmouth and largemouth in Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River or the Detroit River.  Opening Day for them is next Saturday June 18.  Justin from Lakeside Fishing Shop had a “50 fish day” last Sunday.  One smallie was pushing 6-lbs.  Justin’s favorite bait is tube baits at this time of the year. 

Limited walleye action but its out there.  Planer boards and Reilly’s harnesses, chrome or flashy ones for walleyes. Early morning is best.

 Since tube baits are popular, here’s a short refresher video:

The Lakeside Fishing Contest has begun.  Bring in your trophy, get a photo of it and put it up on the board.

Smallmouth bass season is not open yet.  But catch and release anglers are having a field day despite the weather.  Anglers fishing in the shallows and along the seawalls from Grosse Pointe Park all the way up to Selfridge AFB are reporting up to 50 fish a day.  Don’t forget to play then quickly and release them ASAP. 

And remember, the MDNR had been in Anchor Bay last week doing fisheries research there.  We don’t know for sure if their effort is concluded so please heads up for that.

Best baits for bass?  Lakeside Fishing Shop, a Lake St. Clair Tourism Initiative sponsor, is selling tube baits in various colors.  We spoke to Justin in the shop today.  Justin specializes in bass angling and is a big catch and release guy.  He  says the Cruncher brand tube baits are selling well in the Baby Goby color (#701).  Rig these baits with a 3/16-oz. jig head with a 60-degree angled eye.  All you do is slide the jig heads through the tube bait and the eye pops out the top of the bait all set for you to tie it on and go fishing.  

Justin tells us the best times to catch big bass is the early morning.  As the water clears this weekend, get out and toss tube baits for big smallies.

Below is the Cruncher tube bait all rigged and ready to go.

Tube baits are great for bass. Rig them with 3/16-oz. jig heads.

What’s the hottest artificial bait for bass now?  Try tube baits.  They are easy, inexpensive and very effective.  Danny in the shop helped us with this short video showing how to rig a tube bait.  Come in and talk to Danny about tube baits for bass.

The Lakeside Fishing Shop fishing contest continues.  Here’s this week’s board and the updated leaders in each category:

Updated fishing contest. Are you on it?

Alex V. brought this walleye into the shop and now leads in the best walleye category.  Can you beat that?  Bring your beast into the shop and get on the board!

Walleye on the Board!

In this article I’m going to list some of the most effective summer bass fishing lures. I’m listing these lures in no particular order seeing as how “the best” bass lures are the ones that work best for each individual angler. Everyone has their favorite bass fishing lures; the point is that you might not have some of these effective summer bass fishing lures in your tackle box/bag. If you don’t have any of these bass lures available you probably want to add them.

When water temperatures rise above the mid eighties bass fishing can become much more difficult. Bass (especially largemouth bass) prefer water temperatures from the mid seventies to the mid eighties, and when the temperatures rise above the mid eighties bass fishing can become tough.

A great way to combat high water temperatures is to fish in the early mornings. This is when the water will be the coolest and cloudy days and rainstorms can help with the water temperatures as well. During the summertime it’s also a great idea to go fishing when there is the least amount of activity on the water. Once all the toys come out, bass fishing can become all but impossible on many lakes and reservoirs.

So what are the effective bass fishing lures that you need to know about and have access to in the summer?

1. Top Water Baits – These baits can perform best during the mornings and evenings during the hot days of summer. There are many different varieties of top water bass lures that are effective and some of the best are frog imitations and soft stick baits. Frog imitations such as the rebel Teeny Wee Frog can be extremely effective during the summertime.
2. Shad Imitations – During the summer months many lakes and reservoirs are full of Threadfin Shad. These bait fish are a staple food source for bass all year, but especially in the summertime. When it comes to bass lures one of the most effective is the KickTail Minnow. Of all bass fishing lures available today, this may be one of the most effective. Shad imitations are a must for any tickle box/bag.
3. Slow Falling Plastics – Plastic worms and grubs are excellent bass lures in the summertime. After your early morning fishing and the day (and water temperatures) start to heat up bass will move to deeper cover. Throwing soft plastics at these bass can be a very effective technique. At this time of the year many times strikes come as the lure is falling, so the less weight you can use the better. Slow falling plastics can be a great option in the summer.

If any of these bass baits aren’t in your fishing repertoire I would add them. These bass lures are all effective when fishing during the dog days of summer and will help you experience more bass fishing success. Just remember there is nothing that will help you bass catching ability like spending time on the water fishing, so for God’s sake get out there!