Perch galore from Lake St. Clair

We met today with Captain Dan at Lakeside Fishing Shop, a sponsor of  The Lake St. Clair Tourism Initiative.  Where to go this weekend?  According to Dan, “The Mile roads are great.  The GP Yacht Club is smoking hot!  Fish in 8-13 feet of water using live minnows. Anglers need to move around a bit but everyone is catching fish…some jumbos and lots of mid-sized ones.” Also check out Point Huron and the South Channel.  These are American waters and you use less gas and no need for a Canadian license. “The lake is loaded with perch right now,” said Dan.

According to Captain Dan the perch have been schooling up due to the cooler evening temperatures recently.  Also, the mud and dirt are gone and the winds have died down making fishing conditons perfect. 

Live bait appears to be the way to go and judging by the long line for emerald shiners this morning at Lakeside, anglers are buying them up.

If you have photos of your catch, please send them in  and we will publish them along with your fish story (report@stclairfishingreport.com).

An expert biologist sees a great future for our fishery

The weatherman this weekend calls for highs in the low 90′s but sunny.  As usual, the early morning and later parts of the day will be most productive for anglers on Lake St. Clair.  Another wonderful weekend for anglers on the lake.

According to Captain Dan at Lakeside Fishing Shop, a sponsor of the Lake St. Clair Tourism Initiative, many walleyes were caught in last weekend’s Lake St. Clair Walleye Association tournament.  The largest fish weighed in at Lakeside was 8+ pounds. 

Steelhead fishing in Lake Erie is hot. We are getting reports of anglers catching their limits of steelhead in Lake Erie near Erieau, Ontario.  Fish are as deep as 70 feet.   Here’s a picture of one that ended up on our dinner table.

A Lake Erie steelhead from Erieau, Ontario area

Captain Kevin Backus from Mr. Muskie Charters told us this week that many muskies are down deep and getting tougher to hook.  The weather, and in particular the temperature variability created by cold fronts coming in, going out and coming in again,  has a lot to do with that.  He had a very successful week with many fish being caught and released.  Reach Kevin, Mr. Muskie Charters, at 586.771.8817.

Muskie tournament last weekend:  Lots of 50” fish caught during the tournament.  Most productive spots were from Belle River to the Thames River.  A 54” fish won the tournament.

This is our 100^th post on www.stclairfishingreport.com.  For a professional look at the future, we decided to do a brief telephone interview with Mike Thomas a biologist from the Michigan DNR Fisheries Division at the DNR office at Harley Ensign boat ramp.  We asked about the future of the Lake St. Clair fishery – in particular the populations of walleye, perch, smallmouth bass and muskies.  Here’s a portion of that interview:

Perch are the most popular table fish in Lake St. Clair. How are LSC perch populations doing?  Yellow perch are the most sought after fish overall, including ice fishing, so they are key target fish in Lake St. Clair. Over the last ten years we’ve seen several high recruitment classes so they are very abundant now. The Canadian side seems to be better habitat especially in winter. Perch population is very strong and will continue to be.  Population trends are very good for larger perch which is great for anglers. I look for a strong perch population in the future in Lake St. Clair.

What’s been the effect on the fishery from both the zebra mussel and round goby?   Water clarity has improved due to the zebra mussels. Perch, bass and muskies have benefited from the goby as food. Walleye populations have suffered due to the water clarity the mussels produce since the amount of weeds in the lake has increased and walleyes like that less.  The state of Michigan is always fighting invasive species.  Next up is the Asian carp thing.

What is the future like for Lake St. Clair walleyes?  For many years walleyes came from two places – Thames River and Lake Erie. The Thames River run for many years was a successful run and they would come back and spawn again.  However, the Thames River stock in the early 1990′s was noted by Canadian fisheries people as declining.  No signs of successful reproduction then.  The spawning just dried up in the Thames River area.   We really have no idea why the Thames River stock was reduced.  We suspect the lake environment changed in complex ways.   Mussels have increased visibility and may have been a factor in reducing this Thames River stock. 

So we are pretty dependent on Lake Erie fish migrating north into Lake St. Clair.  Some walleyes stay in the Lake and others go up to Lake Huron.  The Lake Erie stock is variable - up and down. Walleye populations have peaks and valleys over the years in Lake Erie.

Regarding muskies and smallmouth bass, do you see an encouraging population trend for these fish?  Improvements to water quality have helped these fish populations. Mussels and government regulations like the 1970′s Clean Water Act.  These have helped. Lake levels have fallen a bit too. More weeds provide structure which help bass, muskies and perch but not walleyes. The smallmouth bass population is doing fantastic. Catch and release has had huge benefits on bass and muskies. This is a world class destination for both these species. As good as it gets.

Readers:  please help this site continue to grow by adding your fishing reports, photos and comments.  How are we doing?  Please contact us at report@stclairfishingreport.com.

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.

Boaters and fishermen using Lake St. Clair from the Clinton River to New Baltimore are being asked to avoid the area because the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Lake St. Clair Fisheries Research Station will be conducting a fisheries survey in Anchor Bay.

Tony Viviano of the Macomb County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol Division said researchers will be in the area through May 24 to assess the status of predator fish populations in the lake. The survey gear used will be trap nets located along a 10-foot contour and each will be marked with two floating flags and nine smaller buoys, Viviano said.

The nets are 650 feet long and boaters are asked to watch out for markers to avoid hitting or fishing near them.

Also, anglers who catch tagged fish in the lake are asked to report the catch to the Lake St. Clair Fisheries Research Station (586) 465-4771 or online at michigandnr.com/taggedfish/

By Gordon Wilczynski, For The Voice